Peace Corps Pounds

In everything I read pre-Peace Corps, it all said the same about weight: Girls tend to gain it, guys tend to lose it. After being in Peace Corps for over a year, I can confirm to this statement. From talking with frustrated female volunteers, and seeing a few male volunteers waste away…. It’s true! But WHY? Honestly, it probably has more to do with the person than the sex, but it is awfully intriguing to see the truth in that statement, and wonder if it has more to due with the trend of pre-Peace Corps lifestyles among men and women or if it is an actual difference in the physical reaction to Peace Corps countries/new foods/different climates, etc.

Why have I gained weight? I blame this mostly on how a different lifestyle coincides with a different exercise routine. I don’t think it has to do with food anymore. It certainly did during the first three months when my host families were feeding me lard-saturated grease balls three times a day (they use copious amounts of oil and lard in almost all dishes here). But I have been living on my own for almost a year…. I rarely have snacks. I eat less than I did living in states due to more complicated preparation processes and sometimes the heat affects my appetite. When I do eat, I eat mainly vegetables! Veggies mixed with scrambled eggs, veggies inside a tortilla, raw veggies, veggies mixed with pasta or rice if I’m feeling ambitious! I don’t think the way I eat here would cause me to gain weight, if anything you’d think it would do the opposite.

Before coming to Honduras, I went to the gym 4-6 days a week, not for that long, maybe an hour, and I certainly didn’t stray much from the basic elliptical or treadmill (or sometimes those fun rowing machines!). But I’ve realized that those machines burn more calories than walking or jogging outside. I exercise in site, but it’s complicated. If I go walking, it has to be before it gets dark. Sometimes my schedule allows for that, and sometimes it requires me to wake up super-dooper-early and go before work (which usually results in snoozing through my alarm). In rainy season it is even more difficult to plan and stick to a routine because the sky could open up at any minute. Rainy season is half of the year. Also, exercising outside at times makes me more stressed out when it use to help me relax, due mainly to excessive and rude male attention. My mom has sent me a few workout DVDs, and I do them in my room sometimes to hide from the cat-calls, but it’s just not cutting it. Depending on the week, I usually do some sort of exercise minimal 3 times a week, maximum 5 which sounds normal, but I think compared to my life before Honduras, it’s not enough to keep the weight off.

I come from a larger family, we’ve got it in our genes. You have to work really hard to maintain a healthy weight. That’s easy to do when you’ve got the resources, but just eating well isn’t enough. I’m not complaining (though it’s frustrating). I wanted to share this well-circulated statement of how women tend to put on weight during service while men tend to lose weight, and share my personal experience in regards to weight changes. I've accepted the fact that I can do everything in my power given the circumstances, but this just might have to get put on the back-burner until I become a member at a gym after my service. I know there are far more important things in life, and it’s not like I’ve gained one hundred pounds. I just thought it was an interesting topic!