- 11 January 2010
- 9:27pm
- Filed under
Community, General travel, People, Staff trips
Healthy holidays – right or wrong?
HeatherCLonely Planet author
Of all the types of travellers that exist, the one that really irks me is the holier-than-thou “healthy traveller”. I’m talking about the people whose sole purpose in taking a trip is to lose weight and tone up whether it’s getting up at the crack of dawn to do yoga at an ashram in India or an extreme detox at a swanky spa in Thailand.
It’s not just because the thought of vegetable juice and daily enemas brings me out in a cold sweat, but to me this type of behaviour contradicts the very notion of a holiday and all that it stands for; fun, adventure and indulgence.
When I took a round the world 10 month trip I ended up piling on the pounds trying all the new foods that I came across. I found it liberating to be away from a society obsessed with weight and workouts. Spending the last 2 weeks of my trip ill in southeast Asia meant that I returned home back to my usual weight, but far from celebrating my weight loss I was devastated that I’d not been well enough to eat more pad thai and banana pancakes.
Would do you think? Does the thought of a healthy holiday appeal or does it have you reaching for a slice of cake?
- Heather Carswell, Lonely Planet UK
Spas, ashrams, yoga breaks and the like: spare me the madness and just let me go to sleep for a fortnight.
These holidays are dull-as-dishwater, endlessly indulgent – the only local folks you meet will be breaking their backs scrubbing yours – and designed solely to swiftly remove money from the wallets of the gullible.
If you want to stay or get healthy while on holiday then go easy on the beer and keep active. A run or two is a good idea, or swimming or cycling.
That said, there are plenty of places you can travel to and contract Giardia, which will see you lose a few pounds. Having had it myself I wouldn’t recommend this most extreme of dieting solutions.
Holidays should be fun fun fun! Fun is not sticking to a rigid exercise regime and watching the calories. I find that I’m normally more active on holiday anyway (what with the walking around the sights, swimming, snorkelling) so can enjoy the local cuisine without worrying too much!
There is nothing wrong with joining in with tai chi in Hong Kong or trying a yoga class in India but this should be an experience to enjoy as part of the holiday, not the whole focus.
We are too obsessed with body shape and size with the media ramming size zero down our throats everyday without it being the aim of our precious time off work too!
Holidays are a good time to break old habits and try new things… The beer on the beach routine is for newbies…
These days any holiday, or even a weekend getaway, without my iPhone or laptop is considered (mentally) healthy in my book.
I think it depends on what you enjoy. if you are not naturally a health freak then watching calories and getting up early every morning to do a yoga work out is too much like hard work! If, on the other hand you are a gym bod who is addicted to the adrenalin of working out or the peace of yoga then fair enough. It’s definitely not for me though. I don’t mind a cycle/hike in a beautiful place to add to the experience, but for me food is an important part of my holiday, and so is relaxing and enjoying every minute. Getting up early everyday to workout and counting every calorie you consume definitely does not sound like a holiday!
part of the bliss of a holiday or trip is having the time to indulge what i love, and part of what i love is morning qigong, yoga stretches and mediatation – and then spending the day walking all over some new, exciting and beautiful place. i’m a vegetarian and can’t eat white sugar anyway, so i’m usually safe from the worst excesses of exploring local cuisine , unless the heavens have smiled on me and i’ve been dropped down in italy with naught to do but savour the renaissance and the food – in equal parts!
I agree with kunminglrl. For some people, quiet time doing what they love is a true indulgence. I was just blogging about a yoga trip I took 10 days ago. For some of the moms there, it was just what they wanted.
I would say “Different strokes for different folks”. It may not be my idea of fun (but I don’t what may strike my fancy next year or two years from now) but it would not bother me that other people choose to spend their vacation that way.
Two years ago, I took my entire vacation in one chuck (4 weeks) and I did not go anywhere – I spent the time working in the garden and on various house improvement projects. Again, not exactly everybody’s idea of vacation.
eating new and delicious foods is one of the joys of travel. Healthy holidays cant be about dieting. For my mind eat well and get out and about – Dominica a tiny island in the caribbean, considered the Caribbeans nature Island and now nominiated in the Top of the worlds Best PURE island experiences gives you the best of both worlds. commited to heath and wellness the island is blessed with great natural foods, abundant fresh fruit and creole cooking with local herbs atht will make your mouth water just thinking about it, Its also an adventure- with much to explore – boiling lakes and waterfall, rain forests and birds galore- Greatt out and about – stay in a jungle hut – be active healthy and well – see http://bookingsDominica.com -
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