Before I left Toronto to teach ESL in Korea, many of my friends (some leaner than others) told me that I would drop weight like crazy in Korea since the diet is so healthy and full of fermented dishes. While it is true that the traditional dishes can be quite healthy, they they aren’t always, and the ones that are also tend to lack flavour. Did you know that garlic and ginger can’t even be used in traditional temple food? Bo-ring. I’m a bit of a saucy girl and I like to eat things that are full of flavour. While I have managed to lose quite a bit of weight (22 kg/ 48.5 lbs) since my heaviest time in Toronto (July of 2014, believe it or not), it has had nothing to do with the salty, greasy, sugary, delicious Korean food. In fact, I was working out pretty hard in the good ol’ 6ix, although my diet wasn’t as organized or healthy as it is now. Here’s how I’ve managed to lose the weight and keep it off while on the road.
Get up and Go
The first few times it’ll be hard to pull yourself out of bed, but if you get up and get moving I can almost guarantee that you’ll feel like you have more energy throughout the day. That’s not to say you should get up at 5 AM and be on your merry way, but I like to get up at 6:30 AM (well…actually I’d MUCH prefer to sleep) so that I can get in at least 20 minutes of cardio at the gym and 10-20 minutes of weights. This way, if someone gets in touch and wants to go out after work I don’t feel so bad about skipping a 2-a-day at the gym. If you’re in a new town, walk it! In Osaka I walked so much that the next day I could hardly pull myself out of bed. In Shanghai I brought the right shoes and walked over 10 km a day (and stopped for bao [dumplings] along the way). I LOVE to see a new city with a map in hand, and I especially like nibbling en route rather than sitting down for a big meal. Try out a spin class or study martial arts in your new country. Want to get a workout in from your hotel (or apartment)? PopSugar Fitness and Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred are my personal favourites. Don’t have access to weights? Grab a couple of 2L bottles of Water. They’ll do juuuuust fine.
Set an Alarm: For Sleep!
How many of you find you’re up at all hours marathon-ing that HBO show you neglected to start 7 seasons ago? How about those who fall into the vortex that is instagram? Set an alarm to go to sleep, and stick to it! It’s amazing just how much you can do if you’ve had 7.5-8 hours of sleep. Not only will your performance improve, you’ll feel less of a need for empty calories. When I’m tired I’ll definitely go for bread or pasta, but if I’m well-rested 99% of the time I’ll opt for a protein-rich salad with a sensible balsamic dressing or an egg scramble full of tasty veggies (and cheese, because balance).
ps. photo c/o Expat and the City
Cook for Yourself
You will never, ever know how much ice cream goes into that “healthy” smoothie of yours, how much butter was used to make your steak taste bomb, or how much mayo truly goes into your sandwich (or wrap!). If you’re buying packaged foods which have the nutritional information listed, how many servings are actually in that package? If you’re buying man-made food you’ll really need to scrutinize what you’ve purchased before its consumption. The best choice is just to make things yourself. I shop around the outside of the grocery store buying fresh vegetables, meat from the butcher’s department (or the actual butcher down the street from me), eggs, cheese, and the occasional bottle o’ vino. If I’m buying something canned it’s usually corn or beans which I’d have trouble buying locally or cooking at home (squash on a burner ain’t easy, folks!). Beyond that, just buy and eat real food. Your gut will be happy you did!
Protein – Veggies – Fruit
Focus on getting in enough protein to fuel your workouts and your day. It can be really tough to reach your goal, so I find personally that if I’m focusing on getting in my daily requirements of protein and vegetables while adding 1 piece of fruit a day (usually an apple or a banana) I’ll be less inclined to snack on anything packaged or with refined sugar. Eggs, roast chicken, chickpeas, almonds, cheese, steak, and even bacon routinely make it into my homemade (or even sometimes store-bought…yes- I break my own rules!) breakfast or dinner, and at lunch I really try to limit the amount of rice I consume. I’m required to eat with my students, so it’s not really an option not to eat rice when the protein and side dish portions are so tiny. I’ll often have a Cellucor protein shake in the afternoon. It’s easy because it’s just the powder (130 calories, 4 g carbohydrates, and 25 g of protein) and water. I keep a tub at school so that when I get hungry I have no excuses!
Get MyFitnessPal
I find that the best way to lose weight is to keep yourself accountable and have others to cheer for and with whom to find motivation. Knowing the macros your body needs is essential to finding a weight-loss rhythm. I log my weight daily. Even though you’re not supposed to focus on the number on the scale I like to be able to evaluate whether my personal program is working or if I should shake things up. Ultimately, it feels really cool when you reach a milestone toward your goal and the app celebrates with you!
