back in the gym again

Today was my first official workout in Pinas (sans the weak intro session yesterday). Today I treated myself to a Spin class (or Cycling as they call it here) and a Body Balance class (a combo of tai chi, yoga, pilates and meditation). Man, I really needed these workouts. I really liked the Body Balance class because the teacher was very patient, but really good at making sure people had good form. The room was purposely warm, making it extra good for the muscles (all you yoga heads probably know how much it sucks to train in a cold room). I totally broke out into a nasty sweat. The Cycling instructor was intense and the energy in the room was great. If any of you know what that exercise exhilaration feels like, it's amazing. I didn't realize how much pent-up stress I had inside me.

Sadly, life in the Philippines (for now) revolves around the mall. It's partly because I'm getting acclimated to the heat. Right now, my mornings are at the gym taking good care of my health. From there, I shower and go to the Coffee Bean (it's only been two days doing this and the guy already knows my name; it's funny walking in to someone greeting you with a "Hello Miss Ma'am Joanne!"). To avoid lugging my laptop, I've been hand-transcribing my interviews.

Today I had lunch at Max's Cafe. This was a good meal for me because for some reason, I haven't been eating enough protein and I think that's why my sleep has been erratic. It's not that the protein isn't there. Believe me, there's plenty of food. I think the heat just suppresses my appetite. That I finished the halo halo was an accomplishment. (Ahem. You didn't think I'd put that icy goodness to waste, did you?)

The way of eating here is actually very good because you eat about 5 times a day - three meals and 2 snacks (merienda). As I mentioned before, everything is portioned well. That's why you have to eat 5 times a day. The only knock against the diet here is the amount of rice you're expected to eat. I'm not big on rice and eat about half or less of what most people eat. Another great thing about their diet is there's lots of fruit and veggies involved. It's a lot of good habits I hope to bring back with me:)