Do you try to stay healthy while living in Thailand?

[Berkshire]

I do believe that exercise, diet, and controlling your alcohol intake are key. If people aren't concerned about living longer, they should at least be concerned about their quality of life with the years they have left. I personally don't care if I die at 80 or 100, so long as them are good years.

I read somewhere (sports and exercise forum) that by exercising regularly, you can extend your life by as much as 3 years.

Hardly seemed worth the effort.

More worried about the quality of life if i compare my dad who bikes a lot with his non exercise friends its clear who i want to be. They look worse and move slow like everything hurts. Dad still has his energy and quite some leg muscles.

I do find that guys who don't want/like to exercise rationalize all kinds of reasons to support their "belief."

[DisparateDan]

I Yo-Yo, sometimes I'm doing triathlons and living on veggies and water, lasts about 4 months, then I pig out for another few months until I become disgusted with my appearance,then repeat the cycle.

[SoiBiker]

Does yoyoing burn many calories? I guess it gives your wrist a workout.

[h90]

road bike can be done during the day....you get hot to the heat (or fall dead from it) both cases problem fixed

I must be doing something right I am now 78 and feel wonderful. Maybe my 26 year old g/f contributes something to my health

Give me control of a nations money supply and I care not who makes its laws.

Mayer Rothschild

Private Banker

But I would start to have open eyes for a new one....in 4 years she is 30 and what would your friends think of you if you walk around with such old women?

I like your Rothschild quote...

[h90]

I'm 56, and have lived in Thailand for nearly two years, and find it much harder to fit here compared to my home land (Australia). It's mainly the constant heat, constant eating and constant drinking in Thailand. On the plus side, a lot of the junk food I enjoyed in Australia, such as Cadbury chocolate, Twisties, hamburgers/souvlakis etc, is simply not available out where I live. Overall I think my dietary intake of carbs and fats etc probably balances out.

I mainly do cycling, about 30 - 60 kilometres every few days. Plus we have about 5 rai and there is about 2 hours work per day to maintain that. But I sometimes wrestle about the economics. Should I labour and sweat for 5 hours in the sun cutting bamboo when I can pay a Thai guy 300 Baht to finish the job? In Australia we are used to doing everything ourselves because hiring labour is too expensive. That's not the case in Thailand. Still, I like to do the work myself and keep on top of things.

Well here almost the opposite.....we almost only cook ourself...so often just 1-2 meals per day because too lazy. Both my wife and myself just don't like the food bought and often get some minor problems from it, either from the MSG or I guess more from the palm oil.

Cadbury, Twisties, hamburger are available everywhere in Thailand.....I use the Cadbury always to catch rats

30-60 Cycling per day sure helps.....that is a big dish full of junk food that you burn

[Stevemercer]

I'm 56, and have lived in Thailand for nearly two years, and find it much harder to fit here compared to my home land (Australia). It's mainly the constant heat, constant eating and constant drinking in Thailand. On the plus side, a lot of the junk food I enjoyed in Australia, such as Cadbury chocolate, Twisties, hamburgers/souvlakis etc, is simply not available out where I live. Overall I think my dietary intake of carbs and fats etc probably balances out.

I mainly do cycling, about 30 - 60 kilometres every few days. Plus we have about 5 rai and there is about 2 hours work per day to maintain that. But I sometimes wrestle about the economics. Should I labour and sweat for 5 hours in the sun cutting bamboo when I can pay a Thai guy 300 Baht to finish the job? In Australia we are used to doing everything ourselves because hiring labour is too expensive. That's not the case in Thailand. Still, I like to do the work myself and keep on top of things.

Well here almost the opposite.....we almost only cook ourself...so often just 1-2 meals per day because too lazy. Both my wife and myself just don't like the food bought and often get some minor problems from it, either from the MSG or I guess more from the palm oil.

Cadbury, Twisties, hamburger are available everywhere in Thailand.....I use the Cadbury always to catch rats

30-60 Cycling per day sure helps.....that is a big dish full of junk food that you burn

I should clarify about my favourite junk foods. The Cadbury chocolate in Thailand uses palm oil and doesn't taste like the stuff in Australia. My wife keeps insisting you can buy Twisties, but it is just a rip-off and, again, nothing like the real thing. You can certainly buy hamburgers, but they aren't the plate sized, 6 inch tall, 6 inch diameter slabs I think of as hamburgers. Anyway, I'm happy to be off all that junk food. From my perspective, Thai food is way healthier than my previous diet. It's just the constant eating that is a health hazard for a Westerner like me. I think my wife's metabolism must be at least three times as fast as mine for her to stay thin on the amount of food she eats.

[BigT73]

Live out in the sticks away from the bars......health improves tenfold.

Oh.....I forgot to mention, live in a house on 10 rai....you don't need to exercise....just looking after the backyard will take care of that.

