A few years back I wasn't thrilled with how I was looking (body wise, the face was a goner years ago) so I decided to start working out and losing weight. I was playing indoor soccer and decided to step it up so I started playing three hours on Friday nights. My first two games I played goalkeeper, which is a great workout for upper body too since you find yourself on the ground a lot an have to get up quick. Then my third game I played on the field which helped with my stamina. You can't imagine the feeling I got at 38 when a muscular 24 year old asked me what kind of vitamins I took, and when another guy who worked out regularly exclaimed that even after I had been running for two hours and he just got there for the third game he couldn't keep up with me.
The other days when I wasn't playing soccer I rode my mtn bike up some long steep hills. I had a route and did that run a few times a week, and when I started I couldn't peddle half way up the hill. After two weeks I was able to ride the hill in top gear without a problem. I mapped the route in my car and it was about 26 miles.
When all was said and done, I had lost nearly 25 pounds in three weeks. People who had seen me before and hadn't seen me until after were in shock and couldn't believe it. People tell me it's not healthy to do that, but I didn't stop eating and worked on my feet 9 hours a day, the weight just came off.
Now I'm 45 and once again I'm not thrilled with the way I look (body wise, face is still a goner) so I plan to hit the bike again and eventually lose the weight again. I have some nice hills around me now...so maybe not 26 miles but a great workout.
I'm going to keep track and see what my progress is. I already lost five pounds by just eating right, not as much and doing a little riding and working in the yard on a hot day!
