Hello...

I'm new in Thailand, don't speak any Thai yet, and am trying to lose the 10 pounds I gained since moving here six weeks ago!! Now I am working on eating healthier. I see some of you folks calling "Yums" healthy but I don't know what a Yum is. Is this what people call Sum Tum, papaya salad, etc? Thanks...

Mavec

Hi Mavec,

I am no expert on Thai food, but as far as I understand "yum" is a kind of spicy and sour sauce. It is indeed also in the spicy papaya salad som tam, and of course in the dishes as indicated in the names e.g. the famous shrimp soup tom yum kung or pomelo salad yum som-o.

However, if you seriously have gained 10 pounds in 6 weeks, this is probably not only about what you eat, it's about how much you eat. Have you considered changing your eating behaviour?

;-)

Best,

G.

Yum is a salad - usually a hot and spicy salad whereas a Larb is also a salad but not so hot and spicy . I love Larb but am wary of Yums yum=ยำ

You may also need to cut back on your Coca Cola and beer drinking if you've been drinking more of that since you have been there. That will put the pounds on quick and just dieting will not help that.

I don't know what the hell is Yum, perhaps it some sort of Thai food, but if you mean YAM then it is a sweet potatoe. They are somewhat healthier than the regular potatoes (not stuffed with bakon, butter and sour cream!) and WAY healthier than the white rice. The problem with white rice is it's a refined carbohydrate so your body process it quite fast by giving you an insuline shot so you get a boost of energy followed by the loss of it, that when you usually want to take a nap sometime after the meal. With complex carbs (potatoes, yams, green veggies), they take a while to digest therefore the energy from them lasts a while.

I am guessing the your problem is not that much what you eat, but how much you eat and what you drink. All the sugary drinks will give you nothing but fat (sugar is pure refined carb, full of calories but with zero nutritional value). Alcohol is also full of calories so one of the most expats favorites is wiskey & coke which is double bad!

If you drink, don't mix it with sugar (any soft drinks or juice). Clean up your diet - watch how much you eat and stay away from the refined carbohydrates, take more protein with your meals and cut back on carbs. Also wouldn't hurt start going to gym.

Hope it helps.