Why I didn’t gain weight on vacation

When you travel to another country, you have an idea of what you will be eating but you never really know until you experience it. Portugal serves some of the richest dishes I’ve ever tasted. They move at a much slower pace and our tour guides were so passionate about their country’s culture, history, food, wine, and faith. It was amazing.

Our motorcycle tour took us around most of the country. We saw it all and experienced it all. And on a motorcycle, you not only see the back roads but get to experience all the smells – the pine trees and some of their other plants were so fragrant.

On this trip everything was planned. We had a tour guide leading us and a van following us with all our luggage. Each night we were in a different location and hotel. They even pre-selected our dinner. The only decision I had to make in 12 days was if I wanted another glass of wine – yes please!

The earliest dinner was at 8:00pm. Their dinners last at least two hours and end with dessert and coffee. Each night I went to bed on a full stomach.

So how is it that I could not gain weight? I have three ideas that I believe to be true.

1. Living the FASTer Way to Fat Loss lifestyle has turned me into a fat burner instead of a sugar burner. This allows me to burn off fat quicker and easier. This lifestyle also has me intermittent fasting and drinking at least half my body weight in water. Fasting was not a problem. I did not have breakfast at the hotel, and it wasn’t until 2:00 before we had lunch. The water was more of a challenge. You can’t drink water while on the back of a motorcycle but as soon as we had a break, I was drinking water. I also did the 30-minute workouts almost each morning and walked as much as possible when touring castles, churches, and other points of interest. I am so thankful for the FASTer Way lifestyle.
2. If you have ever been to Europe, I think you will agree that they process food completely differently than we do in the states. While I consumed a lot of bread, I believe it did not contain gluten like we have in our breads. Gluten is inflammatory and causes bloating.
3. This third reason was my biggest “ah-ha” of all. In the FASTer Way we talk a lot about handling stress and lowering our cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that plays an important role in regulating our body’s stress response. It helps control our body’s use of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates (our macronutrients) or metabolism. When cortisol is raised it includes rapid weight gain especially for women in their abdomen. Cortisol gives us the “flight or fight” symptoms such as increased blood pressure, heart rate, muscle tension and a halt to digestive system functions. In Portugal they move at a much slower pace than I do. And while on this trip, I spent my days on the back of the motorcycle or touring points of interest saying “WOW.” Daily it was jaw dropping “WOW” sights. There was continuous beauty all around me. In other words – I had no stress. As I said earlier, everything was planned for me. I didn’t have to make decisions and I had no stress. I never realized how much cortisol I was producing – until now.

This newfound discovery has me even more determined to continue to lower my cortisol and react to stressful situations differently. I’m over my jet lag but still on my vacation high. I’m going to hang onto it for as long as possible.

If you are at all interested in learning more about the FASTer Way lifestyle, I would love to have a conversation with you. I have a new round that begins on Monday.

Cheers to your next vacation.