My New Year’s resolution for the last I don’t know many years was to lose 10 pounds. I was a bit overweight at 195lbs as I’m only about 5’10” tall. I wish I could say all that weight was due to all the muscles I have.

I’ve been traveling in Latin America for about 6.5 months now. About two months ago I sent some pictures to my mom and my sister and they both mentioned I lost quite a bit of weight. Then about 2 weeks ago I sent some more pictures to my mom and she seemed worried that I wasn’t eating enough.

Just last night I had to add another hole to my belt for the third time as I didn’t expect to lose this much weight. I don’t know exactly how much weight I’ve lost but I definitely feel much healthier. I think I’m at the point now that if I can maintain my current weight I’d be happy with that.

I actually didn’t think I was losing that much weight until my mom and my sister mentioned it. I wasn’t really trying. I eat about the same amount of food as back home but I definitely do a lot more walking while traveling. I could spend all day just walking around when arriving in a new city (and often times I wasn’t planning on spending all day walking, I just get lost a lot).

Also maybe the food I’ve been eating are just not as fattening as the ones I used to eat back home. I still eat a lot of meat and carbs, I could eat a half chicken in one sitting. But maybe my metabolism improved due to all the walking I’ve been doing. I also eat more fruits here as they’re so cheap and fresh (I love pineapples!).

Before I started my trip I was actually worried that I might gain weight as I figured I’d probably be eating out a lot (which I do, I usually eat out at least once a day) and because of the lower price of the food.

I also have Type 1 Diabetes, the type that requires insulin, and I brought 6 months of medication with me (which occupied about a third of my backpack). Over 6 months later, I still have probably about 60% of my medication. The reason is I haven’t needed much insulin as my blood sugar has been more stable and my body seems to now respond much better to insulin.

For example, I used to take 15 units of the fast-acting insulin before each meal to keep my blood sugar level stable. Overtime, I’ve been reducing it as I would get low blood sugars about an hour after I eat. This is a terrible feeling, it feels as if you’re going to pass out. Right now 6 units work best for me. That’s a 60% reduction in insulin intake. If I get to a point where I don’t even need to take insulin, I’d be so happy. That’s like getting upgraded to Type 2 Diabetes.

So there you go, another reason to travel. For this reason alone, taking a year off to travel would have already been worth it for me. I just hope I can maintain it.

If you’re a traveler and have lost weight while traveling, please leave a comment. I’d love to hear your story!