My walk of shame

This post is all about my fitness level. I hope it’s not just a New Year’s Resolution that will be forgotten next month. But I am planning to make some decision which I hope to keep. So, bear with me on that and/or help me if possible.

Generally, I’ve been good and managed to maintain a decent weekly number of visits to my gym during the last months. Apart from the time when I was away on holidays, I don’t think I’ve skipped gym for a whole week without going at least once or twice. The personal trainer I have is also good at kicking my ass almost every week. Sometimes of course is harder than others, but I assume that’s to be expected.

Last week was exceptionally nice. The gym was almost empty. Once, there were 4 people overall in the whole area, including me. I like it like that, when it’s empty and mostly quiet. I can enjoy working out without distractions. I even took a photo of the empty locker rooms. Before you ask, no, it’s not something I’ve done before and no, I don’t plan on making a habit out of it. :-)

I know that the state of the empty gym will not last. The hordes of the January new members on their own New Year’s Resolutions will be arriving soon. It’s unavoidable. We just have to be patient and wait for it to pass:

The reason however of the title of my post is my lack of running and doing long sessions of cardio exercise. I know how important running is to maintain my weight and waist line in a fairly good condition. I’ve mentioned my weight increase over the last weeks, that is not making me very happy and it’s not just the holiday food. I’ve gotten heavier and I need to do something about it.

I’m not a great fan of indoor treadmill running in the gym. I find it a bit tedious. I so much prefer running outdoors and I used to do it so often. When I first met JJ I was fitter, lighter and I could do long runs without any problem, like that first half marathon I did in Bath back then. I used to log all my outdoor runs and from what you can see things haven’t been going that well recently:

 2009

 2010

 2011

2012

Even if I might have missed and not logged a couple of runs over these last years, I don’t think it’s not obvious the decline of mileage over the months. Even during the good months, I didn't run that much, but still combined with gym, it was OK. I could come up with many reasons I haven’t been running, like heavy work schedule, my personal life or the bad weather but it’s no right. They’re only silly unforgivable excuses. It’s a personal defeat I will not easily accept, at least not without a fight.

So, even if these graphs are so embarrassing, I’m presenting them to you. I need you as witnesses that I plan on getting out again writing miles. According to my blog the last time I posted anything tagged in the ‘running’ category was October 2011! I hope this will change (and soon). Can you nag me in the near future if I don’t mention anything relevant at some time soon?

It’s all a matter of perspective…

Lately I’ve been thinking how our attitude affects the way we react to external triggers. That’s not big news you’d tell me, but I was amazed at the extend this can get. I noticed this mostly during the evenings I go to the gym when I have the personal torturer.

The evenings I was in a good mood, even if I was tired, I was able to follow through the whole session without complaining much and managing the weights and exercises suggested. However, the evenings when I was cranky and didn’t want to go to the gym, the sessions seemed never ending, more difficult and like a torture. These evenings were more common when I felt under pressure from external factors, like the Java exams last year or the new job last month. I wasn’t able to put all my problems aside and forget them at the entrance to enjoy my time there.


In a way, I do believe that bad things happen to bad people. I believe that if you’re bad tempered and complain all the time, it’s like you’re provoking Fate to throw the worst at you. For example, my grandfather was like that. I remember once the whole family went out for dinner. Around 14 people ordered their food and it happened that out of everybody, my grandfather had to get the spoiled portion. A huge argument followed. I very clearly remember my mother asking why it had to happen to my grandfather and not someone else. The whole fight would have been avoided!

I don’t want to become like that. I want to be able to control my temper or mood or attitude to a degree at least. So I’ve started trying to change my mood before my gym sessions. Some people use some kind of meditation or breathing technics to do that. I try to use music. I avoid all sad or nostalgic songs and I prefer strong upbeat songs. For example ‘Adele’ can’t put me in a gym mood. However Ting Tings singing ‘That’s not my name’ or Pink can. I wouldn’t go as far as Marilyn Manson. I don’t want to wreck stuff. I need to feel confident that I can go through the session and do almost everything thrown at me.


So far, this technic more or less works. Last night I even stayed with ‘gb’ a bit longer after the session with the trainer to do some more repetitions. That has never ever happened before. Usually, I am the first out. I was in a good state of mind yesterday. I don’t know how long this will last till something or someone stresses me too much or pisses me off making me lose my focus. Life is not easy but I hope to try to make the most of it.

Self improving

I strongly believe that every day of our lives has or can have some impact on our personalities. Our work experiences, everyday choices, routines, travels, the way we spent our free time, are all affecting our well beings and personalities in a good or bad way.

