Travel “Win”

springlering62

Five years in maintenance this month, excluding the period I dropped too, too low. Five years in a size 4, small or XS. Five years without having to gnaw on “its mail order, so will it fit”, because it generally does.

We just got back from a couple of weeks in Romania, including a week long tour with a friend where we literally ate 4-6,000 calories a day of farm to table everything. Btw, hot tip: Cheese fanciers: check out Telemea (if you can find it)

Stupidly, three days before we left, I had to use or lose a DEXA scan I prepaid a year ago. I went in all hot and fancy thinking I would ace it. Came slinking out. The fat % was unbelievably high and I was devastated- til I realized, I’d had an unusually massive lunch with a friend an hour before, was with my trainer for a hour and then done two classes that morning, and had sucked down a quart or two of water afterwards because I’m trying to be mindful of my (diagnosed) dehydration issue. All are supposed to affect DEXA results.

Still, I left feeling “fat” because of my scan results and the calories we ate made me feel ugly, floppy, all of it. I felt swollen and bloated and saw Fat Me the few times I risked looking in the mirror.

My “win” is, I came home only five pounds heavier than I left, and in less than a day and a half, half of that is already gone.

I’ve already grocery shopped and gotten all my old faves, and am back to workout and snack/meal schedule. There’s always that niggling worry that I won’t be able to work out and all those calories may have “broken” my will to go back.

Nope. In spite of all the great telemea, the outstanding ciorba soups and stews, the homemade sausages and breads and the buckets of fresh tomatoes I ate, it’s a fekking relief to get back to normal.


My goal is to get back to where I was before we left, just in time for the next trip, and the visit from the overseas daughter, who will want all her faves from home (Chikfila the moment she leaves the airport, for example!)

And best of all, I have wonderful memories -and photos- of the outstanding food!



Me, in Romania. 🤣🤣🤣

lesdarts180

This is so great to hear! I am also a long term maintainer - just over 5 years now. I have had several holidays in that time (obviously not so many during 2020 and 2021) and each time I have gained a little and lost it quite quickly. This time I'm in Kos (Greek island) for 3 weeks! We have hired bikes so we have been out and about quite a bit and I swim in the hotel pool or the sea every day, but I've also been eating all the delicious food!

We have a self catering apartment but the kitchen facilities are rubbish so we eat out every evening. We do self cater a simple breakfast and lunch most days. One week in so far - I wonder what the damage will be when I get home and get on the scale?

springlering62

We’ve gotten in the habit of a Ploughman’s lunch the last couple trips. A simple loaf of good bread and a chunk of cheese. No utensils needed is a bonus.

Our other thing is dipping into a Lidl, or other small grocery chain for a grab’n’go salad. We either halve the dressing or toss it completely.

Romania was different because it was a very bread and cornmeal (polenta aka mammaliga) based diet. Even the street snacks were various iterations of the same bread dough- fried and sprinkled with sugar, as hand pizzas, or “Covrigi” ( similar to Bavarian pretzels but round and covered in sunflower or poppy seeds, or sweet.) Meals came with giant baskets of bread. We went with it and I’m glad we did, although it kind of got wearing after a while. Me, the person who cries “I miss bread the most!”







Polenta fresh from the ashes of the fire. The white blocks are telemea sheep cheese made on site. (It was a shepherd’s hut up on the mountain.)

cmriverside

I love the pictures! Such a lovely and interesting carb spread. Where's the fig preserves? Or is that just my own personal obsession?

I have to say, you have a look of guilty pleasure! :flowerforyou:

cmriverside

...and the lady in the blue apron looks like every drug-pusher auntie at every holiday dinner!

springlering62

The lady in the blue apron is our group guide. She’s no bigger than a minute, but yes, encourages us to try everything and experience the culture fully. We’ve done several trips with her- Ukraine, Georgia, and have already put in our request for Moldavia if she goes there.

In that photo, we’d been to visit a small herd of milk goats, and the grandmother of our young goatherd (?) had put out a table, every chair in the house, homemade ayrop to mix with water, and poppy seed cake walnut cake, and apple cake. Our other guide looked at the spread, announced “she only makes these for very special celebrations” and proceeded to happily tuck in.

No fig preserves. The guesthouse had a large raspberry patch so we had fresh preserves every morning. They are also very big on blueberry preserves. I brought home four jars. 😊

The other all-day spread was zacusca: drained and pounded smoked eggplant, tomatoes, a little onion. Divine. I brought a wooden pounding “knife” home because I’m determined to make some. But I brought a couple jars of ready-made home, too.

cmriverside

So awesome. Thanks!

Retroguy2000

Very nice. Those bread foods look so tempting. I'd hope to see more meats and fish to keep the protein up though.

Were you more active than normal, more steps? On my latest trip to visit family, instead of just not doing much activity as normal, I went out for a walk every day and did a short daily resistance workout with bands too. I still gained a few pounds, because of the ABSURD amount of chocolate, heh, but the extra activity definitely helped keep it within reason.

springlering62

I did an early morning yoga practice several mornings, but other than that we walked. It was tougher on my husband because he usually does 10,000’ish, but I was recording about 18,000 a day, although on farm tracks, at gravelled markets, hills etc. That’s what I do on most days anyway, although on flat pavement.

I did notice a real oddity in România. There’s a real tendency towards obesity, as much or worse than the USA, but OTOH there’s many people- mostly under 25’s, I’d guess- who were so thin, I could have easily clasped their waist and my fingers would have touched. To my eyes, they looked fragile and malnourished, but weren’t. Most were well dressed and fashionable.

