Eating Right
I lost 75 pounds in six months and my weight hovered around 175. Now that my weight was where I wanted it to be, it was time to get moving.Lucky for me, (or unlucky, depending on how you see it), I have a family history of high cholesterol, heart disease, and diabetes. That meant I could not make any more excuses. I decided to follow Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live plan, after freaking out when I learned all the bad stuff that was in commercially produced animal products. (Don’t believe me? Check out Forks Over Knives, or the even more horrific Food, Inc.). Eat to Live is a plant-based (ie. vegan) way of eating that also limits salt, oil, and sugar. The first two weeks were brutal (lots of fantasies involving meat-lovers pizza), but after I got all the garbage out of my system I actually starting appreciating how delicious simple, fresh food can be. The pounds melted off, I had more energy, and my cholesterol dropped to an all-time low. I developed a Vitamin D deficiency, which is common not only for vegans but for all adults, and is easily remedied by taking a vitamin supplement. I lost 75 pounds in six months and my weight hovered around 175. Now that my weight was where I wanted it to be, it was time to get moving.
Exercise
I wanted to find a few different forms of exercise that I found enjoyable. This was critical to my success, since if there was any reason for me to say, “ah, screw it”, out of boredom or inclement weather, I knew that I would. Since I started exercising in the summer and I have a pool in my backyard, swimming was an obvious choice. If it became my favorite form of exercise, I knew I could join a gym in the winter to keep it up.
I wanted to find a few different forms of exercise that I found enjoyable. This was critical to my success.Yoga was my second form of exercise and I was surprised to discover how rested both my body and mind felt after practicing. It was like getting a work out, while taking a nice “rest” from the other, more strenuous activities I was doing. Also, I can do a headstand now, which is an awesome party trick (when sober).
Running was my third form of fitness and I went from being one of those people who hated running, to loving it. The reason it sucked before was because I was lugging around so much extra weight with me. Once I reached my goal weight, I felt way less pressure on my knees and I could breathe better. (Side note: Practicing yoga taught me how to control my breath while running). Suddenly running seemed much easier than it seemed before, and I was even running long enough to get a runner’s high. Score!
Of the three types of exercise, running is the one I go to the most because of the limited barriers to entry: all you need are shoes, non-threatening weather outside, and the motivation to walk out the front door.
