Could This Be a Normal Week?

This is Day 5 without soda. I gave it up Thursday, and I've been successful since then. I still miss it, but I've managed to do without it. I've got a jug of water right next to me, and that will have to sustain me at work. The goal is to go one month without soda before I allow myself to have one a week or so, as a treat.

Other than that, I'm not making any drastic changes to my diet. I am going to try to cook and freeze more, so I can spend less money eating out, but I consider that more of an organizational effort, rather than a healthy one.

This is the first "normal" week I've had in a while. I'm not sick, I don't have the duty pager from work, I don't have any car problems or maintenance requests, and I don't have any extraordinary responsibilities this weekend. I'm hoping to use this week to get into a rhythm and work out a schedule and a plan for a few things.

Tonight, I'm going to finish The Hacker's Diet and considering following its instructions.

The Hacker's Diet

I weigh 338 pounds. That's more than I've ever weighed in my life. I had to buy a more expensive bathroom scale a few years ago, because I weighed more than cheaper scales could measure. I can't travel in airplanes, because I don't fit in the seats. I prefer to wear baggy clothes, but now my XXXL shirts are snug.

I have to face the fact that my weight will kill me one day. It's as simple as that. The human body is not designed to handle this much fat. I have to lose weight, or I will die before my time.

I've always struggled to diet and exercise. I know the answers to my problems, but I've never found a way to consistently apply them to my life. When I lived with my athletic uncle, I lost 30 pounds in two months, because I was living his lifestyle of lean eating and constant exercise. It worked, but I was miserable. I've struggled since then to discover a way in which I can weigh less and enjoy my life.

Today, I was looking for some sort of organization tool to help me keep a food journal. During my search, I found The Hacker's Diet. I've only read the introduction of the book, but I think it might be what I've been looking for. It's written by a man who accomplished a lot in the computer industry, then realized that he could use the skills he'd learned as an engineer to fix and maintain his weight. He lost 50 pounds in 1 year. He says that his book - which is completely free - can help people with a similar mindset achieve the same results.

What I've read so far has been inspirational. I'm going to finish it as soon as possible. I have high hopes that this might be my chance to turn my life around.

I don't want to die. I want to know what it's like to be fit. I've been overweight my entire life. It's about time I did something about it.