Quote:
Originally Posted by amazonian
Being in another country makes dieting doubly difficult. I can't read nutrition information, or even the ingredients. They don't have much in the way of fat-free, at least I don't think so. And good healthy foods that I love are tough or impossible to get- i.e. cottage cheese, oatmeal, whole wheat anything. Sometimes I think I need to leave my wonderful job just so I can have an unlimited supply of fat-free Cool Whip.
Korean food is delicious, and actually quite healthy, but like everything, gets old after a while. And of course white rice is served with EVERYTHING!
In any case, I'm looking forward to slimming down and hope his forum makes it easier to stay on track.
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As you may remember from another thread, I'm in Japan and in much the same boat as you. It is harder to lose weight in countries where there are no fat-free or low fat options. Meat in Asian countries always has plenty of fat for some reason.
I have been making all of my own food where the local alternatives are not desirable. You can make cottage cheese yourself from milk and vinegar, for instance. All you need to do is boil a liter of milk and stir in about 2-3 tbsp. of vinegar, allow it to sit at a low boil for about 5 more minutes, allow it to cool, scoop the curds into a cloth set up in a sieve and allow the whey to drain off. Certain types of milk work better than others. You have to try different types.
I also make my own whole wheat bread with a bread machine. Bread machines aren't so hard to come by here, and I imagine you might be able to get one in Korea as well. You might want to investigate resources and communities for expats on-line to see if any mail order places sell food frequently bought by Western folks. In Japan, there are two mail order places which sell foreign food and organics (including whole grain).
Finally, though I'm not recommending you buy new clothes, Land's End ships all over the world and carries many different sizes. Their prices are pretty reasonable. If it weren't for them, I'd have been out of luck as my sizes are not sold in Japan either (including shoes, which I can't buy here).
Good luck!
P.S. If you can find the Korean manufacturers web sites featuring their foods, you can use Google's translation tools to read nutrition information. Since most places put the company's URL on the product, this should make it easier for you, though it'll help if you can read a little Korean in places where graphics are used and translations are impossible.
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