For most of my 57 years I have been a near constant 72 kilo's - tall and thin but offset by the fact that I am extremely handsome! During the past half dozen years that I have lived in Thailand my weight has remained a steady 72 kilo's and I had resigned myself to this as a fact of life. But last year I came to the UK for three months and my weight mushroomed to 79 kilo's and I was amazed. No obvious cause for that except a different diet and the fact that I didn't sweat in the UK. Now I'm back in the UK again for a three week holiday and my weight has started to increase substantially - I'm guessing I may hit 76 kilo's before I leave.

I'm actually happier being closer to 80 kilo's than 70 and wonder if anyone else experiences such large scale weight changes from Asia and the cooler climates of the west and if so, what do they attribute the cause to, is it food or temperature? This is a particular anomaly for me since I have never been a big eater and I reckon that my food intake volume on the current holiday is similar to what I would have eaten back in Thailand albeit the content of the food is obviously different. I have tried to gain weight previously by going on bulk diets and exercising but despite a massive intake of food have never had any success.

What is different in the content of your UK diet then - more protein, perhaps ? Not sure what you mean by "same volume", by the way -- calories/kilojoules ? Perhaps you do eat less lightly in the cooler UK climate, though you feel satisfied with the amount you eat in both places ?

Also, is your daily exercise level different - could be more sedentary in UK ?

I'm actually happier being closer to 80 kilo's than 70 and wonder if anyone else experiences such large scale weight changes from Asia

I think I can top that although you'll have to do some math to be sure (I don't do metric)

In 1975 I arrived in Thailand weighing around 225 pounds. About five months later I was 175. Fast forward to 1983 - I arrived in Korea at 230. I came home on leave six months later at 180. In both of cases it was matter of no car, lots of exercise, and better eating.

I'll be curious to see how I do once I retire in Thailand.