Food & Fitness in the USA
Food in the USA is “good-looking”, but often not that “good-tasting”, except probably for the so-called “junk food”. That’s probably the reason why many Europeans people quickly gain weight here once they come overseas. I personally know many who’ve come just for three months for an internship, or a summer work, who’ve never had weight problems, and who come back with a few, (or more) extra pounds (kilograms). How can you save yourself all of this?
Well, first know where to shop.
For those of you who have a local Farmer’s market, this is probably a chance not to miss for vegetable and fruits. For instance, yesterday we found absolutely delicious nectarines at the Mountain View Farmer’s Market, and came back with a bunch of strawberries as well…(a huge amount of strawberries for just $5).
If you don’t have that, you can probably find a Safeway, Tops, or Wegmans supermarket around. They offer a large variety of foods, discounts, and you will most likely be able to get all of what you need. (If you have to choose, go for Safeway - it has huge discounts, and very good products for cheaper). In all of them, you’ll also be able to find “international” food: Asian, Indian, Mexican. From time to time, there’ll also be more “European” food. But this will be generally around the cheese and the ham. In fact, the three of them will import cheese, but for a very high price, and usually not at the equivalent quality as their counterparts in Europe.
You of course also have grocery stores which are somewhere in the middle: they have products which supermarkets have, but they are way smaller. The quality of the produce you’ll be able to find there (especially concerning vegetables, fruits, cheese and fresh meat) will really depend on where you live. In case you find yourself out of luck, try to make the best out of what they offer.
Also, do not forget that sometimes you might be able to order your groceries online and have them delivered to your door. (As I’ve mentioned in a previous article concerning shopping online.) And no worries: you won’t look strange. This is really something normal to do in the USA, especially if you don’t have a car.
Enough about the food. Let’s talk fitness.
In case you are a regular practitioner of sports, or just need to minimize the damage of unhealthy eating, (or whatever your reason is), and you need a gym, you’ll have to count for about $30-$50 a month. The price will largely depend on the location, facility, amenities, group classes included, etc. If you are a student, your university might offer you a free membership to their gym, or make you pay a much lower price - about $100 for an YEAR.
In case you don’t have a gym anywhere near you, but can afford the price, get a bike and ride to the gym. (You’ll get extra exercise!) Or, you can slowly start to buy the minimum equipment you need to have a gym in your own home.
If you don’t have a gym near you, can’t buy a bike, or can’t afford the prices… you still have a few possibilities left. In many places in the USA, it will be easy to find places to run. If you like that, you’ve find the solution: outdoor exercising. If you are like me and abhor running, you can find more “common” facilities such as public swimming pools.
The fitness culture in the USA is very strong despite the obesity rate. You will find many who get up extremely early in order to be in the gym by 5:30 a.m., be done at 6:30 a.m., and head to work at 7 a.m.. In fact, those who are serious about it, will often be very serious about it. Don’t be surprised if you see moms doing their jogging while pushing a baby carriage with her small one having his or her “daily walk”. Because of this strong culture, you’ll usually be able to easily find gyms, sport goods, sport or bodybuilding nutrition products, vitamins and supplements. Oh, and personal trainers, even coaching you through the internet.
In other words: if you want to prevent gaining weight in the USA, you’ve got the ways to do that. Of course, it might take a bit more of money than you’d hope, but there are also ways to get around that.
Tags: fitness, food, gyms, Santé/ Health, weight