Overseas and Overweight
 

Hey all,
I'm totally new to this whole thing, but I thought this site could be the support I needed to finally shed the weight and keep it off.

As of now, I've been currently living overseas for the past two years and I have seen my weight fluctuate so much, I'm at loss of what to do. Before leaving the states after college graduation, I weighed 139lbs. Starting at 200+lbs, in my last year of college: I joined a gym, walked my dog everyday for an hour (sometimes jogging), did sit-ups, crunches, yoga and basic belly dancing, and of course I ate smaller-healthier portions. So its easy to see how I lost the weight.
But sadly, being overseas means a change in diet, the amount of time and availabily to exercise when free, and of coure the stress load from work. I know I've fallen off the horse, blaming the stated reasons and myself, and I've tried so many things to get back down to the size I was before I left. I'm a confessed yo-yo dieter and I want to stop.

I would like to reach my goal of 130lbs.
I'm interested in any and all (healthy) suggestions and/or opinions.

Please and Thank you.

It IS really hard to diet overseas... I spend weeks (sometimes months) at a time in India with my boyfriend and I gain for sure. I gained 6lbs last time, and that was WITH a stomach bug (I shoulda lost as much as I was in the bathroom!! :lol: sorry for the tmi)...!

Good luck... I know you can find a way! I'm gonna try harder this time too! (I'm leavin again in 1 months!)

I'm currently living in Japan now as an English teacher. I came out here with two main goals: 1. Improve my Japanese and 2. Lose weight. To my amazement, I'm not fluent but I'm about 45 lbs lighter. I don't know why everyone has the misconception that Japan is the land of healthy food because there is soooooooooo much out here that will put someone like me in a food coma lol. There are different kinds of foods and ways to cook them, but I just learned to reduce my portion sizes. That way I'm not overly obsessing about calories in foods that I can't even pronounce haha. And I have a trusty bicycle that I ride literally EVERYWHERE, that's tons when I'm used to zipping around in my Mazda:D PM me if you have any questions:)

Sadly, I actually had that healthy misconseption. I knew it wasn't going to be sushi all the time or anything, but I wasn't expecting Japan to have so many pasteries and sweets. I have a huge sweet tooth and I'm a choco-holic, which is of course, a bad combo. I'm also one of those people who like to try new things (especially food) once. Unfortunately, as you've said, you can go into a food coma with all the foods to try. Who knew such a small country could have such a diverse way of cooking?
But luckily, I'm like you. I have to bike to and from work 2-4 times a day.
(A good hour on the bike, going up and down hills). But I feel sometimes like its my only work-out for the day.

While living in Japan:
What do you do to work-out?
(I bike, do crunches, and I try to go to the gym when I have time).

What have you tried to eat and/or not eat?
(Its been hard, but I have been cutting all those pasteries out. But ofcourse, I still eat more rice than I did back in the states. However, I did find brown rice!-YAY!!!)

And in what ways did you cut your portion sizes?
(I've tried do it, but some how I can still go back for second or thirds).

Thanks for the help.
~Katt

No worries on the TMI. After only being overseas for 3 months, I had the same problem. However, instead of going back to my original weight or staying at that size, I gained it all back, and then twice as much (a little too quickly).

But since you're traveling to and from India quite a bit, what do you do when you return home? Is it difficult to shed the weight you just gained?
As I said, my weight fluctuates. And in the past few months I've been bouncing between 150 and 160. Do you have that same problem too?

Indian food is really popular in Japan, and I know how much eating it can add to a girlish figures. But it really doesn't help when you have one of the best Indian resturaunts in town, not more than 2 blocks from your house. (lol)

Hope the next trip goes well.

~Katt

I love the sweets too. I found my self at the local "conbinis" like Lawson and Family Mart having a field day. I just don't understand how everyone in this country is so stinkin skinny!

But that aside, I have workout dvds that I do in my little apartment. I have 30DS, Walk Away the Pounds, Insanity, P90x, and The Firm Wave (that I shipped here from home). Out of those I can usually stick with the Firm or WATP. Shaun T is just too insane for me and I don't have all the weights and stuff for P90. I've been trying to stick with 30DS, but Jillian is tough :(

As for food, I pick lean meats, vegetables and rice for dinners. I make my vegetables the largest portion. I, too, was eating my weight in rice thinking this is how the Japanese do, so it's healthy lol. But that's carb overload for a carby-girl like me. Since I live alone, I buy the smallest portions of packaged meat from the grocery store. When I cook dinner at home I split the portions of the entire meal (meat, rice, veggies) in 1/2 and eat that the next day. What keeps me from eating it late at night is that I tell myself that I can enjoy this delicious dinner one more time the next day without having to cook again. And after an 8-hour workday and coming home around 9:30 pm that sounds pretty nice ;)

I'm not a big breakfast person, so it's always fruit or toast, something small in the morning. I strive for low cal for lunch. Like a salad or sandwich with a yogurt or fruit. I have to completely cut out sweets for myself. If not, I can't control myself. I tell myself that I can have a small treat after I reach a mini goal or something. Hope this helps :)

Yeah, healthy Japanese food is one of the bigger scams. I'm not in Japan right now but I do teach ESL and have to say, you'll find a lot of skinny Japanese girls but they are very "skinny fat" {no muscle, starvation diets}.

Have you guys checked out yam noodles? It's about 13g carb per serving and taste just as good as any other kind (many find Shirataki noodles to be tasteless and gross).

One of my staple meals is traditionally Japanese,

Soup with the yam noodles, an egg, egg whites, lots of mixed veggies, and shrimp thrown in.

