Getting fat in Italy

During orientation I was told over and over how all exchange students get fat and its normal and we will likely gain weight. It doesn't happen overnight and it is a result of many different factors which I will now list & discuss.

1) The big one. FOOD. My entire daily routine has changed drastically. In Italy, it is typical to eat lunch at 1:30 pm and dinner at 9:00 (sometimes 9:30.. yikes). In America, I ate lunch at 11:30 am and dinner around 7-7:30. This sounds dramatic but everything gets thrown off. My body is extremely confused and needs time to adjust. In the process of adjusting, I'm gaining weight.

CARBS (deserves its own paragraph) In addition to the change in daily routine, Italians are famous for eating carbs all the time. It's a stereotype, but it's pretty accurate. We eat pizza as a snack in between meals. Pizza!!!!! In America I snacked on apples or clementines or maybe pretzels. Here, we eat pasta almost every single night for dinner and lots of bread. There are just a lot of carbs and I'm not used to it.

the absolute best

2) In addition to the change in diet, I haven't been able to exercise as much as I'd like. In America, I walked my dog every single day, sometimes up to 2 hours a day. I practiced yoga, I jogged, I was in good shape. Here, I don't have a dog, I'm not familiar with the area so it's difficult to go for long walks alone, and I feel weird doing yoga in my host sister's room. I mean, I know it's my room, too but it just feels weird to be like... ok I'm doing yoga now. It's also super frustrating/confusing how my host mother and sister stay so slim without ever exercising.

I've been on 2 runs in the past 2 weeks
it's not good

3) You feel sad ---> you eat. Going abroad is an emotional roller coaster. Sometimes I feel the happiest I've ever felt, sometimes I feel completely alone. Exchange students long for something to comfort them during the low parts. I try to only eat when I'm truly hungry but to err is human. It is important for me to find other ways of dealing with this.

Those are the three main reasons for weight gain: abrupt changes in diet, exercise, and emotions. It's not that I look significantly different than I did two weeks ago, it's how I feel about my level of fitness/body. Two or three pounds is unnoticeable to other people, but I can feel the difference.

I can't run as far. I start puffing after only a minute. My abs feel softer. My face looks fuller. Ugh. Ok I must regain control. It's been two weeks. That's enough. I need to get myself back together. Is it possible to eat pizza everyday and still look good?? I don't know. I must try.

Wish me luck. Love y'all. Ciao.