Not atrocious , not disgusting , not embarrassing. Just average. Instead, he was your next door neighbor. When he worked night shifts in the intensive care unit, the odd hours made it difficult to find a healthy routine. Food was the least of my worries. He worked out some, doing mainly weightlifting and sometimes a minute session on the elliptical machine. Always followed by whey protein or casein powder.
His smoking inhibited these workouts, Tom says. To boot, Tom watched about 10 hours of TV a week, and occasionally stayed up until 3 in the morning playing World of Warcraft. He was fit, slender, energetic and overtly positive. The next day, he would run his first full marathon, and not just lollygagging along, but in a time of This was barely a year after he first ran a 5K race. During that year, Tom had run his first half marathon and finished a Tough Mudder event. Most importantly, during this time he lost 30 pounds and six inches off his waistline, en route to completely transforming his lifestyle.
This is how the change makes me feel. I now thrive on inspiration, efficiency, and positive outlook on life. I just went through some before and after pictures and, man, do I feel good. Those things are dramatic and inspiring, and they sure make for good stories. Tom started to exercise more on his new schedule. He completed the P90X home workout program, and saw some muscle growth as a result. In what might be the first instance of a recurring theme, Tom wanted more.
It was in this search for information that he first stumbled onto No Meat Athlete. First beef, then chicken, then fish, then no meat at all. I really did this. My last routine meals with meat were salad with tuna. As for dairy and eggs, I have to give credit to T. Colin Campbell and The China Study. I really had no intention of becoming vegan; it just happened. And so the positive changes started to stack. He was exercising more and eating much better than before.
But there was still a big one to make. It was his first in many months, and just three miles or so. So I kept running daily that week and by the end of the week I ran for 8 miles. I not only surprised myself but my friend I was visiting as well. And so Tom become a runner, almost by accident, the way it happens for so many people myself included. So I decided when I returned to Massachusetts I would quit. I had one or two cigarettes that month and that was it.
