Health and Wellness

Sleep

Consistently getting 7-8 hours of sleep, with the exception of Saturday night when I went on a date and stayed out later than usual.

Diet

I definitely indulged this week. My neighbor prepared some seafood on Tuesday, and I used that as an excuse to overeat—I consumed more than 8,000 calories that day. I continued the overindulgence on Saturday and Sunday. I’m not proud of myself and really need to break the habit of self-destruction when I veer slightly off my path.

For example, by the time I finished all the seafood on Wednesday, I was sitting at 4,800 calories consumed. Did I really need to stuff a box of dates with walnuts, drizzle almond butter on top, and push my calories to 6,400? Did I really need to eat that tub of Greek yogurt with honey and bananas to push my calories past 8,000? Why couldn’t I stop after the seafood? It’s poor self-discipline and a 0-or-1 mentality. While that mentality is useful for staying focused in the short term, it’s not sustainable long-term. Life is messy and unpredictable. Things won’t always go my way and I need a better approach for long-term results.

Exercise

The upside to overeating is that I felt strong at Muay Thai and the gym. I started to enjoy the runs I go on and actually look forward to them. I slowed down my pace and now feel like I can run for longer distances! I don’t take my phone or headphones—I just observe my surroundings, get lost in my thoughts, and it has been wonderful. A big part of why I’m enjoying running this time around is because my body weight is lighter and my joints and muscles are better conditioned from Muay Thai. At the moment, my goal is to run twice a week on Tuesdays and Sundays and slowly add more miles over the weeks.

What I’m Learning/Building

I have been struggling to maintain consistent progress in my ML courses and the other interests/goals I have. I also realized I am most energized when I’m building, creating, and exploring new things. I need to make more time for that.

I have been writing consistently, and it feels great! I am currently working on a blog post about the joy of a disconnected life and hope to publish it in the coming weeks. It’s definitely a struggle for me, but I love the state of flow I get into when I write. I also learned not to worry about being perfect on the first try. The idea is to approach writing in drafts. The first draft is essentially word vomit—just getting thoughts out of my brain and onto paper. Then rewrite until satisfied and publish. The key is to sit down and write every day no matter how I feel. It’s like going to the gym—you won’t always feel motivated to go, but you go anyway.

Personal

Had an awesome picnic with a few friends on Sunday. Good weather, good food, and good company. The best things in life don’t cost much. Material success isn’t fulfilling if you don’t have people in your life to share it with.