The 10lbs Myth

Diana · Sep 13th, 2007, 13:47

Let's see, I lost about 5 lbs a month for 3 months and I think in my case it was that the food, though plentiful, was a lot richer in veggies and not so much of the processed junk I tend to get busy and eat at home. I also was a bit more active but not a lot. And I was only sick two days, but that was a flu that everyone, native or foreign got, not a "travelers" illness.

I've been home about a month now. Miss Indian food a lot. Have gained 3 lbs back.

Malkers · Sep 13th, 2007, 13:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by crvlvr

I think most people lose the weight becuase they end up falling sick.

Correct for me, 30lbs in 6 weeks I managed just by getting Delhi Belly or Bangalore Bottom as I called it, I learned to live with it but just knew that anything I ate would go straight through me and out at 100mph.

So find yourself the dirtiest food seller or sugar cane juicer you can and all your weight problems will soon be sorted!

Nick-H · Sep 13th, 2007, 13:58

Brie! Ahhhh....

And just think how good it would be if left out in a warm Chennai room for a week. Camambert, of course, would be even better...

(I always treat the 'best before' date on these soft (and potentially smelly) cheeses as a 'best after' date!

Malkers... next time, find yourself an ayurvedic resort with a steam bath: spending days in one would probably have the same result, but would be marginally more fun!!!!

fly2raven · Sep 13th, 2007, 17:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prashant.M

You mean Foodworld Gourmet? Which Reliance Fresh outlet? I don't think all their outlets stock these stuff. I found imported French Brie at Spencers in Fraser Town but it was ok, nothing great.

Hey do let me know if you find Cheese from Auroville in Bangalore.

Yes - we found it first at the Foodworld Gourmet. And then I found it at the Reliance Fresh that recently opened up in Whitefield.

Auroville? I will look for it and if I see it I will let you know

Lugubert · Sep 13th, 2007, 21:17

First time, intestinal infection and/or infestation. Probably because I relied on the filter at the pale I was staying. Lost some 7 kgs.

Second time, healthy. But walking extensively in Himalayan cities and having difficulties in finding food to my liking (and I thought I liked spicy Indian food before going there the first time), I again lost some 7 kgs.

In both cases, I regained my pre-travel weight in a fairly short time.

On the second time, my young travel partner unhesitatingly tried everything in sight, including sugar cane juice. No problems whatsoever for her. She did succeed in making me somewhat more daring, like the not-even-a-hole-in-the-wall place in Ghum where I paused after walking from Darjeeling, to have a couple of momos and a glass of chai before continuing to the monastery.

crvlvr · Sep 14th, 2007, 01:52

I think your chances of falling sick with the DB (or BB as Malkers calls it) is directly proportionate to the number of years you have been away from India.

Nick-H · Sep 14th, 2007, 01:55

Or TT, as I call it -Tamil Tummy!

And that is very true, even for visiting Indians. A friend of mine and his wife were hospitalised for drinking the water in their own Chennai house. They hadn't been there for two years.

Kristine · Sep 23rd, 2007, 14:22

I lost 10 lbs in a month of living in Kathmandu and for the life of me couldn't figure out why. I did less exercise than at home since I had no gym and refused to walk anywhere because of the air pollution and insane drivers. I practically lived at the sweets shop, gorging myself daily on all the yummies, including a generus helping of rasgulla pretty much daily. And a pot of masala chai every day. I had a two-day bout of the stomach-ick, but that was it, so I didn't have dysntary of the like to thank for the weight loss.

When I came home I tried to figure out why I had lost the weight (since of course I put it right back on upon arrival). I came across an article in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry that found that black tea consumption in rats leads to decreased body weight gains because of reduced food efficiecy. So maybe the chai is to thank?

Lugubert · Sep 23rd, 2007, 15:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kristine

I lost 10 lbs in a month of living in Kathmandu
<snip>
When I came home I tried to figure out why I had lost the weight (since of course I put it right back on upon arrival). I came across an article in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry that found that black tea consumption in rats leads to decreased body weight gains because of reduced food efficiecy. So maybe the chai is to thank?

I regularily drink more than 2 litres of (black) tea per day. Still, I regained the Indian loss in no time at home.

Maybe we should try to relate weight losses to altitude? I don't remember nor have time to check previous pages from that aspect, but next time, I'll use the curb scales offered mome extensively and do the statistics.

