Body changes since moving to DR

i guess my body weigh stays pretty much the same, i really look at how much i eat and what... but i have had a nice bunch of parasites and other microvisitors. plus my migraines have gone to the level where i need to be delivered to emergency room half-dead.

i go out less, i never dance and i stopped reading as much as i did since there are no libraries. also, i am convinced that my hearing is permanently damaged - when it goes it will be a welcomed development, no more bachata. but on a plus side my eyes are no worse, i am half-blind, just as i was....

Looking forward to the different responses. My family and I willing be moving in soon. Weight control and allergies are questions.

In my first few years here I initially lost a stack of weight due to the amount of alcohol consumed and therefor meals skipped, I kind of liked the slimline me but I don't think I was very healthy. Since I stopped drinking I've gained a load of weight, probably to a little over what I was before moving over here. This weight gain is down to my soda intake, I drink at least three liters a day, and so 21 liters a week, that would be at least 44 per month and so............. Well you do the math, it's a lot.
I developed a sneezy allergy to spirit drunkeness which was weird.
I stopped smoking, which is annoying, I try to smoke occasionally but now it makes me feel as though I've popped LSD and I feel seriously ill and paranoid for 5 minutes after. But I do keep persevering and hopefully one day I'll be able to get back onto two packs a day.
My diet is great, I eat meat three times a day, before it was only once, I enjoy this, why I eat more meat is because I do most of the cooking, simply as I think Dominicans are terrible cooks as far as variety goes, at best they can muster one or two half decent meals, and they won't try anything new, or if they do then they don't like it before they digest the flavor, I hate none adventurous eaters.
I don't walk as much, I used to go hiking every weekend, here it is impossible unless I drive for a couple of hours. Walking around here is like undertaking an assault course, even my dogs are paranoid of what they are going to fall down, walk into or be pranced by, oh and the customery pull by PN which always ruins my day.
Oh yes, I used to respect the law, now I hate the law.
I am less social, simply because I find less interesting people to talk with. I am still social, but with less people than I am used to, which I'm happy with, I make it like that.
My trust in people has reduced considerably, I now work by dominican logic that EVERYONE is guilty of doing something or considering doing something bad to me or a close one, until they prove me otherwise.
My income has gone down massively and my spendage has gone up considerably.
I have gained a considerable amount of white hairs over recent months.
Become quite happy doing nothing but starring at the ceiling fan, or watching the toaster, or the bath run where as before I would multitask, turn the bath on and tidy the room or something. Now I can only do one thing at a time, and one thing a day, sometimes less, I am very content doing absolutely nothing.
I have toned down my temper, I realized here having a temper gets you in trouble, and so I ditched the temper and decided not to give a sh1t about anything anymore, so that's a weight off my shoulders.
Besides that I seem to be pretty much good old me, not much changed!

For me - slimmer face, bigger (beer) belly.
I go out more because it's easier to find friendly people to talk to - Cabarete is full of people who want to talk!

No change, exept older.

Still i am being told i am very beautiful, but for some reason only by the Random puta who comes smiling to me if i have a beer or ten.





Thank God they do not lie in this religious country.

Getting balder. Happened to me first time I lived here, and believe it or not, when back in holland I was not as bald and now I'm getting thinner haired on my head again. First year I have an allergie on my feet, probably due to the temperature.

Finally, I can't stay awake till late. Ik my country I would go to bed at midnight and get up at 5.30 every day. Here I fall asleep on the couch at 9 ad I find it hard to get up at 6.30.

Now you'll all say it's part of getting older, but the same changes I noticed first time Inlived here and would go away when I moved back.

I have a different body odor and I don't know why. Had it the first time I lived here, no problems when I went back to Panama which is even hotter. Now I've been back a year and 3 months ago it started again. Weird

I lost a lot of weight and teeth, i find it difficult to stay awake at night much after 8,30 pm and I don't walk as much as I used to. ED has become annoying. I do a lot of reading with the help of the two libraries in Las Terrenas and probably drink too much!

frank recktenwald said:

I have a different body odor and I don't know why. Had it the first time I lived here, no problems when I went back to Panama which is even hotter. Now I've been back a year and 3 months ago it started again. Weird

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It is the fat that are boiling under your skin. ((Sorry- only joking.))

Rattus_Rattus said:

It is the fat that are boiling under your skin. ((Sorry- only joking.))

