Korean Job Discussion Forums

[chaz47]

what's up with that... when i look in the mirror i can see a thinner me, but my pants which were baggy when i got here are now snug... what's the deal... any dietary suggestions? anybody else have this problem? i do eat McDonalds still (even after a scare i had because of it when i first arrived) but only my lunch and not on the weekends... this probably a lame question... i'm sure the sodium in the food is making me retain water and bloat... but... all the food in Busan is salty, even outside of fast food... how to avoid this situation?

also anyone on here have any suggestions for relatively healthy money-saving diets... i eat at McDonalds for lunch because its only 3000won, thats only 500won more than what i would pay for a bottle of Evian to boil up some spaghetti or something comparable?

[BigBlackEquus]

The obvious answer: Kill the McDonalds.

I lost about 5 to 6kgs by exercising for 30 minutes three times a week, and cutting my lunches in half (dinner stayed the same). It took me six months though.

The only "fast food" I eat is Subway. I have fallen in love with the Subway chicken wraps.

Stay away from the breads and rice. Rice bloats me like a hog.

[kidcharlemagne]

the sodium in mcdonalds isn't the only problem - the saturated fats are worse. kick that habit and start eating local or make your own food at home. equus is right, making your lunch portions smaller can help alot.

and why are you using evian to boil spaghetti? that's pretty silly. if you don't trust the tap water for boiling, just buy regular bottled water.

i have a crazy aunt that only uses evian to wash her hair. - the key word in that sentence is "crazy".

[peppermint]

I usually cook with bottled water too, but I get the watercooler jugs delivered for 5000W a pop, much cheaper than evian. You can buy a handpump for the jugs that's 20,000W instead of the cooler unit, too.

[chaz47]

i've heard on this board that what makes the water truly dangerous is all the chemicals they put in it to purify it, so boiling it would make little difference... as far as buying bottled water from Korea... well the Korean Red Cross has lied about AIDS in its blood supply, somehow i doubt a bottled water company is completely trustworthy, plus the savings would only be about 1000won, the extra dollar is worth that piece of mind... it just sucks to have to buy water to cook with...

as far as rice... hmmm... i have a kimbap log for dinner every night... that might explain some of the bloat...

would one standard cheeseburger without fries or a soda be OK?

i just find it difficult to get a decent amount of protein here, most of the US certified milk seems to be whole and full of fat... peanut butter is another issue altogether, i've heard it has lard and hydrogenated vegetable oils and other nasty things in it...

[LL Moonmanhead]

Eating McDonald's five times a week, every week cannot be healthy. I suggest not worrying about spending a few extra won getting something decent inside of you. Otherwise I'd say you're heading to lardsville.

[Tiny_Tibbo]

i hear ya....
since i came to korea i've been constantly bloated.....no weight gain anywhere else...just around the belly button.......i blame the rice.....go figure

[Binch Lover]

I don't really believe anyone can eat McDonalds every day, and use Evian to boil water. I reckon the OP is either a bigger moron than anyone I've ever met or a troll.

[plato's republic]

Hahaha...buy Evian to cook with??? WTF?!!! Just boil normal tap water, the heat will kill any crap in there, especially if you let it boil for a few minutes. And like another poster said, kill the Mcdonalds habit, that's just nasty. Heart disease in a wrapper.

[Dawn]

Yeah, I think I'd be a lot more worried about the long-term consequences of daily McDonald's than Korean water.

[mindmetoo]

Yeah one Big Mac meal pretty much equals half your total daily caloric intake. So if you're eating a breakfast and a dinner and snacks and some beverages... you're probably exceeding your daily caloric needs. Cut out the daily trip to McSqueekies.

[Qinella]

[joe_doufu]

If you absolutely must go to McDonald's every day, don't eat the french fries. Remember "super-size me"? The dude who had the world record for Big Mac eating was as thin as a reed b/c even though he'd eaten two or three Big Macs a day for decades, he usually didn't have fries. Some chick did an all-McD diet for a couple months and lost a lot of weight... it can be done.

PS: How about a mountain spring? That's where I get my water. It's better, cleaner, and I get some exercise hiking to the spring every weekend or so.

[kangnam mafioso]

for lunch, go to the mom and pop restaurants and order chigae or fish or donkaas or bibimbap or tuna chigae, etc. all of these comes with side dishes of rice, kimchee, vegetables, eggs, etc for 3,000 and much healthier than a processed mclunch. go local! the sooner, the better. for dinner, go out with friends for kalbi or sushi. variety, my friend, don't eat the same thing everyday no matter how convenient it is! take vitamins, exercise and watch the stress. cook at home when possible, but why not learn to enjoy the local food?

[blunder1983]

Spag bol isnt much better to be honest its rammed with carbs.

I'm loosing a good kg a week at the mo simply by going to the gym 3 times a week and eating properly.

Things u should try (if you can cook)

Any homemade stirfry. -> Use the minimum amount of oil possible, if cooking with chicken, none if cooking with pork (the natural oil will be sufficient). Stick in a large onion, a pepper, mushrooms and only one pack of noodles. Break it down into 3 meals and freeze.

Salad -> I have a perchant for chicken strips from lotteria, instead of getting a meal of them, i buy two add lettuce, onion and cucumber a smal dollop of reduce cal mayo or ceaser dressing (if i'm being bad) and slice the chicken and toss it in. For a more filling lunch add crutons which are easily bought from carrepoo.

Jacket potato -> Cheap and delicious. Scoop out the inside mix with low fat mayo and a SMALL amount of pizza cheese and sandwich ham (not bacon), then stick in the grill. Serve with a salad or baked beans. Alternatively do tuna mayo.

We've had a lengthy spell of inedible meals at school (lots of fish) so i've been cooking at home in lunch. TBH u give it an hour after u eat a salad, it may not provide the niceness of eating a burger immediately but compared to the lingering greasy feel u get from a burger it blows them out of the water.

If u dont like cooking then follow the advice above, plenty of good foods outthere, tho i find most a little big for lunchee.