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Gaining weight?
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amcnutt



Joined: 22 Mar 2010

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 6:45 pm    Post subject: Gaining weight? Reply with quote

I've heard many people state that they've gained weight in Korea. I'm going to be there in a few months, and I was wondering why this is.
I thought Korean food was quite healthy, and many Koreans aren't overweight.
Do people just eat a lot of rice? Or do people eat out a lot at restaurants (which can have lots of calories in sauces and stuff)?
I just wanted to know what to watch out for. I'm not overweight or skinny, pretty average weight but I don't want to balloon in Seoul Razz
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NYC_Gal



Joined: 08 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

If you're a health nut, it can be rough, especially the first few months if you can't communicate your dietary needs.

Try to find brown rice. Just about every food here comes loaded with salty sauce, and almost everything has meat in it.

If you eat out, expect white rice.

Healthy is relative, mind you. When Koreans tell me that their diet is healthier than my diet was back home, I go into detail about what I ate at home. They are usually surprised that an American could eat healthily. I was in the culinary capital of the world, though. France has amazing food, but none of the variety.

Also, if anyone knows where I can find cottage cheese, brazil nuts, goji berries that are edible (not the tea-making kind that I find readily here), etc, let me know! I'll be picking up some vegetarian rennet when I visit home next month, but it'd be nice to be able to find some decent cottage cheese and not have to make paneer as a substitute all the time.
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Banana_Man



Joined: 01 Mar 2010
Location: Busan

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

A lot of people struggle to figure things out - eating well can be a little tough (esp at the start) and tendencies to eat fried chicken / bacon / hamburgers develop as they are much easier. It helps to know a bit of the language and to know where to search - once you get it down eating healthily (IMO) is easier here.

edit:for terrible spelling.
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vastrei4



Joined: 14 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:42 pm    Post subject: Re: Gaining weight? Reply with quote

amcnutt wrote:
I've heard many people state that they've gained weight in Korea. I'm going to be there in a few months, and I was wondering why this is.
I thought Korean food was quite healthy, and many Koreans aren't overweight.
Do people just eat a lot of rice? Or do people eat out a lot at restaurants (which can have lots of calories in sauces and stuff)?
I just wanted to know what to watch out for. I'm not overweight or skinny, pretty average weight but I don't want to balloon in Seoul Razz


I lost weight after coming to Korea. 10% overall. I think the "fast food" here is a bit healthier...but it is all in what you choose.
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probablylauren



Joined: 18 Jul 2009
Location: Seoul

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My solution (well at least I'm fooling myself) is Bibambap. I figure its better than the Battered/Fried Fish/Pork cutlets or BBQ Chicken and Beer.

Plus it's cheap.
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madtownhustl



Joined: 04 Jun 2009

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 7:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

the only way you'll gain a significant amount of weight is if you eat western food all the time. i feel its like defying gravity if you get fat off of korean food. bibimbap, mandu, gimbap, samgyetang, kalbi, etc...
and drinking doesn't help Smile
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fugitive chicken



Joined: 20 Apr 2010
Location: Bucheon

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The problem is that Korean's version of Western food is all fatty foods. They really don't have any healthy western foods here. And if your one who can't really cook and buy all the western crud they sell, then your probably gonna gain weight. If you stick to certain Korean food or experiment with cooking then you should be okay. I actually lost a little weight since coming here.

Generally I experiment with cooking healthy western foods while replacing a few ingredients with stuff I can find here. Stir frys using oriental salad dressing are my favorite.
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AsiaESLbound



Joined: 07 Jan 2010
Location: Truck Stop Missouri

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I eat much more fried food and boiled eggs in Korea due to a lack of oven baked food and having no oven in my apartment. I haven't had pizza yet, but see pizza restaurants. It's pricey.

