Living Abroad: Have you moved away from your "home" country and gained weight?

SaraAhmad117

Likichina wrote: »

I moved from Brazil to US in 2014 and, since then (almost 2 years), I gained about 45-50 pounds. I also lost my dad in the meanwhile, which I'm sure contributed a lot to my weight gain, but I find American life style way more sedentary and the fatty foods were just too delicious to resist at first, lol. Also, junk food is way cheaper than healthy food here (opposite of Brazil), so I really let myself go.

Looking from another perspective, now that I'm trying to lose the weight, I've also discovered that there IS a lot of healthy options here. Fresh and organic produce might not be as cheap as it is in my country, but there is a lot of interesting options of healthy brands and products. I find healthy snacks and foods that I wouldn't find in Brazil, for example. I also became a big fan of the convenience of frozen veggies. And then, there are also gadgets such as FitBit, healthy subscription boxes, etc.

I think it's just a matter of getting to know the country where you are living after you get settled, because at first we all flock to whatever is easier and faster to consume, and it's usually the junk food that offers us that "comfort" while we are stressed/worried/anxious/excited about the new culture we are immersing into.

Anyway, that's just my 2 cents.. If anyone is looking for MFP friends, go ahead and add me. It's always great to have more support and share our journeys, specially when it's similar in a way.

Definitely some truth to all that. It took me a while to get used to the food culture here, but I love to cook and have learned so much about the different foods that after a year I can understand what is healthy and what isn't. And it's so great that all the fresh fruits and veggies (and all the food in general, but ESPECIALLY the produce) is soooo much cheaper over here than in the US!

zjpq

yup! we moved back to New Zealand from the US and I gained back all the weight I had lost. Hard to cook properly with limited kitchen etc while waiting on household goods, busy/laziness and just enjoying cadbury chocolate too much lol (didn't eat much chocolate in the US, I'm a kiwi and love my cadbury!!)

BunnyBomb

I'm from New Zealand and moved to the UK 11 years ago. Within a year of arriving I was 20lbs heavier.

I dropped those pounds almost immediately by working at it. I got s shock when it happened so fast and was like "oh HELL no!" so I thrashed it off. Since then my weight has had its ups and downs and I've had to monitor if closely.

I never used to watch my weight at all back home, I guess I was just so active and ate healthy so it wasn't something I needed to think about. "Thin" was the default my body chose. In the UK though I find it harder because the lifestyle isn't the same.

On top of that I triggered inflammatory arthritis since being here, so that makes it harder. Rheumy doc says lifestyle and diet triggered it off so...would I have developed if if I hadn't moved here? Possibly not but I reckon there's no benefit in looking back, only forward. Besides I wouldn't have met the loveliest guy in the world if I hadn't come to the UK

SaraAhmad117

BunnyBomb wrote: »

I'm from New Zealand and moved to the UK 11 years ago. Within a year of arriving I was 20lbs heavier.

I dropped those pounds almost immediately by working at it. I got s shock when it happened so fast and was like "oh HELL no!" so I thrashed it off. Since then my weight has had its ups and downs and I've had to monitor if closely.

I never used to watch my weight at all back home, I guess I was just so active and ate healthy so it wasn't something I needed to think about. "Thin" was the default my body chose. In the UK though I find it harder because the lifestyle isn't the same.

On top of that I triggered inflammatory arthritis since being here, so that makes it harder. Rheumy doc says lifestyle and diet triggered it off so...would I have developed if if I hadn't moved here? Possibly not but I reckon there's no benefit in looking back, only forward. Besides I wouldn't have met the loveliest guy in the world if I hadn't come to the UK

I keep kicking myself for not buying a scale when I moved to India. If I had been watching my weight it wouldn't have snuck up on me like it did, but like you said, no benefit in looking back, only forward! I'm sure you'll feel much better once you're living healthy again for a while :-)

bybyq

^Scale!! Yes. I just bought a scale few months ago -- something I should have done four years ago.

Four years ago I moved to the UK. In the beginning of this year I just realised that I have gained 10kg (22lbs-ish?) Was completely mortified as I did realised I have gained some weight, but didn't think it would be THAT much.
Some of it must be the contraception pills, but I also think that the way I eat has changed a lot since I moved to the UK.

katiestenton

Moved to Australia.. Gained 7kg was drinking too much beer i think! Plus overindulging in fast food.Luckily its off now, just working on losing the rest

MsKasha

Another one who moved to Australia (12 years ago) and immediately put about 7kg (then added another 20kg with 2 pregnancies, but that's a completely different story )

mccokat

I'm a little freaked out now if I'm being honest. I'm a Canadian moving to the UK in September. I'm trying to drop a bunch of weight before then to get my BMI into the healthy range... I really hope I don't gain it back.

rainbowbow

meloditaDk wrote: »

I moved from Latinamerica to Denmark 8 years ago. I gained a lot of weight (about 30 pounds, about 13 kg) in very few months, that lead to me having to change my entire wardrobe. In summer 2014, I managed to lose a lot of weight and got to a healthy weight for my height. Sadly, I've gained it all back and more. I've gained more than 40 pounds.
I think moving abroad is very stressful for most people and to cope we eat.
I'm in the "losing weight wagon" for the second time and I hope this is the last!

