Saying Goodbye to a Dear Friend

Good News!

Operation "Eat All the Food" was a huge success.  I managed to eat and drink everything in the house and then some... which made me feel terrible.  By Sunday evening I was lethargic, nauseous, and full of enough junk food to choke a manatee.  While disgusting, or even disturbing, the over all feeling of "I may die soon" has proved to be nothing but added motivation.  

Yesterday was the first day of a new diet, and a new way of life. The day 1 meal plan included:

Breakfast:

Black Coffee
Special K Protein Plus Cereal w/skim milk

Lunch:

Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs

Snacks:

1 large orange

Celery

Dinner:

Tuna fish sandwich on 1 slice whole grain bread

I know, pretty damn healthy right?  I found that I actually enjoyed eating healthy (which is the exact opposite of past attempts) and at no point during the day did I feel like I was going to starve to death.  As a matter of fact I felt so good after breakfast that I believe I may have bitten off more than I can chew.  I have decided to give up soft drinks.    

For some, saying "hasta la vista" to soft drinks may sound simple.  For me, however, it will be like saying goodbye to a life long friend.  Diet Coke has become something I not only enjoy on a daily basis, but also something that I apparently NEED, as I came to find out last night when the head ache struck.  

Goodbye, old friend.  You will be missed... for two weeks.
 Then, I hear, my addiction will be broken and I will hate you.

While not especially painful, my Diet Coke headache proved to be quite a nuisance.  It brought on a dull yet persistent pain, accompanied by a foggy or dream like feeling, both of which lingered for hours.  Even ibuprofen seemed unable to eliminate my ailment. Only sleep would eventually bring relief.

Despite yesterdays struggles, and the headache already beginning to makes its return today, I remain stalwart in my pursuit to kick the Cokes. I am determined to fight through the temptations and torment so I can become one of those (healthy) freaks at restaurants who always orders water.

For now, however, my biggest concern is finding time to make it to the gym.  While I understand that exercise will be crucial to my success, I don't particularly enjoy exercising and I have never understood how someone could become addicted to it.  Or at least that is how the OLD Josh felt!  

The new and improved Josh loves to exercise.  There is no place new and improved Josh would rather be than on a treadmill.  So that is exactly where new and improved Josh will be bright and early tomorrow morning. On the treadmill... having fun... sweating because I enjoy it... not hating life... or crying.