Hi! I'm a Canadian living in Japan and I just had my second baby 6 weeks ago. This is my first serious try at changing my lifestyle and I am excited to be here.
I am a US size 24 and my first major goal is to get my thighs and butt small enough that I can fit comfortable in an airline seat by the time I go home on June 21st. The recent talk about charging big passengers for a second seat has really lit a fire under my butt. I save up all year to be able to go home and if I had to pay for a second seat I could only go home every second year.
With a toddler and a newborn it's tough to find time to exercise. I am nursing my daughter so I can't cut down on calories too much, but I need to make healthier food choices. I know most people don't have this image but the food in Japan is so unhealthy! Fruits are insanely expensive ($3 is normal for a single apple) and vegetables are too. Not to mention everything is fried. There just isn't the selection of healthy foods here that there is in North America. What I wouldn't give for a bag of baby carrots that are ready to eat!
Enough complaining, I am ready to make a big change! Hope to see you all on the boards!
Domo Arigato, Mister Roboto...
I'm Canadian too!
My friend taught english in Japan for 2 years -- said the people were tiny because they couldn't afford to eat, what, with watermelons at $30 a pop. And they were SQUARE, too...
Another Canadian here too. That sounds like such a tough situation with fruits and veggies being so expensive. I couldn't imagine not being able to fill up meals with them at a pretty decent price.
But kudos to you for committing to make it work despite that challenge. I hope you're able to find some food choices that work for you.
I am "new" here too - signed up a little while ago but have been a bit of a lurker since then. I just got home from a holiday in Japan, it was totally amazing but I can completely understand how frustrating buying your food must be. I didn't expect it - but so much regular Japanese food is so bad for people trying to avoid fried things, salty things and foods with lots of carbs! Certainly no gluten free options either!
At least you have excellent sushi to eat! I wish I could have stayed in Japan for longer, it is a really amazing place.
Lots of luck for your weight loss - 4kgs, you've made pretty great progress already!
I live in South Korea (I'm American) and I can relate to the food qualms. I haven't had a lot of Japanese food but I always thought it was so healthy. Korean food is super-salted, veggies are boiled, slathered in mayo and all the street food is fried. Not to mentioned piles of processed rice! I thought by moving here I'd naturally shed weight... yeah, not the case! I've had to work hard to lose about 10 kg in 9 months.
It helped me to change a little bit at a time. I, too, was frustrated when I got here that my normal diet foods were not available, like baby carrots. But you really can carve out a good eating routine.
Also, I walk a ton in Korea and hiking is readily available. Even though you have small children, I think a daily walk would go a long way for you.
Just start small... I know you have this goal to fit into the airline seat and that's important but my changes have lasted because I did a little bit at a time.
Have you live in Japan long? I'll be visiting for the first time this summer.. July or August to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.
We'll be living in Atsugi, just south of Tokyo. We are so excited! Maybe I'll have to plant a garden lol.
That's near where my husband is from! We live in the very south of the mainland so not too many trips to the Tokyo area unfortunately. I love it there though, hope you enjoy it too!
I don't know if you'll have a yard or not (if so, I'm jealous!) but we do balcony container garden. Right now I have some fennel and coriander growing because they don't sell those here, as well as cauliflower. It's too hot to grow in the summer though so I will take a break soon and plant again in late September.
Quote:
Originally Posted by joyra
Hi & welcome!
I live in South Korea (I'm American) and I can relate to the food qualms. I haven't had a lot of Japanese food but I always thought it was so healthy. Korean food is super-salted, veggies are boiled, slathered in mayo and all the street food is fried. Not to mentioned piles of processed rice! I thought by moving here I'd naturally shed weight... yeah, not the case! I've had to work hard to lose about 10 kg in 9 months.
Have you live in Japan long? I'll be visiting for the first time this summer.. July or August to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.
I totally hear you on the rice! Any wonder Japan, Korea, and China have the highest rates of stomach cancer in the world? All that nutrient free white gloop that stays in the gut forever.
I love going to South Korea. Bbq kalbi and kimchi, yum! We're going throught Seoul on my way to Canada this summer and I'm excited. Hope you enjoy your visit here and the paranoia about swine flu doesn't interrupt your trip.
Konnichiwa from Japan
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