Come get your rewards!

Being fat and working out creates all kinds of challenges that normals don’t face in everyday life. Weighing 360+ pounds makes working out a whole raft of issues. Like running. You’d think that the hard part of running would be trying to huff and puff along without dying in a heaving lump on the side of the path. In reality, cardio is not the biggest issue. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still way out of shape, and by the quarter-mile mark I’m sucking in air like a dying fish. But the biggest obstacle is my body physically holding up to the stress. By the end of six miles of alternating walking/running, I need to ice my legs like a catcher, and I feel like the only way to lessen that is to lose weight. But of course, to lose weight I need to keep working out. Anyway, I’ll either lose the weight or my knees will explode.

On the plus side, I have a good deal more time to work out now with the new job. I’m currently getting home at 6:00 or so, but once the summer’s over I’ll be home by 5:00. The only downside is that I’ll be working Fridays come the fall, but it’ll be easier to put in 5-6 days of working out a week.

I think it’s time for me to start thinking about goal weights, and finding a way to reward myself. I know that this is really an award I get for doing what I should have been in the first place. It’s like being the Turnaround Student in school. Eventually doing what comes naturally to most people becomes an accomplishment. But still…I do like prizes. So do I get a reward for going from Obese Class III to Obese Class II (319.6)? Do I get a reward when I lose 50 (353)? As much as I would enjoy a steady stream of rewards, it makes sense to save them for real milestones. So I think I’ll get myself something small for 50 pounds. But what do you buy yourself for losing weight? I know that food rewards are no good. Ideas are welcome!

Breakfast:
Eggs/Eggos/Tapatio

Lunch:
1 lb imitation Krab (I’m addicted to this stuff)
Cocktail sauce
Salad
Raspberry pie

Dinner:
Lean cheesesteaks (roast beef/mozzarella/peppers/onions/stadium roll)
Apple pie and ice cream

Workout:
6.47 miles in 1:34:45