Moved to America, now struggling to get under control
Replies
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I have lived abroad and traveled extensively for months at a time (South America, Central America, Europe, Caribbean, SE Asia) and I have to say, I disagree....I've seen larger portions in many places all over the world than standard portions here in the US. Especially in Japan, meals are like a binge eaters dream, and in France and Germany - food is everywhere, food is portable, food is prized as a national treasure. Maybe it's different in the UK, which I have not been to, but America is hardly unique in having large portions here and there. The only thing I can think of that is surprisingly larger here in the States are the sizes of DRINKS. You can get 7-11 cups that must be the size of a gallon.
Here's what I keep in mind when it comes to food:
Soups: get only clear brothy ones, I prefer low sodium (packets of miso to go are also good)
Sandwiches: skip the cheese, or if you get it avoid cheddar, that's usually the highest calorie, and stick to one condiment
Fast food: get whatever you want but only get one item, not a sandwich AND tots, not fries AND a shake
Eating out: split your meal or just order sides
Dressings: stick with just oil and vinegar, add low-sodium seasonings to sandwiches, salads, etc
Drinks: always get water to start, get something else if you still want it after the water
Methods that have worked for me: carb-cycling, sugar-free (no sugar, no sugar substitute, no adding "juice to sweeten"), no eating after 8pm, high fat low carb, protein in the morning - carbs at lunch - fats and roughage at dinner. Not all at the same time, just throwing out what's worked in the past.
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Organic doesn't mean no pesticides, sometimes they use more toxic pesticides, it's just the source of the ingredients.I can sympathise with you as I noticed while living in the US it is almost impossible to buy healthy convenience foods. We take for granted the fact we can pop into an M&S attached to a petrol station and buy a 150cal five bean salad or fresh sushi. In the US there are no healthy fast foods. You have to go to cafes inside Whole Foods or pack your own food from home.
For eating out my husband and I would ALWAYS split a meal...with him being twice my size he'd eat about two thirds and I'd eat a third and we'd both be satiated. I did like Panera though because you can buy half salads and half sandwiches. They do this because people are encouraged to have a half salad with a soup or a half sandwich. I'd just buy a half salad or half sandwich and eat that by itself. Don't fall for the Oanera ploy of do you want a pastry for only $1 more? (Noooooo)
In the US the portion sizes are massive but over time, they don't look so massive you get desensitised into thinking you're starving yourself. Scientific studies have also shown that if you are presented with more food, you'll eat more food so that is why splitting a meal or just ordering a half size up front is you best bet to not overeat. Too, some restaurants have menus for senior citizens that tend to be smaller sized and lower calorie...i.e. Two egg omelette instead of the standard ridiculously huge three or four egg omelette. I've asked if I can order them before and usually the restaurant will let you. At times, if my husband and I don't want the same meal, we'll each order an appetiser and a side salad as our meal which works too. Follow just the portioning rules on cheat days..make cheat days be about eating what you want but not overeating/gorging on whatever you want.
While portion sizes in many US restaurants are very large, the sentences bolded above are just completely wrong. I can go into my Lowe's foods grocery store here in NC and find a salad bar with a good selection of vegetables and fruits (as well as some higher calorie options). There are pre-made salads, both low and high calorie, with a selection of lower and higher calorie dressings. Most of our fast food restaurants have lower calorie options (ex. baked potato and side salad at Wendys; egg white sandwiches at MacDonalds; etc). It may take a little more work at first, but it is possible to make better choices.
Sorry, when in the US I ate only organic food so your sources didn't even come to mind. I have a bit of a prejudice against non organic food in the US because the production of it uses additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics that are outlawed as unsafe here in the UK.
And there is stuff that is legal in the U.K. That is illegal in the US.
I know organic doesn't mean zero peticides. Where did I ever say that? "Toxic" is a relative concept. Yes some organic pesticides may be more "toxic" but what matters is how much of said pesticide do you actually ingest..Ingesting a lot of a less toxic pesticide can be worse than a trace amount of a more toxic one.
I don't know of anything that is legal in the UK that is illegal in the US in terms of food additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics due to safety standards. Care to name a few things?0 -
Same thing happened to me after moving to the US from Australia. I didn't think i was eating any differently to what I was in AU, Then all of a sudden I found my self needing to buy size 18 clothes. I found even though the foods look the same the ingredients are very different. Sugar or fructose is in almost anything and very hard to avoid. I started getting used to the larger serving sizes so eating more. Also the culture here in Florida is to drive EVERYWHERE. There are almost no foot paths if I wanted to go for a walk, so my every day exercise was very much reduced.
BUT... It is possible to find better foods. Avoid the "Diet" & 100 Cal foods, most are so high in sugar and salt you may as well just go eat a big mac. Look for local farmers markets, Whole Foods and Trader Joes are good options. Cook more at home and always keep a healthy snack with you to avoid eating out.
It did take some time to find foods that I both enjoy and wont make me obese, but iv gone from a size 18 down to a 10 over the last 6 month... Good Luck!!6 -
Same thing happened to me after moving to the US from Australia. I didn't think i was eating any differently to what I was in AU, Then all of a sudden I found my self needing to buy size 18 clothes. I found even though the foods look the same the ingredients are very different. Sugar or fructose is in almost anything and very hard to avoid. I started getting used to the larger serving sizes so eating more. Also the culture here in Florida is to drive EVERYWHERE. There are almost no foot paths if I wanted to go for a walk.
