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HOW TO AVOID GAINING TOO MUCH WEIGHT ON A CRUISE

From Worldometer (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):

        DAY  USA  WORLD    Brazil    India    South Africa

2020
June     9     1093     4732         1185        246       82
July    22      1205     7128         1293      1120     572
Aug    12      1504     6556        1242        835     130
Sept     9      1208      6222       1136       1168       82
Oct     21      1225      6849         571        703       85
Nov    25       2304    12025        620        518      118
Dec    30       3880    14748       1224       299      465
2021
Jan     14       4142    15512       1151        189     712
Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398
Mar      2       1989     9490        1726       110      194
April     6        906    11787         4211       631       37
May     4        853     13667        3025      3786     59 
June    1        287    10637         2346      3205      95
 July    7         251      8440        1595        817      411
Aug     4         656    10120        1118        532      423 
Sept   22      2228      9326          839       279     124
Oct      6       2102      8255          543       315       59
Nov    3        1436      7830         186        458       23
Dec     1       1633      8475          266        477       28
2022
Jan     7        2025      6729         148         285     140
Feb     2        2990   12012          946        991      175
Mar     2        1778     7756          335         173       28 
Apr     1          439      4056         290          52       12
May    5          225      2404         151            ?        64
June    2         216      1413         130          10        31
July    6          316      1627         335           35       12 
Aug    4          311       2138         258          70         ?
Sep    1          272       1732         174            ?         ?
Oct     6          281       1305         119            9         ?
Nov    3          167         980           16            ?         ?
        10          148         985           42            6         ?
        19            66         567           36           21        ?
        25            88         985           71             3        ?
Dec    3          149       1029          131            3         ?
           8          194       1320         104            6       86
        15          147        1295         124             4          ?
        21          326       1583         197             1          ?
        22          289       1637         165             9         ?

Summary:  
  • Five countries with triple digit new deaths, led by Japan with 339, the USA, Germany, Brazil and France at 120.
  • Japan again #1 with 184,375 new cases, with S. Korea #2 at 75,744, USA #5 at 43,392 and #15 China at 3,030.  However, the actual cases should be around 30,000, placing them at #7.
  • Since the beginning of the pandemic the total deaths are:
    • World 6,681,032.
    • #1 USA  1,115,748
    • #2  Brazil  692,572
    • #3  India  530,690
    • #4  Russia  393,220
    • #5  Mexico  330,834
    • #10 Germany  160,611
    • #18  South Africa  102,568
    • #23  Japan  184,375
    • #34  S. Korea  75,744
    • #52  Australia  14,549
    • #56  Taiwan  19,879
    • #89  China  5,241
    • #101  New Zealand  3,435  
The rule of thumb is that a person gains from 5-10 pounds on a one week cruise.  I haven't seen any truly scientific data, so that range is as good as any for me.  But, heck, most are on vacation, and everyone is on the ship to have a good time.  My philosophy is to eat and drink, even to excess (if they're free...and food always is), for you're paying a lot for all of that.

Interestingly enough, ONLY 55% of cruisers gain weight...and usually one pound per day.  This article provides eleven sensible tips to help you eat and drink on a cruise and not gain weight.  Did you know that white wine has more calories?

  • Vodka soda: 65 calories (one-ounce pour of vodka)
  • Prosecco: 90 calories per 4 oz glass
  • Red wine: about 100 calories per 5 oz glass
  • White wine: about 120 calories per 5 oz glass
  • Light beer: about 100 calories per 12 oz bottle
There are all kinds of advice on avoiding weight gain, but they all limit your fun.  Here is one list from the above article.

Well, let me tell you what I did on my 21-day Regent Seven Seas Explorer cruise from Dubai to Singapore.  I ate and ate, drank and drank...pretty much anything I wanted at any time, for I deserved all that after nearly three years of sacrifice because of the pandemic.

About the numbers:
  • Before the pandemic, I averaged around 165 pounds, which, at my 67 inch height, gave me a Body-Mass Index of 25.8, which is in the overweight category,
  • But 2.5 years of intensive effort during the pandemic dropped my weight to 152.  My BMI dropped to 23.9, in the higher end of the optimal category. 
  • Thus, I feared the worst when I went on my latest cruise.
    • Returned home and weighed 155.2.  Amazing...I thought I had gained at least 6 pounds.  Thus, my after cruise BMI was 24.3, just overweight.
    • On Wednesday of this week, three days after returning home from the cruise, after golfing, I weighed in at 150.8, a BMI of 23.6, comfortably in the optimal category.
So you ask, how did I do it?  
  • First of all, gaining a couple pounds makes me above average for cruisers, so the 155.2 was no big deal.
  • But how did I gain only these few pounds?  Search me, I'm confounded.
  • I bought a pedometer for this cruise, and wanted to walk 10,000 steps/day.  I never reached that number, and must have averaged around 4,000 steps.
  • I did get exhausted on a couple of tours, but that is because my stamina was not so good.
  • I really did eat and drink a lot.  So what happened?  
    • I think the solution was sleep.  
    • I was not perfectly healthy at sea.  Never seasick, but just not feeling right.
    • Thus, I was sleepy a lot, and had many days exceeding 8 hours/day.
    • I have been averaging more than 8 hours of sleep since my return.
So I did some research.
  • One study of 80 overweight adults who got on extra hour of sleep lost 270 calories/day.  Some participants lost up to 500 calories/day.
  • That 270 calories deficit/day translates to about 26 pounds lost over 3 years.
  • What happened?
    • Sleep deprivation leads to increased food intake.
    • Those who slept 1.2 hours more/night ate 270 calories a day less.
    • In other words, YOU DON'T ACTUALLY LOSE WEIGHT WHILE SLEEPING.  Your body mechanism just limits your food intake.
Of course, it's easy to say...just get more sleep.  I find it hard to maintain 6-7 hours/night, for I keep getting up every 2 to 3 hours to go to the bathroom.  And I have great difficulty getting back to sleep.  However, the ship made me drowsier, so I did sleep more.  Then when I returned from Singapore, eight hours/night was not a problem.  In fact, one day, after golf, for the first time in my life, I slept 15 hours one night, waking up at noon.  Today, after going to bed at 11 PM, I woke up at 10AM.  I must somehow still be on Singapore time.

On 16December2022, the Sleep Foundation said:
  • Over the past several decades, the amount of time that Americans spend sleeping has steadily decreased.  Thus the average body mass index (BMI) has shown an upwards trend.
  • The general consensus that good sleep results in healthy body weight.
  • The neurotransmitters ghrelin and leptin are thought to be central to appetite. Ghrelin promotes hunger, and leptin contributes to feeling full. The body naturally increases and decreases the levels of these neurotransmitters throughout the day, signaling the     need to consume caloriesA lack of sleep may affect the body’s regulation of these neurotransmitters. In one study, men who got 4 hours of sleep had increased ghrelin and decreased leptin compared to those who got 10 hours of sleep. This dysregulation of ghrelin and leptin may lead to increased appetite and diminished feelings of fullness in people who are sleep deprived.
  • Also, sleep-deprived individuals tend to choose foods that are high in calories and carbohydrates.
  • Involved are the body's endocannabinoid system and orexin.
  • Plus, the more obvious.
    • Those who are awake more eat snacks.
    • Those who do not get enough sleep are too tired to exercise.
  • Certainly, medical science has long known that insufficient sleep in children can lead to obesity.
  • Adults who get less than 6 hours of sleep/night are more likely to be obese.
  • Read this article to coach you on how to sleep better.

-  

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