Ready for Radical

A few posts back I said I was sort of at my wits end with my weight. I'm tired of losing and gaining the same pounds, tired of being hungry all the time, tired of the effort of it all. At the time I was considering posting pictures of myself to perhaps shame me into doing something about it once and for all. I still may do that if I get the courage. But this has to be it. I have to find a way to achieve the weight loss that I want without the constant mental anguish I experience. I've been a vegetarian for a few years now, and while I'm not a very good vegetarian in that I eat too much garbage, I do feel better since eliminating the meat. Oddly enough I was often anemic before going veg and now whenever I donate blood I'm always good. I know the benefits of a good vegetarian diet, and I've wanted to go vegan for a long time but have been sort of hesitant to dive in. I think now's the time. Right before Christmas when Amazon was having all of their sales I bought a copy of Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live. It was an impulse purchase because something in the description stuck out to me. But, due to my sever addiction to books, I got it, and put it on my shelf as something to read later. Then I heard he was going to be on Dr. Oz. I watched the videos from the show, and started reading the book. I'm halfway through and I must say, I believe him. His book speaks to everything I've been reading and seeing about a plant based life, and the success stories on his website are the kind of thing you have to see to believe. I don't have all of the illnesses (or if I do, I am not aware) that many of his followers have been cured of following his advice, but I know that so many people that I know would benefit from even following it halfway. It's radical when you compare it to the standard American diet. Little to no animal products, living off beans, nuts, seeds, fruits and vegetables. But, as doctor Esselstyn says in Forks Over Knives...having your chest divided, and a vein removed from your leg for a bypass is pretty darn extreme too. I think I'll try Fuhrman's approach. I'm scared. It's a change, and I know that a nasty detox period may be in store for me. But I'm tired of the body I'm living in not serving me the way that it should, and I'm ready to help it do that. A friend of mine on Facebook told me that he follows a similar approach for two meals a day and that he's seen positive results. He's an athlete and if he can do this and see his abilities improve then I'm sold. Now what about Weight Watchers you say? I still maintain that WW is a fantastic program. I lost from 213 to 160 on WW, and gained back to 175 when I went off of it. It is still the method I encourage people to follow to change their life, because most people starting a weight loss journey cannot go to the extreme without backsliding. WW made me look at food in a whole new way, but it only works if you do it, and right now, my heart is in a different place. I need something new. I'll let you know how its going.