Remember me? I've been here on-and-off for a good long while now.... actually the first time I was on here, I successfully lost a little over 20lbs... and then proceeded to gain it all back... *sigh* there have been a few attempts at getting myself back into the weight-loss game, but they've pretty much all failed, so here I go again.
As this is a self-serving post, I'll tell you a little about myself. I've lived in Japan for the past 4 years now (and this place is notoriously **** for dieting, AND self-image... grrr....) but i used to live in Shizuoka (boring) and now i lived in Tokyo (fun ). I moved here in March, and i'm really really so much happier here. but the move, in part, has been one of the reasons why i've gained a bit of weight in the last couple of months. first there was the whole stress of moving, and then for my first 2 months here, i was basically completely broke, and the only thing i could afford to eat was bread, ham and bananas... oh yeah. it's not like i blew up enormously, but it sure didn't help. now that i'm finally back on my feet though, i've been finding, for the last month or so, that i can't get any motivation to start losing weight again.
let me put it this way. i'm happy. i'm pretty much really really happy. i live in a great neighbourhood, i have the best job ever, i'm slowly making new friends, and i've got a great boyfriend, and food makes me happy @*?"d$ammit. i seriously don't feel the need to diet, and this is why it has been so hard. but now it's summer and i can see my flabby arms, and i've noticed a budding double-chin that wasn't there before, and my clothes are getting seriously too tight for comfort, and it SUCKS.
so here's the deal. remember i mentioned this awesome job before? well, i have as of now, about 8 weeks of summer vacation. lol i'm pissing myself really, i've never had this much time off since i was in junior high school... don't know what i'm gonna do with myself. so anyways, i decided that i really SHOULD use all that free time to get myself into shape, and i wanna lose ten pounds by the end of summer. it's not such a crazy goal, right? i'm hoping that you girls are gonna help me find that motivation and keep myself in check.
so.... yoroshiku (that means, "i leave myself in your care" in Japanese and also "nice to meet you")
- KC
Okaerinasai, Kawaii!
I'm so envious of you, living in Japan! I'm a big ol' Otaku at heart (at the end of the month i am spending my vacation at an Anime Convention, lol).
Honestly if it was me, I'd never be able to diet in Japan. Too much temptation for me. Nom nom, Sushi!
Anywho, 10 pounds is simple enough goal to start off with. What do you plan to do for exercise to loose the 10 pounds? Im sure in Tokyo there are plenty of fitness centers you can access.
(Dang it, now I want some Unagi )
Your goal is totally reachable! Also massively envious of you living in Tokyo. just sayin'.
Your point about being really happy and that making it difficult to diet...I find that when I'm miserable I have zero motivation to do much of anything, much less something I find unpleasant. (I confess I'm still trying to find the joy in working out. It is elusive.) Life is awesome, why not go for a walk?
お帰り！Tokyo is too crowded for me, but I'm glad that you got a placement that you like...mine's pretty awful (I'm assuming that we're doing essentially the same thing in Japan if you're about about to get a super long summer break ), but at least the people are nice. Despite that, all of the people at my schools are super skinny (most of all one of my JTEs, who eats like a vacuum cleaner), so that set me off on my diet a few months ago. I have no car here and am a super rural town, so luckily for me, going anywhere requires a lot of bike riding. I don't know how possible bike riding is in Tokyo (the parts I've been to have had busy streets and busier sidewalks), but I know that when I went to visit a friend in Shinjuku it was pretty much just as easy to walk to half the places as it was to take the train, so we were walking for miles every day...if you had the time to just walk one station further, I'm sure that would add up for exercise.
...unfortunately summer is time for high temperatures and humidity which limits your desire to be outside and therefore your exercise options. Also it's matsuri season. I've been to 2 in as many weeks (damn you, ikayaki...you're so delicious, but your salt ruins everything) making summer both the best and the worst time to try to focus on your health. In any case, 10 lbs seems like a pretty reasonable goal...best of luck reaching it! 頑張って！よろしくね～。
Plexi: haha, i used to live in the capital of unagi before... eheh. and you're right, dieting here is not easy. people have this idea that japanese food is really really healthy... it's really not. maybe it was like, 50 years ago, but now everything is fried and comes with a chuckload of rice, so yeah, no. it's also impossible to find "diet foods" here like brown-bread for example, or low cal anything (with a few excetions). i'm hunting for a gym near me but not having too much luck. i know that if it's too far, i won't drag myself to go after like a week. lol. so now i've decided to start doing my 30DS dvd again.
