Vacation Weight Gain – Jamaica vs. Sicily

It’s no secret, I love to travel.  Depending on where you are traveling to, keeping up with your diet and exercise routine can be quite challenging.  I’d like to compare my trip to Jamaica with my trip to Sicily.[twocol_one]JAMAICA

• Breakfast: Eggs, fruit, coffee
• Lunch: Salad with chicken, turkey or chicken sandwich
• Dinner: Tried to chose the healthiest option with dessert and wine
• Drinks: Daily Champagne, wine, or beer
• Vegetables: Consumed at lunch and dinner
• Exercise: 45-90 minutes daily of weights/cardio in gym, kayaking, dancing
• Length of trip: 7 days
• Weight gain: 6 pounds

[/twocol_one] [twocol_one_last]SICILY

• Breakfast: Bread/Cakes, coffee, fruit
• Lunch:  4 course meal (seafood appetizer, pasta, meat, dessert) with wine
• Dinner: 3-4 course meal (see lunch) with wine
• Drinks: Daily wine
• Vegetables:  Minimal
• Exercise: 30 minute walks every other day
• Length of trip: 13 days
• Weight gain: 0 pounds

[/twocol_one_last] So, take a good look at the food eaten, the amount of exercise being performed, the amount of weight gain, and the length of time spent there.  The science doesn’t seem to make much sense here, right?  How could I gain so much weight on the shorter trip where I was being cognizant of my eating habits and exercise and gain no weight on a longer trip where I wasn’t exercising as much and eating a ridiculous amount of calories daily?!  In Sicily, I was eating fresh, whole foods.  I was eating home made cheeses, salamis and wine.  80% of my meal (including the wine) was made right on the farm, so nothing was processed.  And gyms are NOWHERE to be found in Sicily, however, most people are thin.  In America, there are gyms EVERYWHERE, and 2/3 of us are overweight or obese.
Moral of this story?  You are wasting your time at the gym if you don’t watch what you put in your mouth.  Please, start eating real food people.  Nothing processed, nothing labeled “no fat”, and nothing that has ingredients you’ve never heard of before.   And you CAN have desert (I did twice a day in Sicily) and wine.