I love this group! I'm not currently an Expat but I used to live in Peru and I try to spend a little time there each year. When I was there I lost 50lbs so easily, it was just my life to be active. Now that I have been back in the states I've put on about 10lbs of that weight and still have a ways to go. I might be more motivated if I still had the Peruvians telling me I was fat everyday LOL.

American for the first 38 years of my life. Been in Canada for the last 8. Hardly as interesting as most folks, as the language is still the same. Still, I have to admit that the difference in culture is much greater than I expected.

Hi from Tokyo! I am Canadian, but have lived away from Canada since I was 25 -- being 56 now, that is more than half my life away from my home country. Mostly have lived in Japan, married to a Japanese man, but we lived in the States for 9 years about 20 years ago. Look forward to talking about cultural differences here! Esp. in regards to food and health.

Great to see my group idea was a good one! Welcome aboard everybody!

Hey diva!

I like your post and really identify with it. I am really going to try some of your ideas. a) plan ahead b) one drink and plenty of water.

Thanks!

In Thailand the women tend to be quite thin and beautiful. I try not to compare, but sometimes it really bums me out.

Hey everyone! Great idea for a group.

I was born and raised in Canada, but have been an expat in South Korea and more recently, an immigrant to New Zealand.

I moved to Korea to teach English when I was 23. There I lived for two years and met my Kiwi husband, who was also a teacher. We moved to New Zealand after Korea, and I have been living here ever since! I plan to stay in New Zealand long-term. Might go back to Canada eventually, but life is good currently where I am.

I had the biggest successes with losing weight in Korea. The weight just seemed to melt off there with little effort. That being said, I had just graduated from university and gained 30 lbs during my time at school due to stress. I experienced very little stress in Korea because I was happy teaching, didn't have to study, and met a wonderful group of fellow expats who quickly became like family. I think a combination of my newly-found happiness and a bunch of other things (like new diet and a more active lifestyle) heped me lose weight. The Korean diet is mainly rice, veggies, and meat/fish with kimchi at every meal. Whenever I did eat Western food, the portions were much smaller than I was used to back at home. Plus, Western food in Korea isn't that tasty - most stuff came with way too much mayonaisse and mustard (overloading condiments seems to be a thing on Korean pizza and burgers). By the end of my two-year stint, I had lost the 30lbs I gained in school and looked amazing.

Since being in New Zealand, I have had harder time losing weight. I think re-introducing the Western diet had a lot to play. Also being newly-wedded and putting on that married-life weight! Food here is better quality and the portion sizes at restaurants are smaller than back in Canada. I'm also getting used to dealing with a large seasonal aspect to eating - often you can only get certain fruits and veggies when they're in season.

Whenever I go back home, I tend to pack on the pounds. It could largely be due to comfort eating, but also due the fact that portion sizes in Canada are larger. I also find food back in Canada to be incredibly salty. Most people I know who aren't Canadian feel the same way when they come to Canada. However, fruits and veggies are also much cheaper back at home. So if you're on a diet, it's more affordable.