Moved to UK: losing fitness and gaining weight

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yirara
yirara Posts: 9,564 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hmm. can't seem to find the thread I just started. Nothing listed under My Discussions either...

Moved from the Middle East to UK and am having problems with getting a grip on my diet.

In ME I'd have flatbread with fresh goats cheese or chicken and labne for breakfast and I was full enough until lunch. Here two slices of bread and cheese, salami or ham, 60kcal more and I'm starving come lunch.

In ME rice and usually a vegetarian Indian curry for lunch. Here no microwave or canteen, hence 3 sandwiches with above. 150 more calories, and I'm very soon hungry again even though I munch about 2 bell peppers in the hours after lunch, like before.

I'm so hungry when I come home that I'm not able to work out as I used to do. I always used the two hours btw end of work and cooked dinner for sport and a bit of relaxing. Here I need to have dinner right away. And as I cannot work out on a full stomach and as it gets dark and moist (my lungs don't like cold and humid) every evening I'm not running anymore later that night. As I live in a tiny flat with wooden floors I cannot do much of a strength workout either. Still moving boxes everywhere anyway.

I just don't know how to get a grip on it. I'm losing my fitness and am gaining weight. I'm fairly small and female, thus I can't eat too much to stay on weight anyway. It's just... the food seems so un-nourishing even though I eat more.

Any advise for me? I tried different kind of bread but it's just not as dense and probably much faster to digest than a good flatbread. Haven't seen flatbread here yet - and no gym apart from an expensive hotel spa without free weights and strangely enough a similarly too expensive crossfit box with unpractical free training hours. Tourist resort in a total rural area.


Looking at the numbers I think the problem is clear: my timing is not good.
Before:
wake up 5:45
start work 6:30
breakfast 8:30
lunch 11:00
home 15:00
workout
dinner 17:00

now
wake up 6:00 I don't know why I don't sleep longer
start work 8:45
breakfast 09:00
lunch: 12:00
home: 17:00
dinner: 17:30ish

Commuting for both countries about 15-20 minutes. I tried working out in the morning before but it didn't work on an empty stomach. I first need a couple mugs of tea before I can eat, as I get reflux otherwise and cannot work out on a full stomach either.

Don't get be wrong: I'm not overweight anymore, but I'm bit by bit losing everything I worked so hard for: my fitness and my lower weight.
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Replies

  • Artemiris
    Artemiris Posts: 189 Member
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    Hi, as someone with lots of experience in moving houses/cities/countries, I can tell you that it is probably not a problem with the food but with the mindset.

    Every time I moved to a new country I gained some weight.

    I suppose you are tracking all the food and, from what you wrote, your problem is only related to this increased hunger and you haven't had any increase in your weight.

    How long have you been living in the UK? You probably need some time to adjust, find your routine and get to know all the new foods.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,564 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Artemiris wrote: »
    Hi, as someone with lots of experience in moving houses/cities/countries, I can tell you that it is probably not a problem with the food but with the mindset.

    Every time I moved to a new country I gained some weight.

    I suppose you are tracking all the food and, from what you wrote, your problem is only related to this increased hunger and you haven't had any increase in your weight.

    How long have you been living in the UK? You probably need some time to adjust, find your routine and get to know all the new foods.

    Well, before moving to the UK I spent 5 weeks in Singapore and Indonesia on vacation. No problem there. I'm here now for a month.

    I've also moved to new countries quite often; I've lived in various European countries before. I know why I usually gained weight in new places: new candy and new crisps. I'm doing fine in avoiding those this time, but I'm simply too hungry. I already had two slices of bread today, half a bell pepper and a small piece of chocolate. And it's only 10:10 now. Besides waking up too early I think I need food that doesn't get digested so quickly, like this terrible fluffy bread here.

    Honestly, I don't know whether I gained weight as the scale is in self storage and I don't have a car yet to get there. I came out of the vacation with no gain, and I at least continued running there. Now all my new clothes are getting tighter and I'm quickly losing the level of fitness I used to have. Annoyingly, my level of fitness and strength were always way below that of my peers and I need to work extra hard to get any small success, and keep on doing it.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    Whereabouts are you ? Plenty of ethnic foods in the UK
  • GillianSmith2
    GillianSmith2 Posts: 387 Member
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    local supermarkets sell all sorts of bread and foods from around the world so that shouldnt be a problem. are you living in the city or rural area?
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,564 Member
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    yarwell wrote: »
    Whereabouts are you ? Plenty of ethnic foods in the UK

    About 40 and 60 minutes by car from the next two places that deserve to be called town. I just don't have a car yet. Just about 100.000 people in this whole area, and lots of tourists in summer. There's one Asia shop in town, probably Filipino based on owners name and selection of food. Asda, Aldi and Tesco don't have flatbread, nor for example more dense German bread. Quite a few independent shops, but no decent bakery.
  • GillianSmith2
    GillianSmith2 Posts: 387 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    yarwell wrote: »
    Whereabouts are you ? Plenty of ethnic foods in the UK

    About 40 and 60 minutes by car from the next two places that deserve to be called town. I just don't have a car yet. Just about 100.000 people in this whole area, and lots of tourists in summer. There's one Asia shop in town, probably Filipino based on owners name and selection of food. Asda, Aldi and Tesco don't have flatbread, nor for example more dense German bread. Quite a few independent shops, but no decent bakery.

    can you shop online? you may get more variety and get it delivered.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    http://www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=257924688 and similar at Aldi. Sounds like you're homesick.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,564 Member
    edited November 2015
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    GillianSmith2 wrote: »

    can you shop online? you may get more variety and get it delivered.

