Moving to Germany do not know what to expect for food!

GMO isn't unhealthy.

Traditional German food is very high fat (cheese, meat) and high carb (bread) so that can be a recipe for disaster if you don't control your portions. You'll find that the locals tend to eat small portions of these and restaurant/cafe/bakery portions are all smaller than in the US while costing more. However, like in any developed western nation, you can buy fresh produce and food at the grocery stores to make whatever you want. The average German grocery store is not huge and inclusive like American supermarkets but you can probably find whatever you want except for Mexican seasonings which are I know are popular with many Americans.

Also, every city and town has farmer market areas where you can buy fresh, good-tasting fruit and vegetables. These aren't that cheap compared to Walmart but they taste really good (and also spoil quickly).

Where are you going? The only thing I can tell you is that German food is delicious. I lived there from '84-'88 during HS, and yes, I put on some weight! Try everything. Enjoy everything. Just do it in moderation. You are absolutely going to love it there. I am jealous. It was hands down the absolute best time of my life!! (Sorry I couldn't give you any real advice - but I'm excited for you!) Tschuss!! :happy:

Schnitzel is an Austrian specialty.

Wiener Schnitzel is an Austrian specialty and made with veal. Pork Schnitzel is typically German and one of the most popular meals....and the first one I learned in home-economics in my little southern German village where I grew up and a daily staple in the cafeteria in Berlin where I went to university.
If you google " Schnitzel " you will fins that many countries count it as part of their cuisine....but yes, Veal Schnitzel (Kalbschnitzel ) is typically Austrian.

We were stationed in Mannheim from '93-'96. The food is fabulous! Thinking about jaeger schnitzel and spaetzle makes my mouth water! You can always buy from the commissary, and you will do tons of walking! We lived on the fourth floor with no elevator. I hated that part, but it got me some activity in! Enjoy your time there. Lots of bike paths there also.

Aura is such a typical American. She thought the Black Forest is right by Stuttgart (it's not).

So peinlich. Äh.

Aura is such a typical American. She thought the Black Forest is right by Stuttgart (it's not).

So peinlich. Äh.

I don't think it's necessarily peinlich, because one cannot know everything about a country, especially a foreign country. I just happen to know because Baden-Württemberg is my home state. I could not make statements about other states, because I don't know them. I just thought it would be interesting to know for the OP that they are not close together.

Moving to Vilseck/Grafeonwoher, I'm pretty excited...my husband has family (his opa) lives near Stuttgart in a village by the Black Forest so I'm excited to meet him. My german is so not the best but I'm learning!

I've noticed a lot of Greek restaurants in pics for germany, is the food similar to here in the states at traditional Greek food?

I am from the Black Forest and just would like to point out that from there to Stuttgart 220kms, which I believe is about 140 miles. Of course on the Autobahn it is a quick 220 kms, but still worthwhile pointing out that Stuttgart and the Black Forest are not close. But either area is nice. Stuttgart is a bit more urban with a good connection to München and Austria as well as to the North. The Black Forest is more quaint, but with lots of skiing in winter, lots of sight seeing in summer and within minutes of the French border and very close to Switzerland. I am from a place called Gengenbach ( worthwhile googling ) and from there it's 15 minutes to Strasbourg and 25 to Basel....:o).

Honestly I cannot remember the name of the village! But his mom has all these steins from Stuttgart, and my husband says you can see the Black Forest right outside his Opas house. I obviously have a great deal to learn about where is what in Germany.

I don't doubt for a second that one can see the Black Forest from the grandfather's home.....but to do so you have to live within a very few kms. Seeing the Black Forest from Stuttgart would be like seeing Chicago from Madison/Wisconsin......:o).
Yes, you will have to learn a lot of new stuff, but I hope you will enjoy each and every day. Since I left Germany I have lived in 16 different countries and really enjoyed most of it.....the packing and international moves not so much.....:o).
Good Luck .....I am certain that once you adjust a little bit, you will be fine !

I don't know how Greek restaurants in the states are, but here in Germany there are usually huge amounts of mixed grilled meat along with fries or rice (or even both) and a bit salad decoration. That's not traditionally Greek food, more like people might imagine Greek food

Basically the "Balkan" part of the meal card that many restaurants have with more feta and possibly metaxa sauce.
Of course there's usually also something like moussaka.

I can also tell you, nobody I know only eats traditional German food. What stands for German food outside of Germany, is actually mostly Bavarian. In other regions there's other typical stuff. Unfortunately, that would be "Currywurst" in my region (Ruhr area)^^
I think, we are quite influenced by all the other countries around us and everyday life cooking is often shameless cross cooking. There is much variation. As healthy or unhealthy as one likes.
Bread and bread rolls might be a whole new world though, from what I heard. But that could also just be a stereotype, as I never lived in another country.

