Get Fit: Week 15
Dear internet and future self.
It's been a crazy busy weekend, spending time in St. Louis, Missouri. In my last post, I mentioned how I didn't do so well being mindful about my calorie intake. I haven't really been mindful lately, and its something I need to explore and find out why.
Saturday, I went to two of my good friend's wedding and witnessed their partnership unfold in front of my eyes. I was extremely happy for them and can't wait to see how their lives end up with each other. After the event, I checked up on my brother Ryan to see how he was fairing without my parents (currently traveling to Spain for two weeks). We went to go get some pho at some new place in Diamond Bar. Food was not bad but not good either. I ate mostly the brisket meat and finished the noodles, but left all the soup base. They had a free milk tea offer on Yelp. Ended up not drinking it because it way too sweet. We went to a coffee shop after and split a nutella crepe with my matching specialty coffee. I had a good chat with my little bro regarding topics he never talks about (aka alcohol drinks, sex, college studies, etc).
Sunday, I ate with my other brother Russell and went to this place in North Hollywood called EAT. They had some healthy food alternatives and ended up getting an omelette with turkey sausage, toast, and zucchini hash. I then proceeded to workout and take care of errands for the rest of the week. I met up with my Aunt Honor who was having problems with her network in her home. We set up Google WiFi for her which seems to be more responsive than her previous network setup. As as treat, she took me to a place called Hillstreet Cafe in La Canada. The restaurant was filled with senior people. The food options were plentiful, but not too many of the items were considered healthy. I ended up getting salmon, rice, and steamed veggies. It wasn't very good, but it was probably the healthiest option they had on the menu.
Monday was a particularly heavy day for me. I found out that a good coworker of mine, Linda Ong, pasted away from fighting cancer. I am still in disbelief at what has happened to her, especially since she was in her 30s and I knew/hung out with her when she was healthy/fighting for her life. My workout was especially intense just from all the news and stress I heard regarding Linda. I will miss her deeply, especially since she was such a great karaoke friend a foodie at heart. I ate Hawaiian BBQ for lunch with my friend Vincent and picked half beef/half chicken with garlic brown rice. I worked out after work, and had my protein almond drink right after.
On Tuesday I went to Daikokuya and kinda ignored my diet. I over ordered, and purchased both ramen and chicken teriyaki from the menu. I couldn't finish both of my foods and had to get it thrown away. I then went to get charcoal-infused pineapple ice cream at Bae, but immediately regretted it right after. Exercising right after work seemed particularly harder to do, but I still got a good workout from it.
Wednesday, I hung out with Jeremy and went to a Thai place in DTLA. I ordered basil chicken with house tom yum and it was delicious. They even provided a little side salad while we waited for our main entree. We then went exploring and found a coffee shop called Stumptown. I went a little 'extra' and get the horchata cold brew which was very delicious, especially since I am not a fan of cinnamon in the first place.
Thursday was just bad. I ate lunch with Dung and Vincent who typically never comes out for lunch. We went to a Korean fried chicken place and ordered their wing platter (32 pieces). I ended up getting creamed corn for my side and finishing any leftovers that were on the table. We got some matcha ice cream right next door to complete the meal.
After work, I was suppose to meet up with Kevin and Eddie, but our schedules got delayed and conflicted. At the same time, I was able to get a full workout routine prior to the hangout. Unfortunately, I canceled on them and decided to hang out with David and Chris at the Federal Bar. I saw a really cute chick serve us; and I swear we locked eyes for at least half a second before looking away. I'm not even gonna bother with what I ended up ordering (aka fresh pretzel, drizzled brussel sprouts, chicken tacos, strawberry cake, and the assorted drinks purchased throughout the night). I'm gonna have to go back there (for the food AND the cute server chick of course).
On Friday, our old colleague Peter Lee came by to help Jay with contract information. We went to Wi Korean BBQ, per Peter's wishes. I knew that AYCE Korean BBQ is a trap and proceeded to be as mindful as possible with the food. I ended up cooking for the group and sticking mostly to white meats such as chicken and pork. I was also treated to a cold brew prior to work ending by my new boss' boss, Jon Hoang. I then met up with Kevin and Eddie in Downtown Fullerton just to hang out. We went to this placed called Pour Company that served pretty delicious food and drinks. I ate this "big mac" burger with animal style fries (again, the diet was pretty much out the door at this point) as well as these mixed cocktails that were very on-point. They also had some pretty delicious beer on tap as well. I'll definitely be coming back here again for another round. We then went to a wine bar called "Twisted Vine" and proceeded to have more wine and snacks. Eddie got to a point where we needed to slow down and wait for the alcohol to pass through his system. We even went to ChaH2O to get boba and chill in the car until we were all able to go home.
So crazy thing is, I was able to eat and hang out with few to little restrictions and still make some pretty decent progress on my diet. As of August 24, I am at 219 pounds even with all the foods and drinks I had throughout the week. If I was more mindful, I would definitely have made progress with the diet. I've come to a point now where I am pretty comfortable with the way I look, even though I know there is plenty of things I can work on during my fitness journey. But I also have to remind myself that I need to enjoy my journey without killing my happiness in the process. I haven't been very good with my timely updates, especially with life getting so busy these days. I'll try to be more proactive in getting these updates out, and if it comes to a point where weekly is just too much for me, I can switch it up to become a biweekly or monthly update instead. I just don't want to stop posting updates, as I use this as a way to keep myself accountable.
As always, stay consistent, trust the process, and be happy while doing it. Till the next update!