Dieting isn’t about not eating. It’s about eating the right foods.
Mostly, what I’ve learned through the years is that less is more, but more often is better. Once your body knows it won’t go hungry, it has no need to store “fat”. Therefore dieting is simple, right?
HA! I know how to stock a pantry, I know fruits and vegetables, especially vegetables are unlimited on the diet intake charts. Starches, including bread, pasta and rice need to be monitored closely. Keep your protein consumption down to no more than the size of a deck of cards and stay away from sweets.
Again, simple, right?
I can also tell you, as wonderful as today’s canned meats are, there’s nothing like cutting into a juicy ribeye steak. My mouth is watering, even as I type this.
Insert dream cloud and you have my luscious steak, a giant baked potato (whoa, insert sweet potato as it’s healthier), some steamed broccoli and of course a sliver of cheesecake for dessert.
Excuse me as I go clean the drool from my chin.
This isn’t the diet of a cruiser in the islands unless of course you’re lucky enough to be dining on a mega yacht and can afford to fly in the entire cow in from the Midwest.
I’m learning to adjust, but it’s a slow process.
1) Grocery stores are more like glorified convenient markets stateside. Something like mom and pop shops with limited goods. All meat is frozen and placed in deep freezes. Mostly it’s a scary proposition in the best of circumstances.
2) Bakeries abound in the islands and are too tempting. Chocolate Croissants, Baguettes, Pizza. None of that whole wheat, healthy stuff, just good old fashioned doughy bread. My mouth is watering again.
3) Cheese, especially good French cheese (and wine) are in good supply. Can a person survive on bread and cheese alone? Some days….
4) Whereas, bananas and pineapples are plentiful, there’s also an abundance of fruits and vegetables I still can’t always identify, let alone the proper way to prepare the local fare. Can you say soursop or callaloo?
5) The heat and humidity make it unappealing to fire up the stove for much more than morning coffee.
We’ve been in the islands long enough to realize we need to adjust. We’ve tried our hand at what the locals eat with mixed reviews and we’ve made do with our stores aboard. Somewhere there’s the best of both worlds. I will persevere and take this crew from a state of famine, to one of feasting. I just need some more time. I guess we’ll stay in paradise until I figure it out.
Where have you been forced to adjust? How often does life send you curve balls that need your attention?
One great thing about cruising is the other cruisers. I found the when we ran out of something, there’d be another boat who would have it. One of our boating friends does all our baking (Mine never turns out well). We’ve definitely become less fussy about variety of foods. We do eat healthier on our boat than when we are on land. We also exercise more. If I had to vote, I vote for cruising being the healthier lifestyle. Can’t wait to get back on my boat in that fall.
This biggest adjustment comes each fall when we land in Florida, have left the calm Bahamas behind us, and have to face the volume of food, traffic, people, noise etc. It takes a while to get used to. 🙂
Kristina, I so agree with you. When we visited the Bahamas, we stocked most stuff on the boat. As we travel farther afield, knowing we won’t be coming back to the states for awhile, it does change the perspective some. I still take the quiet and challenges over the noise anyday.
I’ll ship you a cow Nancy! Us Midwesterners must stick together! =) I struggle with eating right, mainly because I’m usually too busy/tired to care. I can live on microwave popcorn for supper for weeks. Sandwiches are also my downfall, although I’ve gotten better to add some veggies in with the turkey and cheese. It takes effort!
Carrie, if I didn’t have to pay the customs import fees, I’d say set it up! I think just remembering the Veggies makes a big impact.
Eating healthy food (and drinking healthy drinks, ahem, limiting my sodas) is my battle year in, year out. I dislike cooking, so I just want things that are fast, easy, convenient. I’ll fix salads until my family balks . . . so I admire you and your efforts. 🙂
Bridgette, I completely understand the stuggle. Even when I like to cook, it’s hard, more so now when the produce is unfamiliar.
I’m laughing as I write. There’s always concessions– even in paradise.
Living in Thailand for the past 9 years has completely changed most of my eating habits. The land of chicken, pork, fish and odd looking veggies. I’ve adapted and for the better. Protions are much smaller and everything is spicy. No in the big cities you can gather much of what you miss from home, but at a price. I’ll admit I sometimes rush into a MacDonalds and scarf up a Big Mac but that doesn’t happen often and I usually regret it that night.
Great post Nancy! I do envy you and the Captain.
Thanks Dannie, and I completely understand your reaction. Until you live it, you really don’t appreciate the reality. It’s good to be open to new things.
An interesting array of fruits and veggies in the photo. I do recognize a FEW.
Life has a way of throwing curve balls on a regular basis. I try to adapt as I go. No sense fighting and fussing.
Carol, As I get used to the local produce I’ll introduce it more closely, until then, you’re better off not getting a close look. 😉
Changing your eating habits is one of the hardest things to do, not just because what your body is physically used to, but psychologically too. Last month my doctor put me on a no-grain, no-sugar diet. Talk about an adjustment. I was starving for 3 weeks before my body adjusted to the lesser substance of my meals (eating every 2 hours became a necessity). But when I have a bad day, boy do I miss cookies.
Angela, you’re right about your body getting used to the change, but it’s never easy. I do feel for you with cookies. Any chance you can do egg white kisses?
Oh, yikes. Although, I do love the names of the fruits (veggies?), soursop and callalo sound like fruits I’d make up for my fantasy books!
Why oh why do you have that pic of the chocolate croissant? It’s calling my name. I’d be in white food purgatory on those islands. And yes, one can live on French cheese alone. Well, not for very long, but I’m sure it is possible.
Keep experimenting, you’ll figure it all out. In the meantime, I hope you find an abundance of foods you enjoy eating that don’t take much heat preparation.