I have a busy weekend ahead, a big wedding for very very good friend's daughter (I have a fab dress I can't wait to wear). Then Monday I'm off to Brussels for 2 weeks for business.

I love Europe I really do - the food is so exquisite and served in elegant portions, every bite fabulous and no ridiculous quantities. The hotel is about 3/4 of a mile from the office and a very nice walk in the morning and back again at night, just enough to get the blood moving.

I always work long hours there - but the perk is a lovely meal out often with friends from work. I plan to do a weekend excursion to Holland to see the tulips - it's that time of year and I'm a big gardener and will enjoy it.

But give me strength! I've been so *on* with eating healthy and exercising regularly. I just want to keep that good feeling going and busy business days can play havoc.

Cindy, that sounds lovely! Walk, walk, walk! Remember, the exquisite food really is served in reasonable portions, there really are vegetables and fruits rather than just pastries, and it really is impossible to regain all your weight in two weeks! Another important rule I try to follow when I've been in France: croissant are not just a vehicle for butter

My biggest problem when I've traveled in Europe is breakfast. I need protein, and the usual hotel fare is a big basket of interesting breads and coffee. I guess it really depends on the size of the hotel at which you are staying, but I found that telling the concierge the night before that I was allergic to wheat brought all sorts of wonderful treats. I would be served a slice of salmon and a bowl of berries, while the rest of my family stared in disbelief. Unfortunately that means you really can't try to cram a croissant into your mouth while no one is looking!

Have a wonderful time, keep walking, take a resistance band along if you want to do a few resistance exercises, and have FUN! (and do some work if you have to....) Please post pics of the tulips

I just spent 1.5 weeks in Singapore. Don't let people kid you about "healthy" Asian food, I find almost all the dishes revoltingly greasy. Everything is fried, all chicken has the skin on it. Although, to be fair, there were always tons of beautiful fruit options.

Anyhow, I tried to make some healthy choices (breakfast especially) and I did less snacking than usual but I did participate in some glorious all you can eat buffets (where I tasted almost everything!). The scale says exactly the same weight as when I left.

I always tell myself it wasn't 1 week of all you can eat buffets that made me heavy, it was my 24/7 unhealthy lifestyle.

I also survived a 4 week trip to Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo in the fall and actually LOST weight while I was there. This astounded me because I really wanted to experience Tokyo and ate a LOT while I was there.

You will be fine. The walks to and from work will do you good. I try not to "reward" myself with food much anymore, but I would definitely take advantage of any trip to Europe to try all sorts of new things.

You can't go to to Belgium and not have chocolate and waffles, believe me That might not be what you're looking for, but I always believe in treating myself to stuff that I can't get (or at least can't get the same quality of) at home when I'm away! Just as long as I don't bring the bad habits back with me, how much harm can a couple of slips do as long as I do some exercise and try to make vaguely sensible decisions...

:-) Thanks for the words both of wisdom and enjoyment - yes indeed some Belgian chocolate is in order. I am really not a huge chocolate person at all, but I love it when they serve a bite or two with coffee after dinner.

The hotel where I will stay is lovely, very new and they have a terrific breakfast buffet thing. When I was there last time I could get eggs easily and they had the most wonderful little cups of berries including things like currants with raspberries and blackberries. Outstanding so I look forward to that again. I just can't get into those cold cuts in the morning at all and fish never appeals to me early either - but there are plenty of other choices and yes indeed there are loads of wonderful fruits and vegies at every turn, plus great yogurt.

I did buy a little travel set of resistance bands a year or so ago, finally broke them out and used them here a number of times and was quite impressed with what a good workout I could get in with them, so the little bag and exercise sequence instructions are getting packed and should work well with the walking. I know the hotel has an exercise room as well, but it is always hard with schedules to get in there.

And then there is the airplane ride - has anyone flown business class to Europe? Gah the food - they feed you like 4 times on the 8 hour flight and keep your wine glass full. It feels so wasteful to not eat some of that stuff as the flights cost a fortune, but of course we know that waste goes to the waist (more like hips and thighs for me).

