turning over a new leaf...

jimmyb_

i've spent lots of time reading threads for motivation and advice and just it was time to finally say a formal hello

the backstory
a few months back 2 coworkers jokingly made comments about the belly i had been developing and a comment or 2 about me constantly looking tired and a little round in the face. i work as a project manager and was in the middle of a 5 month project working 60-70 hours a week and all my bad habits (food, smoking, drinking) were exaggerated by stress and long hours.

i didn't give it too much thought until i happened across a BBC Horizon documentary called Eat, Fast, and live Longer, presented by Michael Mosley. Now I won't go through all the details but it discusses calorie restriction, alternate day fasting, the link to high levels of IGF-1 and disease. It changed my whole perspective on food, health and longevity and i recommend everyone to take an hour out of their lives to watch it. Armed with new information (knowledge is power) and inspiration i set off not just to lose weight, but make drastic changes to my life to be a much healthier me

fast forward to July 15...
i'm a 37 yr old male, smoking a pack a day, and weighing 206 lbs.... could be worse, but at this rate i would probably not be around to see Halley's comet come around again which was a childhood promise to myself.. lol

I start back up on MFP and start the logging... no more fast food, fried foods, empty starches, excess red meat and soda.. lots of fruits and veggie... lean proteins and whole wheat breads, limiting my caloric intake to an average of 1400 calories a day..

3 weeks ago i caught a bad cold... tracheitis (sp?) and developed mild bronchitis and decided, well this is as good a time as any to quit smoking... i'm 3 weeks into weaning myself off the patch (no more cigs!!!) and cut coffee out replacing with green tea... (ps green tea is awesome!... bonus its good for dieters too) ...

the changes have been pretty dramatic... after 6.5 weeks i'm down about 19 lbs, my skin looks better,, i have tonnes more energy and everyone (friends, family, coworkers) are noticing and complimenting... I actually have several coworkers start on MFP as well

last week i've started going to the gym again and i'm starting C25K and hope to start running 3 days a week to keep the roll going... as a bday gift to myself for my 37th, i bought myself a 4 day all inclusive to bahamas in september and can't wait to hit the beach and feel good about being shirtless in public!

feel free to add me as a MFP friend... especially if in toronto or the GTA!

cheers,

jimmy