Ultimately, I would like to gain from all these experiences and become a better person. I want to try new things in life, study more, learn about various things and visit different lands and cultures if I am given the chance. I want to make this restlessness I sometimes have into something productive. I’m already thinking of new things to try like yoga, wall climbing, trekking, refreshing my French, learning some Afrikaans, even starting a degree in computer science.

In the same way, I want to find and improve flaws I know I have. I don’t believe that self help books are generally any help and just rely on people’s insecurities. I might be wrong here, but I don’t think that a book can make you thinner, a non smoker or find you the perfect relationship. It can only give you some advice on things that you mostly already know or can google about. A circle of good (slightly intelligent) friends can give you much better support.

Anyway, what I think I lack and I should work on is being more competitive and more a perfectionist. Since I was young, I couldn’t be bothered about how some things are done as long as they are done and finished. I fear that this emotion that can be described as a general Greek trait is bad and can be unproductive.

I’ll give you an example: my physical fitness. I train weekly with my friend ‘gb’. He’s French, around my age and far more competitive than I am, in everything! When our personal trainer asks us to do something, ‘gb’ will ask for more weights or he’ll try to do more repetitions than told! I’d never do that. I’d be happy to do as told and have the exercise over and done. This difference in attitude allowed ‘gb’ to have a six-pack and a fitness level far greater than mine. I never ever had a six pack in my life.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m generally happy the way I look and I don’t really want to be as competitive as he is (to an irritating point). For him everything is a competition. He needs to be the best at everything from his nights out, his relationships, his work situation. It can all be very tiring…

However, I do believe that if I managed to slightly improve myself in that sector, it would improve my life. Even in a professional level I don’t like confrontations and I let some things pass, sometimes in my expense. I am ambitious and I want to achieve things in my life, so I should start taking some things more seriously. The problem is not about organising myself but setting some difficult goals where the only real ‘opponent’ is me and forcing myself to accomplish them. I simply can’t be easily bothered to compete with myself… I need some more ‘Madonna’ in me (I’ve always thought of her as the ultimate perfectionist).

I don’t know if I explain the problem well and I am not exactly sure how I’ll manage it. I’ll try to take baby steps. For example, I have made charts to keep track of my running sessions to set personal records even if I don’t always accomplish them. I’ll even post them online to force myself into getting better…

It’s all a state of mind…

Weekly, I pack my nice gym bag and I head with my co-worker and friend ‘gb’ to the city center to have a gym session with our personal trainer. Our ‘pt’ is a lovely guy. We’ve been training with him for over a year now (time flies so fast). However, each time we go there, he is utterly destroying us!



I know it for a fact that I will be so exhausted at the end of the session that I will have difficulties getting undressed, shower my hair and getting back dressed at the gym, since I will not be able to raise my arms. I will also feel every step of the tube stairs while crawling back home. I also know that because there is no time to stretch, I will be in pain for the next couple days. Unfortunately, the gym closes early and because of work, we have ‘pt’ quite late. Also ‘gb’ thinks that we shouldn’t be paying him to help us simply stretch!

With everything else that’s been going on in my life, I’ve been having quite a busy schedule. Just the thought of going to the gym with ‘pt’, makes me moody. That unwillingness of course make the sessions even harder. I know that it is very vital to have a positive thinking when it comes to exercise. Just trying to put a smile on your face and keep repeating to yourself “I can this, I can do this” can help you do these extra miles you’ve always wanted to do…

It’s just sometimes very difficult to put that smile on your face.



So, I plan to make changes. I’ll talk to ‘gb’ and ‘pt’. I’ll tell them that since now we’ve been doing this combination of exercises, you know when between sets of an exercise, you do something else to confuse your muscles, we do almost all muscle groups really quickly. We can make some time for stretches! I have thought of stopping exercising altogether with ‘pt’, but I wouldn’t really like it. I’ve made so much progress the last year him. But I need to get my groove and determination back. I need to enjoy going to the gym and not feel it like a torture…

Rumbling Thursday…

Thank you for the book recommendations. I’ve ordered the ‘Becoming a Man: Half a Life Story’, ‘London Triptych’, ‘Geography club’ and ‘A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1)’. These books will keep me occupied for a short while.

I’ve always wanted to read the Geography club since as I’ve mentioned in the past I have a thing for Maps, Cartography and geography in general (Yes, I am a geek). I am so going this Sunday to the exhibition in British Library called the ‘The Magnificent Maps’. It’s the last day this Sunday but I can’t go earlier. The ‘Game of Thrones’ I’ve heard is a really nice Fantasy book.