In America, I really don't eat much fried food as I prefer baked and grilled foods. I mostly grill in my apartment with olive oil in a skillet since that's all I have other than boiled eggs. You could easily set that small 2 burner range on an oven box unit if you can get the right sized oven to do it with. I haven't seen anything like that yet, but know small microwave sized toaster ovens are available. I want convection. Fried foods really do make you gain weight such as served at school more times than not due to all that oil. No ovens.
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balzor



Joined: 14 Feb 2009

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i buy meats and veggies, some curry mix and sauces. last night i made a fish curry with veggies and apples mixed in put it over some jasmine rice and keep the portion size average and it was a great meal had a 영만두 for a snack later or make some stirfry with same ingredients. its not hard to eat healty I have fast food once in a blue moon and an occasional pizza here and there( they are 5,000 at pizza school). no soda, only water and some juice and the occasional KGB. aside from that, Ramen and a deli sandwich fromt he family mart constitutes 90% of my meals in Korea. mix that with some exercise and I have lost 18kg's so far since last year
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Bloopity Bloop



Joined: 26 Apr 2009
Location: Seoul yo

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

probablylauren wrote:
My solution (well at least I'm fooling myself) is Bibambap. I figure its better than the Battered/Fried Fish/Pork cutlets or BBQ Chicken and Beer.

Plus it's cheap.


Oh no. Not the BBBAP! Wait til Senior finds this thread, lol.

I'd rather eat BBQ chicken than bibimbap anyday. White rice is one of the worst things you can eat. Totally useless and killer on your blood sugar level.
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salgichawa



Joined: 18 Mar 2010

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:56 pm    Post subject: Re: Gaining weight? Reply with quote

amcnutt wrote:
I've heard many people state that they've gained weight in Korea. I'm going to be there in a few months, and I was wondering why this is.
I thought Korean food was quite healthy, and many Koreans aren't overweight.
Do people just eat a lot of rice? Or do people eat out a lot at restaurants (which can have lots of calories in sauces and stuff)?
I just wanted to know what to watch out for. I'm not overweight or skinny, pretty average weight but I don't want to balloon in Seoul Razz



Hi There,

In general it is not bad for keeping weight off.

If you catch the subway or bus and avoid taking taxis most of the time you can get exercise. On most people's salary the gym is doable.

You can keep pretty active.

But if you want to lost weight be sure your contract doesn't include too much deskwarming.

They also offer food regularly at the schools...nice but not to the waistline..


Learn the names of Korean foods with a lot of vegetables.
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fugitive chicken



Joined: 20 Apr 2010
Location: Bucheon

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 8:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
I'd rather eat BBQ chicken than bibimbap anyday. White rice is one of the worst things you can eat. Totally useless and killer on your blood sugar level.


True that. Random piece of info I learned in my time here. Apparently biologically Asians have a longer colon than other ethnicities. Probably to help digest all that rice. Our western systems arent set up to handle all the foods Koreans eat, so it can wreak havoc on our systems.
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NYC_Gal



Joined: 08 Dec 2009

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

madtownhustl wrote:
the only way you'll gain a significant amount of weight is if you eat western food all the time. i feel its like defying gravity if you get fat off of korean food. bibimbap, mandu, gimbap, samgyetang, kalbi, etc...
and drinking doesn't help Smile


Not true in the least. I gained weight from bibimbap and noodles, because it took me a while to learn how to read and food shop for vegetarian and high fiber foods.

One can't subsist on tofu alone.

Bibimbap and kimbap are made from white rice. That stuff isn't healthy.

Now that I have a sourdough rye supplier, can get muesli or kashi cereal, goat milk, and high-fiber noodles, it's much easier.

Korean food is also extremely salty, so you retain a lot of water. Some salt is healthy, but the stuff one gets at restaurants is enough to make you need to drink cup after cup of water. Learn to cook some of the Korean foods at home, and you'll impress your coworkers.

Brown rice and black barley are much healthier alternatives to white rice. If you do want to eat school lunch, just bring a thermos of your own rice.
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cali



Joined: 14 Feb 2010

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

at my school the girls gained weight and the boys lost weight.
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Senior



Joined: 31 Jan 2010

PostPosted: Mon Apr 26, 2010 10:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Bloopity Bloop wrote:
probablylauren wrote:
My solution (well at least I'm fooling myself) is Bibambap. I figure its better than the Battered/Fried Fish/Pork cutlets or BBQ Chicken and Beer.

Plus it's cheap.


Oh no. Not the BBBAP! Wait til Senior finds this thread, lol.

I'd rather eat BBQ chicken than bibimbap anyday. White rice is one of the worst things you can eat. Totally useless and killer on your blood sugar level.


Haha, I was browsing down this thread, getting more and more furious, then I saw this post and now my screen is covered in bacon grease (because that is what I drink instead of sugary juice).

These days, I'm trying to not get personally offended by other peoples food choices. Except for BBBAP (I'm stealing that acronym btw), only an improvident lackwit would think that slurry is healthy.
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