First of all, Happy New Year to all 3 of you, Dear Readers!

As is our custom, Shoko and I spent nearly a week cleaning the hell out of the apartment, then ended the year with a bowl of soba (and a bottle of champagne…mixing traditions). This means that I am waking up fresh and clean and ready to step on the scales and pinch myself.

Most of the images I found on the internet of people using fat calipers were models who had no need for them. This guy comes close to my reality right now. According to the 4 pinch points I use, I’m at a whopping 22.8% fat, with most of the excess at the abdomen and ‘suprailiac’, which it what the guy above is measuring.

I also weighed myself and Paris did me in last week a bit. I’m at a nice, even 74kg (162.8lbs). As a frame of reference, the last time I was really down to race weight (in 2015), I was 66kg (145lbs) and my fat rate was 12.3%.

According to the American Council on Exercise, my fat rate is ‘acceptable’ for a man my age. If I want to reach ‘Athlete’ I need to be under 13%. I’m not sure if I can get as low as 2015 again, but I need to try. If there one thing in the world that does not forgive a few extra pounds, it’s a series of long mountain climbs.