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December 11, 2021

When going on holiday, we are always willing to eat a little more, commit excesses and eventually forget a little about the limitations imposed by our daily diet. Calories take a back seat.

We always tell ourselves: whatever, we are on holiday! A ship is a great way to travel, relax, have fun and where the gastronomy is usually particularly good. However, the constant barrage of food and drink means that our calorie intake is high and this on average means that we return with excess baggage: usually a couple of kilos at least! I’m not saying we should overdo it, but it is possible to enjoy your holiday to the utmost without coming home overweight.

 

The point of this article is not to make you forget about all the delicacies that are presented to you, but rather to make sure that you learn to enjoy yourself without gaining weight. So here are 10 basic tips on how to maintain your weight during your cruise.

1 Salt is a terrible element.

It’s not that salt itself makes you fat, but it’s usually a condiment that over-seasoned all the gastronomy on ships. There are several urban legends, for which it is used without limitation: one of them is that the cuisine of large ships are usually rather industrialized and not prepared down to the minute and involve freezing and thawing processes, microwaves, large quantities and preparations several hours in advance, which means that the ingredients, even if of good quality, do not arrive at the table in optimal conditions. If most of the ingredients are not masked with salt, sauces and other seasonings, the dish is usually bland. Salt retains liquids and consequently makes you fat, but there is another important reason.

The more salt you add to your food, the more thirsty you will be. Most cruises do not include drinks, which means that you will be willing to order more and more drinks and so the company makes money. Ask for low-salt, low-process dishes. Your body will appreciate it.

2 Alcohol is another element that makes you gain a lot of weight on a cruise. It’s not a question of not drinking anything at all, but of controlling your consumption. Don’t deprive yourself of wine at mealtimes, but try to make do with half a glass, and prevent the waiter from refilling your glass again and again.

Don’t think that non-alcoholic cocktails will help you keep your shape. No, not at all, because if they don’t contain alcohol, they will be loaded with syrups, sugars and artificial fruit juices, which are ultimately harmful. A glass of champagne, a good wine or non-alcoholic beer are much better than huge cocktails in bright colours, which hide large amounts of sugar.

 

3 The myth of sugar-free sweets. They may be suitable for diabetics because they are sugar-free, but don’t be fooled; what makes sweets fat is not just the sugar, but the flours, creams and butters that make sugar-free sweets real calorie bombs. It’s not a question of not eating sweets at all, but of measuring them out and above all trying to eat them in small quantities. Try to eat them only once a day and replace them at other meals with sorbets, yoghurt, fruit and other lighter desserts such as jelly beans.

4 Dead calories are one of the biggest dangers. The damage is not just in the food itself, but in the intake of dozens of kilos of bread between meals.

Try to limit and avoid bread, or preferably eliminate it completely from your diet, because it is usually accompanied by delicious natural butter, which is placed on the table. Snacking on bread and butter can be as calorific as the meal itself. Beware of accompaniments. Chips, pasta, rice are superfluous. Combine it with grilled meat and fish and naturally cooked vegetables.

5 Starters: beware! Even if you try the signature specials, avoid a number of starters in restaurants which are usually based on butters, creams and cheeses. Also avoid excessive consumption of carbohydrates during the night, such as pasta laden with creams and cheeses. Pasta with seafood is just as delicious and is more digestible. Try to eat salads frequently, but watch out for dressings that may contain cheese and cream, such as Caesar salad and others that have fatty elements such as nuts, croutons and other high-calorie additives such as fried bacon strips.

6 The secret is in small portions.

You can try many dishes, but not necessarily the whole menu. Fish, shellfish, salads and vegetables should be present above all in the accompaniments. At dinner we should focus our attention on the single dish, trying not to go for the whole buffet, and try everything, but in small portions.

7 A sacred recommendation of many great nutritionists: Water is an excellent ally as a purifier.

8 The much disparaged gym. It is said that the gym is a place on board ships that all passengers ask for when they board and forget about as soon as the ship sails. Try to use it as much as possible without having to do much exercise and effort.

As I said at the beginning, you’re on holiday and you won’t feel like it, but I liked other more playful activities such as making regular use of the swimming pool, walking around the deck several times, taking part in the sporting activities offered on the ship or simply going round the ship up and down the stairs. The walks on shore excursions were also useful.

9 Start the day right. We know that ships are usually Anglo-Saxon, or in any case we can find bacon, sausages, eggs, etc. on them. Don’t start the morning with such heavy dishes, but follow a Mediterranean diet and have a typical Spanish breakfast, containing at least fruit, some cereals, and some whole-wheat bread. Pastries are not your enemy, eating a plate full of them is!

10 Food events. Don’t go to all events; a healthy, varied diet should contain or include five meals, with moderate portions. On ships, if we go to all the food events, we might eat 7 or 8 times a day. Plus snacks by the pool, afternoon tea, midnight buffet. Do we really need to stuff ourselves with sweets at midnight at the buffet before going to bed? Do we need to fill up on sweets at tea or snack time? Do we need to go to the pool and constantly eat pizza, burgers or ice cream? Not really.

As a general tip though always ask your doctor in advance, there are a number of diet products that block carbohydrates, fat or a combination of both. They are usually cleansing and are an additional help when consuming more calories than necessary. They usually offer a 50% absorption of the elements. And don’t get obsessed. Just be careful, but have fun!

Discover more tips, advice and cruise reviews on Cruising Journal, with photos and videos.

Francisco Camino

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