How I lost 30lbs living in Cuba and what it can teach you?
Me in Cuba age 21. In some cool garden where we ate Guanábana!
Before I became a Personal Trainer I studied Hispanic studies and I was lucky enough to spend a year in the Caribbean (Honduras and Cuba). That’s why I drop mucho Español in my work. Je je je.
(If you don’t wanna read the story and you just want a few tips go to the end)
Whilst away I lost a lot of weight.
I lost about 30lbs and 13.6kg to the rest of the world. And I’m embarrassed to say but I didn’t do ANY exercise. That’s why I look thin and have no muscle. AKA wack gainz.
I didn’t try to lose weight.
It just, ‘happened’ and at the time I didn’t really know why but now I know a thing or two about nutrition I now understand why and I thought it might help you too.
Obviously I ate/drank less and therefore got into a calorie deficit and was burning more energy than I ate but there’s more to it than that.
One word 4 syllables. ENVIRONMENT.
Me and my homie in Guatemala.
I went from being a student in Sheffield going out a lot probably drinking too much and eating takeaways too much to living in rural Honduras where there were no Tesco’s or convenience stores or clubs. And no peer pressure.
Then I went to a communist country (Cuba) where again there was no Mcdonalds and most of the tasty convenience foods we have in the U.K didn’t exist. I couldn’t even get dry pasta in my town in Honduras.
I’ve heard the opposite from some of my clients who move to the U.K and suddenly gain weight. No, it’s not oestrogen in the water it’s because they’ve changed environment and somehow they’ve started eating a bit more. I blame the weather (joking).
I remember the layout of our casita (little house) in Honduras. Basic AF.
No washing machine, dishwasher, computer, phone, oven, microwave, hot water. We did, however, have a crappy beatbox!
No shower, just a pipe coming out the wall. Oats and molasses was my go-to breakfast.
I didn’t have snacks in the house and I almost stopped drinking alcohol.
SO you can see how my calories drastically dropped.
Then in Cuba, I did drink regularly as we went out a lot but we walked a lot to explore La Habana (Havana) and to go and use the internet etc. And after a night out there were no chip shops to go to.
No BK lounge in Cuba asere (bro in Cuban).
Beans and rice was eaten todos los dias (everyday). So again not many calories were eaten and my activity went up.
So what can all this teach you about your weight loss goals?
If you change your environment and just the layout of your house you can really help yourself with your goal of losing fat. Also, a lot of us eat when we’re not really hungry. I still have to be conscious of not eating just because I’m bored.
TIPS
Try removing your ‘trigger’ foods from the house or making them really hard to get to until you have reached your goal. For me that’s cake!
Consider eliminating alcohol or just reducing it again until you reach your goal. Also try not to hit the chip shop after the club like I used to.
Walk whenever you can and take the stairs or park your car further away. This done over time really adds up.
Write down a ‘what if’ list. For example, if you find that after nights out you come home and eat 5 cheese toasties then your ‘what if’ might look like this. “when I come home from a night out instead of eating 5 cheese toasties I will eat a protein smoothie” Still satisfying and tasty but a lot less calories. Make sure you have the ingredients to do it.
Planned exercise doesn’t actually burn a lot of calories. Maybe 200-300 kcals per gym session but obviously it has heaps of other benefits so you should DEFINITELY do it. I lost loads of weight because my calorie consumption dropped and I was quite active and walked a lot. That’s why diet has to be adjusted when trying to lose fat and that’s why having a step count can really help to keep up your activity.
Hope you enjoyed this and that it helped.
HASTA PRONTO. Ed