26/02/2024
Duffy turned 3 today! Happy birthday Duffers!
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03/12/2023
Day 4 in Kyoto - My last day in Kyoto. Finally I started to get familiar with the city and it was time for me to head to Kamakura.
I somehow really enjoyed traveling by train and eating the bento boxes. It feels so relaxing and the bento boxes always taste surprisingly good.
Some people have been telling me that I’ve been eating super healthy. This is interesting, because I’m actually thinking that I could’ve done better turning down some of the snacks!
I guess that means I am eating healthier, that even on my bad days, I’m still doing pretty well in other people’s eyes. :)
01/12/2023
Day 3 in Kyoto - I’m having such a great time in Japan. Everything that would bug me while I’m not traveling becomes so enjoyable. All the waiting, walking, not knowing how to get to places are all fun experiences.
I know there has to be ups and downs in life, and without the less pleasant moments, how do we know we are having a good time?
However, what I’ve learned from this trip through, is that life is too short to be wasted on something you don’t enjoy. Now I look back, it’s kind of silly that I try to stick out for some work that made me miserable just to prove to someone I don’t care.
I now have a better idea of what needs to be done when I go back to LA now, and that’s why we travel!
#金閣寺 #二条城 #錦市場 #京都 #嵐山 #嵯峨野トロッコ列車
30/11/2023
Day 2 in Kyoto - Kyoto is such a beautiful city, even if you’re not planning to actually go inside the shrines, it’s still worth checking out.
My favorite is probably the Nishiki market. I think that’s the Taiwanese in me. My passion for street food and the walking and eating fashion outweighs my passion for visiting every single shrine.
I think with that said, there’s no surprise I spent most of my time at the market on my first day in Kyoto. The only downside is I’m running out of cash very fast, but with those fresh and delicious grapes and strawberries (though so pricey), it‘s all worth it!
#清水寺 #錦市場 #壹錢洋食 #祗園 #京都
28/11/2023
Day 1 in Nara - no sneaky complaints in this one because I’m having a great time!
This is something new I’m doing - Traveling while following the nutrition system as much as I can, prioritizing protein and avoiding too much highly processed food. I ate a lot because everything in Japan just tastes so amazing, but I also walked a lot (25k yesterday), so we’ll see how my weight changes when I go back to LA!
10/11/2023
How did I do?
My client POC is a dramatic backseat driver who talks with comical hand gestures. He also speaks with a heavy valley girl tone and always orders the most for lunch when I (my company) am paying.
No wonder I need to have a pastry on those days I meet these clowns in person. Look at what I have to deal with!
The silver lining about today though, is that I get to fly back to LA and be with the ones I love, but that’s if I beat the traffic and make it to the airport in time. Wish me luck!
08/11/2023
How did I do?
Life is unfair. My director is younger than me, and aside from his knowledge about consulting, he doesn’t have what it takes to direct and manage people.
Sometimes I wonder, if I wasn’t stuck on my work visa and had to work in construction, would he still be my director?
He’s a damn intelligent person, I’ll give you that, but the problem is, he can only accept one solution and one approach to any problem, and that’s his solution and his approach.
So this is what I have to deal with everyday, he either gives no direction because my solution is too far off from his, so he doesn’t know how to comment on that, or he hijacks meetings, scrutinizes every word that comes out of my mouth, and micromanages me like I’m fresh out of college.
I was raised by a bully and grew up enduring all the bullying, but life is too short for that, and things gotta change.
I will make the change.
07/11/2023
How did I do?
This week I have two in-person meetings. One was already hard enough and this week I have to see those hideous faces two times.
These brainstorming sessions are the worst. You sit down all day, burn out all your brain cells, feel super hungry, but you actually don’t burn more calories because you’re not moving around at all!
That’s me today. I snacked more than I wanted, ate more than I’d like, and I didn’t walk enough. And you know what? I’m exhausted and have zero energy to exercise or anything because I’m just mentally drained from having to force myself to focus on something I have absolutely no interest in.
5 more weeks including this one. I Hope I land a new TMT client!
03/11/2023
How did I do?
Another travel week and another stressful day. Working on something I have absolutely no interest in is so hard.
I thought I became a consultant so I could plan and not do the actual work, but this specific client expects that I do both. What makes it tough is that I don’t care about their business nor do I want to work in that industry or for that company at all.
I found it so difficult to survive those in person meetings without having a pastry, so I started planning it into my weekly diet.
The scale has not been showing what I like to see these days, but I’m doing my best to stick to my new lifestyle.
27/10/2023
How did I do?
Today is not one of the days where I’d be so proud of myself for making all the right choices, but one of those days I feel like I barely survived and did the best I could.