Sacha that sounds delicious, I'll have to pick some up on my next visit to the supermarket! I do a lot vegetable soups and one-pot dishes because it's easy and leftovers are always welcome in my home haha!

Yam noodles!!?
 

That does sound good!
Where could I find them? I've never seen them before. I always go for soba because they're made from buckwheat. If you find them or know how to make them let me know.:D

p.s. Sacha, ありがとう for the suggestion!:hug:　

I'm in Canada so I'm not sure where you can buy them in Japan (although I'm sure they are more widely available there), Konnyaku noodles.

Hm, I know most of you have been talking about Japan, but anyone live in or visit Spain? I'm going there for a short job for about 6 months from January to June and I'm a little bit nervous to keep on track. I know nothing about Spanish cuisine.

I've never been to Spain, but I think it might be a tad bit easier than keeping track in Japan. I think you'll have to be careful with the carb intake with all of the breads and rice in Spanish dishes and I've heard they have some pretty tempting desserts too. Are you a calorie counter Everlasting?

I spent 10 months in Spain studying for a Master's degree. I did think I was going to eat healthier with all that mediterranean style food. But I ended up spending too much time reading, working on the computer, etc. and gaining about 20lbs more to my already very overweight body.
It doesn't matter where you are, stress and bad habits do that to you.
I am back home now, where it is harder to get time to cook and eat right, but I manage to lose a little over 6 pounds already.

Stay away from "tapas" and "cañas" LOL
Take advantage of the variety of fish and seafood. Stay away from bread and fries. Man they eat a lot of potatoes and bread.
There are some good vegetarian salad bars with a very cheap menue. About 10 euros including drink and desserts. I can't remember ... i think it was called Salad & Co. Close to Callao metro station in Madrid.
Good luck!

I lost the weight I gained REALLY quickly.. in fact, I think the most of what I gained was water weight.... I was lucky. And yes, Indian food is TOTALLY confusing.... and I'm pretty suspicious that it hides a heck lot of carbs and extra calories in all those sauses!!!

@Everlasting where in Spain are you going to be living?

I live in Spain, I was born here :-)

I think it will be easy to stay on plan if you have a plan. Otherwise, like everywhere else you can find lots of yummy not-that-good-for-you stuff...

Good news is, fresh food (meat, fish...) and fresh vegetables and fruit are MUCH much cheaper than in the US. So if you like to cook, you'll be fine! :-)

Seafood and Tapas
 

I visted Spain a few years ago for two weeks. At the time I was overweight (almost 180lbs) and I actually lost just over 10lbs while there. Granted I did a lot of walking, and I was a picky eater at the time, but the foods I did try, I enjoyed. I hightly suggest eating the seafood dishes. They're unique and I thought them to be low cal. There was actually a tomatoe and seafood bisque that I ate a lot of. If you find it, try it, its amazing.
I was also introduced to tapas as well. I know some peolpe say don't eat them if your watching your weight, but if you pick certain tappas with more vegetables and seafood, you should be fine. Fair warning, it is easy to go overboard. Because tappas are in smaller portions, its easier to get a little distracted on how much you eat. That's why its best to order several differnt plates when out with friends, or keep your tappas order limited to 2-3 differnt choices.
Have fun.:D

Creamy curries
 

That's good to hear. I need to drink more water. Especially with this heat.

Also, I watched aprogram from the BBC showing that Indian curries in Britian are made with LOTS of high-fat and heavy creams. (There's your added cholesterol for the day). Its said, "if you like to eat curry, try eating the dry. Its lower in fat and in calaories". I have yet to try it, since the creamy ones are so good, but I will....sooner or later. But since I haven't been in a month, I don't know when I'll go back again. They always serve so much food. Its really filling isn't it.
So, I don't know if what I saw on the BBC is true in ALL Indian curries, but I would guess its pretty close, if not the same.
Either way, they're still good!:D

How is everyone holding up? I've started 30DS and C25K while I'm out here. It's been going pretty good and the forums have kept me accountable :D

@Meeky I'm doing the 30DS too, in fact today is day 30!!

I'm going to try Jillian's Slim Down next (combines all her videos in a schedule)

I was thinking maybe next try the C25K, when the weather gets cooler here

(I am overweight but not technically overseas as this is where I'm from but I gues to most people I'm overseas so I'll post in this thread if you don't mind! :-P )

@AnnaKhan Of course you can post here :D Congrats on finishing the 30DS! I'm on like day 6 of level one now, so I have a ways to go but I see the light lol. I was going to do her slimdown first but decided to conquer the shred before I tried. Her other videos are hellish! I did Yoga Meltdown on my non-run day and I was dripping!

See I find it easier to lose weight abroad then I do at home! Or maybe it is because Hungary is lacking in fast food?! I was home for a month and gained ten lbs! I find that when I'm home in America I tend to eat out more and eat unhealthy when I'm in the house.

Now I won't say that losing weight abroad isn't a struggle, because it is! In this part of Europe they leave Nutritional labeling off most foods, so unless it was imported into this country I have to guess at calories and that is never fun! But I try to make an effort at losing weight. If I didn't force myself to make the effort then I no doubt would be at a stall. The one thing about exercise for me abroad is anytime I have to go somewhere I get in exercise. Before the only exercise I got was walking to and from my car, now I have to walk to and from anywhere I need to go!

Where in Japan are you? I've been very successful here eating all whole foods and avoiding carbs (le sigh I miss rice). Best of luck to you!

There are a lot of wonderful fresh options in the market.

I'm in Aichi. How about you?

And I'm actually going on the carb free diet this week. I'm hoping I'll loose some weight faster this way. It will be tough, but I'm going to try.