May 1, 2017

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Weight loss and vacation Loveland Medical Clinic

 

 

So you are going on vacation. Congratulations. The question is how do I eat healthy when I am on vacation. That is what this article is all about. I recently went on vacation to Spain and this is what I did.

Some vacations are more active than others. If you are one of my patients you already know that diet is 95% of weight and exercise is only about 5%. Exercise still is important for so many other functions so do not ignore this. I hiked and biked the Way of St James in Spain in April and for 24 days traveled “The Way”. Since I am on a ketogenic diet that basically means minimal carbs in my diet. While possible, why would I want to do this on vacation ? I wouldn’t and I didn’t.

 My Vacation Eating Philosophy

My philosophy is that their is a time for feasting and a time for fasting. Remarkably our bodies are well designed for this. Think about your caveman ancestors. They killed something and feasted for a short while. Following that who knows when they would get their next meal and were in a forced fast for a while. You have 40,000 calories of stored fat in your body. You could walk across the United States on you fat stores. Vacation is not the time for fasting though. You are celebrating your hard work so go out and enjoy yourself.

 My Vacation Eating Routine

My routine in the morning was I got up and walked till I found a cafe that served espresso. The Spanish really love their coffee and know how to make it. I would walk a couple more hours and have another espresso. Those of you who have done the 22 Day Weight Loss Program know that I do not advocate eating fruit unless you are exercising. Since I was walking or biking daily I took advantage of this and ate oranges everyday. Spanish oranges are the bomb. Later on in the trip I did start to eat breakfast around 10am or so and that usually consisted of eggs with bacon/ham/chorizo and a bit of bread. I know, I do not advocate eating bread either but I was on vacation and I did enjoy myself.

Spain does not have an obesity problem. I believe part of the cause of this is they eat only freshly prepared, unprocessed foods. I do not know what the big cities are like but I basically saw no fast food in any of the smaller cities and rural areas. The tapas and pinchos are all freshly make and consist of healthy ingredients like fish, eggs, olive oil, and some bread. I ate potatoes while here and those were never deep fried. In St Jean (France) I found a macaroon store and you better believe I indulged.

 Vacation Summary

In summary , when you are on vacation enjoy yourself. I did put off the first meal of the day as long as possible. I ate whatever I wanted but I ate in moderation as well. I was lucky in that the Spanish do cook wonderfully unprocessed meals which are healthy in themselves, but I did not concern myself too much about what I ate. If you are ever in Spain make sure you try paella which is a famous Spanish dish made with rice. Bon apetite