Moved to America, now struggling to get under control

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Replies

  • Verity1111
    Verity1111 Posts: 3,309 Member
    Soup is often under 400 calories. Buy canned if you mean premade. Most cans are that I see... unless you're buying the huge ones. lol. Man. I just struggle to find a can under 250-300 and I still find them sometimes. Tomato soup and vegetable soups are the lowest I think.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,455 Member
    I have no idea what you are looking at in your grocery store OP, because in an urban area like Denver, I am confident that choices will abound for you to eat within any calorie range you like. Whether it be prepared by the store, or available premade (frozen meals, canned soup, etc), all of these options are readily available in the US in any major grocery chain in an urban city.

    For eating in restaurants, again, not sure where you are eating - I picked up Wendy's last night after a busy night of running errands - had the chicken mozzerella salad and it was 520 cals. Plenty of options on the menu less than that as well.

    Lastly, with 6 lbs to lose (or even if you want to lose more but less than 20 lbs total) you should be aiming for no more than 0.5 lb/week which will likely give you more calories to work with. There's no reason you should be "starving yourself" to lose every pound.

  • Macy9336
    Macy9336 Posts: 694 Member
    Dnarules wrote: »
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    I can sympathise with you as I noticed while living in the US it is almost impossible to buy healthy convenience foods. We take for granted the fact we can pop into an M&S attached to a petrol station and buy a 150cal five bean salad or fresh sushi. In the US there are no healthy fast foods. You have to go to cafes inside Whole Foods or pack your own food from home.

    For eating out my husband and I would ALWAYS split a meal...with him being twice my size he'd eat about two thirds and I'd eat a third and we'd both be satiated. I did like Panera though because you can buy half salads and half sandwiches. They do this because people are encouraged to have a half salad with a soup or a half sandwich. I'd just buy a half salad or half sandwich and eat that by itself. Don't fall for the Oanera ploy of do you want a pastry for only $1 more? (Noooooo)

    In the US the portion sizes are massive but over time, they don't look so massive you get desensitised into thinking you're starving yourself. Scientific studies have also shown that if you are presented with more food, you'll eat more food so that is why splitting a meal or just ordering a half size up front is you best bet to not overeat. Too, some restaurants have menus for senior citizens that tend to be smaller sized and lower calorie...i.e. Two egg omelette instead of the standard ridiculously huge three or four egg omelette. I've asked if I can order them before and usually the restaurant will let you. At times, if my husband and I don't want the same meal, we'll each order an appetiser and a side salad as our meal which works too. Follow just the portioning rules on cheat days..make cheat days be about eating what you want but not overeating/gorging on whatever you want.

    While portion sizes in many US restaurants are very large, the sentences bolded above are just completely wrong. I can go into my Lowe's foods grocery store here in NC and find a salad bar with a good selection of vegetables and fruits (as well as some higher calorie options). There are pre-made salads, both low and high calorie, with a selection of lower and higher calorie dressings. Most of our fast food restaurants have lower calorie options (ex. baked potato and side salad at Wendys; egg white sandwiches at MacDonalds; etc). It may take a little more work at first, but it is possible to make better choices.

    Sorry, when in the US I ate only organic food so your sources didn't even come to mind. I have a bit of a prejudice against non organic food in the US because the production of it uses additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics that are outlawed as unsafe here in the UK.
  • wellthenwhat
    wellthenwhat Posts: 526 Member
    Even McDonald's has relatively healthy options. It's not the place or the store. it's what you buy from it
  • jodie2204
    jodie2204 Posts: 3 Member
    At least you're in one of the healthiest, most active US states - Colorado. I just moved from there to FL and my weight loss is going better because I'm out and about more often than I was there. I'm a beach person, not a hiker. But I successfully lost 115lbs while living in Denver. It's all about counting the calories and having the willpower to say no to extra portions.

    Denver has some great healthy restaurants. If the serving sizes are too much, ask the server to box up half the meal and serve you the rest. Whole Foods is extremely expensive but there's lots of great foods there.