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That "fat" should be even boiling more in Panama so, no I don't think so

I stay for usally 3-4 weeks at a time 2-3 times a year. When in town I lose weight because I walk everywhere and swim a lot. Plus I don't eat all the processed food, and my diet is better in the d.r. I get sick almost every time I am in counrty. Its always a respiratory infection. I wish I new exaclty why.
My brother has lost his hair as soon as he moved to Singapore. He says the heat quickened his baldness.

i think im the same weight but flabbier as i dont go to the gym np-one interested in me having a six pack....I cant breathe at all at night sometimes which i have put down to the frangipani trees outside my window- seems worse when they are in bloom.
knees are better than they were in the uk- ive had arthritis since i was about 25

.......Im a lot better looking now but that could be because of failing eyesight

When I am in the D.R. my nails grow strong and hard instead of soft and easily broken, my hair feels thick and full of body instead of dry and limp and my skin feels smooth, supple and hydrated - as compared to dry, tight feeling and flaky here in my part of Canada.

We always eat well, here or there. We rarely going out for meals and almost never eat processed food, so my weight stays pretty much the same. We both love to cook and I like to try preparing different things like fresh goat and fish that we can't get at home. I do walk and exercise more in the D.R. but I also drink more so it balances out.

Neither of us have had any health issues while there at all except for a cold last visit, but I figure I caught that on the plane there and it didn't last more than a few days.

We do go off the beaten path a lot, into rural and semi remote areas, but always bring our own water to drink and are careful in what we eat while exploring. If I personally didn't cook it, or wash and peel it, or see it being boiled in water from a bottle, I don't eat it. So far that's worked.

We have been coming for a month or 2 at a time for 5 years now, but only in the winter. I don't know how I'd fare in the summer but we do plan on trying that, work permitting, in the near future. I would like to take a couple of weeks of Classes in either Santo Domingo or Sousa in the summer next year to improve my Spanish.

Neither of us have allergies here or there and I sleep better there as long as I have an open screened window or failing that, a fan. We both really dislike air conditioning and never turn it on, just use the ceiling fans.

In other words, at least in winter, no issues and a few benefits!

I lost over 50 lbs since moving here 2 years ago. I got married to a Dominican and he showed me how to cook differently... the weight literally just fell off in a matter or 4 months I'd say.

I should add that I was very overweight when I moved here and this is most likely why I lost so much so fast. I am still in the overweight category for my height and that's after losing 50...

in broader terms i think DR is more of a shock when you come here from europe, especially the whole air con thing, i have never seen it in a private house in poland nor england and in public spaces (offices, shops) it somewhat on the low. in DR inside can be shockingly cold. air con and fans also bother me in terms of breathing. i never had breathing issues back in europe, here in DR i have been using nose drops almost every night: my nose gets blocked, i cannot breathe, i struggle. not so much during daytime when i am in a vertical position, but in the bed it's a nightmare. my nose waters all the time. i never had allergies before and i suspect dust and animals are to blame...

dust... SD is unbelievably polluted. i said this before, i have been using contact lenses for many years, all the time night and day kind, something that you wear continuously for a month. never a problem in london, much bigger city than SD. but i have to take some complete with me for every visit in the capital, within hours my lenses get cloudy and dusty, i need to remove them, wash them and only then i can see. our maid, like every other, i guess, does not scoop up the dirt after brushing the floor, she simply swipes it outside. with every gust of wind all this stuff comes back inside...

food is generally a lot better here than in england. less variety but it's more natural. and people actually cook. in POP only la sirena had a selection of ready made, microwavable or thawable foods. extremely expensive too. most dominicans have no clue what is this s**t. i bought a frozen pepperidge farm cake once and the cashier girl asked me how do i make it. when i said it is ready and all i need to do is simply take it home and eat it she was amazed. granted, dominican food is boring and repetitive but it's made from scratch.

i do not know anyone in DR who stayed roughly the same weight. most people either loose (parasites and other hidden surprises) or gain (sopita and grease). i stay at more or less 55 kg. the lowest i have been was 51 when i had 5 different types of salmonella family. i was very very sick. the most was maybe 58. i cook fresh stuff every day, i make own bread and sometimes own cold meats. in this 7 years miesposo gained probably something like 15 to 20 kg. maybe i feed him too much

I have lost weight and no longer have sinus issues because I don't have ac. I feel probably 15 years younger than I did when I lived in the States no doubt to the real food as opposed to the plastic stuff. If I didn't know better by looking at all my wrinkles in the mirror I would say I feel 30. I'm also as physically strong at 48 as I have ever been and if my back could handle it I would have like to try to bench press twice my weight again. My back is the only thing that makes me feel old.

dv8 said:

food is generally a lot better here than in england.

)

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Wow. So glad I never lived in England. I did eat there and I do know what you mean.
And now I am here on the island that spice forgot.

wait, no, you make me take it back. i like british food in general. and surely you can buy a larger variety of products there than here in DR. but a visit in a supermarket is just shelf after shelf of ready made crap. and an idea of an evening meal is takeaway or microwavable stuff. here people still cook.

I always loose weight when in the DR... but I guess a lot of outdoor activity like climbing Pico Duarte does that to you

That and a more natural dieet