How did I get so fat?

Hey everyone, welcome to my blog. I thought I would start by introducing myself briefly. My name is Joe, and I am currently teaching English in South Korea. I've decided to start this blog in order to start a discussion on making fitness and health part of our every day lives.

More importantly, is there anything I can do for you to help you reach your fitness goals? What do you want to change about yourself? What can you change about your life to reach your health and fitness goals? Maybe you aren't the biggest fan of playing sports and other physical activities. So what? It doesn't mean you can't reach your fitness goals!

Are you looking for a weight loss or fitness coach? Need someone to guide you or give you some advice?

Before I help you with that, I'd like you to get to know about me and my health and fitness journey.

I have to start off by saying that I was always the fat kid in school, but managed to lose most of my weight come high school. I'd like to share with you the good habits that got me to where I am today.

The Freshman 15?

When I first arrived in Korea, I was about 25 lbs. heavier (11 Kg) than I am right now. You all know how a non-physical job and lifestyle, snacks, all-you-can eat sushi, and other goodies can take a toll on your body, right? ^_^. And like a lot of University folk I had gained weight over the course of my time there. I also ended up changing jobs from one where I did a lot of physical activity all day to one where I usually just stood around. You big sports players might think this is nuts, but playing sports has never appealed to me a whole lot.

A few months after arriving.

In Thailand.

The expat experience

Moving to a new country and starting a new life can really take a toll on your diet. You might find the weight just coming off effortlessly while others find that they pack on the pounds. It all depends on your lifestyle here compared to back home.

My experience with a new country, well... I unfortunately gained weight: I don't know about you but I find Korean food very tasty. And like a lot of you might be, I was quite sedentary. Maybe you feel this way now too, no real desire to exercise a whole lot. The only exercise I got was the occasional torturous hike up the mountain and the walk from the bus stop to my house (or to school.) or other nearby destinations.
 
Korea... Gamsahamnida! (thank you)

Being done University and enjoying the freedom of a larger disposable income, it was easy for me to indulge in large portion sizes and all sorts of treats. Soju, being so cheap (and being such an integral part of the Korean social experience) was my liquor of choice. Within a few months, I had gained another 5-10 lbs on top of my weight on arrival.
 
I became unhappy with how I looked, felt, and with not fitting right in my clothes anymore. One of my students gave me a wake-up call. As you may know, Koreans students don't sugarcoat much: "Oh teacher, you're so handsome. But you'd be more handsome if you lost weight."
 
Getting on track

This got me on track to changing my lifestyle. I knew that a "quick fix" wasn't the way out. For awhile I cut out a lot of what was really bad in my diet (the big portions of white rice and other carbs) and replaced them with more sensible fare (vegetables). I greatly reduced my intake of Soju. Didn't realize that there's over 500 calories in one of those bad-boys!

I started going to the gym, first 3 times a week and working my way up to 4. I also went hiking a lot more, and pushed myself while doing so. I began walking instead of taking the bus to school, adding an extra 60-70 minutes of exercise a day.

I have to stress that I didn't always eat perfectly, but I never fell off the lifestyle-change bandwagon. I sometimes denied myself the things I enjoyed; I was so used to just eating whenever I felt any kind of desire to eat, whether it was hunger or otherwise. Nonetheless, I still allowed myself to have "cheat meals" once in awhile. It helped me maintain my sanity through this lifestyle transformation.
 
Where I am now

Arrival in Korea:

Height: 5'8" (173cm)
Weight: 180lbs (81.6 Kg)

My heaviest in Korea: 190lbs  (86.2 Kg)

My lightest: 155lbs (70.3 Kg)

My current weight: around 165lbs. (75 Kg)

It took me about 16 weeks to lose 30 lbs. The last 5 lbs took about 4 weeks. When you lose weight, you shouldn't lose it too quickly. This could cause you to lose muscle as well as fat. You want to keep the muscle you have on you since it drives the bulk of your metabolism.

I then have since gained about 10 lbs (most of it muscle). It's rather difficult to gain muscle without gaining fat, unfortunately, since you need an excess of calories to put on muscle.

I plan on losing 10 lbs over the course of the next few months in order to have a more "defined" look.

Here are some of the things I feel I'm doing right:

I have to start by saying that for pretty much all of us, there is room for improvement in our lives. As it stands, I feel I spend way too much time sitting down. However, the nature of my job dictates that I do my lesson planning and research while sitting at a computer. ^_^'' However I do take frequent breaks to walk around the school.

• I bike to school and home every day, which totals 35 minutes of cardio Monday-Friday.
• I go for walks to the beach and around the neighborhood.
• I use my feet to get everywhere (I don't own a car), or I take public transportation.
• I go to the gym 4 days a week, and I hardly ever miss a day (once a month perhaps).
• I do about 50 minutes of strength training and cardio during each workout.
• I drink A LOT of water. I hardly ever drink anything with calories.
• I almost never drink juice or soda and only drink alcohol on the weekends.
• When I drink, I choose lower-calorie options.

Here are some things I could improve:

• Don't have as many snacks.
• Reduce my portion sizes, particularly at night.
• Drink less alcohol.
• Take more walks during the day.
• Go for more bike rides just for the fun and exercise of it.
• Get into a really fun and challenging sport or activity!

Thanks for reading through such a longwinded first post. What has been your experience with fitness and weight loss? Do you think it's any easier to reach your fitness and health goals in a new country? Let me know in the comments below!