Nick-H · Sep 23rd, 2007, 15:55

Quote:

black tea consumption in rats leads to decreased body weight gains because of reduced food efficiecy.

But drinking your tea out of rats, for most people, would be too high a price to pay

OTOH, the market for slimming treatments and diets is such a loony one that you might be on to a killer get-rich idea here! I look forward to your first series of books. But I won't be trying it myself

04274108 · Sep 23rd, 2007, 19:26

Great thread and one that confounds me reading the responses. When we went, both Mrs. 04274108 and I put on about 5-7 kg in spite of sickness, being very active etc. We thoroughly enjoyed the new foods and bevvies without consideration of the consequences.

A few months after returning home from India, we went to Paris for a couple of weeks and were quite active, never sick but eating a lot of sweets, breads, cheese etc. We actually lost a few kilograms on that trip. I'd like to think it was because of all the yummy wines we consumed.

Body is a very smart machine that can easily outsmart the most analytical brain.

ebby · Mar 15th, 2008, 12:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick-H

I still don't find the food nearly as appetising as a plateful of roast lamb, roast potatoes and veg in a London caf.

On top of some other stuff, I've just had to get my doc to give me an appetite stimulant!

Yes, I loose weight.

I've just acquired an electric oven. Don't see many sheep around here, but I'm going to have a go at an English-style roast chicken soon.

But what's the betting that it won't turn out quite the same?

Nick when you have the time please tell us how to make an English - style roast chicken / lamb

NeeliAankhen · Mar 16th, 2008, 01:42

I lost 6 pounds on a 3-week trip. I am pretty sure it was just the result of one bout of food poisoning (a couple of bites of something called a pizza, but which had been sitting on a shelf and which I think had mayonnaise in it, it didn't taste like a pizza, I didn't like it and didn't finish it). I was truly sick for 24 hours and then didn't feel like eating much except rice, bananas or yogurt for several more days and had less energy than usual, though didn't have to stay in room all the time.

Because otherwise I ate as much as usual I'd say, and more bread (Indian) than usual, and got less exercise, I am not used to riding around in cars so much since where I live I walk everywhere and even go to a gym a few times a week.

the opoponax · Mar 16th, 2008, 01:55

According to friends, I look like I've lost about 20 lbs.

I don't own a scale and didn't weigh myself before I left, so I can't really be sure. Though a lot of my clothes fit a little looser than last time I put them on back in January.

I have no idea how I could have lost so much weight. I ate everything in sight and had to give up most foods currently thought to aid weight-loss (salads, sandwiches full of fresh vegetables, whole grains, a lot of fruits, etc). I guess I did a lot of walking around, and there were plenty of days I was having such a good time exploring that I forgot to eat lunch, or had lunch at 5:30 and then never got around to dinner. Just getting away from my sedentary desk job probably helped.

But 20 lbs???? Wow. I didn't even get sick.

kristinm · Mar 16th, 2008, 04:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by brownboy66

yep - I got the same message too (from people overseas). Likewise when I arrived - everyone was saying the exact opposite. Not hard to work out why though. The food is soooooooooo good! Back home as a student - I would occasionally make the odd potatoe sandwich or chip buttie. Who would have thought there was a country that actually baked it into the bread! What a fantastic idea....

Aloooooooo!!!!! I had actually managed to eliminate potato from my diet before we went to India, now I think about it all the time!

We all gained weight.. we just ate and ate and even though we walked miles every day. We were not used to the high carb content so I think all the bread/aloo/rice stacked it on - plus - despite eating EVERYTHING we saw that was freshly cooked we didn't get sick for longer than a few hours. When you love food and you're in a country that loves food you can't help but put on weight - All those sugary sugary chais didn't help I'm sure -

Sep 13th, 2007, 13:47	#31
Diana Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Washington State & Kerala Posts: 246	Let's see, I lost about 5 lbs a month for 3 months and I think in my case it was that the food, though plentiful, was a lot richer in veggies and not so much of the processed junk I tend to get busy and eat at home. I also was a bit more active but not a lot. And I was only sick two days, but that was a flu that everyone, native or foreign got, not a "travelers" illness. I've been home about a month now. Miss Indian food a lot. Have gained 3 lbs back. __________________ “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” - Rabindranath Tagore

Sep 13th, 2007, 13:58	#33
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 24,654	Brie! Ahhhh.... And just think how good it would be if left out in a warm Chennai room for a week. Camambert, of course, would be even better... (I always treat the 'best before' date on these soft (and potentially smelly) cheeses as a 'best after' date! Malkers... next time, find yourself an ayurvedic resort with a steam bath: spending days in one would probably have the same result, but would be marginally more fun!!!! __________________ . Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