Anyway I'm looking forward to it totally and want to look for a wonderful tapestry to hang over my fireplace in our 2 story great room which I'm in the process of redecorating - love wandering those ancient streets and looking at those old old old buildings. It's like being in a fairy tale.

Hi Cindy,

Speaking from holland... come along! We are just having some decent weather with SUN for a change!!! And you'll have to be quick to go to Keukenhof (I guess that is where you are heading to see the flowers, it is indeed THE place to go and see if you like bulb flowers). Some of the bulbs in my fgarden are already past their bloom. But keukenhof I believe plants different kinds so they always have a great display.

Don't miss out on the belgian chocolates, and the great belgian food. And flying business is much better than flying economy...trust me. In economy I always pack my own water bottle, and sometimes a sandwich so at least I'll get one decent bite to eat. Talking about strange habits: I miss my cold cuts & bread in the morning if i am in the US, and I'm always utterly amazed when the airplane people offer my icecream in mid morning. probabely just what you're used to...

have a great trip,
rabbit

I spent about six weeks traveling around Asia a couple years ago, and OMG, Singapore has the best pineapple ever! I drank so much pinapple juice in Singapore! I think it's easy to lose weight in Japan if you are on a budget, because unless you're eating noodles, the portions are tiny and expensive. OTOH, since everything cost so much, when I was there I ate a lot of ramen, bread, and ice cream. (This was before I switched to a healthy lifestyle, BTW! )

But it's true, not all Asian food is healthy. My guess is that (in some places at least) there is a difference between what people cook for themselves at home and what people eat when they go out to a restaurant.

Anyway, I don't have any good suggestions for the trip to Europe . . . I am notoriously bad at staying OP during trips.

That's so funny I rarely "drink" calories (aside from a daily non fat latte) but I am a total sucker for freshly squeezed juice in Singapore. I stayed at a place that had the BEST freshly squeezed pineapple juice - they added a tiny bit of ginger to it. It was AMAZING!

Just popping my head in to say how much I love reading about all of your travel experiences and I cannot wait until it is my turn...someday!

I too absolutely LOVE to travel! I know that there can be healthy choices available in Europe -- just the other temptations are definitely there! Keep in mind that the GREAT thing is that weight gain isn't permanent! So, enjoy yourself (but don't binge!) and keep some perspective so that you really have a good time without focusing on the food.
Bon voyage!

I actually lost a decent amount of weight in Belgium; absolutely loved walking thru. the lovely parks.

I brought my resistance tube and used it every other day for a pretty substantial strength workout. I saved WW points for a nightly relaxing beer in a cafe on the Grand Place. For food, I tried to find whole grains as often as possible, eat big salads where available and snack on fat free yogurt with a little muesli.

Enjoy your trip!

Hi Cindy,

I'm not a maintainer, but saw your post and wanted to tell you that you shouldn't worry!

Six years ago I spent three weeks in Europe (France, Switzerland, Germany, and Holland) on a business trip (this was about one year before I packed on the weight that I am trying to lose, and the trip had nothing to do with my gain). Similar to you, I worked very long hours. My days were typically ~14 hours and I had just a few days off during the entire trip. But not only did I maintain my weight, I discovered when I returned home that I lost a bit. Not sure why. Probably the smaller portions, probably the extra walking. Possibly the better food quality (compared to much of the food we have in the U.S.). I ate dessert daily, usually ice cream after lunch and some wonderful chocolate pastry thing after dinner. And we flew business-class, taking complete advantage of all that was offered.

I've read some of your postings and I don't doubt that you will have the strength to make wise food choices with a few "treats" here and there. Walk everywhere, use your resistance bands, and enjoy yourself!!

Hi Cindy--

Have fun on your trip! Do you run at all? How about starting the day with a brisk run followed by a cool-down walk to the office? You'll be fine, I'm sure, just wanted to offer a thought...