Let's get serious again

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To finish... I estimate I ate around 2000 calories, and burned around 3200. Just as planned. It's a nice idea that this means that I probably burned around 150 grams of fat today. The idea that something as short as a day can make such a measurable difference feels empowering. I may not be able to see this translated in my shape, or it may not be measurable on the scale, but under the skin there is real progress.

Which is especially nice to keep in mind, now that I am increasing my exercise routine, which means I am retaining tons of water! ;)
 
IAmGoingToTri said:
Btw... my Android programming is starting to help me at work already... I showed my employer the app that I made yesterday (for a festival here in the city... but I just made it as an assignments, and it's only the user interface) and he liked it a lot... and he asked if I'd like to come to the networking coming Friday, which is a huuuge opportunity because there will be some celebrities and big people in the music industry, as well as some big local entrepreneurs.
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Wow, this sounds really cool. Where are you living Tri?

Also liked reading about your new romance. Sounds sweet and lovely. Fingers crossed for you! You're very positive in your journal, that's cool.
 
Well done on landing that invitation! And on going running despite the bad weather. Remember to also honor your body with enough rest if you´re working it hard.
 
@Emilyrose - Thanks! :) I live in the Netherlands. And you?

@LaMaria - I am really happy about it, I will see what opportunities I can get out of it. Good point on getting rest every now and then. Today will be a half resting day (meaning I run 5 km instead of 10). Every week I will have at least 1 complete resting day (no exercise) and one half resting day, and I will never do the same activity 3 days in a row.

- My plan for today: Ok I already mentioned that today is a 50% day in terms of exercise. In addition, there will be a festival through the city, so I will walk around a lot. Probably walk 6-7 kilometers today. Anyways, I also plan to drink a few beers. So let's say I will burn around 3200 calories, and consume around 2700. That would be a good outcome for today; it's nice to be able to still lose a bit of weight (like 50-100 grams), but it's no problem if the deficit is less because of the festival (because, as I mentioned, life should be celebrated).
 
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Have fun Tri. Life definitely should be enjoyed. You seem to be finding a good balance.
 
The festival is called Eurosonic. It focusses on new and upcoming bands from Europe. It happens throughout the city... so the entire city becomes a festival place. You walk from venue to venue (pubs, theaters, even churches...) and check out the bands. There are many different music styles.

Yesterday we met two girls, had a good time with them and at the end I got the phone number of one of them. It turns out that she has lived in the same place in Africa as me, so that was nice. Also, she lives near where I have to stay in a hotel for two days per week starting the end of Januari, so I will see if I can meet her there.

This may surprise you, because I just told you in the last week about another girl. I still plan on another date with her, but the fact is that it's not nothing and as long as that is the case I want to act as if I am available (because the reality is that I just spoke with her two times for a few hours... that's it, so I must not imagine it to be something bigger than it is (at least for now)).

Of course, when something gets serious, I will not look for someone else. ;)

Curious to hear what you think of this. To me, this is all new... I used to be very serious about dating (thinking thoroughly about every step, instead of just doing (and often not acting)) and I am loosening up a bit, and so far I really like it. It feels very natural and it actually works... it's interesting to see how I am suddenly able to attract girls (again).

About the weight loss: yesterday I did not run (which was ok) and today I won't either (no time). I ate and drank quite a lot and I plan to do the same today. I think Thursday and Friday will have a calorie surplus of 500-1000 (in total). That is no problem, I can easily compensate for that on Saturday.

I realized that I don't really have to think much about weight loss any more. I mean... I have improved my diet considerably (by cooking again, preparing my own lunch, not drinking alcohol alone or eating fast food alone) and I exercise like crazy (burning a lot of calories). Not only that, I like doing all of this and I am forgiving when I slip up every now and then (because good habits are tools to create greater freedom in my life, they are not meant to control or judge me). Weight loss is just a matter of time, I have no doubt about that.

And another reason why I think less about it (and I encourage myself to do so), is because I try to accept my body as it is, to feel good about it and to "honor" it. I have mentioned that a dozen of times in the last week. I think that my motivation to lose weight is/was not just because of all the obvious benefits, but also because I wanted to appreciate and respect myself and I (subconsciously) thought that strong body was necessary for that. Now I have turned it around... I start with self-respect/acceptance and that is now my main motivation to improve my body.
 
Sounds like a lot of fun! About the second woman... I can´t say anything sensible about that, really. It depends on how you feel about woman one and how close you really go during your time together so far. I´d feel bad about seeing a second guy if I´d a) kissed guy one, b) enjoyed it and c) had specific plans for a next date. But that´s my personal comfort zone.
 
