12WBT in Europe!

As I have mentioned in other posts, I have 2 major red flag events during the 12WBT – a 2 week work (well, mainly work!) trip to Europe – I’m currently in Rust for a conference - the smallest city in Austria, and about 70km from Vienna.  It is famous for wine and storks.

Essentially I had 2 days in Finland, 1 ½ days in Vienna, 3 days in Rust (where I am currently) then another 3 ½ days in Vienna before heading home.  I arrive back in Sydney on the morning of July 15 and then immediately am flying to the Gold Coast for a few more red flag events – one of my best friend’s birthdays, as well as my Mum and aunt’s birthday (they are twins).

I left Australia on Saturday night (July 2), flying Sydney – Hong Kong (Cathay Pacific); and Hong Kong – Helsinki (Finnair).  I had ordered low calorie meals on the flights.  The flight to HK I didn’t eat much as I was too tired (I had stayed up all of Friday night, so had been up for about 40 hours by the time I got on the plane)  The flight from Hong Kong to Finland I didn’t sleep much, and enjoyed catching up on a few movies! We had two meals – lunch was chicken breast with vegetables – a bit dry, but it is always nice to have meat on a flight that you can actually identify!  The snack was white fish with rice which was quite nice.

I highly recommend ordering low-calorie meals – even if you aren’t on a diet, I think the quality is a bit better than standard airline food – e.g. they always have less sauces so the food is more readily identifiable!  It is always strange on flights – on the one hand I feel I shouldn’t be hungry as I am just sitting there, but I always seem to b starving – I think boredom probably plays a role!

On Tuesday evening I flew from Helsinki to Vienna – a much shorter flight than the others! (Two and a half hours).  The low-cal meal was grilled chicken and some pasta salad, which I would normally avoid, but there was no creamy salad dressing so it was fairly safe!

My flights back are Vienna – Helsinki – Bangkok – Sydney – Gold Coast.  Not quite sure how the meal will work with all the time changes, so I do need to avoid the mindset of – there is food in front of me I have to eat it if I’m not hungry.

I’ve been fairly good with nutrition since I have been overseas.  Every hotel has had a buffet breakfast, but rather than hitting the bacon/hash browns etc, I have been having toast (no butter), fruit, and sometimes some cereal.  I’m enjoying bananas since they are so expensive in Australia at the moment!  Lunch and dinner depends on where I am and who I’m with, for example, I’m currently at a conference so have limited options, but being sensible and there are generally some reasonably healthy options (apart from the morning coffee breaks where there was only chocolate croissants and jam filled doughnuts – I am very proud to have resisted!) 

(I’ll make a separate post on my time in Finland and some of the food I enjoyed there). 

Exercise wise, I visited the hotel gym for the first time yesterday.  All but one of the hotels I’m staying in have a gym, but my back was so sore when I got to Helsinki (I think the long flight didn’t help), I didn’t use it.  I did however go for a long walk on my first full day in Helsinki, 7.2 km (in addition to incidental walking while sightseeing).  In Vienna, the first hotel I stayed in was the one without a gym, but Wednesday evening I went for a very long walk along the Danube canal – 15 km!   

My gym visit was during the conference lunch break so only a quick visit (25 minutes).  But this shows another way my mindset has changed from being involved in the 12WBT. In the past I would have thought – “oh, I can only spend 25 minutes there, I won’t bother”.  Now I think “25 minutes is still 25 minutes of exercise I won’t otherwise get”.   Also, it is the first time I have been to the gym in 2 weeks since hurting my back, so spending a couple of hours there probably wouldn’t be sensible anyway!  Surprisingly, I didn’t feel too much pain – I stuck to the cross trainer and exercise bike, as jogging still jars my back.  I get back to Vienna tonight and the hotel I’m staying in until I leave has a gym – so will be making more effort to exercise, as well as going on some more long walks to enjoy the atmosphere of the city.