Travel makes you wise, we all know that, and wisdom makes you sexier and cooler, but on a totally shallow level, it also makes you thinner, or it can. It works for me.
You may have noticed that we love our food here at World Travel Family, it’s a big part of travel for us. I’m married to a chef after all. We’ve loved our Indian food in Malaysia, our huge Laos breakfasts and our gorgeous Thai food on Kophangan.
I make no apologies for the fact I want to be thinner, healthy thinner, not sick thinner. A slender friend ( that’s you Kym!) has chastised me for being a fan of thin, I sympathise with those who’d like to gain weight, but that’s never been my problem.
I’ve always struggled to keep my weight in check. I love my food and wine rather too much, I’ve struggled to keep my weight down with lots of running and a fair bit of starvation. Silly, self obsessed girly that I am.
In the build up to this trip I piled on the weight, I was over 70Kg, 11 stone ish, the heaviest I’ve ever been. I knew what was causing it, sitting at a computer all day. It’s a great way to become unhealthy. That and getting older. The extra weight made me miserable, uncomfortable and hot. I knew that once we hit the road it would melt away, so I didn’t stress too much.
I worked out years ago that travel makes me thinner. Not just adventurous, outdoor-activity-climbing-up-mountains travel. I did a lot of that, any sort of travel seems to have the same effect . ( I have never been on a cruise or any sort of all-inclusive holiday, that just wouldn’t work!)
Only 6 weeks into our trip my trousers were falling down and the “thin-clothes” I’d brought with me fitted perfectly. I weighed myself on luggage scales in Bangkok , 62Kg. 8 to 10Kg had melted away in under 2 months. Not bad!
Here are my 1o reasons travel makes me thinner. Not just thinner, healthier, that’s got to be good. I’m eating less processed food, less sugar, less wheat and my caffeine levels are way lower. The meals we are enjoying in S. E. Asia are delicious, lighter, healthier and packed with vegetables. No fish and chips and pizza these days. I feel great and, dare I say it, younger.
1. When I wake up at 2am, or 6am, or any am before 8, there is nothing to eat. My tummy may be growling but there is nothing in the fridge other than water. The restaurant opens at 8, I have to wait ’till breakfast. Same goes for those of you who suffer from late night munchies. Unless you want a walk in the dark, you’re stuffed.
2. Eating in restaurants 3 times a day means portion control is taken care of for me. I get what I pay for and it’s usually enough ( I don’t think this would work in the US!). I can’t polish off what’s still left in the pan, no willpower required.
3. Meals are events when they’re eaten in a restaurant. They take time and I really enjoy my food. I can’t wolf down a nondescript sandwich standing up. I get to sit down and enjoy a bowl of Tom Yum and a beer. Meals are something to look forward to and I feel like I’ve eaten.
4. No snacking between meals. No fridge full of goodies to tempt me. If I want extra food I have to go buy something, I usually don’t want it badly enough to search for it or pay for it.
5. Our budget holds me back. We eat enough and we eat well, but I’m not going to waste money on food we don’t need.
6. A mid morning coffee with a chocolate muffin doesn’t happen any more. Not having a kettle is a blessing in disguise. I have 2 coffees with a very leisurely breakfast. That’s my caffeine for the day. ( When we are near a Starbucks we break this rule, and it’s SO good!). Fizzy drinks aren’t nearly as delicious as fresh fruit shakes, another healthy bonus.
7. Sometimes I skip meals, if I feel like it. I know it’s good for our budget so if I don’t feel like eating when we need to feed the kids, I don’t.
8. Spending so much time sitting in restaurants shrinks our mornings and afternoons. It’s very easy to fill that between meal time with work, swimming, exploring or whatever else we’re doing. No time to get bored and look for snacks.
9. Physical activity levels are maybe higher. I can easily spend all day in the water here on Ko Phangan, not swimming, just leisurely playing and snorkelling. In cities we walk a lot, we have no car, that makes a huge difference. I regularly end up giving a child a piggy back if they’re tired. Pushing a child on a beach swing for hours must be doing something, too. Sometimes I carry around 20Kg of bags, I guess that’s a sort-of work out.
10. On travelling days, those days spent on buses, trains and planes, food isn’t always available. I take snacks for the kids, hungry kids are grumpy kids, but I often don’t bother for myself. I’d rather have proper food than peanuts and milk drinks. So I wait.
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It’s not rocket science is it? Just those dietary rules that we all know and choose to avoid. Eat good food, don’t snack, control portions and only eat when you’re hungry. I feel so much better, my clothes are comfortable and I really do feel younger. It’s all good!
