Welcome to MFP in China
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In Chongqing the air quality is… well, much better than when I came here 8 years ago, but still far from comfortable - especially for running. No idea what kind of pollutants I'm breathing in every day. I definitely cough more than back home - but i should not complain, it was my decision to come and live here. I suppose there's a price for everything.0
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Happy New year! I was looking for a group based in Hong Kong. There doesn't seem to be one, but I found you all instead! Hope you're willing to take me....one forum, two systems, and all that ? ;-) Kung Hei Fat Choi!
Though I am currently still living in China, Hubei Province, I am coming out to Hong Kong this summer for a new job. Still teaching English, but to a younger crowd. I have visited HK a few times, but as it was a vacation, all awareness/care of what I was eating & drinking was out the window- as it's a much more international city, is it easier to stay on track with calorie counting? Are things labeled or am I going to be playing the guessing game still?0 -
I found it way easier to keep track of food in Hong Kong. When shopping lots of labels were in English and in the food data base. Most Western restaurants were also represented in the diary. The Watson's pharmacies also have GNC areas inside them and you can get more "trusted" vitamins and protein powders and of course the labels are in English.0
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I found it way easier to keep track of food in Hong Kong. When shopping lots of labels were in English and in the food data base. Most Western restaurants were also represented in the diary. The Watson's pharmacies also have GNC areas inside them and you can get more "trusted" vitamins and protein powders and of course the labels are in English.
awesome, that is so good to hear0 -
What's going on my fellow MFPers in China. Just wanted to share my thoughts on staying healthy in China. Although it's much harder to find the nutritional contents of food in China than it is back in the states it can be done, you just have to work that much harder to look for it and spend time converting it. I actually find that it is easier to stay healthy on in China when you cook because most Chinese people like to eat fresh produce instead of all that processed foods we eat back home. Just stay away from all that MSG and oil and you'll be good. If you have any trouble converting the calories over and don't know where to look for it and go about calculating your calories just let me know.0
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How's everybody doing in China? It's hot here in Chongqing, the gym has became a sauna and still I try do do my weekly portions of workout! Stay healthy everyone, and stay safe! I'm going to the police station for my yearly registration so… gotta run!0
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It's hot here in Shanghai too! Luckily our compounds gym has semi decent air conditioning! I can't imagine what it must be like in Chongqing, I think I would probably melt!0
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Hi Everyone,
I'm moving to Guangzhou next month from Canada, and I'm hoping to continue my weight loss journey in China. One of my concerns is that I will be working at an international school that provides a meal allowance to eat lunch at the cafeteria. Other than that I hope to eat a lot of food at home, so hopefully I will manage to find lots of healthy food in the grocery stores.0 -
Sorry I just flipped back and saw this. I am in Guangzhou. Did you make it here? You should be cool losing weight here. I have lost the most in the past year I have been here. Good luck!0
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No I haven't made it out yet. I'm still waiting for my work permit, so I can get my z-visa. It took forever to get the blood work for my medical, and my employer didn't start my work permit application until they got my medical results.0
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I work for an IS in Guangzhou, and I quite literally have to do guess work for lunch daily. I have figured out that regardless it's going to be up to 1000 calories once I be generous about portions etc. It's hard, but I've started finding the nearest equivalent. I don't weigh/measure anything. I've also made it the main meal of my day, so a small breakfast, HUGE lunch and if I'm still hungry something light and lo-cal to tide me over for dinner.0
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Now that I am here, I also do a rough estimate for lunch at the canteen, and I figure it is around 800 calories, mostly because of the oil content. I don't measure, but I bring a extra empty bowl with me so I can put a bit of rice in it to eat. The canteen serves a giant bowl of rice. I get two servings of vegetables at lunch one that is steamed, and another that is full of oil and bits of animal fat. The meat serving is far smaller than I'm accustomed to, but I don't think it will be a problem. I'm impressed when I go to the supermarket, and I see carts filled with fruit and veg. I see people buying way more fresh food here than I did back in Canada.0
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I don't even account for the oil content in the veg. Normally I try to go for the steamed option. I generally avoid the rice though. My school almost every day has a veg option and a meat option (often deep fried, YUCK!). But lots of fresh fruit. I've been soooo bad during this week off that I'm juicing on my day off. Went to try and find some protein powder at amway yesterday and Amway was closed. There's a Decathalon out in Panyu, and probably one in Foshan where you can get sports stuff. I go to a gym that's right near where i live, but there's probably some near where you are. Are you a member of gzstuff? You may want to join there, not really a weight loss place, but a good place to interact w/expats.0
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Thankfully none of the meat options at my school are deep fried. It's too bad I'm not allowed two steamed options for veggies with lunch, I asked before and it's one steamed, one with oil. I'm in a gated community, and there are two gyms here that I have access to, but they are really busy. There is a river walkway close to my apartment that I like to walk, and sometimes I do P90x workouts in my apartment. I want to go and buy some free weights though. I am a member of gzstuff, I haven't used it much yet, but I should.0
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For handweights Decathalon is best if there's one near you. You can also get some from Amazon.cn and Taobao, but both you'll have to have a native, or somebody who speaks fluent Chinese help you get set up. I set up an Amazon.cn account this way, but I rely on my Chinese coworker for Taobao...yet to figure out Alipay.0
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Helloeee, are you guys still in China? I know I am, almost for 9 years now. Hey, I discovered that MFP on android has this barcode scanner with which you can easily add foods. Obviously, it doesn't have too many Chinese food barcodes stored yet, and I was wondering whether everyone here could help out to scan and save some Chinese brands that you buy in your local store. Not sure how to permanently add them to MFP's database though, but it would be a great asset! Any idea/suggestions on this topic?0
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I've been trying to enter in stuff I buy into the database where possible with the English name and pinyin if I know it. Can't help much with the hanzi though unless it is character that I know. However, the fact that stuff only lists calories in terms of 100 or 1000 gms has been frustrating. I haven't done any barcodes at all.
As I buy stuff I'm happy to try and enter foods into the database to make public, would that be better in the long term scheme of things? Especially having the pinyin would be superb as often I don't know the English name, only the Chinese.0 -
Hi everyone! I just joined MFP, and I'm glad there's a group on here for us ex-pats in China, even if it seems less lively than the other boards...
Anyway, I've been living and working in Shandong for the past 3.5 years. Used to be in great shape - studied kung fu for many years, and was halfway through the Insanity video series (amazing) when I found out I was pregnant. Now I've had the kiddo (he's over a year old, actually), and the baby weight has stopped coming off. I figure I need to stop eating whatever I want and get back into shape by summer! I don't have much weight to lose, but my goal is more to get back into top shape and regain the muscle tone and stamina I used to have a couple of years ago.
I was really surprised to see that many of the Chinese brands of food that I buy are in the database, and after reading this thread, I can see why! I'll do my best to add my foods as well. I usually shop at Metro, RT Mart, and Zhen Hua for foreign foods. My husband is Chinese though and he cooks most of our meals at home with fresh ingredients from the local stalls. I'm vegetarian so that helps.0