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Sep 13th, 2007, 21:17	#35
Lugubert Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Sweden Posts: 287	First time, intestinal infection and/or infestation. Probably because I relied on the filter at the pale I was staying. Lost some 7 kgs. Second time, healthy. But walking extensively in Himalayan cities and having difficulties in finding food to my liking (and I thought I liked spicy Indian food before going there the first time), I again lost some 7 kgs. In both cases, I regained my pre-travel weight in a fairly short time. On the second time, my young travel partner unhesitatingly tried everything in sight, including sugar cane juice. No problems whatsoever for her. She did succeed in making me somewhat more daring, like the not-even-a-hole-in-the-wall place in Ghum where I paused after walking from Darjeeling, to have a couple of momos and a glass of chai before continuing to the monastery.

Sep 14th, 2007, 01:52	#36
crvlvr Guru Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Hollywood Posts: 4,329	I think your chances of falling sick with the DB (or BB as Malkers calls it) is directly proportionate to the number of years you have been away from India.

Sep 14th, 2007, 01:55	#37
Nick-H Loud-mouthed, Noisy Bird Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Chennai, India Posts: 24,654	Or TT, as I call it -Tamil Tummy! And that is very true, even for visiting Indians. A friend of mine and his wife were hospitalised for drinking the water in their own Chennai house. They hadn't been there for two years.

Sep 23rd, 2007, 14:22	#38
Kristine Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 3	I lost 10 lbs in a month of living in Kathmandu and for the life of me couldn't figure out why. I did less exercise than at home since I had no gym and refused to walk anywhere because of the air pollution and insane drivers. I practically lived at the sweets shop, gorging myself daily on all the yummies, including a generus helping of rasgulla pretty much daily. And a pot of masala chai every day. I had a two-day bout of the stomach-ick, but that was it, so I didn't have dysntary of the like to thank for the weight loss. When I came home I tried to figure out why I had lost the weight (since of course I put it right back on upon arrival). I came across an article in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry that found that black tea consumption in rats leads to decreased body weight gains because of reduced food efficiecy. So maybe the chai is to thank?

Sep 23rd, 2007, 19:26	#41
04274108 Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Earth Posts: 286	Great thread and one that confounds me reading the responses. When we went, both Mrs. 04274108 and I put on about 5-7 kg in spite of sickness, being very active etc. We thoroughly enjoyed the new foods and bevvies without consideration of the consequences. A few months after returning home from India, we went to Paris for a couple of weeks and were quite active, never sick but eating a lot of sweets, breads, cheese etc. We actually lost a few kilograms on that trip. I'd like to think it was because of all the yummy wines we consumed. Body is a very smart machine that can easily outsmart the most analytical brain.

Mar 16th, 2008, 01:42	#43
NeeliAankhen Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: New York, NY USA Posts: 268	I lost 6 pounds on a 3-week trip. I am pretty sure it was just the result of one bout of food poisoning (a couple of bites of something called a pizza, but which had been sitting on a shelf and which I think had mayonnaise in it, it didn't taste like a pizza, I didn't like it and didn't finish it). I was truly sick for 24 hours and then didn't feel like eating much except rice, bananas or yogurt for several more days and had less energy than usual, though didn't have to stay in room all the time. Because otherwise I ate as much as usual I'd say, and more bread (Indian) than usual, and got less exercise, I am not used to riding around in cars so much since where I live I walk everywhere and even go to a gym a few times a week.

Mar 16th, 2008, 01:55	#44
the opoponax Maha Guru Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Brooklyn, via New Orleans Posts: 1,054	According to friends, I look like I've lost about 20 lbs. I don't own a scale and didn't weigh myself before I left, so I can't really be sure. Though a lot of my clothes fit a little looser than last time I put them on back in January. I have no idea how I could have lost so much weight. I ate everything in sight and had to give up most foods currently thought to aid weight-loss (salads, sandwiches full of fresh vegetables, whole grains, a lot of fruits, etc). I guess I did a lot of walking around, and there were plenty of days I was having such a good time exploring that I forgot to eat lunch, or had lunch at 5:30 and then never got around to dinner. Just getting away from my sedentary desk job probably helped. But 20 lbs???? Wow. I didn't even get sick.

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