Post Holiday Blues

Having my brother visit for 11 days was a lot of fun, and I am so happy that he enjoyed Japan so much. But it left me exhausted! I am feeling very “blah” today. It’s cold and rainy, and all I want to do it curl up at my kotatsu table, watch TV, and eat a giant bowl of zenzai. Which is basically what I did yesterday, instead of cleaning, cooking and getting ready for my work week. So I had to do some of that this morning, rather than getting back into my jogging routine like I planned. Blah. I want at least two more days of being lazy! But I also want to feel happy and energetic, and get back into a healthy routine. Blah.

Well, the holidays are over. How did you all do? I think I made it through pretty well. The main challenges were Christmas gifts of various treats that I got, and trying to find safe dishes to eat while traveling. A couple times my brother and I spent an hour or more trying to find a safe restaurant, and still ended up being limited to just one option on the menu. Twice I had to eat Japanese curry and rice for lunch, which I’m not really a fan of. And despite being so careful, I still had digestion problems. I suspect the artificial flavorings, colorings, etc. in prepared food could be a problem. Staying at a hostel with a large, nice kitchen helps a lot!

I recommend Khaosan Kyoto Guesthouse for their nice kitchen and other facilities!

I only went jogging a couple times during the winter holidays, and didn’t exercise at home at all. I did a lot of walking, though, and reached 10,000 steps or often much more every day.

I plan on being as strict as possible with what I eat until I start feeling better again. And I need to get back in the habit of regularly exercising! January and February can be a couple of the longest, dreariest, least motivating months of the year, but hopefully I can muster some will-power to do my best and feel awesome.