This blog is a first for me. I've always thought blogs are a tiny bit self-centered and narcisstic but there are a number that I really enjoy reading (Yo's Kitchen Counter, Orangette, Zen Habits) that convinced me to try it myself.

I decided to start a blog to chronicle my effort to become vegan, based on Rip Esselstyn's book The Engine 2 Diet. Esselstyn is a firefighter, a triathlete, an FOL (friend of Lance) and most of all, a convincing motivator. He is also the son and grandson of doctors. He lays out the case for eating a plant-based diet in understandable terms. His book has an easy-going tone--it makes it sound like the simplest thing in the world. He has turned an entire Austin fire station vegan and run his own trial study of the diet.

In truth, I had begun moving toward being a vegetarian lately, just sort of naturally. As this humid, hot spring has progressed I've eaten less and less meat. It just seemed too heavy. Then my good friend Carolyn and I headed to Port Aransas to relax on the beach for a couple of days and she had a copy of The Engine 2 Diet. I picked it up and started reading it and didn't want to put it down. The day we got back from our trip, I ordered my own copy. After reading it all the way through, I was convinced it was right for me to follow Esselstyn's four-week plan. He has such an easy-going approach, it seems doable. And he gives meat eaters a couple of weeks to ease into it if they desire by first cutting out all fats and dairy but allowing some fish and chicken.

So armed with Esselstyn's advice, I'm on my way.