Weight Loss/ Gain After Moving to Qatar

Just want to add about getting fresh and high quality food stuff. Some people say might be challenging. Not true. It is only a question of the cost! As I have said, avoid Megamart with it's artificial ogm and hormones packed American food. Shop at Monoprix, you are well placed in WB for that. You can even go organic if you have a bujet for it. You can even go local! There is a vegetable market not really far from west bay! The meat is fantastic in Qatar (except paultry). Everything depends on your priority.

Hi, welcome to Doha! I want to share my experience with you, hope it will be incouraging! We moved to Doha from Scotland in November, 2012 and spent nearly 2 years there (now in Dubai). Soon after fining shools and accommodation I started to enjoy Qatar, Its lively climate and social and cultural richness. Honestly, I was not comfy with my extra few kilos taken during cold Scottish winters and summers. There in UK you can hide yours extras under your kilted jackets. Here in the middle east it is a pleasure to live in the "beau Monde" :) I had a shared gym in my compound, the pool and all the modern means to lose weight. I'm addicted to Hello magazine. Due to it I discovered juicing. In Doha there is at least one company that delivers fresh juices to your door. It worked perfectly well for me. In 6 weeks time I lost my extra 6 kg and never got them back! My way of life was active, we enjoyed wild beaches as well as fancy brunches at 5 stars :) personally for me it sounds nonsense when I here about extra kilos taken in Doha. Don't look for an excuse :) you have all the necessary to be fit and shaped there! The right fresh food as well (prefer Miniprix for your food shopping for the real quality food). And, please, let's say the truth! Size 20 can't look nice and it is not good for the health to carry this extra weight! Good luck!!!!

Congratulations! I've lost 13kg since coming here and am getting lean and building nice muscles. For me, weight loss simply means calories in vs calories out, which in return means I have to weight everything with a food scale (including the creamer in coffee and cooking fat) and count the calories. I'm easily and slowly getting there with a minimal deficit and without missing anything or feeling hungry. Sport for me is only a means to get fit, as the calorie burn is negligible. For example, 1km fast-ish breast stroke (under 24 minutes) only burns about 160kcal in my case, weight training just a bit more for half an hour of actual working out, and another half hour for resting between sets and warmup/stretching. edited by Romana on 15/01/2015 <em>edited by Romana on 15/01/2015</em>

Not related to weight but like me you may find you have a UK (holiday )wardrobe and a separate one for clothes worn in Qatar. I wear looser, modest but more colourful clothes in Doha and keep fitted ,black items and warmer things for trips back. I hardly ever wear heels to work which I was never without in London. Of course you are free to wear what you like on your own home and visting friends but it's easier to adopt a "modern islamic "style elsewhere.

Hi 2nd_Opossum In addition to the above, I will also suggest to seek opinion regarding the knee pain before moving to Doha. Vitamin D deficiency is a global problem now but a high proportion of population is now on Vit D supplements in the UK so you may also wish to get your vitamin D levels checked.

Don't be TOO put off by all that! There's a great sports facility at Aspire, that you can join fairly cheaply, and do 2 or 3 things every day if you want (at least, that used to be the case when I belonged 4 years ago). Aspire Park is wonderful in these cooler months for walking and jogging around on other mornings, and there's plenty of Yoga, Salsa, Pilates etc too at places like Garveys, Fitness First. Feeling hot may mean that you eat less, but then your body swells a bit to help with the cooling process I've found, so looser clothing - and possibly a size larger - is a good idea at first. I have found the food here OK - it costs more in the supermarkets, but then usually you earn more. And what you don't eat in the restaurants you take home in a doggie-bag for the next day's lunch! You'll be fine ...

I am afraid I totally agree with Ali 68. I put on 10 kgs in 2 years and I attended aerobic classes 3 times a week. The main entertainment is going out to dinner and you will do heaps of it, try avoid the Friday brunches as they are expensive and you will tend to overeat. Local food tends to be quite fatty, and there is a lot of hidden sugars in the food, especially the bread which accompanies most meals. The quality of fresh food and veg is not great. I loved living in Doha but my biggest hate (after driving) was cooking.

Katya Hi and welcome (almost) to Qatar. There is a tendency for new expats to the region to gain weight (often quite a bit) when they first arrive (we Aussies call it the Doha 10 because we use kilos). It's for a variety of reasons but they mostly appear to be things like boredom, new foods, boozy brunches, lack of exercise facilities, stress and frustration (this is not always an easy place to live). Many of the spouses work a lot of hours and there are only so many times you can trawl the malls so finding a good social network is an advantage though then you tend to meet for coffee/cake/lunch. Outside exercise options are not particularly plentiful in Doha, especially if you don't want to drive to them. The corniche is nice for walking when the weather is good but other than that it's not that pleasant to walk most places in the city as there is busy traffic, not great footpaths, spit all over the ground and hordes of staring construction workers. Don't kid yourself that warm weather will put you off eating as the buildings are mostly airconditioned so cold that you have to take a jumper into the malls. Those machines in the gym may need to become your best friend and maybe if you get a personal trainer to get you started then they can do you a program. You are right that you should be making the changes for your health and having knee pain is not a good sign in someone so young so maybe Doha can be the new start for you, a time to focus on yourself while you're not working. Getting good fresh produce is sometimes a challenge but you will have monoprix close by and I hear they have good produce. If you think that you will be fine during the day (though remember that you will be at home and able to pick rather than just having a packed lunch at work) then why don't you look at some strategies to help break your other bad habits. Make a pact with your hubby to get his support, only eat your meals sitting at the dining table (and light the candles), spend your time planning healthy meals, don't buy the sweets and biscuits that you know will be your downfall later, ban eating on the couch (TV here is not that great anyway lol), go for a walk in the evening with your hubby after dinner, brush your teeth when you finish eating and then don't eat anything else. Jeez, I do realise that I sound terribly preachy here but believe me, we've all been here, done that. You obviously already know what a self destructive spiral yoyo dieting is and you are very right that it needs to be a whole shift. Just remain realistic that Doha is not a bunch of roses and if you truly want to banish the demons (and the unhealthy weight) then you are going to have to put in a very determined effort. I'd pack the small clothes and make them your target.:)

Hi Katya, Generally meal sizes are larger and despite living in West bay, you'll find yourself getting taxi's everywhere. In not too many words I would say pack slightly larger clothes as likelihood is you'll gain weight. In the summer it is too hot to be outside and so your only exercise is likely to be that in a gym but you are not to keen on machines, a bit like myself. There are lots of classes but it is a lot to do with doing your reserach into what your interests are. There is a Qatar stone that most people I met talk about, and it is quite easy to befriend a stone gain easily when you first move here.