Job Discussion Forums

[wildnfree]

Gee, I dont know about that diet guy...seems way too little food to survive on...

I think it is important to remember everyone is different. Eating less may not even help you lose weight in some cases. I was never hugely overweight but did start to carry some weight on my midriff. I tried aerobics and eating less, but it wouldnt budge! After a year of frustration, I got a Personal Trainer who said I had to gain more muscle before I could lose weight, as msucle helps the body process the fat better. So after working out I had to go out and eat burgers, Mcdonalds, anything to GAIN weight - huge meals every 3 hours. As the muscle started to develop (all painfully slowly) along with the fat; I had to keep up the copious eating but just eat better. What constitutes 'better' was lots of steamed grilled chicken and vegetables, red meat, nuts, fruits. Basically the plainer the food the better. Now the fat is slowly, very slowly, decreasing..

I am on what I refer to as the "peasant diet" - plain plain and plainer, chicken, fish, vegetables, rice.

[Guy Courchesne]

It was too little to survive on...too little of the wrong food, and just barely enough of the right stuff. I should have also added that it's called the '13 day diet'....do it for 13 days only. My wife swears it's a well-known secret of the stars here. She lost 7 kg on it and I dropped maybe 2 kg. Of course, I cheated. Coulda sworn frozen pinguinos was on the list.

[gordogringo]

Here on the frontera I find myself losing instead of gaining.Unless you go to a expensive 5 star restaurant very hard to get good meat.So veggies,pollo and that is about it.I do not eat many street corner tacos.Once a month I go to San Diego and buy some meat and cheese that has to last for a month.I also eat alot of tacos there as I have yet to have a decent taco in Mexico.I bought a dozen tacos last trip over and coming back when they put me through inspection and asked what was in the container I showed them tacos they were doubled over laughing as I pulled away.In general most food is terribly over cooked unless you go to a Pizza shop or Chinese restaurant here.

[MELEE]

Since the birth of my twins I've lost about 30 pounds. All the Mexican profesoras I work with want to know my secret. Most of them have never lost the weight they gained in their pregnancies. It is very simple. Like ontoit said.

1) Eat less fat. ALOT less. I had a pregnancy related gull bladder problem that obliged me to stick to a non fat diet for the last month of my pregnancy and 7 months after . I MEAN NO FAT! If you do not have this medical condition, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody, you can include a little fat here and there.
2)Eat less. I had two babies, now two toddlers, I was never able to finish a plate full of food. Now even when I have the time I find I'm full on a lot less than I used to eat.
3)Get active. Not only am I running after my two tikes, I breast feed two babies for 15 months. That's 500 calories per baby, I was burning 1000 calories a day without even doing anything.
Do not go on a starvation diet, that will just promote rebounding. You can eat as much as you want, but you just have to know what to eat. Don't deny yourself your favorite things or you won't stick to it, a) look for a healthier version of your favorite dish, like a veggie burger over a regular hamburger, and b)allow yourself little treats. So Guy, you can have 1 frozen peguino, not both in the pack just one, every other day, or something like that.
Most of your food intake should be high fiber, plant based foods, fruits, vegitables, legumes, and whole grains. Use meat and dairy as garnishes, not as the bases for the meal. Then you can eat as much as you want and the weight will come off.

[kalli]

FAT????? You are tall...5'9" and at 155 lbs. you are far from being overweight.

[ls650]

A high school pal of mine used to always be built like a beanpole; he was as thin as a rail yet he ate like a pig. I, on the other hand, was always rather stout when I was younger, and he used to often give me grief over it.

Now that he's hit 40, though, he's really started to pack on the pounds. His metabolism has slowed down, but he still eats the same as when he was 25. I, on the other hand, have found that I've really lost a lot of my youthful appetite. I don't snack ever now, and in fact the sight of snacks like potato chips or cookies actually makes me feel a bit sick. I still eat a couple of decent meals a day, but the cutting out of the junk food has meant that my weight has actually dropped maybe a dozen pounds over the last year.

Like MELEE said, if you want to lose weight, you have to do at least one of two things on a regular, constant basis: eat less or be more active. Diets must be long term to have lasting results.

[cangringo]

Ok this topic isn't that old, someone please tell me if I'm committing a faux pas by posting to these or should I start a new one. In the forums I come from it's rude to start new topics when there was a perfecty good older one and it caused too many topics on the same issue. Being a Canuck I am overly polite so...

