First!

Right, so here goes.

There's a large part of me that is very resistant to the very idea of blogging (namely, the part of me that doesn't care for ridiculous neologisms), yet I find myself compelled to join the herd. This odd desire to chronicle one's own journey through life for the benefit (largely) of people never met has never sat well with me. I can get into the social networking sites because they largely consist of myself and other people I actually know letting tiny bite-sized parts of our lives be broadcast to the very same people we'd tell those things to in person were it possible.

Being as I now reside firmly nearly half the world away from most of those people, I not only don't take issue with the concept, but I relish it. That said, I still have trouble with the blog thing, since it seems so much more personal, and by and large blogging seems to be a community unto itself, and one that contains very little of the comforts of close friends.

Yet I digress, because while I have issues with the blogging world, I find the allure of a focused account of part of my life to be overwhelming. This is probably more true now than it would have been back on the mainland, and perhaps that's from not nearly enough intimate socializing. Either way, here I am, chronicling a portion of my journey.

I suppose should grant myself some sort of mission statement, give this blog a focus so that I'm more motivated to write and perhaps more motivated in the particular goals of this focus: losing some fucking weight. Weight has long been an issue of mine, although I've found over the years that my own self-concept has strengthened to the point that I have no problem operating socially as a fat guy, and perhaps to the point of deluding myself into thinking it's not nearly as bad as it is. While this works well for socializing (as I'm sure we've all known the socially outcast overweight men and women who lack either the skills or the confidence to successfully interface with their fellow man), it doesn't work so well when it comes to actually being healthy.

As I've recently discovered myself far closer to the 400 pound mark than I am comfortable with, the line has now been drawn. I've changed a great many aspects of my life in the last year or so, not the least of which being my state of residence (which has brought with it many changes, most of which have been for the better), and while I've previously endeavored to lose some weight, I have not put nearly the effort necessary into it.

So here we are, it's mid-July 2009 and I weigh 370 pounds according to the shitty scale in my room. Ostensibly, my goal would be to get under 200, but I don't think that's a realistic short-term goal. Instead, we'll place the mark at under 300 by mid-July 2010. Given that falls on the date of my best friend's wedding, I think it an appropriate marker. Perhaps in the shorter term, we'll say under 340 by the end of the year.

Of course, to facilitate this is going to require more effort than I have yet put into eating right and exercising. I've recently stumbled onto a reasonable-sounding plan for beginning to walk/run on a regular basis, although I think I may save that for once I've dropped some weight in an effort to not destroy my knees. I quite like them, and I'd rather they remain in decent working condition.

So, a list of things I'm going to hold myself to, and that I expect you to hold me to (despite the "you" being a nebulous figure which likely will not exist since I'm not certain I'll make this blog public):

Item 1 - No more fucking sweets. No candy, no ice cream, no sugary drinks (although I've long since exorcised soda and juice from my regular diet, I do slip and tend to get these things when out), etc. If it isn't going to provide at least *some* worthwhile nutrition to my body, I'm not eating it.

Item 2 - Less salt. This is the hard part, not because I love putting salt on things, but because so many things, even the ones which otherwise seem reasonably healthy, have an overabundance of salt. We'll see how this goes, I'm not calling it priority one.

Item 3 - Barring sickness, no skipping swimming. I began swimming every day last Summer and have largely held myself to it, so this is less of an issue. None the less, I want to make certain I'm actually doing this every single day, 50 laps a day, without fail.

Item 4 - More fruits and veggies. I've probably eaten more fruits and vegetables living out here in the last year than I did the entire time I've lived in my own home back on the mainland, and I'd like to continue that trend. I still don't eat even close to enough fruits or veggies, and certainly the extra nutrition and filling myself up on *not* snacks is a good idea.

Item 5 - This is the big one...I'm going to cut meat from my diet entirely.

If you know me, you're probably wondering if I'm suffering from a sudden dissociative episode, but I am not. I haven't come to this decision lightly, although I think it's been in the works for a long time. Bear in mind that I harbor no particular philosophical opposition to the consumption of meat, and I wager I never will.

That said, I can't help but feel like I would benefit from a significant reduction in the amount of fat I consume, along with meat suddenly kind of grossing me the fuck out. That feels weird to even type, much less say aloud. I blame my wife at least partially for this, as she recently went to the dark (and leafy) side and in an effort to accommodate her, I started eating vegetarian meals with her each night. Turns out, sometime in the last year or so I've developed a taste for more diverse flavors than meat + bread/pasta. Go figure.

So here's the plan. I'll be following those 5 guidelines, blogging about it from time to time (likely not daily), and each entry will finish with my current weight and what I've eaten that day.

Today:

Jamba Juice for breakfast.
Coke and popcorn at the movies (this was prior to my epiphany)
A sandwich from Whole Foods for lunch (mixed greens, tomatoes, grilled veggies, swiss cheese, roasted red peppers, assorted other stuff)
A few tortellini (Tuscan, again from Whole Foods) and a stuffed portobello mushroom (again, WF) for dinner
Copious water throughout the day.

Current weight: 370.