Don’t Take it so Seriously!
I have somewhere between 10 and 20 lbs left to lose, but am in a healthy Body Mass Index range. Being that I’m quite athletic, and the BMI is no longer used as the be all and end all of health and fitness, I’m no longer stressing about the number on the scale. This past weekend I was in Busan and felt great in my bikini, but didn’t love the way parts of my body looked. I know that there are still many areas on which I need to work, but I’m not going to give up the opportunity to socialize because of it. Keep a balance! During the week I like to focus on my personal program, and on weekends I like to sleep in. If I want Indian food for lunch I’m not going to skimp on the rice or naan, but I’ll choose 1. If I want a cookie on the weekend, I’ll have a cookie (not 7!). If it’s a rare weeknight out and I want ice cream, I’ll have ice cream. Don’t beat yourself up, just keep a good balance!
You’re working abroad – you’re not on vacation
If you’re getting 8 hours of sleep a night, an hour at the gym is 6.25% of your daily waking hours. You can make that happen. If you’re not on vacation and you work abroad there truly is no excuse not to get in that hour of physical activity. If you can’t do it all in one go, break it up! I like to go to the gym in the morning to get some pep in my step, then head out and do something active after work to let go of the day. Check out a temple, head out on a short hike, heck – go shopping if there’s nowhere else to roam. If you’re far away from home there’s always going to be something new and interesting to explore, so get out there!
Take Before and After Pictures – you’ll be glad you did!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BFBHNUMPLyY/
Love this post! When you work out in the morning, do you eat anything before hand or just chug a big glass of water and then do your thing? I always feel like I need to eat something before I work out… but if it’s the morning, then I’m not sure when I should because I need time to get to work. I’m not a morning person at all.. but I’ve been feeling sluggish in the daytime I feel like a quick workout is needed!
Sometimes I’ll have a short coffee, but food before a workout makes me feel sick throughout.
This is a really inspiring post. Good for you! Working out and traveling is possible!
You are way more disciplined than me with the exercise regime. Totally agree about cooking for yourself though. There are so many hidden calories in some foods when you eat out.
Depending on where I travel to I have either lost or gain a couple of pounds. Cruise for me meant gain haha nothing but sitting around and eating delicious, big portion dishes.
I would TOTALLY gain on a cruise!!
Wow! Well done! My weight when travel can be all over the place. If it is a press trip, then I tend to gain because we have so many restaurants to visit that I tend to eat far more than I would on my own. When we are traveling for ourselves, I tend to lose because, as you mentioned, we tend to see new cities on foot, as well. Actual routines tend to go out the window for me when we’re on the move, though.
Nice post! It’s funny how your friends told you that you would lose heaps of weight in South Korea. My boyfriend spent a year there and said that he put on heaps of weight in the beginning because of all the sugar in the bread. In the end, he did get serious about his diet and hit the gym. I think what you said about not stressing over numbers is super important. BMI can be used as a guide but the most important thing is being healthy and happy :).
Great tips . I was in Indonesia for a year so I learnt a bit as well about staying fit while traveling. Usually I am cooking myself and using some fitness apps too. Apart from literally trying to participate in any activities I can.
Being a person who loves my workout session, I totally agree with all your tips. Exploring the place by foot certainly helps you shed those extra calories you gain while indulging on the delcious local food. Great post Kate 🙂
Great tips, for me the real problem is trying to cut out the empty calories from alcohol, unfortunately it makes up a large part of my socialising whether I’m travelling or at home.
Red wine! That “running for wine club” thing is the real deal!
I know and use a lot of these habits but some I should implement more! How inspirational that you’ve kept 50 off though! WOW!
Getting enough sleep is my down fall. I really need to get to bed sooner, especially since I’m up at 5:45 am for work every morning. Congrats on losing close to 50 lbs wow!
Love this post! Keep up the good work! I lost about 40 lbs. in total when I moved to Korea, but I’ve fallen off the wagon a bit while traveling. I just love food too much and sometimes it’s difficult to work out after exhausting days in the heat. I’m looking forward to getting a schedule of sorts back in a few weeks!
Not gonna lie, how dedicated you’ve been and your success inspired me loads and why I finally took the leap to work with a personal trainer to give me a running start. ROCK IT GIRL.