Normal Week of Eating

[zeehag]

i found i gained about 10 pounds at this dock as it has no motion at all whatsoever unless there is a wind or storm. then boat heels about 10 degrees either way. we see what a hurrycame does to her-- on anchor is different--always counterbalancing for swells and wakes. kayaking and bicycling help, but eating as does a NORMAL human isnt in the cards for me..lol i get fat then. in the anchorage is more walking and shopping is different--here in marina, all is within a 1-2 block range.

[svBeBe]

Originally Posted by JanetGroene

We find sailing to be constant exercise and therefore an advantage is slimming down and toning up. Even at the dock there is some motion that keeps you constantly tensing up for balance. Underway it's a real workout.

That is very true. But for those of us who were accustomed to working out in a gym 2 hrs day/ 5 days per week plus walking at least 3 miles daily, moving aboard and cruising full-time is very much a step down in activity level. I have found it very difficult to get sufficient exercise living on a boat. There are the usual boat chores that force a bit of exercise, and digging into floor lockers is a workout for the legs, and on visits ashore there are always hours of walking. That does not compare to working out in a gym.

But this topic was about what cruisers eat. One person mentioned that he loses weight when cruising because he doesn't have access to fast food. If one is accustomed to a diet of fast food, then you might lose weight once you begin cruising since it is rarely available. But if you usually ate healthy and low-cal when living on land, you are more likely to gain weight when cruising because food options are more limited. Less activity and somewhat limited food options = gain weight. So it depends on your diet and activity customs on land as to whether you will gain or lose once you start cruising.

Judy

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by svBeBe

That is very true. But for those of us who were accustomed to working out in a gym 2 hrs day/ 5 days per week plus walking at least 3 miles daily, moving aboard and cruising full-time is very much a step down in activity level. (...)

I agree with Judy on this.

To me, the sailing / cruising / liveaboard life is way too sedentary.

I think our life now is hardly 20% as active as it used to be in the city.

I have very, very many cruising friends and none of them seems to be getting any healthier or fitter. The good news is once the slump becomes obvious it does not seem to progress as fast as the case is with many hardline landlubbers.

I think it is all about chasing the pleasures of life and pleasures make one fat or else they are sin. Staying fit is all hard work, quite the opposite of what most people look for in the cruising life.

b.

[In Training]

Well, I am a CPA so sitting at a desk all day. Anything would be more exercise. I just wondered how people cook and eat when at anchor most of the time.

Thank you.

[Reach]

We eat three regular meals each day, plus happy hour snacks and desserts when socializing. It is more food than we consumed while working in the fast-lane skipping meals, but seems much more balanced diet-wise.

Breakfasts can be anything from cereal, fruit, pancakes or eggs. Lunch is usually sandwiches with chips (as on BeBe, this is hubby's favorite meal). Cocktail hour is pretty routine with some nuts or cheese & crackers. Dinner is light and almost always fish with a vegetable. Other regulars are tacos, pasta or grilled meats when available.

We and all of our friends have lost weight since cruising full time. Our work was sedentary, but we were moderately active playing sports. Now, we find ourselves active all day doing things we enjoy for relaxation (yoga or walks in the morning) or as part of our afternoon snorkels when you aren't as conscious of how much of this is strenuous exercise (for fishing or photography). It is easy to lose track of time when in the water, so the hours add up.

One thing we are not is exercise crazy - we can be downright lazy and there are many books consumed and naps in the hammock on our boat!

[w1651]

I plan on doing a lot of walking when I finally get away. I want to dive the bays and lagoons as well as scrub and scrape my boat. I want to hike the tallest point on the island I am on at the time and see the sights on foot night and day.
I plan to carry a little back pack with some food, water, and snacks in it as well as a camera, hammock, and bug repellent. Taking pictures meeting locals is what cruising is all about to me and I want to live life to the fullest seeing everything I can.
To me there is nothing better then meeting people and seeing how others live and work. That's what cruising is about to me.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by w1651

I plan on doing a lot of walking when I finally get away. (...)

This particular part may or may not work, depending on chosen destinations.

Sometimes the limitation is the geography: the island is small, there are no tracks and it is VERY hot. Much more often the limitations are of human nature: the land is owned, the land is overbuilt, it is not safe to walk, etc..

This is one of the things we learned as we went, hence my warning.

PS Off course if you get to Australia, Antarctica or Scandinavia, you can walk for days on end.

b.

[In Training]

Thanks Reach:

That parallels what two people have told me that cruised for 5 years and 7 years respectively. We eat way too much red meat and I expect that will be replaced with Chicken and Fish (love blackened tuna), actually any fish blackened. That alone should be a positive.

[goboatingnow]

I would agree with posters that say in general you can gain weight. After a 22 Atlantic crossing I gained weight. I don't think the comment that the movement of a boat causes activity and hence weight loss is true.

The other thing getting back to the OPs issues, plan to try and cook well and even elaborately if you can. Generally you have all this time that you didn't have in the rat race.

The one thing I found very scarce was fish. Hard to catch, poor in shops. Meat especially chicken is all pervasive.

We found set meals to be best. Breakfast is something with eggs. When in the med we had access to fantastic fruit, bread , cheese and vegetables especially tomatoes. Often meals just consisted of bread, wine , cheese , tomatoes and olive oil.

If you have reasonable cooking facilities and are not on passage. I'd say cook adventurously, we always seem to have an appetite. Eating regularly outdoors is a wonderful change for us.

