How to Lose Weight in Africa

Losing weight is much harder than I had anticipated. Not that I was trying to shed some major poundage this summer, but I wasn't going to complain if I could fit into the favorite pair of jeans that much better. Being in a new location always makes me finicky about food for some reason. This has nothing to do with different tastes or textures, I just don’t normally eat a lot when I’m not in my comfort zone. So I expected to keep my meals to a healthy size and time. But it didn’t take long for me to forget that idea once I got to Tamale. Tamale is rich with flavor experiences, such as my new favorite poultry, the ever-popular guinea fowl. This tough little bird is an excellent meat choice to Red Red, a bean and tomato dish served with fried plantains, which I can’t get enough of. But this is just one of the many options of local dish. Jolof rice and fried fish can be purchased on the street corner in quantities that would make U.S. restaurants blush and at prices that can’t be beat by the McDonald’s dollar menu.

Besides the local dishes, Chinese food is served at most every sit down restaurant. Non-Ghanaian food is typically referred to as “fast food” thought it is anything but. What is meant by “fast food” is that it is the type of food one can get at a western fast food restaurant. No food is pre-made and left to sit under a heat lamp. When you order pizza here, they begin making the dough.

So amongst the fabulous flavors, plenteous portions and petite prices I was starting to wonder if I would fit into my tailor-made traditional dress. Then I came across a natural way to avoid those pesky pounds: a stomach virus. Indeed, I have discovered that a constant threat of nausea is the only thing to keep oneself from over indulgence.