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Q: What's the biggest cuprit for gaining weight in China?
My jeans are getting tighter and my belly more squishy. I don't know how I could have put on weight though because im not eating THAT much. What are the biggest foods/drinks for gaining weight? Could it be all that almond Lulu and coconut juice I'm drinking?
11 years 5 weeks ago in Health & Safety - China
Drinks like Lulu are probably not doing you a great of deal of good to be honest. I used to be into those tea drinks and various soft drinks/cheap snacks they have here because they're so darn cheap, but it's impossible to fathom the amount of E numbers and chemicals they throw in there for flavoring.
Wait gain is the consequence of taking in more energy than you spend. Remove some energy from you will not gain more weight.
If your mouth is bigger than your corn-hole you will get fat
I think it can be the result of additives in food and random oils we are all more likely to consume here. I cook more now days instead of going out and it does make a difference when you know what is in your food.
A specific cause of weight gain for me is bread and beer (but I'm okay with it lol)
I was addicted to a small loaf of egg bread with almonds on them. I ate them all the time, 2 for breakfast. I actually lost 10 lbs in China from all the walking in the heat. I didn't work so all my time was my own.
When I came home I had no food cravings. After 4 months my taste buds must have grown back because every thing tasted so good. I put on 40 lbs. We eat a lot more meat than the Chinese.
Oil and carbs and cold did it for me. China had the exact same effect on me - now I'm home I've lost half it, and I'm working on the second half ...
not enough good easy options. i would love for mcd or kfcs to start selling salads as they do in the usa
There is no such word as cuprit. You meant culprit and it's not what it's who! That would be yourself...don't blame others for you weight gain.
It was like that idiot that went to Mcdonald's for 10 years then came out of the blue and sued because she was too fat!
I agree with MissA, too many carbs and oil. I think it's actually more about the oil though, because not only is the food drowning in vegetable/canola oils, the quality is probably horrendous. I had gained weight over the winter from eating so many snacks. So in the spring I tried to lose it, and despite eating less rice and noodles, I couldn't really lose the weight! That's why I think the oil and poor quality are the culprits. I'm sure the additives are probably not good for health either.
MissA:
Yep, I stacked it on during the winter and plateaued over the summer, but couldn't lose it. It's only since coming home that it's come off.
For the first time in my life I've had to put myself on a proper diet 
Jnusb416:
I also didn't really lose any weight until I came home. Honestly I wasn't trying to lose weight, I just ate what I used to eat before moving to China. China really ruined my digestion though. Even after switching back to American foods, I wasn't back to normal. It messed something up, eating that food for 10 months. Now I eat a Paleo-ish diet, and I feel much better.
MissA:
Hmmm, interesting. I've gone mostly veggie since I came home - lots of tofu, lentils and beans, which I hardly ever ate before I left for Asia.
I used to love meat, and I still eat it occasionally (mostly when other people serve it up) but now the idea of a chop or a steak has little appeal to me.
Jnusb416:
Oh, I definitely still eat meat. I eat more meat than I did in China, and I eat seafood, which I avoided in China. I also get a decent amount of dairy, usually yogurt and raw cheese, sometimes raw milk. Veggies, usually stir fried because I'm lazy. As for carbs, usually potatoes, sweet potatoes, some kind of noodle like rice or mung bean or maybe some white rice, occasionally quinoa or lentils.
My first year here I actually lost weight, no matter how much rice or noodles I ate or beer I drank. Finally, my metabolism rebelled and I developed a beer gut. I must be overdrinking when I'm not sitting on my tush, getting no exercise at all. So, in my case, the key is daily exercise at a gym - to which I have no access in China nor the time, unlike back home in Austin where I worked out 3 or 4 times a week. So, short answer: beer & no exercise.
Getting comfortable with a girlfriend was why I put on 40 kilos...
Western food are the biggest culprits in China. They contain immense amounts of calories and simple/empty carbs. Most Chinese that you see in Chinese restaurants are thin, and those that you see at McDonald's, KFC or any pizza house are fat. You'll notice this difference especially amongst kids of the two groups.
Also, natural/unprocessed coconut juice is fine, as long as you aren't eating the meat or drinking coconut milk instead. Those two are very high in fat.
Processed drinks like that almond drink that you consume contain high amounts of sugar (simple carbs). Fruit juice that is sold in supermarkets contain the same amount of sugar as their soda equivalent, and that's a lot.
If you consume simple carbs at night time, you'll most likely accumulate fat, since those simple carbs won't have enough time to burn.
If you really can't stop the almond and coconut drinks, try to consume them during daytime instead, like any other food or drink that contain high amounts of simple carbs. Then you'll have enough time to burn those excess calories (from the simple carbs) during the rest of the day.
When I want a treat late at night, I make smoothies with half a pint of skimmed milk (not semi skimmed), or 0% fat/no sugar yogurt, and half a pint of any mix of fresh pineapple, one medium banana, any kind of berries and watermelon. Just don't drink 5 gallons of this deliciousness. One pint is enough to make you feel full.
I actually lost about 25 pounds during my stay in China. Not because my wife was forcing me to actually eat veggies (shudder), but because I found very few sources of carbs that I actually liked.
Of course, within 6 months of being back in the US, I gained those 25 pounds back again. Now I am in the process of getting rid of them all over again. Sigh.
crimochina:
there are a few books about the us food industry i want to read
i think a lack of exercise and eating out , drinking beer. Bread doesn't help either, i stayed off bread for a month and i ate half the normal amount of rice that i usually ate and i lost about 5kilos, also avoid that KFC McDonalds shit, it will mess you up, i still have nagging belly fat that just wont go away
The culprits are excess food and lack of exercise. I exercise and eat KFC (chicken only) and drink milk, soy milk or oatmeal and I stay slim. Oh yea, no beer, but I have a drink now and then.
