philsquest

Loosing fat the natural way

I am no sport fanatic. By no means. But I must say that it does a lot of good in my life. Specially since I'm turning forty soon and my twenties are way behind me. Back then just working as a gardener kept me fit. Now to keep fit I have to actually do something. Doing sports also keeps me happy. I just feel good if I have been in the Gym two times a week. Unfortunately this doesn't always happen.

I read on the internet that gaining muscle increases  your metabolism which in turn burns more fat. So I gain more muscle then I can eat more without getting fatter. If I then don't eat I will then burn muscle fiber and will show bones. I guess this is a bit to high for me. As more as I read about nutrition and work-out as more confused the subject gets. It is not all about weight. Well being is maybe more what I seek and there are many factors that have to be applied here. Perhaps for another post :-)

I guess I just get on and try to make it at least once to the Gym this week. It surly helps my overall wellbeing.

Velo-tour

Also ich bin kein Sportfanatiker. Und doch treibe ich für mein fortgeschrittenes Alter eine Menge Sport. So war ich Gestern auch im GYM. Übrigens habe ich ein neues Abo in einem Fitness-zenter wo die Foltermaschinen tatsächlich funktionieren. Letzte Woche bin ich seit langem wieder einmal kletttern gegangen. Das war echt cool.
Heute habe ich aber schon einen lang erhegten Wunsch erfüllt. Nämlich mit dem Fahrrad oder in gutem Schweizerdeutsch Velo auf den Hausberg von Chiang Mai zu fahren; oder vielmehr zu steigen. Auf etwa 13 Kilometern sind etwas über tausend Höhenmeter die zu bewältigen sind. Lillian hat gelacht (ich weiss nicht aus Sorge, das ich mich umbringe, oder das ich mich lächerlich mache). Ich lebe noch (sonst könnte ich jetzt nicht schreiben). Für alle die schon auf Doi Suthep waren wissen wie hoch das es da rauf geht und wie steil die Strasse ist. Wir sind bis ganz rauf zum Königspalast gefahren und haben eine frühens Mittagsessen in der kühlen Bergluft genossen. Glücklicherweise nahm mich Mathias, ein erfahrener Biker, mit. Ich denke ohne einen Mitfahrer wäre ich umgekehrt. Oder ich wäre gar nicht erst gegangen. Ich habe Mathias mal so gesagt das ich das machen wollte. Er meinte ich sollte nicht nur davon reden... ala "lifere statt laffere". Danke Mathias :-) Ein Ding mehr das ich von meiner Liste streichen kann.

Morgen geht es ab nach Hui Kau Laam für drei Tage. Unsere Toilette im Dorf fällt auseinander und nächste Woche haben wir ein Team in dem Dorf. Mal sehen was wir da machen können.

Switzerland dropped out

Yesterday, or should I say this morning for me, was the match Switzerland against Ukraine at the football world championship. I was crazy enough to stay up to watch it. Here in Thailand it's on life at two in the morning. Would I have known the outcome and the never-ending misery of that game I wouldn't have swapped my beauty sleep for this.
Switzerland lost after they were unable to bring in a single penalty at the penalty shoot out. The whole game went back and forth with numerous fouls and players hitting the Grass all the time. It was terrible to watch the way they hacked each other down.I think the Swiss played quite well. Better than Ukraine They were much more in ball possession and had quite a view chances to shoot a goal. The team is just unable to shoot goals. Not even penalties. What a bummer! I couldn't believe my eyes. Not a single penalty went in. A sad day for Switzerland. I will lower our Swiss flags today.
Okay I admit I'm proud they even made it into the championships. It doesn't happen very often. There are too many strong teams in Europe. So hopefully next time. Just imagine Switzerland in the finals.

Scuba Diving in Thailand

In April we were at the beach for a two weeks vacation. Last year wenn we were down South I saw people taking a diving course. I said to my wife that next time we go to the sea I want to try it out. So this year I took a four day PADI open water course. Thailand is one of the best palces to do so. We were near Krabi. Au Nang has about ten certified diving centers. I just walked into "Suba Addicts" without knowing what would await me. I actually had to sit down and learn something. It is not just hopping into gear and jump into the sea. I red about 240 pages of the Open Water Diver Manual, watched several videos and took some tests. Hey now I'm certivied to wear a diving mask and breath under water.
I must say the whole thing was great and I would recommend people it to people who want to do something different and have a little adventure.

• Day one: watching videos, study book. Pool session. Putting on the gear learning how everything works. Practise different things under water.
• Day two: More pool time. I have to be sure what to do in emergancies. How to come up and go down properly. Then take the test 50 questions. Wow I aced it. I was so proud of myself. Proved to myself that there is still some room in my brain for totally new stuff like buoyancy and nitrogen.
• Day 3: We are taking a big diving boat out to Phi phi island. Beautiful. A day on a boat with snacks and drinks and two 50 minute dives in the opeb water. I have never seen so many colorful fish in one spot. We practised the things we did in the pool. This time in the sea. First dive down to 15 meters, the 20 meters.
• Day 4: Same thing as the day before. A bit more diving less practising. Two dives in Phi phi.

It was a great four days and next time i will do the Advanced Open Water Diver. This will give me more experience in different dive locations.

Australian open

Roger Federer won the final in the Australian open on Sunday. I have never watched so much tennis in my life. It was exciting to follow the different players go through the tournament. Federer won the men's final while Hingis won the mixed doubles after being on a three year career break. It was a great atmosphere in the stadium and it was really fun watching it. I even learned about the rules and how the scoring works.

Tennis fever

Tennis fever broke out in our home. There are three swiss players in the quarter finals in the Australian Open 2006. Roger Federer (1), Patty Schnyder (7) and Martina Hingis. Tonight we watched Federer play against Tommy Haas and it was a nerv recking expirience. After Federer won two sets, he lost two sets, and the last one kept us on the edge of our seats. Hop Schwitz!