Although not perfect, October has been a good month as far as progress on my fitness journey is concerned. As is human nature, I am never satisfied totally, but in general I should be happy with what I achieved during the month.
Weight Loss Achieved
This is where I should be most pleased but exactly where I feel a little disappointment. I really wanted to get under the 225 pound mark, but it did not happen. Close (within 1½ pounds), but no cigar, as they say.
Nevertheless, I did break the plateau I was on, as the chart shows. Although I lost only a little over a pound a week, the rate was better than in the previous month when I hit something of a plateau. In addition, I reached the one-third mark as far as overall weight loss progress is concerned.
There is a particular reason I look forward to getting under that 225 pound mark. I remember very well the first time I hit that level going up. At that time it seemed really extreme. I could not believe it was possible I had gotten so heavy. Yet, after losing a bit I soon started up and went way past that mark.
This time I only want to wave at it in passing, on my way down, and never look back. Then I can start looking forward to the 200 mark in a similar fashion.
Exercise Plan Initiated
A major accomplishment in the month of October was the beginning of my exercise program which I launched in the middle of the month. With two weeks now under my belt I know I am only starting, but I am feeling very satisfied with my progress to date.
There are three aspects to my exercise program. First, there is stretching which I am doing very informally for now as I prepare or finish up other exercises. I will develop a more systematic approach later but plan to be somewhat relaxed about this for now.
On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I am doing strength training. I have a very nice home gym so I have many options, but I have worked out a basic program consisting of ten exercises. Five make use of my Body-Solid home gym, four are done with dumbell and barbell weights and one with body weight.
On Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday I am using my treadmill for aerobic exercise. For the first week I started at a slow pace for twelve minutes, working up to fifteen by Saturday. During the second week I was able to increase my time to twenty minutes each day. My pace is not fast but I wanted to get to the twenty minute time range as soon as possible and maintain it as a base since that is what is essential long term to achieve aerobic fitness.
All in All a Great Month
When I was a younger man my weight and exercise habits bounced up and down a good bit, but I could easily and quickly respond to changes. If needed I could lose two pounds a week easily. If I had neglected exercise I could start jogging and in a few days be making a few miles. No more.
As a senior adult now I have to allow more time for changes and take it easy to avoid injury or other health issues. For this reason if no other I want to keep focused on the importance of making the changes I make carefully and with a full commitment to keeping them permanent. But for today I want to celebrate a good month.