    Hope you're enjoying the late May snowstorm! LOL :) Good luck on your weight loss journey!

    Wow amazing!!!!! Well done you, inspirational
  • MelanieCN77
    MelanieCN77 Posts: 4,047 Member
    I moved here in 2001 and my weight just crept and crept from day one. I never had to think about what I was eating before. I find that I have to eat as fresh as possible and that does the job. No packaged sandwiches or pre-made meals or anything like that. If you pay attention at the grocery store and try other stores than your usual you will start to get a spread of foods that work for you. Like Vons has these kosher pitas that are great and for some reason lower cal than all the other brands. That's my bread wants sorted. Whole Foods carries a great tasting full fat yoghurt without "fruit" which is really like jam in most yoghurts and I don't care for it or the calories that come with. And so on.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    Dnarules wrote: »
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    I can sympathise with you as I noticed while living in the US it is almost impossible to buy healthy convenience foods. We take for granted the fact we can pop into an M&S attached to a petrol station and buy a 150cal five bean salad or fresh sushi. In the US there are no healthy fast foods. You have to go to cafes inside Whole Foods or pack your own food from home.

    For eating out my husband and I would ALWAYS split a meal...with him being twice my size he'd eat about two thirds and I'd eat a third and we'd both be satiated. I did like Panera though because you can buy half salads and half sandwiches. They do this because people are encouraged to have a half salad with a soup or a half sandwich. I'd just buy a half salad or half sandwich and eat that by itself. Don't fall for the Oanera ploy of do you want a pastry for only $1 more? (Noooooo)

    In the US the portion sizes are massive but over time, they don't look so massive you get desensitised into thinking you're starving yourself. Scientific studies have also shown that if you are presented with more food, you'll eat more food so that is why splitting a meal or just ordering a half size up front is you best bet to not overeat. Too, some restaurants have menus for senior citizens that tend to be smaller sized and lower calorie...i.e. Two egg omelette instead of the standard ridiculously huge three or four egg omelette. I've asked if I can order them before and usually the restaurant will let you. At times, if my husband and I don't want the same meal, we'll each order an appetiser and a side salad as our meal which works too. Follow just the portioning rules on cheat days..make cheat days be about eating what you want but not overeating/gorging on whatever you want.

    While portion sizes in many US restaurants are very large, the sentences bolded above are just completely wrong. I can go into my Lowe's foods grocery store here in NC and find a salad bar with a good selection of vegetables and fruits (as well as some higher calorie options). There are pre-made salads, both low and high calorie, with a selection of lower and higher calorie dressings. Most of our fast food restaurants have lower calorie options (ex. baked potato and side salad at Wendys; egg white sandwiches at MacDonalds; etc). It may take a little more work at first, but it is possible to make better choices.

    Sorry, when in the US I ate only organic food so your sources didn't even come to mind. I have a bit of a prejudice against non organic food in the US because the production of it uses additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics that are outlawed as unsafe here in the UK.
    Organic doesn't mean no pesticides, sometimes they use more toxic pesticides, it's just the source of the ingredients.

    And there is stuff that is legal in the U.K. That is illegal in the US.
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    jodie2204 wrote: »
    Hello

    I'm Jodie, originally from the UK and I moved to the US (Denver) 2.5 yrs ago. I was 237lbs at my heaviest in 2011 and got down to 154lbs in 18mths for my wedding. In the UK I managed to keep all the weight off without a thought (zero restrictions) but since I've moved here I've started creeping up up. I got up to 170lbs, I'm now down to 160 but am having to starve myself to lose every 1lb and often have 1 cheat day and lose 2 weeks of progress just like that.

    I struggle to find low calorie foods here. You can easily walk into a grocery store in the UK and get a delicious filling soup or curry for 400 cals. They also sell lots of low cal 'treats like <100 cal chips and chocolate bars.