Anyway we just wanted to know if anyone else lost weight here and it seems it goes both ways. Driving down helped a lot because it was high summer and hotter than you know where so most of the time we weren't hungry. I find if you don't use your air conditioning very much due to the high cost of electricity you lose a lot of weight. We still eat Canadian meals a few times a week but we don't seem to eat as much even when it's chilly here. We don't eat as much Mickey D's or other fast food as it's too expensive. We eat more tortillas than bread as well and I think that has a lot to do with it. The carbs will kill ya too. We have our own burrito that we make at home because the tacos consist of meat and maybe some onions and cilantro if you're lucky. Burrito recipe - little bit of chilorio, little bit of frijoles refritos, little lechuga, tiny bit of crema acida, lots of salsa and roll away. Guaranteed to help you lose weight. Don't eat too many though...I warn you they are delicious so be careful with portions.

We drink a lot of cervezas as well and the cheap tequila substitute - actually a rum I guess because it's made from sugar cane - relacario...only 14 pesos a litre. Whooo hooo - have to be careful with that though cause the hangovers are wicked...rot gut I think, literally. The cheap beer here is Gallo btw, comes from Guatamala...tastes ok and you can get it at Wal-Mart.

Oh and another question, do you find that salsa gets less and less hot and when you go back home the food is bland without it?? Except the cheddar cheese of course.

One more - bear with me...
We haven't been sick since we've been here, granted that's only about 6 months but when I went as a tourist I was sick within 3 days. What about y'all??

[hlamb]

I gained weight while working in Veracruz state. It was humid, I wasn't active, and the food was just so good!

Here in Cuernavaca it's a lot cooler and not humid, so I want to be active. I walk to school, half an hour each way and often I have split shifts (which I really like) so I walk for almost two hours a day. That's just to work because I also have some beautiful parks where I walk several times a week. I am much more careful about what I eat too. I still eat all the good things, just slightly less often and include more vegetables and fruits. Consequently I've lost some weight in four months here and gone down about 1.5 clothing sizes. Now nothing fits and I need to shop. First time this has ever happened to me!

[mapache]

My problem is being constantly offered food from the Mexican family who adopted me. My "amigo" told me his mother, sisters-in-law, nieces etc. would be extremely offended if I didn't accept their food and would think that I didn't like their specialties. It's almost like they are in competition to feed me to determine whose cooking I like the best.

Any advice from you folk on how I can politely get out of this dilemma? "gracias, ya com�" and "gracias, estoy lleno" don't seem convincing to them anymore.

[ls650]

Disculpame, pero yo tengo problemas con mi estomago.

While you say this, point at your gut and make vomiting motions.
That should get the message across.

[Ben Round de Bloc]

My problem is that I really like Mexican/Yucatecan food and am also a junk-food junkie. My work schedule doesn't help the situation. Most days I only work one shift, leaving home for school between 2:30 and 3:00 and getting home around 9:30. I tend to snack during every little break I can manage while at work, but I'm still so hungry when driving home that I'm ready to start chewing on the steering wheel. Then I tend to eat and snack too much between the time I get home and bedtime.

[geaaronson]

I am 5�8� and weighed about 196 when I cam here. I am after 13 months in Mexico down to 184, but that�s because I walk two miles every day for a cup of coffee, which in itself s---s out probably five hundred calories of internialized food matter.
And yes I am eating less salad as I don�t have a refrigerator and can�t depend on the cocina economicas to maintain a high green content fare.

[thelmadatter]

I agree that being over 30 does not help in the battle of the bulge but guys, it sure dont get any easier (Im 42) ! From what I am reading, it might depend on WHERE you are in Mexico as far as whether or not it is easier or harder to watch your weight. I agree with Guy that at least here in the central highlands, they consume a lot of meat/fat and precious little in the way of veggies.

One other factor we should not ignore - our mental health, esp. stress. For some of us, stress causes us to lose weight, for others gain. Im in the latter category. Im also prone to depression and now that Im finally on the right meds (again) my cravings to eat, esp. sugar, have gone way down. Now Im not saying that everyone on this board needs to go on Prozac (tho I do think we all are nuts), I think it cant hurt to at least self-acess a little. Remember, there is a reason there are so many EFL teachers with drinking problems. Overeating really isnt much better.

[Samantha]

Cangringo wrote:

[samizinha]

I�ve tried to answer that question so many times! Mexico is a country with such recognizable dishes, people want to know the same about Canadian food.
I guess we could say Habitant pea soup, pancakes with real maple syrup, poutine, and hot dogs from the street (Toronto) are Canadian, but really, I barely ate any of those on a regular basis.
For me, Canadian food is food from around the world, could be tika masala, Thai mango chicken, perogies, gnocchi, Cesar salad, chicken fingers�
When I talk about making Canadian food here, I think it has more to do with the spices I use and the way I cook- I only broil or bake things, and I don�t use the fat or the mole sauces. I eat a lot of fish, chicken, veggies, and whole grain rice. However, I could go for pozole any day of the week
My school makes us take a physical test every semester if we want to use the gym and pool, and yesterday I discovered that my running time has almost reached what it was in high school. At first I hated the tests and attendance taking for workout classes, but it has made a big difference in my conditioning!