April 26, 2026

Apr 26, 2023

Got back from two weeks in Italy last night.  Weighed this morning and had only slightly less than two pounds gain.  I'm pleased, considering the sweets and pasta consummed, but had hoped the walking had addressed that.  Which I'm sure it did or I would have gained more!  It was odd not having food be a central part of the trip, considering it was Italy, after all.  Had more bread, wine, pasta, and sweets in two weeks than I've had in a year.  But delicious.  And I treated myself to a couple of fine dining chef tasting menus--which were wonderful.  And actually too much food!  While each portion is small (just a perfect amount to explore the taste/texture), they add up.  By the time the desserts hit, I was stuffed to the point of discomfort.  The sommeliers were really helpful with selecting one wine to go with the whole meal instead of different wines for each course as I can't drink that much wine.  At 4 oz. I'm good.  Beyond that, well, I don't like how it makes me feel.  But now there are some flavor combinations and techniques I want to explore for my own cooking.  Who would have thought to sous vide beets!  Or use a sweet bread with raisins and walnuts with chicken liver pate? 

I did notice that at restaurants, there weren't many vegetables--focus was more bread and pasta with a bit of protein.  And I'm trying to work in more veggies myself.  Not a big veggie person, so was surprised that I noticed the lack of them.  I wanted to try artichokes, this being the season, but didn't see them on any menu.

But the trip was wonderful--planning another maybe in December--but made me so grateful, again, for the weight loss surgery.  And my recent re-lose.  I don't think I could have done it at my highest weight--definitely not all the walking and stair.  And even the plane discomfort--I don't know I could have managed that for the long flight (10 hours) and the two smaller plane flights.  As it was, my hip was giving me grief, so I used the passenger assistance at the larger airports.  I definitely could not have walked fast enough to make my connections.  Will keep that in mind for now on. 

While I would never want to shame anyone for any body size and think our cultures need to be more inclusive, I also know from personal experience the difficultly of navigating normal everyday activities when larger, much less travel.  The wight loss really has provided me with more opportunities for adventure:)

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