Ditch the pre-holiday prep - Six weeks of dieting is lost before takeoff!

Before every summer holiday comes weeks of healthy eating and exercise to ensure that we look our best on the beach – but we really shouldn’t bother, as new research reveals that Brits forget about their pre-holiday diet as soon as they’ve checked in their luggage and consume a host of bloat inducing food and drinks before they’ve even taken off.  

According to a new survey of 2,000 UK adults by Maalox Plus^®; a bloating and trapped wind relief remedy, 64 per cent of people either diet and / or exercise before going away on holiday, with 74 per cent of these listing weight loss as thier main motive¹.  Over half (59 per cent) say that their goal is to tone up and a further 26 per cent want to de-bloat before they have to put on their swimwear¹. 

The findings revealed that on average, the UK population starts it’s pre-holiday diet and exercise regime six weeks before they’re due to go away and typically lose 6lbs¹. However, it appears that all those weeks of hard work start to come undone as soon as they get to the airport, with nearly a third (31 per cent) saying that they stock up on unhealthy sweets and snacks for the plane and 29 per cent indulging in champagne or alcoholic drinks¹.

These airport habits mean that many people start to feel bloated as soon as they’re in the air, with 36 per cent thinking it’s the air pressure in a plane that causes them to bloat, and over a third (34 per cent) blame the fizzy drinks¹. A further 23 per cent even blamed it on the time difference and disturbed routine¹.

After landing on foreign soil, only 8 per cent keep up their diet or fitness regime and over two thirds (68 per cent) admit they give it up as soon as they’re on holiday¹.  38 per cent say they always indulge in more food on holiday then they usually would, with alcoholic drinks (49 per cent), dining out at restaurants (51 per cent) and the all-inclusive buffet (42 per cent) being people’s biggest vices¹.

Over indulgence causes people to experience bloating or trapped wind an average of 10 times while away, and over half (58 per cent) feel that they bloat more on holiday than they normally do¹. A third (33 per cent) say that they can physically see an increase in their size and 46 per cent notice that their holiday clothes become tight and uncomfortable due to bloating, causing them to opt for loose options¹. 

The survey also revealed that women try a host of other treatments to get in shape, including body brushing (17 per cent), detoxing massages and scrubs (15 per cent), firming lotions and products (21 per cent) and 6 per cent have even tried colonic irrigation in bid to shed the pounds².