And so begins week 23 of my switch to a plant based diet with increased exercise. Except that this past week I ate less veggies, exercised not nearly enough and ended gaining four pounds back. Bringing my total lost from 67 to 63 pounds. These last 10 pounds have been such a killer. Just a back and forth… And despite the hard work to get to this point, I really have bungled it up these last 8 days. Prime rib, sushi, shrimp, Taco Bell, Memorial Day burgers, birthday ice cream and cake, chips… I’m disgusted with myself. After trying to hit the reset button and really tighten up my strategy a few days ago – I just totally derailed. I could give a bunch of excuses but what’s the point. The result is still the same. Back to the drawing board………..
Coming Undone
29 05 2012Comments : 3 Comments »
Tags: vegan, vegetarian, weight loss, exercise, taco bell, disappointment, sushi, failure, plant-based, shrimp, hard work, excuses, determination, ice cream, cake, birthday, gaining weight, giving up, burgers
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Look Ma, I’m on TV!
27 05 2012My friend Jaime has a fantastic new television show that teaches folks how to make amazing plant based meals. As you will see though, this show offers a whole lot more than just a few recipes. I make my appearance in the last segment to talk about how I came to adopt a plant based diet. I also get to try this amazing food. And that’s not hype, these dishes were fantastic! As you watch this you will see that it’s obvious that I’m not all that comfortable yet with sharing my story on camera but this was a very fun experience and a fantastic opportunity to let folks in my local area know about my blog.
I’m very much indebted to Jaime. People like her hold part of the map that I need to get to where I’m supposed to be going. The first night I met her I was really talking for the first time about my health, my new plant-based lifestyle change and my wanting to lose a lot of weight. I was terrified to talk about this in front of strangers (we were at a local bloggers meet and greet – yes, bloggers really do get out from behind the computer once in awhile. And when we do, we gather together and talk about blogging!). Jaime gave me a big genuine hug afterwards that completely disarmed me and made me feel much better about the situation. This is truly part of Jaime’s mission statement. She works to make the world a better place by putting part of her soul into so many of the things that she does. That night was the very first time that I truly realized that beyond my fear lies amazing and wonderful things.
please check out Jaime’s blog: http://savethekales.wordpress.com/
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Re-Birth Day!
26 05 2012Wow, what a couple of weeks it has been. Work has been insanely crazy. And some photography gigs and other artistic pursuits have kept me extra busy during my typical downtime. Trying to eat healthier while running myself ragged is also quite a challenge. Admittedly I’m struggling some days. But that is the beauty of each new day, waking up and getting a chance to start over from scratch and make your life what you want it to be. Each day is a chance to recommit and become my best self. Last night I had the best sleep that I have had in weeks. That alone makes such a difference.
This week I celebrated my 37th birthday. As I get older, birthdays become a strange thing. As a child I would look so forward to birthdays and presents and parties with friends. Nowadays though, I’m content to push the day off and try to find a way to go in reverse. It’s not getting older that scares me as much as it is having less time. In some ways I feel like this lifestyle change is a way to counteract thatt. To make some changes in order to lose wight while gaining energy and better well being. In so many ways, eating plant based has been like finding the fountain of youth.
When I was in high school I wanted to get into law enforcement. I always had this nagging feeling that I wouldn’t live past my 2o’s. I thought for sure I would be shot and killed while in that line of duty. It’s weird but true. In college I was actually shot at (being somewhere at the wrong place and time) and got away physically unharmed. That is a story for another time. That experience though made me feel temporarily bullet proof and the fear of being shot has never really returned. But over the years since then, I put on well over 125 pounds. I started to think that my poor lifestyle would be the thing to do me in. I thought for sure I’d be checking out early just because I had let myself go so badly. There comes a point where a person can feel like staying on the path they are on is just easier than making the difficult changes.
I’m happy that as I begin my 27th year on this planet, I’m making changes that should help improve my quality of life and hopefully keep me in the game longer. I feel tremendous gratitude for my family and friends. My life is blessed. I am striving to be the best that I can be. I feel thankful for a job that makes me crazy but really does do a small part to make the lives if children a little bit better. I am extremely grateful for my outside pursuits in the arts, the chances it gives me to express myself and meet fascinating, wonderful people along the way who have amazing stories. Life is good. I’m going to try to make it even better in the next year.
Thanks for reading!
keep in touch: johnnysized@gmail.com
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The Day I’ve Waited All Year For
23 05 2012I have looked forward to this day for nearly a year now. One of the happiest days of the year – free Slurpee day! One glorious day a year 7-Eleven gives back to their customers by offering a free 7.11oz Slurpee. The size is surely measly but for those of us who plan it out properly, there is a wondrous fruity bounty to collect.
And so it was with great joy that I began preparing for this day 10 months ago. I would hit every 7-11 in a nearly 75 mile range, consuming liters of the sugary goodness for FREE!!
