faredolce

I always lose weight when I am in Italy, and I eat my face off, eating things I always try to avoid normally. In fact, I wish I could go on vacation more often - it seems to work better than all the freaking out I do over calorie counting at home.

It is your vacation - take a break from the gym and dieting, that would be my advice. Seriously. I am a girl, I know what you are worried about,(the jeans not fitting anymore, for instance) and I am saying don't worry about it.

In terms of Italy, my experience is that the portions are smaller. The quality of the food is better, if you eat at the right places. Vegetables and proteins are excellent. As for pasta, it is a primi, or first course - hence the smaller portion than what we are used to here. Sure, order wisely, but eat what you want!!! Trust me, you will work it off!!!! Some days you eat lighter, some days you eat more, and it all evens out in the wash.

Enjoy yourself. Eat fish and chips, croissants, chocolate, pasta and gelato. Going to the gym five days a week at home means that you are fit and you will burn calories efficiently - that is the benefit of all those workouts! This is a reason to work out as regularly as you do...so you can go on vacation once a year and forget about it for a while!

Enjoy yourself. Have a great trip.

artsfan

Thanks, folks. I like the big, leisurely lunch followed by the gelato dinner.

Our 21-year-old son, who can eat absolutely anything and is happy to do so, will be with us. I will try not to let him be a bad influence. ;-)

nytraveler

Every time I go to europe I LOSE weight - generaly 2/3 lbs per week - since all you do is walk all day. And this is despite eating more and drinking more wine than I do at home. (Here I generally do the gym only 1/2X per week - but do walk a lot here already - but defiitely not all day like in europe.)

If you don;t pig out completely (cleaning your plate is not required - and portions are often smaller then in the US) you should not gain weight.

artsfan

You are all cheering me up a lot. Thanks!

socialworker

HI artsfan--food, dieting and weight are the bane of the existence of many of my co-workers and myself. I think I have some awareness of how important this issue can be. However, please accept this advice in the kindest way possible: Unless you are on a severely resticted diet for a life threatening medical condition, lighten up!! What are you saving yourself for if you cannot enjoy a trip to Europe? One more point, IMO, if you go to France and avoid the cheese, well, forgive my directness, but that is like going on a honeymoon and avoiding the s--!! Now comes the "professional advice". Give yourself a *true* vacation and put these concerns to one side. Also, practically speaking, any weight you m put on in a short time, comes off more quickly. Have fun!!!!!

provence97

I always lose weight when I go to Europe. You are always walking and moving, unlike here in the US>

artsfan

Socialworker, lol. No, I don't have a life-threatening condition. I just know from childbearing how hard it can be to take off what one puts on, no matter how delightful the circumstances.

Ok, I will eat cheese. Maybe not the St. Andre...

francophile03

One simple tip: walk everywhere you possibly can walk.

bob_brown

Ditto to the above. European cities like Paris and London are much, much safer to walk in than American cities. Munich, for example, is such that I have seen single women on the streets at night. No,they were not what you obtuse people are thinking.

artsfan

Haha socialworker, do you realize you told me to "lighten up"? lol

POlson

I love chocolate and stopped in nearly every chocolate shop we ran across in Paris, but with all the walking (miles and miles every day) I lost 5 pounds. We also ate at least three meals a day with wine at two. I love Paris!

saraallison11

One of my favorite parts of going somewhere new is running there. I'm serious! I even get my husband to take a picture of me in some scenic or monumental place that we run, so that I can tape it into my running log. I'll always have incredible memories of running in the early morning in Rome, around a deserted and glistening Trevi fountain (on New Year's Day, nonetheless!); of running through a quaint Alpine neighborhood in Salzburg and being chased down by an angry man whose property I was unknowingly on (scary moment); and, another favorite, of having a fantastic long run around Lake Zurich on a lazy Sunday afternoon. It lets me be able to explore a place and gives me a better taste for life there. AND, I NEVER feel guilty for eating whatever I want during the day! Enjoy!

