Cruising is synonymous to buffet meals and overeating. According to a fitness coach on the Norwegian Sun, the average person gains one to two pounds per day on a cruise. Which means, if you are on an eleven-day cruise you would have the potential of gaining 22 pounds.
Hedonic eating happens while cruising because food is readily available, free, and comes in great variety. We eat for enjoyment and entertainment as well and its no wonder almost eighty percent of us are overweight.
So when we saw the sign up sheet outside the gym on the first full day of our cruise for “Detox for health and weight loss” we immediately signed up. It was definitely worth the one hour of lecture.
Walking out of the lecture we discovered the trilogy of good health- exercise, nutrition and detox. Here are five ways we keep the weight off while we cruise:
One: No soda or sugared water
Absolutely no sugar water in our 11-day diet because each can of soda or sweet tea contains about 40 grams (4 tablespoons) of fructose corn syrup or sugar. Do you know it takes 36 cups of water to drain out all the acidity from a can of soda? Our body may be sick and tired because of the acidity and toxicity from the food and drinks we consume.
You save money and calories when you drink just water while cruising. Water has the ability to hydrate and flush out toxins from our body.
Two: High fiber food
Constipation is one of the main problems in America today. What we put in must come out but some people are finding it hard to do so. If we eat three meals a day, it means 21 meals in a week. If we go to the bathroom once a day, we are left with 14 meals still in our gut.
What if you don’t go once a day?
Toxins are built up when food is stored in our body if it is not being eliminated daily. Toxicity and acidity are poisons to our liver and whole body. Eating fruits and vegetables in every meal is essential. Most of those huge bellies we have may be due to stored up waste. Our guts are overflowing and they are making us sick. In the “Oliver” musical, the kids sang about three banquets a day and indigestion.
We took every opportunity to jog and walk every day. All cruise ships have well-equipped gyms and exercise programs like yoga, stretching, bicycling and Pilates. Usage of gym is free but for a small fee of $10 to $15 per person anyone can join the daily exercise programs.
Swimming is another form of exercise onboard a cruise ship. You could even hire a personal trainer for your daily workout.
Four: Nutritional Supplements
We brought nutritional supplements even on a cruise. Three essential supplements that we used daily were NingXia Red wolfberry drink, Life 5 Probiotic and Essentialzyme.
These products help with digestion and promote energy in our body and mind. NingXia Red is a superfruit supplement containing essential oil and puree wolfberry. We take it for the antioxidant and phytonutrients that help provide natural energy supply and aid with liver health. Essentialzyme helps with digesting the over abundance of protein we consumed every day during cruising. It helps balance our body’s overall enzyme activity and digestive health. Last but not least is Life 5 probiotic that supports core intestinal health.
Five: Take the stairs and take a walk (don’t eat the bread)
Instead of taking the elevators, walk the stairs. Walk after every meal and let go of as much carb as possible particularly any type of bread including whole wheat bread.
After 11 days of good food and great life, I gained three pounds. I guess that is really not bad considering I overate and had dessert for lunch and dinner everyday. What do you think of cruises and weight gain?
My first cruise I gained 7 pounds in 7 days, so your statistics were spot on for me! http://happyhoyt.blogspot.com/2012/03/alaskan-cruise-holland-america-line.html
Since then I have been on two more cruises and am happy to report that I hardly gained any weight at all. On the second two I followed the above rules much better, especially taking the stairs, walking and exercising. Something I did none of on the first cruise.
That's impressive Sonja...no weight gain on your second and third cruises. Thanks for sharing 🙂
It's very hard not to gain weight on a cruise - especially with all that food around. You've included some good tips. We also make it a point never to take the elevator, and always walk the stairs (helps a little :-). If you like cruising, you may want to see our latest travel blog post on the small ship line Voyages to Antiquity: http://www.sandinmysuitcase.com/reveling-in-ruins-on-voyages-to-antiquity-cruise/
Thanks for sharing Janice and George.