Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Louis VI]

END OF WEEK 19 UPDATE: 114.9 kg weight and 118 cm waist
END OF WEEK 18 UPDATE: 115.0 kg weight and 118 cm waist
END OF WEEK 17 UPDATE: 115.5 kg weight and 121 cm waist
END OF WEEK 16 UPDATE: 115.8 kg weight and 119 cm waist
END OF WEEK 15 UPDATE: 118.6 kg weight and 119 cm waist
END OF WEEK 14 UPDATE: 120.3 kg weight and 118 cm waist
END OF WEEK 13 UPDATE: 119.9 kg weight and 119 cm waist
END OF WEEK 12: ON VACATION
END OF WEEK 11 UPDATE: 122.1 kg weight and 119 cm waist
END OF WEEK 10 UPDATE: 125.2 kg weight and 118 cm waist
END OF WEEK 9 UPDATE: 127.1 kg weight and 118 cm waist
END OF WEEK 8 UPDATE: 128.6 kg weight and 119 cm waist
END OF WEEK 7 UPDATE: 129.8 kg weight and 124 cm waist
END OF WEEK 6 UPDATE: 131.0 kg weight and 121 cm waist
END OF WEEK 5 UPDATE: 132.8 kg weight and 124 cm waist
END OF WEEK 4 UPDATE: 134.1 kg weight and 126 cm waist
END OF WEEK 3 UPDATE: 136.9 kg weight and 126 cm waist
END OF WEEK 2 UPDATE: 136.9 kg weight and 129 cm waist
END OF WEEK 1 UPDATE: 138.1 kg weight and 131 cm waist

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May 1st is my 42nd birthday and I weighed myself today for the first time in years and am 145 kg (320 lbs) with a 150 cm (59 in.) waist and a height of 183 cm (6'0 ft). I dunno which is the biggest shocker: (a) that I gained 40 lbs unknowingly in the last year; (b) that I've gained 140 lbs since college; or, gasp, that (c) I have lost 3 cm and thus 6'1 ft. status sometime in the last 20 years. I am only 6 feet tall? I am at/over 300 lbs? I have the waist size of a heart attack to come? These are real wake ups calls to me the day before my birthday. I've also frittered away my savings to a meagre one thousand dollars. What if I get sick, especially given I'm clearly in middle age and a prime candidate for health issues? I have no fall back position, no social safety net. My parents are gone, I have no kids and I haven't been married since I weighed over a hundred pounds less, well over a decade ago. I do hope to get married someday and raise a child or two. It's passed time that I work toward those ends and my physical well being as well as my sense of security.

So, here I go, another optimistic fool with wild ambitions. My likelihood of success may not exceed that of new year's resolutions, though I feel this is more on par with commitments I'd made when I was young. Once I had two Cs in math but my best friend was going into the grade 9 honours math class that was being created for the following year so I asked my teacher if he would recommend me for that class if I got two As in the remaining two terms of grade 8 and he laughed and said sure, then I got an A and a B+ and got into the class, hangin' out with my bud that year. I put my mind to it and did it. Likewise when I wanted to run marathons I got into a 10k run every other day pace that lasted religiously until I lost my gall bladder a couple of years later and haven't been able to run since (pain from surgery, seems some muscles or tendons stretch in painful ways anytime I try and run after that, so I lost my fav form of exercise).

I intend this thread to be a document of my attempts to find my way through 100 lbs weight loss while teaching in South Korea, and task of saving nearly half my paycheque in the coming year to reach the $10,000 U.S. target I'm setting for myself.

Please provide helpful comments. I'm really interested in ways others have lost some weight or saved some money. I've considered some things I've heard on Dave's over the years, but there are others I'm gonna be trying too.

The journey starts tomorrow, I'd like to tell myself, going out for beer and pizza with my neighbour tonight, but I won't because, well, my writing this signals the beginning of my quest, or maybe when I bought the weight scale this morning at E-Mart marks the starting line.

Ready, set, ... GO!

[tatertot]

I fully believe you can do both things! I can't offer much advice for either, but I will give you one piece of advice that I think can be applied to most endeavors:

Don't let short-term setbacks derail your long-term goals.

This is especially true regarding health/weight-loss/general fitness goals. Your day-to-day exercising ability, weight and dimensions will fluctuate rapidly on a daily basis, while your long-term ability, weight loss, etc. will progress toward your goals if you stick with your program. In order to prevent short-term setbacks from derailing your progress, I would suggest NOT weighing yourself or looking at yourself in the mirror too often. Perhaps you could weigh yourself once or twice a month, and take a picture of yourself shirtless every one or two months. Do both tomorrow when you start.

You can do it! Good luck!

[Louis VI]

I don't believe in diets but instead see the merit of lifestyle changes. I went a year and a bit without meat while dating a vegetarian back in my university days, and I went off of added sugars as well as my beloved bread and bakery products while marathon training after college. Those were kinds of dietary restrictions though not diets per se. I'll me some dietary restrictions to keep for the year as well as lifestyle changes, but I will allow a variety of foods, a sustainable approach, ideally.

