Climb stairs and learn to be better investors?

Although somewhat tardy, I still reply to emails, messages and comments from readers even as I blog less frequently in recent months. So, since I blog less often, what have I been up to?

I have been paying more attention to my diet and I have also been spending more time on other hobbies such as gardening. Something else I have been doing is to engage in more physical exercise.

Almost daily, I would be doing some form of physical exercise, taking a break only once or twice a week. One physical exercise I have engaged in since the start of the Chinese New Year is stair climbing.

Why stair climbing?

I was looking for a cardio vascular exercise that would better strengthen muscles, burn more calories and which has lower impact on the knees compared to jogging. Stair climbing is all of these.

Stair climbing has another advantage. It saves time.

Most of us live in high rise buildings in Singapore. So, we have easy access to stairs. We don't have to spend time travelling to a gym to work out. 

Oh, yes, we save on paying for a gym membership too. Sorry, I couldn't resist saying this.

Today, I am inspired to blog about stair climbing because of an email I received from a reader and one of the sentences towards the end was:

"I will work to be as successful as you are although I feel that it would be an impossible task..."

I decided to tell him a story about stair climbing.

When I first started to climb stairs on the first day of Chinese New Year, I climbed 54 floors and almost died. OK, I exaggerate but it really did feel like I was on the brink of death. It took me a rather long time to complete and I took a step at a time.

After a few days, I took two steps per stride which is more effective in strengthening the muscles because it creates a bigger mechanical disadvantage, making the exercise more demanding. I was able to climb 54 floors taking two steps per stride before long.

I gradually pushed myself to complete 90 floors, taking 1 step at a time for the last 36 floors. Then, I pushed myself to take two steps per stride for all 90 floors. It was obvious that I was growing physically stronger.

However, just like how share prices don't move up in a straight line, there were days when I just felt less energetic. On those days, I would cut myself some slack and climb only 54 floors. On some days, I would feel more energetic and climb 108 floors. 

Today, I felt really good and climbed 126 floors, taking 2 steps per stride. This is the first time I have ever climbed 126 floors since I started stair climbing.

What is the message here? 

When the conditions are right, we should do more. When the conditions are not in our favour, we should do less.

If I did not push myself to climb 126 floors today although I felt good, I would not grow stronger. However, in a bid to grow stronger, if I tried to push myself to do more when I really should be doing less, I could end up hurting myself.

Regular readers would know that this is not just a blog post about physical exercise. There is a message for investors embedded somewhere.

All of us have different circumstances and we have to be pragmatic. External conditions are also ever changing. 

Sometimes, we should invest more. Sometimes, we should invest less. The important thing is to stay the course. Don't stray and don't stop.

What we should stop doing is comparing and want to be as successful as someone else. What we should do is to ensure that we are better off financially, year after year. 

It is about being as successful as our circumstances and external conditions would allow and this is definitely not an impossible task.

Be a successful investor but you don't have to be as successful as AK or anyone else.

Other blog posts on what AK has been up to:
1. Investing or gardening, be ready for war.
2. Being fallible in dieting and investing.
3. Who make the best investors for income?

How to make a cucumber fish cake burger? Is Vitasoy Less Sugar really healthier than the regular version and Yeo's?

If I can avoid leaving the comfort of home, I will. So, if I can do a bit of cooking at home and avoid crowds at food centres, why not?

However, I am not a chef extraordinaire. I also don't want to have to do a lot of cleaning up after cooking. So, it is only light weight cooking for me but I try to be imaginative.

Recently, I made a couple of fish cake burgers!

What do they look like?

Tadah! Yummy? You bet!

So, how did I make these?

Get some fish cakes and cucumber. Cheap, cheap.

800 watts and 2 minutes in the microwave oven does the job.

Use a sharp knife and dissect the fish cake.

Stuffed with cucumber, dusted with turmeric and black pepper.

Easy, right? It satisfies my craving for hawker food but in a healthier way. Cheap too at less than a dollar.

Going, going, gone!

Recently, I stop consuming soya bean but I used to drink lots of soya bean milk.

I would usually buy Yeo's because it is less expensive but I would occasionally indulge in Vitasoy too when they had special offers.

The "healthier" less sugar pack has more saturated fat and sodium.

Yeo's has the highest sugar level!

So, which version of soya bean milk would you choose to consume?

Well, there is quite a bit of discussion as to whether soya bean is even good for us. I believe we might only have a problem if we take too much of it which was what I was doing. Now, I am avoiding it.

"Soy contain protease inhibitors which interfere with the digestion of protein. Also, in order to prevent germination, phytates tie up minerals like calcium, zinc, and iron. Both protease inhibitors and phytates are reduced by the traditional, time-consuming fermentation processes developed in the orient, but not by modern quick methods.

"Lectins are proteins found in beans, grains, and other foods. They bite into carbohydrates, particularly sugars, often causing immune system reactions and blood clotting. Soybean lectins react with the carbohydrate component of cell membranes, causing cell injuries and deaths. As this damage accumulates, it adversely affects the gastrointestinal, immune, and other systems."

(Taken from: American Nutrition Association.)

On that note, I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post as much as I did writing it.

Bon appetit!

Related post:
Food bill grew but weight shrank.
Update on my progress:
I have lost 9 kgs to date and 4 inches around my waist.