Funnily enough, ‘MadeInScotland’ also suggested to me a book called ‘The Pope is Not Gay’, by Angelo Quattrocchi. That comment was never added to blogger and the email I received had the following warning:


I really don’t know why I can’t get rid of this warning even if I click on ‘Show Content’. That reason alone is suspicious. Of course Microsoft is not the best company when it comes to tolerance and freedom of speech.

By the way, ‘MadeInScotland’ raises some really interesting issues regarding the Pope and his UK visit, if you’re interested.

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Yesterday, we went to watch ‘Resident Evil: Afterlife’. It follows exactly the same steps as the previous movies. Milla is an awful actress and the plot is very predictable. However, the whole thing manages to appear entertaining. Not having high expectations of course helps. We got our pop corn and buckets of Coke and sat comfortably to be 3D entertained.

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I’ve been quite productive the last few days and I am really enjoying it. My new schedule includes waking up at 6:30, going to the gym approximately from 7 till 8 and then going to a coffee place for breakfast to study Java before going to work. I simply don’t know how long it’s going to last though. Going out after work (gallery, cinema etc) is reducing the hours of sleep I’m getting.

Today, I didn’t go to the gym or to study because I have my personal torturer in the gym this evening. This is the first time I’m going alone! It will definitely be interesting. Most likely, I’ll be in pain tomorrow…

Monday morning…

It’s gym morning for me. I get up earlier than normal and I go to the gym in the morning. It’s like a ritual I follow. I don’t mind it being Monday. It’s slightly less crowded than normal. People don’t usually like getting up at that time on a Monday.

I usually hit the cycles with a newspaper first, browsing through it under the TVs. Today, I noticed that the screens where showing a WW Raw match. I don’t know what the difference is with the normal WWE. Maybe it is a specific show called ‘Raw’, showing scenes from WWE matches!

Anyway, the thing was ridiculous! The ‘acting’ of the wrestlers was absurd! Funnily enough the stadium was amazingly packed and people seemed to enjoy it. I believe there might be many fans of that show / sport although I can’t see why. They should realise how fake all this seems!

That scene was hilarious

Funnily enough however, I was slightly drawn to the show. I wanted to see what else they can think of to do. I enjoyed the amazingly silly names they use, the faces they pulled and their tiny suits.

The guy standing looks quite cute though

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On a very different matter, JJ safely arrived in Johannesburg on Friday to attend a wedding the next day. He is now in Cape Town enjoying himself. We’ve managed to chat a bit, but not too much. He’s using words that I hate (at this point) like ‘swimming pool’, ‘fish barbeque’, ‘tanning oil’ when I use words like ‘umbrella’, ‘warm jacket’ and ‘work’!

I’m trying to organize our summer holidays and suggest to him a full plan when he gets back. I hope to persuade ‘JJ’ to go island hopping in Greece with me (I don’t think it will need much effort). I’m planning for us to fly to Rhodes, one of the biggest islands of the east-southern Greece where my best friend lives. We could spend some days there and then travel around to a couple of the islands of the same island group. The islands around there are not that much touristic and they are great for a less crowded, less noisy, relaxing vacations.

Lindos Bay in Rhodes

Rhodes has so many places to visit on its own. I could simply stay there for many days. However, I don’t want to take advantage of my friend’s hospitality and stay in his place too long. I also believe that I should spend some time with ‘JJ’ on our own. It will be fun / adventurous simply visiting other islands and spending a night here or there. It will be amazing, just us, the sun and the sea…

Pain…

I’ve been having some difficulties climbing stairs today… It’s my buttocks and legs. They hurt…
A lot…

No, don’t think of anything dirty (I don’t know what they call it that, it’s not that dirty (all the time)). My personal torturer (aka trainer) is the cause. We did all kinds of crazy stuff in the gym yesterday...

There are some exercises I like and enjoy and some that I loathe. I don’t mind that much simple stuff, like pushups or working on my triceps or back. Unless of course we start doing the things that our p.t. wants us to do. For example pushups can be fun. Pushups with both your legs on one small medicine ball and both your hands on another, makes the exercise a little bit more challenging. Especially you’ve some other weird stuff that put strain on your muscles already.

with another ball for your feet

I don’t like stairs…

Vanity…

I was in the gym this morning.
I mention it because I’m quite proud of myself for actually dragging myself there. We went out yesterday, which left me returning home yesterday quite late. I did manage to go though. I was motivated because we went yesterday to see ‘Priscilla- the musical’ (again). ‘JJ’ wanted to see it, as well and ‘hm’, so I didn’t mind watching it again. It’s a very good and funny show.

