Reverse Culture Shock

Hello all,

It has been a while since I've visited MFP. It's rather relieving to be back at the moment.

So!

I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to study abroad in Tokyo, Japan for one year (From Sept '09 - Aug '10) and I admit that I completely forgot about managing my diet and exercise while I was there.

Why?

#1. Because I was living in Tokyo, a big urban city, compared to my expansive suburban native land where I need a car to get anywhere. In Tokyo I walked EVERYWHERE all day. 15 minutes to school, 5 minutes to the convenience store and to the grocery store, 35 minutes to get to the train station where I could commute to anywhere I wanted in Tokyo, WALKING!

#2. Portions were almost always at least 60% of the size than most restaurant dishes and grocery packages served here in Midwest, U.S. suburbia, making it a lot easier to manage food intake while cooking for one.

I really didn't need to manage anything because I was automatically eating healthier and losing weight without trying. Granted, I made conscious healthy choices all the while, but the flavorful, well-sized options I had and the convenient walking commute made it easy. Drinking water was everywhere because I walked by convenience stores every block.

Well, now I've been back in the US for a good 6 months. Of course the first thing I do when I get back is sleep for a good week straight. And then friends and family take me to all my favorite restaurants I'd been missing. I get my car back and re-realize that I can’t just WALK to where I want to go. In short, I gain weight again. Generally I was amazed at how inconvenient Suburbia is for healthy living in comparison. o_o

I've had a frustrating time dealing with the fact that If I want to walk, I have to take time out of my busy schedule and aimlessly walk with no real destination. The 1 hour 30 minute walk to anywhere (grocery, school, convenience store are all at least this far, if not grossly more) is more efficiently spent studying or working.

Grocery shopping has also become a nightmare as I've had to completely re-teach myself what I used to eat and how I used to eat in a healthy manner, and without blowing my budget on bulk packaged products that I don’t know how to manage anymore. Japanese groceries would sell products like raw meat/fish and bread in small-serving packaging at reasonable prices so that I didn't feel like I had to eat it all right-away before it went bad. (like a giant loaf of bread here... I kid you not, they're giant to me now. XD)

Putting my silly griping aside, I've just had to re-learn how to stay healthy in my hometown and I've found it surprisingly difficult, as happy as I am to be home with friends and family. I've finally started to get over my reverse culture shock stresses and overcome the minor bout of depression I'd somehow fallen into along the way, and I feel a lot better and ready to get back on track. While I'm sad that I no longer have a broad, urban world outside my door and available to explore on foot any longer, I'm still happy to be back and working at the goals, hobbies, and activities that I'd had to leave behind. I know I've come out of my experience with a vast store of new knowledge and experience.

So! Has anyone else had to deal with culture shock? Even just moving about the country or the next town over could be hard, I'm sure. Anyone have any good advice for managing budget groceries when cooking for one, without getting sick and tired of frozen chicken breast, grapes and sandwiches every night? ;;