YoursTruly

I had my baby in Chiang Mai last year. I picked my OB long before then and made sure I was comfortable with her. We also went over a birthing plan, which included things like if you want your husband/boyfriend in the room with you. In my experience a lot of doctors will try to push c-sections because it's less time consuming/easier from the doctors perspective, so it's good to be able to communicate with your OB about the things you want or don't want. Obviously there are times when a c-section is necessary, or some people prefer them.

As far as Chiang Mai goes- there are a lot of farangs who come here to have babies. I had a friend who was an nurse in the states be at the hospital with me. She helps out with a lot of farang births, so the doctor and nurses are familiar with her. It was really nice to have someone there who understands western medicine/culture to advocate for me. I didn't like a lot of what the nurses did- they kept trying to massage me and were ignoring a lot of my requests. At the time I wasn't too keen on speaking Thai, and later on a lot of the nurses were making fun of me, right in front of me. These things are bound to happen wherever you go though.

Overall I think I had a pretty good experience. My OB was very good and would recommend her to anyone who will be in Chiang Mai. As far as hospitals I went to Chiang Mai Ram, which was about 60k for a non c-section, including an epidural- which Heck Yes I got. The facility is comfortable and not crowded at all.

You seem to be getting a good handle of a new diet. I agree with the Peach Iced Teas- they do taste good, but it will make all your hard work for naught.

Yogurt is a really good option- but I quickly learned that a lot of yogurts sold in Thailand are packed with sugar. I buy plain yogurt- that has live cultures and zero sugar and eat it will granola- or you could even eat it with the Fitness cereal instead of milk.

Also a much healthier alternative to sugar is honey (in moderation). Make sure you don't use honey flavored stuff or honey made with fructose cornsyrup. Anything with cornsyrup is going to be a problem. Having a moderation of cheese can be healthy. It has calcium and proteins, but don't use processed cheeses. And if you are going to have a 'bread' for lunch a healthier option could be a whole wheat bagel- croissants are yummy but are made with a lot of butter!

When you are in the store try to find things that you like the natural flavor of (such as carrots, tomatoes, green beans, apples, etc) If you have a blender, a good morning or afternoon snack could be a smoothie with fruit a little honey and maybe throw in about a tablespoon of wheat germ or flax seed to give you an extra boost.

Good luck!

There really is no such thing as 'fattening' food. Every food will fatten you just the same. It primarily comes down to quantity/calories.

How did you come to that conclusion? While portion and moderation is important you cannot rely on that solely if you want to change the way your body looks. It has been proven that foods with high saturated fats, sugar and sodium affect your body in a negative way. Good proteins and produce give your body energy without clogging your arteries, which in turn will help you too eat less because your body will get the nutrients it needs and will feel satisfied. Exercise is important in becoming healthy and unless you are eating healthy and not junk food- your body won't be able to keep up and as a result you will feel tired.

Quite possibly I stand corrected- I don't have any on hand to confirm myself, but next time I go to the store I will have a look. I know it is common in stock cubes and seasoning packets as well as in chips (such as pringles) to have msg, which is bad if you are trying to lose weight.

So far I have checked the Knorr chicken, pork and vegetable stock cubes including the green "healthier" ones. All of them (written in Thai) have Monosodium Glutamate

I also am making an effort to drop a few pounds and more importantly to start eating healthier. I have lived in Thailand for a while now, and have a pretty good handle on how they prepare and cook food. In general I do not think Thai food is healthy. Grant it they use a lot of fresh produce which is a plus, but everything is cooked in either a lot of oil with lots of salt, sugar and msg or in lots of oil and coconut milk. Coconut milk is a healthier fat, but if you eat it everyday its not going to help in weight loss.

On the note of msg- I recently discovered that the seasoning mixes and Knorr products contain msg. Most people don't know this and think they are cooking msg-free and yet still use Knorr in everything.

Yum's, I think are a good alternative (be careful of the sugar). The key to having a healthy lunch is to make sure you are getting a lot of protein- which will give you energy and give you the sense of "fullness" that prevents you from overeating.

I stumbled upon this forum when I was researching ideas on how to eat healthy but cheaply in Thailand. It's easy to fall prey to the 20 Baht fried rice and fried chicken.

I've occasionally found topics here through Google and lately I found some of interest that I would like to contribute to. I've lived in Northern Thailand for about 8 years now. And am originally from the US