Lutece

All I can offer is my crazy pre-trip diet routine: The hubby and I are on our usual three-week, pre-trip preparation diet for our trip to France/Germany. We totally low-carb it for three weeks, lose a few pounds, and then feel free to indulge when we get there. (To be honest, we start indulging at the airport...that's where the vacation begins, right?)

I'm sure this is not the healtiest solution, but honestly, it makes all the eating that much more fun. And we never end up eating as many carbs as we imagine or gaining more than a pound max on a trip to Europe. We're usually on the move, so normally there is no harm done. This trip, I just found out we're going to need to redo the kitchen floor in our Paris apartment...so bring on the croissants, baby!

I definitely feel we get enough activity in on vacation, although this trip we are going to seek out a park where hubby can jog.

Admittedly, we seem to eat so often that I never actually get hungry! Of course we all know whether at home or abroad you're not supposed to eat if you're not hungry...but I've ever been too good about following that on vacation!

Based on your destinations, I'm guessing you're going to walk your butt off, and like everyone else I have very high hopes for you actually losing a few pounds while eating all those goodies! May the weight loss gods be with you!

Have a wonderful trip!

socialworker

You are right, artsfan, it was, of course, no pun intended, but rather a metaphorical reference to letting go of something that was "weighing" on your mind!!

Danna

One of my fondest memories of our last trip was ordering a plate of Nachos prior to take-off. We had been (and still are) low carb dieting and this was our first break in the action. They were lovely.

We ate carbs to our hearts content and didn't gain weight. Walking through the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart probably kept of at least a weeks worth of weight.

Next year, Paris. Bagettes here I come! With a brief stop for Nachos next to the Icelandic departure gate!

partypoet

Hi, artsfan!
I know what you're going through and want to share some of my thoughts. First of all, you should know that I have been a successful weight watcher for the past four years and for a while was a weight watcher leader. However, when I retired from teaching my husband and I began traveling a great deal so I am now "totally" retired. We go for 25-30 days at a time to some pretty exotic places, and never once have either of us gained weight. As a matter of fact, we usually lose a few pounds! First of all, I am very assertive with the restaurant staffs. On a cruise or on a tour, we tell the person in charge that we don't want sauces or fried foods, and could they possibly give them to us plain? We always ask for dressing on the side and we "fork" it on, using very little. We ask for extra veggies instead of the carbs, and have NEVER been told that this couldn't be done. We drink a lot of water and walk a great deal. We eat lots of salads and not too many carbs. For breakfast, we can usually find low fat yogurt, we have egg white omelets (which can be filled with loads of veggies), fresh fruit or a little cereal. We were once in Sicily and told our guide that I don't eat pasta. Whenever we went to a restaurant, I was handed the most beautiful antipastos. The other people, having eaten pasta continuously, were actually salivating when they saw what I was eating. On this past trip to Croatia, we ate seafood and fish and thoroughly enjoyed how fresh and delicious it was. One night, we ate oysters fresh out of the Adriatic Sea!! As far as desserts go, I try to stick with fresh fruit or just a little taste of something special. Everyone thinks that vacation means temptation, but there are wonderful healthy foods available just about everywhere! We have also had gelato, but one scoop after a very lightlunch shouldn't hurt a bit. Good luck!

L84SKY

This seems to be the start of a new wieght loss craze. Need to shed a few unwanted pounds? Go to Europe! Yippee!

platzman

In Europe, I have to eat constantly just to maintain my weight. Its magic!

Worktowander

No cabs. No rental cars. Eat what you like. Works for me!

m_kingdom2

Eat only once or twice (one light meal such as some fruit) a day. Have either breakfast or lunch. I do this at home, and away, it's an excellent way of not becoming obese.

Also, walk everywhere. I rarely take cabs on holiday, and if I'm doing a city style break then I'll walk virtually everywhere. Not only do you get to see, and experience far more of the local way of life, the pounds will quite literally drop off of you too!