Korean Job Discussion Forums

[koreanarmy]

discuss.

[DorkothyParker]

I am about the same but with greater effort.

This could be because I am getting old (I'm 27!) but also due to the lack of cheap convenience foods like baby carrots (prewashed and ready to eat for $1/pound back home) and spinach. Also flavored instant coffee has more calories than flavored brew coffee (no added milk or sugar).

I do tend to drink less red wine ($10 wine in America is tastier than 10k wine in Korea). Actually, I think this is a bad thing because when I drank red wine more frequently, it acted as a dessert. My sweet tooth has gotten absurd here.

Of course, all this could in fact be self medication via food.

In any case, I am very paranoid about my weight and would not allow a gain of more than 5 lbs. (Given that I am a lady and only 5'4", this is actually quite a lot).

[decolyon]

The first year, I got much much much fatter. This was mainly because Korean food and I did not get along all that well, so I ended up eating a lot of Western junk and fast food. The second year, I started eating more and more Korean food but was working out and starting losing some. The third year I was almost completely on Korean food and working out and I dropped tons. Now in my fourth, I bounce from Korean food to home cooked healthy food, mainly veg and lean meats. I still work out and now weigh less than when I graduated high school, but have more muscle mass.

So when I got here I was a rock steady 200lbs. After a year I was up to 230lbs. Since becoming more conscious about what I eat and how active I am, I hover around 185lbs. So I gained 30, then lost 45.

I can see how someone can go one way or the other. It's easy to drink a lot and eat junk. It's also easy to cook right and hit the gym. Neither takes all that much effort to get into a groove with. Yeah, there are days I get tired and just order a pizza after work. And there are days I feel like if I eat a Big Mac it's going to make me sick. So, you will be whatever you put the effort into. Today was Saturday, I had a pizza. It was great. My loan cheat meal of the week. And half way through I thought "this is amazing.. my favorite food!" By the time I got down to the last two slices I was thinking "god, this is awful. I feel terrible. I'm just going to finish this off so there's no waste and not eat anything else all day. I'm hitting the treadmill first thing tomorrow" haha.

[Tundra_Creature]

Was the same. Still pretty much the same.

[kardisa]

I've dropped a few pounds, but I think that's because I've been cooking the majority of my meals at home. Cheep beer is keeping me from loosing any more.

[Provence]

Have to stay away from the 생맥주. Hite and Cass are not only bad beers but they are loaded with calories. Cafri is ok, but alas, it�s not on draft.

[AsiaESLbound]

About the same size. I'd be big as a barrel if I spent as much back home on food I'm spending here.

[Illysook]

I'm pretty much the same as when I got here, but I've been hoping to lose what I gained during my time in America between contracts. I had a sedentary job and stayed with my mother for the last 2 months. She made pot roasts, and home baked breads and cookies that I adored. I hope that she sends me some Christmas cookies....and yeah, I know that I keep going on about Christmas cookies. I'm not taking a winter vacation and I'm buying a treadmill, so I can afford a few cookies!

[Capo]

after 3 years i'm noticably fatter but still not 'fat'. Every time i eat out with koreans i'm forced too eat too much, everyday i get handed snacks although i do my best to hide them and give them to students so not to offend. Having to order anju at every hof and develping a love for samgyipsal and bosan. Also Korean food isn't as healthy as they proclaim it to be.

[UknowsI]

[carleverson]

Korea has tons of fatty cuts of meat, processed foods, and white rice as staples of the Korean diet. That makes for a fatter you.

[nukeday]

[Louis VI]

*shrug* haven't a scale, about the same I guess

I do sleep more and have less stress, walk more but exercise less

[chellovek]

First time I gained weight and perhaps became a little more immoral. This year I have lost weight, although progress on that front has halted since it's too cold to go out for my evening stroll and there are no gyms here. However, I'm perhaps more virtuous than I was 6 months ago.

[Underwaterbob]