Back Home, Back to Healthy Habits

My family and I are back from a three-week long holiday in the United States, to visit our relatives there. It wasn't too cold in Los Angeles most of the time, it was just comparable to Baguio weather at this time of the year—as you can see in my photo above, there were days when I could get away without needing to wear coats or sweaters.

I do apologize for failing to follow up on my meals since my last entry—our schedule's been so hectic with road trips, parties, and tours. I never really got worried or anxious that I was breaking a lot of my healthy habits, or that I was going to gain a few pounds at the end of my vacation (that was to be expected). I wanted to enjoy myself during my vacation, but within reason, of course. I still tried to stay reasonable with eating, such as not having more than one scoop of ice cream per day. Here were the challenges I faced during my stay there:

No time to exercise. I confess that I have not been able to exercise during my three weeks there—doing everything else made me tired pretty quickly. The sports bra that I brought along was unused. However, I tried to make up for it by doing chores around my aunt's home, and by walking. While we were in Las Vegas, my brothers and I used the stairs instead of escalators and elevators to go up the pedestrian walkways.
Also, in the picture here, I was on the Holly Ridge Trail, which leads to the Hollywood Sign. It was at least a two-mile hike farther up the mountain. I wanted to take it, but since I was with my family, no one else had my youthful vigor or stamina...or at least was in the same shape that I'm in. I want to hike up that trail in future visits.

Holiday food. My whole-grain breakfast habit was put on standby, because there was so much food around. I felt compelled to consume them first instead of buying a loaf of whole-grain bread for a three-week stay. There was also all the touring, food trips (including a two-hour line at Pink's in Hollywood), and the feasts for Christmas and New Year. We also held a party with our friends in the US on New Year's Day dinner. Sweets were especially in abundance, and I confess that I had dessert every day during my vacation. I also had my fair share of wine and chips. Ah, well, it's not often that I'm in the US.
We had so much food during the holidays that my lunch today will be leftovers from Christmas noche buena, that we've packed in our luggage for our flight back home. I'm not kidding.

HUGE portion sizes. I've come to appreciate the flimsy, "kuripot" servings back here in Manila. Everything in the US was just massive, even if I order the smallest size! My family (the Philippine-based contingent) soon learned to share orders with one another, but those who have settled in North America had already gotten used to ordering one dish each for themselves, thus resulting in leftovers. Even at Starbucks, their "short" is 12 ounces, which is already a "tall" in Starbucks in the Philippines.

Now that I'm back home, I know I have to get back to my usual habits. I even forced myself to exercise on the same day that my plane had landed. It's been rather easy for me to get back on track; somehow, being back home gives me assurance that I'm going to be all right.

Friday's exercise
- 1,800 on the jump rope

Yesterday's exercise
- 40-minute brisk walk/run

Friday's meals
Breakfast: Vegetable sandwich, cheese roll, coffee with low-fat milk
Lunch: Spring rolls, rice
Snack: Two pieces of See's chocolates
Dinner: Steamed shrimp, rice

Saturday's meals
Breakfast: Steel-cut oatmeal with Nutella, coffee with low-fat milk
Lunch: Ham, rice
Snack: Cheese roll, coffee with low-fat milk
Dinner: Leftover Christmas turkey stew with vegetables, rice
Dessert: See's Scotchmallow bar

Sunday's meals
Breakfast: Oatmeal with peanut butter, coffee with low-fat milk
Mid-morning: Potato chips
Lunch: Shrimp, dinakdakan, rice
Snack: Cheese roll, cofee with low-fat milk
Dinner: 1 piece Chickenjoy, ginisang sitaw at kalabasa