Summer hike near Juan de Fuca Trail, Victoria, British Columbia

Travel for Weight Loss…More Fun than Diets and the Gym

I weighed in at 100kgs when I left Canada – that’s about 220 pounds – and I am 1.88 m tall (6’2” for old timers). I mention this because it has a certain amount of importance to the entire story. Despite my more or less active lifestyle in Canada while at university, the biking and walking just hadn’t done what I had hoped they would: slough off the excess. The goal was to get back to a leaner 88kg as my back was complaining from the excessive dimension of my stomach, and my knees, although not vociferous, did wave the odd yellow flag. I guess the food I had been consuming had been too rich, and my activity insufficient to burn it off. When I returned from South America, I was 88kg. I accomplished in 2 months something that I had not been able to do in 6 months at home. I ate normal, 3 meals a day, but it was the constant activity, the non-stop walking and hiking, that finally did the job. What’s also surprising is that during my entire trip I did not fall sick even once (not counting problems with the altitude). I never had an upset stomach, nor did I catch any cold or flu despite the fact that there were plenty of days when it felt as though I would never be warm again. I walked through cloudbursts, freezing temperatures and hot and humid conditions, yet managed to stay well – a fit body has its benefits.

Refreshing dessert and smoothie

Corn and Cuisine

The food in South America varies widely, with each region offering a distinct flavour, even though a lot of the main dishes are based on plenty of corn – and I will confess that there were days when I was glad that I didn’t have to see or taste corn for at least one or two meals. I ate in nice restaurants, in markets, in small local eateries, at the homes of friends, and at road-side stands. For the first few days in Bogota I was lucky that I had a friend who showed me around the city and who was generous enough to take me to different places to experience the local cuisine, while on the long over-night bus rides the late-night stops at road-side restaurants always led to a new culinary discovery. On the few occasions that I did long-haul travel during the day, the service on the bus included snacks, packaged ‘lunches’ and plenty of water and juice.

Thinking about it now that I mention water and juice, perhaps one of the reasons I did not come down with any form of stomach bug is that I drank only bottled or boiled water. More importantly, that’s nearly all I drank, and plenty of it. I brought with me 2 water bottles that I had originally used on my bicycle in Canada. They fit into the side-pockets of my small day-pack perfectly, and each morning I would fill them up. Two liters of water is what I had been used to in Asia, and while in Canada I pretty much maintained that level of intake even though I wasn’t sweating nearly as much. In South America, that ‘conditioning’ served me very well in several locations – I always had water on hand – and it was brought home full force how necessary it is to remain hydrated when I traveled through Uyuni and the Atacama desert – 3 liters of water per day was the minimum I consumed in those locations, and still I was dehydrated, my lips cracked, and my skin flaking.

Crossing the border from Chile into Argentina

Another Trip for (Physical) Well Being?

I started this column by talking about my weight, and despite all the good food I enjoyed on my trip, I did manage to get down to a weight level where I felt absolutely comfortable – it cost me money when I had to buy all new pants and shirts at the end of the trip, but it felt good to be slimmer, and healthier. I am not advocating going on a diet, nor am I pushing weight loss, the only thing I am saying is that for me, being leaner is so much more comfortable, and the level of fitness I was at certainly had its benefits when it came to a lot less complaining from my back and consistently green flags from my knees. It’s a lesson I suppose in realizing that as we get beyond 30, staying in shape is not nearly so easy. I have since slipped back to 93 kg, and am furiously working away at getting back down to that oh so comfortable 88. Maybe I should go on another 1-month trip.