I started the morning with a progress picture. Then I weighed myself and I gained weight. I don’t understand why I am not losing weight. Its a little odd because I am in calorie deficit. It might be muscle gain or reduction in exercise because of holiday season. Normally I exercise for around 120 minutes which includes a session at the gym followed by a session at the pool. But the gym has been closed since a week and I haven’t been able to get in any resistance training. I am not a big fan of calisthenics because it is so damn hard.

Anyway I got back home from my swim. There was a huge unexpected crowd at 7:30AM so I was not able to do as many laps as I wanted to. This pool is not made for serious swimmers and the one that is made for serious swimmers is far so I don’t go there much.

At home my mother made upma for breakfast so I had to gulp that down with a frown. I tolerate upma its not my favourite. There are some like my mother who live by it but not me. I know the mood has been down so far but the rest of the day was up!

In the afternoon I started reading a new book called the Art of War by Sun Tzu. I know its a cliche but I have never actually read it and I have seen a lot of people quote it so I was curious as to why and so here I am reading it. Compared to The Snowball this book is tiny. I will tell you about it after I am done reading it.

I worked the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon until evening when I was planning to go out for my walk. But then it started raining. In my wait for the rain to subside I started watching this video which came in clutch because it showed me what was necessary for me in my state of mind. I have set proper priorities and made sure that what I am doing has meaning and I need to remain consistent with what I am doing. This weight loss is for me and when it benefits me I will be able to help others.

When it stopped raining I quickly got on my shoes and rushed out for my walk. On my walk I came across a man pushing a car. The first attempt to start the vehicle had failed so I walked up to the driver what’s wrong and he said he needed help to push start the car, his friend who was pushing the car alone did not have enough strength to do so so I helped him push the vehicle and voila it started. I shook both their hands and walked away smiling. The rest of the walk I had a pep in my stride and reached home earlier than usual. Not by a lot but by a few minutes. I came home and finished my gallon of water.

I did not lose weight and was worried about it but it was the mental block that was really bothering me at the beginning of the challenge. Now that the block is cleared I will be able focus on the program more effectively. Day 17 was a success.