The healthy grind continues

Eight weeks ago I started to work out regularly again and two months ago, I had the last cup of coffee ... a quite huge change for someone that used to drink 2-3 coffee per day while working. Nevertheless I still didn't have any, no milk coffee, no Latte Macchiato or anything similar ... only hot chocolate. Does it feel different? Yes for sure, but I don't feel the need to depend on coffee to get things done and that is most definitely a relief.

In the first month I lost 4.7 kilos and as of now one month later, I am currently down by 6.8 kilos - according to the gym I already lost more than 9 kilos but also built up muscles at the same time with my exercises that are mainly targeted on the upper body / back. In June I was not able to bike as much, because the weather was somewhat loony and I was also away for 8 days for a live event coverage in Spain. The next one is already in sight with plenty of preparation and website maintenance ahead, it limits the opportunities to do more for the body.

On average I still get more than 100km by bike done per week and the gym is happy to welcome me at least 3 times per week. In the usual 90 minute session I added two new exercises for the back and increased the weight for the usual schedule by 25%, slowly getting back in a shape where I can say I feel more comfortable. The nutrition has changed and I don't try to eat any fast food, cook healthy and prepare a fresh salad in combination with grilled chicken breast at least 3 times a week. By mixing various ingredients it gets less boring than most would imagine and I haven't had any alcohol for almost three months either.

As of now I am not sure yet where the detox will lead me, I am looking to lose another 6.7 kilos and build up more muscles for the upper body and shoulders ... because otherwise I will run into issues sooner or later while sitting behind a computer screen for the vast majority of the daily work. A six-pack is not mandatory, but I would love to get rid of the "jelly belly" - sure it is by far less than before but a flat stomach looks better than the raccoon version.

Cliffs:
- 6.8 kilos weight loss in 8 weeks
- no junk food or alcohol for 2 months +
- NO COFFEE FOR TWO MONTHS
- 100km + by bike each week
- 3 times at the gym per week for ~ 90 min sessions
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May Fitness Plan - so close but yet so far

Well it might sound more dramatic than it is, but after 22 days (I started on May 9th) I lost 4.7 kilos and missed my goal to lose 5 kilos by the end of the month by only 300 Grams ... . The last 3 days were quite pounding with 59 kilometers by bike on Monday, 90 minute at the gym yesterday with 10% more weight than last week and 55.8 kilometers by bike today. Time to look at the final stats for the month:

Duration: 22 days
Weight loss: 4.7 kilos
Biking: 445.47 kilometers
Gym: 11 times (3 per week on average)

I have not touched any alcohol for 6 weeks in a row, no coffee or junk food for 4 weeks in a row and in general feel much better. It is important though that you

a) don't overdo it ... easily done especially at the beginning
b) slowly increase the action
c) work out regularly
d) take a close look at the eating patterns ...

I used to have many little snack breaks before and cut those down a lot, mainly by eating fruit throughout the day and drink lots of water. Different variations of salad don't make it boring and you can always mix in slices of grilled chicken breast, because the body needs the meat as well to get energy in order to keep up the pace.

As far as June 2012 is concerned, I probably gonna try for at least 300km by bike and 2-3 x gym per week ... I will only be away from June 12th - 19th for a live event coverage and hopefully gonna find something in or near the hotel in the morning or just go walking. Gaining weight won't be a problem either with 12h+ work for 4 days in a row and I hope to settle for another 3 kilos weight loss by the end of next month.

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May Fitness Plan update May 23rd

This time the update will be more quick, today marks exactly two weeks since I started with this fitness plan and I am 3 weeks without coffee and junk food. The absence of alcohol is extended to more than 2 months and I don't intend to touch it anytime soon either.

For the current week (3 days) the numbers are as follows:

- 99.1km by bike
- 2 sessions of 75min each at the gym
- 0.8 kilos weight loss (3.9 kilos total)

So far so good, especially the nice weather with temperatures above 25°C and lots of sun help a lot to burn off fat while exercising ... the monthly goal for biking has been reached by far already. Another 7 days to keep up the pressure and solid work(out) and I am on the right way to a more balanced mindset, because body and soul always belong together.

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May Fitness Plan - Weekly Update May 20th

Let's get the numbers first for the current week:

- Biking this week: 138.31km (weekly goal reached)
- Gym this week: 3x (goal reached)
- 15km walking done
- 1.5 kilos weight loss this week
- No Alcohol or coffee (goal reached) for 18 days in a row now
- No fast food and instead healthy food

Doesn't just look good but also tastes yummilicious (not sure if that is a word, now it is and I got the copyright for it :p). Within 11 days I have now done 205.37km by bike and am close to reaching the goal for the month (250km), besides that I was at the gym 6 times and have lost 3.1 kilos while also building up muscles at the same time. Looking at my tummy though, there is still quite some fat to burn and I'll follow rule #1 of Zombieland:

 

The weather turned for the better towards the end of the week after the recent temperature crash on Tuesday and Sunday confirmed his name by providing sunny 27°C and barely any clouds in sight. For the upcoming week I'll slightly adjust the goals:

- 3 times gym for at least 75 min

- 10% more weight for each exercise
- 100km by bike

Weight wise I don't have a specific target, so far I am quite happy with the result and hope I can reach the ambitious goal of 5 kilos loss by the end of the month. It is an advantage though that it only takes half an hour on the bike to escape into the nature near my hometown and you can profit from views like the following:

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May Fitness Plan - Sunday 13th update

I won't make daily updates as I used to when I started but so far I have lost 1.6 kilos and was at the gym on Friday as well as today for a 100 min session each with slightly more weight on each exercise than what I started with. The weather predictions for the next week however is not really encouraging ... lots of rain and a temperature drop of more than 10 degrees to fall back to 9-12°C hmm.

