Day 1

Me at 230 lbs. - June 1st, 2013

Well, here it is. Me shirtless.

Today is June 1st, 2013, I weighed myself this morning at 230.8 lbs.

Here's a little scoop: 

I said I was going to quit smoking by the time I was 40, which was last August. I'll be 41 on my birthday this summer.  I quit smoking for 4 months in the winter of '09-'10, and as soon as I picked it up again I said I would quit again, that was 3 years ago. Then this January, I saw this news story, from CBS about a medical study claiming if you quit smoking by age 40, you can reverse all of the health effects of smoking. And I thought, That's it, I'm doing it. If I quit while I'm still 40, I'm counting it. 

So, about 5 days ago I bought an eCigarette and started aggressively weening myself off tobacco. I smoked one final pack of cigarettes, 2-5 a day until they were gone. I knew I couldn't keep them and not smoke them, so yesterday I smoked the last 9 in the pack. I also went out for a beer after work and I smoked 3 of my friend's cigarettes too. So today, June 1st, is my first day entirely tobacco free. So far I've had no problems at all, a few mild cravings, but the eCig really does the trick. When I quit before I used the patch (transdermal) and it worked for me just fine, but I think I like the eCig even better because I still get the ritual of smoking, as well as the social aspect. And the eCig itself is a nice conversation piece. At any rate, yay me! As of today I am tobacco free.

I have also decided that I am going to be vegetarian again.

I was a vegetarian from late 1993 - sometime in 1999, I don't remember the exact time frame that I started eating meat again, it just kind of crept back in. Being vegetarian really agreed with me, and I took to the diet easily. I also lost a lot of weight on a vegetarian diet, which was the only thing that changed in my lifestyle at the time. Honestly, every time I have ever given consideration to losing weight, I have remembered that and said, "Gee, I should try that again." Well, duh. So, let's actually try it. Therefore, I decided that beginning today, June 1st, I am going to be vegetarian again. 

Technically I am a Flexitarian, which is a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat. Even when I was a "vegetarian" before, this is actually what I was. Then, I still ate shellfish and tuna, and once in a while bacon would be too much of a temptation to resist. This time, I have simply given myself permission to eat meat if I want to. I'm not going to beat myself up over it.

I have challenged myself to start off my vegetarian diet with a twist though. I've decided to try being vegan for the first 7 days. Overall, I am not willing to exclude dairy from my diet, but I like the idea of an all-vegetable fast to start out my new diet. Eating vegan for a week will give my GI tract a nice scrubbing.

Today was also Day 1 of what I am calling my "vegan fast." So far, I have eaten: coffee, 1 large Granny Smith apple, 1 cup of green seedless grapes, and 1 Amy's Indian Samosa Wrap. I felt very full after the meal, but now about 2 hours later, I feel hungry again. I am going to make myself a Boca burger wrap I think with lots of veggies and some rice.... or maybe barley, or a mix of both.

I skipped breakfast today, big no-no, and one I often commit. I vow to eat breakfast.

Still haven't done any cardio today, but as soon as I post this, I am going to do 15 minutes of Zumba on TV.

About coffee. I might have to start drinking it black again. I use low-fat non-dairy creamer and Splenda, but that creamer is still loaded with empty carbs, plus it has aluminum in it -- did you know, if you throw the stuff on a flame it will spark bright green? The Splenda I can probably still use. 

I try not to eat any white sugar. Many members of my family are diabetic, and I have seen some of the warning signs in myself. That is one of the big motivators that has made me finally take my health seriously. My grandfather was very sick with diabetes and it definitely was the main cause of his death, and my mother is diabetic as well. I don't want to be diabetic, and I realized that the only person who is capable of changing my lifestyle is me. So, here we are, blogging about it.