Still not achieving the recent streak goals I set myself of sufficient protein, finishing eating before 5pm, and exercising. Interestingly I am generally sticking to no crap food though.

What can I do on the exercise front?

Date: December 21st, 2025

Mobility First or Strength First?

Saw this tweet from Kevin Dahlstrom.

• https://x.com/Camp4/status/2002428964070187433

My Thoughts

• It's true for me for sure, that I'd rather be mobile/flexible than strong. Even now I feel like an old man & it puts me off exercising generally.

• It's also true I'd rather play sports to exercise than lift weights.

• At the same time, I worry about the muscle loss that starts in your thirties and makes you weak as you age. He seems to be fine, but rock climbing is exceptional for strength, so would that transfer?

• If I adopted a routine of strength training just 1x/week & kept it, alongside sports & mobility, would that be enough to keep me strong as I age?

What Claude Says (link)

• "Sarcopenia (age-related muscle loss) accelerates mostly when people become sedentary. Active people who do any form of resistance work — even bodyweight stuff — retain far more than the scary statistics suggest."

• 1x/week can work provided it's high intensity, compound movements, close to failure.

Takeaway

I have no idea how to make flexibility/mobility be not-boring, but I do feel that getting more mobile/flexible feels like a better focus than getting strong.

High Engagement Exercise Options

Options

Thoughts On Convenience

• Stuff at home is good because activation energy is low, but bad because I often want to get out of the house.

• Stuff that needs 15+ mins car travel each way ends up falling in the bucket of feeling too inconvenient to do regularly.

• So the optimal convenience bracket is actually - go to the gym at the end of the street.

Leading On From That

• How can I make the gym have more pull? Rowing machines with an ipad app to make them interactive could be a big shout.

• How can I create a space in the house that has a pull for doing stuff like Ring Fit or kettlebells?

  • Balconie/s? Cold but maybe getting warm clothes on is part of a routine.

  • Realistically the best place at home is just the bedroom for now

  • The other thing I could do is use the gym for kettlebells

Idea

• Bedroom balcony morning routine. Roll out of bed, throw on warm clothing at the door, go outside and do kettlebell sets (in front of a tv)?

To Do

• Go to SportCity to see if...

  • I can retrofit the rowing machines with one of the rowing games.

  • There's a good place for kettlebells

  • See if Sportcity Wibautstraat sauna is nice

Week 51 Check In

Predictably, the progress I made on Nutrition gradually faded out in the past 3 weeks. My last post in this stream was in week 48, when things were going well. But as I've learned, if it's not on my radar, it gradually disimproves. Hopefully this post can get me back on track.

• Week 48 - Really good - adhered to the rules, ate Khan's meals, didn't indulge. Weight went from 98.5 to 95.3 by the end of the week.

• Week 49 & 50 - Continued with the meals but didn't eat them as much. Had multiple cheat days, trips to the cinema. Lads christmas night out etc. Checked weight & was back around the 98 mark.

• Week 51 - Went entirely off the rails on holiday - all you can eat buffet twice per day, multiple drinks per day, no restrictions whatsoever. Haven't checked weight but expect it to be not great.

Plan going forward

• Rest of holiday (today & tomorrow): Continue with few restrictions, enjoy it

• Mon to Weds: Have 3 good days before christmas

• 24, 25 26, 27: Realistically with christmas these days are going to be high consumption, let's not try to fight it.

• New year's week: Let's try to get back on track with exception for Dec 31 & Jan 3

• Jan 5 onwards: 100% back on track

• Lunch: Khan's meal

• Snack: Yogurt plus berries plus honey, x2

• Snack: Yogurt & Granola

• Lunch: Khan's Meal

Quite happy with how this week went. 4 days ago I wrote Health 2026, and because I kept it simple, I remained focused on it throughout the week. Previously a common failure mode has been "I'm not sure if this fits within my guidelines, fuck it I'll eat it so", but because I have a clear guideline for eating out and snacking, that didn't happen this week. Let's see if it continues this week.

List

• Breakfast: Yogurt & Granola, no chocolate

• Snacks: 2x small slices of pizza

• Evening: 10x salted crackers, assorted cheeses. Likely around 1400 cals

List

• Lunch: Soup (Brocolli, onion) & Sandwich (Chicken & rocket) on small ciabatta

• Dinner: Khan's chicken & Rice

• Snack: Natural Yogurt, honey, Holies granola, half bar of Tony's chocolate

• 

• Lunch: Khan's chicken & rice

• Dinner: Cheese burger with sauces, handful of fries

• Snack: Natural Yogurt, honey, Holies granola, half bar of Tony's chocolate

• Other: Tea, Powerade

• 

Terrible day today. Got to the cinema late so didn't get to Albert Heijn. Next time 100%

• Lunch: 2 longganisa sausages w brown rice. 550 calories.

• Cinema: Large nachos & 2x cheese dips: 1800 calories

Check in: I'm not doing great on this stream at all. I haven't been tracking what I'm consuming, and haven't been making smart decisions. Need to get back on the wagon.