Do you go on holiday to lose weight?

Having just returned from holiday in Greece, (yes it was really, really good, thanks for asking),  it has coincidentally become the time for my monthly weigh-in. This is not normally something that concerns me, as my weight tends to stay much the same due to the fitness and diet regime which I follow.

However, possibly a few beers too many this holiday, possibly a little less exercise due to an injured Achilles tendon, so I mounted the scales with some trepidation. Lo and behold, a three pound weight loss. Of course that’s not something most of us set out to achieve when vacationing, nor is it a big deal, but welcome all the same. After all, the opposite can be true for many of us, let loose to indulge ourselves during all those extra hours of freedom from the daily grind.

So where did those three pounds go?

I would put it down to Mediterranean food, Greek food in fact, and more particularly the Cretan diet. That, and a few daily lengths in the swimming pool. The rest of the time, I have to admit, I was either driving the family around or putting my feet up (literally on ice, with the Achilles tendon problem).

Losing weight in itself is certainly not indicative of being healthy, of course, and it is the combination of regular daily exercise and a clean, nutritious diet which is key to all our individual futures.

Apart from the daily fitness program which I obviously follow, I am a massive proponent of the benefits of the type of clean diet represented by Greek - and more specifically - Cretan cooking, and the proof is in the pudding. Although I didn’t actually have any, apart from several of the free accompaniments that arrive with every bill.

With that in mind I can heartily recommend olivetomato.com, one of the few sites I know which offers frill-free recipes exactly as I have just been eating in Crete this year.