Seoul & Beijing

Forbidden City in Beijing

Monday weigh-in: 162.2lbs
down about 3 lbs from last weigh-in

I got back Friday nite from my business trip & I'm just now shaking off the jetlag.  Almost feel back to normal today.  Trip was ok.  The only thing is that the air quality is sooooo bad in Beijing that I always feel ill while I'm there.  Its a good reminder why I'm glad I don't smoke!

Stuck to decent bandster habits while I was on the road.  I packed my favorite protein powders, protein bars & supplements.  I packed workout gear & hit the hotel gyms almost every day.

Getting better at managing the band while traveling but there are always challenges.  Schedules are packed and I never know what I am going to eat & when (this is especially difficult in a foreign country)  Case in point:  Thursday in Beijing.  Had small breakfast of muesli & hot tea at hotel.  Had meetings all day at sales office.  Went out to lunch with a few local guys - hot soup with noodles & dumplings.  Mostly just drank broth in soup & ate 1 dumpling.  got stuck.  More meetings & presentations in the afternoon.  Snacked on some trail mix I brought along.  Then we decided to meet up with my boss & the Engineering VP who had just landed but they were over at Engineering office which was about an hour away in traffic.  Engineering guy wants to hit up a local Peking duck place for dinner.  We go there & its another hour wait so we go to a nearby bar for drinks.  Have a whiskey.  Get seated for dinner but its another hour before the duck will be ready.  Have a few bites of an eggcake pancake & some mysterious meat-based appetizers.  The guys order beer.  I don't do carbonated drinks anymore so stick to hot tea.  Duck finally shows up.  Peking duck can be really good if its done well & this place was better than most.  You start with a thin pancake (like a crepe), add a couple of slices of roasted duck, plum sauce, sliced cucumbers and sliced green onion.   yum!  However, it was late & I was very hungry.  bad combination. Ate too fast & did not chew well.  I get through one when I realize its gonna need to come back up.....

For those who haven't traveled much in Asia, there are actually two types of toilets.  There is the "seater" which is what every westerner is familiar with.  Have a seat, do some reading & get your business done.  In Asia there is also something I call the "squatter."  Its a glorified hole in the ground.  Nicer places have porcelain fittings.  Check out the pic.  So imagine bending all the way over & getting your PB on....at least this place employed a bathroom attendant and it was pretty clean.

Another hour back to the hotel & then ordered creme brulee from room service.   sigh.  not an experience I want to repeat.  Happy to be home.

I think the little back-to-basics experiment I tried right before I left really worked for me.  I lost the 3lbs during that week but didn't lose anything on my trip.  Hard to attribute the entire loss to my little experiment since my period also showed up that week but I do believe it helped.  I also just feel better when I can plan the week's menu and cook at home.  I've noticed that what I eat really affects how I feel now.

Too bad I won't be able to get back to it for awhile.  Too fried this past weekend to go grocery shopping.  Got home from the gym last night about 8pm & then started scrounging for dinner.  not the best for me.  Leaving Friday for the mountains because my husband is doing another 100-mile bike race this weekend.  Then leave first thing Monday morning to spend the entire week in California.  At least I know what I need to do...just need to have a schedule that lets me do it.


cheers,
chloe