BUT... It is possible to find better foods. Avoid the "Diet" & 100 Cal foods, most are so high in sugar and salt you may as well just go eat a big mac. Look for local farmers markets, Whole Foods, Sprouts and Fresh Market are good options. Cook more at home and always keep a healthy snack with you to avoid eating out.
It did take some time to find foods that I both enjoy and wont make me obese, but iv gone from a size 18 down to a 10 over the last 6 month... Good Luck!!
Can you provide some examples of foods that you were surprised to find sugar/fructose in here in the US? I'm also not sure how a 100 cal food is so high in sugar that you should go eat a Big Mac. A Big Mac is 550 calories (so 5x the cals of a 100 cal food) and has 9 g of sugar (not really that high). It seems an odd comparison.
Lastly, no specific foods make you obese (or thin for that matter). Too many calories make you obese. That has nothing to do with the US or any other country.7 -
Organic doesn't mean no pesticides, sometimes they use more toxic pesticides, it's just the source of the ingredients.I can sympathise with you as I noticed while living in the US it is almost impossible to buy healthy convenience foods. We take for granted the fact we can pop into an M&S attached to a petrol station and buy a 150cal five bean salad or fresh sushi. In the US there are no healthy fast foods. You have to go to cafes inside Whole Foods or pack your own food from home.
For eating out my husband and I would ALWAYS split a meal...with him being twice my size he'd eat about two thirds and I'd eat a third and we'd both be satiated. I did like Panera though because you can buy half salads and half sandwiches. They do this because people are encouraged to have a half salad with a soup or a half sandwich. I'd just buy a half salad or half sandwich and eat that by itself. Don't fall for the Oanera ploy of do you want a pastry for only $1 more? (Noooooo)
In the US the portion sizes are massive but over time, they don't look so massive you get desensitised into thinking you're starving yourself. Scientific studies have also shown that if you are presented with more food, you'll eat more food so that is why splitting a meal or just ordering a half size up front is you best bet to not overeat. Too, some restaurants have menus for senior citizens that tend to be smaller sized and lower calorie...i.e. Two egg omelette instead of the standard ridiculously huge three or four egg omelette. I've asked if I can order them before and usually the restaurant will let you. At times, if my husband and I don't want the same meal, we'll each order an appetiser and a side salad as our meal which works too. Follow just the portioning rules on cheat days..make cheat days be about eating what you want but not overeating/gorging on whatever you want.
While portion sizes in many US restaurants are very large, the sentences bolded above are just completely wrong. I can go into my Lowe's foods grocery store here in NC and find a salad bar with a good selection of vegetables and fruits (as well as some higher calorie options). There are pre-made salads, both low and high calorie, with a selection of lower and higher calorie dressings. Most of our fast food restaurants have lower calorie options (ex. baked potato and side salad at Wendys; egg white sandwiches at MacDonalds; etc). It may take a little more work at first, but it is possible to make better choices.
Sorry, when in the US I ate only organic food so your sources didn't even come to mind. I have a bit of a prejudice against non organic food in the US because the production of it uses additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics that are outlawed as unsafe here in the UK.
And there is stuff that is legal in the U.K. That is illegal in the US.
I know organic doesn't mean zero peticides. Where did I ever say that? "Toxic" is a relative concept. Yes some organic pesticides may be more "toxic" but what matters is how much of said pesticide do you actually ingest..Ingesting a lot of a less toxic pesticide can be worse than a trace amount of a more toxic one.
I don't know of anything that is legal in the UK that is illegal in the US in terms of food additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics due to safety standards. Care to name a few things?
There actually is an artificial sweetener that is legal in the U.K., but illegal here. Haggis is not allowed here, raw milk is mostly banned here.
But the thing is that we don't ban something here unless it is proven to cause problems, and many pesticides that are banned, this is true in both countries, are banned not because they hurt people, but because they hurt native wildlife, plants and insects. And those that are used must have little to no trace left on the produce when it is harvested. There are entire labs dealing with these things.
Hormones are rarely used in the US for animal agriculture anymore. Just go look at all the dairy, it's rare that you see something that doesn't say hormone free. And it's because farmers found that they didn't help their bottom line, not because the government told them to.1 -
Organic doesn't mean no pesticides, sometimes they use more toxic pesticides, it's just the source of the ingredients.I can sympathise with you as I noticed while living in the US it is almost impossible to buy healthy convenience foods. We take for granted the fact we can pop into an M&S attached to a petrol station and buy a 150cal five bean salad or fresh sushi. In the US there are no healthy fast foods. You have to go to cafes inside Whole Foods or pack your own food from home.
