This Monday marks the first day of Week 7—a crucial phase after some ups and downs. In Week 5, I slipped back into old habits, and although I got back into training in Week 6, I still ended up gaining weight. But I’m determined to stay on track: I started replacing some meals with meal replacements last week and plan to intensify that approach this week. At the same time, I’ll keep up my usual workout routine (three cardio sessions and three strength sessions).
The good news arrived first thing Monday morning: after the scale shot up dramatically yesterday (totally messing with my weekly goal), my weight settled back down today—what a relief! Feeling re-energized, I powered through a strength workout right away.
Fueled by this motivation, I had a meal replacement for breakfast, rice and a beef schnitzel with cauliflower at lunchtime, and a small portion of ravioli with ragù for dinner—plus some Skyr quark for dessert. My afternoon snack was a drinking yogurt, just enough to keep hunger at bay.
Measurements
Weight: 91,7 kg / 201.16 lbs
Belly Ø: 106 cm / 41.73 inch
Steps: tbd
Kcal Deficit: -tbd
Workout /Cardio
Push-Ups: 3×8
Pull-Ups w. Band: 10/8/10
Bicep Curls w. Band : 3×10
Band Overhead Press: 3×11
Plank: 3×35 sec
Knee Raise: 3×11
Bike: 0
Hike: 0
Walk: yes
Today was a cardio day, but I’m still waiting for my saddle sore to heal. So I used my lunch break for a hike—luckily, I live right by a mountain. I’m actually not a big fan of hiking, but it was the best way to keep my heart rate around 130 bpm for a while. My plan was to climb for 30 to 45 minutes, but I ended up going for a full hour. In those 60 minutes, I managed 504 m (1,654 ft) of elevation gain—more than I expected! Especially given my recent dietary changes, I was surprised by my energy levels. I only had one meal replacement shake for breakfast, yet I felt great the whole time with no hunger pangs. Between the ascent and the descent, I burned a total of around 923 calories.
After the hike, I had another high-protein meal replacement, and a protein bar in the afternoon kept me going until dinner. There, I happily indulged in a generous serving of pasta—guilt-free!
Measurements
Weight: 91,1 kg / 200.84 lbs
Belly Ø: 106 cm / 41.73 inch
Steps: 22.586
Kcal Deficit: – 1.700
Workout /Cardio
Push-Ups:
Pull-Ups w. Band:
Bicep Curls w. Band :
Band Overhead Press:
Plank:
Knee Raise:
Bike: 0
Hike: yes!
Walk: yes
Yesterday was one of those days packed with work—office tasks, meetings, clients. Thankfully, it was a strength-training day, and I just managed to squeeze in my workout before breakfast. I’m getting better at executing the exercises properly and tweaking those that cause discomfort (especially around my wrists). I set up a mirror to keep an eye on my form, and I like what I see: I’m definitely looking leaner, especially around my neck and chest, and every now and then I can see a muscle popping out under the remaining fat. That’s extremely motivating, and I’m determined to keep going. I’m also noticing real progress in my workouts—for instance, I can now hold a plank for 45 seconds without much trouble, which was a dream just a month ago.
I powered up in the morning with a meal replacement shake, but external factors meant I had a “classic” lunch—beef schnitzel with rice and a bell pepper salad. It was a very small serving, and even an afternoon protein bar didn’t quite make up for it. Consequently, I really went all-in for dinner: two huge portions of spaghetti with a four-cheese sauce, which ended up sitting heavily in my stomach late into the evening. In the future, I’ll need to make sure I eat enough earlier in the day so I don’t go overboard come dinnertime. Still, I managed to hold on to a modest calorie deficit overall.
Measurements
Weight: 90,9 kg / 200.4 lbs
Belly Ø: 106 cm / 41.73 inch
Steps: 13.288
Kcal Deficit: -1340
Workout /Cardio
Push-Ups: 3×8
Pull-Ups w. Band: 10/8/10
Bicep Curls w. Band : 3×10
Band Overhead Press: 3×11
Plank: 3×35 sec
Knee Raise: 3×11
Bike: 0
Hike: 0
Walk: yes
Today was a solid day. Even though Monday’s cardio hike was still echoing in my knees, I used my lunch break for another cardio walk. This time it was shorter and with fewer elevation gains to spare my untrained legs—about 50 minutes of uphill walking with 367 m (1,204 ft) of elevation, burning another 694 calories in Zone 2. The reward for the effort was a protein shake for lunch and a protein bar in the afternoon, which allowed me to indulge guilt-free in the evening with the first asparagus risotto of the season. Yes, asparagus is back—the vegetable vendor has crates full of this “white gold,” freshly delivered from Southern Italy.
I’ve been keeping my intake in check lately because some challenging days are ahead. Tomorrow (Friday) there’s a big ball—champagne and appetizers galore—and on Saturday, if I manage to get out of bed, skiing with the boys awaits, which means beer and hearty mountain hut meals. I’m determined to invest in a calorie deficit now so I don’t fall back into old habits.
