Living Abroad and Looking for Friends

secoke
secoke Posts: 69 Member
edited November 12 in Introduce Yourself
Hi everyone. I'm originally from the US but currently living in Germany and would love to have any friends going through the same "weight loss abroad" issues I am. Trying to make changes for the better is always difficult but when I moved over here being able to go out and enjoy the food and culture...while making healthy choices and not being able to speak the language very well, definitely proves difficult for weight loss! If anyone else is in the same boat please add me :happy: :

Replies

  • psiren28
    psiren28 Posts: 530 Member
    I'm a Brit living in Lanzarote, Canary islands. I live in a holiday resort so there are bars and restaurants EVERYWHERE!!!
    Sending request :)
  • secoke
    secoke Posts: 69 Member
    I went to the Canary Islands over Christmas, Tenerife. I would have trouble saying no to all the sangria!
  • psiren28
    psiren28 Posts: 530 Member
    Never been to Tenerife, did you have good time? We had a pretty cold winter here, I hope it was warmer there for you.
  • beach_chelle
    beach_chelle Posts: 221
    You can add me, I'm an American living in the UK.
  • TheBakerGirl
    TheBakerGirl Posts: 151
    I'm an American, living in Ireland. I don't have the language challenges that you're facing, but I can relate to trying to lose weight without the familiar foods. And it's so difficult to resist temptation when you want to try all of the new food and drink you're being exposed to. Add me as a friend!!

    I'm hoping to take a big trip to Germany sometime this summer. I can't wait! I'll have to sign up to run a race there or something just to keep up with the calories in those huge steins of beer. :drinker:
  • secoke
    secoke Posts: 69 Member
    Never been to Tenerife, did you have good time? We had a pretty cold winter here, I hope it was warmer there for you.

    It was excellent. In Germany I hadn't seen the sun for a month and it was around 5 Celsius so it seemed warm to me!
  • MFPfriend
    MFPfriend Posts: 1,121 Member
    I lived in Germany for a year as a foreign exchange student. I managed to lose weight without trying, and trust me, I have gummibears, a pretzel, and a milkshake EVERY DAY.
    Can you join a sports club? They're usually very cheap. I was in a badminton group, it was about 5 euros per month, and I trained for badminton two times a week, for 90 minutes.
    Walk everywhere. I took the bus most of the time, but I always had to at least walk to the bus stop. And if I missed the bus by a few minutes, I usually could walk home faster than it would take me to wait for the next bus and the ride on the bus to my house.

    I don't know where you're living, either, but check out what there is to do around you. My first two host families lived in the forest, and when I was homesick or needed to chill out, I took my iPod and went for a walk through the forest, for an hour or two. My third host family didn't live right next to the forest, but we would still drive over (5-10 minute drive at most) with a backpack of food and spend our day hiking.

    Germany is surprisingly healthy. Again, I don't know you're living situation, so I'm not sure what types of food you have available. But my host families always had healthy meals prepared (and fresh stuff, too!). Fruit was always my snack. The only time I ate anything processed was when I was out in the city with friends or cereal if I was running late that morning.

    Viel Glück! Deutsch ist eine schwere Sprache. :)
  • philco41
    philco41 Posts: 68 Member
    My wife is from Costa Rica and we try to make it back a couple times a year. It's always hard to follow the kind of diet I tend to eat here, and many of my wife's family members like to spoil me, so it's more than just trying to find familiar foods. My suggestions would include working hard at learning the language and getting acquainted with unfamiliar foods so you can still make the healthy selections, and stay active. There's always a lot to see in another country.
  • britexmom
    britexmom Posts: 145
    I am a Brit living in Texas ( you know the state of the everything supersized, especially the food...lol). I used to live in Germany also (ramstein/landstuhl) and i remember the food (and beer) that makes it hard to stay on track with healthy eating (mayo on fries really cant be good for you :) )
    feel free to add me.
  • secoke
    secoke Posts: 69 Member
    I lived in Germany for a year as a foreign exchange student. I managed to lose weight without trying, and trust me, I have gummibears, a pretzel, and a milkshake EVERY DAY.
    Can you join a sports club? They're usually very cheap. I was in a badminton group, it was about 5 euros per month, and I trained for badminton two times a week, for 90 minutes.
    Walk everywhere. I took the bus most of the time, but I always had to at least walk to the bus stop. And if I missed the bus by a few minutes, I usually could walk home faster than it would take me to wait for the next bus and the ride on the bus to my house.

    I don't know where you're living, either, but check out what there is to do around you. My first two host families lived in the forest, and when I was homesick or needed to chill out, I took my iPod and went for a walk through the forest, for an hour or two. My third host family didn't live right next to the forest, but we would still drive over (5-10 minute drive at most) with a backpack of food and spend our day hiking.

    Germany is surprisingly healthy. Again, I don't know you're living situation, so I'm not sure what types of food you have available. But my host families always had healthy meals prepared (and fresh stuff, too!). Fruit was always my snack. The only time I ate anything processed was when I was out in the city with friends or cereal if I was running late that morning.

    Viel Glück! Deutsch ist eine schwere Sprache. :)

    Danke! I am in Bavaria, plenty of beer, pretzels, and gummis. My husband is in the military so I can use the small gym on the base to go running when it is too cold outside for me. Fortunately we do live in a small village and I cannot wait for the weather to get better so I can go on more bike rides and enjoy the woods. My goal is to get good enough at running to be able to join my neighbor's soccer team :)
  • melindenmark
    melindenmark Posts: 279 Member
    Im from New Zealand and living in Denmark and 100% understand what your going through. The change in weather, landscape food and language has all been a challenge for me but i am now starting to see success, it is hard but you can do it. Sending a friend request now!
  • elekelk
    elekelk Posts: 107
    I'm a Swede living in Belgium... the country of beer and chocolate :S Definitely hard when there idea of a breakfast is a crêpe with nutella or croissants! They have good fruit thou!
  • Martucha123
    Martucha123 Posts: 1,089 Member
    Polish
    living in Spain
    fell free to add me:)
  • cerealqueen
    cerealqueen Posts: 39 Member
    I'm from the UK and currently living in the US, working as an aupair (live in nanny)! Feel free to add me :)
  • jna1957
    jna1957 Posts: 53
    im a Scot living in the USA - add me if you want regualr feedback/motivation
  • strivingforhealthiness
    strivingforhealthiness Posts: 35
    I am en exchange student from Denmark currently living in America - feel free to add me!
  • Cheval13
    Cheval13 Posts: 350 Member
    Hi! I would like to be your friend. I am not abroad, but I am very familiar with being in Germany. I go there every summer and deal with the same problems you seem to be having! But there are ways to fight the weight. Germany is super green, so it is easy to go out and exercise. Also, the Bio fad is helpful, and there are awesome recipes for some great meals that you can make with ingredients found only in Germany.
  • Cheval13
    Cheval13 Posts: 350 Member
    So many good things! I love being in Germany! Also, Deutsch ist eine schwere Sprache, aber schon! Toll, dass du es kannst. :o)
  • tehzephyrsong
    tehzephyrsong Posts: 435 Member
    I'm an American living in Russia for a few months, studying abroad :)
  • RobinStarr_RN
    RobinStarr_RN Posts: 26 Member
    Hello everyone I'm robin I'm 5'4 and 186 pound last year I was 165 I was losing good and idk what happened. But I'm ready to get back with it....please add me
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