I find the pitch for an all-inclusive resort almost impossible to argue with. Everything is included: the food, the drinks, the sunbed, and the only real decision you’re required to make each day is which pool to sit next to.

That’s also why arriving with health goals feels, in hindsight, ambitious.

Once you’re there, the challenge becomes obvious. Food is available at almost any hour, and the buffets make it easy to graze constantly without thinking about it. Alcohol is (if you allow it to be) part of the day from mid-morning onward, exercise goes out of the resort window, and sleep suffers from all the consumption. It is, in most respects, the opposite of a health retreat.

I went to Hurghada, Egypt, this past January with the intention of improving my health at an all-inclusive resort. I realize this sounds like a contradiction.

A little context. I have elevated blood pressure, a condition I’ve managed with medication for years, but always hoped to also address through healthier living. I’d also come out of the holiday season feeling, let’s say, a little soft around the edges. Not significantly overweight, but Baywatch has yet to come calling. My work lets me operate from anywhere with a laptop, which made January in Hurghada, on the Red Sea, an obviously better choice than January in Liverpool, England, on the Irish Sea.

The resort I stayed at, Sunrise Garden Beach Resort, shares eleven onsite restaurants with its sister resort next door. Italian, Chinese, Spanish, Middle Eastern, Indian, and more, available as often as willpower permits. I stopped counting the bars somewhere around the swim-up pool bar, where I rediscovered my great love of Bloody Marys. I should note that this was not a sponsored trip—I paid for it completely and at the regular rate.

Most doctors would probably note that the Bloody Mary is not the foundation of a serious health plan. When I mention my fondness for them to American friends, the reaction is often: “But that’s a breakfast drink!” My reply has always been: “What exactly is it about vodka that says ‘breakfast’ to you?”

So, how did I lose five pounds in three weeks there? (I have the graph from my Withings app. I am not making this up.)

The Dining Plan

I skipped the cooked breakfast buffet, which was a fairly easy call in any case, since pork bacon is not on the menu in Egypt. Instead, I had oatmeal with Greek yogurt every single morning. It’s not glamorous, but it works, and more importantly, it sets the tone.

One simple rule carried through the rest of the day: carbs come from breakfast. At lunch and dinner, I passed on the white rice, the pasta, and the pizza. Given the setting, this was not easy. 

For lunch, I went to one of the resort’s grill stations. Charcoal-grilled chicken was my default, occasionally swapped for grilled fish or shrimp. Dinner meant more grilled meats and fish, plus vegetables from the grill: peppers, zucchini, carrots, topped with local olives when they were available.

I should also mention: I bought a significant quantity of hot sauce from a local store. Somewhat shamefully, this is how I make plain grilled food worth eating. Whatever works.

An Hour in the Gym, an Hour Outside

I spent an hour in the gym every morning: a couch-to-5K jogging program on the treadmill plus a full-body weights routine. Then I walked for an hour each day, along the Red Sea and through the tree-lined paths around the resort. That added around seven thousand steps on top of whatever I’d accumulated just by existing, and I cleared ten thousand comfortably.

None of this required anything special. An hour of exercise before the rest of the day takes hold is manageable, even somewhere like this. The pool will still be there when you’re done.

The Result

I came home slimmer and feeling significantly better. I was sufficiently encouraged that the habits didn’t stay behind at the resort. I’ve lost another twelve pounds since returning.

An all-inclusive resort is not the enemy of healthy living. The problem is that everything is available and nothing stops you. You have to bring the structure yourself. A few clear choices at breakfast, an hour in the gym or on foot each morning, and saying no to the pasta at dinner can add up to something substantial. Even somewhere built specifically to make that harder.

Even with the Bloody Marys. Not at breakfast.