Saturday in Seomyeon

This weekend was gray and rainy.  I had planned on heading to the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival on Sunday, but the weather and my persistent cough didn't really make me want to do anything.  I managed to get a sweet pair of prescription glasses (frames, check up, and lenses for KRW 10,000 at Davich!) on Friday night, and Saturday we planned to do some shopping.  Checking out my closet I've noticed that I brought a lot of pairs of pants but have been rotating a few shirts.  I had planned on wearing tee-shirts or tank tops with cardigans or jackets over top, but with the weight-loss I've seen (a few pounds here and there but I think I've gained some muscle) they fall far too low to wear to school.  Being from Toronto, I wear a LOT of black which isn't exactly exciting for my students.  My goal, by heading to Seomyeon (the most crowded area in Busan, having a floating population of 165,300 a day), was to shop with B at H&M and to not buy anything black.

Having read some blogs of women I thought were slimmer than I, I assumed that H&M (and sometimes Zara) would be the only places I would be able to shop.  This was not the case at all.  I've managed to purchase a sweater from a local market (it cost KRW 10,000 and was one of those "one size fits all" which usually never ends up fitting anyone right), and this shopping trip was also very successful.  We stepped into the first cute store we saw upon emerging from the subway, which was called MIXXO.  Even in Canada I sometimes wonder if the cute new styles will fit me properly.  I don't have much going on upstairs (other than a big rib cage), and I have hips and a booty that don't quit so even buying clothes at home can be a bit of a struggle.  MIXXO describes its fit as: 

"

The perfect fusion of Golobal fashion trendy design and tailor method that fit the Asia women’s figure ,
will let you find your just right patten ."

...that's right.  "The Asia women's figure".  Not the North American tall-girl figure that wears a 10-12 (I've got some size 6-8 in my closet here in Korea - let's hope I can fit back into the 6 by summer, shall we?).  I was nervous, but I picked up a few different styles (that were all between KRW 9,600 - 12,900, I might add), and headed to the fitting room.  Surprisingly they all fit quite nicely, and being that my rule was not to buy anything black I had avoided bringing dark colours into the fitting room.  

I purchased 3 tops that will be good for layering (sometimes it's freezing out and sometimes I'm a sweaty mess throughout the course of the same day), and that will brighten up my closet and outfits.  The yellow shirt (pictured above) was one that I liked but apparently looked weird from the back so I made sure to limit myself to 3.    The white one does, indeed, have palm trees and parrots as the pattern.  It makes me giggle.  A couple of the blouses are quite loose, but being that I do have a North American rib cage and let's face it - there's some "support" in all my bras, the medium would have just been too tight across the bust.  Oversize shirts are really popular in Korea.  Nothing is tight or low cut on top, but it is true that you'll see Korean ladies wear very, very short shorts and skirts.

I noticed that my favourite J-brand black jeans were fraying a little on the right leg, so I did ultimately end up breaking my rule by purchasing a new pair of black high-waisted pants.  They're incredibly comfortable and were described by my friends (K joined us at H&M) as "second skin".  They're a little tight at the waist, but let's face it - there was a Subway Subs in Seomyeon and I was definitely a little bloated after my first real bread experience since departing for Korea.  I also managed to pick up shoes in Korea!  Yup - my size 9.5B feet are happy go lucky in my cute black peep-toe flats that will be great in the summer with the colourful skirts I brought along.

So there you have it - if you're 5'8" and not a stick figure there is hope for you in South Korea!  Go forth and fash-ion!

Working it Out Abroad

Britney said it best: "You want a hot body?...You better work, b*tch".  I had gained about 30 stubborn pounds in Toronto over the course of my 3 years since leaving Vancouver.  I had a trainer, I would diet, but nothing seemed to work.  I've kind of come to the conclusion that I'm getting into those twilight years of my twenties where rather than losing weight I'm just working out to avoid the inevitable gain my body so desperately wants to waddle into.

Enter Eco-Gym (formerly Bill's?).  This small gym in Hwamyeong-dong, Busan has just what I need to keep my cardio and weight-lifting up, and not much more.  There are several treadmills, a handful of stationary bikes, a lat-pulldown, a leg press, some other weight machines I don't tend to use, a couple of squat racks (that the locals use for deadlifts, curls, and un-weighted squats, which makes me want to scream).  There's a plethora of free weights which I love, as Mark Sparks (my conditioning specialist at Cardio-Go in Toronto) ensured that my last few sessions focused on workouts I could do with limited equipment.  My only complaint (well, more confusion) is that most of the weights are in kilograms rather than pounds.  I'm pretty good at converting the weight in my head, but they still feel way heavier than back at home.

The gym itself was really cost effective: 100,000 KRW for 3 months of use.  This also includes use of their workout clothes, however I have yet to take advantage of that offer.  Most of my workouts usually involve a walking on the treadmill as a warm up for a couple of minutes then HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training).  I follow that up with abs and weights for the next 30-40 minutes focusing on different combinations (depending on the day, of course) of arms, shoulders, chest, abs, legs, and of course - the booty.  So far I've made it to the gym 4-5 times a week since joining 3 weeks ago and am feeling pretty good about it!  I've also stopped eating rice throughout the week, which should definitely help.  

If you're in the Yangsan - Deokcheon area this is a great deal.  Some of my Korean friends/ colleagues are even considering joining so that we can all go together, which is pretty sweet!  They offer Personal Training as well (I found that out the hard way when one of the "English-speaking" Members - ie. someone who knows how to say Hello and talk about the weather a bit) told me I could use that area no problem and then I found out that I had been interrupting a personal training session - whoops.

