[UltraSearchs]

In England I wouldn't live without my bicycle, I would never dream of cycling in Bangkok though, way too dangerous, it is bad enough walking the streets, even if it weren't for the mo'cys, inept dawdlers who suddenly stop in the middle of the street to look at a mini-skirt stall or mobile phone sim card stall, or a food stall. The pavements where there is space are terrible, always at risk of twisting an ankle etc.

For exercise , in Prachin I had a pushbike and rode it everywhere and never felt at risk, now I'm back in the smoke, oh yeah not only is it too dangerous traffic wise to ride but the pollution is bad also, now I'm back in the smoke I try to use the gym between 3-5 times a week, this keeps me off the streets and wears me out enough to get a good nights sleep.

Diet wise, I've been in Thailand for 3yrs now and have recently had an epiphany. All of my life I have eaten and drank as I pleased, it pleases me not to eat too much fast-food or sweets, but I do like to eat well, and I consider a good mix of vegetables and meat, with plenty fruit and nuts to be a fairly good diet. I mix Thai food and farang food. Recently I went to the dentist who told me I needed at least one root canal, this I think is due to the increase, slyly I might add, to the intake of white sugar, it is in EVERYTHING in Thailand. Also I went to a detox camp on Koh Samui for xmas and lost over 5kgs in a week, only eating coconuts and a few supplements. I know this is not a sustainable diet but it did clean me out of a lot of c**p in my system. Subsequently I have changed my diet, I have all but given up on Thai meat, most meat to be honest as I can't be bothered to buy expensive imported stuff. I can get all the calcium and protein I need from things like nuts. I have started eating a lot more raw food which is easier for the body to assimilate. I prepare a lot more food at home and try to use Villa market or such to buy organic food.

I know this diet will not agree with everyone, there are some who can't go without their meat, but the rubbish that goes into most meat, unless you buy imported organic cuts, I mean oestrogen in chickens to increase their breast size, also increases male man-boobs.

If the amount of toxins are too high in a diet then the body tries to get rid of it quickly, if the liver and kidneys cannot handle it then it gets pushed into fat cells which accumulate around the belly. If you look at most fat people, even those that don't feel they are too fat, the fat is like a big tyre round the gut. In one week I lost this because my body once it realised I was not getting any intake started using this fat up, and all the toxins came out with it. In this way the fat has stayed off as my body is much more efficient at processing the food I put in it. As the old saying goes :You Are What You Eat"

[Baromaro]

You will notice lots of these franschises, like Dunkin Donuts, KFC, etc, located in areas far away from tourist tracks.

I guess the welfare diseases have reached Thailand as well.

[Vobomei]

Well, I could believe the 760 calories, but the 410 calories for a cheeseburger is what looked out of whack to me. I suppose it all depends on how big it was. Certainly a Whopper from BK is not 410 calories!

DogoDon

[Fvmfrctt]

I hear ya FIP. Seems there alot of web advisors on this site are from the USAA./ Why don't they speak out about so many nasty hits on america.

[Wr8dIAUk]

there is an incredible amount of junk food, and total lack of awareness. I mean back in Europe most parents try to control their children's intake of sweets etc, here, even the most educated parents, including doctors, send junk food for their kids' snack. try to find an upper-middle-class six-year-old whose milk teeth are not rotten and you'll be surprised.

[Wr8dIAUk]

as far as I see, Thais have their own junk food, some Japanese or Chinese inspired, some Thai, some farang. it's a change of lifestyle, having a little more money to spend, but no awareness on the other hand.
I don't think any cuisine is harmful or useful in itself, it's all a question of how much you eat of it, and how many calories you burn off - working in the field, walking everywhere, or sitting at a desk and driving everywhere, or somewhere in between the two extremes.

[ireleda]

No I don't think so, my wife has a daughter and she had a new bicycle and she didn't ride it, I asked why and she said the tires were flat, so I took it and had new tires and tubes put on and bought a hand pump, she let it set til those tires were flat, after about a year she gave it away.
But when she was old enough for a drivers license we bought her a Honda wave and she rode it for 2 weeks and wrecked it 2 times, we sold it and she was back to standing in front of the house til a friend would come by on their Hondas and she would catch a ride.

As for the sidewalks, as long as it is acceptable for people to backhand a few baht to the local cop and set their nasty food cart up on the sidewalks and set up a string of tables, chairs and umbrellas and open a true "Sidewalk cafe" and force pedestrians to walk in the street and compete with cars for space then it will continue to be a ride or die country as far as towns are concerned.

[MaigicyuNinia]

There absolutely Huge and loving it.

[Hervams]

Thai people are skinny and healthy right? Adapt a Thai diet and lose weight and be healthier. If there's one thing I can say for people in the States is that they understand the science behind diets better, although some may practice it well by eating healthy.

[Fvmfrctt]

What are you folks talking about? It is not about thai natural sweets. It is all about carbs. And rice is the most giving of garbs. Blood sugars rise ...sky rocketing, because of the consumption of white rice. Diabetes is rampant in thailand because of the endless consumption of white rice. The pancreatic gland cannot handle the load. Villiage folk in thailand have the disease....When will these posts and threads connect. Seems there is an endless oncoming bunch of questions, and those who want to know have to start from scratch...

