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minako said: "Hey everyone! I've recently decided to get moving and try to lose the extra 30 lbs I need to get rid of in order to be truly healthy. A few years ago, I lost 40 lbs by eating 1500 to 1800 calories a day. I've been trying that again, but now it is much more difficult.
I have some challenges here. I live in Japan until September, while before I lost the weight in the U.S. That may not seem like it should matter, but it is a lot easier to count calories when the F.D.A. mandates that foods must list nutrition information! Also, I can't do low-carb because I am a vegetarian, no fish or meat. Plus those diets seem to be really unfriendly to your heart...
I do not have a car, so I bike and walk everywhere. On workdays I get a decent amount of exercise because I teach little kids, but on weekends, I get a lot more. My pedometer usually gets over 10,000 steps on these days. I lost a little bit of wieght when I first got here, but I think I have gained it back. I don't have access to a scale, so I'm not 100% sure. Unfortunately, I can't join our local gym because I don't speak enough Japanese. :( If anyone has any ideas or motivation I'd be glad to hear them! Thank you!"
pixiechic said: "if you can get a fitness ball shipped, it is a good workout for your whole body.
you can use it to workout just about every muscle group. it is also nice for stretching."
QueenBee said: "With that kind of exercise, you should be seeing some results for sure.
How are your meals normally prepared?"
minako said: "Well, as I'm very busy, usually I just pop my noodles in the microwave or some bread in the toaster and put a slice of cheese on it. I ate a lot while my boyfriend was here for the holidays, so that might have something to do with it. Also I am forced to eat a bit later at night as my work does not end until at least 8 p.m. It's either eat dinner late, or don't eat at all. I think it's a bit healthier not to skip a meal, right?"
Jade_Michaels said: ""Bread, noodles, and cheese." Talk about bad for your heart. Your sugar levels must be thru the roof!"
minako said: "Well I am going to start actively eating more vegetables and drinking more water this week, so this might change. Most of the noodles I eat are buckwheat noodles, but occasionally I will have ramen or soba noodles. The bread here I have to be careful about - wheat bread is not usually available, and sometimes the slices are absolutely huge. I buy the thin slices, which are pretty close to the usual sizes in the U.S., maybe a little smaller. I do eat white rice, but the rice is a little bit different here, it is also not instant, I have to cook it myself in a rice cooker. I also have osekihan, which is rice with red beans mixed in.
Other things - I'll have a small slice of pizza for dinner once or twice a week. It's probably about the size of one serving of regular cheese pizza slice, but the crust is much thinner. I used to have Ritz crackers for a snack, but I am cutting those out of my diet now. I'm trying to eat fruits and veggies more as well. I also like to eat a some tofu. Eggs are also common in foods here, so I have those occasionally too.
I drink soy milk (the kind sponsoring the Aichi expo, if that helps at all), and I'm doing my best to keep off of soda, but when I do drink soda it's diet. I've cut back a lot and added more water to my diet, and I'm very proud of that.
I'm sorry if any of this is confusing, it is difficult to explain because the portions are so much different."
pixiechic said: "do you eat fish at all?
fish is high in protein and pretty low in calories. rice shouldn't be a problem, i wouldn't think.
i have never cut any food group out of my diet, because to me it seems variety is the spice of life and everything in moderation."
Darren said: "Sounds like a very sensible plan."
helplesscase said: "It sounds like your getting alot of exercise and thats good. Good luck. :)"
helplesscase said: "Try eating alot of fruits and vegetables and drinking alot of water."
helplesscase said: "[QUOTE=UniqueMystique].......maybe if you posted some of the foods that you are eating a lot of over there......some of the members here could post what those products calorie counts are here in the US. It may not be a perfect match for what you are eating there...but at least you will have a better idea. :)[/QUOTE]
Yeah, I agree."
cvalh said: "minako... if you can get access to brown rice, i would eat that instead of white rice. white rice has had almost all of its nutrients removed."
UniqueMystique said: "*Is confused*
Jade...you say that the low carb diet is bad for your heart and then you say that breads, pasta, etc is bad for your heart.
Which is it? :)
The low carb diet is probably bad for the heart if you are eating very fatty foods. Most of my meats are grilled and my veggies are not laden with butter and oils. I think that I eat quite healthily....but I do have a weakness for chips and salsa so I try to limit that. I also do not add salt to anything that I eat. I drink loads of water too.
Now...the low carb diet can be bad on your kidneys if all you are putting into your system is protein.
I'm not trying to be an advocate for others to jump into the low carb diet fad. It's not like I'm following it to a T either. It's just how I normally eat....what I like and prefer to eat. I've just had to cut down on my intake in order to drop the pounds."
UniqueMystique said: ".......maybe if you posted some of the foods that you are eating a lot of over there......some of the members here could post what those products calorie counts are here in the US. It may not be a perfect match for what you are eating there...but at least you will have a better idea. :)"