Day two of 40-minute cardio: motivation and my meals

This is a personal record from the original publication date. Food, exercise, weight, and procedure experiences describe one person’s circumstances, rather than current treatment recommendations or guaranteed outcomes.

Time for the morning fasting weigh-in! Down another 0.6kg from yesterday's 50.1, as I wrote at the time.

I finished work at 9 yesterday and was so tired I really did not want to exercise. But writing on the blog that I would do it made me follow through. When I do not want to do something, I seem to need motivation. Sharing the result meant I had to act.

Food and exercise methods matter, but the psychological part is an important driver and takes effort to get started. Previously, before I even had time to think that I did not want to, I would stand on the treadmill and watch TV until I got going. Even making contact with the equipment can start things, but it is difficult. A body-profile booking or a promise to share results on the blog gives me a goal I cannot ignore. Goals matter, whether for studying or weight management.

Yesterday after work I spent an hour in the massage chair, thinking how glad I was to have bought it and how much I liked Bodyfriend. I still had not exercised by 11, then finally sat on the indoor bicycle and started.

After a good night's sleep, I got up early to prepare my daughter for school and made Spam-and-egg sushi. My own breakfast was a protein drink, though I also ate one piece and the leftover egg for protein.

A patient gave me a 100,000-won Starbucks gift card a few days ago. I can enjoy my morning Americano without worrying about the cost.

Every cup reminds me of that person. Perhaps that is why gifts matter.

My hair is getting untidy. Two days of 40-minute interval cardio following Choding Immat Jadeok videos have given me a little energy, which feels good. Tonight I want to do another 40 minutes—just do it.

Do I do strength training? Yes: 30 squats while brushing my teeth each day, and hanging knee raises on a pull-up bar whenever I can.

For the hanging knee raise shown here, I tried to stay centered without swinging. Thinking of curling into a pill bug helped me focus on my lower abdomen and roll the pelvis up, rather than simply lifting the knees. With practice I could do more repetitions and hold myself up better.

I felt reluctant to do much strength training, so I planned to do at least this. My goal was 40 minutes of cardio daily for two weeks.

My meals at the time were protein powder for breakfast, then salad or a regular lunch with 100g of a carbohydrate food such as sweet potato or kabocha and 100g of a protein food such as chicken breast. Dinner was also salad with those 100g portions.

At first I bought prepared chicken-breast salads from stores or online, but the vegetables were not very fresh and did not taste good. For lunch I ate at Salady or Sweet Balance. At dinner I washed a single portion of salad greens and added 100g of chicken breast, 100g of kabocha or sweet potato, a few olives, blueberries, and olive-oil dressing. Fresh and tasty.

Next I would like to try cooking with tofu noodles and explore different recipes.