tinneranne2: haha, i'm also one of those "i hate working out" person. why couldn't it just be fun?? if it was, it wouldn't be such a pain to do it. oh and yeah, if i'm depressed i can't do anything either. but i find that being happy makes me reluctant to give up the things that make me happy (ie:food) to be miserable for a good long while, in order to be happier in the future. my logical mind knows it's best for me, but i guess i just can't see that far ahead. meh. which is why i came back on here
Hotaruchan: heeeey where are you placed at? actually, i was on JET for 3-ish years. was gonna quit after 3 but made a deal with my BoE that they would let me break contract without a fuss in March so i could find a job in Tokyo at the beginning of the school year. I still teach, but i'm not an ALT anymore which is soooo much better in my book cuz i actually got teaching qualifications from home. i got a job at a private dispatch company which works only with private schools in Kanto. i work at 2 high level schools, got a sh*tload of PAID time off (when i was on JET, i had to sit at my desk for 8 hours twidling my thumbs for the wole of summer vacation) and i get paid more than i did on JET *evil laughter*. and just the atmosphere and work environments are sooooo much better than they were in the past... so yeah, it's awesome. and i'm assuming you are referring to kyushoku, haha, i don't miss it. but yeah, how unfair is it that they can guzzle that crap down and stay skinny???
yeah, it is possible to bike here. and i'm from montreal so i don't mind crazy traffic cycling. lol. i don't have a bike right now (there were other stuff more important on my list after moving... such as, you know... furniture... a fridge... lol) but i'm thinking of getting one. actually, i remember when i got this apartment, the real-estate guy was like "if you're really motivated you can bike to shinjuku in about 30 minutes" XD but yeah, the heat and humidity is so not my friend right now... i much prefer staying shut in my airconed shoebox. thanks for the suggestion though
eheh... i miss festivals... haven't been to one in ages. guess that's the advantage of inaka-life
Neato. One day I'd love to visit Japan again! I loved it, but didn't take full advantage of my opportunity while I lived there for 6 years. I was in 7-12th grade there while my dad was stationed there in Iwakuni, near Hiroshima. I feel like if and when I do go there, its gonna be nothing but filling up on all the food I miss. All the "Japanese" restaurants here are pretty much sushi and nothing else...sometimes a stir fry and I never once had that there. Gosh dangit I want a bowl of real ramen, udon, or Japanese style katsu curry..ahhh.
But I'm now a teacher in TX so I'm currently on summer break and taking advantage of my free time. I have no reason not to work out, but it was hard in the beginning since I'm looking for a job and if I don't it'll be subbing once again. Which I do like, but you know I do need more money.
Good luck and your clothes will be fitting in no time! =)
well you know, there are lots of teaching opportunities in Japan,
it's pretty cool you lived here when you were younger. did you pick up any japanese at all? and yeah, i hear you on the "no real japanese food" back home, haha... tonkatsu will be the end of me.... T_T
You're back! Yay! I think having time off is definitely an awesome opportunity to get into a routine. I think for me personally routine is everything. So if you can get something consistent going then by the time you get back to work you'll make the time to do things because you'll feel weird if you don't!
I'll be moving over there in a few weeks time if all goes well with my visa. I'll try not to eat everything in sight!
Krampy... that girl is gone! lol I've been clubbing a grand total of once since living here, and it actually really sucked having to run off from all the boys hitting on me, mweheh...
Welcome back, kc. I'm also in Japan (and you may know me from popular Internet ALT complaining site, ITIL). I feel your pain in regards to body image issues here–I'm 6 inches taller and 80lbs heavier than almost every Japanese girl I know–but I'm also aiming to fight the heat and end this summer thinner than I'm starting it.
whereabouts are you placed at? and how long have you been here? your screen-name doesn't ring a bell, but then again i haven't been on ITIL in over 2 years (after it got completely devoid of any humanity.......). how's it going on there these days?
not so newbie...
). I moved here in March, and i'm really really so much happier here. but the move, in part, has been one of the reasons why i've gained a bit of weight in the last couple of months. first there was the whole stress of moving, and then for my first 2 months here, i was basically completely broke, and the only thing i could afford to eat was bread, ham and bananas... oh yeah. it's not like i blew up enormously, but it sure didn't help. now that i'm finally back on my feet though, i've been finding, for the last month or so, that i can't get any motivation to start losing weight again.
lol i'm pissing myself really, i've never had this much time off since i was in junior high school... don't know what i'm gonna do with myself. so anyways, i decided that i really SHOULD use all that free time to get myself into shape, and i wanna lose ten pounds by the end of summer. it's not such a crazy goal, right? i'm hoping that you girls are gonna help me find that motivation and keep myself in check. 
(that means, "i leave myself in your care" in Japanese 
and also "nice to meet you")
)
where are you placed at? actually, i was on JET for 3-ish years. was gonna quit after 3 but made a deal with my BoE that they would let me break contract without a fuss in March so i could find a job in Tokyo at the beginning of the school year. I still teach, but i'm not an ALT anymore which is soooo much better in my book cuz i actually got teaching qualifications from home. i got a job at a private dispatch company which works only with private schools in Kanto. i work at 2 high level schools, got a sh*tload of PAID time off (when i was on JET, i had to sit at my desk for 8 hours twidling my thumbs for the wole of summer vacation) and i get paid more than i did on JET *evil laughter*. and just the atmosphere and work environments are sooooo much better than they were in the past... so yeah, it's awesome. and i'm assuming you are referring to kyushoku, haha, i don't miss it. but yeah, how unfair is it that they can guzzle that crap down and stay skinny??? 
