Nathan's Insights

One of the major goals of my transition to retirement was to improve my health.  Last week I completed stage 1 of the weight challenge moving my body mass index from 45.1 (obese) to 29.9 (overweight).

This represented a 32 kilo loss over 150 days which is way ahead of schedule.  The next goal is to get to a BMI of 24.9 (healthy) which is another 15.2 kilo lose.  I expect this to be much more difficult.  I know BMI is only an indicator and isn’t perfect but I’m a numbers person so this helps focus me.

The weight loss so far was caused by two factors, diet and fitness.  A significant change in diet meant; no fast food, limiting sugar intake, no snacks between meals and rarely eating a meal after 6.30 pm with occasional two meals a day in a 24 hour period.

The other side of the loss was the fitness activity.  This has seen me average 16,000 steps a day since 11 November 2025, with an average of 20,000 steps in March as I stepped it up (pun intended) to push myself and walking on a path with more inclines.  

I achieve these walking goals by completing 10,000 steps before breakfast each day, walking on an empty stomach.  This usually means leaving the apartment at 6 am each day for a 90-100 minute walk.  My cats demanding breakfast at 6 am has helped a great deal in this respect 😊

One thing I want to take from this new lifestyle approach post my one year program is the morning walk before breakfast, it leaves me feeling fresh, alert, and more alive each day.  I feel like I’ve completed my fitness goals each day as the sun is coming up and any further activities over the rest of the day a bonus.

Associated with the weight loss as been rapid improvement in blood pressure and resting heart rate but I still need to do more in this area.  I also have a lot of belly fat to lose, which I’ve learnt is the last to go.  I hope that as I progress to BMI 24.9 (healthy weight) blood pressure and belly fat will take care of themselves, if not I’ll look into other methods.

It has felt great getting rid of old clothes and buying newer small clothes.  I’ve found the cloth changes motivate me a lot more than the scale changes as on a day to day are small (maybe 0.1 kilo) plus looking in the mirror you miss the minor changes, but smaller clothes can’t be ignored and older clothes (pants and shorts) falling off you can’t be ignored!

Now for the next harder stage and the many roadblocks and setbacks that are likely ahead.