Wow Wow Wow!

"I Lost Forty Pounds in Five Months! (and So Can You)"

I'm like one of those distracting internet sidebars or annoying pop-up windows advertising for some hair-brained "lost weight now" product or scheme.  Except for one thing - it's totally true.

Today is day 15 of my juice cleanse, and, like my first one, I feel like I could keep going.  When I started this whole thing back in January, I weighed 209 pounds.  This morning I'm in at 169.8.  Okay, not quite 40 pounds, but that "40 pounds in five months" is catchier.  My three and a half year old son weighs substantially less than the weight I lost!

I want to shout it from the rooftops, share it with everyone I know (and heck, those I don't as well).  Yes, it's a bit self-congratulatory I suppose.  But come on, I lost FORTY POUNDS in FIVE MONTHS.  That's a little more than 20% of my original body weight.  I think most people would say that's not really possible.  Back in January I certainly would have agreed.

Last week I had to give my closet a second once-over, this one more radical than after my first juice cleanse.  This time I pulled out 12 pairs of pants (I had maybe 3 that actually fit me) and 10 pairs of shorts.  That's every single pair of shorts I own.  I had no choice but to go on a shopping spree (broke as I am).  It turns out I went from a 36 inch waist to a 32! 

Healthy Weight, Again.

I'm posting this chart one more time, I think for good reason.  I showed it to a teacher colleague the other day and he had the reaction I bet many of us do.  He looked at his height and saw the range for his healthy weight and said "Oh, come on, that's just crazy."  I was certainly the same way 6 months ago.  Yes, of course I knew I was oveweight at 209, but never thought I could weigh 169.  Clearly I can, and, based on the chart, should!  And honestly, based on the pretty large handful of belly fat I can still grab, I may end up at an even-leaner 165 for all I know.

And here's the thing people, it was easy!  It was healthy!  It felt amazing!  No pills, supplements, chemicals or prescriptions - it was just food!  Real food, whole food, simple food.  It was salad, it was carrots.  Ultimately it was this - fruits, vegetablse, nuts, seeds, beans and some whole grains.  That's it - nothing from a box, nothing from a factory, almost nothing that does not occur in nature.  It was, to use Dr. Joel Fuhrman's term, a nutritarian diet.  I am now convinced this is the only truly healthy way to live.  And, yes, it was also two fifteen-day stretches of just juice.  But it worked, it WORKS - and amazingly well at that!

So, I had to share that today.  If there's a lesson here, it's that radical change and self-transformation is possible.  And if I, self-proclaimed Sausage Boy, stubborn and intractable lover of salty meat and chocolate chip cookies can do it - SO CAN YOU!

Be amazingly well, all!