Let's get less serious and learn to relax and have fun with life

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LaMaria said:
:) Still killing it, I see. Well done, Tri!
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Yes, it is still going very well! I remember that last year I had the goal to learn to become consistent in my habits, particularly my exercise habits. I am glad that it's become reality now.

Yesterday, at the restaurant, I got a LOT of food. I ordered spareribs, and got 4 of them, and also got vegetables, fries ánd baked potatoes. I ate all the meat and vegetables, but only half of the fries and baked potatoes. I have decided to state next time that I don't that much (I don't like it if they have to throw food away, but I also don't want to force myself to finish it "because it is there and it is free"). I drank 2 large beers and 2 small ones. Also want to reduce that to a maximum of 2.

I didn't like the hotel life before, but yesterday I finally liked it. I guess I felt guilty for being taken care of, but now I believe that I should just enjoy it. But there should still be limits; I should take good care of both my present self (who wants to enjoy life), as well as my future self (who wants to be healthy)

Today, after work, I will go to Amsterdam with a friend. We'll walk around and do some sightseeing, and get some food at a restaurant. All in all, I expect to walk about 6-7 km today. At the hotel I will do some swimming and fitness (cycling and running). I expect to swim 1 km, cycle 25 km and run 5 km.
 
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quick update.

Day before yesterday
Activity: see post from that day
Caloric deficit/surplus: around 0

Yesterday
Activity: 25 km of cycling, 6 km of walking, 1 km of swimming
Caloric deficit/surplus: around 0

Today
Activity (planned): 25 km of cycling, 8 km of walking, 7 km of running and 1 km of swimming
Caloric deficit/surplus (planned): a deficit of around 2000 (got to make some progress again; not very hungry and full of energy to exercise today, so that's certainly helpful)
Food: about 1800 calories (less than previous days... will not eat at restaurant and will also have only one beer today)
 
Well, cory, I arrived at the hotel quite late, and only had about 30 minutes to exercise before the gym/pool closed. I swam 500 meters and cycled 5 kilometers. Throughout the day I walked about 7 km, as planned. All in all I estimate that I got a small deficit yesterday of a few hundred calories.

Today I will do what I planned to do yesterday. I have no appointments this evening, so after 16:30 pm I can go to the hotel (15 minute walk), change clothes and start exercising.

Other plans for the coming time/(strategic )changes that I will make:
* I will not drink alcohol for the coming 100 days. I have many reasons to do this, weight loss being just one. Day 1 is today. I have tried this several times before, but I feel ready for this now.
* Seemingly small change, but I think it'll make an impact: I won't buy peanut butter from the store anymore. Way too calorie dense (>600 calories per 100 grams), and I can sometimes finish a small jar in 2-3 days. Instead, I will put other things on my bread such as cheese.
* Another small but important diet change: I will not eat American cookies (from starbucks or other coffee stores) anymore. They contain about 370 calories, and I can eat them in less than 2 minutes. I often eat 4-5 of them per week, which adds up to a lot of extra calories. I expect that after 2-3 weeks of not eating these cooking that I won't miss them anymore.
 
I think those are a good list of changes. Peanut butter is also a weakness of mine, although I do generally keep a jar around. I've trained myself pretty well to think of it ONLY as a treat so I don't wind up eating unless I actually plan for it.
 
Failed on my American cookie rule today and my no alcohol rule yesterday, but at least I didn't eat any peanut butter. Will add a counter to my post from now on, to stay accountable. So, here we go:

100-day challenges
(^^there are a lot of challenges, but I am very motivated and I want to push myself to the next level. Overarching goals are: boost testosterone levels, decrease sugar and alcohol intake, accelerate weight loss (which has slowed down), learn habits that are good for general health, save money)
No peanut butter: 6 days
No American cookies: 0 days
No alcohol: 1 day
No fast food: 3 days
A salad every day: 0 days
A handful of nuts every day: 0 days
(^^not more, not less)

Exercise today
Rowing: 2.5 km
Cycling: 25 km (at gym), 1.5 km (train station -> home)
Walking: 4 km
Running: 4 km

