Visit Europe and lose weight

Brookswood

Brookswood

Senior Member
You Gorged on Your European Vacation but Lost Weight. Why?

If you have indulged in hearty eating in Europe and returned home to the US to find those extra pounds you expected did not turn up you are not alone.

Shelly Wegman enjoyed all the good stuff on a two-week trip to Rome and Tuscany last year, indulging in pasta, wine, bread, fresh fruit and vegetables, and of course, gelato.

The effect on her waistline wasn’t what she expected: She actually lost 2 pounds, says Wegman, a registered dietitian in Raleigh, N.C.
Americans who eat their way through European vacations sometimes come home surprised to see a lower number on the scale. I had the same experience on a recent trip to Portugal’s Azores islands, where I indulged in specialty cheeses, breads, cakes and the sweetest pineapple I’ve ever tasted—without gaining a pound.
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There are two suspects. One is all the extra walking you do. The other is the food itself which is often less processed than what many people in the USA eat.

Ultra-processed foods common in the U.S. include artificial additives and highly refined ingredients and are rich in starch, sugar and salt, says Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and professor of nutrition and medicine at Tufts University. He points to a study in the European Journal of Nutrition that found that among adults in the U.S., 57% of calories come from ultra-processed food, compared with 12% in Europe.
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Europe certainly has less fat people than the USA. Not sure about the UK. I’ve seen some pretty big guys in the UK and I don’t mean their muscles.
 

Brookswood said:
You Gorged on Your European Vacation but Lost Weight. Why?
IThere are two suspects. One is all the extra walking you do. The other is the food itself which is often less processed than what many people in the USA eat.
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For us, it's the walking. We never do this at home, but in the UK I indulge in the traditional full English breakfast, a.k.a., "fry up" and 'heart attack on a plate'. I like black pudding, haggis, and some of the sausages which I never do in the states.
But our reason for going to the UK is to hike and walk as much as we can every day. We eat very little the rest of the day and always come home a few pounds lighter. It's a most enjoyable weight loss program. And yes, I like beans for breakfast (or any time).
 
retiredtraveler said:
For us, it's the walking. We never do this at home, but in the UK I indulge in the traditional full English breakfast, a.k.a., "fry up" and 'heart attack on a plate'. I like black pudding, haggis, and some of the sausages which I never do in the states.
But our reason for going to the UK is to hike and walk as much as we can every day. We eat very little the rest of the day and always come home a few pounds lighter. It's a most enjoyable weight loss program. And yes, I like beans for breakfast (or any time).
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I had an all day (full English) breakfast today (including Black pudding) for brunch at the pub after I'd been to the hair salon..
 
Brookswood said:
The UK is part of Europe? The Englishmen I talked with assured me it was not. Just before they lectured me on The War of Colonial Aggression.
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That's funny. I had forgotten that the 'War of Colonial Aggression' was a name given to our Revolutionary War. That's what you get when you hike prices on tea.
 
Seriously, I know people who claim to be sensitive to this food or that food. They go to Italy eat a ton of the stuff, and never have a problem. Maybe it’s all in their head?
 
Yes, I would agree that when I was a child I had an allergy to seafood. However, as I got older, I became able to eat all kinds of seafood.
 
My daughter just returned from 3 weeks in Europe 1 week was on a cruise...she ate 'well' and did not gain any weight... Europe has healthier food without all our processing, which is part of the reason..and yes she walked a lot.
 
On the two week river cruise, I ate the fresh breads with every meal which is something I never do at home. Cheeses, wines, beer, foods with sauces. Everything was great. Walked lots, but I do that at home too. Didn’t gain any weight and felt great.
 
The UK is part of Europe geographically, but is not part of the EU which is a political union of a number of European countries.

I don't count steps, but I do get plenty of walking. The Land reform act in Scotland confers the 'right to roam' for recreation across much of Scotland, with certain limitations (eg on fields with crops, private housing, school grounds etc)
 

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