Before I begin...

Over the next 28 days I will take on an aggressive diet plan with the goal of lowering my cholesterol considerably. I assume I will also lose some weight, but that is not the goal. This blog, inspired by my mom ( http://sizematters0-12.blogspot.com/ ), will provide me a place to post my food journal, discuss how the diet affects my exercise habits, track my progress, and whine about the difficulty so that I can appear much more positive and committed in public. I have worked for an all-natural grocery store for over seven years, so the availability of healthy foods is clearly an advantage for me. The people I work with are as diverse as our city, so they will provide plenty of temptation as well as encouragement.

First, let me say that I consider myself to be in pretty good shape. I have always been fairly active and even earned a BFA in dance almost a decade ago. In good weather, I bike the four miles to work. I hit the gym 2-4 times each week. I run 3-5 miles at least once a week. I consider myself to be an average looking 29 year-old gay man (but please consider that gay guys are generally in better shape than our straight peers).

Earlier this year, my company announced a new program to encourage the health of our employees. The plan is fairly simple: once a year we are each invited (so it is 100 percent optional) to participate in a free health screening. The screening first rules out smokers. Honestly, how can you even pretend you are healthy with a pack of cigarettes in your pocket? The second test is your Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI is somewhat controversial as it is a standard height to weight ratio. The BMI has been considered by many to be unfair to women but it also does not take muscle mass into consideration. Luckily, our screening also provided body fat percentage, and that is much more reliable. The third test was a basic blood pressure test. Finally, the scariest one, the finger prick that reveals cholesterol.

So, test day was quickly approaching. I put in my usual time at the gym but did some extra running to be sure my BMI was as good as possible. A friend also suggested taking an aspirin the night before to help my blood pressure. The test went terribly. My BMI was awesome, my non-smoking was obvious, but my blood pressure was borderline. Then that lady jammed a needle into my finger and it was like my blood oozed bacon fat. The goal in cholesterol is lower than 150, but 190 would match the level of my blood pressure. Apparently, my heart is ready to burst because I scored a 223. The nurse said, "Honey, I don't know what the targets are for this program, but this isn't good."

So here I am, the healthiest looking out of our leadership group, trying to support this big program, and I failed. Luckily, there is still hope. Along with this incentive program, we are doing a lot to help reach these goals, including promoting two books. I checked out the first and ruled that one out before I finished glancing over the cover. The guy is clearly focused on losing weight and you know he is a doctor by the tone of his writing. Which means the author is obviously smart, but kind of boring. The other option is the Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn. This guy is a former-triathlete and Austin, TX, firefighter. He is a guy's guy and his program is designed to lower cholesterol and improve over-all fitness. I don't know if he has any kind of doctorate (judging his writing style, I am guessing no), but his program makes sense and his book is encouraging.

Starting tomorrow, I will outline the diet, admit to my current testing numbers, post pictures to track my progress throughout the week, and openly discuss how I feel throughout the 28 days. I have stocked my kitchen with the items Rip suggested and I am ready to begin. But I don't start until tomorrow, so last night we went to Morton's Steak House and tonight I think I will have some pork tacos for dinner...

I feel the need to include this as well: this blog is in no way sponsored by or connected to my job, I am in no way a professional anything (nutritionist, dietitian, personal trainer, food critic, chef, etc), everything included is either my experience or my opinion.