    Not half-locally. I'll need to look a bit more into that. With regards to ethnic food: over 98% of people here are white Britons. Wow! most boring place ever (but outdoor life is excellent!). I do wonder most of those 200 actually work for this company :smile: . Doesn't solve the problem of timing. I asked my manager whether I can work flextime, and start an hour earlier at least but that's up to company management, apparently (gosh, I work for a place where nobody takes decisions!)
  • tiny_clanger
    tiny_clanger Posts: 301 Member
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    You can buy flatbread (khobez, pitta, tortilla, pancakes, potato cake, rye, sourdough, etc. etc.) online from any major supermarket website, even if no shop local to you stocks it. Also goats cheese, fuul, tahini, couscous, etc. Yes, you've moved north, so it gets darker earlier in winter. No reason not to run though, get some hi-vis, get a headlamp and get out there. By law, your employer is required to provide a means to heat food if it is not possible to purchase hot food near to your work.
  • maplehouse200
    maplehouse200 Posts: 53 Member
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    As you are not running in the evening anymore, perhaps you could use 20mins of that spare time to actually make flatbreads. Make a batch. Stick 'em in the 'fridge.
    Dead simple to do.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,564 Member
    edited November 2015
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    tiny_clanger wrote: »
    You can buy flatbread (khobez, pitta, tortilla, pancakes, potato cake, rye, sourdough, etc. etc.) online from any major supermarket website, even if no shop local to you stocks it. Also goats cheese, fuul, tahini, couscous, etc. Yes, you've moved north, so it gets darker earlier in winter. No reason not to run though, get some hi-vis, get a headlamp and get out there. By law, your employer is required to provide a means to heat food if it is not possible to purchase hot food near to your work.

    Well... they serve some food, but it's nothing I can eat with my reflux (it's caused by certain food).
    I tried running twice and got an asthma attack in the middle of the night afterwards *sigh* I think it might be caused by the cold. As my nose and throat swell bigtime from any asthma medication I tried I try to avoid it. Yes, my health is not perfect, but I had no issues with asthma for more than a year and doctors even told me I don't have asthma. Mind you, I cycle to work, up a hill and had no asthma issues with that.

    I guess, not wanting to be here plays a role. The area is beautiful and the work is ok, but I had to take a massive paycut after a layoff. As my whole industry is only firing and not hiring at the moment I should be happy to have work at all. If things were better in my industry and I were not to work for a consultancy I'd easily make twice as much. But there just isn't any work.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    . Asda, Aldi and Tesco don't have flatbread, nor for example more dense German bread.

    Have you tried Ocado / Waitrose and wait for it....Amazon?
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,564 Member
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    msf74 wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    . Asda, Aldi and Tesco don't have flatbread, nor for example more dense German bread.

    Have you tried Ocado / Waitrose and wait for it....Amazon?

    Like I said, I need to look more into online delivery options. No, I haven't yet. Noted down. Thanks.
  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    msf74 wrote: »
    yirara wrote: »
    . Asda, Aldi and Tesco don't have flatbread, nor for example more dense German bread.

    Have you tried Ocado / Waitrose and wait for it....Amazon?

    Like I said, I need to look more into online delivery options. No, I haven't yet. Noted down. Thanks.

    To banana.

    Is there a kebab shop near to you by any chance? Maybe you could ask them where they source their pittas / wraps from as an alternative to the solving the bread issue.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,564 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Well, pita bread is something completely different to flat bread. I can get pita bread, but real Arabic flatbread is something else entirely. Pita is rather high in calories as well.
  • tiny_clanger
    tiny_clanger Posts: 301 Member
    edited November 2015
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    Well... they serve some food, but it's nothing I can eat with my reflux (it's caused by certain food).

    If you have a diagnosed longterm reflux condition (GORD, for example), they should provide food that you can eat or provide you a mechanism to heat your own food - that would be considered a reasonable adjustment under the DDA. You should discuss this with your Occupational Health representative.



  • msf74
    msf74 Posts: 3,498 Member
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    yirara wrote: »
    Well, pita bread is something completely different to flat bread. I can get pita bread, but real Arabic flatbread is something else entirely. Pita is rather high in calories as well.

    Sure, but if they source their pita / wraps from a certain supplier that supplier may also carry flatbreads.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,564 Member
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    tiny_clanger wrote: »
    Well... they serve some food, but it's nothing I can eat with my reflux (it's caused by certain food).

    If you have a diagnosed longterm reflux condition (GORD, for example), they should provide food that you can eat or provide you a mechanism to heat your own food - that would be considered a reasonable adjustment under the DDA. You should discuss this with your Occupational Health representative.

    Oh, so much to learn! Nah, I don't even have a doctor here yet. I just know there are certain foods I should avoid: food fried in lots of oil that absorbs a fair amount of it (strangely enough, masses of olive oil over a salad is ok), all of Danish dairy while Dutch one is mostly fine, and British one a bit of a mix, and some other things.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,564 Member
    edited November 2015
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    *sigh* I had lunch much earlier, still I could not prevent getting hungry and all shaky from the inside. Now my concentration is completely gone and I cannot hit the keyboard keys properly. This happens far too often lately. Btw, I was checked for diabetes multiple times. I am not diabetic/prediabetic or anthing else similar. No idea though why this happens sometimes.

    Btw, this doesn't happen a lot when I work out regularly. Thus yet another reason to find the energy for sport.
  • tiny_clanger
    tiny_clanger Posts: 301 Member
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    Are you drinking enough water? I get similar symptoms when I've not drunk enough.

    I travel a lot with work, and I find it quite difficult to ensure I'm drinking enough in a new country - either because the water tastes different or isn't as available as I'm used to, or just I don't have my water bottle with me because of the flight. UK tapwater is some of the most high quality in the world, and generally tastes pretty good :)

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