On a positive note, I pulled out my trusty smoking jacket for the ball. It fits! Almost perfectly. Had I tried to wear this 10-12-year-old smoking jacket a few weeks ago, when I weighed 95 kg (209 lbs) or more, there would have been no chance!
Measurements
Weight: 91,4 kg / 201.5 lbs
Belly Ø: 106 cm / 41.73 inch
Steps: 19744
Kcal Deficit: -1200
Workout /Cardio
Push-Ups:
Pull-Ups w. Band:
Bicep Curls w. Band :
Band Overhead Press:
Plank:
Knee Raise:
Bike: 0
Hike: 0
Walk: yes
Right after waking up, it was time for a strength training session. For two consecutive weeks now, I’ve been hitting three strength workouts per week. And yes—I can really feel the difference. I’m getting stronger; I can now easily complete three sets of 9 push-ups and am already working towards three sets of 10.
Carnival season has officially kicked off, and that means a “carnival donut” (Faschingskrapfen) is lurking around every corner—roughly 300 kcal each. As the festivities rampes up, so did the temptations: today, I couldn’t help myself and ended up indulging in two carnival donuts. But thanks to the meal replacements, I managed to stick to my target calorie deficit—even better than expected. With a big ball scheduled for tonight, I even took an extra walk after lunch morning strength training and lunch—a 270 kcal walk that almost perfectly offset the roughly 250 kcal from one of the two carnival donuts. Not a bad trade!
When it came to the ball this evening, I had to walk home on foot—not to burn extra calories, but simply because I had to. I’ll leave the details of the ball under a veil of secrecy—it started out lovely, but after a certain point, things got a bit wild. All I’ll say is that I didn’t eat anything there, though I did has several glasses of Prosecco.
Meals
Measurements
Weight: 91,1 kg / 200.84 lbs
Belly Ø: 106 cm / 41.73 inch
Steps: 21.905
Kcal Deficit: -1.300
Workout /Cardio
Push-Ups: 3×9
Pull-Ups w. Band: 3×10
Bicep Curls w. Band : 3×10
Band Overhead Press: 3×11
Plank: 3×45 sec
Knee Raise: 3×10
Bike: 0
Hike: 0
Walk: yes
The skiing with the boys didn’t work out today, but that just opened the door for plenty of walking and hiking. The result? Over 35,000 steps and 529 m (1,736 ft) of elevation gained throughout the day.
Being out in the fresh air did wonders—I’m finding more and more joy in walking and even hiking, something I used to really despise. On the upside, I still managed a solid calorie deficit of 1,600 kcal, even though I consumed around 3,000 kcal in total. Yes, 3,000 kcal, but with a clear conscience because dinner was an absolute feast!
Measurements
Weight: 90,6 kg / 199.74 lbs
Belly Ø: 105,5 cm / 41.54 inch
Steps: 35.412
Kcal Deficit: – 1600 kcal
Workout /Cardio
Push-Ups:
Pull-Ups w. Band:
Bicep Curls w. Band :
Band Overhead Press:
Plank:
Knee Raise:
Bike: 0
Hike: 0
Walk: yes
This morning, I wasn’t very hungry for breakfast—probably because I stuffed my belly last night! I only had one hard-boiled egg (yes, just that) before heading out to ski. The conditions were relaxed, almost spring-like, and because of the soft snow, I strapped on my rocker skis, which literally let me glide—making skiing an absolute blast today!
I tracked my skiing session with my Apple Watch: 25 kilometers on the slopes over 12 runs, with a total vertical descent of 3,300 meters, and the watch recorded 1,169 active calories burned. I can hardly believe it—I’m only counting about 50% of those calories.
But something else caught my attention today: after leaving the ski hut, I had to go slightly uphill—about 50 meters flat, then roughly 4–5 meters of gentle incline—to retrieve the gloves I’d forgotten there. I started in a skating stride, then used my poles to help on the slope. That’s when I realized how much extra strength I suddenly had in my arms: I was practically coasting uphill without getting winded. It took me a few seconds to register that I’m not only 7 kg lighter than before, but I’ve also been steadily building strength through my training. I noticed, almost without meaning to, that I now have a lot more power—significantly more!
For lunch, I had a serving of spaghetti Bolognese and a non-alcoholic beer at the ski hut; another stop brought in a glass of Prosecco. When I got back in the afternoon, my tracker indicated that I was still low on protein, so I quickly grabbed a protein shake. For dinner, I enjoyed a Wiener Schnitzel with salad.
Measurements
Weight: 90,5 kg / 199.52 lbs
Belly Ø: 105 cm / 41.34 inch
Steps: 11.200
Kcal Deficit: -1400 kcal
Workout /Cardio
Push-Ups:
Pull-Ups w. Band:
Bicep Curls w. Band :
Band Overhead Press:
Plank:
Knee Raise:
Bike: 0
Hike: 0
Walk: yes
