I want to be Ketotic Man

I'm starting this blog out of desperation. Here are my goals, in stream-of-consciousness order:

1. lose weight
2. live longer
3. look better
4. fit in my pants
5. be a better role model for my children
6. demonstrate the same discipline and focus I have in most other areas
7. stop taking lovastatin
8. get under 200 pounds before I really start to suffer the health consequences
   
9. ultimately get to my high school weight of 163 pounds
10. increase my energy level, for myself, my kids, my wife
11. increase my happiness index, which I believe will happen if the above happen

So basically I want to lose a ton of weight. I weigh about 230 pounds today, so I'm 67 lbs from where I want to be. Ouch.

I have woken up every morning for at least 25 years thinking about losing weight, getting in shape, getting thinner. And in those years I've gained about 45 pounds. I've tried a lot of things which I won't detail here.

I was a vegetarian for 23 years, 1984-2007, only making that change last December, right before New Years. This was a direct result of reading "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes. I'm now convinced that limiting carbohydrates is the best way to lose weight. More, much more, on this later.

So I started 2008 with a plan to eat very few carbs, enter the state of ketosis -- in which fat is burned for fuel, and hunger is suppressed -- and stay there for a long time, losing weight with ease.

But a funny thing happened on the way to 163 lbs. I don't like meat too much. Or at least I'm not at all used to eating it. Meanwhile, I have a L-O-V-E of carbs. I would tell people even when I was in high school that my favorite foods were all carbs. At the time I was pretty thin, and this statement was basically a point of pride; I thought carbs were the healthiest thing in the world. What could be better for you than bread???

So here I am, in September, heavier than ever. I know the theory, but I need to put it into practice. So I want to become Ketotic Man. I tend to agree with my Dad that this isn't the way to live longterm. But I am truly worried that I will die soon if I do not lose some significant weight, and I think the benefits of the "ketotic lifestyle" well outweigh the risks on the short-term, as even Dad agrees.

Essentially I want to stay in ketosis for weeks or months at a time lose tons of weight, and eventually find a way to eat a more balanced diet once I'm well below 200 lbs. Or not. Obviously I'll have to play all of this by ear.

And that's where the blog comes in. I don't know if I'll even share the url with anyone. (Maybe Dad? Maybe Bill? Both of them are interested in my weight loss process...) But in any case I want to be able to do something that keeps my focus. And I like to write. Writing without (much of) an audience takes any pressure off, so I can think of it as more of a diary.

So here goes... everything?