21 day tour - jogging opportunities?

First, congratulations on losing that much weight. Well done! Second, there is virtually no chance you'll come back 10 lbs. heavier. When I took the 21-day tour, I didn't pay any attention to watching my diet. In fact, I ate gelato like it was going out of style. But with all the activity during the tour, I came back 5 lbs. lighter.

That said, you could quite easily jog in Bacharach and Lauterbrunnen in particular, and you can hike in Reutte. Well, you can jog anywhere you like, but Bacharach and Lauterbrunnen seem especially nice places for a run. (Not that I run, mind you. Unless it's to a gelateria.)

haha. Thanks for the optimism but I went to Russia on a friendship exchange back in the 80's when I was in my early 30's and in one week, I gained 5#. It wasn't hard to do with a welcoming group offering Pepsi Cola and cake at every meeting. We were really sick of it, but had to look pleased and eat a little of it. My husband and I are currently vegetarian and know we can eat pasta in Italy, but don't know how we'll make it in Germany and elsewhere were meat in the main ingredient.
. We can't go 21 days without protein, and no one is going to serve us lentils or beans. We will eat eggs every morning I guess. I was going to take protein powder but the TSA might freak out with a large bag of powder in my carry on.

There are vegetarians and joggers in Europe. I am sure you will fit in just fine.

Just a note about food....you can definitely have beans in Italy. I'm vegan and had no trouble finding awesome bean soups (farro and bean soup in Tuscany was wonderful!) and other bean-based dishes. You won't go to Volterra on the 21 day, but had wonderful lentil falafel there. In Monterosso one of the local dishes is made with chickpea flour as well.

You might do a search on vegetarian eating on this site. Ms Jo from Frankfurt had a lovely post within the last 3 or 4 months. I will see if I can find it.

I don't think you are going to need protein powder. There will be plenty of things to eat to get your nutrients covered.

Thanks for the posts. Can you imagine if the protein powder bag broke in my suitcase? haha
I read in RS post on vegetarian eating that Europe can be tricky. I'm glad to know that we can get by with out just eating side dishes.

Here are some of previous threads:

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/to-the-west/semi-vegetarian-in-germany

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/general-europe/vegetarian-what-has

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/austria/vegetarian-in-vienna

Do read those posts about vegetarians in Europe, as they should reassure you. But note that if you do want to bring protein powder, it is a powder and not a liquid, so there are no problems putting it in your carry-on.

I just returned from a trip to Germany where I stayed in Munich for a bit and then in a small town on the Bodensee. Absolutely no problem finding vegetarian food on the menu or obtaining what you want just by asking.
You have nothing to worry about.

TSA couldn't care less about your protein powder. They are only looking for security "hazards", specifically liquids and weapons.

Your guide will ask for any dietary restrictions at the first group meeting and your needs will be taken into consideration for group meals. It's rare anymore that there aren't vegetarians on the tours.

Congratulations on the weight loss! No wonder you want to be sure it stays off. My experience with European travel including the one RS tour I have done [Germany/Austria/Switz] is that there is a LOT of walking - 5, 6, 7 miles a day. I was very pleasantly surprised to maintain my weight within about 2 pounds despite daily stops for gelato, or pastry at breakfast instead of FiberOne, or all those other little indulgences.

I take step counters on my trips, and last year took a FitBit which counts calories used and steps, measures distance in miles, and also counts flights of stairs [or the equivalent in walking up hills]; it was really helpful for keeping track of my energy output. And it's just fun to get that little email from FitBit saying "congratulations - you climbed 50 flights of stairs today!"

The other thing I have found is that portion sizes in Europe are often smaller than in the US, which also makes it easier to keep the pounds off even though eating out every day for 3 weeks.

Have a great trip!

As noted above, I just came back from Germany where the portions are easily twice the size of the portions served in America. Some restaurants offer a "small portion," and even that can be too much for some folks.

As you suspect, reducing your daily exercise routine could have unwanted effects. You'll have many opportunities to walk, but that's not the same as jogging 5 miles every morning, if you usually do. You are very welcome to jog wherever you are and hotel staff can often suggest the more popular or car-free local routes.

Thanks everybody. I have an UP band which I can wear to see where I am on the steps etc.