For eating out my husband and I would ALWAYS split a meal...with him being twice my size he'd eat about two thirds and I'd eat a third and we'd both be satiated. I did like Panera though because you can buy half salads and half sandwiches. They do this because people are encouraged to have a half salad with a soup or a half sandwich. I'd just buy a half salad or half sandwich and eat that by itself. Don't fall for the Oanera ploy of do you want a pastry for only $1 more? (Noooooo)
In the US the portion sizes are massive but over time, they don't look so massive you get desensitised into thinking you're starving yourself. Scientific studies have also shown that if you are presented with more food, you'll eat more food so that is why splitting a meal or just ordering a half size up front is you best bet to not overeat. Too, some restaurants have menus for senior citizens that tend to be smaller sized and lower calorie...i.e. Two egg omelette instead of the standard ridiculously huge three or four egg omelette. I've asked if I can order them before and usually the restaurant will let you. At times, if my husband and I don't want the same meal, we'll each order an appetiser and a side salad as our meal which works too. Follow just the portioning rules on cheat days..make cheat days be about eating what you want but not overeating/gorging on whatever you want.
While portion sizes in many US restaurants are very large, the sentences bolded above are just completely wrong. I can go into my Lowe's foods grocery store here in NC and find a salad bar with a good selection of vegetables and fruits (as well as some higher calorie options). There are pre-made salads, both low and high calorie, with a selection of lower and higher calorie dressings. Most of our fast food restaurants have lower calorie options (ex. baked potato and side salad at Wendys; egg white sandwiches at MacDonalds; etc). It may take a little more work at first, but it is possible to make better choices.
Sorry, when in the US I ate only organic food so your sources didn't even come to mind. I have a bit of a prejudice against non organic food in the US because the production of it uses additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics that are outlawed as unsafe here in the UK.
And there is stuff that is legal in the U.K. That is illegal in the US.
I know organic doesn't mean zero peticides. Where did I ever say that? "Toxic" is a relative concept. Yes some organic pesticides may be more "toxic" but what matters is how much of said pesticide do you actually ingest..Ingesting a lot of a less toxic pesticide can be worse than a trace amount of a more toxic one.
I don't know of anything that is legal in the UK that is illegal in the US in terms of food additives, pesticides, herbicides, hormones and antibiotics due to safety standards. Care to name a few things?
There actually is an artificial sweetener that is legal in the U.K., but illegal here. Haggis is not allowed here, raw milk is mostly banned here.
But the thing is that we don't ban something here unless it is proven to cause problems, and many pesticides that are banned, this is true in both countries, are banned not because they hurt people, but because they hurt native wildlife, plants and insects. And those that are used must have little to no trace left on the produce when it is harvested. There are entire labs dealing with these things.
Hormones are rarely used in the US for animal agriculture anymore. Just go look at all the dairy, it's rare that you see something that doesn't say hormone free. And it's because farmers found that they didn't help their bottom line, not because the government told them to.
I'm sorry but haggis and milk are foods not a food additive, pesticide, herbicide, hormone or antibiotic. I am sure you know the difference and are just flailing about a bit. You failed to name this "artificial sweetener" so how can I verify your statement?
In fact, you've not named a single food additive, pesticide, herbicide, hormone or antibiotic that is legal in the UK but banned in the US due to safety standards. So, without further ado, I'm calling BS on your assertion. ⛳️
I think you're a little misinformed on the hormone and antibiotic usage in the US vs the UK. There is a big difference.
The UK doesn't ban things unless theyre proven to cause problems, we just have what is called the precautionary principle where we test things before putting it into the food production chain instead of using our populace and ecosystem as guinea pigs.
Now you can wave your3 -
Hello
I'm Jodie, originally from the UK and I moved to the US (Denver) 2.5 yrs ago. I was 237lbs at my heaviest in 2011 and got down to 154lbs in 18mths for my wedding. In the UK I managed to keep all the weight off without a thought (zero restrictions) but since I've moved here I've started creeping up up. I got up to 170lbs, I'm now down to 160 but am having to starve myself to lose every 1lb and often have 1 cheat day and lose 2 weeks of progress just like that.
I struggle to find low calorie foods here. You can easily walk into a grocery store in the UK and get a delicious filling soup or curry for 400 cals. They also sell lots of low cal 'treats like <100 cal chips and chocolate bars.
Does anyone have any tips/ tricks to make this a bit easier? Also eating out, everything seems excessive even the salads... any ideas?
Thank you
Just wanted to say welcome to America! I know its a bit late but non - the -less keep up the hard work.
My advice albeit simple as heck, trail and error.1 -
I moved here from AU and found the same thing. The food is quite different, portion sizes and hard to find healthy alternatives. I also found everything, well nearly everything has high fructose corn syrup which is not good for the waist line. Plus all the hidden sugar and salt in foods. Even the bread tastes sweet compared to what we are used to.
It took no time to put it on and even longer to take it off. My advice, read the labels on everything, if you don't know what it is then avoid it.2 -
Interesting. What is so different regarding portion sizes? Please take a look at the USDA RDA and tell me how it differs from the rest of the world. In the US, there is fresh fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, grains and dairy, year round, throughout the country. Why is it hard to adhere to eating @ your daily calorie budget ?0
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LOL haggis isn't dangerous, I'm not even sure why it's banned, maybe to do with it being from sheeps stomach lining and offal offends someone in the agriculture industry or something. Who know. But Scotland has been eating it for years and no-one has keeled over, myself included. Deep fried Mars Bars on the other hand might kill you.
