Taking time to smell the roses

"A picture's meaning can express ten thousand words"

Photos from today's ride-

Going with the flow

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." – Lao-Tzu

Yeah that's going with the flow. I knew that today would be my first challenge. My son is getting married today. 'Bout time, but that's another story. See the thing about weddings is that there is always a lot of food and cake. Did I say cake? That has always been a challenge, how do I eat healthy when at a social event or on a date.

I decided that I would count my victories instead of hiccups in my plan. I know that may sound a bit selfish after all this day should be about him and it is. Control those things that I can and go with the flow otherwise.

I stayed true to my 2 main goals that I had set for myself

• keep on schedule with my running program and 
• Limit the amount of sweets that I eat. I told you that I love sweets

Going to do that no matter what. So this morning before it got too hot, I ran. Got a cat call along the way, said my legs looked sexy. It was from a couple of my friends who were on their way to bike. I'm really glad that I did run. I love getting out once I leave my front door.

Started my day off with my meal plan for today. Now that part of my routine will change at the wedding, but I will do my best to eat clean.

My plan is to enjoy the rest of the day confident that I will flow just like water.

   

Starting Fresh

"Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results"-. Unknown

I made a change in my eating habits in 2014. I decided that I would become vegan. Not because of any cruelty to animal issues, it was purely selfish. I watched this documentary called Forks over Knives on Netflix. I bet I watched it at least 5 times and it talked about a link between consuming animal proteins and cancer. 

Several people that were dear to me had died from cancer. My wife, my Father, my paternal grandmother, my favorite uncle, so this documentary affected me to my core. In addition to that, I had recently gone through divorce. I was overweight and just wanted a change in my life. I knew life was more than this. I deserved better for myself. Now these motivations were not conscious at this time, but were building up in the depth of my being.

I came across an article on a site that I was browsing that was talking about a detox. So I decided to give it a try. I began a 10 day detox. No intended results other than just to feel better at the end. I was bloated and just didn't fell right. I was exercising fairly regularly but I knew my diet was the limiting factor. After I finished the detox, I said to myself," now that I’ve detoxed why not try eating a vegan palate". So I did.

I saw amazing results very quickly. The most notable was my weight loss. I went from about 240 pounds to 205 pounds very quickly without even trying. I ran my 1st half marathon and was floating on a cloud.

Fast forward to today. I slacked on my diet. I love chocolate and sweets and as a result I've gained about 14 pounds in 2 years. I've decided to recommit myself to a vegan diet with the following goals in mind-

• Lose weight- my goal is to weight 190 lbs. I have not weighed that since I was probably in my teens.
• get my waist size to a 36
• gain muscle mass
• To show others that no matter what age it is possible to do what I am doing. 
• Also to show that it is possible to live healthy without breaking the bank.

I know that in order to do this I need to make some changes in how I do things, hence the title-

• I need to journal. I am using Spark people to record my meals. I am using Strava to record my physical activity. This was I hold myself accountable.
• It is imperative that I eat whole foods as much as possible.
• I need to plan. Plan my meals, my week, my day, etc. But not become inflexible.
• I have to cook my meals

The main thing I want to do is to learn new things, meet new people and enjoy the journey. Not to look so much at the end goal, but have fun in the process.