    Does anyone have any tips/ tricks to make this a bit easier? Also eating out, everything seems excessive even the salads... any ideas?

    Thank you

    I find a lot of meals and salads in US grocery stores under 400 calories. And lots of snacks in 100 calorie packs.

    They also have whole departments of produce.


    You tell us that your highest weight was in the U.K., not in the US. Just look at labels. I know there are safeways in Colorado, they have salad packs that are reasonable calories, and soups too.
  • Mary_Anastasia
    Mary_Anastasia Posts: 267 Member
    I have lived abroad and traveled extensively for months at a time (South America, Central America, Europe, Caribbean, SE Asia) and I have to say, I disagree....I've seen larger portions in many places all over the world than standard portions here in the US. Especially in Japan, meals are like a binge eaters dream, and in France and Germany - food is everywhere, food is portable, food is prized as a national treasure. Maybe it's different in the UK, which I have not been to, but America is hardly unique in having large portions here and there. The only thing I can think of that is surprisingly larger here in the States are the sizes of DRINKS. You can get 7-11 cups that must be the size of a gallon.

    Here's what I keep in mind when it comes to food:
    Soups: get only clear brothy ones, I prefer low sodium (packets of miso to go are also good)
    Sandwiches: skip the cheese, or if you get it avoid cheddar, that's usually the highest calorie, and stick to one condiment
    Fast food: get whatever you want but only get one item, not a sandwich AND tots, not fries AND a shake
    Eating out: split your meal or just order sides
    Dressings: stick with just oil and vinegar, add low-sodium seasonings to sandwiches, salads, etc
    Drinks: always get water to start, get something else if you still want it after the water

    Methods that have worked for me: carb-cycling, sugar-free (no sugar, no sugar substitute, no adding "juice to sweeten"), no eating after 8pm, high fat low carb, protein in the morning - carbs at lunch - fats and roughage at dinner. Not all at the same time, just throwing out what's worked in the past.
  • Macy9336
    Macy9336 Posts: 694 Member
    cmtigger wrote: »
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    Dnarules wrote: »
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    I can sympathise with you as I noticed while living in the US it is almost impossible to buy healthy convenience foods. We take for granted the fact we can pop into an M&S attached to a petrol station and buy a 150cal five bean salad or fresh sushi. In the US there are no healthy fast foods. You have to go to cafes inside Whole Foods or pack your own food from home.

    For eating out my husband and I would ALWAYS split a meal...with him being twice my size he'd eat about two thirds and I'd eat a third and we'd both be satiated. I did like Panera though because you can buy half salads and half sandwiches. They do this because people are encouraged to have a half salad with a soup or a half sandwich. I'd just buy a half salad or half sandwich and eat that by itself. Don't fall for the Oanera ploy of do you want a pastry for only $1 more? (Noooooo)

    In the US the portion sizes are massive but over time, they don't look so massive you get desensitised into thinking you're starving yourself. Scientific studies have also shown that if you are presented with more food, you'll eat more food so that is why splitting a meal or just ordering a half size up front is you best bet to not overeat. Too, some restaurants have menus for senior citizens that tend to be smaller sized and lower calorie...i.e. Two egg omelette instead of the standard ridiculously huge three or four egg omelette. I've asked if I can order them before and usually the restaurant will let you. At times, if my husband and I don't want the same meal, we'll each order an appetiser and a side salad as our meal which works too. Follow just the portioning rules on cheat days..make cheat days be about eating what you want but not overeating/gorging on whatever you want.

    While portion sizes in many US restaurants are very large, the sentences bolded above are just completely wrong. I can go into my Lowe's foods grocery store here in NC and find a salad bar with a good selection of vegetables and fruits (as well as some higher calorie options). There are pre-made salads, both low and high calorie, with a selection of lower and higher calorie dressings. Most of our fast food restaurants have lower calorie options (ex. baked potato and side salad at Wendys; egg white sandwiches at MacDonalds; etc). It may take a little more work at first, but it is possible to make better choices.

