American girl in a Swedish world!

Nunilwen
Nunilwen Posts: 16 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi! I am a 30 yr old American girl living in Sweden with my swedish boyfriend. I've tried to lose weight before (in around 2006/7) by reducing portions by half but I always felt hungry. I did lose weight but eventually I just gave up! When I got together with my boyfriend he loves me the way I am, skinny or fat so I just decided to eat whatever, whenever! Since moving to Sweden 2 years ago I gained a lot more weight because swedish food is weird and not to my taste and I ate no breakfast or lunch, just the homecooked dinner his mom prepares each day, and lots of Coke and candy.

My turning point came when I was walking up a steep hill in the back entrance to a zoo and I could barely do it, felt like I was dying!

I started eating healthier and lightly exercising on August 13, 2014. I started at 234 and so far I have lost 4 lbs! I know it's not a huge amount but I eat breakfast and lunch now (as well as the homecooked meal of whatever his mom makes) and small snacks in between, so I am eating a lot more and "power walking" 3 or 4 times a week. I also gave up Coke after the first week (I think I used to drink almost a liter of Coke every day!)

Replies

  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    Welcome! I agree that Swedish food is a bit weird, haha, I live in Norway, and we are constantly comparing ourselves with the Swedes :tongue: Have you tried brunost? Or rømmegrøt? Americans tend to think that is weird. Remember that you can eat anything, and unless you're stuck in the deep forest, shops have a wide variety of foods to choose from. Don't feel that you will "insult" others, your food choices are yours :smile:
  • Nunilwen
    Nunilwen Posts: 16 Member
    I have not tried either of those! All the cheese here in Sweden is strange compared to the US! I miss my good ol' white american cheese, so delicious, probably very bad for me but tastes so good lol. Will have to control myself when I visit the US in Oct. The sausages "korv" in Sweden are very gross to me (both Swedish and Finnish types) and the hotdogs here are just tiny korv! Not what we know as hotdogs in the US!
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    Hi

    If you read the forums then you can learn about what you need to do and the common sense behind the strategies most people use for weight loss.

    Most things are about maintaining a calorie deficit. Hence record everything that you eat and decide how big you wnat that deficit to be, MFP makes that easy to pick a target and then take in the relevant amount of calories. This helps you understand what you are eating and the different amount of calories each contains. It will help you master the art of portion control to stop you eating more calories than you burn.

    Secondly you will learn about nutrition and thats important for your health but also it can ensure your biy gets the right sot of food to enable it to function and stop feeling hungry. Your more regular eating seems to have cracked that.

    The walking you mention is an excellent start. Its going to be easier to maintain if you fit it in as part of a daily routine and you maintain it. Having soemthing you enjoy or theres a reason behind it will make it more likely to be kept up with. Your fitness will improve.

    Gratz on the changes youve made and the success youve had so far. Keep it up. Keep logging, keep the deficit going and use the forums for support or to answer questions.
  • ambersdawn13
    ambersdawn13 Posts: 4 Member
    Hi from another American gal in Stockholm! :-)
  • stevenlcopeland
    stevenlcopeland Posts: 57 Member
    Welcome aboard. Remind me to pack a sack lunch if I ever head over there. LOL. I think cutting out the Coke is a great first step. Also try cutting out the snacks. You will find snacks are of habit not necessity. Keep up the great work on your exercise. Keep pushing yourself to discomfort levels cardio wise and just watch the rapid improvements you will realize in a very short time. American white cheese, my fav too. Feel free to add me if you would like. I can be your virtual work out partner and I would be glad to walk up that hill to the zoo with you next time. Good luck !
  • Nunilwen
    Nunilwen Posts: 16 Member
    Hi everyone!

    @ambersdawn13 So others like us do exist? :)
    @stevenlcopela I guess I should have mentioned I have cut out junk food snacks as well right from the beginning!
  • ambersdawn13
    ambersdawn13 Posts: 4 Member
    Yeah... Kind of sureal actually.

    And I know that hill, that hill sucks!

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