Most of the dancers there have amazing bodies (they’re dancers after all) and are half naked most of the time. Not in my wildest dreams I can look like that (I don’t really want to go to that extremes anyway – I like my food) but I wouldn’t mind getting a slimmer, firmer body. To be honest, I can’t really afford all that waxing, laser treatments anyway…

Back to my main topic, I was in the gym this morning. I did my usual routine and headed for the showers to get ready to go to work. I like going there in the morning, where it is quieter and less crowded. More or less, there are the same people going there the same time, so I kind of know their faces.

What puzzles me is how much time some of them spend in front of a mirror, taking care of themselves and their bodies. I’ll exclude the few who just flex in front of the mirror to admire their newly built muscles (really guys?) and comment on the rest of the people.


For example there is a guy, who I usually meet when I finish my routine. In most cases, he has just finished showering, has only a towel on and starts grooming / getting ready. I hit the showers, finish with it and finish getting dressed but he is still getting ready. He is putting various creams / butter on his body, different for each area, fixing his hair for around 15 minutes (just to look like he hasn’t spent any time on it) and getting dressed in slow moves not to mess with his clothes.


I first I thought that he’s doing that so he can stay longer in the locker room. Now, I’m thinking that maybe I should start paying some more attentionto myself. However, it’s a weekday; I’m going to work afterwards and not on a date. If I was going on a date, I would spend more time getting ready for it, but not before going to spend many hours in front of a PC screen. The type of work I’m mostly doing does not involve meeting with clients, so I am not going to be too much bothered about it, in an open plan office full of computer geeks with no dress code. After the shower, I dry myself, I put some deodorant on, a nice shirt (most of the times), a little gel on my hair and I’m done. It’s less than 10 minutes for the whole process. Maybe that happens because I am a little insecure spending too much time in the locker room. For example, I wouldn’t even shave in the gym. I like to do that privately, in my own bathroom.

However, I think that this needs some kind of training. You have to start keeping some rules in your everyday life to make sure that you keep them in special occasions. I believe that it would be good if I started spending a little more time in front of the mirror (I’m not saying I don’t take care of myself at all but still there might be some room for improvement). It’s nice to look good / feel good, even if you go to work / shopping / having a stroll. I’m glad that I managed to lose some weight after I started running / going to the gym / having a personal trainer. Maybe it’s time I start looking at other, maybe less significant stuff…

nightmare

How much time do you spend getting ready after gym? How much time is too much time before your friends will start singing to you:

You walked into the party
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror
As you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they'd be your partner
They'd be your partner, and

You're so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You're so vain
I'll bet you think this song is about you
Don't you? Don't you?

Weekend events…

On Friday after work, I went with ‘gb’ to the gym. We had our weekly session with our personal torturer (aka personal trainer). It was quite bad. I was exhausted after a very busy week at work and I really struggled to keep up with the program. I was content that I managed to do it, but more happy to finish it. We had told him not to work on our legs since the plan was to go running the next morning and he concentrated on our upper bodies.


I had a minor pain in my right foot when I was stepping on it since I last went running on Wednesday. I though it was a kind of a callous right on my underfoot and I wore a patch to make it go away. Since I was feeling better on Saturday, I went running. The pain on my foot increased but I didn’t do much to relax on Saturday. I kept on my schedule with ‘JJ’ and we went shopping, for a coffee etc. At the end of the day I wasn’t feeling very well and I couldn’t step on it without feeling pain.


It is kind of weird because it is not swollen, stiff or blue. I am just feeling pain on my underfoot when I walk. I tried to behave after Saturday evening. I didn’t go to a club or dancing that I wanted but instead I settled with going to the cinema which is 4 minutes walk from my place and I also stayed in the whole Sunday! That means that for the whole day I didn’t exit my flat at all. I don’t remember when I last did that. I’ve certainly not stayed in for a whole day in the flat I am now, since early November. For those that know me, they can understand what a sacrifice that is.

I’m worried. I think that it is not broken and I hope that it is something that will go away in the next couple of days if I rest it. Hopefully I’ve only slightly twisted it. I’ll try to go to a doctor to take a look at it later on today. I am supposed to run half a marathon in less than a month. I think that I can cover that distance. I have to keep on training though. I can’t afford to stop running for the next two weeks and I certainly can’t have a doctor telling me that I cannot do the run at all. I have a responsibility to all people sponsoring me to do the run for Cancer Research UK.

