Has living aboard changed your diet?

[wsmac]

I'm working on getting onto my boat fulltime.
I have been thinking about storage space for foodstuffs.
I can be a big snack and sweet eater... although usually it's like - buy a bag of chips or a package of cookies... keep telling myself I'll only eat a few, saving some for the next day or two... then break open the package as soon as I get in my vehicle and finish it by the time I get home!

No sodas at home
No alcohol
No gallon of ice cream sitting in the freezer
Basically I just don't keep snack foods lying around home
I don't eat out at fast food joints very often either... and when I do that... it's mainly because I just want to buy one of those $1 burgers for a snack.

In the videos I've watched of people making passages, I see fruits galore... and alcohol... hahaha.... but outside of that... have you found your basic foodstuffs changed after stepping aboard your floating home?

[Kenomac]

We eat healthier and tastier meals onboard. A balanced breakfast in the morning, a light European type lunch with a few small slices of cheeze and some meat. Then dinner is more prepared and formal.

[chuckr]

Eat healthy non processed foods. Lots of farmers markets

[UNCIVILIZED]

It sounds like you pretty much eat like a liveaboard already. As when I'm living on a boat, I think about & plan most of my meals a good day or more ahead of time. And do most of the food prep myself. Where a lot of folks at home will either buy fast food & bring it home, have lots & lots of snacks in the fridge & cabinets, or buy foods that are somewhat pre-prepared so that all they need to do is heat them up/cook them. As sadly, there's a lot less actual cooking that goes on in the kitchen than there used to be. So if you're not one who lives on junk food, nor eats a lot of pre-packaged stuff, then you're already in sailing mode.

The only caveat is, some of what you're seeing in the videos where folks are snacking a lot, is that sailing can burn a lot of calories. So you need to eat to keep your energy levels consistent. But eating lots of natural things, like fruits, fresh fish, etc. is pretty much the ideal way to do that, & it's healthy food without a lot of the preservatives or GMO's that you'll find in supermarket food.

[thomm225]

I guess anything can be made to appear true.

I'm not seeing how a liveaboard diet can be better that one you can have on shore.

Here there are several markets on the way to work or to the boat. There are Farmers Markets and places to buy organic foods within 10 - 15 minutes away

Most folks have a larger fridge at their home or their apartment than on their boat.

As far as exercise, the sky's the limit on shore. You can go to the gym, run, do yoga, go cycling, SAIL!, go kayaking, etc

My experience from observation is that non-sailing/non-cruising liveaboards gain weight.

Many of us get very excited about the idea of cruising or living aboard but the reality for many is different

I just hate to see folks change their lives entirely to liveaboard or cruise only to find out it isn't quite what they thought it would be.

I was lucky enough to spend 10 plus years on the Gulf Coast sailing (beach cats) and observing cruisers/monohull sailors.

My apartment was on the water and we had a dock so I got to talk with the monohull guys a lot. Most were old full keel sailors, but there were racers there too.............(I now have an old full keel boat)

The one thing they always said was the toughest thing in sailing.......

Unhooking from the dock.

[valhalla360]

With the exception of remote areas and on passage, don't expect to magically change your diet unless you choose to change your diet.

More likely to change your diet is the local culture. Different foods will be more easily available (ie: peanut butter is difficult to find in many countries, so you may wind up eating less of it but if you are parked next to the shrimp docks, you likely will eat more shrimp)

Snacks are available pretty much everywhere, so if you give in you will be able to find them.

[Mithril Bham]

Every time I move onboard I lose weight and get into better shape. A lot of that may be attributed to eating the plethora of seafood found in our area and the physical effort needed to gather it. Pulling crab pots is great exercise. Also constantly working, climbing down into dinghy etc.

[dwedeking2]

Moving from an Apt to the boat I've found myself without a freezer. I've stayed away from processed foods (for the most part) for a while, but this move caused me to change the way I shopped. Instead of stocking up with a large purchase of frozen items I tend to do more frequent smaller purchases. Then I get lazy and eat less because I don't want to go to the store.

For me, the biggest change has been the activity level. As I'm doing a refit there are always projects to work on. At the apt, the maintenance people fixed everything. Also, everything requires more movement (walk up the dock to the restrooms/showers, up and down the companionway ladder aka Stairmaster, etc).

In the last year, I've dropped 25lbs without even trying.

But my neighbors are an older couple and you never see them outside except to walk the dogs in the mornings/evenings. So if you wanted you could have a completely sedimentary lifestyle.

[wsmac]

Thanks everyone for the comments!

Thomm225... so... can I come stay with you on your boat to try it out before I completely change my lifestyle? I'm tall but actually don't take up a lot of room... pretty flexible.. fit into small places... quiet as a churchmouse... until I open my mouth... hahaha

.

After my former wife and I split up, our daughter would come to stay with me (in the beginning it was right next door... so she walked... lol) and used to open the fridge and say, "DAD! You never have any food here!" which wasn't technically true... I just didn't fill up the fridge and cabinets!
But yeah... I just keep a few condiments, spices, dry goods.
Then I shop everyday or every few days for matsuma oranges, apples, avocados, a loaf of bread, meusli with a box of raisins and cinnamon, a few cans/boxes of soup, some tea bags, and my coffee. I also rotate broccoli, lettuce, asparagus, and such for my veggies. Try to keep a bag of baby carrots for snacks.

