Thanksgiving Day 2011 was a banner day for me. I cooked, and then ate and drank myself silly with my family. Ham, turkey, pumpkin pie, and all of the other good stuff that goes along with Thanksgiving dinner. I also enjoyed about half-a-pack of post-prandial cigarettes, and I don't remember how many nice glasses of scotch. I was stuffed, full, fat and happy.
Until the next morning. I woke up with an hellacious hangover, heartburn, cottonmouth, and some sort of borderline allergic reaction that made it difficult to breathe. When you think about it, none of that should have been any surprise. After all, I had a twenty-six-year pack-a-day cigarette habit, and had been eating and drinking, really, whatever the hell I felt like, in any quantity that pleased me, for my entire life. On top of that, or rather, because of it, I was taking four medications for high blood pressure, three medications to facilitate lung function, and a pill to take care of my constant, daily heartburn. I weighed 270 lbs.
Not healthy, to say the least.
On that day, the morning after Thanksgiving 2011, I quit smoking. I also decided to do something about my weight - right then and there. What I did about it was to go on a strict vegetarian diet. Starting that morning, I ate only plant-based foods - and frankly, not very many different types of them. My diet consisted of almost exclusively the following:
Red cabbage and green cabbage - I had heard that they were good for dealing with stomach problems, and without a daily pill, my heartburn would ordinarily set in by 10:00 a.m.
Spinach and kale - green leafies, which are always supposed to be good for you.
Potato, regular and sweet - leaving aside the references to the sweet potato as a super food, these are just things that I had always loved, and was going to continue to eat, hell of high water.
Whole wheat bread and pasta - on occasion, just to satisfy the carb addiction.
Carrots, broccoli, romaine - again, all healthy sounding things, and all things I liked anyway.
Mushrooms - every variety you can think of, as they add fantastic flavor to every dish.
Water and sometimes coffee - no milk, no soft drinks.
It wasn't really that hard. I ate as much as I damned well pleased, and never felt very hungry - at least not after the first two weeks, as I adjusted to my more limited, meat-and-dairy-free diet. The only struggle was cheese - which I loved with a passion, and consumed large quantities of varieties most people have never even heard about.
During that time, I did a lot of reading about vegetarian diets, vegan diets (which I suppose mine was, strictly speaking), and learned that there are those who swear by them, and those who conclude they are decidedly unhealthy. All I can offer up are my results - unscientific, and based on a sample size of one. As of March 1, 2012:
My weight was down to 205 pounds.
My waist measurement went from 48 to 40.
My blood pressure returned to normal, and I was able to stop all of the medications.
My breathing problems completely abated, and that medicine, too, was stopped (although I'm sure giving up the cigarettes had something to do with this.
I quit taking heartburn medication, and only felt the slightest bit of heartburn when I consumed alcohol, and at no other time, no matter how much I ate.
I started sleeping through the night, and eight full hours, for the first time in decades.
All in all, it was an amazing transformation in my lifestyle. But, not all was perfect. While I had lost a lot of weight, I had also lost a lot of strength, and wasn't really any closer to the physical specimen I wanted to be. For want of a better term to describe it, I found myself "skinny fat;" that is, having lost a lot of weight, but not really improved in terms of muscle tone.
Also, I hit a plateau on weight loss, and I still had weight to lose, actually. From March 1 until about two weeks ago, my weight stayed the same - 205 - and while I didn't gain, I didn't lose.
So, the internet to the rescue again. I went back to reading, and found advice which seemed palatable to me on the website of one Victor Pride, called Bold and Determined, which is linked to on my blogroll. Based on some of the things he had to say, and some of my own investigation, I have re-made my diet (again), and also instituted a program of cardio and heavy weight lifting, in conjunction with a few nutritional supplements.
I plan to write about this experience as it happens, describe my diet and exercise routine in detail, and hope be able to evaluate each segment of my new plan for effectiveness in the process.
While its been only two weeks so far, I can note this - visible increase in muscle mass, increased endurance, better fitting clothes, and more energy.
Wish me the best, and comments are welcome!
Tim
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