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The movie I saw on Saturday was ‘Up in the air’ with George Clooney. He plays a character with the worst possible job ever: he is hired to fire people! He just travels around in the States to go and announce to people that they are fired! He travels so much that he spends almost every year of his life between airports and hotels. So, the movie is about his lifestyle, his personal life and possible future. Overall the movie is very good, entertaining and interesting. I like the fact that it is not shallow and naïve. I feared that it would be a bad chick flick and thankfully it isn’t. All actors playing in it are very good, the direction is good and the script is very interesting. I am not sure why it was nominated for 6 Academy Awards though. Yes it is very good and I recommend it, but 6 Oscars?

Back to reality…

I thought of taking a break of the military stories, take off the uniform and leave the gloominess of this time behind… I only covered the first four weeks of it in 4 different posts. It’ll take me ages to cover the whole year… Yeah, I know… The beginning is always most interesting than the rest. After a while you do get into a routine and not many interesting things happen…

Back to the real world, all is well in a snowy cold London. It’s been like that for almost a month now but I do enjoy it. OK, it wasn’t that fun when I got stuck in a train for three hours on Friday but it’s really fun playing with the snow, walking around… Am I the only one loving the sound of stepping into fresh snow? I really do love it…

The only major disadvantage that I find in the current climate conditions is related to running. How can you go running outside when there is snow / ice on the pavements and the temperatures are a little bit below zero? Having my ankle twisted or even broken is not my idea of fun… I am able to get up early and go to the gym before work, but I find running on a treadmill way too boring for me. I’m sorry, I don’t know how other people are doing it. I can see the same people day in, day out, putting a small towel on the treadmill to hide the time display and they can run for hours… I’ve tried it for a couple of times, but it really is a struggle. Unfortunately, my half marathon run for Cancer Research UK is in less than 2 months and I’m getting very stressed about it. I have a Google counter on my Homepage that counts the ‘Days Since…’. The ‘Days Since’ I did a proper outside run are almost 30! The counter now is in red color… I don’t think it can get any redder than that…


On the other hand, all things look good with JJ. We’ve established a schedule of meeting almost every other day. Yesterday I went to his for a very nice dinner but I didn’t stay over, because he was working today really early in the morning. He made me some pea soup for starter, boiled carrots, potato salad with pancetta, normal green salad and lamb with oven baked potatoes for main and ice cream for dessert! That man can really speak to my stomach (I mean heart)… I loved it…

Two things I want to mention.
First, JJ left his toothbrush in my place. Don’t laugh. That might mean nothing to people with long stable relationships or for those living with their other half. However, for me, that was the first. It’s the first time I’ve let someone leave something personal like that in my own space.
Do, I now have to make him some room in one of my drawers? I feel dizzy just by thinking about it… OK, I’m only kidding, but I catch myself sometimes looking at his toothbrush a little bit more… I’m in an actual relationship…


The second thing I want to mention is that he gave me one of his paintings. He likes to paint from time to time and occasionally he sells some of his works in galleries. So, at some point I was telling him about one of my favorite painters and one of his portraits that I love. So, I really don’t know how many hours he spent, but he actually made that painting for me, in his own unique way and style. I was speechless when he showed it to me. It’s brilliant… He’s actually making two and he will give to me the second one when finished…

Another one bites the dust…

I have this song stuck into my head and I cannot get it out. I will probably keep on singing in my head, until I finish this post!

I had my very first spin class on Saturday morning that my personal trainer just started giving. It was quite nice. Although at the end, I could with difficulty keep myself in an upright position on the bicycle. According to my trainer though, we did a tough session, since the rest of the class was quite experienced. He might have said that just to keep me going though (he needs the class as popular as possible). I’ve decided to give it at least another try. I might be hiding some masochistic tendencies. Who knows?

After that, I met ‘Mr. T’ as arranged. The weather was very nice and we had a very nice walk along Thames that day. We also sat at a very nice spot to enjoy coffee and lunch. We ended up at his place to order Chinese takeaway and watch X-factor. He’s a fan, but it was the first time that I ever had to watch so much of it (I don’t have a TV set in my place anyway). I felt quite comfortable staying there and thankfully he didn’t mind having small chats now and then while the program was running.