    Sorry, when in the US I ate only organic food so your sources didn't even come to mind. I have a bit of a prejudice against non organic food in the US because the production of it uses additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics that are outlawed as unsafe here in the UK.
    Organic doesn't mean no pesticides, sometimes they use more toxic pesticides, it's just the source of the ingredients.

    And there is stuff that is legal in the U.K. That is illegal in the US.

    I know organic doesn't mean zero peticides. Where did I ever say that? "Toxic" is a relative concept. Yes some organic pesticides may be more "toxic" but what matters is how much of said pesticide do you actually ingest..Ingesting a lot of a less toxic pesticide can be worse than a trace amount of a more toxic one.

    I don't know of anything that is legal in the UK that is illegal in the US in terms of food additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics due to safety standards. Care to name a few things?
  • cmtigger
    cmtigger Posts: 1,450 Member
    edited May 2017
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    cmtigger wrote: »
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    Dnarules wrote: »
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    I can sympathise with you as I noticed while living in the US it is almost impossible to buy healthy convenience foods. We take for granted the fact we can pop into an M&S attached to a petrol station and buy a 150cal five bean salad or fresh sushi. In the US there are no healthy fast foods. You have to go to cafes inside Whole Foods or pack your own food from home.

    For eating out my husband and I would ALWAYS split a meal...with him being twice my size he'd eat about two thirds and I'd eat a third and we'd both be satiated. I did like Panera though because you can buy half salads and half sandwiches. They do this because people are encouraged to have a half salad with a soup or a half sandwich. I'd just buy a half salad or half sandwich and eat that by itself. Don't fall for the Oanera ploy of do you want a pastry for only $1 more? (Noooooo)

    In the US the portion sizes are massive but over time, they don't look so massive you get desensitised into thinking you're starving yourself. Scientific studies have also shown that if you are presented with more food, you'll eat more food so that is why splitting a meal or just ordering a half size up front is you best bet to not overeat. Too, some restaurants have menus for senior citizens that tend to be smaller sized and lower calorie...i.e. Two egg omelette instead of the standard ridiculously huge three or four egg omelette. I've asked if I can order them before and usually the restaurant will let you. At times, if my husband and I don't want the same meal, we'll each order an appetiser and a side salad as our meal which works too. Follow just the portioning rules on cheat days..make cheat days be about eating what you want but not overeating/gorging on whatever you want.

    While portion sizes in many US restaurants are very large, the sentences bolded above are just completely wrong. I can go into my Lowe's foods grocery store here in NC and find a salad bar with a good selection of vegetables and fruits (as well as some higher calorie options). There are pre-made salads, both low and high calorie, with a selection of lower and higher calorie dressings. Most of our fast food restaurants have lower calorie options (ex. baked potato and side salad at Wendys; egg white sandwiches at MacDonalds; etc). It may take a little more work at first, but it is possible to make better choices.

    Sorry, when in the US I ate only organic food so your sources didn't even come to mind. I have a bit of a prejudice against non organic food in the US because the production of it uses additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics that are outlawed as unsafe here in the UK.
    Organic doesn't mean no pesticides, sometimes they use more toxic pesticides, it's just the source of the ingredients.

    And there is stuff that is legal in the U.K. That is illegal in the US.

    I know organic doesn't mean zero peticides. Where did I ever say that? "Toxic" is a relative concept. Yes some organic pesticides may be more "toxic" but what matters is how much of said pesticide do you actually ingest..Ingesting a lot of a less toxic pesticide can be worse than a trace amount of a more toxic one.

    I don't know of anything that is legal in the UK that is illegal in the US in terms of food additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics due to safety standards. Care to name a few things?

    There actually is an artificial sweetener that is legal in the U.K., but illegal here. Haggis is not allowed here, raw milk is mostly banned here.

    But the thing is that we don't ban something here unless it is proven to cause problems, and many pesticides that are banned, this is true in both countries, are banned not because they hurt people, but because they hurt native wildlife, plants and insects. And those that are used must have little to no trace left on the produce when it is harvested. There are entire labs dealing with these things.