@LaMaria - I agree with those. We weren't that close. And, well I have tried to ask her out (girl 1 :p) and she said she couldn't come. I may give it another try, but it's a bad sign that she didn't propose another date.

But I am also figuring out what my comfort zone is. In my late teens I was more relaxed with dating... but in the decade after that I got a bad case of christianity (which made me waaaaay to serious about everything in life). Fortunately I have been cured of that. Now learning to relax and enjoy life.

Disclaimer: I don't mean to be offensive to any christians here... while I am critical of religion in general, I also see that it's my specific case that was quite toxic. I think that people's character is most important, not what kind of labels they apply to themselves. That said, I know many wonderful people who call themselves christians.
 
Ok, perhaps I shouldn't have posted that last half of my previous post. Too late to edit now, sorry if anyone is bothered by it.

Back on the topic of weight loss: planning to do a 10k run this evening, and I have also walked about 5 kilometers. Calorie deficit of today will be high enough to compensate for the last 2 days of partying.
 
I think you have to be led by your own moral compass - I have friends who will be sleeping with one guy "but it's not serious", as they say, so they will date other people and other friends who would want to wait and see where #1 one went if they were interested in them and had had good signals back and wait to see the outcome of that before looking elsewhere. I'm somewhere in the middle - as long as your honest, safe and not fucking anyone around I think you're all good. Just be aware that other people may differ from you in terms of what they find acceptable so best to be upfront.

Anyway, sounds like you're doing well - nice to see you so confident :)
 
Thanks Sunflower! :)

I think I think I am more to the "better safe than sorry" side, but I am willing to experiment a bit to find out what I prefer. Perhaps sometimes you need to make a mistake to find out that you crossed a line. There are some lines I would never cross, though. I would never cheat when I am in a relationship. It's not in my genes. I don't understand why someome would do that.
I find it important to be reliable and I am not willing to make any compromises in that, on the other hand I don't want to limit byself by imagining something to be more than it is. There is a gray zone before being "in a relationship" and dating. I like it that you say that you have to be led by your own moral compass. I like to think about it that way too.

On-topic: I ran/walked about 20 kilometers today, which translates to roughly 2000 calories, making my total used calories for to day about 4000. I ate about 1500 calories. So, a nice deficit of 2500 calories. More than I usually allow, but I wasn't really hungry today. I think the two days of partying and little sleep may have had some impact on that. I ate and drank plenty on those days, this day was probably just enough to compensate ;).

Tomorrow I will run 8 kilometers and walk another 5 or so. I will eat around 1800-2000 calories throughout the day.

While I have learned to accept my current body as something that is good, every now and then I think of what my future self will look like if I continue this much healthier lifestyle. I will probably be 10-15 kg lighter before the winter is over.

I have no doubt that I will be successful in reaching my goals. I am willing to be able to do everything I need to do to reach it... change my lifestyle, my mindset, spend money, invest time, ask for help. I don't care. And I will make sure that I like the process as well, that way I can also be confident as well that I will be able maintain my weight and health.
 
I haven't weighed myself yet, but I suspect I lost the water weight that I gained due to my increased exercise. I can tell because I went to the toilet at least a dozen times :p.

My weight will probably be between 92 and 93 kg tomorrow morning. That would be 5-6 kg down from my starting weight from early 2016.

Going to run in 45 minutes or so. Expecting a calorie deficit of 1500 calories today. Aiming for a more modest caloric deficit of 1000-1200 for the rest of the week. Got to have enough energy for my other activities. And I don't want to destroy my muscles in the process of losing weight; I have a good amount of muscle and I want to build some more of that when I am done losing weight. The more I that is remaining, the better my starting position.

I completed two Android programming projects today. It's very fulfilling to convert ideas into reality! :)
 
You are doing very well Tri. I love reading your diary & seeing how well you are building such a strong future for yourself.
 
Thanks cate and LaMa! :)

My weight this morning was 93.0 kg. Not unhappy with that. Means that I am 5 kg lighter than I was a year ago (which makes a noticeable difference) and I am closing in on my lowest weight of 2016 (89.5 kg); I expect to surpass that in less than a month.

Today I take a break from exercising. I will only do 5-6 kilometers of walking. I hope to donate some blood in the late afternoon. They give me orange juice and cookies in return. Definitely a good deal!
 
Hey tri keep it up,5-6 km of walking is not bad at all.and kudos for hoping to donate blood its a very good deed.
 
I'm not allowed to donate blood because of my always-low blood iron levels :( So thanks to all the people who DO go and keep us safe.
 
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