Agree that in the carribean food choice can be quite poor which the exception of the French or French influenced islands. We found it hard to get good vegetables, bread or meat. Ate lots of chicken.

Dave

[svBeBe]

Originally Posted by w1651

I plan on doing a lot of walking when I finally get away. I want to dive the bays and lagoons as well as scrub and scrape my boat. I want to hike the tallest point on the island I am on at the time and see the sights on foot night and day.
I plan to carry a little back pack with some food, water, and snacks in it as well as a camera, hammock, and bug repellent. Taking pictures meeting locals is what cruising is all about to me and I want to live life to the fullest seeing everything I can.
To me there is nothing better then meeting people and seeing how others live and work. That's what cruising is about to me.

Good luck with that. There are quite a number of mountains and volcanoes to hike scattered through the Caribbean. Those can provide excellent opportunities for walking. On St. John we joined a group of cruisers one day who hiked from the north side over the mountain to the south side and back. But we stopped at their favorite restaurant on the south side for huge burgers and fries, so don't think that 6 hours of hiking did us much good.

I was looking forward to long walks in the isolated area of Northern Cyprus where we are wintering in a new marina this year. After arriving and surveying the area, I now know that will not be possible. There are no paths and the countryside is too rugged and filled with low brush and desert type plants with stickers. There are no shoulders on the streets and roads, so it is very dangerous to walk on the narrow roads. Only walking here must be within the marina itself and that is pretty limited. Water is too cold in the Med to even think about getting in (although the Germans here swim daily). I am from Texas and do not believe in getting into water any cooler than Caribbean temps. Hoping the marina opens the gym in a few months.

In the Caribbean there are more walking and hiking opportunities, and lots more swimming/snorkeling opportunities than in the Med. Just depends on where you will be cruising as to what the local options will be.

OTOH, I have discovered that Turkish breakfasts are very good -- boiled egg, sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, a few bites of various cheeses and a small chunk of artisan bread, usually served with hot apple tea. More like what I might consider lunch, but that is the traditional breakfast in this part of the world.

Judy
S/V BeBe

[Yofy]

In the past I gained 10 pounds over a few short weeks when we crewed on a delivery with a skipper who loved junk food and sweets. All the lockers were stuffed with every imaginable treat. We resisted for the first few days and then we were done for. But I also lost 10 pounds on another delivery when there were limited provisions and no working refrigerator...

But the request was for a normal week of eating at anchor so:
I am a vegetarian, Manny is mostly one too, espcially when we are cruising. If we catch fish, then he really doesn't miss meat, otherwise he likes to eat chicken about once a week. We are now cruising on the Red Sea where it is hot pretty much year round. Our menues would differ for a colder climate:

One week on the hook without any shops nearby :
Breakfast
First 3 to 4 days fresh fruit, until our stores are used up. After that cereal for me (with boxed rice or almond milk) and a slice of bread with a spread on it for Manny. (Tahina, humus, avacado, etc.)

Lunch
While fresh stores last, a big salad with sprouts, maybe a can of tuna or a boiled egg. Omlete with side salad.
Once fresh stuff gets sparse, leftovers from last night's dinner. Sandwich with spread for me and sprouts, salami for Manny. (He likes to buy several whole salamis and hang them in the galley/cabin. They last for weeks but are not available everwhere.)

Dinner
If we've caught something, then grilled fish, rice and any fresh vegetables.
Otherwise it could be: dhal and rice, quinoa and vegetables, pasta with pesto, stir fry with tofu and vegetables, tabouli with tahini and stuffed vine leaves (canned), kitcheree (mung beans and rice). If its a cool evening, then I'll make soup and we'll eat it with bread and a spread.... if I get enthusiastic and its not too hot, I'll make pizza... We don't carry much canned food (mostly canned fish) and use more dried legumes and grains.

Snacks
Dried fruit, nuts, seeds (sunflower and pumpkin seeds are popular over here), pretzels, crackers. Once a week I'll bake a sweet bread like banana or apple bread. We avoid stocking up on chips and things so that we don't eat them.

Robyn

Beverages
Manny likes beer and once a week we'll share some wine. Juice. Otherwise we drink LOTS of water and I make different homemade ice teas from herbal, green or black tea.

[In Training]

So, I get the impression it depends on what you did before you went cruising and what you do when cruising, which differs for everyone. If you were very inactive in your office life before, you may get more exercise once out on the water. If you were very active before, on the water may be less exercise. Same for food -- if you take all the garbage you eat at home with you, no change and may gain. If you eat more fish and chicken and less garbage (ie potatoe chips, ice cream, etc.) you would probably lose wt.
Looking forward to the change in life style.

[Yofy]

Yup. It also depends on how you cruise. if you sail from marina to marina, then you probably will be more likely to eat out more and hop into local supermarkets more often. On the other hand you get a chance to bike, walk, run, do yoga or whatever. If you spend more time at anchor and in out of the way places, then you will need to rely on your provisions. (Same for passagemaking). And at anchor you get a chance to swim, row your dinghy, use a kayack (or even windsurf if you carry a board)....

Robyn

[zeehag]

i found i find least expensive options for foods. is less money to eat what others prepare, so i do that. doesnt matter if i am on anchor or a dock. when i am anchored, i am able to get fresh fish. at the dock here, not an option.

[ssagurit22]

I just want to share that I read earlier when you eat any kind of fruits, it can cure illness like headache, flu, etc even cancer and it must eat it 30 mins before your meal. With a little discipline when it comes to this healthy living and healthy sailing. I know lots will oppose me because when I read all the post have different culture in eating foods. And its your choice.