Gaining weight in Buenos Aires

[perry]

I find that I tend to eat more desserts than I ever have in my life here!

Vegetables are not as fresh and easy to find nor the variety same with fresh fruit.

There are very few reduced fat items in the supermarkets. No "Healthy Choice" dinners or soups (how I miss those).

Huge greasy cuts of meat...bread with each meal. You want chicken? It's breaded and fried. Fish...breaded and fried as well. Oh and yes that does come with fries (you don't even have to ask)!

I have put on a ton of weight here!

I find that I tend to eat more desserts than I ever have in my life here!

Vegetables are not as fresh and easy to find nor the variety same with fresh fruit.

There are very few reduced fat items in the supermarkets. No "Healthy Choice" dinners or soups (how I miss those).

I also have put on a ton of weight in Argentina and am currently 18 kilos above my original weight when I entered Argentina. I honestly do not know what people are talking about when they say that the Argentinians are slim when the majority are overweight like myself and obese people are now common in Buenos Aires.

The best diet imho is the raw food diet and the people who follow this lifestyle are the picture of health and slim . I wish that I had the discipline to follow their example .

 

[perry]

Had any one else had weight issues since moving here? I find it is hard to not consume large amounts of red meat and bread. Also, the sweets here! I see people eat cookies for breakfast or of course, medialunas - but the locals all stay skinny!

Do you think it just has to do with the food you grew up on?

Which area do you live in and have you been here for more than a month? I can assure you that the Argentinians are as fat as anywhere else . Go to Once, Caballito, Belgrano, El Hipodromo, Boedo, Villa del Parque, Chacarita . There you will see the real Argentina and it is not a healthy look. In the years I have been here I have seen obesity rise enormously in Buenos Aires me included . Portenos do not eat healthy . They eat mainly junk food with a incredible penchant for soft drinks .

I do not drink soft drinks but love bread which is an addiction that I am trying to beat . When I give up wheat products I always lose 10 kilos in two months . This is the key no wheat, sugar, or processed foods .

Eat 70% raw foods and some fish, grass fed beef and free range chicken . Do not ever drink soft drinks this is a complete nono . Water is great in the bottle Try Palau they deliver excellent bottled water at 2 pesos a bottle.

 

[chris]

Yes Perry is totally right. Most expats never leave what is sometimes called the expat protection zone, the affluent Recoleta, Barrio Norte etc areas, but even there you see a lot of fat people, especially men. Life in most of BA and throughout the country is pretty much survival with limited knowledge of nutrition, little consciousness of health issues. Almost no preventive medicine. People don't do annual check ups, even few wealthy people bother from what I hear from doctors I know. Unless they are Barrio Norte types worried about aesthetics, most people only go to the dentist when there is pain. Have you ever noticed people's teeth? I know a building porter who earns 5,000 a month and has several missing front teeth. It just seems to be an attitude. By the way, Perry, whats your view of diet sodas? There seems to be mixed medical opinion with some studies showing that these drinks do not necessarily keep weight down. The amount of soda consumed in Argentina amazes me. People actually drink it in the best, most expensive restaurants and I've even been to parties where huge bottles of Coca cola and sandwiches de mig were the only things served.

 

[Ashley]

I find that the complete lack of delicious snacks (and the fact that beef fat is in 99% of all crackers/cookies, etc) steers me away from Argentine junk food. The quality of the pastry is pretty abysmal too so I'll only have the occasional doughnut or pastries from L'epi, which is too expensive to turn into a regular habit!
I don't eat meat and tend to buy whatever is "in season" at the grocers which I think massively improves my eating habits compared to when I was in the UK, especially in the Spring/summer. We're currently eating lots of broad beans, eggplant and strawberries.
That said, because of the revolting snacks here (and my sweet tooth) I will often bake a cake...which I will then consume, in its entirety within a couple of days (my poor husband rarely gets a look in). I also find that when I want a quick snack here, I'll head straight for french bread or pasta, whereas in the UK, I'd probably have a veggie burger or a nice wholewheat sandwich.

 

[eva_rgentina]

I find it hard when you're hungry and you're out and about- unprepared with no healthy snacks that is, and a sandwich of whatever nonsense you can find is just about as appetizing as it can get. Because on-the-go healthy food is NOT generally available. (I try to stick to bananas and almonds as often as possible when buying emergency snacks... but if I'm REALLY hungry...)

 

[perry]

From my experience soft drinks and especially diet soft drinks stimulate the appetite and make you eat much more . I noticed from trial and error that coffee did the same to me and now I avoid coffee as much as possible . Any drink that stimulates the adrenal glands will make you crave sweets and high carbohydrate foods .

You must be prepared in Buenos Aires and keep fruit handy, nut mixes with some raisins, sunflower seeds etc etc . These foods are filling and will satisfy your hunger.

 

[citygirl]

I eat everything and I lose weight here. But, at least for me, the key is exercising. I'm really active here and lots of people are - you see all the people at the gym and running in the parks, etc - they're all working off those alfajores, medialunas, etc.

Oh and to be honest - I'm not a dulce de leche person so 90% of the sweets I avoid here which helps as well.

But if you're gaining weight - I think the three key things to do are work out (net/net - you have to burn more calories than you consume, it's just that simple), cut out soda (or if you can't, drink diet soda) and eat smaller portions.

Personally, I LOVE meat (making up for some 30 years of not eating it before I moved here), LOVE bread and those two, along with fresh veggies are the basis of my existence here. I'll never give them up. I think giving up specific foods (unless you really just don't like it) is stupid. Diets don't work in the long run.

 

[perry]

I eat everything and I lose weight here. But, at least for me, the key is exercising. I'm really active here and lots of people are - you see all the people at the gym and running in the parks, etc - they're all working off those alfajores, medialunas, etc.

Oh and to be honest - I'm not a dulce de leche person so 90% of the sweets I avoid here which helps as well.

But if you're gaining weight - I think the three key things to do are work out (net/net - you have to burn more calories than you consume, it's just that simple), cut out soda (or if you can't, drink diet soda) and eat smaller portions.

Personally, I LOVE meat (making up for some 30 years of not eating it before I moved here), LOVE bread and those two, along with fresh veggies are the basis of my existence here. I'll never give them up. I think giving up specific foods (unless you really just don't like it) is stupid. Diets don't work in the long run.

You seem to live healthily due to your exercise that burns off all your calories . I completely disagree with diet soda and believe they are toxic and create more health problems than sugar based drinks which make you fat as well . Artifical sweeteners are incompatible with human health

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdvRfKWYnjU

 

[citygirl]

Completely agree with you Perry! If people can/are willing to give up soda - that's so much better. Soda is NOT good for you. Much better to drink water, natural juice, teas, etc.

But if one won't give it up and is trying to lose weight, one has to look at diet soda. Regular soda is filled with empty calories. A friend of mine lost 5 kilos simply by switching from regular to "light" soda.

 

[CarverFan]

In summer, the fruit is abundant and I enjoy a fruitarian diet, esp. when the watermelon comes in. Winter is another story...