Avoid Holiday Weight Gain By Eating Pizza

     Avoid holiday weight gain by eating.. PIZZA? Surely that can't be right! Well, let me tell you a little story and you will soon see how it's possible, even preferable, to eat pizza on holiday while avoiding holiday weight gain.

On the way back from England to Australia just a few days ago, I got chatting to a lady who was returning from a 9-week cruise around the coasts of Europe. She?d intended to go for a 4-week trip, but was having such a great time that she decided to keep on going for another five weeks. This was her first trip on her own after a nasty divorce, and her kids were now old enough to not mind about her doubling the length of her trip of a lifetime. It sounded like the most amazing trip, and I eagerly acknowledged what a liberating experience it must also have been to do it alone.

The conversation moved to what type of work we both did and, as I always find once I tell people what I do, we honed in on talking about weight loss. This lady told me that she had been taking Chinese herbs to stop her getting hungry, which worked a treat as she didn't carbohydrates or her favourite junk food. She then went on to say that she had travelled throughout Italy and hadn't touched pasta or pizza and in France, she had just said 'no' to the freshly baked baguettes. Countless times she had resisted the temptation to eat the country's delicacies by using her Chinese herbs to help her not eat give into eating pizza, baguettes and junk food.

Before you start googling where to get your Chinese herbs, let me complete the story. This lady was telling me all of this while munching away on a big bag of corn chips. I'm quite the chip connoisseur and, let me tell you, these corn chips were way extremely disappointing. They were a bit stale, bland and tasted more like cardboard.

The lady admitted that the Chinese herbs had worn off now due to her extended trip, and she acknowledged that she was now sitting there eating junk food. In fact, she was going straight to a health resort when we landed so she could get herself back on track.

However, I couldn't help but feel a bit sad. She had managed to go through all of Italy - the home of the best pasta and pizza in the world, and France - let's face it, no one can make fresh sticks of bread like the French - without sampling any of these countries most amazing food. She'd skipped pizza to avoid weight gain but was now eating processed, tasteless corn chips instead.

I couldn't help but reflect on a wasted opportunity to truly experience all of these countries at their best. For me, tasting and experimenting with new foods is part of the joy and excitement of travelling to new countries. I think it's such a shame when self-imposed dietary restrictions means you miss out on all the best bits, especially if something like corn chips ends up ruining your strict diet anyway.

How to avoid holiday weight gain by still eating pizza

Now, this isn't meant to be a direct criticism of this particular lady's approach to weight loss. I really wanted to share this story with you to encourage you to enjoy and experience new styles of food without having to put on weight, especially when you're on holiday. Having just spent nearly three weeks with my friends and family in the UK , I've just had to do exactly the same thing myself. The three things I always keep in mind when travelling to avoid holiday weight gain are:

1. Portion size. This is the key to avoiding holiday weight gain. If you're in Italy eat pizza, enjoy pasta! But you don't need to eat an amount that would feed an entire family. Measure out your portion before you start eating, then savour every mouthful.

2. Are the calories worth it? I tend to ask myself this question anyway, but it's a particularly good question to ask when you're on holiday. If you order a big pizza and it's as dull and bland as those corn chips, don't waste all of those calories on something you neither like nor will make you feel good afterwards. Save your calories for food that tastes good and you enjoy.

3. Keep healthy habits. Keep in place some consistent healthy habits, no matter what. For example, one of our clients takes our muesli with him on holiday so he has a healthy breakfast most days of the week. On my UK trip, I went out of my way to eat plenty of vegetables every day. Combine consistent healthy habits with your holiday eating so you don't go too far astray with your weight.

I hope you remember this story next time you're traveling. If you get a chance to sample authentic Italian pizza or any other national dish, follow the 3 tips above and then enjoy every mouthful! Remember, it's possible to avoid holiday weight gain by eating pizza!

1. Prev:Non-Surgical Liposuction: The Benefits & Risks of New Procedures
2. Next:3 Simple And Easy Weight Loss Tips