suze

I never gain weight in Europe (and I must be very careful at home).

I eat more rich foods but small portion sizes. For me I love the wine and that flows freely, but don't mind skipping or skimping on desserts or bread. And walk walk walk.

Plus staying at a hotel there aren't those little snacky visits to the kitchen cupboard.

Generally speaking I have found this true staying with friends who live in Europe. It is a very light breakfast plus 2 meals no snacks and it works out fine.

It is not a dumb question but if you keep you wits about you I don't think it is a problem either.

kristen_f

i would say it's not possible! but if you walk alot and eat your main meal at lunch without indulging too much in the evening, you might manage just a few pounds gain. But where would be the fun in that? Just go for it and enjoy.

fun4all4

Not a dumb question at all....but also doesn't really have to be a problem.

As others have mentioned, you will walk much more than usual. I also find that I don't snack as much (other than an afternoon gelato or pastry or something).

I eat a very light breakfast, then a good lunch and dinner. I find that the portions are more reasonable in Europe and the ingredients are fresh. In the US, eating out seems to mean tons of salt, fat, and "non-natural" ingredients...not so in Europe.

I usually only drink wine with dinner, but sometimes have a glass at lunch. I drink lots of water. DH and I will often split a dessert, but usually because we are full from a great meal, not for weight-watching. I never feel like I am depriving myself in Europe. In fact, to the contrary, I feel as if I splurge on delicious food. Neither of my trips in the last year have resulted in weight gain.

Moderation is the key. You are on vacation....don't miss out on chocolates, crepes, wine, cheese or bread. Have fun!

aggiegirl

I ate chocolate, pastries, crepes, bread, other high calories foods every day of my 8 day visit to Paris but didn't gain any weight because, like the others have said, there is so much walking and stair climbing. I never gain weight in Europe, but unfortunately I do when I vacation here in the USA.

Madison

Heavens - My first trip to Paris for 12 days I came home 8 pounds thinner. Second trip, London & Paris 12 days I came home 6 pounds thinner. Most recent trip to Paris for 5 days I came home 5 pounds thinner.

I have always been a walker but about 3 months before my trips I start walking more than usual so when I travel I have unlimited stamina. I walk everywhere in Paris and eat whatever I want. It's the walking. And sadly, I'm no spring chicken either.

Enjoy yourself. How often do you go to Paris? when you get back you have to let us all know how you did with your weight. I'm sure you will be fine.

starrsville

ditto on what the others said. I lose weight - because of all of the walking AND because there is so much to do we "forgot" to stop and eat until we were ready to crash. That's when all the sidewalk cafes come to the rescue. I never had a bad meal in Paris - and only ate at one "guidebook" restaurant in the city. Noticed it was the restaurant shown in the Bachelor TV show . There are lots of "foodies" on this board, but I eat out on expense account a lot in the States and would rather spend my time soaking in the sights of the city than planning around restaurants and menus. Enjoy the Croque Madame sandwiches, the nutella or chocolate crepes, the beer and wine, the bread, cheese, and Laduree chocolates. Don't worry about gaining weight. I doubt you will

wliwl

Heavens:
How is your college kid doing? OK I hope!

Flyboy

I generally have no problem losing a couple of pounds and the longer I stay, the more I am likely to lose. There is so much walking to do, the meals are BALANCED and snacking is non-existent for me on vacation. Also, I tend toward two meals daily; not three.

scheraulei

I ate like a pig the first time I went to France and Switzerland and lost 7 pounds. I thought it was because I was 17. The second time, I was 50 and I lost 13 pounds in the 8 days I was there. It is definitely the walking. Don't get on that bus, climb those hills, climb those staircases, walk everywhere in the "Old Towns" - then eat, eat, eat and enjoy! Losing weight is purely a matter of math. It is never more true than when traveling.

Heavens

Thanks all, you are very encouraging. It is good to hear that fresh items will be offered. It seems that the cliche of French food is that everything comes covered in a white sauce. I don't think that is the case.

Wliwl, OD is home from college and going to local JC, has a job at a new restaurant and is happy as a clam. We are glad to have her home. One of her suitemates had to go home last week so she could go back into meth rehab. We are kind of glad that she is out of there, if you know what I mean.

Suze, thanks for encouraging me to post over here on the Europe board. I will admit I was a little intimidated at first, but everyone is SO nice, there was nothing to worry about. Thanks for pushing me out of the US nest...

