DAY ONE

Okay, I'll admit it - I was shot by the time I left WW in Selden shortly after 1.15 this afternoon. That was six hours after I had arrived there and 200 plus people later too (numbers were down a bit because of the Jewish holiday).

I had a pretty good time with my four back-to-back meetings and had some encouraging feedback from the members who were making a huge readjustment after losing an outstanding leader and being landed with me in her place.

Saturdays just got very interesting!

MUFFINS

Gill found this great recipe on an All Bran box for raisin muffins - and they are delicious. At just two points each, they're substantial, tasty and filling.

Monday I had one straight out of the oven as part of my lunch; yesterday it was a breakfast muffin and I downed one with a cup of coffee for a late afternoon snack today. I think I'm addicted!

She adjusted the recipe on the side of the packet by sweetening with Splenda instead of sugar and substituting apple sauce for oil. I have no idea where she put the recipe, but since All Bran is a key ingredient, you'll need your own box anyway and you'll find it there.

THE RACE

It was a chilly, damp morning in Northport as we prepared for the 30th running of the Great Cow Harbor Race.

There was a team of eight runners from our church and we all did well, improving on last year's times. Congratulations to all, especially Rich Boes who led the way for us with an insane time of 46 minutes 20 seconds.

I did 73 minutes and change in 2006 and my ultimate goal would be to bring that down under one hour. Today's time was 69 minutes 54 seconds, so I broke 70 minutes, which is a step in the right direction.

It was fulfilling, but to say it was fun would be stretching the truth!!!

LOSERS

I didn't get to see the series premier of The Biggest Loser on Tuesday night, but I did record it to watch at my own leisure with the added bonus of being able to fast forward all the commercials.

I've seen it and I'm hooked!

Of course a huge part of the reason for that is I can easily identify with the contestants. There's an interesting mix again this time around, with the added interest of identical twins from Long Island who are part of the "secret" black team.

The most incredible part of the opener was that the 62 year old captain of the blue team lost 32lb in his first week. Of course they don't show you exactly what he put himself through to achieve that. Maybe NBC should run a disclaimer at the bottom of the screen like weight loss programs do, informing viewers that weight losses portrayed are not typical.

We did get a better glimpse into the workout before the weigh-in, where the policy is clearly to sweat as much as possible so you are as dehydrated as you can be in preparation for the scales.

Anyway, I like the show.

But I was disappointed to hear that last year's winner had regained most of his weight.

THIS IS MEANT TO BE SECRET

Since I doubt that anyone currently involved is remotely likely to be a reader of this blog, I'll satisfy the curiosity of those who are.

With effect from Saturday September 22nd, I will be leading the WeightWatchers meetings at 8.30, 9.30, 10.30 and 11.30 at their Selden Center in Selden Plaza on Middle Country Road.

This is huge for a number of reasons -

1. Up to 300 members in total attend those groups, making it the busiest center in the county.

2. The leader who is leaving has been a fixture there since 1993 and she is brilliant. Following her is a daunting task.

3. As a rookie leader, with only three meetings under my belt, it's unthinkable that they should offer this to me.

But they have and I've accepted. Great chance to meet and encourage far more people than I ever imagined!

ON ASSIGNMENT

I completed WeightWatchers' leaders' training program in July and then did four meetings with a mentor, so a couple of weeks ago I was officially cleared to be let loose on an unsuspecting public.

I've subbed a couple of times for leaders, but today I was given a regular leader's position at one of their centers.

It's a dream position, following one of the most capable communicators I have ever seen outside of a church context. It's a challenge, it's exciting aznd it's a huge opportunity.

Can't say when and where yet, but I'll pass on full details before I start there in two weeks.

GETTING BETTER

Today I ran the 6.1 miles course again that I mapped out around the neighborhood. I was very happy to cut 5 minutes off my previous best and did it all with a $4 stop watch from Wal-Mart.

Yesterday I drove around the circuit and noted where each mile marker was. Then today I had target times I had set myself to be at each of those spots. Of course it meant pushing myself harder than before and my legs were pushing back at me - my lungs weren't delighted about it either!

But the accumulated benefit of setting myself small goals and meeting them was that considerable overall progress was made.

Small goals lead to big results.

I could preach a sermon about that!