Thank you. I've never felt healthier. Just a few months ago, I huffed and puffed when I went up a flight of stairs. The first couple of weeks on the treadmill was torture. But now, my speed is up and I've got the incline jacked up to 6% and I feel great. I haven't been sick but one day in four months while I used to get sick all the time before that. My acid reflux has almost completely disappeared - I used to eat Tums like candy. My digestive problems have almost completely disappeared and I don't have to hit the Pepto or Gas-X like I used to before I started my new healthy diet and exercise regiment. I have a lot more energy.
It is truly amazing what eating right and getting just a little bit of exercise can do. Plus, the daily weigh-in that I do is rewarding as I usually see a loss of 1/2 to a whole pound. It is also rewarding to lose 4 inches off of my waist in that short of a time. The only minor weight gain I've had the entire time I've been dieting was momentary weight gain attributed to eating out with my wife on our Anniversary, Thanksgiving, a Christmas Party, Christmas Day, and New Year's Eve. I've weighed every day and those are the only days that I've actually gained even a smidge. Despite the tiny weight gain on Christmas and New Years, in the end I actually lost a total of 2 lbs over the holidays.
I can say the same about smoking. I used to get various cold-like illnesses, had sinus problems, and was always coming down with bronchitis. I didn't feel healthy and didn't feel good about myself. When I quit smoking I stopped getting all of that and stopped missing so much work. My productivity improved because I wasn't spending all my time outside, behind the building, smoking with all the other smokers. It is amazing what a time-stealer the whole smoking thing is. Not to mention how much it costs.
I can say the same thing about kicking caffeine entirely. Before I kicked caffeine I thought that I may have mild depression. My doctor thought so too given the symptoms. He prescribed an anti-depressant. That stuff was HORRIBLE. It took me years to recover from the effects of that garbage that is soooo overprescribed nowadays. I just tried to learn to live with the depression. I was amazed, when I kicked the caffeine entirely, that the symptoms of depression basically disappeared. I was not clinically depressed, I was instead feeling the effects of my caffeine addiction. I had felt that I couldn't possibly get through a day without caffeine and had to start every day off with a Mountain Dew or a Coke. Then I had to keep ingesting caffeine throughout the day just to "keep going" - or at least that's what I thought. In truth, I can get through the day without it and kicking it I have more energy ALL the time instead of just some of the time right after I've ingested the caffeine.
In all of these cases, the only way I was able to quit or to change my behavior, was just to DO IT. Cold turkey works best. Any other method shows a lack of commitment and control over one's own body and mind.
I don't want to sound like a health nut. I'm just relating the success I've had and what I found was the best way to accomplish it. Thanks for your supportive comments.