Food, food and more food!

I have been asked to talk a little more about life on board ship, so I thought I would chat about one of the big aspects of life on board - food, food and more food! 

When I sit at the desk/dressing table in my cabin to write my blog, I am facing a large mirror. If I chance to look at that, I then see a back and side view of myself at the same time, because of the angle at which another large mirror faces the desk mirror. Even when I get into an elevator on this 14-storey ship, I am again surrounded by mirrors. So I am constantly confronted by what I look like and how others must see me - every little (or big) bulge, every flaw on my skin, every wrinkle and grey hair, and my poor posture.

At home I eat very little in the way of carbs - just half a bowl of porridge with some soy milk and bananas or other fruit for breakfast, never more than two slices of bread over the day, soup or salad for lunch, no sugar in my tea and coffee, no sugary drinks, no confectionery, no biscuits or cakes or dessert (unless I have guests) . . .  Despite that, sitting at my computer for long hours each day for years on end has not help my body shape (or my posture) at all. Gravity has prevailed!  

When I first was on Queen Mary 2, the smorgasbords were very tempting, so my carb consumption went up and I did what I should never have done, and that is I started eating dairy products. I even had the occasional ice-cream. Dairy products are a no-no for me because they make me swell, retain a lot of fluid and feel very bloated. As a result, despite the fact I was doing a lot of walking and stair climbing, not only on all our shore excursions but also on the ship, and even though it was really rare for me to eat between meals and I only went to the smorgasbord for lunch, my weight ballooned. Eating a bread roll and dessert at dinner and the customary chocolate left on my pillow at night by my cabin steward did not help. 

However, with the constant incentive provided by the mirrors everywhere on all the ships, I am now very disciplined in what I eat. I am back to my diet at home. And on this ship we don't get a chocolate on our pillow. (Instead we get 'animals' made from towels. I have a turtle at present.)  Not that it seems to have made much difference, which is very frustrating. The problem, of course, is that when you are older your metabolism slows right down. But I am not giving up. I live in hope that one day I will have a slim figure like I once had. 

I know I am not in any position to criticise anyone, but what is a real concern to me, though, is the high percentage of the passengers I see on cruise ships who are really obese. Some are morbidly obese. I have seen one lady whose stomach hangs way below her knees and can only shuffle along. And despite all the mirrors around, you should see what they eat all day long. Fried bacon, fried chips, fried sausages, fried eggs, fried hash browns, hamburgers with melted cheese, cream cakes, chocolate-coated cakes, waffles and pancakes smothered in cream . . . sometimes all on the one plate, if you can imagine that! Then big glasses of beer and/or soft drink to help swallow all that down. I have no idea how they fit it all in. 

Part of the problem is that unless you choose to pay extra whilst on the ship to go to one of the specialty restaurants, you have already paid for your food and so it seems like it is all ‘free’. Some take the view they must get their money’s worth, or that it doesn't matter because they are only doing this for a couple of weeks (their figures suggest otherwise). 

Contributing massively to the problem is the array of food presented on the smorgasbord. Excessive amounts of unhealthy food available all day long; a much, much smaller range of healthy food. But I daresay the ship’s personnel operate on the basis that unless they have all this food and all the alcohol and soft drinks available, people will turn to other cruise companies where they can get it and eat to their heart’s content. And they are probably right. So it still comes down to personal responsibility.

So if you wish to watch your weight on cruise ship, my advice to you is - whenever you can, go to the formal dining rooms where you have far, far less temptation before you. And the pleasure of chatting with some interesting people in a civilised setting!  I have met so many delightful people this way. 

I have not taken any photos in the smorgasbord area as it is always swarming with people.The following photos are of the formal dining room of this ship before most people started arriving. It has three levels in order to fit in all the who like to dine more formally. The second photo is looking down into the lowest level. There are two sittings each night - one at 6.00 pm and the other at 8.30 pm. I go to the 6.00 pm sitting so my food has a chance to start digesting before I go to bed. I am usually in bed by about 9.30 pm.