    Hormones are rarely used in the US for animal agriculture anymore. Just go look at all the dairy, it's rare that you see something that doesn't say hormone free. And it's because farmers found that they didn't help their bottom line, not because the government told them to.
  • Macy9336
    Macy9336 Posts: 694 Member
    cmtigger wrote: »
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    cmtigger wrote: »
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    Dnarules wrote: »
    Macy9336 wrote: »
    I can sympathise with you as I noticed while living in the US it is almost impossible to buy healthy convenience foods. We take for granted the fact we can pop into an M&S attached to a petrol station and buy a 150cal five bean salad or fresh sushi. In the US there are no healthy fast foods. You have to go to cafes inside Whole Foods or pack your own food from home.

    For eating out my husband and I would ALWAYS split a meal...with him being twice my size he'd eat about two thirds and I'd eat a third and we'd both be satiated. I did like Panera though because you can buy half salads and half sandwiches. They do this because people are encouraged to have a half salad with a soup or a half sandwich. I'd just buy a half salad or half sandwich and eat that by itself. Don't fall for the Oanera ploy of do you want a pastry for only $1 more? (Noooooo)

    In the US the portion sizes are massive but over time, they don't look so massive you get desensitised into thinking you're starving yourself. Scientific studies have also shown that if you are presented with more food, you'll eat more food so that is why splitting a meal or just ordering a half size up front is you best bet to not overeat. Too, some restaurants have menus for senior citizens that tend to be smaller sized and lower calorie...i.e. Two egg omelette instead of the standard ridiculously huge three or four egg omelette. I've asked if I can order them before and usually the restaurant will let you. At times, if my husband and I don't want the same meal, we'll each order an appetiser and a side salad as our meal which works too. Follow just the portioning rules on cheat days..make cheat days be about eating what you want but not overeating/gorging on whatever you want.

    While portion sizes in many US restaurants are very large, the sentences bolded above are just completely wrong. I can go into my Lowe's foods grocery store here in NC and find a salad bar with a good selection of vegetables and fruits (as well as some higher calorie options). There are pre-made salads, both low and high calorie, with a selection of lower and higher calorie dressings. Most of our fast food restaurants have lower calorie options (ex. baked potato and side salad at Wendys; egg white sandwiches at MacDonalds; etc). It may take a little more work at first, but it is possible to make better choices.

    Sorry, when in the US I ate only organic food so your sources didn't even come to mind. I have a bit of a prejudice against non organic food in the US because the production of it uses additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics that are outlawed as unsafe here in the UK.
    Organic doesn't mean no pesticides, sometimes they use more toxic pesticides, it's just the source of the ingredients.

    And there is stuff that is legal in the U.K. That is illegal in the US.

    I know organic doesn't mean zero peticides. Where did I ever say that? "Toxic" is a relative concept. Yes some organic pesticides may be more "toxic" but what matters is how much of said pesticide do you actually ingest..Ingesting a lot of a less toxic pesticide can be worse than a trace amount of a more toxic one.

    I don't know of anything that is legal in the UK that is illegal in the US in terms of food additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics due to safety standards. Care to name a few things?

    There actually is an artificial sweetener that is legal in the U.K., but illegal here. Haggis is not allowed here, raw milk is mostly banned here.

    But the thing is that we don't ban something here unless it is proven to cause problems, and many pesticides that are banned, this is true in both countries, are banned not because they hurt people, but because they hurt native wildlife, plants and insects. And those that are used must have little to no trace left on the produce when it is harvested. There are entire labs dealing with these things.

    Hormones are rarely used in the US for animal agriculture anymore. Just go look at all the dairy, it's rare that you see something that doesn't say hormone free. And it's because farmers found that they didn't help their bottom line, not because the government told them to.

