Saturday we celebrated my partner’s birthday at Morton’s Steakhouse — our favorite spot because of our server, Chris. We don’t go there just for the steak. We go because of him. He treats our family like VIP every single time. We’ve built such a great relationship that he even gave me his personal cell so I can text him when we’re coming in to make sure he’s there to serve us. This time when we saw him… WOW. Chris has lost a significant amount of weight. His face was glowing. I told him, “Woooooow Chris!! Look at you! You lost so much weight and that skin glow! Whatever you’re doing — keep it up!” He shared he’s being more mindful with food moderation and working on his health. And I told him… I’m doing the same. Now here’s the real-life part 😅 Because it’s fine dining, I didn’t want to make it obvious that I had my food scale. So I put a small dish on top of it to be discreet. Chris laughed and said he didn’t even notice until I told him. That’s balance. Not obsessive. Not hiding. Just aware. My Food Strategy ⬇️ In the morning, I pre-planned my brunch because I knew dinner would be bigger. I aimed for 300 breakfast + 300 lunch but ended up having one bigger brunch instead: Brunch: 724 calories • 78.5g protein • 54g net carbs • 20.8g fat Then dinner was family-style: • Shared bone-in prime ribeye (I logged 5.43 oz) • Shared bacon-wrapped sea scallops • My own jumbo lump crab cake • Arugula salad with Italian cheese + whole grain mustard dressing • I ate extra portions of the salad because no one else wanted it • Shared asparagus • King crab whipped mashed potatoes (moderation) • One slice onion bread with whipped butter + apricot chutney (highly recommend that combo) • One spoon of lava cake + one spoon of ice cream — I was full and stopped Dinner: 2,444 calories • 95.4g protein • 119.8g net carbs • 88.9g fat Total food for the day: 3,168 calories Was it over my cut calories? Yes. Was it expected? Yes. Am I stressed? No. For context: ✔ 60-minute HIIT class

I want to recognize a few people who quietly put in the work this month. Steadily showing up, involved, and actually applying things. That’s what these monthly prizes are about! So here are February’s standouts: (And if you don’t see your name here, don’t overthink it. This rotates. Keep showing up.) 🥇 1st Place: @Terri Nakamatsu You were consistent and showed up to every Q&A. I’ll be sending you a private Loom breakdown of your week — check your DMs soon. 🥈 2nd Place: @Crissy Hung You showed up! You’ll get a personalized roadmap + custom calories/macros. 🥈 3rd Place: @Octavia Teo Been loving your long updates! You’ll get a personalized roadmap + custom calories/macros. Your presence in here mattered. I only chose 3 winners this month -- looking for more newer members to step up and engage. This is for YOU after all ❤️ Also, we are now RANKED #20 in the "Health" category for the entire Skool platform!! Thank you everyone! Let’s keep building. On to March 👊

We were at my partner’s mom’s house continuing the birthday celebrations and I had a casual convo with my stepson. He told me he tried the 3-minute rest I suggested during chest press on strength days and said, “It made a big difference. I was able to push stronger.” My inner self was SO happy 😳 Not only that, he invested in Nike Metcons and said the support helped his lifts too. And I’ve noticed something else… he’s leaning out. I can see the drop in his stomach area. I made sure to tell him he looks good and that I see the progress. Sometimes the ripple effect is quiet. It’s dad showing up. It’s me sharing what works. It’s him applying it and leveling up. Lead by example. You never know who’s watching. 🌊🔥

My first video was taken in December 2025, when I successfully completed 55kg barbell squats with a challenging 6-rep set. Today, I lifted the same weight, but unfortunately, I forgot to record the video of my 55kg squat. (The video does show me lifting 50kg before reaching 55kg to complete my third set.) I’m surprised that the 55kg barbell squat was so easy for me, and I managed to complete 10 reps! 🙌🏼 It’s a small win, but it’s still a win! 🥳

I wanted to see if I could improve the macros on the lemon protein bread recipe I shared. Here is the original link. https://www.skool.com/darrenliufitness/protein-lemon-loaf?p=69c56188 I was able to drop the calories by 100g per loaf and improve the macros. Still tastes great. Added pictures of the macros. Next step add blueberries and other mix ins. Every improvement helps.