Winter Warm Up

Lose weight - it's first on the list of "Popular New Year's Resolutions" on the USA.Gov webpage.  The list also included: quit smoking, get fit, eat healthy food, and drink less alcohol.  These five are all related to your body's health.  This year,  for the first time in my life, I've been asked to be a bridesmaid in a wedding.  That means, there will be hundreds (likely thousands) of photos I will be in.  Unlike other photos that go up on Facebook and are liked, commented on, and never viewed again, wedding photos are ones that are taken out and shown to people over and over again.  They are hung on walls and decorate pianos.  I want to look great.  Of course, in this wonderful age of computer software, I'm sort of hoping that the photographer can do something like Boogie's video editor -- you know, make me look like a model.  However, just in case that doesn't happen, I'm taking steps to get healthier.

Food

Preparing a meal from scratch was rare.  Who had the energy?  By the time I left my office in the evening, I was exhausted and left with no brain power to think about a menu, let alone the energy to wash and chop vegetables. ~Naomi Moriyama

I'm a convenience store regular and bakery frequenter.  Why?  Because it's cheaper and easier to pick up ready made meals than to slave away at home between my one burner, microwave, and ironing board (the only counter/table space I have) and risking the electricity to go out (it's happened twice while I've been cooking so far).

But, now I'm trying to eat more at home.  However, when I do try recipes, there is always at least one thing that I cannot get at my local grocer.  So I have to try to find an alternative (for example Chinese Spinach leaf stalks for celery).  So far, it's required a lot of advance planning, but it has worked out into some tasty meals.  If I try to make something on my own without a recipe I end up with some strange concoction like my lunch today: salmon, carrots with turmeric seasoning, spinach, and mixed beans (tasteless) with cherry tomatoes and mayonnaise.  Lucky for me, it was edible.  Let's hope my chili turns out better.  I'm thinking of going with more stews and soups for my winter meals.  I really like Rachael Ray's Chickpea and Potato Soup  because it is easy and delicious.

Anyway, I've been trying to observe calories.  At AU, my friends and I called girls who counted calories "Clemson Girls".  It was our way of saying they were vain.  However, I'm pretty certain those girls didn't gain the "freshman 15" (which is probably 15 kilograms, not pounds).  One thing I have learned is that the convenience store prepared foods do have the calories listed.  They have meals from 100 kCal to 900 kCal.  I just have to pay attention to the labels.  So, good, I can pick up fast food, sometimes.  

Exercise

While food takes a lot of mental (and taste bud) willpower, winter exercise is actually more of a challenge.  From April to early December I did a lot of walking.  I walked to church, work, stores, etc.  Occasionally, I cycled.  It was really easy for me to run errands and end up getting a couple of hours of brisk walking in (I don't walk slow).  However when the snow hits, I use the buses a lot more.  Walking the icy sidewalks/streets is very slippery and dangerous (even with snow boots).  Now the buses do not eliminate the need to walk, but they can usually keep me from having to walk more than 10 minutes.

So, I decided I should start going to a gym.  Last Monday, I went to the nearest community center: the Kanazawa Gymnasium (our school uses it for the fall sports day in October).  I rode a bus for 10 minutes from where I live to the stop that is on the main road near the community center (that would have been nearly a 45 minute walk).  Then, from the bus stop, I walked 13 minutes to the community center.  

The staff at this center are very friendly and patient.  We talked with simple Japanese and bits of English as the rules were explained to me.  It cost 200yen to work out each time you go.  There isn't a monthly membership fee.  The rules were similar to other gyms I've been to (with some Japanese exceptions): wipe down equipment when finished, bring and wear indoor sneakers (sneakers that are only worn inside), don't talk on your phone in the workout room, and take a number to reserve your place in the queue for the treadmills.  I told the very kind monitor that I am wanting to work out for general fitness, so he kindly suggested following the stretch chart for mat stretches, using a few of the muscle toning equipment, and doing 20-30 minutes of cardiovascular activity.  The treadmill showed me pictures of what kind of food I was working off.  Candy and lattes at the start working up to sushi and cake.  I worked out for a total of 30 minutes, then finished up and left.  You can click here to see what the fitness center looks like.

I had missed the last bus from the stop I had arrived at, so I needed to walk to another bus stop.  That was a 17 minute walk.  That bus took 15 minutes to get home.  

So, my total travel time by bus was about 25 minutes, travel time by walking was 32 minutes, and my entire workout at the gym (excluding learning about the program) took about 30 minutes.  In other words, while the buses do save time, it is a workout in itself to get to and from the gym.  I was so exhausted that I haven't been back to the gym yet.  I'm going to try again today, since I take a Japanese lesson near there, but I'm thinking maybe shooting hoops might be a better reward for the work it takes to get there, than using the fitness machines.