New on the beach - down 5 so far

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  • Hi all

    First I want to thank you all for this amazing board. I have been following it for some days and enjoying your recipes, FAQs and the general support you extend to eachother. I am a European living in India so this internet thing is really great! Except that its day here when its night for most of you

    Well, I am halfways into my second week on the beach. Have had good results, down 5 so far (not so accurate as dont have digital weight and am so tall, 5"9, that reading the numbers on my Indian made mechanical weight is challenging ) I am quite happy with the diet and have only cheated once (last night was so exhausted i couldnt help grab a Snickers from the supermarket). Started the gym again simultaneously so have been enjoying getting back into that again.

    Being on SBD in India is kinda different. I think in many aspects easier as
    1. Indian food is really easy to incorporate as is mostly pulses and vegetables already
    2. Junkfood is hard to come by
    3. Chocolates here are horrible (they dont melt in your mouth !) and imported are costly and not availbale most places (only Snickers and Mars is decently cheap)
    4. Bread and pasta are hardly available only in speciality stores and then its either imported or NOTHING like i am used to!
    5. Everything comes in small portions
    6. Being surrounded by downright diminuitive people all the time makes you feel like quite the giantess (who should slim down).

    At the same time it is also harder because
    1. No low carb food available for emergencies! Mostly cant even get a diet coke . Forget about trying all these delicious recipes you have put that uses no-sugar products. Can get equal though.
    2. No ricotta cheese! Am eating yougurt instead and contemplating making my own.
    3. Limited choice of vegetables (have to hunt half the town to get hold of a limp, bitter piece of lettuce! They are just not that into salads as we know them!

    Otherwise India has proven a great diet! With a combination of "Delhi-belly" getting used to unusual food, hardly getting decent bread, pasta, chocolates I have gone down from 230 (I have been overweight since I was born and have tried countless diets) to 180 (within like 3 months, yeah my tummy was REALLY bad getting used to new bacteria). This was 2 years back. Maintained the weightloss pretty fine, started running, did a half-marathon this Jan, and was generellay feeling fab. Then I stopped running, started eating comfort foods after work mostly biscuits) and here I am again!

    Am getting married on November 23 and have to wear a belly-baring Indian bridal dress. Now thats motivation!

    Ooops this post is getting quite long. Sorry about that.

    Anyways am glad to be here and look forward to being a part of this board!

    Love
  • Hi Indiagal

    Nice to meet you!

    Congrats on your forthcoming marriage - that's a great goal to help you along in your weight loss.

    You seem to be handling the limitations of food availibity really well - but also you can make full use of those yummy dhals (sp) etc.

    As you've already noticed, this is a great place to be - so welcome to the Beach!
  • Welcome to the Beach.
  • India...how fun! I lived in the Phillippines from age 8-13 and was the height I am now at age 11,5'7", so I know how it is to be surrounded by tiny people and feel huge. I also wore an american woman's size 8 shoe which was incredibly hard to come by in that country and the store clerks would make this huge issue about how huge my American feet were...not too great for the self esteem of a pre-teen girl. I weighed @ 130 and thought I was the fatest thing on the planet. On the other hand, I had so many cool experiences and memories that I treasure now as an adult.

    I think everyone should travel and experience other cultures, esp. Americans as I find we tend to think we are the center of the world here. I think that may be due to the fact that in general Americans are not as well travelled as our European friends. I've also lived in Japan and travelled to Korea. My next goal is to get to Europe and Australia.

    Good Luck with your weightloss! At least you get to eat some yummy SBD friendly indian foods...I love indian food.
  • Welcome, India is a place I would someday love to visit when my 3 kids are grown!! I just LOVE Indian foods but good Indian food is hard to come by in Michigan Good luck on your upcoming marriage and on the Beach!!!
  • Welcome to The Beach, Indiagal. it sounds as if you are enjoying living on the sub-continent. I need to get out my atlas to pinpoint you. Having the bare my midriff would certainly be motivation!
  • WElcome...pull up a towel, and put on your sunblock....you will love our beach!!
  • Welcome to the beach, Indiagal
  • Hi and welcome to the beach. I have a uni friend that just showed me some pictures of her indian wedding on Wednesday.. the red saris are divine. Good luck with your weightloss journey.
  • Hi Indiagal,
    Welcome aboard. I've noticed that veggies at our local Indian restaurants are usually cauliflower, peas, potatoes & tomatoes. Somewhat limited. You could probably grow some lettuce and other green things, if you have time between working and planning a wedding!

    Congrats and good luck!
  • Indiagal, welcome! What a wonderful experience living in India!
    I can relate to the feeling of being a giantess. We live in Chinatown, and I'm surrounded by beautiful, tiny little Chinese and Vietnamese women.
  • Welcome Indagirl!

    Congratulations on your upcoming wedding and good luck! This is the place to be! Glad you could join us on the Beach!
  • Welcome, Indiagal! Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

    My friend Andrea married an Indian friend of mine and wore the traditional henna tatoos for her wedding. The whole day of pampering before the wedding sounds divine, but I agree...having to bare my midriff would be a great motivation for me!

    If you have cravings after the snickers, try staying on P1 for a week longer. Try to keep some P1 appropriate snacks on hand just in case, like nuts or cheese (that's hard to get there, I assume?). Don't worry about the ricotta. Other than making Italian dinners, I haven't eaten it since my second day on SBD. I was not fond of the desserts. You'll do fine without it...just be aware that yogurt is processed as a carb while cheeses (like ricotta or cottage cheese) are processed as proteins. Your body will respond in a slightly different way to the yogurt. I haven't had any problems with it, but I try to keep it in mind and add a little bit of protein to my yogurt so it's more balanced and keeps my blood sugar even.

    Glad to have you with us!
  • Welcome aboard Indiagal, you sound like you've figured out how to make this WOE work for you !!!
  • Welcome Indiagal. Congrats on the wedding...showing my stomach area would send me screaming in the other direction. I would be thinking about eloping!!! My friends tried to talk me into a 2 piece bathing suit this year. I bought a tankini and thought this was a great stretch for me. I will never be comfortable showing off my tummy even when I hit goal weight. I appload your self-confidence and strength.