Sunday I played in my over 40 soccer game.  My team has me playing in a central midfield position because I am able to run for 90 minutes.  While we did not win the game I was able to run for 90 minutes.  On more than one occasion I ran past my teammates to get back into a defensive position.  I was able to run all over the field and even after the game was over I was able to run a lap to cool down.  I am very excited that I am able to play midfield for my team.  I will definitely need to work on my ball handling and first touch to help the team but I am now in good enough shape to do the running necessary to play midfield.

Tonight, after coaching the goalkeepers at McKay High School I was able to run around the field with my dog Pooh!  I wasn't even tired after running with her.  If my high school and college friends could see me know they would not recognize me and the shape that I am in.  

Losing weight has definitely helped me be able to run.  I am very fortunate to have been able to do this before it was too late to enjoy the extra energy.

I haven't posted in quite some time.  I have been busy having fun during the summer months.  I have been a bit frustrated at being in the 180's since February.  A few weeks ago I cracked the 180 barrier.  At my last weigh-in, unofficial at the gym, I weighed 177.9.  Only 3.9 pounds to go until my goal weight of 174.  While I am certain that I will make the goal, I wonder if that is where  I will stop.

My activity has greatly increased over the summer.  I found a pick-up soccer game that happens 3 days a week.  It has been fantastic!  I haven't had that much fun just playing soccer in years.  I have enjoyed being on an over 40 men's team but playing in the park is different.  As my wife said one day, we are like kids, playing until it gets dark.  I am really happy to have found this pick-up game.

A lot has happened since I last posted.  I was involved in a Weight Watchers video shoot.  The video is for internal, promotional use only but it was fun to be a part of.  It was like being on real T.V.  There was a crew of about 15 people, 2 producers, a director and a bunch of other camera people.  I even got to eat off the CRAFT Services table.  I don't know what CRAFT stands for but I have always heard about it on other T.V. shows.  I was interviewed and part of other aspects of the video.  I haven't seen the video but am hopeful that I will have the opportunity.

During the video shoot I was recruited to be a Weight Watchers meeting leader.  WW is working on developing a bigger male presence in both leaders and in members.  Some of the higher-ups were at the video shoot and seemed to like what I may have to offer.  I am not sure where the WW road will take me but I am sure that I will consider the possibilities.

On Friday's weigh in I weighed 185.6 pounds.  That is a total loss of 31 pounds!!!

I am rapidly approaching my WW goal weight of 174 pounds.  I am not sure that I want to weigh that much but that is the WW goal.  I'll see what that looks and feels like before deciding if that is how much I want to weigh.  I am currently happy with my weight and not sure if I really want to lose more weight.

I have gone from an XL shirt to between medium and large.  That is a good size.  I have gone from a size 38 pant to size 34 pants.  

Yesterday and today I haven't stepped on a scale.  It is very freeing.

On Sunday, February 6, I participated in the Zena Road Run (3 miles).  I had never run in an official race before.  I got a race bib, number, and everything.  It was a fun experience.  I went with a friend and ran into many other friends at the race. There were about five hundred racers and everyone seemed excited before the races started.

There was a 3 mile, a 6 mile, and a 15K race.  I participated in the 3 mile race.  Having never raced before I wasn't sure how to pace myself.  I kept trying to follow people who I thought were running at a good pace.  Each time the person in front of me slowed down and I had to pass them.  It was frustrating and fun at the same time.  My competitive juices really started flowing.

I knew that I wanted to finish the 3 miles in 30 minutes at the most.  The first marker wasn't until we turned around at 1.5 miles.  When I made the turn it had only been 12 minutes!  I was on pace for 24 minutes!  That would be the fastest I had ever run 3 miles.  I was excited but I knew that I had a long way to go.  Fortunately most of the hard uphill part was done and I had the thought that it was all downhill from here.  I was able to keep my pace and did finish the race in 24 minutes and 1 second!

I was very excited but I realized that I had set the bar very high for my first race.  Later that night when I checked the website for the results I discovered that I had WON my division!!!  I was 1st out of 12 40-45 year old men.  I was 42nd overall.
What a great feeling for my first ever race.  I think that I will do some more but I don't think I should plan on winning them all.  

At the last meeting I received a 25 pound charm.  That means that I have lost 25 pounds!  I never thought that I could do that.  It puts me very close to my next goal of 190 pounds at 191.4.  I am very excited to be continuing successfully with the WW program.  With any luck I will hit the 190 barrier on Friday when we start our second 13 week stint with WW.

I had a setback at last weeks weigh-in when I gained .6 pounds.  Not much but it was the first time in 12 meetings that I had gained weight.  I was very frustrated but not surprised.  My wife and I had spent the long weekend at the coast not exercising and eating very poorly.  I learned that I can either eat poorly and exercise or eat healthily and not exercise but I can't not exercise and eat poorly.

My first goal when I started WW was to get under 200 pounds.  In December I achieved that goal when I weighed in at 196.4 pounds!  That was great but that was also right in the middle of the holiday season.  As I mentioned before, I love to eat!  There were a few parties where the food was plentiful and I ate much of it.  We didn't have any WW meetings for 2 weeks and didn't weigh in for 3 weeks because of Christmas Vacation.  That made it difficult to really track points becuase there wasn't the accountability that I have become used to.  The good news is that today when we weighed in I was DOWN to 195 pounds!  I managed to lose about 1/2 a pound a week for 3 weeks during a time when the average weight gain is 7 pounds.

I have been under 200 pounds for three weeks and it is great.  I am convinced that I will be able to beat the latest sobering statistic that I have come across, that 95% of the people who lose weight on WW are not successful after 5 years.  According to what I read, only 5% of people who lose weight on WW keep the weight off for 5 years or more.  So far it has been 3 months and I have been very happy with my progress.

I am still not sure what my ultimate weight loss goal is, WW says that I should weigh between 138 and 174 pounds.  I know that 138 is way too small but I am not sure about 174.  I'll see how I feel as I pass through the next barrier, 190 pounds.