Weight!!!

Just a random question for all you fellow travelers, specifically the RTWers:

Do you find you gain weight on long trips, or lose weight???? O_o

Just curious

~Charissa

I lost 21 pounds in three months while backpacking through Europe last summer. Most of that was in the last 4-6 weeks, when the food budget got really tight.

My bf and I backpacked through Europe for several months. We ate the same stuff and had the same routine, but he lost 30 pounds and I gained 10. I've heard that guys tend to lose and girls tend to gain... not sure why that is. I know the cannolis got me in trouble in Sicily!

I've always lost weight, the most probably when I went trekking in Morocco in August. I was there only for 10 days and I'm not sure how much weight I've lost but it was like a freaking bootcamp, when I came back people were like WTF?

We've been on the road for about a month now and I am think I have lost around 10 pounds. This is most likely due to the fact that I am not snacking like I did at home. I hope that I will lose more.

All you lucky people...I gained fifteen pounds over three months because there was so much new food to try. The fact that I don't generally drink at all at home and drank quite a bit there probably had something to do with it too. But German beer is so tasty! And the lack of working out contributed. But then I went home and lost it all working seven days a week so I could go back...this time there will be less pig knuckles, goulash, kolsch, sangria, tortilla espanola, crusty bread, etc. or not.

that being said i did lose quite a bit of weight in scotland quite rapidly. they produce nothing that is close to edible. Prawn and mayonnaise sandwiches? Really? Bland sheep's intestines? Blagh.

We had no weight gain during our 7 month trip through central america. My husband lost a ton of weight which was probably a mixture of no snacking and a loss of muscle tone since he does physical work at home. I had lost quite a bit of weight before we left home and lost more weight the first few months of our trip due to an active lifestyle and a much lower calorie intake due to budget eating. As the trip went on, I felt like I was gaining weight but I think that was all in my head. As our trip went on, we managed to stay in more places where we had access to kitchens and cooked and snacked more and generally ate more. I can say, though, that during the entire trip, I did not make any effort to eat healthy ever. Central America is not really a great food destination, though and beans and rice are very filling.

I usually lose weight when I travel, despite the fact that I'll eat more sweets and drink as well. The fact that I walk a lot when away seems to make up for the extra calories. On my last trip to Japan (10 days long) this year, I lost about 6 lbs.

I'm on the losing weight side as well. I was down about 15 pounds after 4.5 months of traveling and camping through North America this summer. In one week at my parents I've already gained 10 of them back. For me it's been a combination of being much more active while on the road and eating less. Preparing meals is such a hassle that I usually end up going with the same easy meals everyday.

I've also heard, and witnessed, the saying that guys lose weight and girls gain on the road. Seems there is a reason the same came to be.

In Thailand I always lose weight, even though it's my favorite food, and I eat like a pig there. Maybe partly because I only eat about a quarter of the steamed rice served, and very limited fried rice/noodle dishes.

In Mexico I always gain. Can not stay away from taco stands cooking carne asada over fire - in addition to all the other great food there.

Everywhere else I seem to stay about the same.

That's interesting about men losing and women gaining. Wonder why that is.
I'm a gal that usually loses.
I lose muscle as I can't really lift while traveling. That sucks and makes me feel fatter, even though I'm not. I eat significantly more than I would at home; thus far I've only traveled to countries where I like the food. I'm more active though...I walk a ton, run if I'm in a safe location with relatively clean air and bring along a jump rope for cardio (also doubles as a clothes line). For my upcoming trip I'm having a trainer show me some plyometrics and resistance training I can do without weights so I don't lose so much muscle.

I'm a gal and overall I lost weight, though in Thailand I definitely gained during the "sit around on the beach drinking beers and eating pad Thai" phase. The rest of the trip I lost weight because I was really just walking around everywhere!

Depends on the trip for me. I gained weight just a few weeks ago in Australia, yet I didn't gain any in Denmark and Berlin in May. Why? I figure I ate lots of great bread in both places? I drank a lot of beer in both places? Who knows? Maybe because it was so darned cold in Denmark.

I certainly lost weight on my 6 month trip in Africa, but then it was tougher camping-style travel and it was not always easy to buy food in the middle of nowhere. Imagine a town market filled with local ladies who each have 1 turnip to sell and nothing else!

Anyway, I tend to gain more when hanging out in tropical destinations where I love to eat and relax. I tend to lose weight if it's a high altitude and I'm hiking. I tend to stay the same in cultural destinations with food, as long as I don't get too carried away celebrating with alcohol and I keep walking around town.

Didn't really notice any weight gain or loss after 4 months in Mexico, 2 in Thailand and 4 in the Philippines. But I'm vegetarian and tend to eat healthy regardless so that may have something to do with it.

I lost about 30 lbs on my 3-month eurotrip that when I was flying home from Heathrow, this guy almost did not let me pass through the gate and had to ask his colleague if he really thought I was the guy in my passport. It's not that I starved myself, but mostly because I ended up walking most of the time. Everytime I arrive from a big trip, my mom would always comment on how thin I got. I guess when I'm not traveling, I live a sedentary life (not surprising since I work in a desk job). Come to think of it, my doctor recently said that I need to lose 10 lbs to achieve my optimal weight. I guess it's time to go on another big trip.