Regarding the fact that I gained five pounds on the "sea pig farm"...

They say cruises are like "sea pig farms," so our family (three adults and two children) decided to give it a try. This time, we chose the MSC Gloria, as it's known for its good food, making it suitable for seniors and children. Overall, since we mostly dined at the main dining room, the food seemed to be high in protein, unlike the more varied options at the buffet. We didn't eat much in the way of carbs, except for ordering a pasta dish for the kids to fill them up. Apart from that, we mainly focused on vegetables, meat, cakes, and ice cream. After each meal at the main dining room, we'd head to the buffet for some fruit, as the fruit in the main dining room was often too cold for the kids. Once we realized this, we stopped ordering fruit at the main dining room and got it from the buffet instead. We always felt quite full, but with the kids in tow, we had to keep them entertained and explore the ship, so there wasn't much time to lie around after meals. Come mealtime, everyone, adults and kids alike, was ready to eat. We had at least two servings of each dish. After six days and five nights, we returned home and checked our weight against what we'd recorded the day before departure. Not much of a change, perfectly balanced, haha.