I have never gained a pound and I am usually a "big" eater. I am sure this has to to with the WALKING all day and night. I always have plans to eat every pastry in sight as soon as I get of the airplane in Paris but "jet-lag" must curb my appetite because it takes me several days to be really hungry!!!! What a bummer!

well, Jane, I guess you are just a wonderful athlete and the rest of us stand in awe of you.How lucky for you to have so much time to be able to run every day for so far, and to spend so much time staying fit and to have a life also. So if it isn't the walking that keeps everyone else from gaining except you, what are you eating that you always gain?<BR>

Oh, my! I'm in the minority. I gained ten pounds in four weeks last fall in Great Britain and Ireland. I eat carefully at home and am used to walking, so when presented with scones, clotted cream, jam, treacle tart, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding, Cadbury bars--well, you can see it tends to "add up." <BR><BR>Going back to London in a few weeks but only for a few days, so maybe it won't be so bad this time.

None in 3 weeks. Came home exactly the same weight as when I left. Ate plenty but WALKED alot. Partied and drank lots of wine. Ate rich foods but portions are smaller there.

I don't know what I'm doing wrong then. I am a work-out nut and I eat very healthy at home. However I always gain 5-8 pounds on vacation in Italy/France/Ireland. And that's with all the walking. I definitely don't say no to any food that looks interesting to me, but I don't gorge myself either. Hmmm....

You know, this is a very complicated issue. How much weight you gain or loose has to do with what you weight to start out with, how much you work out, how much you walk etc. A person who weight 175 burns 500 more calories a day then someone who weights 125. The 175 pound person burns 500 more calories per mile walked. <BR><BR>People are comparing apples and oranges on this discussion.

Meant to say a person who weighs 175 burns 50 more calories per mile walked

I either don't gain any or gain a pound or 2. I work out regularly at home and eat light. When I travel, I eat and drink a lot more and instead of maybe walking an hour a day, I walk 6-8 hours a day. It pretty much balances out. Good thing, because I love to eat whatever I want when I travel!

Here's a little tip: forget the mall-walking stuff and the sightseeing strolls. Start getting excited about day-hiking - &agrave; la "nordic walking" with sticks - doing 4-5 hrs. per day on weekends (if you're in a mountain region, all the better - do it between 1'500-2'000m elevation or so); SKIP LUNCH and eat fruit and drink water on the way, that way you WON'T STOP. I tell you all what: you will get lots of fresh air, feel like you've achieved something because you've walked a route you've planned out, and of course, you'll see those pounds drip off...

I've lost 30 pounds since February on the Weight Watchers' program. This included 1 week in London and 1 week in Paris in April. I was very careful with my food choices, but we made sure to eat three meals a day and we usually went out for a good, full dinner at night. Some stupendous restaurants. Sometimes we only split a dessert, but we always had a bottle of red wine with dinner. (2 of us) The walking we did in both cities, plus the up and down stairs at Tube and Metro stations, burned off all the extra calories. I didn't lose weight over those two weeks, but I didn't gain any either. Just be sure to eat 5 fruits & veggies daily, drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, and avoid fried foods and those you know include excessive amounts of butter and/or cheeses. You can eat a little cheese (you should have 2 or 3 servings of dairy products each day) but be prudent. Also, you don't have to clean your plate. (Although sometimes it is so good you really want to!)