Weight Loss Challenge (Week 7)

Well, we are nearing 2 months into our challenge and the heat is picking up. My mom had a strong week last week and put the pressure on. We are both showing strong results...so who is pulling away?

The weight loss total for this week is...

Drumroll please...

Peter lost 1 lbs (14 lbs total)

Mom lost 2 lbs (15 lbs total)

My mother is pulling away...time to step up to the challenge being laid down by her! Congrats on another successful week and here's to a successful week 8!

Never Stop Kicking...

Last weekend I had an opportunity to play in a charity soccer tournament. It was a great time. We played 3 games in 98 degree temperatures. Wow, who would have thought 3 months ago that I would be able to play 3 soccer games in those temps and enjoyed it.

I had the support of my family cheering me on and that helped a bunch.



During the last game I was really motivated to score a goal. In the middle of the game I mustered up all my strength and made one last attempt at scoring. I stole the ball from a player and proceeded to dribble up the field. I could see the other players were tired and slowing down so I dribbled faster. As I approached mid-field, I began to outpace my competitors and so I dribbled faster. I got closer to the goal and I could see there were just two people to beat and so I dribble faster. As the adrenaline coursed through my veins, I dribble past the two remaining players and took a shot.

The ball rolled to the right of the goalie and hit just the tips of his fingers. It continued on a slow roll towards the goal. As it neared the goal I almost wanted to "will" it into the goal. At the last moment, one of the defenders ran and kicked it out of the goal. He kicked it out as the ball nearly rested on the goal line.

Oh man, all that effort to miss the goal. And to be so close was the hardest part. Then I heard a little voice from behind the goal. It was my son. He had been watching the whole thing from right behind the goal. I heard him yell the most amazing advice....he yelled, "never stop kicking dad".

I think he may have heard me yell something similar to him as I coached his soccer team, but the impact was profound. Upon yelling this to me, he then proceeded to give me a thumbs up from behind the goal, and my wife captured the moment with her camera.



So have you ever failed? We all have. It is easy to give up when we fail. But I would offer the sage advice of a 6 year old boy and tell you to "never stop kicking". Even if you missed your goal. My mom gained 1 pound but chose to never stop kicking and lost 3 lbs the next week.

Thanks Cole for teaching this old dog some new tricks!

Weight Loss Challenge (Week 6)

Sorry for the delays in posting over the last week. I had some computer issue and we had to buy a new computer. Well the challenge is really picking up now. My mom bounced back from a dissapointing week and returned with avengence.

That being said, the weight loss total for this week is...

Drumroll please...

Peter lost 1 lbs (13 lbs total)

Mom lost 3 lbs (13 lbs total)

We are tied again. Just when I think I am pulling away...she ups the ante. We will have to see what this week holds.

Weight Loss Challenge (Week 5)

Well we are moving into our sixth week of our challenge and the battle is heating up. Who will take the competition?

The weight loss total for this week is...

Drumroll please...

Peter lost 1.5 lbs (12 lbs total)

Mom gained 1 lbs (10 lbs total)

Overcoming Giants

So last week I set out to overcome something that I never truly felt like I overcame in my past. It was something that occurred every second or third week in August during High School. It was the first week of football practice and we referred to it as "hell week". I remember the anxiety I used to feel each day knowing that I would have to go back to practice and run wind sprints at the end. The sprints would include 100 yard dashes all the way down to many 20 yard dashes. On Sunday of last week, I told myself, "it's time to overcome hell week". And so on Sunday evening I put on my shorts and my shirt. I pulled on my clean white socks and grabbed my shoes. While lacing my shoes the butterflies in my stomach appeared just as they had many summers ago while preparing for practice. Only this time, the feeling was different...instead of dreading the walk to the field, I had a bounce in my step as I walked toward one of my giants. As the field approached, my pace quickened. I walked faster. I was approaching as if I had already defeated it. I was fully aware that it had no power over me. Today, I would conquer it. 

 

I stood on the field and took in the moment saying to myself, so this is what it feels like to conquer a giant. We have all conquered things, but have you ever stopped for a moment and stood in silence while conquering it and felt the power of that moment?

 

I lined up at the end line and said to myself, "this is one more step up the mountain", and I began to run. RUN FOREST RUN kept going through my mind. I would not let this field with grass and lines beat me. So I ran. After several seconds...okay many seconds...I reached the end of the field and looked back at 120 yards of beautiful grass. With little pause I continued my journey and sprinted the 120 yards back. I felt the same things I felt at the practices in High School. My chest burned. My legs felt like giving out, my muscles were shaking, my blood coursed through my veins. It was all the same...except for one thing. In high school, my mind would have been saying, I want to stop. But now my mind was saying...I don't want to stop. Amazing the difference 1 word can make.

 

So I continued running, up and down the field until the field begged me to stop. During my last couple wind sprints a song came on the radio I was listening to. It was a song called "this is your life" by Switchfoot. I was so overwhelmed by the words as I ran that I believe my last sprints were faster than my first. The chorus is simple, it says "this is your life, are you who you want to be". It was pure poetry to be completing this while being asked am I who I want to be. I crossed the finish line of my last sprint and answered the question that had just been asked me with a loud "YES"! 

 

At the end, I was sweating and exhausted, yet have rarely felt so alive. As I walked home I began to think, I can't wait to get back and do it again. I wanted to feel the power that comes in victory. I continued all week, working out harder than I have in my entire life. I understood, what my mother must have felt like when she swam in that pool. 

 

What is your giant? What is that thing that you may have said you will never conquer. I would say - Just keep running. Face it head on, with a new attitude and new focus. Together we can reach our goals!

Weight Loss Challenge (Week 4)

While the road has been rough at times and smooth at other times, overall, the road has not been what I expected. It has been more fun than difficult, more exciting than dull, more thought provoking than idle sitting and more enjoyable than expected. This journey has provided stimulation upon stimulation. Where we have put our effort into eating and exercising, it has also provided inspiration for work, life and family.

It has given my mother, a 55 year old women that never knew how to swim, and was always afraid of the water, and provided her the inspiration to learn how to swim. She learned in a small pool and was inspired beyond expectation when she reached the end of a 10 foot doggie paddle. While 10 feet may seem like a small distance, to someone conquering a giant, I believe it appears more like a 10 mile swim. All of this to tell you that the weight is important, BUT it has launched other things of equal or greater importance. It is as if the weight loss is but a spark, that has lit many other fires in our lives. I can't wait to see what other giants are conquered as we travel this road.

That being said, the weight loss total for this week is...

Drumroll please...

Peter lost 2.5 lbs (10.5 lbs total)

Dixie lost 3 lbs (11 lbs total)

Thank you to everyone who has commented and sent kind words. Our hope is that this site can become the catalyst for each of you to start whatever important journey you desire. As we each hold each other accountable and share in our victories and learn from our defeats...the road will take us all to beautiful destinations.

Weight Loss Challenge (week 3)

Well here we are at the end of week 3 and the battle is really picking up! My mom has chosen to put the heat on me. I will need to work even harder next week if I am going to pull this one off. So our weight loss for this week was...

Drumroll please!

Peter - lost 2 lbs (8 lbs total)
Mom - lost 3 lbs (8 lbs total)

I can't believe it, my mother is on her way to victory!!!

This next week it will be key to combine a solid eating plan, with activity to keep the momentum going and shedding those pounds.

If anyone else out there is reading this and losing weight let me know with a comment or an email.

Talk to you soon.