Hello South Beachers!
I started the SBD last fall and had great results -- I went from about 165 to 140. Much of the success is because of the great recipes and articles on this site. (I'm 5'7 and a half.)

One of the awesome things about SBD was that I lost my dependency on sugar -- I used to be a chocoholic but when I stopped eating added sugar I stopped feeling like I "NEEDED" it every day.

A few months ago I moved to Korea to become an English teacher. Food here is mostly rice-based, and there's not much sugar-free stuff. Milk and yogurt is very fatty, and cheese is non-existent!

My problem is that I've gotten back on the sugar train and am now eating sugar allllllll the time. I can't stop. I haven't gained weight yet because I'm walking a lot, but I don't feel good.

I'm wondering if there's anyone familiar with Korea or Asian countries who could give me good snack ideas that are low-cal. So many things here are made out of white rice. And, what do you do when you're feeling *awful* and just want some chocolate?

Thanks in advance...

Sunnydaysahead!

We have just the person to answer your question. Kara is currently living in Korea while her DH is on his tour of duty. As soon as she sees this, I'm sure she'll be able to give you some great ideas.

But right now she's supposed to be sleeping!

Hey, Sunny!

We don't shop for food on the economy a lot because we have our commissary on base, but if I was shopping off base I'd load up on fresh veggies and some fruit for snacks. Soy nuts? TOFU! There's tofu everywhere in the commissary. Japanese tofu and Chinese tofu. I don't know what the difference is. We're lucky to get a lot of "American" food, so I don't really know what is and isn't available for you.

Sorry to not be of much help. Where ya at? We're down a little south of Seoul at Osan Air Base.

Kara

WHAT?! Me, sleeping?!

Kara

Sheesh! What the heck time is it over there?

9:08 pm. Kids just went to bed and Tom just got home from martial arts. Avery's eating a "midnight snack" of applesauce and ricotta cheese and I'm feeding her with one hand and typing with the other! About to retire for the evening to our math session and then we'll hit the sack.

We're thirteen hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.

Kara

Thanks Kara. I'm in Gangnam, south of the Han River, in the city. There is a ton of tofu here. When I was following the SBD I was very very dependent on low-fat cheese, and no-sugar-added yogurt.

Do you eat much Korean food? Do you know which Korean dishes are good for SBD/are not? I definitely want to be absorbing all that the country has to offer, but a ton of other foreigners I've met say that they've gained a ton of weight since moving here...

Maybe nori might be a good snack. It's the stuff you eat that's wrapped around sushi. It does have sodium though. They sell it in bags cut up in little strips. I used to snack on it a lot when I was kid. You're right though most Asian foods have something to do with rice. Korean food in particular has a lot of sugar.
Edamame might be a good treat as well but might be marinaded in a teriyaki style sauce. Most of the pickled vegetables tend to have sugar in them. Sometimes though you can find it sweetened with fruits instead of actual sugar.
Cuttlefish, taegu are all made with sugar.
In fact, the only snacks I can think of that don't have sugar are made with rice.
I'm from Hawai'i.

Oh and the kim chee style sauces usually have added sugar as well. Not a lot but it's there.

What do the locals eat where you are? (A quick google shows that South Korea isn't having American-style obesity issues, so since you're there already, maybe it's worth eating like they do.)

We don't eat a ton of Korean food, but when we do go out I stick with steamed veggies as I'm a vegetarian and I never can tell what meat could be thrown into a dish. I do love me some kimchee but I only ever have a little portion! Rice is a huge part of the diet over here.

Personally, I think part of the reason there aren't as many obesity issues is that they eat a lot of fresh food, not processed, and they walk EVERYWHERE! They're always out on the streets playing chess or talking, not in front of the TV snacking.

Gotta get the kids breakfast. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know!

Kara

Oh, I forgot to say that I can't find reduced fat cheeses, even at the commissary, but even the regular ones are less than six grams of fat per serving, so they're still acceptable.

Kara

Thanks so much for that info Kara. You're right, I should take advantage of having a million different kinds of tofu here. And the fresh produce is great.

Thanks browneyed girl for the snacking advice.

And MariaMaria -- the locals eat healthily, and in really small portions. They also have a better approach towards sweets than we Americans do! I asked my kindergarteners what their favorite foods were and they ALL answered, "Apples, Peaches, Cherries, Watermelon...." No one said chocolate, chips, cookies or ice cream!

There is tons of ice cream and sweets around here, but the Koreans I know seem to have better willpower and they don't need to eat 5 ice cream bars like I do whenever I get close to sweets.

Hey, Sunny. We want to come up to Seoul one weekend and poke around. Where's your favorite place to go? Tom wants to see the war memorial. Have you been to the zoo? The aquarium? We've got three kids, so whatever we decide to do has got to be interesting for them, too.

Thanks for any advice!

Kara