Korean Job Discussion Forums

[highstreet]

Aren't you dieting?

Dieting along with lifting weights = you won't "bulk up"

[tukmax]

How much money have you saved in the 15 weeks?

[Louis VI]

*sigh* Time to address this. Two pages ago I was asked:

[Zyzyfer]

Throw the ginger in that morning fry-up you do, see how that goes?

[weso1]

[Louis VI]

[Louis VI]

[Zyzyfer]

I do simple dinner stir-fries and throw in a small handful of sliced/mashed ginger. It's absolutely awesome in a stir-fry if you like the taste of ginger. I'm still new to this whole using ginger thing, so I'd be interested in more ideas as well.

On a related note, since you're talking about costs, I noticed that I can do a simple stir-fry that makes 4 decent servings (especially for a light dinner) and the cost is around 12-15K won. So I'm wondering how you can manage to drop a cool million. One obvious reason I can see is vegetable choices. Definitely drop organic if you intend to save money.

I'm still baffled at how you're dropping a million won a month on food though. My best guess is that you still eat meals that, while relatively small to you, still sound big. Based on how you described that morning fry-up as a giant mound of (healthy) food, I could see it as a possibility. Nuts are expensive but yes, oh so healthy. And you can't really eat more than a handful in one sitting since they fill you up. You eat a small portion of meat per day as well, so it's not that. Thus, I suspect it's due to eating a high volume of veggies.

Drop organic, perhaps drop the fancier veggies (like red/yellow bell peppers) if it doesn't affect vitamin intake.

*dreams of the nightly steak feasts on a million won monthly food budget*

Mmmmm............steeeeeeaaaaaaaaaak............

[Louis VI]

END OF WEEK 16 UPDATE: 115.8 kg weight and 119 cm waist

I lost 2.8 kg (over 6.1 pounds) this week! Do the funky chicken! I haven't lost that much since week 11 (the week before my vacation, back in mid-July). What was different about the past week? Well, I started this last week off by rollerblading for the first time ever, aching my calves. Then the next day I took out of storage the pair of dumbells I've had for years but rarely used and did a bunch of weightlifting for the first time this year. Owwww. I spent the next two days in pain, discomfort and bad sleep. Really, I suffered too much. You see, I didd too much too soon and the muscles of my shoulders, upper back and neck tightened up and ached so much that it felt like I had whiplash. I had a hard time sleeping. It hurt so much to lay down that I cried a couple of times. I couldn't turn my head when teaching. It was awful. By Thursday the pain was down to a dull throb and Friday, thankfully I had decent mobility and had a cooking class I made for my students, hauling half my kitchen over to the academy to cook for them (veggie egg stirfry, fried salmon, salad). Just carrying the six heavy bags full of utensils and ingredients back and forth was further weightlifting, though this time without the post-workout agony.

So, that was what was different this week. My muscles got a workout, from lower body skating to upper body free weights to total body load carrying. The only other difference was that I did NOT do my long walks. I actually did very little aerobic activity, which on principle I regret because of the known heart benefits of walking a lot.

Here I am, having eaten the same foods all week that I've been eating for the past 16 weeks (no fresh spinach this week though, and less celery than usual). I still eat every day meat, eggs, cheese, yogurt, nuts (oh, I added to the almonds and cashews: a half-handful of sunflower seeds a day, starting about two weeks ago), olive oil, lemons squeezed and lots and lots of vegetables. I really eat a lot of food. My breakfast is a mound on my plate. The ziploc foods I prepare I have to chastize myself to make sure to eat. The last time I skipped a few meals I plateau'd. This of course makes sense because my body probably went into starvation mode that week. Not this week. The weeks I lose the most week are also the weeks I eat regualrly every two or three hours, six minimeals a day. And in every minimeal I have a protein & lipid source with a bunch of veggies. I do that because of scientific research showing one's metabolism is improved with continual eating patterns. (The three square meal approach of the industrial age isn't ideal as it spikes hormones, something diabetics know too well with insulin). Anyways,... the point here is: I ate a lot this past week, as in past weeks of my yearlong project. No carbs other than in veggies and yogurt.

[Louis VI]

[Louis VI]

END OF WEEK 17 UPDATE: 115.5 kg weight and 121 cm waist

I lost only 0.3 kg (just over half a pound) this week, basically a plateau. My waist size went up by two centimeters, as I feel a bit bloated today. What had I been doing differently this week? Well, a lot less leafy green veggies for strters: no spinach or kale (didn't find fresh enough) and less than usual swiss chard. With all the nutrients and metabolism-boosting elements of these super foods this absence alone might be significant. A lot less broccoli and celery just because I neglected to pack them as snacks some days. Less green onion because of the hassle of cleaning them and I was pretty busy this week. All other veggies I usually eat I ate about the same: onions, garlic, all kinds of peppers, cauliflower, red cabbage, asparagus, mushrooms. I also didn't put eggs in my breakfast stirfry twice in the week, opting to experiment taking them as boiled to work. Everything else was the same: yogurt, cheese, milk, meat, nuts, basically the protein and lipid sources remained the same but the veggie consumption had been cut almost in half. That probably stalled my metabolic rate. Dang! My usually 75% veggie ratio was down to less than half. I gotta get back to eating all those vegetables, despite the chore it is to prep and actually eat them all. (I know, I know, I could juice, but I ain't juicing as long as my original plan for this year progresses, which it has, most of the time).

The weather is forecasted to be sunny, for the first time in over a week, and it's supposed to remain sunny here on Jeju throughout the coming week. Boy do I plan to get my vitamin D, tan and sweat! My lemon consumption ought to double this week with them squeezed fresh into ice cubed water.

I was really hoping to hit 114.9/115.0 kg mark this week to declare myself 2/3s of the way toward the one-year goal in under 1/3 of the time: having lost 30 kg of planned 45 kg in under 4 months of the 12-month project. But I didn't quite make it. Missed it by a friggin' half a kilogram. Unless... if I lose 0.5 kg by Wednesday (August 31st) I could do a special mid-week weigh in because May, June, July, August is one-third of the way through the year. That wouldn't be cheating, in fact, it would be elegant in the mathematical sense: a 1/3 of the year progress report! I'll do it. Man, this idea makes me feel better.

[Louis VI]

BTW, on the financial savings front. I volunteered to teach a couple of extra classes once a week at the hagwon and the overtime pay ought to bring in another 1-2 million over the year to help me get back on track financially. I'm still tight financially but at least on paper I could reach my financial goal as well as my health goals by my next birthday.

[Draz]

[T-J]

I have to admit I have never viewed this thread until now.

Wow!

Big pat on the back for the OP. Good to hear you taking control of your situation and I'm glad for you that you're progressing so well toward your goal.

Good luck in the future as you continue to work toward the finish line.

[Louis VI]

END OF WEEK 18 UPDATE: 115.0 kg weight and 118 cm waist

I lost 0.5 kg (1.1 pounds) this week and three centimeters on my waist. I feel slimmer for the first time in over two weeks. I feel like in the last few days the plateau has been busted, probably due to my increased time out in the sunshine, getting vitamin D at the beach. I swear when I suntan the scale starts to move. I haven't been consistent in measuring it, and the scale has moved a lot over the four months I've been checking it (I look every morning, record it only once a week though).