[Hervams]

It's about carbs. There is so much food loaded with sugar, Thais routinely dump sugar into their noodles. The sauces are high in sugar. A lot of meats are glazed in sugar. Sticky rice needs no explanation. As for cholesterol, fat and whole eggs are used liberally.

The saving grace is that most Thais eat in small portions and spaced out several times a day (more than 3). I love Thai food because it is so tasty and so often what is really tasty is also very unhealthy.

Dogodon, the numbers seem spot on to me. It says som tam with sticky rice and grilled chicken is 760 calories for all 3. First I read it as each dish was 760 calories and I knew that was not possible unless the portions were huge.

[JennyStewarta]

I don't know about you guys, but I think in Thailand the weather is not suitable for walking or riding a bike for about 8 or 9 months a year I would definitely not want to walk with the rain pouring down, or with 40 degrees beating down on me. I can easily understand middle-class Thais got hooked on aircon, cars, avoiding outdoor activities, and convenience lifestyle.

Yes, absolutely. I think even the most determined walkers and cyclists wouldn't be able to do it every day. Mind you I was in Boston MA in February and a friend rode his bicycle in a -20F day. So people obviously tailor their ideas of what constitutes good and bad weather to their local conditions.

Even in Bangkok I've found that you can walk more than the locals do without getting dangerously hot. So I think its a matter of people extending their current boundaries, rather than adopting walking practices just like in farangland. And I think if schoolkids were forced off their motorbikes and onto bicycles they might even find that they actually like it.

[Mjyzpzph]

So true and there is also nowhere to walk. I mean pavements are quite rare and sharing space with motorbikes and cars is quite scary

And when there are pavements there is no guarantee of your safety - I was in Banglamphu coming out of a 7/11 that had a step down. With my wheelchair balanced on two rear wheels when I decide to drop down the step there is no chance to change my mind and I was narrowly missed by a motorcycle travelling on the pavement I have had the same experience in Turkiye twice before, it doesn't do good things to your heartrate.

David

[ashleyjoseph]

I don't know about you guys, but I think in Thailand the weather is not suitable for walking or riding a bike for about 8 or 9 months a year I would definitely not want to walk with the rain pouring down, or with 40 degrees beating down on me. I can easily understand middle-class Thais got hooked on aircon, cars, avoiding outdoor activities, and convenience lifestyle.

True for Thailand! I wouldn't want to walk around too much there either. But here in Switzerland I walk around a lot, almost an hour every day just going to / coming from work.
And there has been a lot of advertisement for the things Sved mentioned. There is one particularly funny poster with an evil-looking man and the text saying "you're taking the bus again instead of walking? trainer max is angry!" - and of course you find these posters mainly in buses which I find quite effective

[DrJonson]

I feel that the first obstacle to be overcome is the oriental, as opposed to Thai, perception that wealthy well to do are fat and cheerful!
The poor cannot afford to eat too much, neither can they afford to eat wholesome foods, going for cheap fillers.
Further to which I know of students living on as little as twenty baht per day.
Really do enjoy taking them out for a good lunch when I am able!

[Baromaro]

One of the first advices a doctor gives is to walk more.

Park the car or get off the bus one block from your job, dont take the elevator etc I dont think we will see that happening in Thailand for a while

[ireleda]

That is true Betti, but you left no room for the Brown nosed folks that seem to think that everything in Thailand is faireland and everything Western is evil and that everything would be cool if every westerner, except them, had stayed at home.

[ireleda]

Seems that most of the posts about how good it is here and how awful it is there and how the US has done bad stuff to Thailand come from people that are there in the states or UK at the time of posting or are connected to there.
And like the advise about living here, some have been here for a few days one time and become an expert, others have eaten Thai food in a resturant in US or UK one time a week and seem to know that cause it has some veggies in it that it is healthy.
I see some fat folks everytime I go to the market in the evenings and see them riding their Mo'cys down the village street and buying stuff for supper.
These folks have never left the village for very long at a time, maybe go to Bkk for a days business and never been in a McDonalds or Burgerking, never go into Phetch and eat at KFC and still the hang down almost drags on the ground as they ride past.
You can get fat and stay fat on a Thai diet.
I eat only a farang diet, well maybe Thai once a week, but I weigh now 65 kilo and at most 75 kilos and when in the states I eat Burger King quite often as well as Pizza at least 2 times a week.

[ireleda]

Seems like a lot of people think that everything in Thailand is perfect and the only thing wrong is done or imported by Farang and if it was not for us from the USA then everything would still be perfect and everyone would be healthy and there would be no need for them to have to lay claim to US Medicine patents and pirate them for production in Thailand.
And before we came here, everyone lived a slim healthy life and no one died before the age of 112 while chewing on deep fried pork belly fat... 555

[Baromaro]

My theory is that thai drivers only yields for objects bigger then their veichle and they drive on the wrong side on the road