The last two days I had salad with various ingredients such as cucumber, cornichons, onions, carrot, radish and garden salad as well as some French dressing on top ... still contemplating whether or not I should add grilled chicken breast slices on top. It's also the 12th day in a row without coffee, on the last grocery run I got 4 six-packs of water (the only six-pack I will get to see in the next few weeks still :p) and pure grape juice ... it feels kinda weird to skip all the unhealthy stuff at the supermarket though.

Plan for the upcoming week:

- 3 times gym for at least 90 min
- more weight for each of the 6 exercises
- 75km by bike
- lose at least another kilo

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May Fitness update Day 2

So far I am on the 9th consecutive day without coffee and don't intend to drink any until this month is over, alcohol is no option either but besides the no fast food rule I maybe have to create an additional rule regarding soft drinks. Shall Coke / Pepsi be allowed or just regular juice and water besides the tea? Guess I will wait a few days and make up my mind ...

Today's progress for self-torture purposes:

- 33.23km by bike
- 90 minutes at the gym, 2-3 repetitions for each exercise and 2 sessions

So far I lost about 0.8 kilos but it's unlikely to keep up that pace since you always burn by far more when you start working out and the 5 kilos will actually be an ambitious goal. Including the kilometers from today I now have  67.12km by bike and should be able to reach the 250k by the end of the month despite the upcoming "Eisheiligen", that always bring over more cold weather to Germany ... hence the name.

Not too bad for 2 days, now off to grab ingredients for a salad and maybe a picture to come later ... we'll see. I also slowly feel my legs again :p

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May Fitness Plan Part 1

As part of a deal with a friend from London and follow up to my most recent blog Detox aka listen to your body, I have set myself certain goals for May 2012 in order to get back in shape:

- No Alcohol
- No Coffee
- 250km by bike
- Lose 5 kilo weight
- At least twice per week salad
- At least twice per week to the gym for a minimum of 90 minutes per session

May 2012 has 31 days and we are on May 9th, the goals above are fair even though the first two might appear cruel on first sight. Currently I am on my 8th day without coffee, which is not as easy as it may sound for a person that used to drink at least one cup of coffee a day ... and my last alcohol was probably back in April 2012 during the Irish Poker Open at Dublin.

Results after Day 1 thus far:

- No Alcohol for 1 month so far
- No coffee for 8 days in a row
- 33,83km by bike

Salad is foreseen for tomorrow and it will also be the first time back at the gym after a break of more than a month, I shall start rather slowly and take it easy. Hopefully there will be some progress at the end of the week already, it does help a lot when there are further incentives though and depending on the outcome of this May Challenge, further details of the deal may be released.

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Detox aka listen to your body

I only eat fast food when I am traveling and working abroad, even though I usually try to find the healthy version instead of a Burger ... but I am almost addicted to coffee. A while ago I did a little experiment and coffee is the next on the list to go through a little endurance challenge:

"If you can live without something that you used to really like and enjoy for at least a week and don't suffer any major consequences, you are not addicted."

Life is full of addictions and we notice most of them too late if at all, unless other people point them out to us or our body gives us a warning. The last few years I tried to do sports more often, but despite a tough work schedule there was not much time. I went biking regularly and also hit the gym, but that didn't happen much as of lately and it is about time to go back, the winter was a welcome excuse to be lazy but your body will always make you pay ... that is a given.

I decided not to play poker for a week and extended that to a month late last year, not that easy when your work is ultimately connected to that fascinating card game but I pulled through and didn't have any shaky hands. It was probably a good decision because I could feel that I was not fully motivated when I was playing and just tried to kill some time ... I didn't lose much, but had no big score either and ended up being break even.

Coffee usually went along that road, a nice distraction while clicking buttons but after a while you just don't enjoy it anymore. Let's face it, as humans we are creatures of habit and often this is not for the good because we are unable to break out of that routine, kinda stuck in a black hole that keeps soaking us in. We often do things for the sake of it but don't enjoy, so what is the purpose after all?

Right now I am on a break from coffee for 8 consecutive days and intend to continue for at least one week if not a whole month. I like coffee a lot, but right now I cannot enjoy it and the past few days have shown me that I am not addicted to it yet, I don't depend on coffee to work properly. Of course this also causes several consequences, the first being more grouchy than usual. As substitute, I am either drinking hot chocolate (not quite healthy, I know), mint tea and water with biochemic cell salts and flower remedies.

The one question that you always have to ask yourself is quite simple: Why exactly am I doing this? If you can answer it straight and honest without looking into the mirror and seeing a pretender, you will know what to do. There is no ultimate rule of thumb what you can and can't do, of course there are healthy and unhealthy ways but in the end you have to feel comfortable. But when your body says no, it is about time to change something and face the reality, even if it requires quite some effort to make the necessary changes.

Besides the temporary absence from coffee I want to go biking more often, even if its just for an hour or less a day and there is no thunderstorm outside. The gym should also be happy to see me more regularly again, which would require an early start into the day as my regular work starts in the early afternoon ... this should hopefully improve my overall shape and I will definitely feel less guilty. And it will help to finally enjoy some aspects (including coffee in more moderate amounts) again thoroughly ... one step forward at a time instead of making another step backwards without notice.

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