It seems weird to be asking this on a forum like this one. But I have to. I am just wondering if anyone who has spent an extended period of time in Africa has lost any weight eating only African foods? I am pretty overweight and am wanting to lose some weight but haven't ever really been successful on the popular American diets. I found that when I went to Nigeria for two weeks, I lost about ten pounds while I was there. However, I'm not sure if it was the food or all the sweating I did in the Nigerian sun. Anyone have any experience with this? I'm actually thinking about going on a Nigerian diet and seeing what happens. Am I CRAZY????

Molly

I lost a lot of weight in Africa too. I don't know if it was the sweating as you mentioned or the food. It might have been a combination of the two things especially since the food I was eating was fresh. When I returned to the US people here wanted to know if I starved myself there. It will be interesting to hear the results from the forum

Well I've gained 10 pounds since my marraige 8 months ago. My husband likes lots of cake and rootbear. Things I normally don't keep in the house! I eat some of the african food. But I don't think I would lose weight on it.

edited to add: I didn't lose any weight while in Afirca. I thnk I gained some--which at that point I needed to--because I had just lost 20 punds from a bad spell of of pnuemonia.

I'm with ya. I too lost a few pounds over there. However, I ate alot of fast food stuff (Chicken Republic, Tastees, Tantilizer, etc.) It seems we were always on the go, so maybe that was what did it. I have been considering one of the carb diets. I did Atkins before and it was working great, but I craved fruit. I imagine the carb stuff would be pretty hard to stick to with all the rice that I eat these days. It would be nice to hear what has worked for people, aside from....eating healthy and exercise.

I don't think its the diet that makes you loose weight. I think its the environment. Initially its kinda stressful running around in the heat and yeah all that sweating which i love So i find that during the first week, i loose weight. However, after that i am a little more settled in and i might start gaining weight cos i eat everything in sight When i come back i feel like i didn't lose any or i gained more. If you don't eat a lot while there or you were running around a lot then of course you would lose weight. Most of what i was eating was very starchy- rice beans yam eba etc and oily ( most of the soups are cooked with palm oil) and fast food ( tantalizers, sweet sensation etc). ok now im getting hungry

Every time I go to Egypt I drop 10-15 in about 2-3 weeks. Maybe it's all the walking, maybe the food or both. Personally I think the food prepared the is 100% natural. None of those preservatives or hormones the U.S govenment loves to put in the food here. I have been TRYING to eat more healthy by preparing all my foods myself, going to the farmers markets, organic food stores, etc and I have been losing weight. Just my thought.

I usually gain weight on the African diet. But I think that has a lot to do with the fact that everywhere you go people want to feed you and it's simply not polite to turn the food offer down. So, I just get to keep eating when I'm there and that sure isn't helping with the weight. Plus, they have awesome beer over there, too.

On a regular diet, though, I think that African foods may be helpful losing weight as they don't have all the crappy additives and all that unhealthy nonsense mixed in as is the case here. Those are just natural foods that the body can make better use of, I would think.

Well when iam in africa i loose weight. Maybe because i do a lot of running around. and everybody always wants to feed you. but i dont eat all the time either. even tho i love the food. But then again all the food is fresh. So i would say you can loose weight on african food.

Atleast i do. Now My SO Eats all the time and She has great weight

Paul & Wubit

I actually gain a lot of weight when I'm there because I'm not used to eating such a carb-centric diet, and I start to feel malnutritioned without so many vegetables.. But the last time I was there I lost a ton of weight on the 'malaria diet..' Must have been ten or fifteen pounds in a few days.. They were all scared to let me go home and have my family think they mistreated me!!

I gained 180 pounds when I met my fiancé in Africa.... ooups.. he IS the 180 pounds:)

I also lost weight when I was there. But, I'm pretty sure it was because all of the walking. Also, I didn't snack. I think those were the 2 big differences.

I was there for two years, and by the time I left I weighed the same as when I got there. My weight went up and down a lot depending on how sick I was and how much time I had to cook. I would normally only get a chance to cook once a day but it would be yams and rice and everything else with carbs. I think you initially loose weight when you get there b/c your body isn't used to the food and you are continually moving and physically stressed from the new environment.

I miss pito. Does anyone else miss pito? Does anyone know what it is? It is basically the village brew, and it's really good. My husband keeps talking about how much he misses it, and now I miss it too much as well. There's just nothing like it here. I tried to learn how to brew it, but there are too many things that they didn't know the name of so I don't know how to find them here. Oh what I wouldn't do for a calabash of pito.

Boy, i did not loose any weight when i was vistiting Africa... It was hard to get use to everything deep fried in oil though, I too missed fresh vegetables -- salad.

Last year i lost 50 pounds and i think the key was exercise and fresh food. I started my diet with Slim fast/salads and fruit! yummmm! I have heard of people losing weight from walking a lot, so maybe try that?? This year i will be working on losing the remaining 40 pounds... So it will be interesting to hear from everyone on their diets.

Good luck!

Linda

Along these lines, just wondering did anyone have a problem with American food when they got back? I spent almost a year in the Philippines, and when I got back and started eating American food, I was sooo sick!! I eat alot of chicken, so I wonder... Their chickens are all natural and tiny... where ours are HUGE and filled with all kinds of "stuff". UGH! Oh well just thought I'd share!

Oh dear god do I miss it!! I drank ridiculous amounts of it- so yummy! When we went up north in Mali, they had a kind of pito that was even more spicy, and they froze it into slushy mmmmmmm.....

I lost 11 pounds in two weeks when I was in Jamaica for my wedding. I ate a lot more than I do at home and did not do that much walking. Every meal was prepared by the cook at the house where we stayed. We ate out a handful of times. I agree with Reinhard, I think it was the absence of preservatives and the ton of salt added to processed American food - everything I ate in Jamaica was fresh and I drank a lot of coconut water. I also ate a lot more fruits than I normally would...so snacking was more healthful. Even eating sugar cane proved not be a liability as it would with eating candy and drinking soda.

I think its worth a shot, Molly.

For anyone interested this program is quite good once you are ready.

Molly,

It's funny that I signed on today and read your question because I just came back from Ghana yesterday and weight in today and was surprised to have lost 11 pounds. I ate and drank whatever I wanted and expected to have gained some weight. I really think it's the fresh foods we eat and all the water we drink while in these African countries.

Arnetta

I was in Uganda for 6 months last year and lost 30 pounds. I have been back in Uganda for 4 months now and I think I have lost 15-20 pounds.
I think it is a combination of a lot of things, all the walking, drinking more water because it is hot, and all the fresh food. No chemichally inhanced meat.
I am starting to think all the chemicals that are put in cow chickens and pig to make them fatter also makes the people that eat them fatter.
When we return home I will be only eating organic meats and veggies. Most of our diet will be "african" beacue that is what john likes, and it is one way I can help make adjusting easier for him.
good luck on the weight loss!!