Introduce yourself

AsI am starting this group I might as well ask anyone who joins to say who they are.

My name is Kat, I served in Peace Corps Suriname from 2006-2009.
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Replies

  • osualex
    osualex Posts: 409 Member
    I'm currently a PCV in Romania. Everyone told me I'd automatically lose weight in the Peace Corps...not true! I've been lucky enough to maintain even without watching my diet, but it's definitely time for me to eat healthier and work out more.
  • islandjumper
    islandjumper Posts: 369 Member
    RPCV Madagascar 06-09 (got evacuated :-/)
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member
    I'm currently a PCV in Romania. Everyone told me I'd automatically lose weight in the Peace Corps...not true! I've been lucky enough to maintain even without watching my diet, but it's definitely time for me to eat healthier and work out more.
    OMG - SO TRUE! Nothing but deep fried Carbohydrates for 2+years does not wieght loss make - I am testiment to that. And I was recently in Romania on vacation and the food is good - so I completely understand.
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member
    RPCV Madagascar 06-09 (got evacuated :-/)
    And yet you have the same years as me - doing a 3 year tour. I am jealous though. I really want to see hissing cockroaches in the wild.
  • islandjumper
    islandjumper Posts: 369 Member
    RPCV Madagascar 06-09 (got evacuated :-/)
    And yet you have the same years as me - doing a 3 year tour. I am jealous though. I really want to see hissing cockroaches in the wild.

    Yup, I extended then about 2 months before my COS date we evacuated :( but I still counted as a full 3 year volunteer :)
    as for the cockroaches....no need to look in the wild, I had a kitchen FULL of them. My first night I poked at one with a stick just to get them to hiss (totally like a 3 year old)
  • khrystyna82
    khrystyna82 Posts: 45 Member
    Hey everybody. I was in Ukraine 2008-2010. I thought about extending but I just could deal with another winter there,I never really understand a real winter until I went there especially since I am from California. I was lucky in losing weight but once I can home,I gained it all back.
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member
    Hey everybody. I was in Ukraine 2008-2010. I thought about extending but I just could deal with another winter there,I never really understand a real winter until I went there especially since I am from California. I was lucky in losing weight but once I can home,I gained it all back.
    \

    Welcome to our very small group. I was lucky there was no such thing as winter in Suriname :)
  • Jessintherain
    Jessintherain Posts: 67 Member
    I'm Jessica. RPCV 2010-2012 fresh out of El Salvador.

    Stopped running once in ES because of the mean stray dogs and the staring men, now I'm back, trying to shed all the pounds I gained on two years of a corn based diet. :P
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member
    hahahah! I stopped running in Suriname because of the rabid dogs. I did some jogging tonight for the very first time in years tonight :)
  • edobrien
    edobrien Posts: 9
    Hi my name is Ed.

    I was in Peace Corps Panama from 2006 to 2009 - living on a reservation working with coffee farmers. It was great!

    Now being back in the states I put on a bunch of weight and trying to get it off.

    I'm trying to start the couch to 5k program and a program called starting strength for weight lifting. Trying to get a handle on my food intake but living in DC with happy hours and eatting out isn't helping.

    Also trying to use the fit bit.

    Happy to have found this group.
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member
    Welcome to the group Ed! I too put on a lot of weight after Peace Corps :( but I am losing it now!
  • edobrien
    edobrien Posts: 9
    Thanks Kat!
  • Jessintherain
    Jessintherain Posts: 67 Member
    Hi my name is Ed.

    I was in Peace Corps Panama from 2006 to 2009 - living on a reservation working with coffee farmers. It was great!

    Now being back in the states I put on a bunch of weight and trying to get it off.

    I'm trying to start the couch to 5k program and a program called starting strength for weight lifting. Trying to get a handle on my food intake but living in DC with happy hours and eatting out isn't helping.

    Also trying to use the fit bit.

    Happy to have found this group.

    I had a medical evac during my service in El Salvador and got to go to Panama City. I met some volunteers, sounds like a pretty unique place to serve. Bienvenido al grupo. I'm doing c25k too, along with P90X. I am trying to get back a pre peace corps physique. :D To many tortillas and not enough soccer!
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member
    Hi my name is Ed.

    I was in Peace Corps Panama from 2006 to 2009 - living on a reservation working with coffee farmers. It was great!

    Now being back in the states I put on a bunch of weight and trying to get it off.

    I'm trying to start the couch to 5k program and a program called starting strength for weight lifting. Trying to get a handle on my food intake but living in DC with happy hours and eatting out isn't helping.

    Also trying to use the fit bit.

    Happy to have found this group.

    I had a medical evac during my service in El Salvador and got to go to Panama City. I met some volunteers, sounds like a pretty unique place to serve. Bienvenido al grupo. I'm doing c25k too, along with P90X. I am trying to get back a pre peace corps physique. :D To many tortillas and not enough soccer!

