Social media health pro Joe Wicks has urged people to stay healthy and avoid “beach body” crash diets in the lead-up to the summer holidays.

The Body Coach gave his top tips for staying lean during swimsuit season as he warned of the dangers of paying too much attention to quick-fix slimming regimes.

“I don't believe in last-minute panicking and dropping calories to get a quick result,” he told the Press Association, “I don't believe in quick fixes or miracle milkshakes instead of meals.

“So many people leave it to the last minute and then panic because suddenly they are going to Ibiza and feel the need to do a diet or detox for a week.

“It's not a nice way to do it and it can be negative because you put your body through stressful situations.

“It's an emotional thing as well because you starve yourself and then end up gaining loads of body fat really quickly anyway, leading to a vicious cycle of up and down all the time.”

Commenting on nutrition company campaigns, such as Protein World's controversial “Are you beach body ready?” slogan, he continued: “What does 'are you ready for the beach' even mean?

“You might well not be very lean and still be confident and happy anyway, so who cares what you look like? It's about what you feel inside.”

Known by his thousands of followers for promoting manageable exercise routines and simple home-cooking, he advised: “I am lean because I make two decisions: I do regular exercise and I prepare my meals, and I am preaching that all year round.

“My plan is a three-month thing because it takes a long time to change your habits.”

He also recommended: “The first thing you should do is drink more water, between 2-4 litres per day, and number two is regular HIIT (high-intensity interval training) work-outs, which can be done anywhere.”

But revealing his own occasional guilty pleasures, Wicks admitted: “I love a gin & tonic, I love a burger and I love ice cream, especially Ben & Jerry's Phish Food.”

After starting his career as a personal trainer, the 30-year-old Londoner has now launched his own cookery book as well as a number of additions to his Lean In 15 plan.

His next big challenge will see him enlist the help of his fans as he attempts to break the Guinness World Record for the largest public HIIT exercise.

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He hopes to beat the current record of 3,687 participants by leading 5,000 people in the half-hour challenge in London's Hyde Park as part of the British Summer Time festival on Wednesday.

Promising plenty of medical and security staff on hand at the event, he joked: “It will probably be me that faints, from the pressure.

“I am a little nervous about the build-up in front of so many people, but I do boot camps so this will really be my environment and I certainly won't stop.”