Bacon Cheeseburgers and Tough Choices

As I sit here and watch my co-workers stuff themselves full of deep fried junk and soft drinks.... I think back to when I lived on fried junk, bacon cheeseburgers, Dr Pepper, and oatmeal creme pies. At my heaviest I was 265 lbs. I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without being out of breath. I smoked about a pack of cigarettes a day. I was uncomfortable all the time and I avoided mirrors like they were the plague.
One day I realized I was going to have to get bigger pants. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized something had to change.  Don't get me wrong I still went on to work and had a couple Dr.Pepper's and a cigarette on the way. I thoughtfully munched on a doughnut and some swiss cake rolls and considered how to lose a few pounds. Changing myself was not easy, nor was it quick. I knew I had to do some form of exercise. I knew I had to quit smoking. I knew I had to change what I ate. How to go about that stuff....... I was clueless.

2 questions that I hear all the time (The same questions I asked myself)...... How do I start? How do I make it stick?

Lets attack question 1. How Do I Start? You have to make the conscious decision that you want to change. If you truly want to change and become a healthy person then you have to want to change. The choices that follow that decision are a little harder. You have to choose everyday to make the healthy choice.... Water. not Mountain Dew. Fruit. not doughnuts. Spinach Wrap. Not fast food. Walking for 30 minutes. Not TV. Pilates. Not surfing the web.  You get the idea.

Next you need to get informed. Do some research. The internet has a trillion different websites you can look at and read that will fill you with more information than you could ever need. Find a Nutritionist or a Dietician. Ask them some questions. Talk to a personal trainer. Find that really healthy friend you have and talk to them. Listen to what they have to say. Take notes. Observe how they eat and what they eat.  Form your own opinion. Find what works for you. I certainly didn't figure it out over night. I sure as hell didn't decide to be a vegan overnight. It took years for me to figure out that being a vegan is the direction I wanted to go. One day at a time. One step at a time.

You will need a support system. You need to make your family and friends aware of what you are doing and why. Not having some form of support will make it that much harder. Your spouse, your best friend, a coach,  even a new friend will do.   Some one to help you along your journey. Someone who will be honest, even brutally honest at times, with you.... but will still be kind about it when you need it.

There will be times when you give in. Don't fret, start fresh right then. Don't wait, it will just set you up to make excuses. Just a step at a time. One healthy decision at a time.

Speaking of excuses............. STOP!!!! The "I have bad knees," "I have that body that needs animal protein," "I have no will power when it comes to ......", "I am too busy", "I will wait until after the holidays" Etc......

I used to make the excuses too. I couldn't run because I had bad knees, I didn't feel right if I didn't get my morning caffeine, Why do I need to be healthy? And My favorite....... I am going to die eventually so I want to die happy.

That is all a load of poo!!!! 
If you think hard enough you can come up with an excuse for everything. You have to make up your mind to stop using excuses. Another healthy choice. This is where the honest support comes in..... someone to ask if you are just making excuses. One step at a time. One healthy choice at a time.
 
By the way..... If your wondering......... Today I am 180lbs. A Vegan. A Runner, training for an Ultra-Marathon. (Bad Knees? Yep.... Just an excuse) I run a minimum of 2 miles everyday for the last 73 days. I do a minimum of 50 push-ups, 50 situps, and 10 pull-ups....... everyday. Usually I do more. But that is the minimum. I also have a running streak of 1 mile everyday for 652 days at the time of this post. (I plan on continuing the streak for many years to come) If I can change, and get my family to change too, then you can change. It was not a quick, or even easy, journey. I had my set backs, my challenges. I kept making one healthy choice at a time. You can do it too. 

The next post we will talk about "Making it Stick".  Hint.... avoid the "Fad Diets." They don't work long term.

The Beginning

SO.......... This is our journey. Who are we? We are a husband and wife with 4 kids, crazy work schedules, animals to take care of, kids with practices and games, 4-H meetings, 4-H superintendent meetings, homework to help with, band concerts, chores to do, yardwork, a house to clean, laundry, dishes, etc. Our lives are just as hectic as yours. We are also Vegans, with 4 Vegetarian (mostly) kids, runners, health and fitness nuts, and cross country coaches. Yep.........Vegan. Your thinking either: What the heck is a Vegan? or Vegan?! You guys are nuts. In case you don't know.... Vegans do not consume any animal products or anything made with animal products. OMG!!! NO MILK OR EGGS OR MEAT!!! nope. Lots of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains. No we are not crazy....... Well..... we ARE crazy.... just in a zany, loony tunes kind of way.  Being vegans has opened a whole new world of food preparation. We have made everything from cakes and brownies to veggie lasagna, and vegan "bacon cheeseburgers".  We make the majority of our food from scratch. There are "vegan" things that are processed and prepackaged. We do our best to steer away from those things. For example we make our own peanut butter, bread, jams/preserves, applesauce, and salsa. We also make a concerted effort to stay away from high fructose corn syrup, non-organic and genetically modified (GMO) foods. That stuff is bad for you.
   
Before I get anymore off track (sometimes I ramble.... A LOT!!) ..... I also stated that we are runners and fitness nuts. Felicia runs everything from 5k's to half marathon's. She also does Pilates. I am currently training for an Ultra-Marathon (50 miles).  I run everyday and lift weight 3 times a week. Yes every single day at least 1 mile to keep the streak alive. The kids are all active in sports as well, the oldest 2 play soccer, 3 of them run on the cross country team, the youngest also plays baseball in the spring. We are also assistant coaches for the cross country team (which we thoroughly enjoy) and we are both about to return to school so we can get more nutritional edumacated.

So as you can see we are a pretty busy family and some days can get pretty hectic. We try (it doesn't always happen) to create a menu each month. That way we don't spend an hour (we can be a little a lot indecisive at times) trying to figure out what to eat and we don't get tempted to make unhealthy choices based on convenience. It also helps us to plan the time to make the meal and make a grocery list each week. We also have a large calendar on the wall where we keep track of everything. Everyone has a color. Everything big and small is put on the calendar. That way everyone knows what is going on. We also have a chore schedule for the kids. Everyday they each have certain animals to take care of and certain chores to be accomplished. Of course getting the kids to accomplish those chores is a whole different story.

That is a little about us. Check back again soon. Like I said we will be sharing a little bit of everything. Glad to have you along on our journey.