Losing weight on a diet of cheese and chocolate

By Jen

I’m back from a ten day trip to England and I can report that, in spite of eating far too much excellent cheese and delicious chocolate, I lost 1.5 pounds while I was gone.  Believe me, I was fully expecting to get on the scales this morning and discover that I’d gained weight, not lose it.  I reflected on this during my walk this morning and believe I can attribute my weight loss to the following:

• First of all, what I’ve learned from Weight Watchers and from reading this blog is that portion control is critical.  I ate whatever I wanted when we went out, but I didn’t stuff myself.  This was particularly helpful during our last dinner in the country, when I ordered roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
• Second, I got in a nice walk almost every day of the trip.  In London in particular, we easily logged 2-3 miles each day.  Even on the last day, when we walked a kajillion steps in the halls of Heathrow.  I fully count that as exercise, because my heart rate was definitely elevated.
• Third, I made a point to eat fruits and veggies every day.  We visited several nice markets and stocked up on supplies, including apples, grapes, and bananas.
• Fourth, I avoided the infamous English breakfast of eggs, sausage, and ham most days.  In fact, I did it only once and decided that granola with fruit was an excellent day to start my day.
• Finally, I made a point to drink lots of water.  We had refillable water bottles with us and I usually had one with me at all times.

I wasn’t perfect on our trip.  I ate chocolate every day and more than once every day.  We also consumed a lot of excellent cheese.  In fact, many days, we would have cheese, bread, apples, and chocolate as our lunch.

So I’m pleased that I have not come home heavier than when I left and I’m excited about continuing this trend.  I’m about to go to the grocery store and stock up on good foods, including lots of vegetables and fruits.  I do also have an assortment of British chocolates in my pantry, but I’m not actually feeling inclined to eat them.  Yet.