Adjusting to American cooking
87- Tori Maltby
- 11 posts
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I have recently moved from living on my own in London to living with the in-laws in America.
Although I am still excercising everyday I am picking up weight.
I believe that my body is screaming for help because when living on my own I was too lazy to cook and too poor to shop so was living on pretty minimal but healthy meals. Now, I am faced with delicious home cooked meals every night with so many sides and salads and goodness all around.
Does anyone have any weight loss advice or secrets to share so that I can maintain a healthy weight but not offend the mom-in-law by not eating her delicious cooking?Ditch the bread (or flour all together if possible), drink water with lemon or plain tea (unsweetened), NO REFINED SUGAR, and eat everything else in reasonable portions.
At least 30 minutes cardio and at least 30 minutes of strength training.
100- KCC Big Country
- 2066 posts
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My husband is from England and experienced the same situation when coming to Texas. There are a lot of differences in our canned and processed foods here versus England. He's trying to stick with fresh produce if possible avoiding canned and processed.
56- rhamson
- 1290 posts
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Tori Maltby wrote:
I have recently moved from living on my own in London to living with the in-laws in America.
Although I am still excercising everyday I am picking up weight.
I believe that my body is screaming for help because when living on my own I was too lazy to cook and too poor to shop so was living on pretty minimal but healthy meals. Now, I am faced with delicious home cooked meals every night with so many sides and salads and goodness all around.
Does anyone have any weight loss advice or secrets to share so that I can maintain a healthy weight but not offend the mom-in-law by not eating her delicious cooking?Be absent around mealtime is my only advice. Pick and choose from the leftovers.
90- Denno66
- 2909 posts
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Smaller portions. Sounds funny, but it works quite well.
91- prettydarkhorse
- 2217 posts
- Joined: 2 months ago
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Tori Maltby wrote:
I have recently moved from living on my own in London to living with the in-laws in America.
Although I am still excercising everyday I am picking up weight.
I believe that my body is screaming for help because when living on my own I was too lazy to cook and too poor to shop so was living on pretty minimal but healthy meals. Now, I am faced with delicious home cooked meals every night with so many sides and salads and goodness all around.
Does anyone have any weight loss advice or secrets to share so that I can maintain a healthy weight but not offend the mom-in-law by not eating her delicious cooking?try to talk to your husband first then to your mother in law about it, go with her to the store to buy you organic stuff
95- Eaglekiwi
- 5924 posts
- Joined: 13 months ago
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I am having the same problems big time.
I knew to begin with Id have fun sampling the many sugary treats on offer , but its the ready made products that get me too!
I just feel sweaty all the time
Have to just spend a bit more and get back to basics me thinks!
89- Mocha Momma
- 50 posts
- Joined: 6 weeks ago
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Do not drink soda, if you must have carbonated beverages, drink something like Izze or soft drinks with natural pure cane sugar in moderation (not daily). You can have flour/breads, just not with a bunch of potatoes/corn. Do not eat the white bread, eat whole wheat bread (read the bread labels). Eat several meals throughout the day. Do not drown your salad in dressing, set your dressing on the side of your salad and dip your salad into the dressing. Do not eat the croutons, they are typically fried.
If you must have the larger portion sizes, you may eat larger meat quantities and vegetable quantities, make your carb sides smaller.
If you are eating a lot more meat, make sure you do some weight training (it can be light), as building up your muscle will increase your metabolism and burn more calories.
Watch out for canned soups etc as they are full of MSG. Watch out for canned foods period and try to eat fresh or frozen products when it comes to your vegetables and fruit.
You can have the sweetened tea, just make sure you don't go crazy with it (one glass per day).
You can also drink several cups of green tea per day, green tea helps flush the system and aids in elimination of flushing the fat cells.
Hope this helps.My sister-iin-law is from Brazil and quite a beauty. She took the tactic of going with my mother to the store to buy a few things she really likes but knows aren't something my mother would usually buy. She eats a little of almost everything the family is eating and then grabs fresh fruit or her soy milk after the meal, when everyone's visiting and it wouldn't be an issue for mom. She has won my mother's heart and I'm sure it's partly because of her tact. But she sticks carefully to her breakfast routine to ensure she gets off to the right start for the day.
87- Miss Belgravia
- 34 posts
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I feel for you, Tori. I lived in London for a couple of years, and with all the walking, carrying groceries home from the store instead of throwing them in the car, eating smaller portions, etc., I lost 30 pounds in about six months without even thinking about it. I moved back to Texas a little over a year ago, and every pound has returned, despite my efforts to remain active and eat less. Exercise is something we have to schedule into our lives in the U.S., where it was just part of everyday life there. Since I love to cook, love to eat, and have a sedentary job, it's a real struggle for me. I hope you can find a strategy that works for you. Good luck!