Personal records
(^^once a week or so (probably less in the future as my records become harder to break), when I feel stronger and more energized than usual (often after a break day), I try to break one or more of my records. I like to find my limits. So far there are 3 different records that I try to break. More will be added in the future.)
Running: 15.1 km/h for 3.00 km (today)
(^^hoping to push this to 10.00 km eventually. Next step is 3.50)
Cycling: 272 watts on average for 30 minutes (today)
(^^I am confident that I can get beyond 300 watts somewhere in the coming 2-3 months. Next step is 280)
Rowing: 2000 meters in 7:04 (two weeks ago)
(^^Breaking this record will be tough, but I hope to get beyond 6:50 within the next 3 months)

Caloric deficit/surplus
Today: a deficit of 2000 calories
This week: a total deficit of 2000-3000 calories.
(^^I ate more than usual because I was living in a hotel, and while I kept exercising, I had less time so I did less. Still, I am happy about this result, considering the circumstances. Tomorrow I will add another 1500-2000 calories to finish the week)

 
100-day challenges
No peanut butter: 7 days (+1)
No American cookies: 1 day (+1)
No alcohol: 2 day2 (+1)
No fast food: 4 days (+1)
A salad every day: 0 days
(^^will start tomorrow)
A handful of nuts every day: 1 days (+1)
(^^just bought a package of mixed nuts, which 3 bags containing 40 grams of nuts each, which is perfect for one day (one bag). Having to open another bag prevents overeating)

Exercise today
Rowing: 5 km
Cycling: 25 km (at gym), 13 km (home -> train station -> home)
Walking: 1 km
Running: 2.5 km (at gym), 10 km (outside; planned for this evening)

Caloric deficit/surplus
Today: a deficit of 2000 calories (if the day goes according to plan. Which it will )
This week: a total deficit of about 5000 calories.
(^^a fine week, due to the last 2 days)
 
Sounds like you're doing well still, Tri! Are you still in Amsterdam? I love it there.. It's where I got engaged :) We celebrated in styyyyyle (by getting super buzzed and eating a ton of pizza.)
 
Sunflower_ said:
Sounds like you're doing well still, Tri! Are you still in Amsterdam? I love it there.. It's where I got engaged :) We celebrated in styyyyyle (by getting super buzzed and eating a ton of pizza.)
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That's awesome! :)

I am back in my own city again. Still working on the same project, but this week I can do it from the office. So, no more hotel life! ;)

Which is also a good thing, because at home I exercise more and eat less, due to my habits. Yesterday I had a deficit of 2000-2500 calories (I ran 10 km, cycled 25 km (@Gym) and 6 km outside, walked 2 km and rowed 2.5 km). Aiming for 1500-2000 today, again through considerable exercse (but less than yesterday).

I have not lost weight for a few weeks now, which is mainly due to eating more than I planned. Going to push through that this week; I aim to weigh 86.x by this weekend, and I want to break my lowest-weight record of the last 10 years: 84.0 kg. This could potentially be done in 3 weeks or less.

In the end, I care about sustainability and health more than I care about my weight loss rate, but I am confident that my process is healthy, it's time to get some results.
 
Instead, give yourself permission to get pleasure from food. Just make sure you’re enjoying treats mindfully because you really want them, rather than just because they are there.

Once you prove to yourself while [Link Removed] that you can go twice per week, then go to a three-day per week schedule, and again make sure you can do that regularly for about a month before going for four days per week. This way, you’re doing things more gradually and setting yourself up for success.
 
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Had a fine day. Was clearly less strong physically during exercise than normal, yesterday's workout clearly took it's toll. So, I took it easy and did smaller distances and did everything at a slightly slower pace. Tomorrow I will do even less, to allow my body to rest.

Exercise today:
Rowing: 5 km
Cycling: 20 km (at gym), 6 km (commute)
Walking: 4 km (outside)
Running: 6 km (outside)

I ate healthy foods today, and in good quantities. I estimate that I consumed about 2000 calories today. All in all, I estimate that I had a deficit of 1500 calories, as planned.