I get what the OP means about convenience foods here in the UK vs US. I'm not saying it's an excuse at all, just that it is different but you just adjust to your surroundings. Here you can get chilled soups, chilled ready meals of any all world cuisines, plus deli counters, salad bars etc. There are very few meals in the freezer which is where you'll find most American convenience foods. And I would miss the ease of those foods we have and they are on the whole really good quality but you just have to mourn their loss for a second and move on to make new strategies for your new surroundings.
Like those suggested in the thread. There are vastly more snack options than here in the UK. I couldn't get over how many aisles of snacks there were! There are a lot of choices for frozen meals. I didn't try any but it's worth giving a few a bash and seeing if they can work for you when needed. Salads can be easily adapted in restaurants. Ask for calorie dense things like cheese/nuts/dressings on the side so you can control the amount. Calorie counts are a lot more readily available, we have so many independent restaurants here and there's no requirement for nutrition info beyond allergens so you'd have to eyeball a lot more. So easier in the US. A meal is 1000 calories? Great, split it and get a to go box (also largely unheard of here).
It can be done, you just need to leave behind the habits and foods from the UK and develop new ones in your new surroundings.1 -
Same thing happened to me after moving to the US from Australia. I didn't think i was eating any differently to what I was in AU, Then all of a sudden I found my self needing to buy size 18 clothes. I found even though the foods look the same the ingredients are very different. Sugar or fructose is in almost anything and very hard to avoid. I started getting used to the larger serving sizes so eating more. Also the culture here in Florida is to drive EVERYWHERE. There are almost no foot paths if I wanted to go for a walk, so my every day exercise was very much reduced.
BUT... It is possible to find better foods. Avoid the "Diet" & 100 Cal foods, most are so high in sugar and salt you may as well just go eat a big mac. Look for local farmers markets, Whole Foods and Trader Joes are good options. Cook more at home and always keep a healthy snack with you to avoid eating out.
It did take some time to find foods that I both enjoy and wont make me obese, but iv gone from a size 18 down to a 10 over the last 6 month... Good Luck!!
I think this is something that we don't give enough credence to. I have no idea if it is still accurate or not, but about 12 or so years ago, I was comparing a can of soda made in the US to one of the same brand, same size, manufactured in a different region (I think Turkey, but I could be wrong). There were six ingredients in the 'local' version and 22 in the US version. Obviously, this is one example and is not going to be the case for every food/ drink item across the world, but it's worth some benefit of the doubt IMO that there may be things in the US food system that contribute to the tendency of people to gain weight when they move here for the first time. YES, it's all CICO in the end, but if you grow up eating a certain way and then assume that food that look to be the same ARE the same, then your CI can very easily outpace your CO. There was a video someone posted on here at some point comparing two sets of food covering three meals. They looked pretty much the same, but one was nearly twice the calories of the other. Small differences in amounts let to major differences in calories consumed by the end of the day.
That's not to say that anyone is *blaming* the US for their weight gain, but I think it's fair to say that our particular food culture could be a contributing factor if you're not used to it and are ALSO not prepared to counteract it.10 -
Also eating out, everything seems excessive even the salads... any ideas?
This is VERY TRUE about America. We are the land of excess. Most menus here have "low cal" options that are 500 and under at least at the popular restaurant chains.
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Same thing happened to me after moving to the US from Australia. I didn't think i was eating any differently to what I was in AU, Then all of a sudden I found my self needing to buy size 18 clothes. I found even though the foods look the same the ingredients are very different. Sugar or fructose is in almost anything and very hard to avoid. I started getting used to the larger serving sizes so eating more. Also the culture here in Florida is to drive EVERYWHERE. There are almost no foot paths if I wanted to go for a walk, so my every day exercise was very much reduced.
BUT... It is possible to find better foods. Avoid the "Diet" & 100 Cal foods, most are so high in sugar and salt you may as well just go eat a big mac. Look for local farmers markets, Whole Foods and Trader Joes are good options. Cook more at home and always keep a healthy snack with you to avoid eating out.
It did take some time to find foods that I both enjoy and wont make me obese, but iv gone from a size 18 down to a 10 over the last 6 month... Good Luck!!
I think this is something that we don't give enough credence to. I have no idea if it is still accurate or not, but about 12 or so years ago, I was comparing a can of soda made in the US to one of the same brand, same size, manufactured in a different region (I think Turkey, but I could be wrong). There were six ingredients in the 'local' version and 22 in the US version. Obviously, this is one example and is not going to be the case for every food/ drink item across the world, but it's worth some benefit of the doubt IMO that there may be things in the US food system that contribute to the tendency of people to gain weight when they move here for the first time. YES, it's all CICO in the end, but if you grow up eating a certain way and then assume that food that look to be the same ARE the same, then your CI can very easily outpace your CO. There was a video someone posted on here at some point comparing two sets of food covering three meals. They looked pretty much the same, but one was nearly twice the calories of the other. Small differences in amounts let to major differences in calories consumed by the end of the day.
That's not to say that anyone is *blaming* the US for their weight gain, but I think it's fair to say that our particular food culture could be a contributing factor if you're not used to it and are ALSO not prepared to counteract it.
