Sweden/Denmark - Weight Watchers member
 

One thing I appreciate about travelling is the different foods. But, having lost 50 lbs and having "issues," I also like to know what I will be confronted with. I know I'll get lots of good fresh fish, but I also fear lots of high fat content sauces and yogurts. What are the foods I can expect? I want to enjoy the food, not stress about it.

You only need to post once, as there is only one Europe board. The specific country are for search. Lots of people make this mistake, no worries.

As a fellow WW, my advice to you is "don't worry" - you're on holidays, so your goal would really be to maintain, not to lose. You will probably do a lot of walking while sight seeing, so you'll balance what you eat with physical activity. Never been to Sweden or Denmark, so I don't know what kind of food there are. As for sauces, you can probably ask to have them on the side, and as for yoghurt - enjoy them, even if it's higher in fat than what you're accustomed to. Just have them in smaller portion.

Bottom line - just watch your portions, and try everything, even in just one bite. Don't deny yourself - you are on vacation, after all.

Talk to your WW leader for some guidance and tip - she or he will probably have some good words of wisdom!

I actually lost weight when I was there the first of the year. Maybe because it was so cold my metabolism was revved up. LOL We had a fabulous breakfast buffet at your hotel in Copenhagen so I must admitt the first two days I didn't let an item go by...but I acutally almost made myself sick so THAT came to a screeching halt. I ate what I wanted at breakfast...cutting down the portions to where I wasn't stuffing myself. I skipped lunch sometimes, depending on the time we had breakfast, and just ate a normal dinner, again, not stuffing myself. We walked everywhere as one tends to do in Europe and when I came home I realized I had actually lost a little weight. I ate yogurt, breads, cheeses, meats..all of it. If you eat meat, the reindeer is really good. I didn't notice a lot of fat on it, but very tender and flavorful. Use portion control, don't eat just for the sake of eating, and I think you should be just fine.

Reindeer is very lean.

Yoghurt here is typically 3-4% fat, which is not significant. One mistake dieters tend to make is fearing fat. It's the sugar in yoghurt you should worry about, and European yoghurt is typically less sweet than American.

As for sauces, if you don't want your food with sauce, ask the waiter/waitress to leave the sauce out, and perhaps replace it with slices of lemon or something.

Always keep some food of your own, in your hotel room or travel bag. protein or granola bars, an apple, water, etc. to give you more control over your choices. small snacks just like (I assume in WW) you do for yourself at home.

Enjoy the fish. I don't remember sauces as much as the bread. At least most of it is whole grain.

Keep your quantities in check and you'll have no problem because you will be getting lots of exercise.

Eat PLAIN yogurt and you souldn't have to worry about the sugar content.

Have you considered INCREASING your exercise to offset some of these obstacles to success?

I'm not sure how soon your trip is, but you might want to try to take is down another 5-10 while you are still at home, to give you a bit more "wiggle room" on your vacation.

I'm not sure what is on the WW-complaint list, but I'm sure you will have no trouble finding fresh, healthy low-fat food. A typical Danish breakfast buffet includes thinly sliced cured salmon (like lox), sliced vegetables such as cucumber and red bell pepper, a vegetable aspic (never tried that one), hard or soft-boiled eggs, and a selection of wonderful whole-grain breads and rolls. The butter is so flavorful you only need a trace. Just avoid the sliced cheeses and sausage, and the Danish pastry (which there is called Wienerbrod, Viennese bread), and you'll be fine.

For lunch we just have soup and/or salad; both are easy to fine. And for dinner, as suggested, you can order fish dishes, and request the sauce be separate. But many of the sauces are light, fruit-based ones, like lingonberry (for meat) or salmonberry (which I've had on fish), that you wouldn't have to avoid.

Enzian, There isn't anything that is forbidden on WW. That's the beauty of it. Their method is about portion control and accountability, tracking 'points' which is their shorthand system for daily caloric intake.

To my mind, it seems the easiest of any food plan to travel on (compared to diabetic, gluten intolerant, vegetarian, etc.).