Starting my personal quest for fitness

I was super fit until just a few years ago. I used to play futsal with the local boys and never had issues with my metabolism. But one of the side effects of balancing work at a startup with two toddlers at home is that I could never find the time for any sort of exercise in my daily routine. As of today, I weigh a little over 76 kilos, which for my height (5 ft 8 in) is overweight by some means.

That ends today. #noexcuses.

I chanced across this great app called Healthify.me which from reviews does one thing very well — calorie tracking for the Indian diet. There are awesome apps out there like Lifesum, but their Indian food database is poor, so what’s the point? From what I’ve read, portion tracking is the first step. Going to try HIIT too, so let’s see how this goes.

My first goal is modest — lose 12 kilos in 24 weeks. Which means I should weigh 64 kilos by the end of May next year. But it’s not about just losing fat, it’s about being healthier and fitter. And if I gain a little muscle in the process, I won’t complain.

I’m not going to post New Year resolutions, but make this my prime focus for the next year. Here goes nothing!

Deep Down Inside

Really digging deep house over the last few months, so I’ve been trying to get back into shuffling. So much music, but only a few tracks can be used on Youtube without getting flagged for copyright violations.

Then I found Spinnin’ Records actually makes copyright-free electronic music for this purpose when I stumbled on this gem by La Fuente. I also tried Premier Pro for the edit this time, and I’m happy with the way it turned out.

Been watching a lot of NYC shufflers lately, and you can probably see it’s influencing my own style a lot. This is my first video in two years since Sofia was born. So much has changed, yet so much has remained the same. PLUR.

RIP Chester Bennington

Linkin Park was a staple of my commute playlists back in college, and although I’m not a fan of their recent albums, this is a big loss for the band.

Seems like depression was likely the cause of his suicide.

The spirit carries on.

Sofia turned 1 this week! And Sasha couldn’t be happier to have her around. The adventures these two have!

Mom and Pops celebrate their 30th anniversary today, and I created this custom wall piece for them.

Now Playing

Impressionism

Found Gregory Esayan’s first album via Beatport, and although older, I actually dig it a lot more than Pilgrim’s Diary.

It’s been three weeks I’ve been playing this on loop—Your Warmth, Monday Night, Starman are just brilliant. And Pilgrimage sounds like something Enigma would conjure up.

Gotta keep an eye out for his future EPs. It’ll be interesting to see if he sticks with this sound as his fanbase grows.

Hello, Apple Music

Apple Music has launched in India and I’ve signed up. For a paltry 120 bucks a month (and the first 3 months are free), I get access to over 1 billion songs! Plus, I can download and play offline, and even off my phone via the Apple Music app. I’m also looking forward to their staff-curated playlists.

Bath time in Gaza

Salem Saoody plays with his daughter and niece in their family bathtub, amidst the carnage in Gaza. What really pierces me is how oblivious the girls are to what is happening around them! Can someone please stop cutting those onions?

Photo by Emad Nassar.

Now Playing

Pilgrim’s Diary

Man, oh man! Gregory Esayan, where’ve you been all my life? Pilgrim’s Diary is just brilliant. Something about his music is so emotional — just like most of the artists on the Silk roster.

Every track is seriously amazing—Taxi, Game Of Hearts, Numb Capsule, Make A Wish. So many layers of complexity, arranged so masterfully.

Now Playing

Days

Shingo Nakamura epitomises everything I love about electronica — beautiful chord progressions, sweeping synths, no vocals, and this deep, ambient flavour mixed with the piano that takes you to another place. He clearly deserves a lot more recognition that he currently gets. I mean, he doesn’t even have a bio on his Apple Music artist page yet.

I found him on Beatport, and I’ve been playing his 2014 album Days for the last several weeks now, and it never gets old.

Anyway, all the tracks are outstanding—Side Trip, Orphic, Abyss, but the standout track for me easily is Travelog.