I spent 10 glorious days home to lovely NYC. 10! My mother-in law passed, so it was good to be around family. I am so happy to have taken all that time off, relax, catch up with people and not weigh myself. I didn't log at all. The closest thing to logging that I did was ask my mum what her pedometer said when we were out all day once. Turns out we walk a lot... some 10 miles. My mum says she usually gets 8 mi in when she goes out, but have done up to 14 in an outing. We both love seeing the city, whether it's stopping in at the new tea spot in our neighborhood or going to the Barnes and Nobles in Union Sq and checking out new books. I figured on the days I felt more tired, I may be getting in 6 mi and peppier days, 11 mi.

It was great eating to comfort, not counting. I was of course very conscious of water and making sure I got good protein in. I really miss the whole foods I don't feel like I get in Japan. I'm a huge fan of yoghurt. I have a saying - there's almost nothing you can't make it work with. Need to replace mayo/sour cream? Yoghurt. High fat/soft cheeses? Yoghurt. Ice cream? Full fat yoghurt. I think you get the point. As good as Japanese food can be, they still have a problem w/ carb content. An 85 g container of regular fruit yogurt that I like packs 58 cal/1.5 fat/9 g carb/3 g protein. Compare that to 150 g Siggi's 0% orange ginger yoghurt, which is 100 cal/0 fat/11 carbs/14 g protein. The balance of ingredients is way better! Ewe's milk yoghurt is my guilty pleasure. It's oh so fatty and oh so good!

I feel like I got my fill of really good quality food back home. Fewer things are fried, more menus post calories and on their websites, you can find detailed estimate of contents. They are way more flexible on substitutions. I also found a new and AMAZING snack. It's called Dang. For you coconut lovers out there, it's toasted strips of coconut flesh with a touch of sugar and a little bit of salt (depending on the flavour). OMG, that stuff makes me sing. Add it to yoghurt and heavenly bliss! I did lose weight while home too!

So, the one thing I haven't really spoken about is people's reaction to my weight loss. My parents, brother, husband and now 2 friends are the only people who knows about the surgery. I had to tell my college bff. He called me cheater as a joke, but I told him about doing 450 cal cardio and walking ~3 mi on top of that per day 6 days a week. I told him how much easier it is to get calories from cake than lean meat because it's easier to swallow, less chewing, so you have to have self control. I told him about learning to listen to your body, the awful vitamins and many other things. His next response was - oh, that doesn't sound very easy. Myth, BUSTED. But the consensus from everyone was - YOU LOOK SOOOO GOOD. I definitely find that I smile a lot more and make little jokes/flirt a lot more. It may be an outpour of my repressed self here living in Japan. It could be the weight loss and confidence. It could be a combo of both, but I will say I'm treated a lot differently.

Is it the weight that society treats differently or do I actually behave differently so I'm in turn treated better? I've come to the conclusion that it's a little bit of both. I'm sure it's more complicated than I think, but we do judge people by appearance. Whether it's weight or how they're dressed. When I was at my biggest size years ago, it was hard to find flattering clothes, things that fit well. My brother called one of my tops a t i t curtain because I had to buy tops for the size of my chest. The top covered my chest then fell straight off making me look like a box. My stomach was never huge, but still big, so I'd have to consider how that area would look. Then my arms were always big. So I was left with trying to find a non-haute couture top to fit a body that is "odd shaped" versus having some standard proportion. Because so many more clothes compliments my body, I look a lot better and I have been stopped and asked where I get my dresses from or that I look great in my outfit. This is not just men, but women, young and old as well. That dress that fits you so well has become a representation of what you are, which I understand more, but still think it's dangerous to judge by dress (Trevon Martin anyone?).

I don't recall smiling or strutting in the 2 cases where NYPD officers on patrol either flirted with me a little or was exceedingly kind. That has NEVER happened to me before. A lot more people definitely look, even when I consciously put on a serious or upset face to see reaction. It also could be that I noticed because I am looking to see if there's a reaction. When I smile and flirt a little, people smile and flirt back instead of giving me a serious response. In the past, I've been ignored and didn't feel confident to make the little flirtatious comments that make us all feel good. There is that societal shallowness, but there's also me and my perception of the world. It's a little frustrating and sometimes, I welcome the attention, but I understand the concept of knowing who your friends are a lot better.

Now back in Japan, I'm my more reserved self again. Everyone's busy looking at their phones or iPads, not interacting with each other. There are no flirty cops or door holding for each other (men for women and women for men - I'm pro-equality y'all). There's no flashes of smiles (non-flirtatious) or where'd you get that dress from. The buildings here can be pretty plain/boring externally, and it's hard to get food that hasn't been "Japanified" when you're tired of the taste. I truly miss basic human interaction here, and the ones I do experience more are negative. I have 12 more months in this country. I'll keep travelling away from here to make the best of it. It's good to know what I have back home. It's something to look forward to.