Loosing weight in Peru [Featured]
December 10, 2008
Rachel Gamarra explains how Peru’s abundance of fresh, unprocessed, nourishing, tasty and cheap food can help keep you slim, and tells of her first experience in a Peruvian supermarket and how it compares to one in her home country, the super-sized United States.
The United States takes the cake on being the most obese society in the globe, but what is the secret to Americans slimming down abroad?
FRESH VARIETY
I once went into a Metro supermarket with my Kodak and recorded a few short clips to show to the folks back home. The produce manager wasn’t too thrilled with me recording in the store, but I explained to him that we didn’t have this much variety back in the States and that an American has to see it to believe it.My very own eyes popped out of their sockets and my jaw dropped the first time I visited a Peruvian supermarket, I couldn’t believe the number, colors and variety of starches, grains, legumes, vegetables, fruits, dairies, etc. that were in a commercial store. I saw foods I had never witnessed or tasted before in my life!
The produce section in Metro alone makes any American supermarket’s produce department look minuscule in size and variety.
While produce and meats are often fresh in commercial supermarkets in Peru, you can still find fresher ingredients by visiting any of the numerous municipal or district markets that dot the country.
With the Christmas holiday just weeks away markets will soon be filled with crates and truck beds loaded with Turkeys, YES – LIVE TURKEYS! Choose the bird you want to roast and they’ll slaughter it right in front of your eyes at the market – forget preservatives, genetically altered slaughter house poultry and a “Lord only knows how long it’s been sitting on the shelf” worries. You can check the quality and health of your food for yourself in the Peruvian markets.
If Poultry, Pork or Beef aren’t on the day’s menu for you, then you can hop on down to the Fish Markets of the Costa Verde.
Read the rest and see the videos here »
Comments (7)
I just flew to the US for a week and as always the difference in food and obesity between Peru and the US was striking. I have to admit my first stops in the US always include 1) big steak 2) real Italian food and 3) big greasy cheeseburger. However, after a few days of typical restaurant foods in the US I’m ready fly home to Peru again.
I love going to the local market here in Cusco to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I even enjoy haggling with the old ladies selling the produce (”vivo aqui, no quiero precio gringo mami”)
Altogether, I lost forty pounds since moving to Peru!
The story is at http://www.expat-chronicles.com/?p=356
I agree with Ward and Rachel; food is fresher in Peru and it’s easier for American expats to lose weight in Peru than back in their home country.
I don’t know how it is for Brits.
Maybe the producers of “America’s Biggest Losers” (the reality weight-loss show that’s been on for several years in the US) should do some episodes in Peru, using local marketplaces as a starting point for healthy eating.
BTW: Added your blog to my blogroll today.
I lived in Peru for 3 years, I lost 30 pounds in my first 6 months. By the time I moved back to the USA I had lost a total of approx. 60 pounds.
How long did it take you to put it all back on Joanna?
Well I’ve been in Peru for 3 months now, with another 40 students studying abroad and we’ve all gained weight if anything. There is one boy whose lost weight, that’s it. The food here is cheap to us Americans because EVERYTHING here is cheaper. It’s called lower cost of living. Half of Peru is obese because they can’t get access to all this variety of fresh, cheap food you all are raving about. Living in Lima or Cusco is not the same as living in Peru. Most Peruvians don’t go to the Metro to get their food.