My Long Intro

Just before the New Year, a friend of mine asked, “What isyour New Year’s resolution?”  Ihadn’t given it any thought.  I wasalready exercising on a regular basis. 

I work out at the gym 4 days a week during my lunchbreak.  Three of those days consistof weight training and one day is my cardio intense spinning class.  In addition to that, I also run 3 daysa week training my wife for her first half marathon on January 29^th.  We do short runs on Tuesdays andThursdays (about 2 to 3 miles) and long runs on the weekends.  We just completed our longest run ofthe training program this past weekend. A steady 12 mile run. 

I also attend a mixed martial arts class every Wednesday foran hour and a half.  And when Istill have energy left over, I chase my three daughters around (ages 10, 7 and2).  Needless to say, I’m fairlyactive when I’m not sitting at my desk for 8 hours.  I’ve managed to lose 15 lbs in the past 8 or so months. 

So what could I possibly do for my New Year’sresolution?  Well, I had justfinished reading “Unprocessed” by Chef AJ, whom I had the pleasure of meetingat our company Lunch & Learn presentation.  She talked about the health benefits of a whole food; plantbased diet and emphasized the importance of staying away from “The EvilTrinity” which are processed Oils, Salt, and Sugar.  The three essentials!...or so I thought.  But she brought her ingredients andkitchen tools and whipped up some dishes that were surprisingly delicious.  And so my road to this experimentbegan.

Shortly after reading Chef AJ’s book, I watched thedocumentary “Forks Over Knives” and became more motivated to give the veganlifestyle a try…at least the vegan dietary lifestyle.  No, I’m not going to stop wearing leather shoes and I’m nottrying to find balance with the planet. I just want to see what this change in diet will do to my physicalfitness and energy level.

I don’t have any major medical conditions that I’m aware ofbut my Dad has Type II diabetes. He is a vegetarian which, as most of you might know, differs from veganswith respect to eggs and dairy.  Avegan is a vegetarian who also does not eat any dairy or egg products.  He loves his ice creams and his sourcreams and butters.  Maybe thisexperiment will inspire him to try a 30 day challenge of his own.  It would be interesting to see if hecan stick with it long enough to completely reverse his diabetes. 

My second Dad (technically my Step Dad but he is more like areal Dad) struggles with obesity and other weight related health issues.  I’m hoping this experiment mightencourage him to make even the slightest adjustment to his current eatinghabits. 

So…. If you skimmed through all of the above, that’sok.  Come back here.  As Chef AJ said in her book, “Try itfor at least 30 days.”  And so thecountdown begins to January 23^rd. 

What do I hope to accomplish?  I’m curious to see if my body fat % will go downsignificantly.  I’m currently atabout 15% body fat and I weight about 160 lbs, standing at about 5’10”.  I’m thinking of putting up a beforepicture but I’m not sure the world is ready for that yet.  J  Ok I’m not sure I’m brave enough forthat yet.  I’m curious to see if Ican even manage to stay on, not only a vegan diet but an unprocessed diet!  These are two totally different thingsand I think the unprocessed part is the hardest part of this equation. 

I’m sure I’ll make mistakes along the way and I know it will be a challenge, especially considering the rest of the family will continue to eat the foods I’m used to eating.  But I’m hoping with some help and support out there, I can stay on track.  My promise to this blog is to update it daily with a description of my meals for the day with pictures included and share any challenges or frustrations along the way.  Stay tuned!