Day 10

Since today is Nov. 10th and the 234th birthday of the United States Marine Corps, I want to say thank you to anyone reading this who has served this nation in uniform. My experience with the Marines (a 10 day boot camp at Camp Pendleton when I was 14 years old - The Devil Pup program) & the military (Freshman year at Norwich Military University) taught me the simple lesson that you can accomplish much more than you ever thought you could if you are disciplined, confident and push yourself - especially if you have the support of others around you. Trust me, the many emails I get with kudos and encouragement are a terrific source of inspiration for me. Thank you!

What does vegan peanut butter taste like? Peanut butter! This morning I had whole wheat toast and I.M. Healthy brand soynut butter. Delicious. Made without butter, and without peanuts! I got chunky and it is made with roasted soybeans, but you could not tell the difference. It has no trans fats, 14 grams of fat, and 2g of sat. fat. Curiously, the nutritional facts are not too dissimilar from a jar of chunky Skippy. But, if you want a peanut butter that is nut-free, cholesterol free, and dairy & gluten free - this jar is what you want!

I rounded out my breakfast with a banana. My lunch was grilled vegetables, and a extra large smoothie with soy milk and no frozen yogurt. My giant salad did not let me down tonight! Nor did my handful of Bear Naked Granola!

Significant feelings today:

1.) My clothes are beginning to feel looser - not much, but enough! I'm also in-between belt holes, so I look forward to going down a notch - have not been in that fastening neighborhood for well over a year! Also, got a couple of "your face looks thinner" compliments today which means the puffiness I inherited from nights at P.J. Clarke's and the Pig 'n' Whistle is dissipating.

2.) My work-out was strong, and steady. 10 min. bike, 20 min. fast walking on the treadmill reaching an incline of 8%, and 20 min. interval training on the elliptical machine. My balance was steady - muscle memory kicking in on these cardio exercises. Neither my back, nor my knees flared up at all. And, unlike last week it did not take me 6 times to finally get a full inhale in my lungs.

I met some people at a cigar bar tonight, but was thrilled with myself that I did not partake. Giving up alcohol was to accelerate the weight loss, and stiffen my discipline. Well, a man needs a vice, no? I love cigars! They are vegan, right? Basically, it felt undisciplined to light up a cigar. And at that moment I chose not to do so. It felt good to dampen an urge that, although will not harm my diet or weight-loss goals, is not health-positive. It was a disciplined choice - and though I will enjoy one in the future, and tonight I enjoyed the aroma of fine cigars and the smoke slithering around the table, it feels good, real good, to have control over your urges.

Take any urge you have - something small and simple, like for a Diet Coke, or a cigarette. Don't act on that urge. See what happens. It is a tiny victory, but string enough of those together and you'll realize that you could accomplish much more than you ever thought you could if you ignore that trigger in your brain that says, "please me."

Note: Am I sounding preachy? I certainly don't mean to be - just writing what I'm thinking. Let me know.