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Need To Lose Weight? Leave The Country
Americans are bombarded with advertisements for weight loss products. There are pills, special diets, motivational books and videos (think skinny thoughts!), exercise equipment, slimming belts and a host of other hokey products and services. But I've never heard anyone suggest that taking a trip is the best way to lose some weight.Perhaps my experience isn't typical, but I always seem to shed weight when I take a long trip without a car. I just recently returned from a three-month trip spent mostly in Italy and Greece without a car, and I managed to lose 10 pounds, despite the fact that I ate to my heart's content. How did I do that?
In Italy, I ate pasta or pizza plus at least one double scoop cone of gelato every day – seriously. And in Greece, I ate a combination of the following each day: gyros, souvlaki, octopus, calamari, pizza and baklava. Oh, and there was a fair amount of beer and wine too. And here's the really surprising thing: at home, I jog at a good clip for a half hour four times per week, but while traveling I didn't formally exercise at all because I had a limited wardrobe and didn't want to do any more laundry than necessary.
But here's the two big differences between my home and travel routines: at home, I'm mostly sitting at a desk working but also ducking back and forth from the kitchen to get snacks, and I drive to most of the places I need to get to. While traveling without a car, I probably walked several miles every day without even really thinking about it. And I was only spending 3-4 hours per day behind the computer instead of 8-10 at home.
Most of us don't have an opportunity to travel for months at a time and if we tried to run all of our errands on foot, nothing would get done. It doesn't help that most of us live in places that are designed for cars, not pedestrians and cyclists. Still, if you're planning a trip, particularly outside the U.S., consider it an opportunity to lose a few pounds. Here are a few tips:
1. If you can avoid renting a car, do so.
2. If you have small children, push them around town in the stroller. It's great exercise.
3. Take long walks after meals.
4. Don't buy snacks to keep in your hotel room and don't use the minibar.
5. Don't drink too much beer.
6. Plan to visit places that are pedestrian friendly.
7. Leave the country. America is not a good place to be on a diet.
[Photo by Alan Cleaver on Flickr]
Most of us don't have an opportunity to travel for months at a time and if we tried to run all of our errands on foot, nothing would get done. It doesn't help that most of us live in places that are designed for cars, not pedestrians and cyclists. Still, if you're planning a trip, particularly outside the U.S., consider it an opportunity to lose a few pounds. Here are a few tips:
1. If you can avoid renting a car, do so.
2. If you have small children, push them around town in the stroller. It's great exercise.
3. Take long walks after meals.
4. Don't buy snacks to keep in your hotel room and don't use the minibar.
5. Don't drink too much beer.
6. Plan to visit places that are pedestrian friendly.
7. Leave the country. America is not a good place to be on a diet.
[Photo by Alan Cleaver on Flickr]
Filed under: Greece, Italy, United States
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
CJM Jul 27th 2012 10:01AM
Yup I was wondering if I could lose the same 7 pounds this year if I ate 10 days of gelato, wine, cheese, pasta, and pastry. That's what happened last year this time. I know that getting lost (and thus walking way out of my way a lot) in Rome helped, along with the 30K bike ride in the hills around Rome, along with the pounds of fresh fruit I purchased and snacked on in Sicily. For some odd reason my pretty decent nutrition practices here don't hold water to the gelato and wine diet. That being said I have incorporated 'vacation habits' into my regular life. I walk for my meetings if they are within 8 blocks and my meals are small plates of really tasty food. I also drink lots of wine... I never gained back that 7 pounds but I wonder what 30 days in Italy instead of 10 would do for my waistline.
Christine Jul 28th 2012 10:02AM
I only lose weight when I am travelling. It is the hustle and bustle of things, the fact I walk everywhere (my preferred way of exploring) and being so busy I often forget about eating hahaha. I was in Europe for one month last year and lost 20 pounds and felt great!
Achend Aug 1st 2012 7:31PM
I had a very difficult time losing the pounds till I tried this diet program. I've made use of this diet program for special occasions numerous instances over the past couple of years and I've always lost around 7 and 22 pounds in every single 11 day cycle. This can be a great diet in case you have the discipline to stay with it. - www.reviewsalert.com/truth-about-six-pack-abs
Eric w Aug 18th 2012 11:43AM
I read an article on this site http://treadmillshq.com about people using their iphones and ipads on the treadmills. I do that and I find the time passes so fast especially when you are engaged into something interesting.
Try it