After topping the scales at 288 I decided it was high time to lose the weight. I have tried being a vegetarian before, but I did it wrong. All I did was replace meat and other bad food with processed low-fat foods and more and more bread.
I recently watched the documentary, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and was thoroughly impressed with the information provided by Dr. Fuhrman in the film. I have since started reading his book "Eat to Live" (about halfway through) and adopted a nutritarian lifestyle.
I no longer eat any processed foods, meat, bread, rice, oils, milk, sweets, etc. And have vamped up my intake on fresh/cooked veggies, fresh fruit, nuts and seeds, and beans.
After only two days of changing how I eat (and I hadn't even cut out caffeine completely yet) I noticed a dramatic change in how my skin feels. I almost can't keep my hands off myself
I am only on day 5 so far, but I feel amazing. I am caffeine free as of today. Yesterday I had some minor withdrawal headaches but today I am headache free.
The best part about being a nutritarian is that I don't have to worry about counting calories. I follow Dr. Fuhrman's food pyramid and eat about 50% veggies, 25% fruits, and the remainder is split between nuts/seeds and beans/legumes (though I shift more of that towards beans/legumes).
I have been trying to lose weight on and off since my late teens. Every failure ended up me in gaining more and more weight. I've tried so many diet plans from Atkin's, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Mediterranean, etc etc... Nothing worked. I was always hungry. I would lose a little and then plateau for months and then I would give up and gain it all back.
I hated keeping track of calories... it is my bane... I hated feeling half starved... and I hated having to over-analyze every thing I ate.
With my new Eat to Live lifestyle I am free to eat. It has made me love eating instead of dreading it. I have a renewed love for cooking and I am always in the kitchen cooking now instead of simply slapping some meat and bread together.
One day I will be fit and trim. One day I will be able to run and run. One day I will be able to look at myself in the mirror and be proud of my body.
That day will come soon =)