Tomorrow Makes Two Months

After tomorrow's exercise, two months will have past since I started using my treadmill. I've kept records of every workout. It is interesting to see the progression over that period of time. As I look at the log of my workouts, this is what comes to mind:

1. What I thought was initially a reasonable goal to pursue - in regards to top speed, total miles and length of time to exercise - was actually too low. It takes awhile to know your capabilities regarding the goals you want to set for each session, but as your body adjusts to the new routine, it gets easier. This may seem obvious, but I was pretty naive as to what I needed to do to shed ten to fifteen pounds - and keep the weight from coming back.

2. Exercise alone will not take off excess weight. You have to be just as deliberate about the number of calories that you consume each day, as you do about staying committed to an exercise routine. Trying to stay within a reasonable range of calorie intake can be even more difficult than the rigor it takes to stick to the exercising. I say "rigor". because a lot of people, myself included, do not relish the thought of exercising five days a week. It's very easy to find a reason not to do the scheduled workout.

3. If you burn off three to four hundred calories from exercising and cut a couple of hundred calories from your usual daily food intake, you can safely lose about one and a half to two pounds a week. This was what I was told by my doctor and my logs support that finding. Ultimately you reach a balance between the exercising and the kind of food that you eat, and you stay within a few pounds of your ideal weight. You will also have to like the lifestyle that goes with that reality or at some point you will get bored with the whole routine.

4. To make it all work you have to find a way to internalize the routine and make it a part of your lifestyle. I've only been doing the treadmill exercises for two months, so I'm no expert on this topic. But I am convinced that if I go back to my past habits, I will gain back the weight and the problems that are associated with carrying the extra weight. The bottom line - a big part of all of this is psychological - you have to figure out how to live with the routine - which is not a particularly easy thing to do if you are not a naturally health conscious person.

5. Keep in mind that I am not doing any "Iron Man" stuff, just working out on the treadmill for an hour a day - five days a week. For me, that's enough - at least at this point in time.

So, given those realities... I will start my third month of exercises and hope that I don't fall off the wagon. No guaranties, but so far the odds are in my favor that I will complete my third month successfully and maybe even reach some new goals. We'll see!