We sat in the Square for hours watching kids and pigeons playing in the fountain. (The rural areas were simply fabulous, but tourism things I read oversold the joys of the city we visited, so we were killing time, though enjoyably. Lots of gelato involved.) Every time I saw one of these hyper thin teens and young adults, I kept wondering, where do they buy clothes in this size? A US size zero would have hung on them. No exaggeration.

Mentioned it to my trainer and she was wondering if it’s a cultural thing. Like in some cultures fat babies or even rolls of fat are an indication of wealth. It was very striking, shocking, even. I’ve never seen anyone that thin in the US, much less several score of them.

mtaratoot

I might not have come back home.....

That hot oil on the open fire looks dangerous.

springlering62

Back from round two of travel. Lots of souvenirs including a rather virulent virus that went from a crazy intestinal bug straight into my joints.

My joints and bottoms of my feet are swollen and tender. I’ve had something similar before and I’m afraid I reverted to the earlier “eat my misery” solution.

Earlier rounds are one of the reasons I became obese. Unable to get out of a chair and drowning my sorrows in sweets.

With travel weight, swollen feet/ankles/knees/hands, and po’po’’pitiful me eating, I’m twelve pounds over where I want to be,

I think a lot of its swelling. I can still fit my clothes but they’re tight and I freaking look like I’m a pregnant sexagenarian.

Today, I’m recommitting to buckling back down. It’s not going to beat me this time. As long as a stay active and eat something besides reams of straight self pity sugar, I can control this this time.

Getting old sucks, but getting there with stiff joints and overweight again……nope. I’d rather suffer in the other direction, while aiming for better health.

springlering62

And PS. The other half of the Milka Maxx bar I was self medicating with last night went out in the trash this morning.

First NSV of rededication. ✔️

After guests leave, I’m purging the pantry, too. I’ll be damned if I’m going to be an “I’m Back!” poster.

cmriverside

oh, wow. Sorry to hear about the illness. Do you know what virus it was? I've never heard of that...

12 pounds is easily within a plane-trip-slight-overindulgence-but probably-mostly-inflammation range.

Sending healing vibes
:flowerforyou:

cmriverside

...we live and learn on that sick food, too. Well done pitching the danger food.

Lietchi

I'm also on the rededication track after going abroad - we've done it before, we can do it again and this time before it gets out of hand

SafariGalNYC

Hope you are feeling better @springlering62

I travel internationally every few months and something that has helped me - I do pre and probiotics for gut health and lots of water. Maybe also a limited anti inflammatory diet for a bit While your body heals?

Hope you are back feeling tip top soon! 🪴

mtaratoot

Getting sick while traveling sucks. Getting sick when you get home sucks, but not as bad as when you're supposed to be enjoying yourself.

I don't know what a Milka Max bar is, but I presume it has to do with chocolate. I don't think I could throw that out since it's food. Of course I'd be unlikely to have one in the house because I'm not motivated by sweets. I am much more likely to have potato chips or something similar. I wouldn't throw those out either, so that's why I have to be strong at the store and leave them on the shelf.

I know you'll get back on track. Don't stress about that right now though. Focus on getting well. Don't focus too hard - that takes energy! Get the right amount of rest, the right amount of mild activity, and eat plenty of healthy foods. I'm a big fan of miso broth when I'm unwell.

springlering62

Thanks, y'all.

It’s not Covid, Strep, or the flu because I was tested at both urgent care and in the ER because of symptoms for all three. The ER because my feet and ankles are so swollen they wanted to make sure it wasn’t clots from the flights. All clear.

No idea what it was, but Dr Google (!!!) says Traveler’s Diarrhea can cause something called Reactive Arthritis, and I tick all the boxes, right down to heel pain and blurry vision.

It’ll pass. I just have to boss it around.

Next time I visit a ‘Stan - which I’d love to despite this- I’ll brush my teeth with bottled water, refuse fresh fruit (they have big elaborate fruit platters for dessert, washed in tap water), and I’d sure not buy fresh squeezed pomegranate juice from a random dude with a press and a box of fruit in a park.

I’ll also be buying a Life Straw for all future travel, in case bottled water isn’t available.

Milka is a European chocolate brand. I had some in the freezer from three trips ago, which is a measure of my depths of self pity that I broke into the stash.

I am so barking sick of sugar. Even my GERD has spoken up.

SafariGalNYC

springlering62 wrote: »

Thanks, y'all.

It’s not Covid, Strep, or the flu because I was tested at both urgent care and in the ER because of symptoms for all three. The ER because my feet and ankles are so swollen they wanted to make sure it wasn’t clots from the flights. All clear.

No idea what it was, but Dr Google (!!!) says Traveler’s Diarrhea can cause something called Reactive Arthritis, and I tick all the boxes, right down to heel pain and blurry vision.

It’ll pass. I just have to boss it around.

Next time I visit a ‘Stan - which I’d love to despite this- I’ll brush my teeth with bottled water, refuse fresh fruit (they have big elaborate fruit platters for dessert, washed in tap water), and I’d sure not buy fresh squeezed pomegranate juice from a random dude with a press and a box of fruit in a park.

I’ll also be buying a Life Straw for all future travel, in case bottled water isn’t available.

Milka is a European chocolate brand. I had some in the freezer from three trips ago, which is a measure of my depths of self pity that I broke into the stash.

I am so barking sick of sugar. Even my GERD has spoken up.

Ouch. Been there. I do have to look into that life straw!! 👀

I have traveled all around India and the ‘Stans…. Ate street food, etc… towards the end of the trip when I thought I was invincible — ended up getting horribly ill —not at a shack….but after eating at a 4 star restaurant in Delhi. 🤦‍♀️