    I went to Panama to visit right before I became a PCV. It was amazing and totally inspired me to continue the application process, though they refused to nominate me for Africa.

    I have been to quite a few Peace Corps countries: Panama, Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras, Bosnia and Herzogovinna, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Brazil, Turkey.... I think that might be it. I still however have not been to Africa :(
  • edobrien
    edobrien Posts: 9
    Hi Kat and Yessi - thanks for the posts !

    I just met up with my sister, and she told me about the Duchan Diet. Has anyone heard of it or tried it?

    I guess its a high protein thing.

    When i was in my site I was on an all potato like veggie diet, but I was also on a work out schedule of climbing mountains to do manual labor, so it worked out. Living here in the city now I have to switch it up.

    I hope you're all doing well

    Ed
  • islandjumper
    islandjumper Posts: 369 Member
    Hi my name is Ed.

    I was in Peace Corps Panama from 2006 to 2009 - living on a reservation working with coffee farmers. It was great!

    Now being back in the states I put on a bunch of weight and trying to get it off.

    I'm trying to start the couch to 5k program and a program called starting strength for weight lifting. Trying to get a handle on my food intake but living in DC with happy hours and eatting out isn't helping.

    Also trying to use the fit bit.

    Happy to have found this group.

    I had a medical evac during my service in El Salvador and got to go to Panama City. I met some volunteers, sounds like a pretty unique place to serve. Bienvenido al grupo. I'm doing c25k too, along with P90X. I am trying to get back a pre peace corps physique. :D To many tortillas and not enough soccer!

    I went to Panama to visit right before I became a PCV. It was amazing and totally inspired me to continue the application process, though they refused to nominate me for Africa.

    I have been to quite a few Peace Corps countries: Panama, Jamaica, Guatemala, Honduras, Bosnia and Herzogovinna, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Brazil, Turkey.... I think that might be it. I still however have not been to Africa :(

    The greatest PC country in Africa is Madagascar :) For a while (not sure if this is true anymore) it had the most extensions, lowest ET rate, and highest number of PCVs that married a HCN (love PC acronyms)


    Hi Ed& Jessica...I'm doing C25K as well (almost done actually!! 2 more weeks :-D)
  • teinepalagi
    teinepalagi Posts: 86 Member
    Hello! I was in the Peace Corps a lot earlier than many of you....in Western Samoa from 1997-1999. This is when they only had one traffic light for the entire island. It's a little more developed now. I did organizational development....worked for "Catholic Social Services" out there doing health-related projects. It actually inspired me to go back to school and get my masters in nursing and public health. My username here is Samoan (so you can see it always stays with you). It simply means: foreign woman.

    Trying to lose my last 15 pounds after gaining quite a bit of weight with my 2 kids......

    Nice to meet all of you!
  • mfanyafujo
    mfanyafujo Posts: 232 Member
    Hey all, I'm Leslie, a current PCV in Tanzania. I'm teaching secondary school. I eat pretty much only rice and beans, so... not quite the healthiest thing in the world, but I do have a lot of free time for exercise. The good thing about living here, is that chocolate is so expensive I can't afford it! Ha!
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member
    Hi MFanyafujo,

    I also lived on white rice and canned beans. I also bought flour and experimented in solar cooking every day. Unfortunatley for us there was no real time to excersize. In Suriname the only time of the day where it is below 95 degrees is after 6:00 PM. And you only have a half hour to do anything before it is too dark to leave the house (pit vipers everywhere).

    I certainly lost my ability to run everywhere when I was in Suriname.

    Good for you being a Volunteer. How far along are you in Service?
  • mfanyafujo
    mfanyafujo Posts: 232 Member
    Hi MFanyafujo,

    I also lived on white rice and canned beans. I also bought flour and experimented in solar cooking every day. Unfortunatley for us there was no real time to excersize. In Suriname the only time of the day where it is below 95 degrees is after 6:00 PM. And you only have a half hour to do anything before it is too dark to leave the house (pit vipers everywhere).

    I certainly lost my ability to run everywhere when I was in Suriname.

    Good for you being a Volunteer. How far along are you in Service?

    I'm lucky in that I'm a bit inland, so it's not so humid and it's relatively cool in the morning, evening, and sometimes all day during the rainy season. I do most of my exercise indoors though, so I can wear my "skimpy" workout clothes.

    I'm a year and a half in. Should be home in November.
  • PeaceCorpsKat
    PeaceCorpsKat Posts: 335 Member

    I'm lucky in that I'm a bit inland, so it's not so humid and it's relatively cool in the morning, evening, and sometimes all day during the rainy season. I do most of my exercise indoors though, so I can wear my "skimpy" workout clothes.

    I'm a year and a half in. Should be home in November.

    BTW, I work at Peace Corps in the office that does career support for RPCVs. You should tune into my webinar on Noncompetitive eligibility on the 24th - www.peacecorps.gov/rpcv/events.
  • Hey all!!!! So excited to see this group here!