Overall I had a really nice time and I ended up spending my whole weekend with him. We chatted a bit about us. He agreed that we are still in a getting-to-know-each-other place so we should take it slow and see what happens. I wanted to make that point because I get the feeling that he wants to rush things that a bit freaks me out. We had that fight two weeks ago and I am still a bit hesitant of the whole situation and what to expect.

My friend ‘gb’ describes a type of people as octopuses. These people tend to rely too much on their significant other and live and breathe through their relationships. They are in general too jealous and demanding from the beginning. That is why they jump into the next relationship way too soon and fast. He believes that ‘Mr. T’, being a bit insecure and introvert, is one of them. For some, this kind of relationships is good, because they need that extreme feeling of belonging and they can thrive in it. For me (and ‘gb’), this kind of relationships make me feel suffocated and struggling for freedom. I need some ‘me’ time and I need some time with friends as well, without my boyfriend around all the time. I don’t like being asked all the time where I was and with whom. I can get a bit jealous myself and I even like if someone is a bit jealous of me. However, there should be a silver lining and a limit to all this and not let any situation get out of hand.

So, I was a bit suspicious of ‘Mr. T’ and was trying to see whether he falls into this category. I know that I shouldn’t be judgmental, but I couldn’t help it. If we didn’t have this argument before, I wouldn’t probably do it. He did complain a bit about me booking my Christmas holidays because he’s going to be all alone and stuck in London. And he also mentioned that he saw in his dream that my family came to visit us (we were living together) and were proud of my choice of being with him!

Both stories totally freaked me out! He said that he was kidding about the first one and agreed (with some difficulty) that we might not even be in speaking terms until then and that it’s a bit too soon to make holiday plans together (we’ve only met three times)! I couldn’t really tell whether he was joking or not. However, I could see that he would very much like us to be together until then and spend our holidays together.
I managed to justify the dream story because of the talk we had before going to sleep (not going to bed, going to sleep – different things). We chatted a lot about my family that evening and I even called some of its members in his presence because of some recent events.

On the other hand, two things happened that work in favor of ‘Mr. T’. I mentioned going out to a gathering of gay people the day before we met for a certain event and also ‘gb’ accidentally called me at 4:30 in the morning of Sunday waking us up. In both occasions, he didn’t seem bothered or jealous. He even seemed a bit interested in the event itself and asked me a couple of things about it (not if I met someone etc).

Maybe, I’m over analyzing everything when I shouldn’t. Maybe I’m trying to find this octopus when it doesn’t exist. ‘Mr. T’ is nice, caring, interesting and cute and I would love to see him again. He also knows how to cook (always a plus). Maybe I need to see what's bringing us together instead of what separates us. Maybe I need a slap in the face to stop pondering / worrying…

Gym Day

Yesterday it was gym day. Last winter I started going to the same gym as a friend form work. We get along really well and we’ve also became running buddies. Two months ago we found a personal trainer as well and we’ve started exercising with him once per week. The personal trainer (aka the tyrant with the whip) is quite good, funny and always smiling. We tend to laugh a lot during sessions (when we are not in pain) and make a fool out of ourselves to the rest of the people there.

My gym buddy (gb) is fitter than I am. From the beginning he was able to lift more weight, run more, do more repetitions and I was OK with it. I am not a very competitive guy and I know when there is no point in arguing. I just leave him make his silly comments when we tend to argue, for the fun of it. He just calls me a ‘lazy fat ass’ when I get tired easily and I call him a ‘twat’ and other similar flattering adjectives

Recently he’s started taking creatine as well and things turned even worse. I’m probably lifting half the kilos he’s using. I’m not interesting in taking creatine. My goal is to get slimmer and get a more defined body. I don’t want to go bigger. I’m pleased with the results I’ve been seeing recently with the workouts and my running (I’m applying for half a marathon next spring / summer).

However, now I’ve reached a point where I can’t see any change. My body is kind of stuck or even going backwards. I know that this is expected and I will get over it after a while. However, I have to get more competitive, even with my own self and push me a little bit harder. It’s just sometimes I feel like failing at this (not a very pleasant felling).

No, I don’t want to whine about it. I’ve always believed that if you want something changed, you have to help that change happen. Like being said in ancient Greek: ‘Συν Αθηνά και χείρα κοίνει’
(move your hand along with Athena; ie don't expect Athena to do everything for you, do something too).

So, after my weekend in Glasgow and all the deep fried stuff I’ll eat there and the booze I’ll consume, next week I start fresh with exercising and dieting.
However, do you know if there is any healthy food supplementary that will help me lose some weight and get fitter? Vitamins?