Day 16, Saturday, Starting at the Gym; Enjoying Buying Food

Excitement for me is a sale on oranges. The oranges were only Rs. 55 per kg - 30% down. They were on sale when I went food shopping. After my three-day torpor, it was nice to restock on now-familiar food items like oranges, bananas, and whole wheat bread. I got up early and while I am low on sleep, I seem to be back on a better schedule.

I also bought some brand new items:

• Brown rice (great source of complex carbs and protein!)
• Olive oil (great source of fat!)
• Body soap (I'm almost out!)

Today's diet:

• 1.5c oatmeal
• 2 bananas
• 2 oranges
• 4c gold basamati and chic peas, with 1Tbsp olive oil
• 1 loave of whole wheat bread

I missed my vegitables.

Since it was August 1st, I got my clubhouse card for 200 rupees. I used it to go to the "reading room" and to the gym. The reading room was stuffy and had a couple mosquitoes in it. There is no air circulation. I may not return to it.

The gym is small to medium size, and simple.There are several cardio machines, some free weights, a few leverage devices, and one of those elaborate all-in-one cable weight machines. But they are far from luxurious. All the weights are in kilograms, and I am used to pounds, so I will have to get used to that. I didn't realize that a kilogram was so much larger than a pound. It is a little dirty and the machines clearly show their age. I found a huge, old-fashion cockroach exploring the gym territory and converging on a lady who was doing her ab crunches. Interrupting her, I pushed it aside and gently squeezed it under my foot, but this was not pleasant. There is a hamstring exercise machine that is extremely painful because the machine scrapes one's calves. I don't know how they normally get this to work. My greatest sadness is that there is no squat machine. But, there are other ways that I can try to perform squats.

All this aside, it is thrilling to have some options to work with, and I look forward to my gym visits. It's just a 5 minute walk downstairs.

When I left California two and a half weeks ago, I weighed 138 lbs, and I was relatively strong. Indeed, during the Spring of 2009, I had been in some of the best shape of my life. I arrived here in great condition. As I walked around the city on my first few days, I could feel the strength in my legs gripping the ground, as an experienced dancer's legs should do, and as mine had been doing for a few months.

But I didn't eat enough, especially at first, as I struggled to eat only what I deemed healthy enough via my own preparation, and I struggled to locate foods that I could confidently prepare. All my muscle and fat have been consumed. My victory is that my GI tract has remained perfectly clean, but my loss is that I have been undernourished, and will have to regain my strength.