The Naples Diet

Want to get into shape and lose weight while eating lots of the world’s most delicious food?

Consider Naples, the ultimate walking city. Really, you don’t have much choice. Mass transit is minimal, taxis are rare, Uber’s not to be found, and everything’s a 20 minute walk from everything else. I’ve been averaging 7-10 miles of walking per day, more than enough to burn through the rigatoni and sfogliatelle.

In fact, as body builders will tell you, you lose weight faster if you increase eating along with increased exercise. Many dieters make the mistake of eating less and less, putting their bodies in starvation mode (the medical term is “metabolic syndrome”, and it’s bad news). My fingernails are growing 3 times their normal speed, and I’ve tightened my belt a notch. And it’s all about frequent small meals - the healthiest way to do it - in this most noshish of towns.

I’m here on another super-budget traveldeal. There was once a tech bargain alert site whose motto was “Go broke saving money!”, and I’ve been thinking about that more and more. I’ve been to Bogota, Barcelona, Dallas, Savannah, and Singapore in the last couple of years, jumping on freakishly low plane fares and checking into cheap AirBnbs, but though I rarely spend more than $500 on air and lodging (most often a lot less), it’s beginning to add up.

But my bankruptcy will be your gain once I start posting photos. For now, I’ll leave you with this one perfect little pile of ragú ala Genovese. Remember this formula: Genovese = onions.





Next installment of my Italy trip: Lines in Italy Explain My Exasperation