On my walk home I pass this magnificent organic grocery store and bakery.  I don't dare step in - the bagel and cream cheese just looks far too good, as well as a Love Motel with a slogan telling me to live out my dreams. 

Update: I've switched gyms and have actually dropped a big pile of weight!  My diet has changed massively as well.  For breakfast, I mix Cellucor protein powder (120 calories and 25g of protein!) with water in a shaker bottle (all available at iHerb - click here for 10% off your first order!).  I have a 99 calorie granola bar as a snack, go through 3 - 4 L of water every day, have a turkey sub for lunch loaded with veggies and only the tiniest bit of mayo or mustard, and for dinner I usually make some combination of a protein (one of chicken, ground beef, eggs, bacon, or cheese), squash, peppers, and salad.  On the weekends I allow myself to go out with friends and enjoy a nice meal.  Once you shift your perspective from short term restriction to a long-term habit of fueling your body, making healthy choices is a lot easier!

30 days and counting

There is officially less than a month until I leave Toronto to go stay with my parents in Port Hope in the days leading up to my departure.  Ladies and Gentlemen, yesterday I received a lovely little email reminding me that Moksha Yoga missed me (because I haven't practiced since March of 2014).  I had received correspondence like this before, but only now was it offering me $100 off a month-long unlimited membership.  I found it coincidental to receive this email the morning of the 20th - exactly 1 month before I peace outta T. 

I had been considering heading back to hot yoga a couple of months ago, but it's really expensive.  I'm not talking like pricy but you'll stretch the budget, Yoga studios in Toronto's downtown core will run you over $2,000 a year if you want to practice at your leisure.  That's my gym membership plus training, plus towel service, and I just couldn't afford it.  When this opportunity floated into my inbox I jumped at the chance to stretch and sweat it out.

Saturday after hanging out with my parents (and after spending way too much money on shoes and gifts for the Directors at my new school) I headed over to the gym and spent 2 hours doing some cardio and a lot of weights.  By Monday morning my quads and hamstrings were still sore enough that walking up stairs and sitting down hurt, but Mark Sparks and I had made plans to work together both Monday and Tuesday - and work we sure did!  I love how he's really beginning to switch up my work outs and mentally and physically preparing me for working on my own in South Korea.  It's likely I won't be able to get a gym membership until my Alien Registration Card comes through.  I won't even have internet or a phone until that's approved, so I'll really be focusing on repeating movement from memory ad ensuring time management in all aspects of my new life and in my workouts in a new environment.

After 3 kick-ass workouts in 4 days I was pretty tired, but my friend Jocelyne and I decided to head over to the movies to see Taken 3.  Jocelyne's the type of friend who is always ready for the next adventure and doesn't really say no to activities.  I know that when an event pops up she'll usually trek out if she's available and we'll have a blast.  I will definitely miss her, and hope that the next time she heads back to Malaysia we can link up!

It was a late movie and by the last 20 minutes of action-packed fun my eyes started to droop and using my gym bag as a pillow I passed right out and woke up just in time to see the credits rolling.  This did not bode well for the 6:15 AM practice for which I had registered online.


At 5:50 AM when my alarm went off I thought something was wrong.  When I realised it was my alarm, I thought it was a joke.  My condo was pitch black with the beams from the CN Tower's light show my only indication as to where I was and what was going on.  I remembered that I had, indeed, signed up for an early morning class, and peeled myself out of bed ecstatic that I had left my gym clothes, mat, and mat towel by the door ready to get up and go.

Moksha is 2 blocks from my place which is really handy that early in the morning.  I probably wouldn't go if it were more than a 5 minute walk away simply because I don't like bringing too much stuff - I don't bring my cell phone as it's not allowed in the studio, I've had too many coats stolen to actually leave one in an unsecured space, and a purse would just be too much of a hassle to lock up.  I reached the studio and began to set up my mat.  The early morning sessions have become a lot more popular, and in savasana I found myself nearly holding hands with the person next to me.  Awkward.  The class itself was ridiculously easy - theoretically.  The website describes it as: "Moksha yoga is a dynamic system of postures and breathing exercises specifically designed to be practiced in the heat. Moksha classes are intended to open, strengthen and detoxify the entire body. All classes on our schedule are based on this amazing series of postures!"  Having not practiced any kind of yoga in 9 months by ankles were very weak and my back was very tight.  I decided to take it easy and really focus on my technique rather than pushing myself to get well into different positions at the expense of a good foundation.  I'm starting back at square one and it feels good to move my muscles in a different way.  The last time yoga was a big part of my life was when I was working at a large-scale corporate chain/ event space where food was part of my comp plan and even though I tried to eat "healthy" I was probably about 10-15 lbs heavier than I am now.  Stress has a tendency to manifest itself into what I like to call a "belly tire", and with what I was working with last go around you could have called me Michelin.  Today's practice was easier to flow with my breathing, easier to move into the positions, and I didn't find myself blinded by sweat like the last time.  I think having that weight off definitely helps me keep my focus, I'm just very stiff from the lifting and the means of cardio I've been working lately.  My balance (particularly in my ankles) will need to improve immensely over the next 30 days, and I'm certain that I'll find my own flow.  Heck - maybe I'll even take a flow class to push myself ;)