I also moved to Denmark from the US and have gained about 20 pounds in a short period of time. The biggest issue i had was that my diet routine which i maintained for 4 years was completely shaken up by the fact that literally none of the foods i was eating is available here.

The main difference is the tiny selection of convineince foods, packaged foods, and vegetarian foods. In the US my diet was this almost EVERY day:
breakfast: Fage 0% yogurt cup (100 cals, 18g protein)
Lunch: Amy's Organic Meal + pink lady apple (350 calories, 15+g protein)
Snack: Quest Bar (170 cals, 20g protein)
Dinner: Spaghetti with morningstar griller's crumbles, Tofu Stir Fry, Morningstar Farms Corn Dogs, Freschetta Pizza, Vegetarian chili (hormel's), or something like this. (500-600 cals, 20g protein)
I could maintain my weight easily, get all my vitamins/minerals, AND get enough protein.


Literally not one of these foods is available here. I have had to completely cook EVERYTHING (other than bread) from scratch. I want tortillas? Better make them from scratch. I want literally any dish? Better make it from scratch. Don't get me started on how ridiculously hard it is to find greek yogurt (and especially ones with good macros), faux meat products, protein bars, etc. It is damn near impossible to meet my protein goal here.


Anyways, it's been a significantly higher pain in the *kitten* ratio to log my intake here. I've been here almost two years and im JUST now getting it, able to make food in the right portions, etc.

Machka9

Moved from Canada to Australia mid-2009.

And yes ... gained weight. But I did develop DVT almost immediately upon arrival, didn't get it checked out for about 6 weeks and by then my left leg was so badly affected I couldn't walk or breathe. And then the Warfarin was no picnic either.

I went from being extremely active to practically nothing for a year.

Thankfully my blood specialist took me off Warfarin, and I started increasing my activity level and lost some weight in 2011.

Mid-2012 my husband and I set off on an 8-month round the world trip. We had our bicycles with us so we were active, but there's just so much good food out there!!

We were unsettle for about a year and a half for various reasons ... moves, new employment, health issues, etc. ... when we returned to Australia, but once things kind of settled a bit, we both lost all the weight we had gained while travelling, and I dropped to a weight I haven't seen since about 2004.

There's a lot of good low-cal food here in Australia ... it's nice. Plus we're regularly active again.

opalquartz

Moved to Germany from the US (on a six month long internship, one month of it left) and it took me a while to get my eating habits under control with all the delicious chocolate, bread, wine, etc that's available here. Once I did, and decided to try to get healthy for real, I've had a great time and have lost 19 pounds so far. There are a lot of differences in what's available at grocery stores, especially vegetarian-friendly things, but I managed to adjust just fine. Also I walk a lot more here than I did in the states, which is a habit I intend to maintain when I go back.

distinctlybeautiful

I've been in Germany for almost two months now, but we live in a military base and can get American products.

One thing I'm glad I learned early is that they often put the nutrition information for 100 grams of the food, no matter how big the package is! That could have been disastrous..

kandell

It was the opposite for me when I went abroad. I studied in South Korea for a semester in college. I wouldn't say the food was healthier, or that I didn't eat as much, but I walked almost everywhere since I didn't have a car or bike, and the campus was huge. I didn't really lose much weight, but I did slim down. Unfortunately, that all came undone when I came back to the states. Where I live is spread out enough that, with few exceptions, walking just isn't reasonable.

azulvioleta6

I have spent about a third of my life outside of the US, which is my home country. I have lived in Costa Rica, Argentina and Ecuador and have spent significant amounts of time in Spain, the Middle East and in other Latin American countries.

I have always lost weight overseas. My favorite thing to do with my free time in a new places is to walk all over....I go exploring until I am completely worn out and then take a taxi home. I also dance a lot, hike and generally do more outdoor activities than when I am in the US.

hcdo

I moved to Colombia and gained over 20 pounds the year I was there. Food was delicious and so affordable that I could eat out every day, and I did.

zjpq

Happy

zjpq wrote: »

yup! we moved back to New Zealand from the US and I gained back all the weight I had lost. Hard to cook properly with limited kitchen etc while waiting on household goods, busy/laziness and just enjoying cadbury chocolate too much lol (didn't eat much chocolate in the US, I'm a kiwi and love my cadbury!!)

Happy to report I am now back to the weight I was a year ago when we moved here! And the health conditions I developed while living in the US have mostly disappeared now due to a better lifestyle and more supportive/willing doctors. Very happy! I have about 10lbs to get back to where I was before I started getting sick in the US!

NaturalNancy

Lived a year in Norway... Knew nothing about nutrition and gained a ton of weight, it was horrible.
Had I known more about nutrition I could've done better, but I learned a lot from the experience.