Job Discussion Forums

[shaner]

Help. I am getting a little fat after living here for 4 months. I eat Mexican food, but I don't eat huge protions. I will eat maybe 4 -5 beef small tacos. I am 5"9 and my weight is now 155 lbs. My students have patted my stomach and told me I am getting a ponch. With this, I become very embarrased. Oh. My age is 37. Does that have something to do with this little gain in the mid - section.

Anyone else have problems controling their weight here? I have never had this problem before. Is it the grease? Is it the tortillas? Help me. I love the food here toomuch to stop eating it.

Yes, I do a fair bit of walking each day.

Any advice.

[dixie]

Very interesting. I find I can control/maintain/lose here better than back home.

I eat a lot of veggies, eggs and beans here, along with cheese, tortillas and of course....salsa! In fact, chiles are suppose to be good for weight as something in 'em is suppose to help your metabolism (or some such wonder of body & weight!) and thus help you to lose weight. Maybe you need to up your salsa intake!

[MikeySaid]

Seems odd to me. Last time I spent a considerable amount of time in Mexico I lost thirty pounds in 40 days. It was FALLING off. I attributed it to the walking, the heat and humidity, and the types of foods available to me. I didn't ever feel like I ate less, and didn't have a case of turista. I'd almost guess I ate more... at least more often.

Just don't eat dinner... well, not what a North American thinks of as dinner... just cena.

Man, I could go for a good comida and a nap right now.

[Guy Courchesne]

I have the same problem...I'm 5'9 as well. Went from a fighting 145 up to 170, and it all seemed to happen to moment I turned 32. I eat moderately, but exercise less now. When I lived in Acapulco, I swam every day and that kept me sleek.

I think both the greases and the tortillas are a big part of it. Switch to flour tortillas...maybe that'll help. If not, my wife has a diet that'll leaving you crawling the walls in search of carbs, but does work to shave off the excess.

[samizinha]

After my first three months here, I gained 9 kilos. This happened at the same time that I started eating in my school cafeteria, and stopped going very often to the gym. For me it�s not the carbs in the food, it�s the fat. I don�t think my gain had anything to do with age, I�m just a person who needs to watch it.
I�ve lost most of it by cooking my own food everyday and eating Mexican food on the weekends, going to the gym five days a week, and dancing on the weekends Actually, I had some testing done and the weight I haven�t lost is because of the muscle gained from so much exercise. I love the energy.

[Samantha]

I agree, it's indeed a battle. I believe it's the higher fat content in the diet here. And the beer.

[Guy Courchesne]

We need fat-free beer.

[ls650]

I've lost perhaps 1o or 12 pounds in the last year or so; less junk food.

[M@tt]

beer is already fat-free

i think i gained 15 pounds the year i lived in veracruz but it was from working out at the gym and eating huge meals at the school cafeteria immediately afterward. there were so few things to do in my town that i ended up lifting weights like 3 times a week every single week which i had never done before. i guess i ate a lot of chicken too, and avoided fried food.
the major difference between my diet in the US and in mexico was that in mexico i ate a lot more vegetables.

[Guy Courchesne]

[MikeySaid]

[dixie]

I know when I lost my weight in Hondruas....and it was more than I'm willing to share.....it was because I walked every where (very small town..that was the normal mode of transportation) and I didn't SNACK! Amazing how cutting down and/or cutting out snacking can help lower the pounds!

[ontoit]

Losing weight after thirty requires serious effort in three areas:

1. Fully realizing that your metabolism can no longer keep pace with your 20's food lust

2. then actually eating the amount that your body needs rather than what your taste buds want.

3. you gotta move. The earth's gravitational pull is stronger after thirty and causes us ask our wives to bring us another beer rather than jumping up and getting it for ourselves.

[Guy Courchesne]

Good advice...I think you're pretty much ontoit.

Someone asked, so here's my wife's diet. Warning: you will feel rotten on this diet. You will likely kill anyone who so much as thinks about food around you. This is a week-to-week diet to follow. I translated it to English for you all.

Monday

Breakfast - all the black coffee you want, no sugar

Lunch - 2 cooked eggs, cooked spinach with a dash of salt. Eat all the spinach you want.

Dinner - a large piece of steak with green salad, light dressing. Eat all the salad you want.

Tuesday

Breakfast - all the black coffee you want, no sugar, one or two pieces of plain toast, white or brown

Lunch - a large piece of steak with green salad, light dressing, and fruit. Eat all the fruit you want.

Dinner - Ham and green salad, all the salad you want.

Wednesday

Breakfast - all the black coffee you want, no sugar, one or two pieces of plain toast, white or brown

Lunch - 2 cooked eggs, green bean and tomato salad, all you can eat

Dinner - Ham and green salad, all the salad you want.

Thursday

Breakfast - all the black coffee you want, no sugar, one or two pieces of plain toast, white or brown

Lunch - 1 cooked egg, with carrots and Gruyere cheese.

Dinner - Fruit salad and light yogurt.

Friday

Breakfast - all the black coffee you want, no sugar, and carrot slices

Lunch - A piece of cooked white fish and uncooked tomato

Dinner - a large piece of steak with green salad, light dressing. Eat all the salad you want.

Saturday

Breakfast - all the black coffee you want, no sugar, one or two pieces of plain toast, white or brown

Lunch - Grilled chicken, all you want

Dinner - 2 cooked eggs and carrot slices

Sunday

Breakfast - tea with lemon, iced or hot

Lunch - a large piece of steak and all the fruit you want

Dinner - eat freely, but don't overdo it

[Boo]

I feel cranky just looking at the diet menu.