Irani Classmate: Be careful while you're in America that you don't gain too much weight with all that American food!
Me: Yea, it's hard because I don't get out much and exercise much when I'm at home either...
Korean teacher: They eat bread in America, right?
Me:... Yea, I guess we do....
Korean teacher: Oh, don't eat bread! It's so bad for you!
Me: Actually, I gained over 5 kilos since I came to Korea, and I'm pretty sure it was the rice....
Korean teacher: *blink* *blink* *stare*...
They call Chinese Dumplings (包子） mandu 만두 in Korea, right? Yeah, stay away from that, It's pure grease, starch, and carbs. You know, like ...greasy food anywhere else in the world.
ReplyDeleteI will give the Koreans this, they do have very small portions of rice, and the rest of Korean food seems extremely healthy. As for Western food.. yeah, if you eat noodles and bread (ahem, Italian food), you will gain a ton of weight, though. ;)
perhaps compared to other countries the portions of rice are small, but for me it's still too much when I'm eating it two-three times a day... I could probably do with half the amount they give in one restaurant sized portion of rice, but I wind up eating it all because it's in front of me....
ReplyDeleteAll modern diets are potentially quite fattening. Remember, they developed during a time when most people did lots of physical labor (remember the portions in rural Chile?). Lots of carbs were the rule. Quick fuel.
ReplyDeleteThe real problem with the American diet? Cheez Whiz.
mmmmmmm.... cheezeeeee.....
ReplyDeleteI gained 4 kilos in my first two months home and loved every minute of it. :) I blame the American beef and texmex. *drool* I don't like white rice, or seafood, or most Asian food, so I had an easier time losing weight in Korea.
ReplyDeleteI think Koreans gain weight when they go to North America because of the life style. I gained almost half my weight when I went to Canada because the bus system wasn't well established yet and our family had to drive to get everywhere. that and the white bread (like white rice, any white processed stuff isn't good for you) and the different pastries that have butter in them contributed to my weight. On the other hand, I think in Korea, eating dinner late also contributes to your weight gain. Esp since Korean food can be quite spicy and salty, eating late can make your face/eyes swell and feel quite bloaty the day afterwards. In the US now I try to eat dinner early and I am watching any saturated fats, but when I go back to Korea my aunts and uncles try to feed me like a king at 8-9pm at night so I end up gaining weight at Korea too : (
ReplyDeleteYour korean teacher is not wrong in case of bread, it is bad for intestine. Rice is not too bad either.
ReplyDeleteCheeze and butter is what, spoils us most :)
It's funny, because when I'm in Korea, I have terrible intestinal problems, but when I'm in the West, eating all that terrible bread, my problems go away. I think the spicy food irritates my intestines much more than bread. And possibly makes me fat too, but I think everything makes me fat x_x
ReplyDelete