Are you keeping the pounds off?

[Vanhelsing]

One of the benefits I enjoy while being in Indonesia is a better lifestyle. I'm more active, my diet is more varied, I'm in a better state of mind, generally feel healthier and delight in a thinner waistline.

Have you found your weight or general health to be improved since moving to Indonesia?

 

[William King]

Gained.

 

[Puspawarna]

I generally feel achier in Jakarta than I do in Hawaii, but it is easier to control my weight here. There are too many delicious treats available in Hawaii.

 

[lifelongexpat]

All depends how stressed I am and how much gorengan I consume...

 

[El_Goretto]

I'm at an all time high. Feels like shit.

 

[Puspawarna]

I do have a diet that works pretty well and isn't too hard: two meals a day with no carbs, then you get to eat whatever you want for an hour a day at your "reward meal" but you should try to keep the carbs to not more than a third of your total meal (not clearly defined how 1/3 is measured but it doesn't really matter). If it isn't causing you to lose weight, start every "reward meal" with a salad.

So breakfast and lunch is things like eggs, vegetables, salad, grilled mushrooms, chicken, etc. And dinner is whatever. This always worked for me until I got old, and when you are female and old you basically don't get to eat unless you exercise like a fiend. Only if I am dieting, i'm too weak to exercise. So it is tougher now than it used to be. But I have lost 6 pounds since I got back from summer in Hawaii and I'm going to try to keep losing.

 

[Vanhelsing]

.... This always worked for me until I got old, and when you are female and old you basically don't get to eat unless you exercise like a fiend. Only if I am dieting, i'm too weak to exercise. So it is tougher now than it used to be....

Old age doesn't come alone, it's true. At the moment I eat like a bird with one "eat anything" day a week which normally includes too many beers. The problem lay not only in the calories of alcohol itself but the appetite trigger that occurs with it, with me wanting to devour a goat, a few chickens, half a pie factory and a Danish patisserie before bed.

 

[Puspawarna]

Old age doesn't come alone, it's true. At the moment I eat like a bird with one "eat anything" day a week which normally includes too many beers. The problem lay not only in the calories of alcohol itself but the appetite trigger that occurs with it, with me wanting to devour a goat, a few chickens, half a pie factory and a Danish patisserie before bed.

I hear you! And I love to bake, so there is almost always something delicious tucked away in the freezer, calling out to me. And the alcohol gives me a devil-may-care attitude of, "oh c'mon, it's only once! And it's not that many calories. Any who cares if you are a few pounds heavier than when you were 20 anyway. And..."

By that point in the conversation with myself, half the cake is gone ...

 

[Anglian]

I am now80 kilo, when I went to Balikpapan I used to go to a seafood restaurant on the sea front, I discovered that the owner was my bosses nephew, we became good friends, my favourite, Cumi, large prawns, all sorts of fish, all at only 10% cost,one night I woke up with an horrendous headache, this happened for two nights, I happened to mention this, straight away he said you have high cholesterol and blood press due the Cumi, so off to the doctors, shock horror, yes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes and now weighing 96 kilo, I was horrified, into a diet, treadmill, pedal bike and swimming, long walks, so after about 3 months down to 80 kilo, type 2 has disappeared blood sugar normal, but I have to take care what I eat, I’m a chocoholic so down to a one bar a week and a Guinness every night, but plenty of swimming, walking and treadmill still, so still 80kilo

 

[Puspawarna]

I am now80 kilo ... into a diet, treadmill, pedal bike and swimming, long walks, so after about 3 months down to 80 kilo, type 2 has disappeared blood sugar normal, ... plenty of swimming, walking and treadmill still, so still 80kilo

Hooray! You should be very proud of this.

 

[Anglian]

Hooray! You should be very proud of this.

