Back to life.....back to reality!

Buon giorno everyone! Well the vacation is over and I'm back to reality. No one to make my bed each morning or turn it down at night, and clean my bathroom each day. No breakfast buffet put out each morning, and definitely no coffee served in beautiful little silver pots. No leisurely days of sight seeing, culminating with wonderful dinners and a bottle of wine...or two! Yes, the vacation is over, but it was wonderful while it lasted. Beautiful memories were made.



The breakfast room of our Venice hotel.

But there were some downfalls. In fact quite a few. I succombed to pasta and gelato....more than once. Those wonderful breakfast buffets, that come included with most Italian hotels, were heavy on breads, muffins, croissants and fruit. Most had some sort of eggs ( hardboiled, or scrambled) so that was a good choice. But by mid week, I found myself having a mini croissant with those eggs, and topping the evening off with a gelato as we strolled back to the hotel after dinner. I am not an ice cream person. It has never been a weakness of mine. But gelato, well that's a different story.


Italian gelato

Gelato is everywhere in Italy. And it's nothing like ice cream. The flavors are amazing, and thankfully you can get very tiny cups of it, so it's easy to have alittle without overdoing it.
Here's a nice explanation of the differences I found on a google search, and hopefully it informs you, and doesn't tempt you.

Gelato is Italy’s version of ice cream, with three major differences.
First, gelato has significantly less butterfat than ice cream’s typical 18 and 26 percent.
However, less fat does not mean less taste. With the lower butterfat content, gelato is less solidly frozen than ice cream and melts in the mouth faster.Therefore, the customer will taste gelato’s full flavor immediately.

Second, gelato has a much higher density than ice cream. Ice cream is produced by mixing cream, milk and sugar, then adding air. Manufacturers add air to ice cream because it nearly doubles the quantity of their product. But, it cuts their quality in half. No air is added to gelato. The result is a higher quality dessert with a richer, creamier taste.

Third, gelato is served slightly warmer than ice cream. While both gelato and ice cream are served well below the freezing temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit, gelato is served 10 to 15 degrees warmer than ice cream. Because it is less solidly frozen, gelato’s taste is further enhanced as it melts in the mouth

Okay, I see where this post could be a problem. DON'T run out and get gelato or ice cream. They are not what we should be eating. And if you do eat the stuff you shouldn't, it will be an adjustment to get those tastes and cravings out of your head and your body. I only had it a few times, and I'm glad there are no gelato shops on every corner here in the USA! It could become a habit real fast.

The good news is, you CAN always get right back to eating healthy if you go astray. It will be hard if you slip up, but having a plan and an eating program to follow is important.

Many of us don't follow the program faithfully like we should. And when I say program, it is whatever program of eating that you have decided it right for you. I still try to stay true to the original Belly Fat Cure guidelines. I try to keep my sugars under 15 gms a day and my whole grain carbs to 6 servings ( remember 0-20 gms of carbs in a food is counted as 1 carb serving).

 Lately I have been dabbling in avoiding wheat. I know it's not for everyone, but I do find that wheat, even whole grain wheat, causes me to want more wheat. I do believe that for some people wheat can cause more wheat cravings and has some addictive properties. I can clearly see that the pasta I indulged in while travelling, has set me up for some pretty intense bread and carb cravings. It's very hard to follow any healthy way of eating when you are battling food cravings.

I knew as soon as I ate that first bite of pasta, and had my first gelato, that I signed a deal with the devil. I knew it would lead to more "white" stuff and that it would most likely cause me to gain weight ( it did!) and have cravings that would start off a vicious cycle. So why did I do it? I'm not sure, but that doesn't matter now. It only matters  that I work to undo my wrong doings.

So I am going to leave you with some photos of our trip, and also with these thoughts. Not all of us are going to be perfect and eat the way we should all the time. Some of my blogger friends  have their mind set in the right direction all the time, and they do the right thing most all of the time. I am jealous. I feel like the big screw up many times because I lose site of my goals and don't keep my mind in the game. But guess what? It only means, it will take me longer to get where I'm going. It doesn't mean that I'll never get there. As long as we don't give up, we keep trying and we always come back to what we know works, we will reach our goals.

 Please keep that in mind if you stumble and fall. Even if you go AWOL for a long time, you can always come back to what works and get support, advice and people who care on these blogs.

Thought for the day: Take a deep breath, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and start all over again. Frank Sinatra

Ciao!! XO

Our hotel in Verona.

Hotel Belvedere, Bellagio

The view from our hotel room in Bellagio.

The quaint little streets of Bellagio

Varenna is gorgeous!

Lucky Ducks at Lake Como

Our hotel room in Bellagio

The pool at Villa del Quar, Verona

Lake Como



The dining room of our hotel in Bellagio

Breakfast! Note the little silver coffee pots!

Italy has wonderful street performers. This "baby" was so funny!

The gondolas went by underneath our hotel room. Magical!

The canals of Venice. No where like it on earth! No cars, only boats.

A wonderful dinner at Salice Blu. Scallops, shrimp and lobster prepared by Chef Luigi!

Another street performer. Took us awhile to figure out how he did it,

Prosecco in St Marks Square, Venice