what to do about vacation!

[Swissmiss22]

HI all! I am working in Switzerland for the moment...been about 3 months, and about 3 weeks ago I decided to do atkins, as I was gaining weight in the land of AMAZING cheese, bread, potatos, etc...carb city! So far things have been going well. I can't weigh myself as I have no scale, but i feel better in my clothes! Problem...I am going to Rome for a few days for a mini-vacation, but I don't want to be able to miss out on the italian food. I think it would be a shame...so i am trying to tell myself that it's ok...I am not going to go overboard...I just would like to try a pasta dish, a pizza and a gelato...so since i am there for 3 days I thought for lunch i would have one of those per day. I know i will be out of ketosis, but I thought at least it would be better to have it in the middle of the day instead of dinner, and since I will be walking non-stop all day, it would be ok. I will be eating high protein for breakfast and dinner...and watching the fat level, as I dont want to gain all the weight back.. What do you guys think? Should I do this, or stay on the diet... when I get back I definitely will go back to my induction. i'm not from europe but from canada..the thing is i am not craving these dishes at all, but at the same time I would love some really good AUTHENTIC italian food...what should I do?

[kate58]

Re: what to do about vacation!

There are LOTS of things you can eat and enjoy in Italy without going off plan. I'm sure that Sally, who lives there, will have more advice, but here are some suggestions:

Salads and antipasti are amazing. A salad of real fresh mozzeralla, tomatos and basil is quite commonly served, and is a feast and perfectly legal. Mozzeralla in Italy is more delicious than it is anywhere else for some reason. Prosciutto and Parma ham and chicken salads are also widely served. Chicken in Italy is very rarely breaded, so will be good.

If you do decide to go for pasta, just eat a little of the pasta and stick to eating the sauces mostly.

When you say watching the fat level, I assume you mean keeping it good and high. This won't be a problem, olive oil is your friend, a nice grating of fresh parmeson on your food helps too!!

[sallyseachange]

Re: what to do about vacation!

Swissmiss... you're going to have a great time in Italy, I'm sure!

It's true that Italy is the land of carbs, but actually you can have some amazing things that aren't carby at all.... to the extent that you might change your mind and find you don't really want that odd plate of pasta or pizza (which would be terrific!).

I don't want to seem like I'm plugging my own article, but there may be a few hints in it that are interesting/helpful to you. It's about Atkineering in Italy (I've lived here for over 25 years). You'll find it in the Winter 2007 Newsletter. Here's a link to the thread that'll take you there: http://www.atkinsdietbulletinboard....ADBB+Newsletter (open it with Adobe, if you can, as the other link makes a mess of it... or at least it does for me).

Have a wonderful time and do tell us about it when you get back.