23/F. I’ve been here for almost 3 years. My diet tends to cycle between eating more Thai food and eating more Western food - definitely not consistent. I've gained and lost weight here and there, but not much and I'm the same now as I was when I first came.
Obviously it depends on what foods your used to eating at home, and how much you want to cook/eat out, etc, but I'll give my 2 cents.
Since you love Thai food: there really is a plethora of Thai dishes that could be good for a diet, and for me most of the best tasting dishes are the healthy ones. Some guilt-free Thai food: - som tam (papaya salad) - gai yang (grilled chicken) Also, really any grilled meat… - tom yum kung nam sai (clear spicy sour soup with shrimp) - laab gai/moo (spicy salad with chicken/pork) - nam tok moo/ nua (spicy salad with sliced pork/ beef) - kung pla (spicy raw shrimp salad) - pla kapong neung manao (steamed fish in lime/garlic/chili sauce) Or any other steamed fish - sizable salt-encrusted barbecued fish, often comes with a big bag of veggies (don't know what its called) - fresh fruit - it is everywhere
So, basically all of that is fruit, veggies, meat, and fish, and none of it is fried...all fresh, healthy, delicious food! Ask for no sugar in dishes you think can do without (most can). Also, find your rice comfort level. I eat it once or twice a day now.
Some slippery slopes/things I tell myself to avoid - 24 hour McDonald’s delivery – this usually happens in conjunction with alcohol :p - 7-11 food – Too easily worked into my routine. A ham cheese a day does not keep the doctor away - Cheese. One of my most missed foods, so if I buy it it’ll somehow be gone in a day or two. And its expensive.