Get Fit: Week 14

Hello internet and future self.

I'm currently in St. Louis, Missouri as I am writing this blog post. There have been so many ups and down in my journey when it comes to food and exercise. Nevertheless, I am proud of myself and what I have accomplished so far.

The first three days of my visit here (Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday) were pretty bad when it came to diet. Right upon landing, my coworkers wanted to try out St. Louis BBQ; that to me spelled bad news for my diet. I ended up ordering brisket and ribs but kept the sides to healthier alternatives like cole slaw and steamed veggies. Later in the day, we went to the welcome reception which included free food and alcohol. I definitely went overboard with the alcohol, mostly because I was trying to one-up my friend Lawrence. I ended up drinking three beers, a wine, and three shots of whiskey. And even after all that, I still worked out semi-drunk. Not the best moment, but not too bad either.

After a night's sleep, I went to a running session early in the morning on Monday. I met an IBM'er named Justin who was guiding us through our run. We ended up heading towards the Gateway Arch where there were a lot of paths that circled back to the hotel I am staying in. I was very surprised; I was able to keep up with Justin without stopping until towards the end when he needed to run faster to get ready for his session. I ate much better towards the beginning of the day (wrap from Starbucks for breakfast, and healthy Peruvian chicken for lunch). However, towards the evening, there was free food from the convention. Of course, they served St. Louis BBQ which ended up tasting okay. I ended up drinking two beers, a mixed cocktail, and wine from the event. After the convention ended for the day, we went to CityGarden to checkout some street art, and then we headed to a rooftop bar called St. Louis Three Sixty. From there, I ate a Margherita pizza, a Kit Kat dessert, and an additional beer to help with the digestion. Again, not too good with being mindful when food is free and you are out on the town with coworkers.

The unmindfulness of food continues. Because of all the bad eating I did yesterday, I went to the gym first thing in the morning to try to work it all off. It felt so good to have a workout after eating so much. After the workout, I went to a breakfast place called Rooster where they served really good brunch food. I ended up eating two breakfast biscuit sandwiches and kombucha. I was pretty full from the hearty breakfast. We ate at a Meditteranean place called Taze for lunch, where I proceeded to eat chicken along with ziki, tabouleh, brown rice, and onion-based hummus. It was actually a lot of food and they served fried pita. I tried to limit my portions and didn't consume all of the carbs or cheese from my plate. Later in the evening, we went to an Italian area outside of downtown called The Hill where they had a restaurant featured on the Travel Channel. I tried Toasted Ravioli as well as Dolmathes which was fairly healthy. But because we are in St. Louis and I won't have the opportunity to come back here in awhile, we went to Ted Drewes' for dessert. The soft-serve concretes they served were delicious and filled with sweetness. I just let myself go on that one. 

But wait, there's more. Late night, we went back to St. Louis Three Sixty where there was even more free food and drinks provided by IBM. I couldn't really eat any more meals, especially with all the food I ate during the day. I stuck to samplers and the free alcoholic drinks provided. Once the event ended, I went back to the lobby of our hotel and proceeded to have even more alcohol with Lawrence where we drank two more mixed drinks. I had to end my night and get a good night's rest.

Wednesday, I woke up with a fairly bad hangover. I gained a headache from having way too much alcohol and not expelling it out from my system prior to sleeping. I checked with Lawrence and he had it even worse; he got sick and just had a loss of appetite throughout the day. It was a wakeup call for both of us and knew that we had to take this day lightly if we want to recover. I skipped breakfast; I just had no appetite from all the drinking we did last night. I did feel hungry much later when we had our lunch. We went to a sandwich shop and ate healthier items. I ended up getting a chicken sandwich along with chicken gumbo soup, a cookie, and iced tea. In the evening, Lawrence and I went to Delmar loop which has plenty of trendy places to eat. We ate more St. Louis BBQ at a placed Salt + Smoke. I ordered the chicken sandwich and we shared different sides of cole slaw, creamed corn, and mac & cheese. I was fairly full, but we went to get desserts anyways. We compromised on the drinking situation by buying vodka cake, rum baba, and of course we couldn't resist gooey butter cake (classic & cannoli style). I knew the dessert was definitely a mistake. I told Lawrence that I was going to definitely get a workout in to clear out the excess calories. He ended up not joining me later in the night because he was not feeling well and was tired. I felt so much better post workout.

Today (Thursday), I made the decision not to go crazy on food; to be more mindful of what I put into my body. I'm pretty sure at this point, I've gained a couple of pounds from all the craziness in this work trip. For lunch, I went to a healthy placed called Crazy Bowl Wraps. I stuck to a fajita bowl with chicken and didn't finish the rice or the carbs that came with my plate. There were some tortilla chips that I couldn't resist eating, but I know that I will need to work that off later today. As I am writing this, there is a farewell reception happening for dinner tonight. I'll try to limit the portions I eat, but I do know that I want to get a workout in before tonight ends. 

I'm very proud of the habits I have made so far. Every day of my work trip, I have been getting a workout in to help maintain or lose weight, even with all of this unmindful eating. My friends tell me that I should take it easy when I'm on vacation. "You want to be able to try the different foods from other parts of the country", Kevin says. "Don't kill yourself with your diet to a point where you are not happy with what you are eating". He's definitely got a point. At least, I have this obligation to myself to workout every day. Otherwise, I don't feel like my day is complete; I never want to feel lazy again where I just idle when I should be doing something.

I will get back into mindful eating when I return to L.A.  I may potentially be going to Six Flags St. Louis tomorrow where they probably won't have healthy alternatives for food. After that, we are heading back to L.A. where I have a wedding ceremony to attend between Job and Ang. I can't wait to get back into my normal routine. 

As always, remember to trust the process, be consistent, and be true to yourself. Happiness is being the best version of yourself. Always strive for that and you'll succeed.