Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Let's Try This Again...

I braved the scales on Monday morning and saw quite a shocking gain. I am back up to 110 kilos (242 pounds). I literally did a double take of the scales I was so shocked! I am hoping that some of that was just the Thanksgiving dinner I had stuffed myself full of the night before (I have 2 Canadian sister in laws, so we now celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving- any excuse!).

It was quite devastating to see so much hard work undone, again. I can't believe that I am back up in the 110 decade. I thought I had shaken that number for good this time.

Anyway, the gain is totally deserved, I have been eating whatever I want, whenever I want for a while now. Luckily for me there are still 10 weeks left of this year and still plenty of time to see this year out with a loss.

I am making a few changes this time though. You may have read a while back that I have been dabbling with shake diets on and off. I use them as a quick fix way to drop a few kilos, which is obviously not working! So this time I am doing it the right way- exercise and healthy eating. Since I have been on the shakes I have been too weak to exercise (the whole not eating thing can really take it out of you!) and I just feel so unfit. Then I went to Japan and there is nothing like an overseas trip to highlight just how unfit you are...

My brother is getting married on 1st December and I am resisting the strong urge to go on my shakes and drop 10 kilos before the wedding, instead I would rather feel healthy and energetic. So it will be tough to go back to doing this the slow way, but I think it will definitely be worth it in the end.

The main reason I like the shake diet is because it eliminates food from my life. I am still hungry and I think about food, but I don't have to plan anything around food. I guess I probably have a food addiction and allowing food back into my life is like telling an alcoholic they can have 1 beer a day, it can just send me spiralling toward a week long binge. I can go from the idea of cooking a chicken stir fry to eating KFC in a second in my head. I guess those are issues that I have to sort out if I ever want to live a long and healthy life and ignoring it won't make them go away.

Thursday, October 18, 2007

Konichiwa

I'm back from Tokyo and glad to be home! I had a great trip, but I think at heart I am a bit of a home body and I am happy to be in my own apartment again. I very much like my creature comforts!

First thing first, I was totally fine in the toilet on the plane. Thanks for your comments, you really reassured me. I got on the plane and the first thing I did was test the toilets, then the seat belt and then that the tray could go down and I was ok with everything. I was ok in the seat, but I culd definitely do with a little more room to move...

Tokyo was much more overwhelming then I thought it would be. I was totally un-prepared for the culture shock, but it was a great experience. I spent most of my free time lost and confused. I got totally lost in Shinjuku train station and couldn't even find my way out, it was like a maze. I had no idea how hard it is to get around without language skills. I felt like I was walking around blind folded.

I felt like a giant compared to my tiny colleagues- if you ever want to feel fat, go to Japan! Everyone was lovely though and took me out for some great food and sake. I struggled to eat on my own and found myself going to Sizzler or for pizza because I couldn't understand the menus. The night I tried to go to a traditional Japanese restaurant I ended up eating tempura shrimp legs and leaves. Even when I tried to order normal food I would make mistakes and order 2 meals instead of 1 or a dish with mushrooms (which I don't eat). I also know why Japanese people are so thin, the portions are tiny. I was hungry almost the entire time I was there and found myself filling up on coke, pringles and oreos- the only food brands I recognised!

It is such an amazing city and I felt very safe even though I was so completely confused. I was there for work, but I managed to squeeze in some sight seeing. I spent a day in Shinjuku walking around the streets and looking in shops and a day in Ginza (window) shopping and then went to a kabuki show. Then I went on a bus tour and saw the Imperial Palace, Tokyo Tower, Asakusa Temple, Sumida River cruise, a Japanese tea ceremony and a sake bar.

Some observations about Tokyo: Everyone is polite (even if they don't mean it!), the streets are super clean, the fashions are cool, people work very hard, they eat rice and drink tea with every meal, the electronics are awesome, they love baseball, the trains are crazy busy, you can smoke in restaurants and the history and culture of the country is amazing. I know it sounds very stereotypical, but it was my experience anyway.

Here are some photos...

My hotel was part of an amusement park, strange, but fun!


A tempura bar at my hotel


Shrimp legs... am I supposed to eat those???


The view from my hotel room


My hotel room had a bidet, I think I am hooked!



Asakusa Temple


Nakamise shopping arcade


Me on a river cruise


The Imperial Palace


Bonsai!


Japanese tea ceremony


Tokyo Tower


A gorgeous little girl in traditional dress


Me in Ginza


The Kabuki theatre


Korean BBQ plate- Yum!


Pizza in a cone- what a brilliant idea!


Cheers to sake!


Soba noodles- Don't wear white when eating...

Friday, October 05, 2007

Sayonara

I am off to Tokyo for work tomorrow at the crack of dawn. I haven't really had time to get excited because I have been too busy getting myself organised. I am sure it will hit me when I get on the plane tomorrow. I am just looking forward to having 11 hours to sleep, watch movies and read on the plane. I am even excited about airplane food!

So a bit of a last minuted question... I have never been to the bathroom on a plane before because I have never been on a plane for a long enough period of time to necessitate it. Do you think I'll be able to fit in the bathroom??? I all of a sudden had a bit of a panic attack last night thinking about this. I am flying QANTAS, in case that makes any difference in regards to size. I remember looking at them on my last flight and thinking they look tiny and I have heard of people that can't fit in the bathroom on a plane. So should I start weaning myself off liquids now so that I am prepared for a long flight with no toilet break? Gees being fat is annoying!

It is so strange to think I will be in Tokyo tomorrow. I might not be able to post from there because I am taking a work laptop and I am scared of using it to blog in case my blog address gets saved in the history and someone from work finds it. Paranoid!

Notice I didn't post a weigh in today? No prizes for guessing why... :-)