As some of you may know, I'm trying to start a fresh save on my lifestyle by investing in some real workout classes and nutrition. You can read about the start of that adventure here, but I wanted to check in (with myself I guess) just so I have a log of how things are going a couple of months later.

Well, I guess right off the bat the good news is that I've lost a bunch of weight. I've never been obese, but according to my BMI (based off my height/age/witchcraft) I've always been heavier than I should be, mostly in my gut. Thanks for nothing, beer! Non-australian residents are required to get a health check every year (They're paranoid about tuberculosis here and after playing Red Dead Redemption 2 I can see why) and according to a "health professional" I have lost 7kg since I last weighed myself back in December. That's 15lbs, which is apparently a lot in America? So that's vindicating.

I'm still going to workout classes three times a week - 45 minute sessions which are broken down into rowing/running/weights groups that you cycle through. I've noticed that the order which I workout is actually quite significant - the running typically makes me a lot more tired, and when I get tired my technique in both the rowing and the weights seems to suffer significantly and my overall calorie burn (according to my fitbit) seems to drop. I really enjoy pushing myself for the running section of the training but it seems to use up any energy I have in the tank, so I've been trying to position myself in each class so that the running section of the workout comes last.

One of the unexpected side effects of going to group workout sessions is that I'm becoming weirdly dependent on them. I live alone here in Australia, work from home, and I have limited social interaction with the broader public even when we're not living through a pandemic. I can go weeks at a time where the only physical human interaction I get is from the people at my gym - so I was thrown for a bit of a loop when Melbourne was put into a snap 5-day lockdown and all the gym's were abruptly closed. It hit me a lot harder than identical 4-month lockdown we had last year, and I think the reason for that was because I've just grown to enjoy the companionship of participating in those gym classes. Something for me to think about, as I don't particularly want my mental health to be dependent on a service which can (and most likely will) be severed at the whim of the local government.

In terms of nutrition I'm still trying to eat as healthy as possible - I've managed to stay away from sugary snacks, and since I started drinking Kombucha I've found it extremely difficult to go back to regular soda/soft drinks. Coke just tastes so sweet and leaves this weird gross sheen across my teeth which I'd like to avoid at all costs. No thank you.

I'm also still ordering meal kits and eating at least one high-protein/low-carb meal a day. I sometimes order food online but I try to keep it as healthy as possible, so lots of salads. I found some low-carb protein bars which don't taste like shit so I'm using those to stave off any mid-afternoon hunger, and they also taste close enough to candy that I'm not getting the urge to nip to the 7/11 and stock up on Mars bars. The meal kits are definitely getting a little repetitive though - I love the convenience but after a while they all start to taste the same regardless of what's in them. Might be time to start being more pro-active about cooking again, though the issue there has always been that I'm no good at portion control and end up eating whatever is on the plate.

Anyway, that's enough for now. If anyone else is going through a similar health kick then I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks for Reading

Love Sweep