Grateful 27 Feb: Health

I decided to increase my exercise intensity today, and I’m glad I managed to follow through. I wanted to clear off some of the weight I had gained over the CNY period. So here’s what I want to call out in my gratitude journal today:

• Steps. By the end of the day, I had clocked about 23K steps - roughly 17km. It’s been a while since I covered such a distance, and it’s almost twice my regular daily average in recent weeks. I’m grateful that I’ve built my health well enough to do this - and even for the 10 - 12K steps I manage daily. Clocking my steps daily has become a habit; I feel like something is missing if I don’t. But the steps themselves are not the real outcome I’m striving for. Rather, the ability to clock them reminds me that I am healthy, and that my body is still capable of going the distance.

• Push-ups. When I started doing push-ups in mid-2025, I could barely do 20 without panting heavily. But I kept at it, and within 2 months, I was doing 200 - 300 daily (10 - 15 sets of 20). Push-ups is one of the few form of resistance training that I can do without needing weights. I would also include planks every few days, but over time I stopped. These days, I’ve reduced my push-ups to about 100 every 2 - 3 days, recognising that at my age, recovery time is needed. Today, however, I managed to complete 200 again, and I’m thankful I could do so without too much difficulty. Perhaps it’s time to revisit my planks, in addition to push-ups.

• Health. A key reason I focus so much on steps and resistance training - beyond vanity - is health. I’ve also become more conscious of my dietary habits, cutting down on fats and carbs while increasing my protein intake. I’m glad to see the results. Over the past 7 - 8 months, my health markers (BP, RHR, etc) have improved greatly - beyond my expectations. My weight dropped from about 75kg to around 63 - 64kg, probably the leanest I’ve been since my 30s. Most importantly, I feel stronger now, and I hardly experience any significant backaches these days. And for this, I am grateful.

So yeah, I give thanks to my health, my ability to walk and to do my push ups. I will work towards sustaining this habit for as long as I can. And for the near future, perhaps it’s time to focus on building a little more muscle mass. 

Jiayou ba!