The All-You-Can-Eat-Vacation
A dangerous way to spend your
precious vacation days.
Picture two American women.
Now, imagine them on vacation. Every day they enjoy a breakfast of deep-fried
plantains, pork tacos, and chilaquiles (leftover fried tortilla chips
sautéed with eggs, cheese, tomatoes, and beans). Their daily lunch is more
chips-- with guacamole-- shrimp tacos, and french fries. Dinner is another
smorgasbord of Mexican foods from creamy corn soup to fajitas to chicken in
Chipotle mole. Ok, now imagine these two women—whose combined weight is
barely 230 pounds soaking wet—on this regimen for four days.
Yep, that was my
best friend and I on vacation on Mexico’s Caribbean coast last week. Why
did we eat these high-fat, high-calorie, high-sodium meals when our normal diets
are full of fiber, fresh fruit, and salads?
Because we
could.
We were at one
of those “all inclusive” resorts that are so popular in places with
turquoise water, white sand, and newlyweds. This is also the way most cruises
feed their passengers. These are vacations whereby overeating is not just a way
to let go: it’s the whole
point!
We fell right
into The All-You-Can-Eat Trap. It is an insidious phenomenon that makes us eat
until we’re stuffed. It makes us wake up thinking about the breakfast
buffet, and eat at odd hours when we aren’t even hungry.
This trait is built
into Americans, whether they grow up rich or poor. And it has made us the
fattest people on earth. All you need to do is watch American tourists stuff
themselves at a buffet while Europeans and Asians limit themselves to what they
can comfortably eat in one sitting.
Why causes this
cultural difference in behavior?? I have no explanation. But I know one thing.
I am American. I cannot trust myself at an all-inclusive resort. And I have
good eating habits at home! Can you imagine how dangerous these types of
stuff-yourself-silly vacations are to those who
don’t?!
Posted: Tue - March 22, 2005 at 05:39 PM