september 4 ->
The Travel Diet
Traveling on a budget is a great way to lose weight,
for three simple reasons:
1. Eating less,
2. Exercising more, and
3. Diarrhea
But #3 is the most important. While on the Kokoda
Track in Papua New Guinea, I lost an amazing 10 pounds
in less than a week, because all three weight loss
factors were in effect. But before all you fatties
start booking flights to PNG, please note: in addition
to weight loss, the Kokoda Track may result in DEATH.
Before we left Sydney to start the trip, Nori
and I
both had full physicals. I was shocked when the
doctor told me that I weighed 225 pounds! (The scale
at home had told me the same thing, but I was sure it
wasn't working.) Holy cow! I weighed more than my
Dad - who is four inches taller than me. I was
determined to get my weight back closer to 200 pounds,
and thought that traveling would be a great way to do
it.
#1: Eating Less
In developed countries, most budgets won't accommodate
eating out all the time - like it or not, you are soon
boiling broccoli and roasting eggplant in crowded
hostel kitchens. In developing countries (defined as
any nation without a Starbucks), you eat out more
often (kitchen facilities are hard to find), but the
meals are rarely as fattening as a Super Value Meal,
and often come with a bit of food poisoning or
diarrhea (see below). The exception to this is
Mongolia, where there are no Starbucks, but the food
is completely fat.
#2: Exercising More
I started the trip with an ambitious plan: each
morning, I would get up early and go for a jog. This
training regime lasted three days. Getting up early
is a pain in the butt. Carrying around an extra pair
of running shoes in my backpack is even worse. And
what am I going to do with my sweaty clothes? That's
right, stuff them into my bag. The real exercise
comes from simply lugging around your backpack
everywhere, and from the numerous hikes that you
somehow find yourself doing (even if you would drive
100 feet to the corner shop if you were at home).
#3: Diarrhea
In the first six months of travel, we have traveled
extensively on the Diarrhea Belt, a wide swath of land
encompassing much of China, India and Central Asia.
We weren't looking for incontinence; it found us.
Delhi Belly, Montezuma's Revenge, The Uzbek Quick-Step
(I made that up), the affliction goes by many names
but the effect is the same: rapid weight loss. One or
both of us had diarrhea in PNG, Australia, Mongolia,
China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. And we
haven't even made it to India yet!
Below, please find an advertisement for my diet
*********************************************
LOSE WEIGHT, and feel NOT-SO-GREAT You Too Can
Lose 10-20 Pounds - FAST and EASY with THE TRAVEL DIET
"Fad" diets - like the Atkins Diet
or the South Beach
Diet - come and go. Let's be honest: the only way to
lose weight, without changing eating habits or
exercising more, is to amputate. But I have
discovered a simple, natural way to lose weight, and I
can personally attest to its effectiveness.
* In 5 months, I lost more than 15 lbs!
It's called the Travel Diet. Simply visit any
of our Recommended Countries and eat and drink as you would
normally. Soon you will be "Running without Moving"
and shedding pounds!
*********************************************
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