Weight gain/loss in China

[redmini]

just out of curiosity, who here has experienced substantial weight gain/loss after moving to or studying abroad in china?

i think i gained about 5 kgs in the first six months that i came to beijing. granted, i was eating out everyday (as i didnt have a kitchen on campus), and food tastes too good here! i was still exercising regularly, but probably not enough to counter the effects of the very very oily foods.

so now, three years on, i know better =) at least i have my own kitchen! back on the health kick.

[Shadowdh]

I lost fat weight but gained body weight so over all my weight went up... I was eating like a horse (hmmm looooovvvee Chinese food) and training really well though... and my goal was to gain weight but look better... not good just better...

[Xiwang]

I lost weight the first month that I was here. Then I discovered the many grocery stores where I could buy packaged Western foods . . . .

I'm now back at my pre-China weight. However, I still fantasize about eventually wearing the new, smaller clothes I had originally brought with me (just in case) to China.

[Hedge]

I have gained a couple of kilos, but for the same reasons as Shadowdh. Eating a lot and working out a lot.

[adrianlondon]

I lost a couple of kilos during my 6 month stay in Beijing, despite eating continuously and drinking bubble tea by the bucket load. I think my salt intake must have gone through the roof though.

[zerolife]

I actually kept my weight even through I was eating two dinners on average (one with my classmates in the dining hall and another with American or Chinese friends outside campus). Maybe from all the bike rides?

[adrianlondon]

I also cycled loads, but apart from two mad dashes from BNU to 798 art district with a friend (we went so fast we were swerving around all the cars on the 3rd ring road as they were slowing us down - don't recommend it unless you love the adrenaline rush more than survival, but survive we did), all my my bike rides were so slow I would have burnt off more calories shifting around on the sofa watching TV.

[Senzhi]

It's a digestion thing. Since I'm in China, I'm hungry.

I've always had a good digestive system, could and can eat anything I want (really anything) without gaining any weight.

But if I live on a diet of noodles and rice (so to speak), I am suffering severely. According to many of my local as well as foreign friends I'm starting to look underfed.

If I live purely on local food, I have to eat 5 to 6 meals a day to stay at 60 kg.

Luckily they have good steaks here. And there's of course the usual hamburger ...

[flameproof]

I stay neutral. I am very conscious about what I eat and drink. I believe you can eat anything you like, but not all the time.

Chinese restaurants tent to be way too oily. You can choice to pass on the major oil carriers. #1 is fried rice and noodles, #2 is all deep fried food. I never have fried rice or noodles, and seldom deep fried stuff.

Not Chinese, but another major calorie carrier are sugar drinks, Coke, 7Up etc. I never have those too. Just water please, or sometimes tea.

Also, I don't snack. Often we eat out of boredom. If you avoid that and stick to meals it also helps.

And then there is exercise, which we should all do more.....

[Meng Lelan]

My first summer studying in Tianjin, I lost 20 pounds due to constant illness.

[jacki]

I think I gained 10lbs in my semester in Tianjin. I didn't eat too much more, I don't think, but I generally blame it on all the 奶茶 I was drinking. I also generally am in dance classes 3-4 days a week and then I wasn't when I was in China, so despite having to walk up six flights of stairs all the time, my metabolism sort of just shut down.

[redmini]

interesting... so it seems more people lose weight rather than gain weight while in china. i wonder why that is. are people more dedicated to exercising and keeping fit while abroad? or, somehow, even in spite of the oily fried foods, chinese cuisine is healthier than western foods?

[adrianlondon]

In Asia I feel like I'm eating a lot, but it's food that I eat quite quickly and only one course.

In Europe I have a starter, some wine, a main course, more wine, dessert and coffee. And then sometimes still hit a bar for beer after ;) Plus in China I got rice or noodles. Here I often get potatoes, sometimes rice and/or noodles as well, and sometimes bread as well. With creamy sauces.

So the choice appears to be a heart attack due to being fat, or one due to having my blood replaced with salt.

I can't eat less (I love food - all food) so I exercise.

[Lu]

I gained a few kilos in Beijing, due to so much great food. In combination with the long underwear under my pants, the buttons came off most of my pants.

Lost the few kilos two years later in Taiwan, due to having breakfast and dinner but often no lunch. Lost a few more kilos when I went back two years later and skipped more lunches. Gained them again back in Holland due to eating all the candy (drop!) I had been missing in Taiwan. Lately, I miraculously fitted into my Taiwan jeans again.