I am from Germany myself and find it easy to eat healthy. It mostly depends on the choices you make when shopping. For packaged/processed food you will always find nutritional value and ingredients somewhere on the back. Also, I believe regulations concerning food origins and labeling are much stricter than in most other countries.
Every shop that I know offers a large variety of fruits and vegetables. Also in most rural regions there are still local farmers that will sell their goods to you. The good thing about that is that you don't have to keep to opening hours of shops. The ones that I know just leave milk/eggs in a fridge outside of their house where you can take whatever you need and leave the money in a nearby box.

3 years is quite some time. I'm sure you'll be fine after you have settled in

I have been doing so well lately in terms of keeping up with my calories and exercise, I'm really worried about this move.

My husband is military and we are about to go to Germany (Bavaria) for 3 years! As exciting as that is, I have no idea what kinda of foods to expect to see...my husband was basically raised there and being 6'3 240lbs he can't wait to eat everything...me I'm a little paranoid because as much as I want to enjoy my new surroundings I do not want to ruin my weight loss that's happened so far.

I'm glad that most of Europe has banned gmo, so that's great that I will not have to worry about that anymore. Germany is well known for it's fattening food.

Anyone have personal experience on what to eat to not tip the scales overseas?

my aunt moved to Germany for a bit for her husbands job and they loved it
also I remember her telling us her fridge was super small so she had to shop a lot and that means buying a lot of fresh veggies and fruit etc
you'll be fine just buy your veggies and produce and cook every day
also you tend to walk everywhere to travel around and see the sites so you will naturally get more exercise in

good luck!

My dad was stationed in Zweibruecken from '85-'90 (that base closed in the 90s). It's been a minute since I've been over there, but here's my take:

1. The base you'll be on is a tiny island of America in a sea of Germany. On this island you will be able to find (almost) everything you found in the States. There will be familiar American food in the commissary and the restaurants on base. Easy to count calories and portion foods. No problem.

2. Off base, you may have a bit more difficulty. Figuring out how many calories are in your Gasthaus meal of wild game and spaetzle will be daunting at first. Take your German/English dictionary and translate any foods you don't recognize. Write down everything, with portion sizes estimated, and enter it later when you get home. Don't let weight loss goals come between you and some amazing German food, but don't go crazy either.

3. As other posters have said, walk and bike everywhere.

4. Do your best to learn the language. In my experience, Germans are extremely helpful and friendly, especially if they see you are trying your best to meet them on their terms.

Have fun! :drinker:

I've been living in Austria for the last decade and I can tell you that yes the food is nice and fattening here, but it is not snack food they are meals and smaller portions generally (unless you eat at a restaurant that caters to tourists with large portions). I will give you some tips to follow:

1) Since hubby is in the military you will have access to the commissary shopping. Avoid this. Take advantage that you are not in the US for now and change your diet. The commissary is full of American snack food, condiments etc. Especially avoid things like butterball turkeys and stuffing around the holidays. You can get a local free range bird and make your own stuffing and gravy from scratch with so much less fat, salt and sugar. Someone mentioned mexican food. God I love mexican food, but you don't need to buy prepacked spices or tortillas you can make everything from scratch and it is so much better for you without the MSG and other additives. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/ and http://www.annies-eats.com/2014/05/05/corn-tortillas-from-scratch/ for example.

2) Find your local farmer's market and get an app like http://dict.leo.org/ and start learning the German words for things! Produce is very seasonal in Europe so you need to learn what dishes to make and what times of year. Anyway cook a lot of food from scratch there are no preservatives! And cut back on salt (use sea salt like Maldon instead of table salt it is a bit stronger so you can use less).

3) Get a bike with a basket (some cities have "citybikes" free for an hour from station to station) and a pair of running shoes and try not driving around all the time. There are MANY parties in the expat / military community so make sure you get in a lot exercise so you don't miss out at that BBQ beer bash or ball.

4) A lot of German bread is roggenmehl or black bread so it is easier to skip than big fluffy loaves of white bread everywhere. Try not to eat a lot of bread or pastries for breakfast.

5) Beer is pretty easy to count... Normal lager is about 200 cal per half liter 0,5l about 20 minutes of jogging. Try to fit in an hour of running in your day and you can down 3 beers at night!

6) Amazon.de is your friend but also your worst enemy you can get anything on there including food. Need to find something in English? Try ordering it from Amazon.co.uk

I don't know Germany very well but I've lived in many different parts of the world and there's no reason you can't eat pretty much like you do at home. European food is labeled with nutritional information -- slightly different than in the U.S., but actually easier to read and measure because everything is metric and done by 100 g. As for restaurants and the local fare, just be reasonable and eat in moderation. It's not like you're moving someplace so very different...you're even going to be on a U.S. military base...that's like not leaving the country at all. LOL