Some thoughts after PCP

So, a couple of days after PCP, I tried to re adjust myself into a "normal" life, only realizing that it is not the same as it used to be. For example, my fingers got all puffy in the morning from the salt that I ate the previous day. It was not that salty because I cooked by myself using a moderate amount of ingredients. Behold the power of salt.

Still scared of eating lots of carbs. I'm sure my body is tend to save up lots of carbs as my DNA is programmed, which is haplogroup D, a branch originated from East Africa to Japan through Arabic peninsula and Iran over Russia. Japan had several famines in history and my ancestors survived those, remaining the memories of bearing up such hungers on the genes I inherited. There's no escape from a  program called DNA, just like you can't get your perfect 6 pack if you're designed to....unless you have a plastic surgery to suck your fat to form a perfect 6 pack performed in South Korea. BTW, you can find your own DNA journey at The Genographic Project at National Geographic, which I did a while ago.

Seeing many "healthy products" commercials, such as "have this juice if you're not having enough vegetables", I just think "eat more veggies then". So many catchy copies "this makes you healthy", "this helps you to be younger". So much to sell.  I'm sure it takes a great effort to consume veggies because everywhere you go, the cheap lunches you can find are mostly overloaded with carbs and fried foods. One of my friends says how come healthy meals are expensive. Somehow I see more round people in a cheap fast food restaurants. Do you see connections...? Spending on good food must be a lot less than spending on the medication which caused by eating crappy food, I assume, but people are tend to be short sighted. People can come up with so many excuses not to go for, rather than one good reason to execute it.

A TV show had a scene from Tonga that people eat ice cream on top of a loaf of bread. How many calories?? No wonder they are all large...

I now can feel my bowel movements. It's just like a baby wiggling in my tummy that I'm familiar with, but it is the bowel that's wiggling. Less visceral fat and lots of veggies made it possible, I guess.

And here're the before and after numbers:
Weight: 60.2kg -> 53.8kg
Body fat: 27.9% -> 22.5%
Visceral fat: 4.5% -> 2.5%
Basal metabolism: 1288 -> 1210
Muscle mass: 27.3% -> 29.4%
Subcutaneous fat: 20.6% -> 15.7%
BMI: 22.9 -> 20.5
Body age: 41 -> 33

I thank my husband and my kids for their cooperation and patience (!?) during the program. My husband helped me and guided me from time to time as he's done it, with an attitude of "yeah, been there, done that". As a picky eater, my daughter usually doesn't eat the most of the vegetables but helped me with eating just stems of broccoli whereas my son ate the bud part. She still asks me how come I'm not having an apple dinner. Sweet heart, these days are gone now, and I can eat a lot more now. My son keeps feeding me cherry tomato regardless my mouth is still full. And I thank Patrick! What have you done to us...:-) Also, for the PCPers in the same group, congratulations! And for those just started, keep it up! In 3 months, you'll be a totally different person!!

Just to get back to my routine, I boiled 4 broccoli and 10 eggs, and made a bowl of Tabouli with lots of cucumber and tomato with only lemon juice for flavor. Mushrooms, pumpkin, and okra are in the oven grilling. Ah, I feel comfortable seeing my fridge is filled with tapper wears with veggies.

So, what's my next endeavour will be....

Complete!

Before and After photo!

Also updated some photos from this morning at Patrick's.

Day 90

I just finished my very last work out, and after work out snack and night snack. I picked Day 11. The day we had the earthquake. Since that day, everything was like a ride on roller coaster. And now I'm here, completed the 90 days somehow. Although, I'm coming in to Patrick's tomorrow morning for weigh in and photos, so it's not completely over yet...

My shoulders are sore, and I would very much like to sleep tonight, so more tomorrow...

Day 89

I'm at my parents' with my kids since last night, as my husband is away for his own thing. My son's having mild fever from yesterday, I'm having trouble with sleep, as he keeps waking up at night....

Anyhow, gathered myself, and started with jump rope in the rain. The rainy season started in Tokyo. And the super sets. OMG. My shoulders/arms were all sore, and my tummy was in pain I was not sure if I could be functional the rest of the day.

Went to a local semi-farmers market. Everything is cheap! JPY60 for a broccoli! JPY80 for a lettuce! JPY100 for a huge zucchini! JPY100 for a package of mushroom! 2 baskets of veggies for JPY3,500!! Easily 1/3 of the price compare to Tokyo... So prepped these tons of veggies for the rest of the stay. Yeah!

Finished up with local hot spring, and a local soba noodle restaurant where I had bonito sashimi only while the kids and my parents are having home made soba. I off course had some veggies which I prepared to complete my dinner at home.

One more day...

Day 88

The number of V-sits I could do until failure is becoming smaller and smaller every day....

Day 87

Did jump rope and exercise after kids went to school. Oh my shoulders are in pain....

Tried to do another 2 sets of jump rope after they went to sleep, but my son became grumpy and started vomiting.... Joy of parenting. He was like this for a couple of hours from 10 pm, and I just gave up and went to sleep with him after he fell asleep finally on a couch.

Day 86

Now I’m sitting in front of a gym which has huge glass windows that you can see people working out. Instead of asking some staff’s time, my husband suggested to observe without doing anything but sipping coffee after our burrito lunch for the homework assignment. This gym is supposedly famous, or that’s what they sell, for the workout you should have a personal trainer the entire time, and every staff is wearing Target T-shirt. I won’t reveal the name of the gym but it may give you a hint if you know of Roppongi area well.

Anyhow, some interesting things are going on. The machines they have are all painted red, which seems like their theme color. One guy is busy pulling the machine which looks like, supposedly to work your shoulders, with his back and the entire body. I can see what he is doing. Pulling. Yes, pulling. The weight in front of him going up and down, that’s what he’s aiming at. PULLING. Too bad his targeted muscle is not working, really. Then he moved onto another machine, started PULLING again. Too bad, his fore arms aren’t working out which that machine is designed to if he uses correctly.

Another guy is on a treadmill, with a female trainer, running so badly. Isn’t she supposed to be teaching him how to run….?

A woman is giving a massage with a bar/stick to a guy who’s kind of buff but gut sticking out…. What does it do? She’s massaging him just like flattening cookie dough with rolling pin. Mmmm….

I see about 10 people there, but the most people are just chatting, drinking energy drink it “might help you burn calories”. This is more of the social space. Plus, this place is like a show case, to be seen place considering the location and the settings of glass walls all around you. People walking by or eating/drinking see you sweating, trying to be muscular, or showing off your sexy work out costume….

I never liked gym. Several times I joined, and I didn’t like waiting for a machine while some macho was checking his reflection on a mirror or just chatting about what protein he drinks, some old man trying to hit on a young female instructors, etc. Or just working on a cycling machine staring at a TV. Boring.

Anyhow, I like people watch and it was an interesting show, and it reminded me to stay away from a typical gym, especially this one....