I live in rural Thailand and I spend an hour or so most early mornings hacking down the scrub and grass/palm grass on 2 rai. If I get bored with that I then do the same for my friend and neighbour who has no husband to do it for her. The alternative is to prune/hack/trim the trees back and there are a few of those to do as well.

That is how I spend at least 2 hours each day, sometimes up to 6 hours, cutting grass and trees, looking after next doors extended garden, an old woman lives there sans family, I also cycle in the late afternoons. I really enjoy working in the heat, and working outdoors, having worked In An office for over 40 years. I am teetotal and a non-smoker. I take a pride in making sure my immediate surroundings are as neat and tidy as they can be, I just wish the grass would stop growing quite so fast.

Try watering the grass with vodka, it will come up half cut.

Dunno bout that one, it could be russian to grow...

[robblok]

I'm 56, and have lived in Thailand for nearly two years, and find it much harder to fit here compared to my home land (Australia). It's mainly the constant heat, constant eating and constant drinking in Thailand. On the plus side, a lot of the junk food I enjoyed in Australia, such as Cadbury chocolate, Twisties, hamburgers/souvlakis etc, is simply not available out where I live. Overall I think my dietary intake of carbs and fats etc probably balances out.

I mainly do cycling, about 30 - 60 kilometres every few days. Plus we have about 5 rai and there is about 2 hours work per day to maintain that. But I sometimes wrestle about the economics. Should I labour and sweat for 5 hours in the sun cutting bamboo when I can pay a Thai guy 300 Baht to finish the job? In Australia we are used to doing everything ourselves because hiring labour is too expensive. That's not the case in Thailand. Still, I like to do the work myself and keep on top of things.

Well here almost the opposite.....we almost only cook ourself...so often just 1-2 meals per day because too lazy. Both my wife and myself just don't like the food bought and often get some minor problems from it, either from the MSG or I guess more from the palm oil.

Cadbury, Twisties, hamburger are available everywhere in Thailand.....I use the Cadbury always to catch rats

30-60 Cycling per day sure helps.....that is a big dish full of junk food that you burn

I should clarify about my favourite junk foods. The Cadbury chocolate in Thailand uses palm oil and doesn't taste like the stuff in Australia. My wife keeps insisting you can buy Twisties, but it is just a rip-off and, again, nothing like the real thing. You can certainly buy hamburgers, but they aren't the plate sized, 6 inch tall, 6 inch diameter slabs I think of as hamburgers. Anyway, I'm happy to be off all that junk food. From my perspective, Thai food is way healthier than my previous diet. It's just the constant eating that is a health hazard for a Westerner like me. I think my wife's metabolism must be at least three times as fast as mine for her to stay thin on the amount of food she eats.

She probably eats more veggies and drinks less beer. No insult intended but the metabolism differences are maximal 20 percent between extremes. Its usually drinks and portion size that does it.

[h90]

I'm 56, and have lived in Thailand for nearly two years, and find it much harder to fit here compared to my home land (Australia). It's mainly the constant heat, constant eating and constant drinking in Thailand. On the plus side, a lot of the junk food I enjoyed in Australia, such as Cadbury chocolate, Twisties, hamburgers/souvlakis etc, is simply not available out where I live. Overall I think my dietary intake of carbs and fats etc probably balances out.

I mainly do cycling, about 30 - 60 kilometres every few days. Plus we have about 5 rai and there is about 2 hours work per day to maintain that. But I sometimes wrestle about the economics. Should I labour and sweat for 5 hours in the sun cutting bamboo when I can pay a Thai guy 300 Baht to finish the job? In Australia we are used to doing everything ourselves because hiring labour is too expensive. That's not the case in Thailand. Still, I like to do the work myself and keep on top of things.

Well here almost the opposite.....we almost only cook ourself...so often just 1-2 meals per day because too lazy. Both my wife and myself just don't like the food bought and often get some minor problems from it, either from the MSG or I guess more from the palm oil.

Cadbury, Twisties, hamburger are available everywhere in Thailand.....I use the Cadbury always to catch rats

30-60 Cycling per day sure helps.....that is a big dish full of junk food that you burn

I should clarify about my favourite junk foods. The Cadbury chocolate in Thailand uses palm oil and doesn't taste like the stuff in Australia. My wife keeps insisting you can buy Twisties, but it is just a rip-off and, again, nothing like the real thing. You can certainly buy hamburgers, but they aren't the plate sized, 6 inch tall, 6 inch diameter slabs I think of as hamburgers. Anyway, I'm happy to be off all that junk food. From my perspective, Thai food is way healthier than my previous diet. It's just the constant eating that is a health hazard for a Westerner like me. I think my wife's metabolism must be at least three times as fast as mine for her to stay thin on the amount of food she eats.