Perhaps, willing to concede the benefit of the doubt, but everything is marked on the labels, with serving size and calories per serving. Weighing and measuring your food and drinks should be pretty self explanatory. As adults, there is no one to blame, besides ourselves for our own weight. Blaming a culture or country is ridiculous.
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Ah. So have you been to Australia or not?bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
How do you find Australian and/or UK food compares then, in your visits there and here, then?bigmuneymfp wrote: »I moved here from AU and found the same thing. The food is quite different, portion sizes and hard to find healthy alternatives. I also found everything, well nearly everything has high fructose corn syrup which is not good for the waist line. Plus all the hidden sugar and salt in foods. Even the bread tastes sweet compared to what we are used to.
It took no time to put it on and even longer to take it off. My advice, read the labels on everything, if you don't know what it is then avoid it.
Complete bs
It's irrelevant you can buy anything you want in the US
Let's recap. A poster describes their experiences with adjusting to US food culture, and made suggestions for how the OP could adjust too, as have others. Recommendations have all basically been to be mindful during shopping, without allowing yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security by knowledge of the calorie counts in an equivalent product elsewhere, as they always are on this kind of thread.
I think reducing all that to "complete bs" reflects very poorly on you.
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bambishealth wrote: »Also eating out, everything seems excessive even the salads... any ideas?
This is VERY TRUE about America. We are the land of excess. Most menus here have "low cal" options that are 500 and under at least at the popular restaurant chains.
True, portion sizes are huge at most restaurants, but again, personal responsibility. Eat part of your meal and take the rest home for another meal or meals. Or simply make your own meals and eat the correct portions.
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Yes, every man and woman alive is a complete island, totally immune to external social influences.3rdof7sisters wrote: »Same thing happened to me after moving to the US from Australia. I didn't think i was eating any differently to what I was in AU, Then all of a sudden I found my self needing to buy size 18 clothes. I found even though the foods look the same the ingredients are very different. Sugar or fructose is in almost anything and very hard to avoid. I started getting used to the larger serving sizes so eating more. Also the culture here in Florida is to drive EVERYWHERE. There are almost no foot paths if I wanted to go for a walk, so my every day exercise was very much reduced.
BUT... It is possible to find better foods. Avoid the "Diet" & 100 Cal foods, most are so high in sugar and salt you may as well just go eat a big mac. Look for local farmers markets, Whole Foods and Trader Joes are good options. Cook more at home and always keep a healthy snack with you to avoid eating out.
It did take some time to find foods that I both enjoy and wont make me obese, but iv gone from a size 18 down to a 10 over the last 6 month... Good Luck!!
I think this is something that we don't give enough credence to. I have no idea if it is still accurate or not, but about 12 or so years ago, I was comparing a can of soda made in the US to one of the same brand, same size, manufactured in a different region (I think Turkey, but I could be wrong). There were six ingredients in the 'local' version and 22 in the US version. Obviously, this is one example and is not going to be the case for every food/ drink item across the world, but it's worth some benefit of the doubt IMO that there may be things in the US food system that contribute to the tendency of people to gain weight when they move here for the first time. YES, it's all CICO in the end, but if you grow up eating a certain way and then assume that food that look to be the same ARE the same, then your CI can very easily outpace your CO. There was a video someone posted on here at some point comparing two sets of food covering three meals. They looked pretty much the same, but one was nearly twice the calories of the other. Small differences in amounts let to major differences in calories consumed by the end of the day.
That's not to say that anyone is *blaming* the US for their weight gain, but I think it's fair to say that our particular food culture could be a contributing factor if you're not used to it and are ALSO not prepared to counteract it.
Perhaps, willing to concede the benefit of the doubt, but everything is marked on the labels, with serving size and calories per serving. Weighing and measuring your food and drinks should be pretty self explanatory. As adults, there is no one to blame, besides ourselves for our own weight. Blaming a culture or country is ridiculous.
Gawd, I absolutely cannot understand why companies even bother having advertising and marketing budgets. And what's with the packaging? Why aren't processed foods sold in plain packets with just the name printed on the front? What's with the pictures? What a waste of expensive printing ink, really. Idiot multi-million dollar firms wasting money.
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3rdof7sisters wrote: »Same thing happened to me after moving to the US from Australia. I didn't think i was eating any differently to what I was in AU, Then all of a sudden I found my self needing to buy size 18 clothes. I found even though the foods look the same the ingredients are very different. Sugar or fructose is in almost anything and very hard to avoid. I started getting used to the larger serving sizes so eating more. Also the culture here in Florida is to drive EVERYWHERE. There are almost no foot paths if I wanted to go for a walk, so my every day exercise was very much reduced.
BUT... It is possible to find better foods. Avoid the "Diet" & 100 Cal foods, most are so high in sugar and salt you may as well just go eat a big mac. Look for local farmers markets, Whole Foods and Trader Joes are good options. Cook more at home and always keep a healthy snack with you to avoid eating out.
It did take some time to find foods that I both enjoy and wont make me obese, but iv gone from a size 18 down to a 10 over the last 6 month... Good Luck!!
