214.6 Pounds is what the scale read today after I stood on it. Normally I’d fib a little bit and maybe make a small joke to try and lighten the mood (lighten, get it!) but this is no laughing matter. After passing my Military P.T. (Physical Training) test (did I mention I’m in the military yet?) back in June and weighing in at a more respectable 196 (okay on the military scale it was 203 but not mine!) I’ve managed to pack back on the pounds thanks to wonderful things like a trip to Vegas, Summer BBQs, and oh yeah not running anymore. I’m almost back to square one (219 back in January). Well, this time I’m going to try something just a little bit different. This time I’m going to change not just my diet temporarily and then go back to eating the same crap but I’m going to try and make a permanent change. In order to do that, I’m going to start out with a 15 day (count ‘em 15) Reboot. What’s a Reboot? Well I’ll tell you…
I watched a little film recently called Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead that really got to me. Not because the main protagonist of the documentary (Joe Cross) was trying to lose weight, but because he was suffering from chronic urticaria (chronic hives), something that yours truly knows all about. When I returned from Iraq in 2006 I came back with more than just a new appreciation for what the Army and Marines do (thank you guys): I had hives. Not immediately mind you, I had a couple weeks to adjust to being back in the states and then out of the blue… BAM! Hives, every day hives!
The doctors at Shaw AFB (Air Force Base) thought maybe it was my nerves. I had just gotten back from a craptastic place and we were moving from Shaw AFB to Langley AFB almost immediately so they gave me a Cortisone shot and some pills and sent me on my way. Well, the hives went away…until the Cortisone shot went away. Long story short, I moved to Langley and HIVES! I had to go to the doctor’s office multiple times a week but it was always the same thing, HIVES, HIVES, HIVES and more and more medication. Finally it got to the point in 2007 where they were going to out-process me from the military. I had been in for almost 6 years at this point and it really looked like I wasn’t going to see my 7th. They sent me back up to Burlington and I started my Medical Evaluation Board (M.E.B.). Still on medication, I waited to hear what was going to happen to me: was I going to have a job? Then, just as suddenly as it started, it stopped. No more hives.
More than a year of my life had passed and I had dealt with all kinds of fun side effects from the medications (not to mention a colonoscopy at 26) and not once did anyone ask me about my diet. I would say I eat like most Americans do. I rarely eat fast food but I do enjoy dining out quite a bit and meat is a main staple of my diet. I guess that’s what I found most interesting about Joe Cross’s journey. After changing his diet completely and learning how to eat a more plant-based diet, he was able to beat the chronic urticaria without medication (he slowly weaned himself off… I said weaned). And even though I am no longer suffering with hives, the memory of just how much it sucked is still fresh in my brain (every now and then I still think I see them). So armed with that and the desire to lose at least 34.6 (I’ll know how much I really have to lose after I see the Doc) I set out on the Reboot Standard Plan. It’s going to be an interesting 15 (days) to life and I’ll be recording it all here. So buckle up and enjoy the ride.
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