    I'm sorry but haggis and milk are foods not a food additive, pesticide, herbicide, hormone or antibiotic. I am sure you know the difference and are just flailing about a bit. You failed to name this "artificial sweetener" so how can I verify your statement?

    In fact, you've not named a single food additive, pesticide, herbicide, hormone or antibiotic that is legal in the UK but banned in the US due to safety standards. So, without further ado, I'm calling BS on your assertion. ⛳️

    I think you're a little misinformed on the hormone and antibiotic usage in the US vs the UK. There is a big difference.

    The UK doesn't ban things unless theyre proven to cause problems, we just have what is called the precautionary principle where we test things before putting it into the food production chain instead of using our populace and ecosystem as guinea pigs.

    Now you can wave your
  • jpoehls9025
    jpoehls9025 Posts: 471 Member
    jodie2204 wrote: »
    Hello

    I'm Jodie, originally from the UK and I moved to the US (Denver) 2.5 yrs ago. I was 237lbs at my heaviest in 2011 and got down to 154lbs in 18mths for my wedding. In the UK I managed to keep all the weight off without a thought (zero restrictions) but since I've moved here I've started creeping up up. I got up to 170lbs, I'm now down to 160 but am having to starve myself to lose every 1lb and often have 1 cheat day and lose 2 weeks of progress just like that.

    I struggle to find low calorie foods here. You can easily walk into a grocery store in the UK and get a delicious filling soup or curry for 400 cals. They also sell lots of low cal 'treats like <100 cal chips and chocolate bars.

    Does anyone have any tips/ tricks to make this a bit easier? Also eating out, everything seems excessive even the salads... any ideas?

    Thank you

    Just wanted to say welcome to America! I know its a bit late but non - the -less keep up the hard work.

    My advice albeit simple as heck, trail and error.
  • goobery
    goobery Posts: 5 Member
    I moved here from AU and found the same thing. The food is quite different, portion sizes and hard to find healthy alternatives. I also found everything, well nearly everything has high fructose corn syrup which is not good for the waist line. Plus all the hidden sugar and salt in foods. Even the bread tastes sweet compared to what we are used to.

    It took no time to put it on and even longer to take it off. My advice, read the labels on everything, if you don't know what it is then avoid it.
  • 3rdof7sisters
    3rdof7sisters Posts: 486 Member
    Interesting. What is so different regarding portion sizes? Please take a look at the USDA RDA and tell me how it differs from the rest of the world. In the US, there is fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, grains and dairy, year round, throughout the country. Why is it hard to adhere to eating @ your daily calorie budget ?
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    LOL haggis isn't dangerous, I'm not even sure why it's banned, maybe to do with it being from sheeps stomach lining and offal offends someone in the agriculture industry or something. Who know. But Scotland has been eating it for years and no-one has keeled over, myself included. Deep fried Mars Bars on the other hand might kill you.

    I get what the OP means about convenience foods here in the UK vs US. I'm not saying it's an excuse at all, just that it is different but you just adjust to your surroundings. Here you can get chilled soups, chilled ready meals of any all world cuisines, plus deli counters, salad bars etc. There are very few meals in the freezer which is where you'll find most American convenience foods. And I would miss the ease of those foods we have and they are on the whole really good quality but you just have to mourn their loss for a second and move on to make new strategies for your new surroundings.

    Like those suggested in the thread. There are vastly more snack options than here in the UK. I couldn't get over how many aisles of snacks there were! There are a lot of choices for frozen meals. I didn't try any but it's worth giving a few a bash and seeing if they can work for you when needed. Salads can be easily adapted in restaurants. Ask for calorie dense things like cheese/nuts/dressings on the side so you can control the amount. Calorie counts are a lot more readily available, we have so many independent restaurants here and there's no requirement for nutrition info beyond allergens so you'd have to eyeball a lot more. So easier in the US. A meal is 1000 calories? Great, split it and get a to go box (also largely unheard of here).

    It can be done, you just need to leave behind the habits and foods from the UK and develop new ones in your new surroundings.