I’m not here to push an agenda. This isn’t a weight-loss program, though I’m going to talk about losing weight. This isn’t about telling you what to eat or not to eat, though I’m going to talk about the choices we make and the impact that has on our health. This isn’t about trying to convince you to be a vegetarian, though I’m going to talk about the effect this can have on health. So what am I talking about? Lifestyle. Pure and simple. And I’m probably going to say things that you might regard as controversial or radical and might make you angry. So be it.  

As a bit of background, I’ve been a vegetarian for about 7 years with a 1 year stint as a vegan. Currently I am about 90% vegan and 10% vegetarian. I am just about at the jumping off point again after reading Russell Simmons’ book, The Happy Vegan, which also prompted me to attend my first beginner’s yoga class last week. Next one is tomorrow morning. Yoga is a present to me after dropping 28 pounds in 6 months, 28 pounds I didn’t know I needed to lose. I thought, maybe 10, but in the program I went through with my wife, the weight just kept coming off. I’m in the maintenance phase now. How long is the maintenance phase? Oh, it only lasts until I die. It doesn’t feel like a chore, though. By the way, my wife lost 40 pounds. She looks fantastic and feels even better. I look and feel better than I have at any point in my 51 years on the planet in this current incarnation. I try not to be self-centered but then I catch a glimpse of myself in the full-length mirror as I’m getting dressed and I have to stop. I can’t help it. Who knew that changing what I eat and adding exercise could result in such a drastic change? Ok, probably a lot of people knew it. I just didn’t think it applied to me or that I could do it. Or that I would enjoy it so much. I’m here to tell you that it can apply to you too, if you want it to.

I realize what a person eats is a very personal thing. My decision to not eat animals is very personal to me. The fact that I still have some dairy in my diet will cause some militant vegans to call me out for not being there yet. Their strident voices are ringing in my ears as I write this. They do more to turn people away than to convert them to their cause. No one wants to be told what they should eat. I think the way to get there should be based on attraction rather than promotion. I won’t tell people what to eat or why they shouldn’t eat a particular food. What I will do is tell them what works for me and when they question my choices, which they almost always do, I’ll patiently explain how I arrived at the place I’m at now. Once in a while, I’ll get an angry response. Again, what we eat is a personal choice. But sometimes, people feel threatened by my vegetarianism, as if what I eat somehow affects them. I don’t understand it, other than to assume that I’ve touched a nerve, caused them to have to look at their own behaviors. All the better.

I’m going to wrap up this current post on the advice of my daughter, who provided the constructive criticism that my Valentine’s Day post was too long. In the coming weeks I’ll describe the lifestyle changes that led to the weight loss for me and my wife. I’ll tell you what you (and your significant other) can do to achieve the same results. I’m hope you’ll find it informative and interesting. But I invite you to form your own program and to investigate things on your own. I’ll give you a preview: make a conscious decision to know what’s in anything you put in your mouth. Sounds simple but it’s actually astounding that most of us have no idea what we are eating and the effect it has on our health and how we feel.

Last but not least, here are a few of the podcasts I follow. I highly recommend them:

·        

      The Rich Roll Podcast

·         Dr. Rhonda Patrick (Foundmyfitness)