Heavens.

gambader

Heavens,

Let me provide a voice of caution. I am 41 with weight issues (up and down, up and down) I gained weight (about 8 lbs!!) when we were in Paris, even though I must have walked at least 5-7 km a day (not kidding!!) I still haven't lost the gained weight, a sore subject for me. I am up a size.

Next time, I will do the following:

1) Add some protein in the morning -- eating a croissant was great, but I was hungry within 2 hours
2) LIMIT THE NUTELLA. It is my kryptonite. There is a reason I stay away from it in the States.
3) Incorporate 1-2 sessions of exercise class. Not only do I get to see health clubs in Paris, but I love spinning, and it would be great to experience a French spinning and perhaps meet some people!

I actually looked classes up and had some nearby, but the 20 E+ a class turned me off. Well, it would have been worth it, if only to stay aware of the body.

Anyhow good luck - but if you have a cruel metabolism like I do, realize that even miles of walking won't help -somewhat watching the intake must occur as well, if you want to maintain!

Scarlett

Omigod, I love the way I lose weight when we go to Paris!
I eat everything at meal time, we rarely eat between meals because we are walking all over the city and or we are in museums, etc. French portions are more sensible...and I walk everywhere all day long.
After a week or more, I come home thinner, every time. It is known around here as Scarletts French Diet and I recommend it to everyone.
A pain au chocolate in the afternoon is part of the diet..

StephCar

Heavens,

This thread made me laugh. As a student in France more than a dozen years ago I tested this theory: If you eat two chocolate croissants every day, drink wine almost every night, indulge in chocolate as you wish and don't really exercise much can you gain weight? Well the answer was YES, about 20 lbs. My French mother told me that I had gained weight in French. I was not familiar with the verb "grossier". I had to look it up. It was embarassing, to say the least.

But that said, everytime I go to Europe I lose weight too. My mom, who is 57 and has been unable to lose anything for a decade, came with us to England for 4 weeks last summer. We ate like pigs, had daily teas with cakes, ate out all the time, and had no scales. She was THRILLED when she got home and found she had lost 8 lbs. It was really all the walking. She said she wondered how much she could have lost if she didn't eat like she was trying to gain weight!!! On average though we walked 3-4 miles a day. And even though we ate a lot, the food was much healthier there.

You already have great advice, but I do agree with others, enjoy yourself, indulge, and then walk it off. And if you do gain a few, c'est la vie. Bon voyage.

luveurop

At home I eat two meals a day, dessert once a week, and one bottle of wine over the weekend.

In Paris I eat three meals a day, dessert twice a day, and one or two bottles of wine/champagne every day.

I usually lose 3-5 pounds each trip.

liz

Heavens

Well, I can only hope to report back to you all that I lost a few pounds on my trip. I am praying that it is so. Thanks all for sharing your stories with me. I can't wait to go, and the food, I must admit, is a big reason for my excitement. More than that, the vino...

hipvirgochick

I agree about the losing weight. We stayed in Montparnasse area and walked to all the sights instead of cabbing (sometimes cabbing home). These are long walks! We figure we averaged 8-12 miles a day. We all lost about 6 lbs while living on brie, bread, full fat everything, wine, hot chocolate and even desserts here and there. Probably less snacking though, mostly ate only at regular meals.

missypie

I ate whatever I wanted and lost 5 lbs.

pineisl

Yes it is, first let me say I had lost 55 lbs for my trip to Paris and Brugge (15 days)and my goal was to gain no more than 5 lbs-but 3 would be preferred. Unfortunately I go by the hey I on vacation... yes my sister and I ate our way through our vacation, pastries, waffles, ice cream, chocolate etc. etc. plus meals. My luggage was lost for the entire trip except for the last 4 days, so when it arrived with my new smaller clothes in it, I told my sister well this will be the icing on the cake if now they don't fit. Well they did fit and we continued to eat. Bottom line, I did gain only 3 lbs on trip, and we came to the conculsion all we have to do is to quit our jobs so that we can walk 15 hours a day and we will never gain weight again and can eat all we want Have a great trip and just get back on the weight control wagon when you return home.

mamc

I always lose 2 or 3 pounds while on vacation in Europe. We eat 3 meals a day and lots of pastries or gelato in between but we walk so much that we never have problems with weight gain. Eat what you want. It is unlikely that you will gain weight if you are active.

dianebarnes23

We ate well, skipped meals in favor of baquettes and butter and jam... but had wonderful meals.. usually two a day, and lost 2-4 pounds each. You walk a lot, climb a lot of stairs. We had a ball.