Saturday, March 20, 2021

Weighing in 20th March 2021

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 To say I feel annoyed is a huge understatement.

Weigh loss has always been tough for me.

Guess my environment did not help.

But more often than that, I think I sabotage my own efforts.

Have to find a diet plan that is sustainable, but i guess at the end of the day, it boils down to mind power and will power.

I tried Intermittent Fasting before, but my working hours makes it tough.

Keto Diet isn't sustainable, but these days, I hear that quite a few guys do Keto Diet with little carbs.

I am hovering ard 109kg now.... Let me check in in a month's time. 

Sunday, March 14, 2021

14th March 2021 - Hoka One One Arahi 5

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Never felt so excited about getting a pair of running shoes.

Having just got a pair of Skechers Max Road 4+, it is kinda wasteful to get another pair of running shoes so early.

But March 2021 came Project Love Sneakers by Running Lab....

I decided to trade in my old Salomon hiking shoes and get a pair of running shoes from Hoka.

Hoka was founded in 2009, and during that time, I was finding the thick soles ridiculous for runners.

But as technology evolved and new brands come onto the market, it seems like everyone is following what Hoka did... 

Tried Bondi 7 , but it did not fit well....

Was recommended Hoka Arahi or Gaviota , Saucony Hurricane and Asics Kayano....

I also prefer to do a bit of research before I plonk my money down on a pair of running shoes, so I decided to come back another day.

Interesting how things have really evolved over the years.

Asics Kayano now have a little brother Kayano Lite.

Love to try the Lite, but even more excited to try Hoka.

Arahi is comparable to GT-2000 while Gaviota is Hoka version to Kayano.

Kinda interesting I never gotta own a GT-2000 before :D

Looking at the Youtube videos, it turns out that most of the guys who ran to lose weight, almost all of them are wearing Hoka. 

There is even a video from Runner Kao from Singapore who owned two pairs of Arahi 3, where he clocked a total of 2450km at the time of the video.

Given that the shoes was only released in January 2019 and the time he made the video was made 10 months ago, that is a crazy 200km clocked monthly.

Kudos to a guy who started running to lose weight.

=========

Went to Running Lab, tried the Arahi 5 on the treadmill....

It was a joy to run in.... Soft soles and had the rocker feeling of Skechers Max Road 4+

Took the shoes out for a night run.

First thing I felt was.... my feet is sinking into the shoes, cradled snuggly but not tightly into the soles.

Much like bucket seats....

The soles is a lot firmer and better to run in than MR4+ 

Overall, it feels like a premium pair of shoes.

Then you start wondering, why are all shoes not build this way. 

I will definitely be sticking with Hoka for a long while.

 Soles are build like how I felt most rocker shoes are built these days.

Dense fore foot, denser mid foot , soft rear foot soles.

This will definitely get non-mid foot runners to change their gait.

Let see how the following runs go.

14th March 2021 - Running Shoes

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I always have this love-hate relationship with running shoes.

When I first started running when I was still studying, it was always Nike running shoes.

I abandoned them when my running soles dis-integrate during the runs, leaving me to walk barefoot home for 5km. It did not happen once, but twice!

So I tried Saucony, bought during my NS remedial training.

This is probably the most ridiculous pair of shoes I had.

Paid $80, did one remedial training with it, and threw it away.

The pain on the shins throughout the training was excruciating.

I was given a pair Adidas running shoes, it did not work out at all, there is no cushioning and much like Zoot, they dun really offer much options for broad feet.

Then came Asics Kayano....

The choice is a non-brainer.... It is the best maximum stability shoes for over pronators.

And given a clydesdale like me, it is a must have, or so the experts say....

Did a marathon in due course, and the weight of the running shoes make me wanna quit.

So I went no one has gone before....

I wore Newton stability trainers for my next marathon, much to everyone's dis-beliefs. Why? Cos heavy guys should never wear trainers for long distance running, worse a pair of mid-foot trainers.

From then on, I only looked at trainers.... no more running shoes.

Choice is easy, it is lighter and it is cheaper.

My next choice of shoes is price driven....

I cannot afford Asics and Newton runnings shoes, not even with the discount given for SAFRA Running Club members.

So my only choice is New Balance.

Nothing fantastic, just that it did not gives me any issues and it is one of the cheaper brands in the market.

After that I literally fell off the grid....

Under Armour were all bought in Japan, every pair less than $100.

Which is why now I do not look at shoes costing more than $100.

My current Under Armour running shoes, having kept in the store room for too long, is breaking apart.

A lot of patch work after every few runs, it gives me more grief during runs than pleasure.

Last month, a friend passed me a voucher for 50% off Skechers shoes.

So I looked at a brand not known for running shoes and was surprised to read about their latest technology, Hyper Burst.

There were a lot of reviews, given that the company is based in USA.

Not an excellent pair running shoes, but I see where 50% can bring me.

Turns out, Skechers dun sell much of their running shoes outside of USA.

So I was stuck with the only model available here.

An interesting sole... tells me that technologies and competition has really driven all these shoe companies to innovate.

I can really feel the rocker effect when I am running.

Essentially, based on my feet, the front to mid soles are made denser than the rear sole, mid soles being the most dense. Thus giving you the pushing effect....

Like this shoes other than the only complaint I have. my toes hurts after every run.

The toe box is just too big....

Thus this brings me to the excitement which I shall post separately.


Running Shoes over the years

======================

Asics Kayano 14

Asice Kayano 15

Adidas AdiZero Breeze

Adidas AdiZero Mana

Newton Motion

New Balance 1190

New Balance 1500v2

New Balance MR904

New Balance Minimus Trail MT00

VivoBareFoot Stealth

VivoBareFoot Ultra Pure

Under Armour Speed Form Fortis

Under Armour Micro G Velocity

Under Armour Bandit 3

Under Armour Bandit 3

Skechers Max Road 4+

Hoka One One Arahi 5



14th March 2021

0 greetings

 Totally forgotten I blogged last July till I login.

Things ain't looking good. 

I managed to keep my constant weight till December 2020. 

Then in a course of a month, I ballooned to 113kg....

I have since pushed it back down to 110kg, but I could not get it down much further.

It is a constant battle in the morning, trying to think what to eat.

Can I really keep meat off the table?

Can I do Intermittent Fasting? 

So far nothing worked out.

Weight 110.1kg

BMI 35.9%

Body Fat 33.1%

Muscle Mass 39.0kg

Bone Mass 5.7 kg

Body Water 48.9%

I am hopeful....

I am go with Mark Leong 23 days Diet in the near future. 

It is kinda scary to see my Body Fat staying ard 33%.

When it was 22-24%, I was already stressed, now at 33%, it looks and feels life threatening.