Cadbury: palm oil? I always regarded that brand! If there is Palm Oil in the chocolate it isn't chocolate......that is rubbish....

Burgers I thought of McDonalds, etc....If a burger is made with care it isn't bad food.

My wife eats twice a day and often something like Som Tham which can't have much kcal...So I often ask myself how something warm blooded can life from such little food. (Trick is sometimes the ice coffee with a lot sugar and fat or that green sweet liquid) and she gets fat.....

[louse1953]

Thai food is NOT healthy(as others have said). When I arrived in Thailand 7 years ago I was slightly overweight and both a non-drinker and non-smoker. I gained a lot of weight over about 5 years and had a big gut eating only Thai food, no desserts, no sugar drinks etc. I lost 28 kilos in the last 6 months by eating zero Thai food. I made kale shakes with protein, carrot, beetroot and ginger, I ate boiled eggs, lean chicken or tuna fish and an apple with every meal for carbs...a handfull of almonds for a snack when really hungry in between meals. I went from 118 kg. to my current 87 kg. in about 5-6 months.

Thai food is terrible. The noodles are are not a healthy carb. If you want a healthy carb eat oatmeal for breakfast and brown rice with other meals. They put sugar, MSG and salt in everything they cook and they use very unhealthy oil for cooking, as others have said. Also, they put very little good protein in their food; the meat servings are too small and very poor quality. If I order cow man gai on the street I get a big plate of white rice which is devoid of all nutrients with a few tiny slivers of chicken on the plate with fat and skin making up 50% of the chicken. It's not the right balanced diet at all. You never really get the right amount of protein when dining out, mostly empty calories from white rice.

I'm so healthy now that when I occasionally eat out, if there is MSG in the food my body reacts violently every time. I get an instant headache and heart palpitations when I eat their crap food. What does that say about all the people who are eating that stuff every day and slowly poisoning themselves? It's not until you step back and get healthy that you realize how badly that bad food affects your health.

For me it started when I decided I didn't want to be another fat farang waddling down the street with a Thai wife half my age. So I started to educate myself on what is a healthy diet and how to exercise properly. Now I am a slim, handsome man walking down the street with a Thai wife half my age.

Thai food cooked at home is the best.If you can't manage it,get the half your age to pull the finger out.

[billd766]

I have just had a 5 day mini break and while I was away the grass and scrub went into overtime and grew like crazy.

This morning it was back to the brush cutter for an hour or so.

Nice and cool at 22C though.

I take my blood pressure every day and on the days that I don't do any work it is higher than the days I do work.

Edited November 23, 2015 by billd766

[DisparateDan]

Judging by all the whales I see in the MRT, it is doubtful.

I weigh 7kg more than I did thirty years ago. I'm way too soft though. Walk 2-6km a day, Bangkok heat.

Obesity is just sloth. Obesity causes obesity.

When I hear someone is fat because of illness or meds, I still think they take no exercise and eat poorly.

Sugar, carbs and processed foods are killers.

Thais are becoming much heavier but it can still be asked, why are they slim and you fat? Diet primarily.

Single people eat poorly.

Fat people have no business drinking beer. Beer belly so disgusting and dangerous. All that fat pressing on your organs. But hey, bet you knock em dead in the gogo you handsum man.

No fat inmates in the concentration camps.

[cornishcarlos]

Judging by all the whales I see in the MRT, it is doubtful.

I weigh 7kg more than I did thirty years ago. I'm way too soft though. Walk 2-6km a day, Bangkok heat.

Obesity is just sloth. Obesity causes obesity.

When I hear someone is fat because of illness or meds, I still think they take no exercise and eat poorly.

Sugar, carbs and processed foods are killers.

Thais are becoming much heavier but it can still be asked, why are they slim and you fat? Diet primarily.

Single people eat poorly.

Fat people have no business drinking beer. Beer belly so disgusting and dangerous. All that fat pressing on your organs. But hey, bet you knock em dead in the gogo you handsum man.

No fat inmates in the concentration camps.

What ?

[JoopJoop]

Swam 1250m in 30mins yesterday.

Will swim 1500m tomorrow.

My wife loves my bod as I do hers. She's a former swimsuit model so body wise, we are supremely matched.

It's in ones interests to maintain health and activity.

The lovely lithe girls here are not attracted to sweating, heaving masses of white meat no matter what spin you put on it.

Edited November 25, 2015 by JoopJoop

[DisparateDan]

Swam 1250m in 30mins yesterday.

Will swim 1500m tomorrow.

My wife loves my bod as I do hers. She's a former swimsuit model so body wise, we are supremely matched.

It's in ones interests to maintain health and activity.

The lovely lithe girls here are not attracted to sweating, heaving masses of white meat no matter what spin you put on it.

Pix please.

I saw quite a corpulent guy swim the length and back of the Baan Ampur beach on Sunday., the return was against strong wind and waves.