I think this is something that we don't give enough credence to. I have no idea if it is still accurate or not, but about 12 or so years ago, I was comparing a can of soda made in the US to one of the same brand, same size, manufactured in a different region (I think Turkey, but I could be wrong). There were six ingredients in the 'local' version and 22 in the US version. Obviously, this is one example and is not going to be the case for every food/ drink item across the world, but it's worth some benefit of the doubt IMO that there may be things in the US food system that contribute to the tendency of people to gain weight when they move here for the first time. YES, it's all CICO in the end, but if you grow up eating a certain way and then assume that food that look to be the same ARE the same, then your CI can very easily outpace your CO. There was a video someone posted on here at some point comparing two sets of food covering three meals. They looked pretty much the same, but one was nearly twice the calories of the other. Small differences in amounts let to major differences in calories consumed by the end of the day.
That's not to say that anyone is *blaming* the US for their weight gain, but I think it's fair to say that our particular food culture could be a contributing factor if you're not used to it and are ALSO not prepared to counteract it.
Perhaps, willing to concede the benefit of the doubt, but everything is marked on the labels, with serving size and calories per serving. Weighing and measuring your food and drinks should be pretty self explanatory. As adults, there is no one to blame, besides ourselves for our own weight. Blaming a culture or country is ridiculous.
I agree - the information is there and it's up to someone to use the tools that they have to make it work for them.
I think the thread got a little derailed, as I didn't see the OP as *blaming* anything. It's impossible to correct for contributing factors of any problem unless you accurately identify them. In this case, I thought the OP was identifying that a contributing factor was a food culture with which she was previously unfamiliar with and asking for some tips to control for that. I saw other posts echoing her initial experience that yes, finding a balance for healthy eating at a deficit in the US is different than in other parts of the world. I didn't take that as blaming *shrug*. I sorta saw that as taking personal responsibility as in, "hey, there's this thing that I'm having a tough time with, maybe mfp forum can help", and I think a lot of people gave good advice about how to find low cal/ healthy options.9 -
I fail to see how discussing pitfalls has anything to do with not taking responsibility.bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Ah. So have you been to Australia or not?bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
How do you find Australian and/or UK food compares then, in your visits there and here, then?bigmuneymfp wrote: »I moved here from AU and found the same thing. The food is quite different, portion sizes and hard to find healthy alternatives. I also found everything, well nearly everything has high fructose corn syrup which is not good for the waist line. Plus all the hidden sugar and salt in foods. Even the bread tastes sweet compared to what we are used to.
It took no time to put it on and even longer to take it off. My advice, read the labels on everything, if you don't know what it is then avoid it.
Complete bs
It's irrelevant you can buy anything you want in the US
Let's recap. A poster describes their experiences with adjusting to US food culture, and made suggestions for how the OP could adjust too, as have others. Recommendations have all basically been to be mindful during shopping, without allowing yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security by knowledge of the calorie counts in an equivalent product elsewhere, as they always are on this kind of thread.
I think reducing all that to "complete bs" reflects very poorly on you.
Another bs post, take responsibility, count calories, don't get fat, it's simple
Perhaps you can expand on this? Because at the moment it looks like you're just going off on one. No-one is going to revoke your American citizenship, if you don't stand up for American food manufacturers!
5 -
I haven't read through the other replies, but want to share the experience of our 17 yr old foreign exchange student. She became sick after eating our American diet for a few days upon her arrival. She was so concerned about her abdominal pain that we made a trip to the ER, but everything checked out fine. Our diets are crap, I'm afraid, compared to other countries and our proportions hideous! But, you can make health choices if you're disciplined. I have to watch calories like crazy and still have a very difficult time keeping what I consume within my calorie limit WHEN I eat out. It's so much easier to prepare simple meals at home and grill or bake your meat and pare it with tons of veggies. You can do it! And look for simple recipes of the Internet to add variety. I'm not a big fish eater, but with great recipes, I have become one. Good luck!6
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How does that work? Have you been following the OP around? Do you know her shopping trolley is actually full of low cal foods?bigmuneymfp wrote: »"I struggle to find low calorie foods here. " was a line from the op's original post
Complete bs
Or do you mean that you, in your home culture and country, don't struggle to find low cal foods and that therefore, no one else could have difficulty? It doesn't work like that!
If a newcomer to a large, multi-floor gym asked you for help and said, "I struggled to find the kettlebells", would you say it had to be "complete bs" because you know where they were?
Or what about someone new in the workplace, who was struggling with finding his way around? Would you say "complete bs" to "I struģgled to find the HR department"?
Navigating a new country is rather more complex, and ordinary rules of courtesy apply to immigrants too. Don't get defensive, SHARE your expertise.
14 -
HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
I fail to see how discussing pitfalls has anything to do with not taking responsibility.bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Ah. So have you been to Australia or not?bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
How do you find Australian and/or UK food compares then, in your visits there and here, then?bigmuneymfp wrote: »I moved here from AU and found the same thing. The food is quite different, portion sizes and hard to find healthy alternatives. I also found everything, well nearly everything has high fructose corn syrup which is not good for the waist line. Plus all the hidden sugar and salt in foods. Even the bread tastes sweet compared to what we are used to.
It took no time to put it on and even longer to take it off. My advice, read the labels on everything, if you don't know what it is then avoid it.
