Post Chinese New Year update and January check-in

Just got back from a 9-day holiday break over this past week and I think I did pretty decent for a long break! Not to mention it was the biggest holiday in Taiwan and a week-long food fest too.

I had a friend visiting from Japan who stayed with me for 6 days, and thanks to her small appetite I didn't gain any weight. Although I encouraged her to 'try' everything, I tried to eat only when I was hungry. Plus we ate dinner quite early and tried to refrain from late-night snacking. We also did a lot of walking and I recall spending most of the week in my sneakers. All in all I did alright I think :)


Slow but steady loss

Weight as of 1/31/2012: 68.70kg

I plan to participate in an amateur badminton competition taking place mid-April this year and I just began training this past Saturday. I've been playing badminton since middle school, but I've always played on and off and was never quite in the right shape for it. Hopefully this time it'll be a good start for long-lasting good habits hehe.

I'll be playing badminton 2-3 times a week and working out 2-3 times on top of that. This is how my workout/training schedule looks like this week (1/29~2/4):

• Sunday: Badminton lesson 2.5 hrs ***
• Monday: Light cardio 0.5 hr *
• Tuesday: Cardio and conditioning 2 hrs ***
• Wednesday: Badminton games 2 hrs **
• Thursday: (rest)
• Friday: Light cardio 1 hr *
• Saturday: Badminton 2hrs * / Training 2 hrs ***

(* for intensity)

It sounds like a lot of exercise (and is probably more exercise than what I did in the month of December all together), but the overall intensity is not that high, yet. I plan to add more stuff as I get closer to April. Especially since I'll be playing singles, I need to be able to run/sprint 10-15 minutes for a match and not pass out on court, which will be a long ways from the physical shape that I am in right now. But hey, starting NOW or just starting ANYtime is a good start yea.