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Spears and Me
August 7, 2009I love to read about the Dallas Cowboys in our Sports section now that we are almost in football season again. It's fun to get updates about the players and see who's the shining star, who's in and who's out.
So when I opened up today's paper, I was immediately drawn to the story about Marcus Spears, a defensive end for the Cowboys who has lost 28 pounds.
Now, I always thought being a football player meant you could eat just about as much as you want, whenever you want. What a job! I'd be at the all-you-can-eat buffet every day, piling on the pounds and shaking the gridiron with my gigantic girth.
But apparently Coach Phillips told Spears that he needed to lose 26 pounds during the off-season and show up at training camp at a svelte 309. Spears did two better and ended up at 307 pounds at the start of the camp.
This struck a bit of a personal cord for me, besides my apparent jealousy of defensive ends for being PAID to be walking, talking garbage disposals. You see, yesterday I hit 26 pounds lost in my ever-reaching quest to become healthy. Now, it took me about six months to get there and I've still got quite a ways to go, unlike Spears, who can now rest on his less-weighty laurels and strike fear in the hearts of offensive players the league over this season.
But Spears and me, we both know one thing. You can't wish the weight off. You can't snap your fingers and melt the pounds away. In the story, Spears said he hired a chef, a nutritionist and started drinking a lot of water. He quit eating late at night and had to forgo his uncle's South-Louisiana cooking (sigh). But now he is getting results in practice, hitting harder and running faster.
Small changes, to be sure, but enough to get him where he needs to be in his career. And it shows us all that no matter your job, whether you're a lumber jack, a truck driver or a defensive end, losing weight is not impossible. It just takes a little effort. And 28 pounds can make a huge difference in the way you move, feel, think and perform.
Posted by Stacy Johnson at 10:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