Except I won’t be. At roughly 20 grams of sugar per small serving, it’s free sugar diabetes with a straw. Getting really sick back in September fully opened my eyes to to how unwise it is to go on these sugar consuming excursions. As it turns out staph infection loves sugar. It practically breeds in the stuff. So it was goodby to sugar and other artificial sweeteners. I’ll stick with foods naturally containing sugar and forgo the rest.
Instead of having my free Slurpees,I started my day with freshly made pineapple, apple, banana, kiwi, blueberry, kale juice. Not as easy as grabbing a Slurpee from the local “Sev” but super energizing and very tasty. Long after the sugar crash from a Slurpee would have taken it’s toll, I’m still plugging away.
It’s a new world and frankly, I don’t miss the old one.
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Slowly Chipping Away at the Weight
22 05 2012And so begins week 22 of my switch to a plant based diet and increased exercise regiment. This week I lost two additional pounds which brings me to 67 pounds lost so far.
Really, it should have been 4 pounds but I went majorly of course this weekend. I had beef (not the end of the world for me but a definite rarity nowadays), a lot of wonderful Italian bread and wheat pasta 3 days in a row. It left me definitely feeling less healthy and has served as a reminder that I really need to stay on course. So the rest of this week, I’ll be sticking closely to the plan – plantbased!
Made some delicious stuffed peppers tonight. I’ll be packing one or two for lunch tomorrow. I continue to suffer from a sore back which is making getting any exercise done rough right now. It’s been two weeks of on and off back pain that mysteriously travels around various parts of my upper back. I’m tired of it.
It’s been a very busy few days. It feels good to be back blogging again. Welcome to all of my new readers. There were nearly 400 of you yesterday. That’s pretty great for a Sunday and for a blog that isn’t even 6 months old yet.
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Tags: beef, bread, craving, dedication, determination, diabetes, diet, energy, exercise, failure, fat, fear, food, goals, health, health food, healthy, high blood pressure, inspiration, inspired, Italian, Johnny Gee, johnnysized, Johnnysized.com, journey, lifestyle, lifestyle change, motivation, pasta, plant based diet, plant-based, protien, raw foods, success, suffer, sugar, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, walking, weight loss, weightloss, wellness, wheat
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The Amazing Power of Water
18 05 2012Just a reminder to drink your water! It’s an easy free way to take care of your body.
*Muscle consists of 75% water
*Brain consists of 90% of water
*Bone consists of 22% of water
*Blood consists of 83% water
Water can reduce the Risk of Cancer: Related to the digestive system, some studies show that drinking a healthy amount of water may reduce the risks of bladder cancer and colon cancer. Water dilutes the concentration of cancer-causing agents in the urine and shortens the time in which they are in contact with bladder lining.
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Mike Watt on Life, Death and Art
16 05 2012
WATT: I got into music to be with my buddy d. boon and he definitely was not so fearful. this helped me much and I borrowed from him on this, he inspired me to try and be brave but not conceited – he was like that: a very humble man who would try his hardest with expression. I find when I push some fears away, there’s others waiting so the “fear problem” is never “solved” but rather constantly wrestled. that’s a trip.
angels gate lightouse – April 22, 2008WATT: snapping pictures means trying to capture something you can’t really set up, the way I do it at the crack of dawn on the bicycle or in the kayak. with composition, you’re more in charge of preparing the situation. there’s more chance involved I think with the pictures and more personal effort with the song stuff. there are similarities with the idea of refining an expression in a way though, I agree with you there.
WATT: laurie steelink at track 16 gallery picked the first thirtyfive shots, the three rooms people kat and peter picked the diary entries and the rest of the included images so I think in a way the book is a collaboration. as for diary writing, I do that on tour to help keep focus and never reread them, so embarrassing to me! that’s the practical side to it. I guess it is some sort of extension of some of the same stuff in the picture taking and bass plucking too. I guess the common thread is fucking watt.
Watt: john coltrane said something about musicians being after a truth and I’m thinking that could apply to the other arts as well. it’s a search…
JS: If your vast body of artistic work could only accomplish one thing, what would you want it to be?
Watt: to make folks feel safe to take risks with arts and expression in each of our journeys to find our inside voice and not just flop around in the very shallow pan of marsh, finding ourselves bound up in puppet strings.
Pic of Watt and me. I’m over 400 pounds in this pic. I never posted it before because I have always been ashamed at how out of whack I let my weight get around this time. Now that I’ve lost some of this weight, it feels a little bit safer.
Mike’s book (it’s awesome, buy yourself a copy) can be purchased here: http://threeroomspress.com/
Mike’s music can be found at itunes, fine music purveyors everywhere and here at his new label: http://clenchedwrench.com/
Info on all things Mike can be found here: http://hootpage.com/
Watt’s podcast of interesting music and ideas here: http://twfps.com/
(Thanks again Mike!)
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