    Mongolia RPCV ('07-'09) ... stayed an extra year in the capital city to see if my HCN boyfriend was the real deal, and he was! :heart:

    Back in the States and all the weight I unconciously lost jumped back on me (I blame delicious southern breakfast's entirely!) not to mention a surprise pregnancy :blushing:

    I miss my less stress full, pedestrian friendly PC life but am adapting well.

    I am the Treasurer for our local Hampton Roads RPCV organization and I love having that connection with RPCVs!
  • My name is Christina, and I'm a current PCV in Mozambique. No one bothered to tell me earlier that female PCV's often gain weight during their service (like I have).
  • EFish111
    EFish111 Posts: 14 Member
    Hi, I'm Ellen. I am also a current PCV in Mozambique. I'm trying to find the time to exercise more (when it's not 100 degrees outside) and create healthier meals with our food options.
  • dreamingmatthew
    dreamingmatthew Posts: 8 Member
    I'm an RPCV from Ecuador 2002-2005. I actually did lose weight in Ecuador, but right after COS I started gaingin it all back and any all kinds of extra weight that I never had before. I went into the Peace Corps at 280lbs, lost in service to about 212, came back and over time have ballooned up to 350..what the hell. I am taking a serious shot at getting somewhere this year and hope to get to 300 before July.
  • scoutfinchie
    scoutfinchie Posts: 39 Member
    RPCV Papua New Guinea 1991-1993
  • donkrutsinger
    donkrutsinger Posts: 6 Member
    I have an application pending for the Peace Corps but would like to be able to loose 40 more pounds before leaving. I have been using a C PAP machine since 1999 and have always been told that I could get off of it if I lost Weight. I now have the motivation to do so but could use a little support. I have been told that I should be prepared to live somewhere where I wouldn’t have electricity so I can understand the need to loose Weight. From the sounds of things loosing weight in the Peace Corps isn’t an automatic thing. The staff of my Group Home who are from Liberia say that I would loose 50 lbs. by just sweating it off if I went to Africa. I believe I should start living on a third world diet now so I would be ready for living wherever the Peace Corps may send me if you have any recommendations that might help me loose weight. I may just break down and see if a nose and throat specialist could eliminate my need for medical equipment so that I can help the rest of the world who has to live without it. I would like to be able to help those who have to live without a lot of things that we could learn to live without. Maybe I might be a stronger person if I learned to do the same. If you have any dieting ideas and support I would be happy to for them. Otherwise you can just tell me how I can seek to stay healthy wherever the Peace Corps may send me while helping others to stay healthy. I figure it won’t be hard to loose weight once I begin eating like a third world member. All I would need to do is drink the water or get a tape worm even though my doctor today during my physical didn’t recommend it. It is harder to loose the weight now so that I am prepared to be ready to help them. Maybe someone can pass on to me their advice.
  • ktafr16
    ktafr16 Posts: 65 Member
    Greetings! My name is Kate, served in Namibia, Africa 2007-2009 as an Education Volunteer. I gained a good amount of weight during my PC service as well as when I got back. It has been four years since I've been out of service and finally have gained control of my weight (with a few yo-yo diets in between that). Looking forward to meeting new people and inspiring one another to live a happy and healthy life!
  • donkrutsinger
    donkrutsinger Posts: 6 Member
    I have been nominated to the Peace Corps, have sent off my finger prints for the background check and am waiting for a conditional medical release from PC Medical for a placement that has dependable electricity since I have Sleep Apnea and use a C Pap machine. I have been continuing to seek to loose weight to resolve the issue and expect I would loose some weight serving in the Peace Corps. I am getting a dental appliance that should help and if they have difficulty placing me I may go ahead and have surgery to help resolve the issue. I hope to receive a Placement Recruiter when I pass the Background Check but they project it could be any time between October and next spring before I would go out. I expect that I could end up in Asia or Africa. I was curious what you diet and living conditions were like in many of the Peace Corps countries and how hard it will be to lose weight there. I have always said all I would have to do if I was desparate to do so is drink their water but I don't know how advisable that would be.
  • donkrutsinger
    donkrutsinger Posts: 6 Member
    I have been nominated to the Peace Corps, have sent off my finger prints for the background check and am waiting for a conditional medical release from PC Medical for a placement that has dependable electricity since I have Sleep Apnea and use a C Pap machine. I have been continuing to seek to loose weight to resolve the issue and expect I would loose some weight serving in the Peace Corps. I am getting a dental appliance that should help and if they have difficulty placing me I may go ahead and have surgery to help resolve the issue. I hope to receive a Placement Recruiter when I pass the Background Check but they project it could be any time between October and next spring before I would go out. I expect that I could end up in Asia or Africa. I was curious what your diet and living conditions were like in many of the Peace Corps countries and how hard it will be to lose weight there. I have always said all I would have to do if I was desperate to lose weight is drink their water but I don't know how advisable that would be.