Theme of the Week: Working Out, Holiday Activity & Controlling Calories.
11 days into our month-long family trip around Australia. It’s been absolutely amazing so far. Looooving it!! Check out the incredible photos on our Instagram Feed and our Facebook Page. We first stopped off in Hong Kong for a few days before making our way into Perth to meet up with family. Six jam-packed days in Perth – exactly what we hoped it would be. As I type, we’re on a Qantas flight heading over to Melbourne. 😄
Priorities – Experience First!
It goes without saying that our highest priority as a family is to experience this amazing continent and have loads of fun. That means putting enjoyment and soaking up the moment ahead of the regiment and discipline of managing weight and body goals. Letting our hair down and not getting anxious and restrictive about weight etc.
That said, being active, lifting some heavy shit and not acting like we’ve got a hall pass to be glutinous and unhealthy is super important to Michelle and I. When we give to ourself physically and nutritionally, it allows us to feel our best, and not walk around with regret.
So far, I think we’ve managed to keep a good balance. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve definitely eaten more than we would (or need) and have put on a few pounds already, but as you’ll see below we’ve done a pretty good job of not completely losing the plot.
High Activity, High Enjoyment
To give you a sense of what’ve been up to and just how active we’ve kept the holiday so far, check this out:
- DAY 1 – Landed 7am in Hong Kong. Stayed up all day and walked around the city soaking up the sights. Checked out the craziness of Nathan road at night and got involved in the street dancing. 🤪 Got in some swimming too.
- DAY 2 – Travelled to Hong Kong Island and ascended to the top of Victoria Peak to view the Hong Kong Skyline. Ate in iSquare area and walked all the way back to our hotel an hour away. Word of warning, the whiff of the local street food such as Chicken Feet and Pigs Intestines was not great… 🤢
- DAY 3 – Visited Hong Kong Island and walked around the city, visiting a Temple and soaking up the sights. Then trekked up the mountainous Honk Kong Forest Trail for a couple of hours. A lot harder than expected! Sorry Debs… 🙄
- DAY 4 – A day of Traveling to Perth.
- DAY 5 – An active sun drenched day on the Mullaloo Beach – the kids made sure of that! Also checked out Hillary’s Harbour – lots of walking.
- DAY 6 – Super early start to swim with Wild Dolphins in Rockingham! What an incredible day. Family loved it. 🐬
- DAY 7 – A lovely day in Caversham Wildlife Park. Walking around all day playing with Kangaroos and checking out all the Australian wildlife. Then back to some beach time in Hillary’s.
- DAY 8 – Another early start to grab the ferry to Rottnest Island. A car-less beautiful island with amazing beaches, bays, views and wildlife. Biked 25K, walked 3K and got in some swimming too. A 1,500+ move calorie day. Plus play with the Quokkas!
- DAY 9 – 9:45 Tee Time at Joondalup Resort & Country Golf Course for a 9 holes. ⛳ Such a glorious course, gorgeous weather and Kangaroos roaming around! BBQ at family in the evening. Another 1,500+ move calorie day.
- DAY 10 – After the gym, we headed over to Fremantle for a tour of their World Heritage Convict Prison. Fascinating. Followed by a casual exploration of this cool town, culture, markets and heritage for most of the day.
- Day 11 – Travelling to Melbourne as I type.
Our Commitment to Fitness & Calorie Control
On top of the high-activity days above, Michelle and I have needed to our Gym fix and to make healthy choices on food we decide to consume. These are the highlights:
#1 – Gym Trained 7 Days out of 11 – Not too bad! Moreover, it’s been great to experience new gyms. We were treated to top gym whilst in Perth. We could do our regular barbell-focussed heavy strength training workouts with no compromises whatsoever. Managed to match or improve on a couple of my lifts too. Even had the chance to try new machines.
#2 – Had several Home-Cooked Meals – Whilst in Perth, we had the privilege of staying in a house. We did a shop buying the whole foods we would otherwise cook at home. Plus, got in a couple of barbecues too. No fear, the almond butter, almond milk, avocado, sweet potato and whey protein could continue! 😉
#3 – We skipped Breakfast or Lunch Every Day – Almost every day so far, we’ve deployed the approach of skipping one of the earlier meals every day, and not succumbing to all the sweet treats and street food snacks. This was easy, as we are definitely eating enough in the other meals!
#4 – Making The Best Choices We Can – Look, it’s enjoyment first. However, as best we can we’ve avoided foods we otherwise would whilst at home. For example, no pasta, no bread (just sourdough), no icecream, limited fries, no fizzy drinks etc.
#5 – Keeping on top of the Health Supplements – Making sure that every day I’m getting enough Protein, Green Drink, and healthy fats. On top of that, extra VitD, MultiVit, Fish Oil, Hit B Complex, ZMA’s and Probiotic. In addition, taking pre & post workout for energy and keeping my Creatine levels up.
The Struggles…
With all the activity, fitness and smarter nutrition choices, we are struggling with a few things. For me in particular, they are:
#1 – Sleep Deprivation – Believe it or not, whilst this is supposed to be a vacation and a chance to rest and recover, the agenda we’ve set was perhaps a little too demanding to be honest. Combined with my passion for taking photos and keeping the AdapNation updates going, I’ve been going to bed too late and waking up too early. 5-6h average sleep time each night, which I know is not enough for me. I know this is not good for my body goals, strength gains, recovery and mood. I’ve also been loose on my meditation due to running out of time. Need to fix this going forward.
#2 – Eating Too Much In Each Meal – I am a foodie, and love consuming! I can absolutely manage my weight and make good decisions, but if the food is in front of me, I WILL eat it. It’s one of my flaws. As a result, I’ve definitely ate until it hurts a few times this week. Ooops.
#3 – Bloated – Linked to the above, I am constantly loaded up with belly full of food. This is causing bloat, some gas and no rest for my digestion. Can’t help to feel less healthy when your belly always feels full, plus I know with insufficient sleep I’m making worse decisions and not allowing my body to recover from the activity.
#4 – Weight – We started this holiday with me coming out of a mini cut. It was inevitable my weight would shoot up a few pounds. Currently weight 194lbs, which is 7lbs in 10 day! Eeek. Some will be water due to a heavier carb diet and always being full of food, but I think I’ve put on a couple of pounds too. Definitely looking softer and less defined. Not great.
What’s Up Next
In terms of holiday itinerary, we’ve got Melbourne, Sydney, Port Douglas and Perth (again) still to go before heading back to the UK on 29th April. It’s going to continue to be incredible I am sure. We’ve got a bunch of things on our list to do, but nothing booked. You can stay updated daily on our Instagram Feed (and regular Stories) as well as the AdapNation Facebook Page and my private Steve Katasi Profile.
In terms of Fitness, Nutrition and Body Goal focus over the next week, here’s my aim:
- Get more Sleep! – Need to clock 7h average over next week.
- A Fast Day – I think I need a day with no Breakfast or Lunch, to give my digestion a break.
- Gym 4-5 times over next week – Basically, carrying doing the APR-18 #HyperWorkouts Programme as I have done, but now in Melbourne and Sydney.
- Return to Twice-Daily Meditation – Now schedule is less rigid and more our own, this should be doable.
- Keep the Home-Cooking & Smart Nutrition Options Going – This should be easy enough, as we are staying in good Airbnb apartments for the rest of our trip.
I’ll let you know how I get on next week… 🙂
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