But I do tend to snack on the bread too much at times! Love my carbs and fats! hahaha

And like I mentioned earlier... I'll get a hankering for something sweet... then it's a quarter mile walk to the market or if I'm driving around, a stop at a store somewhere to get one or two of those Little Debbie Zebra cakes or Little Gem Donuts...
On less frequent outings, I'll buy a package of fig newtons and wind up eating the whole thing in a day or two... my binge eating...

After a good mtb ride up in the hills, I break down and usually stop at a local pizza/donut place.... eat a donut while waiting for them to heat up my one or two slices of pizza. Calories OUT... calories BACK IN!

From my slip, I can swim across to a gym and workout... although it's not advised to swim in that area I think... too many rowers...
But I was planning on joining the gym and I can bike/drive over the bridge from the marina and get to it pretty quick. That, and we have a nice large grassy field and trees around that I can create a 'workout' space in. Not much room on the boat for that stuff!

I try to stretch and do full range of motion type stuff everyday... learned it keeps me flexible (not real flexible but not all stiff like other people my age that I've seen in my medical career and life).
Yoga is nice but I tend to slack on that a lot.

[Lancerbye]

I think that I eat healthier living aboard because it is harder to just jump in the car and go get junk food or eat out. I very seldom eat out and my meals require better planning. I like fresh seafood a lot.

[wsmac]

Originally Posted by Lancerbye

I think that I eat healthier living aboard because it is harder to just jump in the car and go get junk food or eat out. I very seldom eat out and my meals require better planning. I like fresh seafood a lot.

You reminded me of the time my GF and I spent down in Belize.
We were on the rather small Caye Caulker... only vehicles belonged to the government folks and I think a rare citizen?

Everyone walked or rode bikes it seemed.

SO MUCH fresh fruit and fish! Man'o'man I loved being there!

In contrast to that... we also had stayed in Mexico at a mid-level resort (1st time for me) and going to eat was actually pretty disheartening for me!
Ginormous tables full of mostly fluffy foods, people stuffing their plate over and over again (I could have eaten 10X what I did.. but there were SO many people in MY WAY! )

We started trekking off the main tourist blvd, heading for local eating spots instead.... much nicer... more delicious!
It also helped that we both were there to go snorkeling as many cenotes as we could, head out to less groomed, less crowded beaches.
Walked or took the collectivas, or our favorite cabbie... Rudy!

[zeehag]

only thing affects my diet is the locale in which i am cruising--all healthy foods without plastic packaging.
in usa-- the only difference in my eating habits was i ate at work. i didnot cook at home once my son left the nest.
i rarely cook at home while cruising--when i do itis fast snacks i throw together.
eating in restaurants can cost as little daily as 50 pesos or as much as you are willing to pay. both extremes are available as towns begin to cater to norteanos.
.
here i often eat in restaurants or someone else's cooking... there is a lovely lady who is a chef--cooks at home and delivers. cheaper than home cooked, so it works.
nope no essential change in my eating habits.

[Sea Dreaming]

Z has the way of it in Mexico. We have not been far but we have discovered we can eat out very cheaply, so we often do. But we are simple eaters, our restaurant meals and home cooked reflect that. We don't eat different here than when we were in our full time house. Even the national taco habit fits how I usually cook. I had no idea that I cooked so much Mexican food at home. Kina weird.

We do a lot of simple 1 pot meals, snacks are usually cheese, summer sausage, fruit, yogurt. That's often dinner too.
One thing we do is eat less canned food. Beans are pretty easy in the pressure cooker and way less expensive. Canned tomatoes are impossible to find here, fresh tomatoes are cheap.
Honestly, probably our biggest change is the use of limes. Jim has taken to putting lime in his iced tea so we go through a lot of limes!

[TomLewis]

I find that I snack and my timetable works around the activities. Generally down to 2 meals a day, eat out a lot. I of course never lose weight.

[wsmac]

Originally Posted by zeehag

only thing affects my diet is the locale in which i am cruising--all healthy foods without plastic packaging.
in usa-- the only difference in my eating habits was i ate at work. i didnot cook at home once my son left the nest.
i rarely cook at home while cruising--when i do itis fast snacks i throw together.
eating in restaurants can cost as little daily as 50 pesos or as much as you are willing to pay. both extremes are available as towns begin to cater to norteanos.
.
here i often eat in restaurants or someone else's cooking... there is a lovely lady who is a chef--cooks at home and delivers. cheaper than home cooked, so it works.
nope no essential change in my eating habits.

Love eating out with the locals in Mexico... border (where I grew up) or coast.
Find a good place with good food and I can see how it'd be more of a draw than eating at home.

Mexican food is unlike other foods, I've found in the U.S. anyway, in that it seems to be the one thing I see more older women making and going door-to-door selling!
Whether it's Texas, New Mexico, or Northern Cali... I've always lived somewhere I could find a local lady or family who makes really good tamales, flour tortillas (I like to make my own corn tortillas... dead easy), and such for a good price! Never had issues about the safety of the food either.