He had, (to my mind), a quite clumsy inefficient stroke but clearly a strong guy and no youngster. Made me very envious as the walk along the footpath nearly did me in.

[Radar501]

Most smallish towns in Thailand have outdoor aerobic fitness classes at sun-up and sun-down. Participation is usually a nominal five baht donation or FREE.

It is an excellent way to keep fit, and the eye-candy should keep you motivated.

[simon43]

Most smallish towns in Thailand have outdoor aerobic fitness classes at sun-up and sun-down. Participation is usually a nominal five baht donation or FREE.

It is an excellent way to keep fit, and the eye-candy should keep you motivated.

Ah yes. I recall taking part in those aerobics classes on the river bank at Nong Khai. many years ago.

The class was populated by 'mature' women, so I was the eye-candy

[mcfish]

Most smallish towns in Thailand have outdoor aerobic fitness classes at sun-up and sun-down. Participation is usually a nominal five baht donation or FREE.

It is an excellent way to keep fit, and the eye-candy should keep you motivated.

Ah yes. I recall taking part in those aerobics classes on the river bank at Nong Khai. many years ago.

The class was populated by 'mature' women, so I was the eye-candy

Thats what I was thinking, if your young and hot your more likley to be doing a very different type of aerobics in Pattaya

[JoopJoop]

Swam 1250m in 30mins yesterday.

Will swim 1500m tomorrow.

My wife loves my bod as I do hers. She's a former swimsuit model so body wise, we are supremely matched.

It's in ones interests to maintain health and activity.

The lovely lithe girls here are not attracted to sweating, heaving masses of white meat no matter what spin you put on it.

Pix please.

I saw quite a corpulent guy swim the length and back of the Baan Ampur beach on Sunday., the return was against strong wind and waves.

He had, (to my mind), a quite clumsy inefficient stroke but clearly a strong guy and no youngster. Made me very envious as the walk along the footpath nearly did me in.

Sorry dude, it's a 50m city pool for me and I'm the only western member.

It's a little sad actually; for all the white fellas getting about, I don't see any in shape.

Annual membership: 130B.

Pool use: 15B.

I also have the use of 2 free gyms.

People here don't have excuses for not maintaining fitness. Large universities nearby with many active girls and lads is far better than plonking ones fat arse in a go-go bar choosing to bar fine that little, lithe Issan girl dressed up in a Uni outfit. She ain't the real deal.

Most dudes in this country don't "have it".

No Thai girl wants a sweating, heaving piece of white meat, so it's in ones interests to get fit. No pic I'm sorry mate.

[rogeroc]

No Thai girl wants a sweating, heaving piece of white meat, so it's in ones interests to get fit. No pic I'm sorry mate.

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I guess they are quite happy with the 2000 baht though !

Seems to me that Expats here often either take the extreme drinking route or extreme exercise route. Perhaps moderation in both should be the goal. If you are not working here in Thailand then of course it is not difficult to exercise, we have all the time in the world ! Why do so many feel the need to tell of their own personal achievements and talk in superior tone ??

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[SoiBiker]

I do the exercise so that I can do the drinking. I don't like running, but I do like beer and food.

[JoopJoop]

No Thai girl wants a sweating, heaving piece of white meat, so it's in ones interests to get fit. No pic I'm sorry mate.

• Like This

I guess they are quite happy with the 2000 baht though !

Seems to me that Expats here often either take the extreme drinking route or extreme exercise route. Perhaps moderation in both should be the goal. If you are not working here in Thailand then of course it is not difficult to exercise, we have all the time in the world ! Why do so many feel the need to tell of their own personal achievements and talk in superior tone ??

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Irrespective of whether you work or not is no excuse for not exercising.

Personally I am not in the extreme.

Swimming 5-6kms a week is the norm.

5-6 Leo longnecks a week minimum with a bottle of red and whiskey; cigs to go with it (although I'm trying to kick this habit).

"personal achievements and talk in superior tone ??" I wouldn't say I was writing in a superior way but in answer to your question;

I'm 6'1", 92kgs, naturally ripped and strongly built. I've played 3 sports competitively at a high level when younger, skydive and low alt currently. In all honestly, even as a 43 year old, I very rarely see anyone in my shape regardless of age, and that's anywhere in the world. You think my thoughts are that of someone superior? U bet I am mate, especially when I see all the heaving white meat getting around Thailand.

Re your first point about a girl being happy getting 2000B.....you need to have a little think about that one. I don't pay, never have, and never will; my girl is a savvy, level headed hottie who also likes to exercise.

1750m swum late today and feeling tip top.

1/2 way through a Leo and outside for a cig directly.

Yes, all in moderation.

Edited November 26, 2015 by JoopJoop

[rogeroc]

I was not talking about any particular individual, but my i am impressed !!!