I'm a 42 year old male, and on April 1, my weight peaked at 320. My brother, who is in a similar situation convinced me to run a 5k with him and his son on Thanksgiving. Since then, I've been training for that, very nervous that I wouldn't make be able to do it. I started with one of those couch to 5k apps to get me going, and now I got one of those fancy new smart watches, so I can bring my music along, but leave my phone at home.
It took a little bit of getting used to, being embarrassed being the "fat guy" running through the neighborhood, but after a couple weeks, I noticed that most people weren't even paying attention to me, and the ones that were, it was always a positive look, or a nod or something like that. I've varied my route a bit, and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing parts of town that are so close to my house, but I've never been through before.
I've tried to run 3 times per week, and for the most part was successful. Every time, I was a little faster, and could run a little farther, and walk a little less on my route. I backtracked a little in July, due to an illness, but started slowly in August and picked up in September. And today was the day I could first run a 5k without taking a break to walk. It certainly wasn't the fastest time ever, taking slightly more than an hour to complete, but I couldn't be happier. I never thought of myself as the type of guy to be running in 40 degree weather at 7:30 on a Sunday morning. I'm back, showered, and ready to watch some football today (Go Packers!) before my wife is even up, and I won't feel lazy sitting around most of the rest of the day.
The other piece that has helped me is diet. We have been eating so much healthier. We eat at home nearly every night, rather than going out several times per week. I have replaced the delicious frozen breakfast sandwiches with instant oatmeal, which kinda grows on you if you add fresh fruit to it. For lunch, I have a big pile of fresh fruits and veggies, along with a handful of crackers, a slice of cheese, and some chicken noodle soup.
As much as I liked my old habits, I'm starting to like my new habits more. Last week, when I was running, I didn't feel my gut bouncing up and down, like it did when I started. I also realized that I need a new belt and pants, because I'm down to the smallest notch on the belt, and it's too small. I'm down to 289, and 3 inches off my waist, and I haven't felt this good in years!
[link] [comments]
No comments:
Post a Comment