Losing Weight When Moving to Cuenca
Most people (8 out of 10) lose weight when they come to Cuenca, and are here for at least six months. It is almost difficult NOT to lose weight when living in the Andes Mountains and here’s why:
High Altitudes Make the Body Work Harder
It’s true, the high altitude of Cuenca makes the body exert itself more while doing normal day to day activities, such as walking, household chores, gardening, and even sleeping. Walking around in Cuenca uses more energy and in turn uses up more calories.
Now you might think, “Ok, I’m burning more calories so I’ll eat more.”
Right again, however, BECAUSE generally the food is not loaded down with hormones, antibiotics, and GMOs you can eat more and still remain at a normal body weight; or if you were over-weight before you came here, lose weight.
FACT: Cuenca Ecuador is free of GMO's for human consumption. Read the whole story here.
Stipulation: We’re not saying the meat you buy at the grocery store in Cuenca does not have hormones or antibiotics, but we are saying the meat has substantially fewer hormones and chemicals than meat bought in a North American grocery store. And it is also easier to get lower prices on organic food.
Put it this way, the chicken tastes one-hundred percent better in Ecuador than in North America. It is leaner and much more tender and juicy. And the eggs, well they taste really fresh as well. The flavor of the meat tells us it is cleaner and freer from harmful chemicals.
The beef in Ecuador is the same. Some people do not like the strong flavor of the beef, however, that is what it supposed to taste like when a cow is grass fed. In Cuenca the ground beef is much leaner and tastes almost like venison, but not quite.
Growth Hormones Given to Feed Animals
Why give animals growth hormones in the first place? Well, it makes the steer look fatter…and the bigger, the fatter the steer the more meat (fatty) it produces. Growth hormones make the chicken look nice and plump too, and that’s what consumers want; nice and plump. However, looks in this case are deceiving. What’s inside the meat and invisible to the human eye is unwholesome for humans and makes them grow fat too.
Abundance of Fresh Produce!
We live in a country that virtually grows all of their own food! What this means is better prices and more variety. Our family eats way more fruit since moving to Ecuador because of the abundance and cost-factor. We love all of the fresh, tropical fruits that are available in Cuenca. We don’t just eat bananas, apples, and oranges anymore; now we eat kiwi, granadillas, mangos and pepino dulce, pineapples and more! Eating more fruit and less starches and fats for breakfast and for snacks will make anyone lose weight.
Some of the produce at the Mercados is grown without harmful chemicals, but it is hard to know what is organic and what is not. However, Cuenca boasts several organic markets around the city that sell only organic fruits and vegetables. See some prices here.
BTW, both Coral and Supermaxi sell some organic produce items. Just look on the package. Often times the greens and lettuce are organically grown. That's what we like about Ecuador! Fresh Food.
Cuenca is a Walking City
Most of the expats we know (8 out of 10) walk a lot since moving here. Walking is the best exercise for your cardiovascular fitness. walking also does not harm your tendons like jogging and running does. Not only that, but walking, at a good pace makes you lose almost as many calories as jogging does!
And because Cuenca is a walking city you can virtually walk to anywhere you need to. Here’s two wonderful river walks you might like to try (videos) out. Walking to there and back makes each walk four splendid miles.
2 mile walk river walk on Primero de Mayo to Mall del Rio from Americas: http://youtu.be/xAzgkcoQbqs
This walk is almost virtually free of diesel fumes.
2 mile river walk from Tres de Noviembre to El Centro from Las Americas: http://youtu.be/Je3y384quHw
Part of this walk is free of diesel fumes.
If where we want to go takes too long to walk there, like five, six or more miles away, we might take the bus part way, get off, then walk the rest of the way; it depends a lot on time constraints and what the weather is like.
Why Some People Don’t Lose Weight after They Move to Cuenca
1. Instead of walking, they take a taxi everywhere
2. Don’t like vegetables, or, do not eat more veggies than before
3. They eat out in restaurants more because it is less expensive
4. They eat more deep fried foods
5. They cannot resist the Cuenca bakeries
6. They don’t like fruit or do not eat more fruit than before
7. They eat more fattening creams, sugary sweets and ice cream since it tastes so good in Ecuador (LOL)
Even if you do number seven once in awhile, we think you’ll still lose weight. If you have lost weight since moving to Cuenca, we and our readers would love to hear your short story of "why" you think you lost weight since moving here in the comments below.
If you would like to read more about how to lose weight and get healthier, even if you still live in North America, check out the articles on our health website. We've been researching, experimenting, and writing about natural health for over 25-years! We believe being fit at any age, will make the difference between enjoying our retirement move/life abroad or not. If you're not feeling good, what is there to enjoy?
We're an Expat Family of Five Living Frugal, Healthy and Happy in Cuenca Ecuador! Enjoy our blog!
