The day I started skincare and the gym for the first time in my life in Chiang Mai

Today I managed to get up early for the first time in a while! Woke up at 10:30. Took a shower, put on sunscreen, shaved, and got everything ready.

Lately, when I do these grooming routines an hour just flies by. Back in university skincare and shaving were super casual and five minutes was enough, but now that's no longer the case. Is this what getting older is?

The problem of not being able to find New Balance

Today I planned to buy sportswear and protein for the gym, so I went to Festival, one of Chiang Mai's largest shopping malls. I took a bike taxi and arrived surprisingly quickly. Maybe Chiang Mai itself isn't that big. It's really compact and definitely more comfortable than Bangkok. I can say that for sure.

At the mall I went to look at New Balance first. But, as expected, they had none of the shorts or T-shirts I like. Nike and Adidas stores are overwhelmingly larger. It was the same in Vietnam and in Thailand. New Balance might not be very popular in Southeast Asia.

Still, New Balance is my favorite. Their corporate philosophy is truly beautiful.

I compared them with UNIQLO's shorts and shirts, but ended up compromising with Nike. When I entered the Nike store I was surprised to see there were maybe six times more staff than customers. Well, I was the only customer there though (lol).

A saleswoman said 'You can try on' and I found a pair of shorts that looked good and tried them on. They fit really well so I decided to buy them. I wanted two, but looking at the price it was about 7,000 yen. Expensive. So I bought only one. I also bought a Dry-Cool T-shirt at UNIQLO. That completes my gym outfit.

I wanted protein too, but there were few varieties and specialty stores were too expensive, so I decided to look more slowly another time.

I've lived 25 years not knowing this

About skincare. Influenced by someone, I realized the importance of skincare. I had wanted to do it before but it was too much hassle so I didn't. But this time, after learning a lot from ChatGPT, I decided to start little by little.

I immediately decided to buy a moisturizing lotion (emulsion) from an American brand called CeraVe. It's a brand made in collaboration with dermatologists and has a good reputation. It was great because when you buy one you get another free. I was about to buy sunscreen since I was running low, but then I learned a shocking fact: body and face sunscreens are different. I thought 'big size and cheap!' but it turned out to be body sunscreen (lol). ChatGPT told me to be careful about putting body sunscreen on your face, and I was like, seriously?

On the other hand, thinking that I went 25 years unaware, rubbing my face with a bath towel and washing it with body soap, yet my skin has stayed this clean feels like a miracle. When you study seriously there are interesting discoveries—learning really is fun.

A clerk kept recommending 'serum, serum', but I declined. I know you can't make a good purchase if you shop in a hurry. I want to do my own research properly before buying. First I'll get used to just using moisturizer for about half a month. You don't have to do everything from the start. It's fine to start little by little.

Eel and egg rice bowl, 99 baht

For lunch I ordered an 'eel and egg rice bowl' in the basement. I've never seen a dish like this in Japan, but I wanted eel. It was 99 baht, about 450 yen. Lucky! But it didn't fill me up, so I also had two pieces of chicken from KFC. From now on I want to avoid fried foods, eat smaller portions of carbs and focus on protein like chicken. If you want to build your body you have to change your diet.

I'm thin now, but I want a 'little bit thin but beautiful' body. It's a firm goal. After all, this year's goal is to get abs and a cool-looking body.

First time at a gym abroad

When I returned to the hotel by taxi, my roommate greeted me in Japanese. He watches anime like Jujutsu Kaisen and apparently really likes anime. I'm not a typical Japanese person, so I don't watch anime at all and know nothing about it. The only thing I know is Studio Ghibli.

After that conversation I finally headed to the gym. It was my first time at a gym abroad, so I was a little nervous. At reception the price was 120 baht for a day, 1,300 baht for a month. I signed up for the one-month plan without hesitation. I registered my fingerprint to log in and paid in cash.

What surprised me was that I didn't need to change shoes. Japanese gyms usually require dedicated shoes and most don't even have a one-day pass. I was amazed by the freedom of gyms abroad.

I asked ChatGPT and it said the best order is weight training → stretching → running. When I said I wanted to train chest, arms, and abs it came up with a routine. I started with the barbell right away but I was a bit nervous.

There was no one around as skinny as me. Everyone was muscular and serious. I was worried they might make fun of me. But everyone was probably like this when they started. It's a path everyone goes through. Don't worry about it.

When I did the barbell, my arms hurt much more than my chest, although normally the chest should get sore. I looked it up and it said 'if your arm muscles are too weak, your arms will get sore first.'

So first I need to build arm muscles. I started with the lightest 2.5 kg weight on the bench press while checking my form. It's embarrassing but it was a very important process.

After working my arms, I went upstairs for ab training: the ab machine, leg raises, and planks. There was someone next to me also working toward their goal, which made me want to keep up. Finally I stretched and ran 2 kilometers.

The happiness of living in the 'now'

After the gym I took a shower and took photos for record-keeping. I'm excited to see how much I change in 30 days.

Before I knew it it was past 7 pm. I had been there for over four hours in total. When I'm at the gym I can focus on the present and I felt a great sense of satisfaction. I really feel that living in the 'now' is true happiness.

As for the protein problem, when I asked a staff member they told me where to buy it, so I'll go tomorrow. Today I bought a 100-baht protein drink. It said it's made from chicken breast and contains 60 g of protein. I thought that was definitely a lie, but when I drank it it really tasted like chicken breast — so funny. Even though it's supposed to be blueberry flavor.

Outside there were lots of people walking and stalls lined up. I wanted to eat Kao Soi, so I went to a nearby stall-like restaurant. The authentic Kao Soi was really delicious. But the portion was really small. I always wonder why Thai dishes are so small in portion size.

Things I started today

Today I started two things: buying a one-month gym subscription and doing my first training, and applying moisturizer for the first time in my life. I think this is a big step forward.

Before I knew it, my daily habits had grown this much.

• Jaw exercises in the shower
• Record and post a French diary every day
• Do skincare
• Go to the gym
• Study React for 30 minutes every day or read a book

Even just this, I think it's amazing. Good job, me.