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Barb Rand never thought much about her lifestyle until she spent a year in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. There, she discovered how a simpler life could help her slim down.

While a newspaper reporter in Kansas City, Missouri, Barb grew fond of the local cuisine—especially the huge cuts of beef served in )and the barbecued chicken and ribs. Because she was fairly active, playing tennis and jogging on occasion, her waistline didn’t suffer as much as it could have. Still, she eventually carried 130 pounds on her 5-foot-5-inch frame, and she was used to being a lot leaner.

Then, cued by her social conscience, Barb signed on as a volunteer abroad with a nonprofit organization. Her assignment took her to Kuala Lumpur, where she was to help local women start their own businesses. Once she arrived, she couldn’t help but notice the vast differences between Malaysia and the United States, especially in terms of diet and lifestyle.

In Malaysia, for example, beef isn’t an everyday food. It’s used only sparingly in special-occasion dishes. Eggs and processed foods are also rarities. Instead, Malaysians eat meals of rice or noodles topped with small helpings of stir-fry or curry. They also enjoy a rich array of native fruits, including bananas, starfruit, and bright red, spiny rambutans.

Barb embraced the traditional Malaysian diet. She found that she could eat as much as she wanted without widening her waistline. And she walked almost everywhere. By the time she came home a year later, she discovered that she had dropped 20 pounds without even trying.

“It was easy to lose weight in Malaysia because of the normal lifestyle,” Barb says. “It made me realize how excessive we are in America. We regularly eat huge portions of foods that are considered luxuries in other parts of the world. And we drive everywhere. In Malaysia, people walk a lot more.”

Upon returning to the United States in 1988, Barb resolved not to gain back the weight that she had lost. So she incorporated much of what she had learned in Malaysia into her American lifestyle. To this day, she eats lots of grains but very few meats, eggs, or dairy products. She tries to buy fresh, organically grown produce when-

ever possible and has cut down on processed foods. She even planted a backyard garden so she could raise some of her food on her own. For exercise, she resumed jogging, and she plays tennis and basketball with her 7-year-old son.

Since adopting a simpler, healthier lifestyle, Barb has had no trouble keeping off those 20 pounds. At age 43, she maintains her weight at 110 pounds. “I have a lot more energy, too,” she says.

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