Last week I honeymooned in the Dominican Republic, in the gorgeous resort city of Punta Cana. I hope you didn’t miss me too much! This was my first time out of the country in way too long and my second experience with an all-inclusive resort. My first was Spring Break in the Bahamas and let’s face it; we were there for the booze. This time my hubby and I were there for the food and also the booze. Come on now people it was our honeymoon! Both were great, but whoa, buffets.
Besides having a fantastic time in the DR and getting to see a bit of the culture, spending a lot of time in the sun by the pool and the beach, I had one big revelation. A myriad of vacationers at the resort, from all over the world mind you, were overweight and not a little overweight, like morbidly obese! I could count on my hand the number of overweight Dominicans I saw. So why were so many of us travelers overweight? Wait for it… the buffets!
Everywhere I looked there was an option for a buffet. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Oh my! Now I totally dig a nice delish breakfast buffet, but talk about overload. I have fond memories of mother’s/father’s day brunches and they all include me being so full I could throw up afterwards. Neither my hubby nor I yakked on our trip, but we did indulge in the breakfast buffet every morning. I definitely ate more at the buffet than I would normally eat, but I always got the same thing. Wait for it…an egg white omelet with jalapenos, mushrooms, tomatoes and red onions. It was so damn yummy! I always tried a potato item, had a nice piece of toast and stacked it with smoked salmon and whatever cheese looked tastiest. I filled my plate!
At breakfast there was a whole spread of all sorts of meats and cheeses. Not to mention the traditional breakfast meats: sausage, bacon, ham, fried salami (who knew), sometimes chicken wings (who knew), and some meats that I could not place. They had a bazillion breakfast pastries, cereals, oatmeal, and weird fruit that I wasn’t a fan of. Yes, even I was excessive at my favorite breakfast buffet and every single person there had platefuls of food. Oh snap! My hubby and I successfully avoided the lunch buffet except for a snack and only fell victim to the dinner buffet one night. Food overload!
Are buffets why all of us travelers are way heavier than the Dominicans? It’s not the only reason, but it’s a big one! Being an all inclusive resort only fueled things. We had to practically beg them not to bring us another pair of fruity mixed drinks.
It wasn’t just the restaurants that had buffets; you could hit one up when lounging by the pools too! The main pool area buffet had nachos, French fries, fried chicken bites, or a burger. OMG. What could we eat here? Except for the first day, we didn’t! Not knowing the magical food that existed elsewhere, out of this buffet world, we ate French fries, fried chicken bites, and nachos. Yep, I ate like a child! Once was ENOUGH. We quickly found the pool spots with a good solid meal, like the Eden pool that made sushi and the Bongos pool that did yummy ceviche and tacos!
I both had a blast and learned a lesson on my trip. In any situation you can eat as healthy or unhealthy as you want. Most people on vacation choose to indulge in the unhealthy side and it’s evident by their bodies, but we can of course make healthy choices that are just as wonderful as the unhealthy ones. Balance people! I could eat that egg white omelet every day, but I’m totally detoxing from the all inclusive potatoes, bread, fries, and alcohol! You only live once!
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