Yesterday I talked about desiring for results, but (once again) I want to let go of that. If I let my motivation be dependent on results, then it will be very fragile, because the results may not come for a while. The results are not fully in my control. What is in my control, however, is my actions, and through my actions I can create and maintain a good process. That is where my energy and attention should go, and largely, it does go there, and it's good to keep it that way. Of course one can trust that a good process (that is continually improved) will lead to good results, but those come second.

I have had this mindset for a while now, but it's being reinforced now by my study of stoic philosophy. I will write more about that later. Good night!
 
Not being ruled by your emotions would be a good discipline to acquire. Studying different philosophies I find fascinating. Is there a book you can recommend Tri?
 
The last book I finished and can recommend is "Waking Up" by Sam Harris. It's not about stoicism, but about mindfulness/meditation. Eastern philosophy has a surprising amount of overlap with stoic philosophy. Both seek to help the practitioner develop an awareness, accept things as they are or seek to change them without permitting emotion to muddy the scenarios, and both condemn desire, or at least assess it as the root cause of nearly all suffering.

I have recently started "Meditations" by the roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, a famous stoic. So far, I find it fascinating.
 
That's nice cate! I am curious what you think about them! :)

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Did 20 km of cycling and 2.5 km of rowing at the gym. Did another 2.5 km of walking and 3 km of cycling outside. This is what I planned to do today. Yesterday I was thinking about doing more today, but I had to pull an all-nighter for work, to finish a project. Of course I should have done that earlier, but I procrastinated it for a while, and today was the deadline. In a way I am proud that I managed to find the discipline and mental energy to pull this off. It wasn't an easy task. One more positive thing is that I notice that I am learning to beat procrastination, I am doing it less over time. This certainly was a valuable lesson, will reflect on it some more, so that I can understand why this happened and become more equipped to prevent this next time.

Ate about 2000-2500 calories today, leading to a deficit of about 500-1000. 96.x, here I come!
 
Good morning! I have slept for 10+ hours to compensate a bit Wednesday night. Not feeling very awake

My weight is in the low 87 already, so I am definitely losing again, as was to be expected.

Today I will make 8 productive hours at the office, so that I can finish the week as strong as I have started it. After work I will go exercising again (of course), my plan is to do 2.5 km of running, 25 km of cycling and 5 km of rowing.

In the evening I will do some organizing at home; it's messy here and I will get some visitors tomorrow. I will organize the lazy way, that means that I will put my mess in a pile that is out of sight, so that it looks like everything is organized. That will take me about 1-1.5 hours to do, so that's long enough. I will organize that pile this weekend, when I have more time.

After that I hope to have an hour left to relax.
 
woooooooh WEEEEEEKEEEND!

Fiiinally... after 50+ hours of work! I was pretty anxious about this week, there were quite some challenging things that I needed to accomplish, and I could've put my head in the sand, like I have done so often in the past... but I am DONE with that kind of mindset! I have decided to listening to the fear that I will be a failure, and start cultivating the belief that I will be successful, by taking my responsibility no matter what, and doing the appropriate actions. Often this means just pushing through, even if I feel uncomfortable about what I need to do - like doing the all-nighter to finish this work project this week, which was uncomfortable as hell. But it also means embracing every day discomfort, such as just doing what I need to do, even if I find it hard to focus. I have noticed dozens of time this week that when I force myself to start, that an activity becomes (at least somewhat) enjoyable within 15 minutes or so. And sometimes it doesn't, and then it is still good to continue (or take a short break), because not taking your responsibilities at the appropriate moment will affect your future self negatively (and now I am thankful for that past self this week that I did it, because I can enjoy my weekend a lot more knowing that I did everything that I could do!). Sometimes it means asking for help more, communicating when I get stuck instead of feeling worse and worse about it and procrastinating as a result (which eventually required the all-nighter, which was to finish a project that I could have done months before). Sometimes it means not accepting a project, or negotiating a bit about it, so that I don't get in projects that are not realistic for me at this moment, and that I have what you need to be successful (I started my career only 10 months ago, so if I am being put on a project that a senior level colleague would already find challenging, then I should not blindly accept it, at least not just by myself).

TL;DR - I had a good week and learned that I should take more action, and do less worrying.

Going to start the weekend by... going to the gym (who would've have guessed that /sarcasm). So, let's change clothes and go for it!
 
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