u/Fantastic-Board-6355

This might sound strange but let me try to explain. My question is, do you apply minimalism to food?

By that i mean, i find cooking 2-3 meals per day as too much (even with meal prepping) and i just eat one big meal for lunch (something simple like pasta with a bit of protein or rice and chicken or whatever not very complicated combination comes to my mind that day) and then maybe one snack in the evening a few hours before i sleep. I do not like cooking so maybe that’s why.

But every time i go back home and my parents cook 3 full meals per day i feel extremely full and tired from all the eating (and they do this daily, not just in festivities). I also have an office job so I don’t need as much energy as someone working outside for 9h a day but like is this normal? Does anyone else eat like this?

Every time i mention this to friends or family they look at me like i have grown another arm and tell me i must be malnourished, but i feel totally fine. In fact many days i forget to eat and i finish my workday and notice I haven’t had lunch yet at 5pm so i go eat something, but i am not really hungry. When i travel it is the same even if i am walking and moving more. I just get a bit more hungry if i have been diving but on normal days, it’s really not there. Thoughts/experiences?

So this is my first post but i wanted some help to see what i can downsize in my bag. I only brought a 40 L backpack on my 3 month trip around Asia but it was filled to the brim and too heavy. I used everything (some things more than others) but i don’t see anything that pops out as “i could have left this at home”, so hoping a new set of eyes can help. Take into consideration i went to both hot (Thailand/Vietnam) and cold (Korea/Japan) countries during the winter season.

Clothing:

5 tank tops

2 short sleeve t-shirts

3 skirts (short and long)

2 dresses

1 short pants

1 long pants

1 hoodie

1 rain jacket

1 thermal long sleeve thin shirt (bought because it was too cold)

2 bikinis

4 underwear

2 bras

4 pairs of socks

1 flipflops

1 sneakers

1 hat

1 sarong to cover my shoulders in temples/use as towel at the beach/scarf in colder countries

Others:

Toiletries fit in 1 ziplock bag with the exception of my contact lenses (i use daily ones but don’t wear them everyday, brought around 30 units)

Small first aid kit with my meds

Snorkeling/diving mask (don’t wanna rent every day since it adds up)

Diving buoy (DSMB) that i gifted away after my diving month was done (having this was a requirement and I couldn’t rent it)

Phone charger

Plug adapter

Airpods

Laptop & charger (had to work)

Wallet + passport

Prescription glasses & sunglasses

Drone (use for work but only weights 135 grams & takes the same space as a small notebook)

2 external batteries (had a 38h journey to get there)

Umbrella

Small notebook and 2 pens

Small bum bag folded for everyday carry as women get no pockets in their clothes

I know technically i could downsize my skirts/dresses but i actually enjoy swapping them around and i even felt i did not have enough variety and was tired of wearing the same 5 outfits (way of speaking, i know it’s more) by the end of the trip so I don’t know what else can be left at home. The hoodie was too bulky when not wearing it (hot countries) but extremely essential for cold countries & airplanes