I’m hiding behind the floppy hat of shame. Week 6 and 7 have and will be slow because my gym membership expired. I didn’t renew for the month since I’m traveling this coming weekend and, as it turns out, having guaranteed access to the treadmill at home isn’t enough variation to keep you entertained and motivated. I’m going to have to figure something out for week 7 before my flight but prepping for travel will also be messing with my schedule.

Workout Tally

2 20min runs

I’m going to have to pay for some individual classes this week because my discipline falters when it comes to treadmilling at home. Electricity cuts don’t help, but honestly, it just gets dull. I can safely say that the only reason I want to be faster on the machine is so the boredom ends sooner. Did I mention you feel like a human waterfall in this weather? The plus side is that you can run whenever you want…if you have power.

 

With this week’s decreased workout level, I did notice my appetite was proportionate. The more I exercise, the more I become a human Hoover so it’s going to take some time to figure out the right balance of exercise and feasts.

I have been adding some goals over the past 6 weeks but I’m losing track of what they are since they’re scattered across the posts. I’ve compiled them below and will do so every 6 weeks to make sure I’ve got an updated list to keep referring to.

Recap of the Goals for El-Tanein Diet

• 10K steps/day or at least 50K/week total
• 5 classes/week minimum
• Do regular push-ups (not modified bent-knee)
• Plank for 2 minutes straight post-cardio
• Lose 12kg by January 12, 2016 (2kg/month for ~6 months)
• Work my way up to 6kg weights
• Wear shorts to the gym without feeling the jiggles
• Run my 5K in 35 min
• NEW: one 5K run/week

Recap of Mini Victories So Far

• Average of 3 classes/week
• Planked for 1:10 (up from 0:40s)
• Up to 4kg weights
• Running 5K in 40 min (down from 41:30)

Outdoor Activity

I never thought participating in a protest would count as an outdoor activity but walking around Riad El Solh Square for a few hours under the afternoon August sun is still something. I got a tan and mixed feelings about this whole “revolution.”

Fitbit Flex

Staying home is worse than office life when it comes to step count. Week #6 totals at a little under 40K, 10K short of the 50K minimum. Even with very little workout activity, I was almost there!

Best Meal of the Week

I headed to Zouk Mikael with the sisters for this weekend’s Souk el Akel at the old Zouk souks. It included the same stands I saw when I went to the downtown edition last month. Upon arrival, the sisters admitted they weren’t hungry and just wanted to see what the fuss was about so I ended up having dinner solo. I had a half pulled pork sandwich from This Little Piggy and a sloppy joe from Meats & Bread.

  

I have yet to try the recommended sushi burrito because that combination seems insulting to both sushi and burritos. It’s like making a ribs pizza. Actually, that sounds genius. Let me think about it.

Other Highlights

Bought a Crop Top: I was never a crop top person. I’m not a fan of midriff baring but I’ve seen classy examples of how to pull off a crop top. I don’t think it’s the kind of style made for muffin tops or belly pooches so I figured it be a good motivator to get my abs in shape. I opted for one that was easy on the wallet too so it won’t break my heart if I only wear it around the house. H&M saving the day.

Workout Track of the Week

Cheese of the Week

Knefeh bi Chocolat: Since the above is called best MEAL of the week, I did not count my first encounter with the knefeh bi chocolat of Sea Sweet as the winner. I will say that it was the highlight gastronomically though. For those who don’t know, knefeh is baked white cheese pastry topped with semolina and syrup. Knefeh bi chocolat is a chocolate croissant stuffed with knefeh. I can’t for the life of me understand why people who discovered it this year decided to call it the cronofeh; it’s been around longer than the cronut and such a moniker does not make you salivate. Way to make something so sinfully delicious sound like a village with no gas stations. My reaction was, and I quote, “this is like whoa” and I could only eat 3/4 of the half I had before I felt the glucose seeping out of my pores.

I shall leave you with a cat meme.