Complete bs
It's irrelevant you can buy anything you want in the US
Let's recap. A poster describes their experiences with adjusting to US food culture, and made suggestions for how the OP could adjust too, as have others. Recommendations have all basically been to be mindful during shopping, without allowing yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security by knowledge of the calorie counts in an equivalent product elsewhere, as they always are on this kind of thread.
I think reducing all that to "complete bs" reflects very poorly on you.
Another bs post, take responsibility, count calories, don't get fat, it's simple
Claiming that it's difficult to find low cal food in a place like Denver seems questionable to me.
I live in Chicago which is likely less health conscious than Denver, and it's incredibly simple if one wants to do it.3 -
In my opinion it's what your used to. It takes time to adapt to a new country/ culture etc. for those of you that are born and bred in the US how about some consideration for others that are not used to it. If the shoe was on the other foot do you think we would be as nasty???7 -
In my opinion it's what your used to. It takes time to adapt to a new country/ culture etc. for those of you that are born and bred in the US how about some consideration for others that are not used to it. If the shoe was on the other foot do you think we would be as nasty???
Not use to shopping in a grocery store when they are from the UK?1 -
HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
How does that work? Have you been following the OP around? Do you know her shopping trolley is actually full of low cal foods?bigmuneymfp wrote: »"I struggle to find low calorie foods here. " was a line from the op's original post
Complete bs
Or do you mean that you, in your home culture and country, don't struggle to find low cal foods and that therefore, no one else could have difficulty? It doesn't work like that!
If a newcomer to a large, multi-floor gym asked you for help and said, "I struggled to find the kettlebells", would you say it had to be "complete bs" because you know where they were?
Or what about someone new in the workplace, who was struggling with finding his way around? Would you say "complete bs" to "I struģgled to find the HR department"?
Navigating a new country is rather more complex, and ordinary rules of courtesy apply to immigrants too. Don't get defensive, SHARE your expertise.
Grocery stores are fairly universal1 -
Because they're not looking to cook from scratch, and they're looking for exact equivalents of UK low-cal ready-prepared stuff, perhaps?bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
That's the point!bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
I fail to see how discussing pitfalls has anything to do with not taking responsibility.bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Ah. So have you been to Australia or not?bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
How do you find Australian and/or UK food compares then, in your visits there and here, then?bigmuneymfp wrote: »I moved here from AU and found the same thing. The food is quite different, portion sizes and hard to find healthy alternatives. I also found everything, well nearly everything has high fructose corn syrup which is not good for the waist line. Plus all the hidden sugar and salt in foods. Even the bread tastes sweet compared to what we are used to.
It took no time to put it on and even longer to take it off. My advice, read the labels on everything, if you don't know what it is then avoid it.
Complete bs
It's irrelevant you can buy anything you want in the US
Let's recap. A poster describes their experiences with adjusting to US food culture, and made suggestions for how the OP could adjust too, as have others. Recommendations have all basically been to be mindful during shopping, without allowing yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security by knowledge of the calorie counts in an equivalent product elsewhere, as they always are on this kind of thread.
I think reducing all that to "complete bs" reflects very poorly on you.
Another bs post, take responsibility, count calories, don't get fat, it's simple
Perhaps you can expand on this? Because at the moment it looks like you're just going off on one. No-one is going to revoke your American citizenship, if you don't stand up for American food manufacturers!
You can't revoke the American citizenship of someone who was born here fyi
So stop acting as if the secret police may arrest you on charges of Treason Against American Grocers. The thread is not a test of loyalty.
Someone moved to the US and is having trouble because the habits they built up in another country don't transfer over. They used I-statements and everything, so r-e-l-a-x.
I just don't understand how someone could walk into any grocery store and miss the produce section
7 -
There's a reason that a larger percentage of Americans are fat than most other nations in the world, and it's not because all the people with no willpower just up and decided to move to America. Whenever a large group of people all simultaneously decide to do the same thing, the reason is not just an individual reason, it's a cultural one.14
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That's what I say when my father comes round my house and claims he can't find anything.lemurcat12 wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
I fail to see how discussing pitfalls has anything to do with not taking responsibility.bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Ah. So have you been to Australia or not?bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
How do you find Australian and/or UK food compares then, in your visits there and here, then?bigmuneymfp wrote: »I moved here from AU and found the same thing. The food is quite different, portion sizes and hard to find healthy alternatives. I also found everything, well nearly everything has high fructose corn syrup which is not good for the waist line. Plus all the hidden sugar and salt in foods. Even the bread tastes sweet compared to what we are used to.
It took no time to put it on and even longer to take it off. My advice, read the labels on everything, if you don't know what it is then avoid it.
Complete bs
It's irrelevant you can buy anything you want in the US
Let's recap. A poster describes their experiences with adjusting to US food culture, and made suggestions for how the OP could adjust too, as have others. Recommendations have all basically been to be mindful during shopping, without allowing yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security by knowledge of the calorie counts in an equivalent product elsewhere, as they always are on this kind of thread.
I think reducing all that to "complete bs" reflects very poorly on you.
Another bs post, take responsibility, count calories, don't get fat, it's simple
Claiming that it's difficult to find low cal food in a place like Denver seems questionable to me.
