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Ed Levine's Serious Diet, Week 49: The Pan de Mallorca Diet

Posted by Ed Levine, January 9, 2009 at 8:40 AM

I'm back in New York after a week's stay in Puerto Rico. Daily visits to my trusty scale Thinner helped keep me on the straight and narrow, as did the unexciting food I found wherever we went. But one place and one food may have tripped me up. What am I talking about? The many seriously delicious forms of pan de mallorca served up at what I regard as Puerto Rico's greatest restaurant, La Bombonera. Located just five minute walk from our hotel, La Bombonera became my home away from home each of the three nights we were in Old San Juan. The question, serious eaters, is can a man eat at La Bombonera every morning and still somehow lose weight? The answer may be yes. Let me explain.

Every morning I would order one of La Bombonera's finest creations, the breakfast sandwich made with some combination of ham, bacon, egg, and cheese. Notice the powdered sugar on top of the sandwich? The Levine family was split on this bizarre and original touch. Vicky loved it, Will hated it, and I was somewhere in-between.

Sometimes I would finish the sandwich, sometimes I wouldn't. That would be breakfast, along with a small glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. Lunch and dinner in Old San Juan were for the most part simple, unelaborate, and quick one plate affairs featuring a small amount of meat, rice and beans, and salad. In between meals we did a ton of walking and no eating, so when I would get on the scale in Old San Juan in the morning I found my weight held steady at 232, what I weighed last Friday. In fact, my three pan de Mallorca-less, no La Bombonera days in New York leading up to this morning's weigh-in were tougher on my diet than my time in Puerto Rico. There are too many damn temptations in this town, and unfortunately I know how to find just about every one of them. So by Thursday I had actually gained a pound, up to 233.

The Weigh-In

232. Total days spent in Puerto Rico: 7. Total pan de Mallorcas consumed and thoroughly enjoyed: 3 Pounds lost in Puerto Rico: 1. Not bad, serious eaters, not bad. Long live the pan de Mallorca diet, three square meals a day and a lot of walking.

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Tags: Ed Levine's Serious Diet, health, Puerto Rico, weight