How much weight have you put on since moving to America?

[cordqueen31 0]

that is so funny...i love your post! but hey since i got here i gain like 5lbs..i manage myself of eating habit. I knew the food here is like whole family feeding but I know myself i love to eat Asian food. If you get trick on the food then you will gain as much as 100lbs hehe...

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

I also forgot to mention that the portion sizes in restaurants here are out of control, but it's because if you feed Americans less for the same money, they'll get annoyed! Most of the time when I eat out I can't finish everything and need to take the leftovers home. It would be ideal, actually, to order one dish and share it between 2 people. Or just order two "appetizers" and 2 salads - the "appetizers" tend to be a normal portion size while the "meal" is enough for 2 or 3 meals, lol!

[웃 910]

[UK_Fan 192]

Ask my wife !!!

When in America she always gains. When she goes home she loses. She is back in Russia now and reminds me that she will lose weight.

I claim this type if diet is too expensive

hey, at least it works haha! plus after you add up all the jenny craigs and weight watchers fees, it would come out close to a round-trip ticket to Russia

[UK_Fan 192]

[it's Victor from Russia]

I think, every country has really good food, just not everywhere it cooked in a good way. When my Amy visited me in Russia for the first time, she told that Russian food is delicious, and Russians know how to eat. As I remember, during 8 weeks together we spend ina 2 visits, Amy didn't like only 2 meals - boiled beef tongue and "meat JELL-O", everything else in Russia was yummy for my Baby.

Amy really likes many food in Russia and about some things told that it's nothing like this exists in US. When Amy visited me for the 2nd time, it were big pan of borsch (very yummy, if you cooked it right, and complicate soup with beetroot) and "herring under fur coat" (Russian salad with salted herring, beetroot, and many other ingredients) waiting for her at home. About Russian "Napoleon-cake" Amy told it's one of the best cakes she has ever tried in her entire life, she also likes a lot Russian "Potato-cake", and many other Russian meals. At the same time I can tell that I like US food too - for example, I'm really fan of stuffing Amy made for Thanksgiving dinner, and scalloped corn, and some more meals I've tried during our time together.

jesus you're killing me ahaha, i can't wait to go and visit my parent, i told them, they better meet me at the airport with a big bowl of pel'meni i holodets . it will be 7 years since i've last been in Russia when i go there in 2013.

[MrsNelson 10]

My husband from New Zealand and he tells me all the time how ridiculously huge American portions are. We've lived in Korea for 2 years now, and didn't realize how little (and how fresh) we'd been eating until we saw pics from my family's holiday dinner. We're going to visit relatives when we get back home, it's a bit frightening how much food an Auntie will try and get you to eat. ;-)

[virtualNik 1]

Hehe! I think all out-of-country folks have this issue at first. It'll balance out with time!

[Alex & Rachel 78]

Also, how Hersheys passes as chocolate is beyond me!

Seriously.

Fortunately there's plenty of great chocolate - and food in general! - to be had where I live, so avoiding Hershey's is easy. I just feel sorry for anyone who thinks it is chocolate!

Less opportunities and/or need to walk places is one of the biggest problems with gaining weight in the US. When we moved from London to LA we quickly learned we couldn't eat the same without making a bigger effort for exercise. London is simply a more physical city to get around, so you can eat more ####### and not worry as much about piling on the lbs. Here, you need to be far more aware of what you are taking in and what you are burning off.

Completely agreed.

I actually weigh about the same now as I did in the UK, but I also eat around ~500 fewer calories a day.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Alex & Rachel

[kstrozyk 13]

I came in weighing 175 lbs. Now I'm at 225. Sad.

Is everyone having the same problem as me eating way too much? The food here is just too good and the portion sizes are enough to feed a whole family. On top of that my wife makes some really delicious meals and the best apple pie in America.

I've managed to put on 40lbs in less than 2 years!

[Kinito_2k3 5]

Wow, I have not read the whole thread but sounds like no-one lost weight?? I have, about 10 lbs, mainly because I was scared of putting on weight I am being careful. I do disagree about the food being bad in the US, we find extremely good products here, with relative traceability (not what we have in the EU but good enough if you are careful). I do miss a lot of stuff from Europe, but you can substitute pretty easily tho

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Wow, I have not read the whole thread but sounds like no-one lost weight?? I have, about 10 lbs, mainly because I was scared of putting on weight I am being careful. I do disagree about the food being bad in the US, we find extremely good products here, with relative traceability (not what we have in the EU but good enough if you are careful). I do miss a lot of stuff from Europe, but you can substitute pretty easily tho

Yes a couple of people have.

[Alex & Rachel 78]

Well, I am the same weight, but also 24 weeks pregnant, so I suppose technically I've lost some!

And I agree - but I also understand it hugely depends on where you live. I'm in California and within a 5 mile radius there's several Eastern-European/Middle-Eastern markets, at least two Japanese supermarkets, a Mexican supermarket, Chinese supermarket, British shop, farmers' markets and several supermarkets supplying organic/local produce as well as your regular supermarkets. And the variety of restaurants is huuuge! There's very little I can't obtain. I hear it's a very different tale in many other states.

[VanessaTony 3,567]

At least this thread isn't chocked full of gross generalizations...

There certainly is plenty of unhealthy food available in the US and I can't argue about the portion sizes, but if you live anywhere near a decent size city you can find healthy food if you want to, both at grocery stores and restaurants. It won't be at a fast food chain and it may not be at the major supermarkets, but there are plenty of organic (real organic) options available. You will pay more for it, but since food is generally cheaper here to start with it should even out for you.

And I can't think of anywhere in the world where English, Irish, or Australian food is really seen as some great delicacy...except maybe in England, Ireland, and Australia.

I don't think anyone is imply that our home food is a "delicacy" it's more that we grew up with out food. Our bodies adjusted to it. We know what's healthy and what's not. Here in the US it seems more of the "regular" food is bad for you. I'm not saying there aren't healthy alternatives, or that there isn't bad food available in my home country, but it seems to be a larger proportion is bad here to what is good. It makes it easier to gain weight, especially if you haven't grown up with it and don't know it's bad.

I liken it to "the freshman 10" or whatever that saying is. Where kids leave home and first year at college gain weight because they're eating differently. Gaining weight is a lot easier than losing but I hope to join the "losing" ranks soon enough My husband was telling me that you burn calories quicker in cold weather. I was reading online that shovelling snow you burn about 300-500 calories per hour... that's pretty good!

[Amy_and_Victor 159]

jesus you're killing me ahaha, i can't wait to go and visit my parent, i told them, they better meet me at the airport with a big bowl of pel'meni i holodets . it will be 7 years since i've last been in Russia when i go there in 2013.

Amy told me earlier that in US it's easy to find a ravioli, and even if it's not absolutely the same, it's very similar to pelmeni. Did you try it - are ravioli really close to pelmeni?

[Victor from Russia]

Edited January 9, 2012 by Amy_and_Victor

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

I have read that Hershey did not have the chocolate-making secret guarded by the Swiss, so he invented a different method as his best approximation. One key difference between the two is that in Hershey's method the sugars end up slightly burnt.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Harpa Timsah