179.8

In the Spring of 2007 I thought I had peaked as a softball player.

You see, when I first started playing I didn't realize how different it was from baseball (which I had played my whole life), and I totally sucked. I couldn't get the ball out of the infield, much less hit anything hard (which is the key to the game). I decided then and there that I was going to dedicate myself to the game and become a good enough player that strangers would recruit me to play with them. I wanted to be a mercinary. By the Fall of 2006, the upstart, scrub team we had put together had grown from a D-league laughing stock, to a legit C-ball team that competed for the playoffs. I had become a good player, but towards the end of the 2007 Spring season there was a problem; I had no speed. My only extra base hits were the home runs I hit over the fence. You see, I was fat.

I always ate whatever I wanted and I could never crack 200 lbs. Then all of the sudden it happened. No big deal. Then 205. Then 210. 220!? When I finally hit 223, I realized there was no ceiling, I would just keep getting fatter. And now my softball game was suffering. Yeah I was hitting a lot of home runs, but my game is about speed. I am not big enough to be the stereotypical fat softball player (nor did I ever want THAT). I needed to get in shape. At the end of the season I e-mailed the entire team, and told them I would be under 200 lbs by the start of Fall ball, or I would bench myself.

So I broke up with the girl that made me so fat (not really, but the story sounds better that way. My sister did showed me a picture of us back then a few days ago and I was shocked at how fat I looked. She should have broken up with ME because I was so fat). It wasn't long until I was under 200. I made it well before the season started. Shockingly, I had started dating another girl that I outweighed by 120 lbs. She wrote 185 on a post-it and stuck it on my monitor. I stared at that every day. A couple months later I made my new goal, and eventually, just to say I lost 40 lbs, I stretched it to 183.

For all of 2008 I lived around 185. Life was good. Then I moved to Atlanta. I was working all of the time, eating out a lot more, and never exercising. I was consistently over 190, and when I hit 195 I put on the breaks. Never again. This time I decided for a lifestyle change. I wanted to eat healthier anyways now that I am 30. More organic, more veggies, less red meat. My friends started calling me manorexic, and I joked about it, but I really do feel great. I was under 185 in a jiffy and have been there a while. Then I started exercising a little bit and really started living in the 181-183 space. Could I ever hit the 170s? Nah, that's college weight. Every time I would close in on 180, it would be after a game, and once I re-hydrated I'd be back at 182. But this morning, the dream was realized.

I got up, had my AM pee, and stepped on the scale. 180.0. Right on the button. I couldn't believe it. So I ran my hand under some warm water, squeezed out a few more drops, and stripped off my boxers. Sure enough: 179.8. I made it. This is a very happy morning for me.

Oh yeah, I got recruited to join another team last night, after I went 3-3 with another HR. That was actually going to be a part of today's blog before I stepped on the scale. Maybe I'll get to that later, but for now, I hit the 170s baby!