7 Reasons the Spanish Have the Highest Life Expectancy in Europe

Even after getting to bed at 3am after returning from Spain last night I woke up so fired up and excited this morning and just had to tell you all about my trip to Spain last week.

We went for a family trip to Spain for a week to escape the cold Scottish weather and get a little bit of sunshine into our lives and it has done wonders for my mood, my health and my determination.  

We rented a beautiful white washed villa with a view of the sea and the whole of Nerja which is a stunning little town on the coast on the south of Spain.  

It was lovely having our own pool for the first time and the weather was the perfect temperature, hot enough to want to use the pool, but not too hot that it was still very pleasant.  The kids had a great time.  Lowenna learned to swim and Ellis took many Siestas.  

I can’t honestly say it was relaxing (well life with a 2 and 4 year old never is!) but it was fun and we had many wonderful memories.  

I just wanted to share the highlights with you and 7 reasons why I think Spain is such a healthy country, and what we can learn from the Spanish.  

Here we are with my dad (who also came with us) at the airport about to board the plane.  The kids were so excited and the 3 hour flight is a good length of time before they start going a bit too crazy!

We got to Nerja at midnight and woke up the next morning to beautiful views all around us.  Here we are admiring the view.  Stunning right?

Such a lovely location enjoying the scenery and waiting for some tasty local food.  Tapas is my favourite!
Paella is another big favourite of mine.  Such fresh, tasty healthy food.  Yum!
What I adore about eating out in Spain is that there is freshly squeezed orange juice and fresh smoothies available everywhere.  Oranges are plentiful and you can find them growing everywhere.  Me and the kids couldn’t get enough orange juice.  So tasty.   
My husband Richard and Ellis enjoying their meals outside in the sunshine.  

7 Reasons the Spanish Have the Highest Life Expectancy in Europe

Not only does Spain have the highest healthy life expectancy in Europe but it also beat Australia, Canada, Norway and US!

Here are some of my own observations about why Spain is such a healthy country.

1) I didn’t put any weight on during my first trip to Spain, and only 2 pounds this last time.  Usually I put on at least 7 pounds when I go away for a week.  This is despite eating out in restaurants every day. I think this is because we didn’t see any desserts on menus and most of the time we weren’t offered any.

2) The food is typically unprocessed. Processed food can be purchased in supermarkets but it is extremely expensive.

3) The weather is glorious all year round so you get lots of fresh air and do more things outside. We ate most of our meals outside which we all loved.

4) People walk more. Public transport is very good so less people have cars and they tend to walk wherever possible. We did loads of walking and swimming and it felt so good to walk in the sunshine.

5) People are happy and friendly and relaxed which is very good for wellbeing.

6) Fresh fruit is readily available. We had a lemon tree in our garden and you can find free oranges and avocados in many places. It’s much healthier than the fruit that gets shipped here to the UK unripe and weeks old by the time we eat it.

7) Kids generally don’t have their own menus and they don’t eat on their own. They choose the healthy food from the adult menu and eat with the adults. I was happy that my fussy kids tried and loved tapas.

Have you ever been to Spain or had similar experiences while you were travelling?

My exciting plans for healthy weight loss now that I am home

OK so my first day back in Scotland and it’s cold and raining but I’m not going to let that stop me being just as healthy now that I’m home.

So what I’m going to do is finally drop the extra weight I’m carrying and get back to my ideal weight again.  I’m going to do this eating food that’s good for me and tastes amazing.  

I’m so fired up that I’m setting myself a strict challenge as sometimes we need to be strict with ourselves to see the results we want to see.  

So I’m going to do a 28 Day Leaf System Challenge where I stick to The Leaf System 100% for 28 days so I can reach my ideal weight again.  

I’m also holding myself accountable by recording videos every day of this 28 day challenge and sharing them with you.  I’ll let you know when the videos are uploaded so you can watch them.  And at the end I’ll be turning this into a free challenge where you can join me too and I’ll explain exactly how to get started.  

All I am doing is following The Leaf System which is my healthy calorie counted weight loss system.  There are choices for everyone including vegan, paleo (meat) and raw options.  I’m going to be going all raw unless I feel like switching it up at any point.  

This is my food for the next 2 days.  It feels so good to have it all ready and made.  I’d love to see your photos.  If you’re in The Leaf System Facebook group – please post photos of your meals in the group.  (Join The Leaf System to get access to the Facebook group – see below for a special offer)
If you’d like to join me and you’re not a member of The Leaf System yet, I don’t want anything to hold you back getting the results you deserve, so today I’m sharing a $1 trial to The Leaf System with you so you can do the 28 Day Challenge for just $1.  If you are ready to join me and finally see weight loss results and a massive improvement in your health, click the link below to get started.

This special offer is only available until the end of the month so hurry and join us so you can finally start seeing your own amazing results.   
https://www.greenthickies.com/1trial   

And if you are already a member but haven’t really committed to The Leaf System yet – will you join me by following The Leaf System 100% for the next 28 days?  

I promise your life will look a lot different in just 28 short days.

Can’t wait to see your progress.  Will you let me know how it goes?

Have a healthy day

Talk soon,

Katherine xx

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Katherine Kyle @ Green Thickies

Founder at Green Thickies

Katherine lost 56 pounds and recovered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome with Green Thickies.
Read Katherine's inspiring comeback story, From Fat and Fatigued To Lean and Loving Life In 4 Months.
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