I have never counted calories in my life and realize that it's crucial to succeed at losing 100 lbs. CUT CALORIE INTAKE, INCREASE CALORIE BURNING and INCREASE METABOLIC RATE.

To cut calories:

1. I'll have to stop visiting Paris Baguette three times a week. No more fresh french bread, no more cinnamon buns, no more cheese bagels. I tell myself I'll allow some back into my life once the year project is completed, maybe once a week in moderation, but for the next year, not at all. I can't trust myself in a bakery. It's out of bounds. This will be easy to keep, easier than:

2. I'll cut back portions during meals. I've been taught many wonderful family recipes, only, I dunno how to make enough for just one person. I end up eating a big portion and second helpings where I need to be committed to much smaller portions. THIS I see as the real key to lifestyle change. I'll have to figure some guidelines and ways of reducing portions eaten, having more leftovers (leftovers mean less cooking needed and spreading out smaller meals helps trick metabolism I read on the 'net, a key to convince one's body not to react to reduced caloric intake by going into starvation/preservation mode and reducing calorie burning rate).

3. No rice whatsoever when eating out with Koreans, as the carbs are simple sugars with calories I can do without. Limited pasta at home. No longer will pasta be the main portion or even half portion of the meal. The ratio of meats and veggies will be increased, as they provide nutrients needed, and noodles will be left out or reduced greatly to an accent. I know many family home cooked dishes that could be consumed with less carbs and more veggies through simple tweaking.

4. Dilute my o.j. at least four-to-one ratio to start, five-to-one or less later. I usually buy two 2 L fresh Del Monte or Tropicana orange juice a week, about an 8,000 won expense as a two pack. I won't cut that out entirely at first, but force myself to make that weekly amount last the month. I'll also buy a fresh lemon and keep a couple of liters of cold water in the fridge with squeezed lemon juice in it.

5. Drink more tea. I love herbal tea and the caloric intake is marginal. Maybe I should consider green tea as the caffeine will help weight loss I hear, though I'm not committed to thaat as a habit quite yet.

6. No more pizza whatsoever nor deep fried foods. I do fry some foods with olive oil but I'll have to re-think how I do that. Google is my friend, and there are tips galore to help.

7. Make salads nearly every day. I like salads but I rarely have taken the time to make them. I'll have to do so. Maybe it and/or boiled eggs could be a workplace mini-meal, getting away from my don't-eat-anything-for-10-hours-then-eat-a-lot-afterwards method of years past.

[Louis VI]

[Louis VI]

To increase calorie burning: I will MOVE. I'll start with walking at least 2 hours a day. If the weather is terrible I'll walk around the kitchen table if I have to, but I will be in motion for two hours a day every day. I never work mornings so I have lots of time then. As I live on the southern foothills of Halla mountain I should simply hike upwards, though no such stipulation I'll make my first month. I just want to commit myself to a non-sedentary lifestyle. I'm gonna ask a friend to play tennis (which I haven't played in years), will go inline skating (I bought size 13s over a year ago but haven't gotten around to even putting them on!) and in a month or two biking (I haven't had one since I moved here from the mainland over a year ago). But I ain't gonna spend money on a bike until I show myself I have a million won in the bank after payday, and buy one out of the extra funds not the savings.

[robot]

Hey, congrats on making that first difficult step.

Sounds like a good initial plan. It may help to convince yourself that certain junk foods aren't delicious, but disgusting to put into your body.

[carpetdope]

Let's bump this thread every so often eh?

[Louis VI]

I just returned from a 2.5 km brisk walk (I bought a pedometer this morning) to buy a disposable camera to take the first of the monthly photos of myself tomorrow (I'll get a friend to do it). It was raining hard but rain ain't gonna deter me. I was soaked, sticky and puffing a bit upon my return (I have a jeep, don't usually walk much these days) but a quick shower and toweling off and I'm feeling great.

[Ninja-Bees]

Louis,
Good on you. I think both goals are definitely doable. I think tatertot said it best:

[Louis VI]

[DorkothyParker]

You could just stop eating and save all the money you would normally spend on food!

But in all seriousness, soups are a very, very good idea. I think you are planning some good changes and they will be very easy to stick to. I cannot speak highly enough about green tea or matcha. I practically live off the stuff. Hot beverages = feeling of fullness, ice cold beverages = slight calorie burn.
I also recommend weekly visits to the sauna. It's a nice treat and the cold baths and hot rooms both are a nice little metabolism jolt.

My third tip sounds really stupid, but try to jitter and wiggle about when you are online or watching TV or what have you.

PS. I live on Jeju and I enjoy a nearby hiking trail every morning (not rainy). It definitely feels good to do something at the start of the day rather than dread it come end of workday.

[Louis VI]

[kardisa]

[RMNC]

Low carb. Lift weights. Game, Set, Match.

[Louis VI]