Week 10 of Health Happenings, forging the gold medal body with Zac Spinosa. It's also Week 3 of self-isolation. I haven't seen Zac in real life for three weeks, but he's kept me motivated virtually and he's hinting that the intensity is about to go up.

A real cheat meal

Sunday we had a special delivery: one of my favourite pasta dishes, a puttanesca, made with spaghetti squash to keep it on track. It came with a charcuterie board, cheeses, cured meats, nuts and a salad, plus a piece of cake and a brewski. Call it a cheat meal. I indulged, and I don't regret it.

The weigh-in

Once again the scale went down: 223.4 pounds. That's 2.2 pounds from last week and about 28 pounds since the beginning. Zac pointed out that I've now lost almost as much weight as my dog weighs.

The workout

Today was a superset workout followed by something new: high-intensity interval training. Five all-out 10 second sprints, each with a minute of rest. I had to put on different pants for the sprints because my shorts are falling off me.

Zac's advice on rest

Zac reminded me that rest matters too. Sometimes your body needs extra calories and your mind needs a break from dieting and exercising. Take the rest you need, enjoy your food on those days, and make sure everything else counts. Ten weeks done, and even virtually we're still improving.

Joe is not a doctor or a dietitian. This is his personal journey. Talk to your healthcare provider before making big changes to your diet or exercise.