Before heading to Barcelona, I had done a recap of the goals that were set out at the beginning of the El-Tanein Diet series. Now that I’ve returned, it’s time to take a look at that list and see where to go from here. No more walking my way through meals of cheese and sparkling wine, it’s back to the gym for me.

UPDATED GOALS FOR EL-TANEIN DIET

• Do regular push-ups (I currently do modified bent-knee)
• Plank for 2 minutes straight post-cardio
• Lose 15kg by June 12, 2016
• Work my way up to 6kg weights
• Wear shorts to the gym without feeling the jiggles
• 10K steps/day or at least 50K/week total
• 5 classes/week minimum
• Run my 5K in 35 min or less
• Run one 5K run/week
• NEW: Join Nike Running Club
• NEW: Walking to and through Horsh Beirut   

The original cut-off date for ETD was January 12, 2016 to total out to a full six months of recording and progress. Can you believe it’s already been 20 weeks? Well, I can’t either which is why I’m extending it to June and bumping up the kilos to be lost. It’s also because BCN took out a chunk where I was doing more chewing than toning. I did not balloon up over there but, knowing the sedentary car-dependent lifestyle of Lebanon, I am going to have to work much harder to balance my food intake and get healthy exercise back into my weekly routine.

I was too optimistic thinking that week #20 would have me back at the gym like it ain’t no thang. Coming back, at the start of Thanksgiving week no less, has been harder than I expected. Besides too much mezza, it’s taking me longer than usual to be okay with how Beirut has changed – or hasn’t – in my eyes.

Week #21’s post will be a status report to see where I’m at physically post-Barcelona; I need to see if I’ve lost the stamina that I built up over the summer. My gym has changed up its class schedule (and jacked up its membership fee) so that may affect my workout tally too.

I have nothing to report this week but I’ll leave you with this track:

As for cheese of the week, I will admit to inhaling lots of Cheez-its with white wine. It may be Barcelona withdrawal, filling the void that only cava and slices of cheese can fill, but I think it may also be the Kellogg’s product.

I once saw something about Doritos on Discovery Science. It said that along with the perfect crunch sound, the chip flavor was purposely created to be the perfect balance between salt and sweet so that your body could never reach satiety, leaving you always wanting more. Cheez-its have got to be part of that club because they are my cheddar cheese Achilles heel and the archenemy of El-Tanein Diet. They need to go.