Taking the Next Step

(Thai coconut vendor in Chinatown, NYC)

So...I just graduated...and it's time for me to really get serious about the things that I am passionate about. While at school, I always said to myself 'man being here is really stopping me from accomplishing the things that I want to do.' Now, I have no excuse. I did make an effort over the year to mobilize on some of my plans, but my lack of time management skills served as somewhat of a barrier. Because I was unable to effectively balance school work and personal work, the time I spent on myself wasn't as efficient as it should have been.

One thing that I did consistently work at was my health. I spent the 2006-2007 school year abroad in Spain and by the time I got back, my body was trashed. I was extremely out of shape and all of the muscle I had worked so hard to put on my body virtually turned to fat. My weight probably only went up about 5 or 6lbs over the nine months I was there, but my bodyfat percentage had gone up significantly. I joined a gym when I had three months of school left in an attempt to get my shape back a bit, but once again, I struggled with balancing my personal time with school time.

This past year, I wanted to reverse all of the damage I had inflicted on my body when I was in Spain. I didn't join a sports team in the fall, but I started a running program that had me working out maybe 4 times per week. The training ceased after 6 weeks (the duration of the program). I had no race to run at the end of the six weeks, so I quickly fell of the bandwagon and didn't start up my workouts again until right before basketball season. While I was on the running program, I had this HUGE misconception that because I was running, I could take in way more calories than usual. I had done lots of running in the past and I was always able to stay pretty slim, but this time, I packed on pounds instead of losing weight.

I put on around 12lbs in the fall and I was beating myself up because I knew that what I was doing was wrong, and I knew the right things to do. If I was aware of the fact that I was ignoring what was right, why wasn't I making a change?

I had this other misconception that playing basketball would automatically get me in shape. I ended up passing out on the first day of practice. Now, I should probably note that I had donated blood a few hours prior, but I still felt that my lack of cardiovascular shape played a role.

During all of this time, I was still a meat-eating, milk-drinking machine. My coffee with heavy cream was a morning ritual and my lunches and dinners always had a meat dish as the main staple of the meal. I started the Body-for-Life program halfway through basketball season, and I lost 4lbs in the first week. I continued the program for another 5 weeks but when I reached that point, I realized that there was something else still missing.

It wasn't until I got my hands on a copy of the book Skinny Bitch that I really started making the changes I needed to and seeing the results that I had been waiting for. A girl on my hall told me about the book. I went out and bought a copy as soon as I could and read it in 2 nights. I was immediately hooked on the message the authors were conveying and I decided that this was going to be my winning formula.

I made a slow transition into vegetarianism and an even slower transition into veganism...but I got there. I would slip up every once in awhile on the vegan side, but I haven't ingested meat at all during this whole time. I'd find myself reaching for my coffee and cream maybe once every other week, but I found a Starbucks alternative...soy hot chocolate (has no dairy, not even in the chocolate).

Finding solutions to my cravings is what has really helped me move forward. The challenge I have facing me now is accepting the raw lifestyle. Maybe 'challenge' is the wrong word...it's more like a pillar, a pillar that, once overcome, will have endless rewards. The transition will be slow, but I am motivated enough to make this work. The time is NOW.