I live in Chicago which is likely less health conscious than Denver, and it's incredibly simple if one wants to do it.
"Dad, the kitchen scissors are right in front of you", I say... But they're not where he would put them, so, he genuinely struggles. We won't even get on to my cousin's American husband, who cannot handle roundabouts.
Rewriting all your internal protocols for how life works in response to massive changes can be hard. Meanwhile, I shop at five different supermarkets over the course of a fortnight, and I can only find crumble mix in three of them. I'm certain the other two stock it, but can I find it? Hell no.
1 -
Denver is one of the more health-conscious and a larger sized city, so if you haven't, try other grocery chains (one might have better ready-made options). In Buffalo, for instance, Wegmans has a large eatery section with a buffet & ready-to-eat foods with some healthy (and some not so healthy choices)- soup bar, salad bar, sushi counter,.. (along with a sub counter and wings/pizza counter, and fast-food-style chinese), but you wouldn't find anything like this in any of our other local supermarket chains (and you can forget getting anything too healthy in a quickie-mart/bodega). I've seen my share of new-to-the-US professors pack it on over their first few years here. There is definitely a learning curve when it comes to eating healthy in the US where they now have to pay attention to diet for the first time, and it takes people a while to adjust (if they ever do). Most of us American-borns had to learn this too (otherwise we probably wouldn't be on this site in the first place).8
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I can sympathise with you as I noticed while living in the US it is almost impossible to buy healthy convenience foods. We take for granted the fact we can pop into an M&S attached to a petrol station and buy a 150cal five bean salad or fresh sushi. In the US there are no healthy fast foods. You have to go to cafes inside Whole Foods or pack your own food from home.
For eating out my husband and I would ALWAYS split a meal...with him being twice my size he'd eat about two thirds and I'd eat a third and we'd both be satiated. I did like Panera though because you can buy half salads and half sandwiches. They do this because people are encouraged to have a half salad with a soup or a half sandwich. I'd just buy a half salad or half sandwich and eat that by itself. Don't fall for the Oanera ploy of do you want a pastry for only $1 more? (Noooooo)
In the US the portion sizes are massive but over time, they don't look so massive you get desensitised into thinking you're starving yourself. Scientific studies have also shown that if you are presented with more food, you'll eat more food so that is why splitting a meal or just ordering a half size up front is you best bet to not overeat. Too, some restaurants have menus for senior citizens that tend to be smaller sized and lower calorie...i.e. Two egg omelette instead of the standard ridiculously huge three or four egg omelette. I've asked if I can order them before and usually the restaurant will let you. At times, if my husband and I don't want the same meal, we'll each order an appetiser and a side salad as our meal which works too. Follow just the portioning rules on cheat days..make cheat days be about eating what you want but not overeating/gorging on whatever you want.
if you think our portion sizes are big now you should have seen them 20-30 years ago. most things that are prepackaged here have SHRUNK in size.we used to be able to supersize at mcdonalds,they dont do that now,but its still all about calories in vs calories out.I have never been to a gas station here in the us where they sell fresh sushi.he fast food restaurants in the us most of them do have healthier options,its not all "bad" foods1 -
HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
That's what I say when my father comes round my house and claims he can't find anything.lemurcat12 wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
I fail to see how discussing pitfalls has anything to do with not taking responsibility.bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
Ah. So have you been to Australia or not?bigmuneymfp wrote: »HeliumIsNoble wrote: »
How do you find Australian and/or UK food compares then, in your visits there and here, then?bigmuneymfp wrote: »I moved here from AU and found the same thing. The food is quite different, portion sizes and hard to find healthy alternatives. I also found everything, well nearly everything has high fructose corn syrup which is not good for the waist line. Plus all the hidden sugar and salt in foods. Even the bread tastes sweet compared to what we are used to.
It took no time to put it on and even longer to take it off. My advice, read the labels on everything, if you don't know what it is then avoid it.
Complete bs
It's irrelevant you can buy anything you want in the US
Let's recap. A poster describes their experiences with adjusting to US food culture, and made suggestions for how the OP could adjust too, as have others. Recommendations have all basically been to be mindful during shopping, without allowing yourself to be lulled into a false sense of security by knowledge of the calorie counts in an equivalent product elsewhere, as they always are on this kind of thread.
I think reducing all that to "complete bs" reflects very poorly on you.
Another bs post, take responsibility, count calories, don't get fat, it's simple
Claiming that it's difficult to find low cal food in a place like Denver seems questionable to me.
I live in Chicago which is likely less health conscious than Denver, and it's incredibly simple if one wants to do it.
"Dad, the kitchen scissors are right in front of you", I say... But they're not where he would put them, so, he genuinely struggles. We won't even get on to my cousin's American husband, who cannot handle roundabouts.
Grocery stores are not all arranged the same way, so I have to look around when going to a new one sometimes, especially if it's much bigger than one I'm used to. But that's WAY different than claiming that stuff is not there, and you can ask a question of the people who work there.
As for quick serve restaurants, that's easy too. It's not like she's in the middle of nowhere (speaking of which, I had to find stuff that was diet-friendly in the middle of Mississippi this weekend). ;-)0
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