Hi everyone,

My name is Rachel, I am a 27-year-old American who just moved to South Korea nearly a month ago. I'm here with my boyfriend and we both teach elementary school.

Before I left, I hit my highest weight ever -- 173 lbs. I'm 5'1. Granted, I was enjoying the last hurrahs of American food and not working so I packed on about 8 lbs in a month. In my first two weeks here I lost that and now I'm staying steady at 165, which I pretty much weighed all summer.

I've been overweight my whole life. I remember being 5 and wearing a bikini and thinking my belly stuck out too much. My mother is and always has been an exercise addict, and when I work out a lot, my brain flashes PROBLEM! PROBLEM! and I want to quit. And I do quit. I love sweets, fatty foods, I just love eating. Again, if I eat a lot of healthy food, my brain screams RESTRICTIVE! EATING DISORDER! and I'll eat half a carton of ice cream. Which is funny, because I spent most of my college years as a binge eater. The bingeing urges went away 2-3 years ago, but I have continued to gain weight. My boyfriend, I love him, is not the most supportive. He's a foot taller and 25 lbs lighter. His metabolism is on turbo so we will sit on the couch, play online, watch tv, drink beer, eat pizza... I get off the couch 5 lbs heavier and he might possibly even LOSE a lb. He's doesn't like exercise so it's either go outside and exercise by myself or stay in and watch a movie with him.

I was hoping that Korea would be the magic bullet that just melted lbs off me. The thing is... I don't really like Korean food! I'm mostly vegetarian (sometimes I eat birds, but no fish) and Korean food is like 90% meat and seafood. Oh, and white rice. Their vegetables are totally not what I'm used to and I have no idea how to cook them. Finding healthy foods I like has been a real challenge (finding UNhealthy foods has been really easy).

I want to lose weight for health and energy (I've forgotten what it feels like to be energetic), but also fashion. Pants are an absolute horror to buy (short girl with huge butt) as are professional dress clothes for my job. Now that I'm in Korea, the average largest size is an 8 (I'm about a 12-16) so if my clothes wear out, I got nothing!

Anyways, I'm hoping to get some encouragement and accountability here. I've read many posts and I find you all so inspiring. Also, I can't wait to get a ticker and start sending it down the line!

Joyra!

What an amazing opportunity to work in another country! And an amazing opportunity to learn about all the new and "weird" vegetables that they have there And to learn some great recipes to cook.

Losing weight doesn't have to be eating only vegetables. (In fact, if that's all one is eating then they're doing it wrong.) What are you thinking is healthy food exactly? Honestly, a burger & bun with sweet potato fries, grilled vegetables and a salad with feta cheese and a scoop of ice cream for dessert is healthy. Sure, it's got to be prepared correctly, and there are tricks to keep the calories lower. But, I'm of the mind that all foods can be healthy... in moderation. Ahh that word. Moderation. It sounds like that's what you struggle with, though. (I do, too!) A sweet dessert is not automatically evil.

Your boyfriend may be able to eat nothing but chocolate bonbons while he sleeps and lose weight, but that is not you. This has got to be for you & by you and all about you. So he doesn't want to go for a walk... so what? Why does that mean you can't? So he just wants to eat pizza & drink beer... so what? You make yourself something more decadent. I'm not saying it's easy. I'm saying that excuses just keep us fat. You can ask him to join you. You can make him a helping of your meal. But, you can't make him do anything he doesn't want to. Don't let that prevent you from moving forward. (By the way, he's not doing himself any favors eating that way either, regardless of weight.)

So Korea isn't the magic bullet... because there is no magic bullet. There are ways to overeat or find sweet things in almost any country. Step out and talk to people around you about cooking things that don't include meat. Ask them about their favorite vegetable dishes.

You can do this! There are plenty of recipes around the boards, too. There's a Vegetarian section that may have a few ideas for things you'd like to eat when you're eating vegetarian. There's a 20-somethings board to chat with people your own age. You aren't alone. We're all here because we want to be healthier and lose weight.

Best of success!

I did a search for healthy vegetarian Korean dishes and came up with this:
http://asiarecipe.com/korveg.html

You can also substitute any meat in a recipe with tofu. Experimenting with food can be fun.

Also, Hannam Market in Seoul sells American food. Not sure how close that is to you.

Welcome!

Wow, I bet being in another country is exciting and scary. I would have no idea where to start dieting if I was in a foreign place, so I think it is awesome that you are using the opportunity to get healthy. Can't wait to support you on your path to healthy living!

Hi Rachel, I took my daughters back to Korea last summer ("back" for them as they were born there and we adopted them, we live in the U.S., but I'd never been to korea). It was a wonderful time in that beautiful country, and fortunately (?) I LOVED the food, except for the desserts ("be wary of fancy chocolate-looking desserts, for they are made of bean paste").

And I noticed that most Koreans were so slim!

True there is no magic bullet for sure, or I'd shoot myself with it but just start incorporating more walking into your routine, maybe get an exercise DVD. I set up a dvd player in front of my treadmill and just go for it. When your BF is sitting on the couch doing vid games just go do 30 min. of a workout or walk...I feel better about "allowing" myself to do fun stuff when I've "earned" it.

Best of luck to you, enjoy that gorgeous country while you are there! Travel as much as you can!

Thanks for the greeting everyone. I appreciate all your motivations. I sure have a lot of excuses--that's why I'm fat! "Stop thinking and start doing" is really my biggest hurdle.

Thanks for the links on vegetarian eating in Korea. I know it can be done. I have met some vegs who've been here for a long time (they just don't live in my town). My main obstacle is the language... I need to learn to read Korean (Hangeul) which I guess is really easy, if you just try (and I haven't yet...), and then I can find things without meat and keep trying foods until I find some that I like. Overeating has definitely not been an issue here--but giving up and resorting to American fast food has.

Well yesterday I set up Dance Dance Revolution and today I'm tackling the stairs for the first time. If I do manage all 23 flights, I have a feeling I might have some sore thighs for awhile.

Really, thanks again everyone. I love seeing everyone else's success, it's really motivating. I can't wait to show of MY successes in the future.

Hey Rachel! I'm also in South Korea so I know EXACTLY how you are feeling! I thought (hoped) that by moving here to teach the weight would just fall off since I didn't know anything about their food. Well unfortunately, that just hasn't happened! I'm an avid exercise person and even though I completely slacked on that when I first got there, I'm now back on the saddle. Just a couple of thoughts for you...
- The only way to successfully lose weight is to have supportive people around you. You need to tell your boyfriend that he needs to be supportive because its important to you.
- Try to find a workout buddy. Since many of the foreigners work out in the same places, you could probably even find someone that will meet you at a gym, which would force you to go. Even if you don't want to workout, my motto is I must do at least 20 minutes. If after 20 minutes, I still want to leave, then I can. Usually I end up having a great workout and staying much longer!
- Don't overdo it in the beginning. If you push yourself too hard, you'll just give up. Try to find something easy that you enjoy and start there.

I have ZERO advice for the food. I struggle with that part, which is why I can't lose weight - in fact - I am gaining! Its my own fault though. Portion control is going to be my new focus.

Hang in there! I'm in Daejeon, where are you?

Connie