Is it possible to be healthy on a cruise ship?

As we all know, the food on board almost every cruise ship is hard to resist. There is that well known stereotype that after you come off a Cruise, you are a lot heavier than when you went on. So is it possible to actually have a healthy lifestyle on board?

There are exceptions to the rule of course. People will be reading this thinking, that it is easy not to put on weight, but for most of us the temptation is just too great. Why does having a three course meal with a glass of wine or beer go down well? I think in general, a cruise or any holiday is a place where you can relax. A place where you can forget about work or what ever is on your mind and just do what you want. So with this in mind, would you actually want to be calorie counting, or should you just enjoy the short time you are away?

Whatever you decide, if you have the will power, obviously you can be healthy on board. It doesn't really need to be mentioned, but the first thing to do would be to have one meal at dinner instead of three. Stick to this and don't be tempted by the dark, chocolaty side and you are probably half way there. Common sense right? Secondly, go to the gym on board, or even one of the less strenuous exercise classes. You are probably thinking right now, do I really need to be writing about this as so far, what I have said is just plain obvious. What if I said you could have the best of both worlds?

Not a lot of people realise that most cruise lines do offer a low fat dining option. It is still the same world class chefs preparing and making the meals and designing the menu's. Feed back suggests that although the meals are not quite as tasty as their full fat cousins, they are not far off. So if you do want to be a bit healthier, jump in the pool once a day and go for this dining option. This will be a lot easier than running around deck at 6 in the morning and eating lettuce for dinner.

So will this blog change your mind? To be honest I don't think it has changed my mind, but if you do need to eat better on health grounds, or just give it a go. At least you know that you can!