Do you or fiddler have some good healthy Thai recipes to share? I usually just do green or penang curries but they get old after a while and I'd love to introduce new dishes into my rotation.
Hi Everyone!
I recently moved to Israel and would like to lose about 80 pounds before I turn 30 (about 16 months from now). I know it is very doable and I have already enlisted the help of some of my colleagues here. This thread could not have come at a better time!
The price of things here is a bit high relative to the US, but I actually use that to my advantage. I am not the type of person that likes to spend more than what something is worth, and have been using that theory for the few days I have been here to my advantage.
I have also gotten used the smaller portion sizes remarkably quickly and have noticed that I get full without wanting to clean my plate. Luckily, there is no pressure to do so. And I spend considerably more money per day eating out here than I would back at home, but the food is alot more rich. I was having very bad digestive problems before I left and that is no longer an issue. I also drink alot more water (and coffee), as well as snack less.
I have to go back home briefly for a week and I am not looking forward to not having the great healthy food in abundance (and cheap at farmer's markets) but I will try my best to keep up what I started.
How have people found working out in other countries? There are gyms, yoga studios, etc and people are into staying healthy/in shape, but it seems like people are just "naturally" thin so I don't every really see people talk about working out or going, but I know that they do. Additionally, the prices are very steep. I'm staying at a hotel and it costs the equivalent of almost $10/day to workout as a guest! I plan on joining a local gym, which I believe costs roughly $900/year to join as well as joining a local yoga studio, but I am trying to rationalize that as a low cost to be healthy.
Oh and an anecdote to the poster who was called fat by her cleaning lady: at a shapely US size 14, I am the fattest woman at my place of work. Luckily, I am not the biggest I've seen in the country, but when you know most everyone wears a US size 10 or less (or looks like it), you feel like you might as well be. But that is just additional motivation.
How have people found working out in other countries? There are gyms, yoga studios, etc and people are into staying healthy/in shape, but it seems like people are just "naturally" thin so I don't every really see people talk about working out or going, but I know that they do. Additionally, the prices are very steep. I'm staying at a hotel and it costs the equivalent of almost $10/day to workout as a guest! I plan on joining a local gym, which I believe costs roughly $900/year to join as well as joining a local yoga studio, but I am trying to rationalize that as a low cost to be healthy.
Oh and an anecdote to the poster who was called fat by her cleaning lady: at a shapely US size 14, I am the fattest woman at my place of work. Luckily, I am not the biggest I've seen in the country, but when you know most everyone wears a US size 10 or less (or looks like it), you feel like you might as well be. But that is just additional motivation.
I also drink way more coffee here. It's a good "snack" when I want to eat and shouldn't (I just put a splash of milk in, no sugar).
As for working out and sizes. It really, really depends on the economic class you're talking about. We stayed with the in-laws for awhile and they live in a very poor neighborhood and people were definitely larger there. We've since moved into an upper-middle class neighborhood and people are quite a bit skinnier in general around here.
In our apt complex I'm definitely one of the large women around (not counting nannies, gardeners, and cleaning ladies). We have a gym in our apt building and I'm DEFINITELY the largest woman who frequents it. The other woman are all really skinny and walk on the treadmill the entire time while I'm there huffing and puffing and actually running. It's almost like woman aren't allowed to sweat or something because all the guys that go there are running so I just don't get it.
Here I think it's really just about what money can buy. In my in-laws neighborhood it wasn't safe to go running, there was a gym that was cheap but it was very small and had little equipment in it. The vegetables available there were of a very poor quality and it was much cheaper to just buy white rice, white breads, meat and cheese than actual veggies. Where we live now the vegetables are still expensive but the quality is amazing and the white bread isn't quite as cheap anymore.
Goalgetter I find working out here really tough, mainly because it's boiling! Our town has a big sports complex with a massive pool (so many chemicals!) a big running track and badminton/basketball/tennis courts and football pitches. There is also a gym that only cost 10p to use, but it's non-AC and pretty awful! So, I either do running/walking cardio at the track, but more normally work out at home, using workout DVDs and my exercise ball/dumbells and resistance band for strength training. I do wonder how my exercise regime will change when I get home. I can't really imagine joining a gym, but I think I'll defo give it a whirl!
Indiblue I'd love to swap! Although, I'm not in BKK, it's way too hectic for me, I'm in a small town, very different from the big city! I also used to eat pad bung LOADS, but am pretty over it now!
I've not really got any healthy Thai recipes, I very rarely cook Thai food as I eat it everyday for lunch. I normally make Western Style Salads, Jacket Spuds or Indian food for dinner! Aubergines and Courgettes are really cheap at the moment so being doing tons of ratatouille type dishes, lovely
I'd love to hear from anyone else with knowledge the best sort of lunchtime choices I can make!
Last edited by takingcontrol; 03-29-2011 at 09:39 AM.
fiddler that recipe looks awesome. Thanks for sharing. I'm going to try it next week. What do you substitute for kaffir lime leaves? I used to have dried ones (that I bought in the BKK airport lol) but I ran out a while ago and I haven't been able to find them here.
goalgetta welcome! Working out is difficult here too. I am fortunate to have a gym in my apt complex, but the only equipment is a treadmill, elliptical, stationary, and some free weights. It's not bad, I rotate between the cardio and then get in some free weights and abs on my own. I do miss classes though. Gyms here are pretty pricey. I used to go to a yoga studio but it was very, very mediocre (can you believe it? a mediocre yoga studio in India??) and it is the ONLY good (as in clean, well-run) studio in my city. Ridiculous. They upped their fees by 50% last month though (!?!?) so I quit. Not worth it for such mediocre quality.
