Okay, I am prepared to talk about what no one seems to publish in the multiple newspaper articles, websites, or films about exchange years. Weight gain.
There are a lot of factors that may cause a student to gain weight while abroad. I'll start with the most obvious- everything about food is just different and your metabolism has to get used to it. I never realized how lucky I was to have a mom that was vegetarian in the States. At home, we had meat maybe 3 times a week with a meal, and more often than not it was fish or chicken on the side. When I came to Germany, every hot meal that I consumed contained some sort of beef, pork, chicken, or all of the above (wurst). Other staples in my new daily diet include bread, potatoes, cheese, and noodles: certain carbohydrates that I ate large portions of maybe 2-3 times a week beforehand that now have to be processed through my body multiple times a day. There is also a huge factor that I realized just the other day as I was finishing my big meal for the day and looked at the clock... 15:10. I had eaten breakfast, a small lunch, and what I would consider dinner by 3:00 in the afternoon. The German diet is toast with cheese/meat for breakfast, a sandwich to pack for school with an apple and 0,5 L water bottle, a hot meal when you get home, and then another sandwich/cereal if you are hungry in the evening. Compared with my toasted waffles or to-go oatmeal, a lunch at school, and then dinner at 6:00, this is quite the change.
My exercise routine has also changed. Before, I was in a school sport year round. Whether it was cross country, cheer, or soccer, I spent 2 hours every day after school training with a team (plus more when we had games 2x a week). Without school sports or a sports team in my tiny town, I have had to get a little creative with my workouts to stay motivated. I joined a fitness studio in October when it started to get too cold out to run anymore and so far it has been going really well. I was following a training plan about 4 times a week before this past month when I discovered the joy of courses. Step, Body Pump, and Pilates are my favorite and I try to go to the gym every day after school. I even attended my first Spinning course yesterday--quick tip: don't have too high expectations of your own stamina when walking into a stationary bike course full of 50 year old Germans who probably spend their Sunday morning biking up the Schmeltztal forest or enjoy mountain bike riding as a hobby. It was HARD. But the workout was great, and I hope I can snag another spot next week. Of course, the added walking I do to get to the bus stop, store, gym, etc. without my car is also helping my body out!
Hope this post gave you all a little insight and a lot of laughs, till next time :)
Lainie
There are a lot of factors that may cause a student to gain weight while abroad. I'll start with the most obvious- everything about food is just different and your metabolism has to get used to it. I never realized how lucky I was to have a mom that was vegetarian in the States. At home, we had meat maybe 3 times a week with a meal, and more often than not it was fish or chicken on the side. When I came to Germany, every hot meal that I consumed contained some sort of beef, pork, chicken, or all of the above (wurst). Other staples in my new daily diet include bread, potatoes, cheese, and noodles: certain carbohydrates that I ate large portions of maybe 2-3 times a week beforehand that now have to be processed through my body multiple times a day. There is also a huge factor that I realized just the other day as I was finishing my big meal for the day and looked at the clock... 15:10. I had eaten breakfast, a small lunch, and what I would consider dinner by 3:00 in the afternoon. The German diet is toast with cheese/meat for breakfast, a sandwich to pack for school with an apple and 0,5 L water bottle, a hot meal when you get home, and then another sandwich/cereal if you are hungry in the evening. Compared with my toasted waffles or to-go oatmeal, a lunch at school, and then dinner at 6:00, this is quite the change.
My exercise routine has also changed. Before, I was in a school sport year round. Whether it was cross country, cheer, or soccer, I spent 2 hours every day after school training with a team (plus more when we had games 2x a week). Without school sports or a sports team in my tiny town, I have had to get a little creative with my workouts to stay motivated. I joined a fitness studio in October when it started to get too cold out to run anymore and so far it has been going really well. I was following a training plan about 4 times a week before this past month when I discovered the joy of courses. Step, Body Pump, and Pilates are my favorite and I try to go to the gym every day after school. I even attended my first Spinning course yesterday--quick tip: don't have too high expectations of your own stamina when walking into a stationary bike course full of 50 year old Germans who probably spend their Sunday morning biking up the Schmeltztal forest or enjoy mountain bike riding as a hobby. It was HARD. But the workout was great, and I hope I can snag another spot next week. Of course, the added walking I do to get to the bus stop, store, gym, etc. without my car is also helping my body out!
Hope this post gave you all a little insight and a lot of laughs, till next time :)
Lainie