Traveling for this engagement has made me miserable, and to cure that misery, making it just slightly more bearable, I choose high calorie, high fat, high sugar pastries.
On the days when I have in person meetings, these pastries seem especially irresistible. I needed them to help me get through the day, to put a smile on when I wanted to snap.
So I decided to plan pastries into my diet, knowing in-person meetings are the days when I eat over my calories, I adjusted my food choices so I’m still in a good balance.
In the long term, I’d like to get rolled off from this engagement but right now, this is the best I can do, and that’s ok.
20/10/2023
How did I do?
I knew my coworker was going to bring pastries as breakfast for the team so I planned some calories for that knowing I wouldn’t be able to say no to a nice piece of croissant.
My recent favorite has been the almond croissant and I found out there are two different types of it: the crispy one and the moist one.
My preference is the moist one, filled with lots of almond paste that sometimes overflows. I especially love the ones that have almond paste on top of the croissant, browned and baked. That tastes like heaven.
The one I had today was the crispy one. Not that it’s not good, just not the way I wanted. I was a bit disappointed, but gladly I followed the nutrition system for all other meals so one croissant didn’t mess up my day. :)
19/10/2023
How did I do?
Whenever it’s a work day, I typically consume the majority of my calories during the day. That means, I usually can’t have a big dinner without going over my calories.
It has been like this for a while. I felt like I needed food to help me get through the day, to make me feel better and happier about what I’m doing, and then I learned that cravings are usually from stress or boredom, so I finally decided to be true to myself and realized how much I dislike my current working environment!
It’s time for a change, and I’ve put it into action. Now we wait for the flowers to blossom!
18/10/2023
How did I do?
7:35 pm and I had just left the office building. That’s 11.5 hours of working for me since I didn’t and couldn’t take a lunch break. The moment I landed at the airport, I received messages from the client asking me when I’d be in the office, and as soon as I stepped foot at my desk, trying to have my lunch, he was already there wanting to discuss work.
While we were grinding through some work product, I received a text from my team saying that everyone else is out for dinner to celebrate a team member’s birthday, a planned dinner that I was not aware of.
I’m definitely not part of the club, and it makes spending that much effort to commute just that much more unpleasant.
Well the silver lining is, I’m not going over my calories today!
13/10/2023
How did I do?
As a consultant, I work with clients in different industries, and every client has its own unique culture. I, unfortunately, am having the most difficult time adjusting to this all work no fun, no food no break culture. Things have been tough, and I am doing my best to not dwell on my old habit in terms of unconscious snacking and overeating.
Today was brutal. We had a full day workshop and by noon, I had only taken a 4 min break. When I asked for a lunch break, the attendees suggested that I could just eat the donuts in the room, “because they contain enough calories”.
Well, what I wanted was some proper food large in volume but low in calories and not some calorie dense highly processed food with low nutrition value! I ended up still getting half a donut because I was so hungry that I couldn’t concentrate.
Feeling awful after eating something I didn’t want, I realized that this team will probably never respect my work life balance and physical/mental health, so I can only help myself. Next time, I’m bringing my own lunch and snacks!
12/10/2023
How did I do?
The silver lining about traveling for work is that I get to meet friends I don’t get to see too often because we’re in different cities!
Was planning on chilling in my hotel room but couldn’t say no to a good bowl of ramen and someone to split the shaved ice with.
I ended up going over my daily maintenance calories, but now I know better not to freak out over one big meal.
The food was amazing and I had a great time. Tomorrow is a new day and we’ll put the past behind and resume our routine again!
11/10/2023
How did I do?
As much as I wanted to quit snacking at the airport, I don’t always do so well. This morning when I got there, I was already stressed and exhausted, and I really wanted something sweet to eat.
I followed the snacking rule though, and I passed by the store a few times before deciding to return for a protein bar and sparkling water.
Sometimes it’s not a bad thing to snack. After I satisfied my craving, at night, when I got to the hotel, although I was starving, I still chose chicken salad and fruit over pizza/pasta and cake!
06/10/2023
How did I do?
I kicked off the day with the same breakfast as yesterday, almond croissant and 1 scoop of protein shake.
Lunch was in San Carlos. It’s no San Francisco but with a nice and satisfying poke bowl, I had no complaints.
While waiting at the airport, I kept my promise and didn’t snack at the airport or on the plane at all. Instead, I got a nutritious dinner - grilled shrimps with side salad and cornbread! I ordered extra cornbread because I love the gritty taste so much!
The best thing for me today though, is coming back home!
05/10/2023
How did I do?
I like a satisfying breakfast to get me into the right mood for the day so 1 scoop of the protein shake and my favorite almond croissant was my way to go this morning.
