Net Worth: January 2020

My estimated NW increased by $60,194 (2.46%) during January to $2,502,382, due to the strong gains in Australian and global equities markets, which flowed on to the valuation of our SMSF investments. House equity valuation didn't change as there was no updated monthly sales data available when I did my monthly estimate of our house valuation (other reports suggest that the Sydney real estate market continued to improve). My NW hit the $2.5m mark for the first time, which helped mitigate the disappointment that my S-type Jaguar had to be written off as the Jaguar 'specialist' service center couldn't fix the problem with the electrical system (ended up selling the car to a parts dealer for $500, after buying it for $8,000 and spending about $2,500 trying to repair it when it broke down).

This month I had to pay the $42,452 'stamp duty' on the $1m off-the-plan unit that won't be completed until 2023 and I also paid $3,500 for the next uni term of my Masters course (which I paid using my 'portfolio loan'), and I also bought about $1,000 of 'toys' (a cheap $210 kayak to use when I'm at the lake house, some gym clothes and annual gym membership pre-payment, and a $600 .22LR CZ455 rifle to do some benchrest target shooting on the weekends), so I'm more than tapped out in terms of cash flow this month. Seems that I'm asset rich and cashflow poor and will need to clamp down on spending too freely on 'wants' - which is probably good practice for when I retire...

Fortunately I *should* get paid my annual bonus (around 10% of salary) during February, which will help pay this month's credit card bills! If I ever get around to lodging my 2018 and 2019 tax returns I should also get a tax refund (I sold some shares in 2018 and probably made some capital gains (still trying to find all the DRP and purchase details from back in the 1980s!) but I also had quite a few tax deductions, so should get some of my PAYG tax refunded).

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Diet 2020 Wk 4 - week ending 26.JAN.2020

I was doing well during the week, and then on the Australia Day long weekend we visited my parents up at the lake house and I had some (slightly) large meals and a small amount of excess carbs, and I didn't do much walking. I did do an hour or so kayaking on Saturday (not as much as I'd intended over the weekend), but didn't much else in terms of exercise. My overall stats for the week still look OK, but as the high cals/low exercise came at the end of the week it will probably mean that this week also won't show much/any progress and will instead be focused on getting back into my keto diet and exercise routine. My weight was a bit higher this morning, probably due mostly to extra fluid retention due to the larger meals eaten over the long weekend.

I did get in my three gym sessions last week and continued to increase volume (reps x wt) slightly, but the rate of increase in progressive overload is starting to slow down a bit. I stick to my current weekly routine for the next couple of months until I reach my target weight, then look at varying my routines to try to add muscle once my caloric intake has increased back to maintenance level (allowing for some extra calories required for the weight training to add some lean mass over time).

As yesterday was a public holiday (and I was driving back to Sydney for 3.5 hours in the evening) I didn't get to the gym, so this week I will only have two gym sessions (but I'll be doing another Kendo training session on Saturday). My weight currently seems 'stuck' around the 88/89kg level and my body fat seems to be hovering around 17.5%. I'll just have to wait for some more progress to become apparent. Doing three sessions of weight training per week and restricting caloric intake to around 1,200 kcals/day *must* eventually result in weight loss (and should be predominantly fat rather than lean mass). I just have to be patient and stick with 'the plan' even when there is no obvious improvement day-to-day.

I have to focus on the fact that I've already got back down to the 'best' weight I've been since 2016, and should soon be down to the lowest I've been this century, and closing in on my target weight *80 kg) within a couple of months.

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Diet 2020 Wk 2 - week ending 12.JAN.2020

Last week was my first full week of 'keto' dieting. I didn't do any fasting days, but instead managed to stick to between 1,200 and 1,600 cals every day, and kept my carb intake below 30g/day while having between 170 and 210 g of protein each day. My walking during the week was between 12,500 and 17,500 steps/day, but on the weekend I drove 3.5 hrs up to our lake house to drop off my youngest son to stay with my parents for a couple of weeks during the school holidays, and drove back again on Sunday night. So I didn't do much walking on the weekend, but did do a bit of kayaking on Sunday with a cheap, new 'glide' kayak ($210) I bought to use when I'm at the lake house (I have a more expensive 'fishing kayak' at home that I have sitting in the garage and haven't used yet, as putting it on the car roof rack to drive down to middle harbour on the weekend wastes a bit of time). As the lake house is just across the road from the lake foreshore, and the 'glide' kayak is short enough to fit in the back of dad's station wagon, it will be a lot more convenient to go for a kayak whenever I feel like it at the lake house.

I got in three proper gym session last week as there weren't any public holiday closures. My total volume (wt x reps) was also a lot higher, as I've increased some of the weights and I also added a couple of new stations to my routine, and also did a fourth set on some of the stations during my 'heavy' training session on Friday.

My overall macros for the week show my first week of all-keto dieting. Low (<10 carbs="" high="">175 g/day) protein, and a caloric deficit (around 1,400 cals/day compared to my maintenance cals being around 2,800 cals/day). Aside from needing to do more walking on the weekends, and getting a bit more sleep, the other area I need to improve is to reduce the amount of sodium in my diet. The recommended maximum is around 2,300 mg/day!

My average weight for the week dropped considerably, due mostly to it having shot up during the holiday season. I expect my weight loss will be back to the normal rate of 0.7-1.5 kg/wk from now on (if I stick to my diet and exercise plan).

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