Running is a no-no, very not okay for women. I hate guys staring at me and I hate running in 90+ degree weather in big shirts and loose long pants. Seeing a woman's figure is taboo. Would much rather run on a treadmill inside due to these factors, though I do miss outside running.
takingcontrol I have some healthy ethnic lunchtime ideas for you! I'm headed to bed in a few mins but will post them tomorrow
Love this thread!!! So fun to discuss the challenges and opportunities with eating ethnic and/or living abroad.
ALSO krampus very interesting you raise the issue of English-language support groups for weight/diet/body image issues. I haven't even thought of that as a pretty big challenge for expats. Have you found ways to cope, in addition to 3FC?
ALSO krampus very interesting you raise the issue of English-language support groups for weight/diet/body image issues. I haven't even thought of that as a pretty big challenge for expats. Have you found ways to cope, in addition to 3FC?
It's hard to say since I am a work in progress and every day is like opening a new box of chocolates (in the Forrest Gump sense, sometimes in the literal sense). I look to people I know who have healthy relationships with food for guidance. I go out and see waif-thin girls eating full meals and desserts. It's all about establishing and maintaining a sane and doable regimen right now.
It's interesting you mentioned the difficulties getting exercise as a woman in India, indiblue. I have it very easy in Japan, since the men here are all afraid of/ignore women I never have to worry about being stared down or wolf-whistled or otherwise really disrespected, aside from the occasional rude drunk. It's very normal to see joggers and walkers outside. There are fewer female joggers as most women here opt for powerwalking, but I am completely comfortable going for an outdoor run wearing short shorts if it's hot out.
Essentially, living in Japan isn't that different from living in the U.S. I chose not to buy a car or a bicycle and I walk everywhere and take public transit when I need to go somewhere too far to walk. I buy groceries 2-3 times a week, mostly fresh stuff. I like to think that if I lived in Paris, my lifestyle would be very similar.
I really want to live in Europe. I hope my boyfriend (American, pursuing a music career, undecided whether his future lies in Tokyo, the Netherlands or USA) goes for NL.
goalgetta Just thought of something else for your exercise- do you have a Hash House Harriers where are? I imagine in Jerusalem/Tel Aviv and the other big cities they have it. It's a running club for expats (usually Americans) but all are welcome, including non-American expats and locals. Lots of funny traditions, drinking, but the main part is laying out a trail somewhere in/near the city with lots of different dead ends. The people who actually race/run the whole way run down the dead ends and yell back to the others- who may be walking, mix of running/walking, etc it's the wrong way. Some Hashes welcome families, some are more intense than others. Anyway maybe check to see if there's a Hash near you- it's free exercise!
MiniFluffy I still am in awe of slender Europeans who drink lots of coffee, have wine by 11 in the morning, and have very rich meals with lots of bread and patisseries. Or even slightly heavier Europeans who do that, I would be HUGE if I ate that diet! Obviously it's all fresh, not as many chemicals and processing as we have in the US, but still. Amazing. Isn't there a book called Why French Women Don't Get Fat or something like that?
krampus I'm glad you are able to walk to get groceries, etc. That's sooo good for making sure you move around a lot throughout the day, in addition to structured exercise periods. When I lived in Southeast Asia where were tons of older Japanese men in track suits who would go to a park in the morning to do Tai Chi or make loud noises or perform very interesting walks and arm motions (lifting their legs up very high when they walk, swirling their arms around in circles for several minutes on end), so I assumed Japan is much more open to exercise, as different from our exercise as it may be ^_^
takingcontrol A few quick thoughts on lunch:
1. Taco salads: beans with cumin and chili powder or packets of taco seasoning if you have an import grocery store, shredded cabbage, lightly sauteed onion, diced tomato, shredded cilantro, squeeze of lime, pinch of salt
2. Hummus with pita bread/tortillas: typical hummus recipe with reduced oil, pita/tortilla made by mixing flour and water, rolling out thin, quick heat on each side of the pan
3. Sushi!! I imagine even if you are in a smaller city/town in Thailand you can get nori, so just prepared rice with rice wine, julienne carrots/cucumber/whatever else you can find.
4. Bibimbap, faux version: I made this accidentally once- chopped veggies with mirin/rice wine/fish sauce/brown sugar, over rice, crumbled nori, sriracha and a fried egg over it
5. Egg salad sandwich (can you get bread?) prepared with yogurt instead of mayo.
6. Frittata- egg beaten until frothy, mixed with diced veggies and baked.
Ok that's all for now... will be brainstorming for more What types of imported foods do you have access to where you are?
I really admire the whole "French Women Don't Get Fat" philosophy. It seems very similar to intuitive eating and should be so straightforward - eat when you're hungry, don't eat when you're full, and if you eat a huge dinner have a light lunch the next day. French people in general just seem to have it right (aside from the smoking) - most of the women I've seen there have healthy slender figures, averaging around a US 4-6.
