Author’s Note

This story is part real life. It is partly based on an inspirational story from the British Press. The latter part of the story is entirely fiction. The names used are entirely fiction, including the scant details of the Weight Loss program used, although there are several programs available here in the UK that offer a similar service.

Jeff was a proud dad. Each Saturday morning he would go with his now thirteen year old son, Ronnie, to the Colts soccer training session at a local playing field. Jeff had got to know several of the dads who had stood on the various touch lines in all weathers since Ronnie was five.

One of Ronnie’s closest friends, Simon, went to the same school. Simon’s dad, Peter, was the hugely enthusiastic coach and referee for the Under Fifteens (Colts) soccer program.

Jeff had a good job working as a designer, but it was sedentary and he had always struggled to control his weight. They had had to get a larger car because he hadn’t been able to fit behind the steering wheel and leave room for the children in the back seats when the driver’s seat was moved back!

This Saturday was no different from many Saturdays. Jeff and the other dads, and a couple of mums, had waited for over an hour for the session to finish so they could get back into the warm.

Ronnie was walking off the pitch with Simon at the end of the session. Peter was jogging round the field loading soccer balls into a sack and piling up the traffic cones used for the various exercise routines. He was dressed in just a nylon track suit and didn’t seem to notice the cold.

Jeff was just about to put his arm round Ronnie, and compliment him on the session, when he overheard a bit of the conversation he was having with Simon.

“Your dad looks so good running over there, tidying up. My dad is just fat and lazy.”

Jeff was stunned. Did his son think he was just fat and lazy. Certainly he was carrying too much weight and it did inhibit what he did. He was meant to be a role model for his son. Could he be a good role model if his son was so disparaging about him?

And so Jeff decided to do something about it.

There was a weight management class in the local village hall one night a week and Jeff went the following Thursday. He sat there as the one man in a group of twenty something rather overweight women who seemed to treat the class as a social event as much as a sort of medical one. Each one was weighed and complimented if they had lost a pound or two and given encouraging words if the reverse had happened.

After half an hour when no one took much notice of him, the leader introduced him to the group as a new member. Each session concluded with an uplifting talk about weight loss and how to manage it. This time the talk was on how to manage weight loss with monthly periods and how water was retained in the buildup to menstruation.

This was out of Jeff’s comfort zone and thoroughly embarrassed, he resolved to not return to the class.

His problem was not resolved and his son’s disparaging comment still hurt.

The next week Jeff looked at the notice board in the changing rooms and noticed a hand written postcard pinned to the board.

‘Weight loss program for men based on Soccer. Mentored weight loss alongside walking football and other sports.’

There was a phone number and an unfamiliar name.

Jeff copied the name, Jamie, down into the contacts in his smart phone.

Two days later he phoned. Jamie proved to be a woman who was leading the class.

How would it work he asked and he explained the problem with the class he had abandoned?

“The classes start with a discussion over the last Saturday’s football results. Typically with good humour and a fair bit of banter about local rivalries and whose goalie is useless. Sometimes that will be during a walk of a couple of miles round the town, and sometimes in a gymnasium where they would play walking basketball and talk at the same time. Each person would have a mentor who they could ring or meet regularly. Many mentors and mentees met at professional football matches they discussed at the weekly meetings.”

Jamie had convinced Jeff after the ten minute phone call and he attended the following week.

The men attending were expected to follow a rigid weight loss program which was available to buy online as pre-prepared meals that just needed to be microwaved. Jamie was the only woman there and Jeff liked her immediately. The program wasn’t cheap, but if he kept to the 1200 calories a day it would guarantee weight loss. It was a no brainer and he was allocated to Jamie’s husband, Hugh, as a mentor. Both Hugh and Jeff were fans of the same football team and agreed to meet the following weekend for the local derby with neighbouring opponents.

As the weight loss meals were delivered and eaten, the weight began to fall off Jeff’s body. His target was 25Kg ( over 50lb) and in six months he had reached his target.

Unfortunately, a man in his fifties cannot lose 25Kg without getting some very loose skin, at least for a time.

Ronnie saw his father coming out of the shower one day. Jeff was pleased with his efforts at becoming a healthy weight. His BMI was now 24 and he felt more energetic and alive than he had for years.

Ronnie saw his father dressed only in a towel round his middle with the folds of loose skin on his chest.

“Are those man-boobs? Are you turning into a woman, Dad?”

He was a bit hurt by his son’s naive comment, but kept his thoughts to himself.

As he did the three mile jog to work through the streets of Cambridge, he thought about all the girl students dressed tight jeans or short skirts he passed as they rushed to get to lectures, and he thought of his wife Linda, who was also on her way to work and had put up with his snoring over many years without complaint, and he had to smile to himself.

Although neither of his son’s comments was true, I think being thought of as a woman is a lot better than being thought of as fat and lazy! There is a compliment in there somewhere, and he had a laugh to himself about the difficulties of being a good parent.