Funny thing, I hated the smell and the taste of almonds as a kid and now it has become my favorite croissant flavor!
I’m lucky that I got to work in instead of Oakland today. There are just way more options for food and better quality in the city. After googling and yelping for a place I wouldn’t regret, I decided to revisit Luke’s Lobster, and man, every single bite of calories was so worth it!
A light yet filling dinner is how I like to end the day so Chipotle was my choice. Nothing too extraordinary but a guaranteed level of satisfaction.
Well that’s a wrap of today, and tomorrow, I’ll fight my urge from snacking at the airport!
04/10/2023
How did I do?
Meal prepping is not always the answer given the amount of traveling I’ve been undertaking. Sometimes I gotta be a bit creative.
On my travel week, when cooking small portions doesn’t make sense, I’d order take-outs, mostly protein only, e.g., ribs, briskets, etc., and mix them up with the fresh produce bought from a grocery store to get the nutrition I need for the day.
It has been working out pretty well! The restaurants definitely have food that tastes much better than my own cooking, and replacing some of the side dishes that come with the meal and being able to divide it up to my ideal portion allows me to not only enjoy a satisfactory meal as if I’m eating out, but also control my calorie intake!
02/10/2023
What I say: Happy Monday!
How I feel: 🙄
29/09/2023
How did I do?
Going through security screening is always so painful no matter how many times I’ve done it. The wait, the opening your luggage making a mess only to find out there’s nothing you shouldn’t bring.
Well, I managed to get only the snack bar I intended to - the dark chocolate cherry cashew KIND bar! I love all KIND bars, and now I’m aware that even though they claim their snack bars to be “healthy”, those are still snacks with additional sugars to get people addicted. However, I still love the taste, so every now and then, I get one to satisfy my taste buds.
Finally, can we all spend some time appreciating how delicious Ethiopian food is? It’s an exotic cuisine for me for sure, but can’t go wrong with beef, lamb, and chicken!
28/09/2023
How did I do?
Started off the day with 2 scoops of protein shake because I woke up late. Staying at a hotel right next to a busy street is so touch for getting a good night sleep.
I like a big breakfast so I got myself a blueberry scone at the bakery in the office building.
Lunch was at this salad place I really like called MIXT. Their seasonal salad “the Peachy” is really amazing and low in calories too if you switch crispy chicken to grilled and choose only one dressing instead of a mix of 2 (BBQ and ranch).
For dinner, I originally ordered meatballs at the hotel, but was disappointed at the quality - it tasted like microwaved. Everything else was high fat, non-nutritious, so I ended up getting Chipotle delivered.
So that concluded my food journal of the day. 1700 calories, lots of veggies, and over 130g of protein!
27/09/2023
How did I do?
It’s another travel day for me and I challenged myself to turn down all snacks at the airport and on the plane. Guess what? I did it!
I started the day off with some fried chicken from bb.q Chicken and one scoop of protein shake after working out in the morning.
Had an awesome lunch at Brasil Kiss and tried their omelet for the first time. Funny thing, I used to eat based on my feelings and not nutrition and expected all nutritious food to taste bland. Now I started choosing healthier food, and it’s somehow more satisfying!
Finishing up with some pork ribs from The Flying Pig with some homemade salad with plums and yuzu dressing.
Last but not least, some raspberries for dessert!
25/09/2023
I recently finished reading “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. I find it very comforting that in his book, he acknowledged that motivation doesn't last forever. Eventually, the excitement goes away, and what differentiates the winners from the rest is being disciplined, following the plan through, committing to the routine/habit even when tired, lazy, or discouraged.
So don’t blame yourself when you don’t feel motivated very soon after kicking off a new plan or starting a new habit. Everyone gets bored after repetitive actions and feels depressed after drawbacks. However, repetition is the route to success, and it’s not measured by how badly you want something, it’s about how disciplined you push yourself to be!
18/09/2023
Has this ever happened to you? You see someone else’s posts, living his or her best life, and all of a sudden, you don’t feel so good about yourself and want to find any evidence that says that person living the best life is not living the best life at all.
Well, that’s jealousy. We feel that way because that person you think is living the best life and watching it feels like a slap in the face is probably living your dream life.
I used to get obsessed and would want to find out anything that suggests that those people are not living a perfect life after all, and then I moved on to muting and hiding their social media so I don’t get triggered.
Finally, I learned that jealousy may not be a bad thing. When I feel that way, it’s just my heart telling me that my deep desire has been revealed, and there are two ways to get rid of this feeling - take what others have away from them, so both have none, or grow and achieve what I desire and become the better version of myself!
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