New country, new lifestyle

g00286581
g00286581 Posts: 19 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey, I am just wondering if anyone has had any succes moving to a new country and losing weight taking up a healthy lifestyle? I've been in my new country now for 4 months and I am yoyoing with the same 5 pounds since I got here, currently have a total of 30 pounds to loose

Replies

  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,599 Member
    I moved to a new country ... I gained weight ... and I lost it again. :)
  • Ca7cher
    Ca7cher Posts: 15 Member
    I've moved countries twice i the last 3ish years. First to Germany and I lost about 10kg (22lbs) by biking a lot and eating more fresh food. Fresh fruit, veggies and bread from farmers markets and so on. I didn't have a car, lived 5km away from work & town, so I walked and cycled EVERYWHERE. I also didn't have a washing machine so hand washing clothes was a workout by itself. :P I was still overweight though.

    Moved to UK last September, gained a ton of weight, what I lost and more. Been trying to get back to gear in the last couple months and I'm about back to pre-England weight. Still have about 20 kilos to lose though!
  • g00286581
    g00286581 Posts: 19 Member
    That's funny, I find it so much easier to eat healthy in Ireland (the same as the uk I assume) and was a lot slimmer this time last year than I am now.. but here in Central Europe, it's bread, cheese and process meet every where you turn. The veg are not the freshest in the shops and forget about being served veg in restaurants everything is fried and covered in sauces, yuck
  • Sashslay
    Sashslay Posts: 136 Member
    Yes! I came to London in Jan, piled on a fridge worth of weight and am now in the middle of losing it :) it's totally doable with MFP! Scanning barcodes has saved my waistline :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,599 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I moved to a new country ... I gained weight ... and I lost it again. :)

    A tip ...

    Go to all the grocery stores and markets etc. in your area and have a really good look at what is available. I went from eating a few items I was familiar with to eating a whole lot more variety when I discovered what was out there ... lots of delicious things which fit into my calorie count. :)


  • JadeQuetzal
    JadeQuetzal Posts: 95 Member
    edited July 2017
    I did live abroad for 4 years in the past, but didn't gain or lose weight. However, on a 2 week business trip to Barcelona last year, I lost somewhere between 7-10 pounds. I ate so much healthier there and walked a LOT because there was a metro employee strike at the time that decreased the availability of public transportation.

    I gained it back when I came back to the states (though lost it again recently).
  • fiddletime
    fiddletime Posts: 1,868 Member
    When I was in China last month for only two weeks for work I didn't lose or gain but I walked a ton and ate 3 homemade meals every day. I ate much more than I do here, and all the meals there are basically the same, so it was like 3 dinners a day. I made sure to limit snacking though.
  • mmnv79
    mmnv79 Posts: 538 Member
    Machka9 wrote: »
    I moved to a new country ... I gained weight ... and I lost it again. :)

    Same here, I live in a remote and small place in Ireland and there isn't a great choice of food available, plus I need to take the car to go anywhere. I've lost almost 10 kg., need to lose another 20 kg. to be in the middle of my health BMI.
  • happygirlxxx
    happygirlxxx Posts: 301 Member
    This is my 6th international relocation in 15 years ... unfortunately I always gained weight and hardly lost it :'( I gained in total over 100lbs!!!!

    But ... moved to Italy and managed to lose weight!! :p so I hope that now I am permanently here, I will continue loosing; so far I have lost 65lbs (I did start my diet in the US though .... totally lifestyle change).
  • kandell
    kandell Posts: 473 Member
    I spent a semester in South Korea and lost weight, gained it back when I came back to the US. It was easy in Korea, because I was walking so much more (in my hometown you have to drive, because everything is too spread out to walk to, and our public transit is a joke). And I was always going on some sort of adventure so there was no time to eat out of boredom.
  • LotusCass
    LotusCass Posts: 145 Member
    I moved from Australia to London just over 12 months ago and gained 6kgs in 6 months. I've now lost all of that plus 3 kgs more, but I'd still like to lose another 5kgs. It's kind of like putting on the weight spurred me into a mindset where I wanted to make a life change to be healthier.
  • Spiegelchan
    Spiegelchan Posts: 78 Member
    edited August 2017
    g00286581 wrote: »
    That's funny, I find it so much easier to eat healthy in Ireland (the same as the uk I assume) and was a lot slimmer this time last year than I am now.. but here in Central Europe, it's bread, cheese and process meet every where you turn. The veg are not the freshest in the shops and forget about being served veg in restaurants everything is fried and covered in sauces, yuck

    I just came back from vacation to see my family in Central Europe, and I know exactly what you mean. I actually lost two pounds because the food was so bad I didn't eat any of it. Lidl has an acceptable produce section, I found. Definitely better than Billa. The bigger cities might have a market day once in a while. If you're out on a village somewhere.... you're going to have to burn a lot of gas to get proper food.
    It is doable, though! I managed to have avocados and plain yogurt every day, and made my family try sweet potatoes and oven roasted broccoli for the first time :) you can still find some healthy food, just not as fancy or exotic as in a bigger or more western country.

    (Also, I gained like 30lbs in Germany, despite walking everywhere, because I didn't realise just how many calories rice has. I was there for half a year and it took me like three times that to lose it.)
  • dutchandkiwi
    dutchandkiwi Posts: 1,389 Member
    I moved countries 6 times. Lifestyle did not change that much. Took a little time to find my exercise regime again. For instance I used to swim a lot back in NZ. Not here and now Pools are way too overcrowded and never open when I want to go. I had a gym with pool there, none in the city I live now. .

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