The Metric System

One of the most notable changes, when leaving the United States, is that the whole rest of the world uses a totally different system of measurement.  Food is weighed in kilograms (decagrams for smaller amounts), liquids in liters, and temperature in celsius.  And, like most things, this starts to become normal to you after awhile.  I now naturally say "I drank two whole liters of water during second lesson!" or "I'd like a half kilo of tomatoes, please."  This year, finally, I've even started to recognize and understand celsius.

I've been trying to watch what I eat recently, which has lead to two observations.  First, in Europe, nutrition facts are much less stringently applied.  They also include, in addition to the calories, the kilo-joules in a food.  Who uses the kJ when the calories are right there?  Anyone?  Secondly, hopping on the scale after a week of careful diet and exercise is rather disappointing in the metric system.  There's just something a lot less satisfying about losing 1.3 kilos compared to losing 3 pounds!

I would also like to promise that this blog will not turn into one of those obnoxious blogs where I discuss diet, exercise, "personal goals," "fitness achievements," and the like.  Yuck.  Just making an observation that really struck out at me... the only way the metric system has ever disappointed me!