Day: July 4, 2010

June Wrap Up

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Time to take a look back at my June Goals and see how things went.

Well, first of all, my goals flew out the window for the last week of the month because the s*it really hit the fan with my health during this time.

I really enjoyed my goals this month and they felt very manageable while still occasionally a bit of a challenge.  I wasn’t looking for big changes or big challenges physically this month.  The goals were a way to help keep me on track and consistent during a really crazy travel month.

The abs/arms daily challenge worked out beautifully.  I saw increased strength and definition in both areas of my body.  I began to crave my mini workouts and stop at nothing to fit them into my day.   And fitting them in was so simple it felt silly to skip it.  I spent an average of 10 minutes daily.  The addition of the “Push Up Variation Challenge” was really fun also.   As soon as I am feeling strong enough I plan to get back to my daily abs/arms.

Next on my June Goals is to limit refined sugar.  I feel only mildly successful at this one.   As I have mentioned a hundred times, China LOVES their sugar, second only to white rice and noodles.  There were some things that I ate that I didn’t consider “sugar” items because of other beneficial properties, like yogurt.   Then there were the gray areas, like when I wanted some crackers or bread only to discover after buying that they were loaded with sugar.  There were a few times though when I really wanted some ice cream but convinced myself that I didn’t want to consume that much sugar.

The food and exercise journal was helpful and I felt I was able to remain diligent to keeping record.  There were a few times when I waited until the end of the day or even the next morning to record food and I had a harder time than expected remembering exactly what I ate.  My favorite way to food journal is to write my meal down as I sit down to eat it, when I can take a moment to really look at the quantity and quality of food I am about to eat.

My running goals went out the window as soon as they were made but I had some really great runs in the first half of the month.

June was a crazy month and all things considered I feel good about the way my goals played out.

“there’s plans and then there’s life!”

Overworked and Lazy Susan

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(THIS POST IS FROM JUNE 22. SOMEHOW BETWEEN BEING ILL AND CHINESE INTERNET IT NEVER GOT PUBLISHED, SO ENJOY NOW!)


Yesterday, our last day in Wuhan, was all about the eating.

But first, I woke up determined to be more active and energetic and get over this sickness.  I did my yoga routine, which felt AMAZING, and then managed to squeeze out 5 sets of 10 push ups.   On my knees.   Better than nothing.  I took 3 days off from my arms/abs portion of June Goals and was eager to get back to it in even a minimal way.

And on to the FOOD!

Guilia invited us to attend a lunch that she was having with her students.  She teaches English to post-high school students and it was a little end of the term celebration.   The students chose the place and ordered.  And ordered.   There were 18 of us and something like 25 dishes!! It was obcene but a fun way to try many different things.   This was one time it was perfectly fine to be a vegetarian!  Tate made it his goal to try EVERYTHING and left stuffed to the gills.

Our table had a huge “lazy susan” and some sweet AstroTurf underneath.  All of the dishes went in the center and we used our chopsticks to pluck things into our little personal bowls as they rolled by.

These are the dishes I sampled.  The veg and the fish.

My bowl.  Bring on the garlic! Note the pools of oil everything is swimming in!  By the door to this restaurant there were 5 GALLON jugs of oil sitting there.  Ewww……

THE MEATS! (and a few other items I didn’t try)

Yes, in that last one Guilia is holding up a whole chicken foot.

O.k, I think you get the picture but there were at least a dozen more dishes!

Lucas enjoyed the ribs!


There was so much left over, it was tragic.  In China it is rude to finish dishes because it is a sign there was not enough food so for a social meal like this they purposely overorder.  We encouraged the students to take leftovers home but they weren’t interested and we were spending the afternoon walking around the city.  They were very generous and treated Tate, Lucas, Guilia, and I to this feast.  So sweet.

We wondered around Wuhan and took a boat ride into the lake and low and behold, 5 or so hours later we were ready to eat MORE.

We went for “hot pot”.  There are many versions of Chinese hot pot but the one we went to was a raw buffet of meats, veggies, tofu, and seafood and you cook it in your individual little caldran of boiling broth.   This was perfect for me because I could really load up on the veg and finally not eat a cup of oil with my otherwise healthy meal.

My plate before cooking.

I piled my plate high before the cooking.  It was a lot of spinach-like greens,  some mushrooms, tofu, tomato, cauliflower, and a few slices of sweet potato.

The “hotpot”.

By 9 o’clock we boarded the train for Beijing full and tired.

One more night on the train!