It was the headaches, unbelievably painful that did it, I thought I had a brain rumour, so beware eating to much Cumi, which I really like, wifey doesn’t help though, she makes very delicious fruit and nut cakes, like you before I know it, Ive scoffed the lot

 

[Davita]

I am now80 kilo, when I went to Balikpapan I used to go to a seafood restaurant on the sea front, I discovered that the owner was my bosses nephew, we became good friends, my favourite, Cumi, large prawns, all sorts of fish, all at only 10% cost,one night I woke up with an horrendous headache, this happened for two nights, I happened to mention this, straight away he said you have high cholesterol and blood press due the Cumi, so off to the doctors, shock horror, yes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes and now weighing 96 kilo, I was horrified, into a diet, treadmill, pedal bike and swimming, long walks, so after about 3 months down to 80 kilo, type 2 has disappeared blood sugar normal, but I have to take care what I eat, I’m a chocoholic so down to a one bar a week and a Guinness every night, but plenty of swimming, walking and treadmill still, so still 80kilo

OMG Anglian...I'm so proud of you I could cry... a Guinness a night and still maintaining weight...you're the MAN!!!
I just checked myself on my wife's home gym supremely accurate machine = 80.9k.... mind you, I just finished dinner and a bottle of Italian wine. I maintain weight because I watch her work out at home every morning...it really helps my metabolism.
BTW I'm only about 4 feet tall....and, according to some members, obviously have a light-weight brain..

 

[vocalneal]

I’m a chocoholic so down to a one bar a week and a Guinness every night, but plenty of swimming, walking and treadmill still, so still 80kilo

I don't think chocolate, beer or even ice cream is bad. The key i believe is to eat drink these instead of other stuff not as well as. In Brazil I used to eat Ice cream for supper, not with supper.

 

[Puspawarna]

Chocolate in particular is supposed to be good for you - I'm talking about snacking on a modest portion of dark chocolate, of course, not wolfing down a large Mars bar (which is more sugar and fat than chocolate). It's like red wine - there are a few treats out there that actually seem to have some redeeming nutritional/health qualities. (Nuts are another one.)

 

[Anglian]

Just after the war around the early 50s my mum worked at Caleys chocolate factory in Norwich, she was allowed 3 pounds of chocolate every fortnight, sweets were on ration then, so it was a real bonus, mine and my sisters mates would come round to the house while my mum was at work and have a feast, poor old Mum used to hide the chocolates, but it was a game searching for them, like finding hidden treasure

 

[ChrisTex]

I have been able to maintain close to what I want to weigh which is between 92-96kg compared to just 3 years ago, close to 118kg. At one point I was down to 90kg, but I was eating almost no carbs and going to the gym 3 days a week for 2-3 hours before I messed up my knee.

I find it easier to keep weight off as there are more fruits and the portion sizes are alot smaller. I tend to have a homemade smoothie(fruit, oats, chai seeds, and no sugar soy milk) for breakfast and dinner. Eat almost whatever I want for lunch.

 

[vocalneal]

I also read somewhere that we should walk on average 2000 paces per day.

 

[Daniel50]

I have gone from about 111kg/245lbs to 92 kg/204lbs. I ate less meat, smaller portions and more vegetables. I am maintaining my weight so far. I could not be on a strict diet only eating certain foods as I don't think I would last but I would count my calories. I thought this approach would also not work for me but it does. I could eat anything but only a certain amount for the day. As vocalneal said I could have ice cream etc. as long as it falls within my calorie intake. I may have some food cravings but it doesn't mean I don't have control over the cravings. I had done a lot of exercise in my past so this also seems to help my body show gains quicker, when I exercise.

 

[Chiron]

I can't speak for long term dietary effects in Indonesia, but short-term it seems that much of what ends up being offered to me has lots of carbs and just way too much sugar. I'm continually having to remind waitstaff and family members with "tanpa gula". Even then, it seems they can't believe I would actually enjoy a beverage or snack without some sugar.

That said, I tend to eat less noodles and rice, and focus on things like chicken, fish, and vegetables. I did get a nasty parasite from eating a salad about 10 years ago, so have to be quite discriminating when eating veggies raw. I also had to stop drinking alcohol some years back, as my doctor said the liver couldn't handle it anymore. With that, low carbs, incorporating a ketogenic diet (good fats), and a reasonable exercise routine removed some unwanted weight. It's a diet and routine that's not so bad. I occasionally have some tempting cake, cookie, or ice cream, but try to make that infrequent.

 

[waarmstrong]

Unlike Jakarta, Pella (Iowa, Midwest USA) has well maintained sidewalks, bike lanes and trails, and several gyms minutes from my front door. I am in the process of shedding the 12 pounds I gained while in Jakarta for the summer; 1/2 way there in two months.