Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 27oC, hot and sunny.
It is exactly 1 month that I will be arriving in England, on the 23rd of November.
This morning, while I was taking a shower, I came up with a challenging idea: to lose 5 kilos before my trip to England. I haven’t weighed below 90 kg in seven or eight years.
After separating from Nova and moving out, I began intermittent dieting. I think I managed to drop below 90 kg once or twice, but not for a long, sustained period—just a couple of days at most, or maybe a week.
I have stopped drinking alcohol. I haven’t had a bottle of wine in almost two months, and I’m not missing it, even though I enjoy having a glass or a bottle of wine occasionally. I’m exercising, although not as intensely as I would like, but I’m still active.
My challenge lies in the evenings when it comes to eating. Nalva cooks, a skilled cook, prepares dinner every evening after coming home from work. She is completely exhausted after standing and cooking all day, yet she continues to cook. It’s part of her identity and culture; she does it well.
Before moving back in with Yasmin and Nalva, I rarely ate a full meal in the evening. I might have had a snack or a sandwich, but I hardly ever had an actual meal. This is my Achilles’ heel, as eating at night hinders my weight loss efforts.
Additionally, Nalva typically cooks quite heavy food in the evenings—pasta, meats, etc.—with little emphasis on salads or lighter options.
So, my personal challenge for the next 30 days is to lose 5 kilos or try to lose 5 kilos and get below 90 kilos. This, subsequently, means a high level of discipline and a large amount of willpower. This is going to be an interesting exercise that tests my discipline to the limit. I will need to not eat in the evening. I’m to return to doing more intense and focused exercise.
Exercising is not an issue for me; my real challenge lies in controlling my eating. I can manage intermittent fasting without any trouble, easily going without food for 12 to 16 hours.
However, the real problem arises in the evenings when I start eating and find it hard to stop. While I don’t struggle with impulsive eating, my true difficulty is with compulsion and compulsivity.
A target of 5 kilograms in 30 days may seem unrealistic. Therefore, the ideal goal is a weight loss of between 3 to 5 kilograms. Losing 5 kilograms is excellent, while losing anything over 3 kilograms is considered good, respectable, and something to be proud of.
I would like to travel to England weighing under 90 kilos, with my dental treatment, including three new implants, completed before the trip. Being reasonably thin would be an added benefit.
This is more about a test of discipline for me. Sometimes, I think I’m not as disciplined as I would like to be, so I’m testing myself to see if I can. The challenge has been put down and accepted, and let it begin.
Today was a day of exercise at home: a walk with Parola and classes for the whole day.
In bed by 11 pm.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please explore my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments section.
Richard
