Let’s play ball…

So love it or loathe it everywhere you go and everything you see has got something to do with football.

There are many aspects of football that can relate to losing weight 
Well here goes….So let’s start with the basics.

Team (that’s you), coach (that’s me), Referee (the scales), Lines people (your support group), and of course a pitch to play on (often the ground may not be perfect), the appropriate clothing (the lightest clothes you have) and of course a ball (but will any ball do? 

We could play football with a tennis ball?  Yes, if we’re only mucking about, but if we want a good result then only a proper football will do and as we all know there are hundreds of ways to lose weight out there but if you’re serious about becoming happier, healthier and lighter then is the one.

In order to play any game there are always rules. We all need rules to guide us on the right track, they aren’t supposed to be a punishment, just a framework to give you the best results.

Can you imagine how much pressure the “Lionesses” is under, would they just be able to just turn up on the day and be successful? No it can take years of training, years of turning up for every practise session, do you think they always feel like turning up? Would it be good enough if they get a fellow player to tell the manager that they couldn’t come? And if they don’t turn up then they are fined.   Why? If you want to be successful then you have to make the commitment to attend every training session good or bad rain or shine just like our meetings. 

If England lose, does that make them failures? Will they walk away and say that’s it I’m not playing football anymore?  Or will they go back into training so that the next time it might be a different story?

And that’s like us when the referee (the scales) say we have a weight gain, whether we deserved it or not their decision is final because you can’t argue with the referee. 

But unlike the England football team we haven’t got to wait for years before we try again, we can start again now!

The ultimate object of playing football is to win and score a goal, but sometimes a draw is good enough – particularly when it’s been a tough game.

How successful do you think they would be if instead of wearing football boots they wore slippers?

They need special footwear to help them get a better grip and thereby gain an advantage, that’s true for all of us, after all, you wouldn’t dream of doing most activities in your slippers.

Some footballers just plod on working hard but some seem to enjoy the game more than the others because they have a flair for the game.  That’s like the member who enjoys losing weight because they are enjoying the food they are eating, is that because they have embraced the concept of healthy eating for life – not just for a weight loss?

When someone scores a goal at a football match, do they then just walk off the pitch, have they done enough, do they stop being a member of the team?  No they share their experience and encourage other members of the team to score.  Just like our experienced Diamond members.

Sometimes though, the expectations and the pressures from the team and the supporters can get too much, and cause you to make silly mistakes.

But never forget who and what you are playing the game for, and even if you fail this time the team and the supporters will be there for you next time and with ongoing training and commitment then hopefully you won’t make the same mistakes next time.

Sometimes the best result doesn’t come straight away, any one watching the Women’s Euro’s when England played Sweden in the quarter finals and were 0-2 down may have felt like switching off, even the commentators said “no team has come from 0-2 behind and won. BUT THEY DID!!! Got to be a moral there for us all.

Then next up Italy in the semi-finals and with 1 minute to go the Lionesses were 1-0 down and looking to go out of the competition and with a last gasp effort they scored taking the match to extra time where they took the lead and won the match!

Then the finals against Spain, who won the world cup against us 2 years ago, and at half time the match looked liked it could be headed the same way but the Lionesses didn’t give up and leveled the score and so the match went to extra time and then some more edge of your seat penalties – and guess what the Lionesses might not have played the best football of the tournament but they didn’t give up they fought for every result and they are now European Champions again.

All anyone can do is play their very best. Most importantly keep fighting, keep trying and never give in!!!

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns
As every one of us sometimes learns
And many a failure comes about
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow—
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late, when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out—
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell just how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit—
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

edgar albert guest