I did not sum up the “get in shape” exercise when it reached its official end on 1st of July so I better do it now meanwhile I still remember…
The target was to reach 70 kg by first of July without loosing too much muscle tissue and I reached that by cutting back on the carbs in the end of June. The scales showed 68.7 kg but in fairness a part of that was due to the depletion of the glycogen depots (and more significantly the water that it binds) in muscles and liver that happens when you cut back on carbs. Anyway, I considered the target as reached and moved on to a more relaxed diet to compensate for a somewhat ascetic lifestyle.
What is more interesting in the long run is of course if the weight jumped back severely afterwards. Naturally some weight was added when the carbs were re-introduced and now, 5 weeks after, the weight is at around 72 kg. If one looks at the weight from the beginning of the exercise in February, it means a loss of 10 kg of which it should be mostly fat since I did not get weaker in the major lifts. I aim to keep running and biking during the autumn, knowing that I won’t have as much time as I have had lately, and then it should be possible to stay around 70 kg going forward. That seems to be a healthy weight and if I could switch a few kilos of fat to muscles, that would be great.
Talking of running, yesterday I did a trip to Zug which ended up being 59 km. The weather was perfect and it felt great. I had to walk a bit in the end but in general it worked out well. The pace was nothing to brag about, 5:59 per km, but the goal was to make it home and the time was not of significance. My smart watch reported a new record regarding the number of steps, 66560 and 68 km in total for the day which included some walking in Uster with Andrzej in the evening. I think it will take some time until I beat that record.
Lately I have also re-discovered my Cyclo-cross bicycle. I bought it five years ago but have not used it much. It is great fun though and I have perfect tracks along the river so I look forward to more of that in the future. I probably also need a bike for the road as well but I think that has to wait until I have a bigger garage…
Since I wrote last time I have been to Malta for a week. I was combining work, holiday and a bubb.la meetup. I enjoyed the reliable weather, 30 degrees Celsius every day, and got to swim a bit in the Mediterranean sea. Malta is indeed a very interesting place and the living costs are indeed attractive compared to Zurich. I did a lot of “sightseeing by running” and stayed in a room in Sliema which I rented via airbnb. My host had his peculiarities but it worked out reasonably well. Especially taken into account the modest fee I paid.
Before Malta I also spent a week in Wroclaw, where I always have a great time. Obviously it was a lot of work during the days but I also had a chance to meet with the guys in a more relaxed environment during the evenings. Except for Lufthansa letting me down and stranding me in Frankfurt for a night on the way to Poland, it all worked out fine.
On a final note, I should also mention a great weekend with Rasmus and Veronica in mid-July. Among other things, we went for a very nice hike at Fürenalp in the vicinity of Engelberg.
Now I have one final work week in front of me before the trip to Siberia. (Thieves don’t need to worry, I have a guy staying in the apartment meanwhile who can take care of them.)