Half a year ago, I let you all know that I am suffering from liver disease and doing what I can to reverse it.
I’ve been trying out different habits, exercises, and eating patterns and posting on how I’m progressing every six weeks.
Goal update
Weight at start: 105kg / 47.5% fat
Eight weeks ago: 90kg / 32.0% fat
Current weight: 90kg / 31.0% fat
Goal weight: 74kg (according to BMI) or 20% body fat.
Habits report
| Habit | Measure | Kept to it? |
|---|---|---|
| I am a healthier living person | Aim to lose 3kg every six weeks | No weight loss) |
| I am a runner | Go for a run at least two times a week | 5 weeks out of 8 |
| I am a VR exercise enthusiast | Use VR workout at least three times a week | 5 weeks out of 8 |
| I take the stairs | Stop using lifts | 6 weeks out of 6 |
| I’m an occasional drinker | Have at most one night a week with alcohol consumption | 4 weeks out of 8 |
Thoughts on the last six weeks
The dreaded plateau. I’m still exercising and eating as I wanted, but the weight isn’t coming off. There have been some other factors; I went on two mini-breaks during this period to Liverpool and Edinburgh. During which, I still exercised but ate and drank a bit more freely.
2020 itself has been weird, January was excellent, but February was a month of storms and staying inside, now things are even worse as we get to the start of the UK’s version of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nothing has been typical about 2020.
When I wrote my last update I was going to stay with a friend in London and run a 10k, a day later that friend had self-isolated as he returned from China and the 10k race was cancelled due to the storms.
The only thing that’s picked me up with Paul Ritchie’s advice:
To plateau you had to climb a mountain.
— ℙ𝕒𝕦𝕝 ℝ𝕚𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕚𝕖 🏴 (@cornerpirate) February 28, 2020
Next six weeks
Honestly, who can plan the next six weeks right now? Due to storms, pandemics and the schools being off, my life has been knocked off its ordinary structured course. The habits I’ve built up are only effective provided I’m on the normal routine if I’m going to an office and able to get out to run. When both of those things are limited I’m reverting back to laziness (play computer games, drink every two to three days, snacking).
I intend to get things back into a more structured way, even if it means living at home for the next six weeks. So I’ll have an exercise diary, go back to one drinking night a week and have more disciplined meals. It’s about rebuilding habits around this new normal.
Good things in this period
- 5k time down to 27m:37s from 27m:43s. I’ve also started walking or jogging back from work, making exercise part of the commute (outside of Pandemics).
- I got to see Liverpool play Bournemouth. I go once a year, and it’s brilliant to see the current team strutting their stuff.
- I helped facilitate a remote meetup for the first time with CodeCraft, remote meetups usually suck, but ours didn’t as we put a bit of effort into thinking about the UX of the event before it started. I’m quite proud of how smooth we made it.
And finally, I wrote a song for the current COVID crisis:
Best Tweets
"The man who chases two rabbits catches neither" - Confucius (on limiting your WIP)
— Joe Wright (@joe_jag) February 12, 2020
Non-prod environments are a lie. Invest in continuous testing in prod rather than duct-taping testing environments together.
— Joe Wright (@joe_jag) March 4, 2020
Me most days:
— Joe Wright (@joe_jag) February 14, 2020
* Unloads dishwasher
* Makes dinner
* Watches cricket
Today, with the simple addition of a tealight:
* Romantically unloads dishwasher
* Romantically makes dinner
* Romantically watches cricket
Bad things in this period
I started this month with horrible lower back pain. Thankfully following a video with exercises online managed to get that fixed over a few weeks. I honestly thought that pain was forever; it seems a memory now.
Life itself is super hard on everyone just now. I’m lucky I’ve got a garden to escape to, and a place big enough to store two weeks of food. So I won’t dwell too much on what seems minor just now.
See you, hopefully outside, around the 3rd of May 2020.