The Trip

I got back from Guatemala over the weekend.  Much to my dismay and chagrin, I gained weight!  I knew I had, my tummy was really pooching out by the time I got home.  I think part of it was bloat because I spent a lot of time sick.  The tummy pooch came after I got some medication and returned to some modicum of health.

I gained almost 5 lbs while I was gone.  I've lost almost 3 so that leaves only 2 to get back to my pretrip weight.  Since the weight has fallen back off so quickly, I'm wondering if it was the medication.  I took it from Wednesday through the end of the trip.  

I really don't feel like I ate too much.  Let me explain how life worked down there before I get in to what I ate.  It was a medical mission trip.  We stayed on the same campus as the clinic in dorm style rooms, with a common bathroom for men and one for women.  There were sweet, local women that worked hard all day long preparing three meals each day.  Everyone was served the same thing, in a buffet style.  Our options were how much we served ourselves, if any.  It was a nice arrangement.

Meals were served at 7:00 am 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm.  No snacks unless you brought them with you.  I thought I would starve, but I was so busy (or sick) that I didn't notice getting hungry.

For breakfast most days we had eggs of some style, black or red beans, salsa, tortillas and fresh fruit, along with some fresh squeezed fruit juice.  I put the eggs, beans and salsa on a tortilla trying to make a breakfast burrito the first couple of days.  I got tired of that quickly, so I focused on the fresh fruit, which was usually watermelon or pineapple.  The one day they actually had omelets I was too sick to eat,

The other two meals were mostly chicken based with a rice dish and another vegetable also served with tortillas and fresh fruit.  We had steak one night, but I didn't get any because I was too sick to eat.  We had dessert at a few of the evening meals.  It was cake that wasn't frosted.  It wasn't hard to pass that by after the first try.

All the meals, even the ones considered "American" had a decided Central American flavor to them.  Most of what I had I enjoyed, and trying the new flavors and styles of food was interesting.  The only time I refused something was when I took a big drink of cantaloupe juice.  I hate cantaloupe!  I could not drink it at all.  As far as portions go, I watched the women around me and took portions similar to theirs.  I didn't always know what a serving was.

I left feeling well fed at each meal, but not over stuffed.  I liked not having to worry about what to prepare, how many calories, carbs, fat grams, etc were in the food.  Food was of minimal importance.  I ate when it was time and moved on to the next task.  It felt good not to fret about it.  I think that is the way it is supposed to be.  I hope that is a lesson of this trip I can take with me for the long haul.