So I'm on day one of my decision to give up television for 365 days, but before I go on about my first day let me tell you a little about how and why I've decided to give up television.

First, this is me.

With my daughter last year having some summer fun.  I feel I look pretty big in this photo, I'll tell you what. I don't even fit in that shirt anymore.  I'm 32 years old, I weigh 350 lbs and I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired.  I don't want to be fat anymore.  So I start the diets and count the calories and start exercising to the dvds and going for walks and doing the things you are supposed to do to lose the weight.  You know what?  It works.  I went from 350 to 330 in a month. 20 lbs! But it's back already and it took me awhile to figure out why.

Why does the weight keep coming back?  The simple answer? I quit trying. I'd get home and sit down in front of my greatest nemisis. The television.  I am horrible addicted to television, be it movies, tv shows or video games, I'm addicted.  I watch and easy 4-6 hrs a day.  Which means I'm sitting on my butt for 4-6 hrs a day not including those I'm at work.  It was while I was watching television, shows like The Biggest Loser and Jersey Shore that I realized. What do these guys do to loose the weight and stay in shape that I don't do?  They don't watch television.  I never see any TV's at the Biggest Loser Ranch or at the Shore House.  

I thought about it a little more and I realized, America blames the fast food industry for our obesity epidemic.  But what else has grown just as much as the fast food industry?  Media, in our living rooms, in our cars, on our computers, and on our phones.  And we spend hours a day ingesting it in. It's our hours spent in front of these devices where we're wasting away pushing whatever may be quick and edible into our mouths.

I realized I needed to cut down my television intake so I gave it up for a week.  Wow did I get a lot done.  I worked out every day, cooked some killer meals and spent some really good time with my family.  Now before I always hated cooking but over this week it became apparent that it wasn't the cooking I hated but the time cooking took away from me with the television.  Turns out I really enjoy cooking.  Creating something wholesome and delicious can be really gratifying and when you know you putting good food into your childrens stomachs, its a good feeling.  I also realized that if I wasn't eating in front of the television then I was eating really fast in order to get back to watching TV, which often left my daughter sitting at the supper table alone, or me moving her into the living room to eat while I watched TV.  I still eat fast and I'm trying to learn to slow down and enjoy my food more, but I have come to enjoy family dinners without the interruption of the television in the background.

After my week was over I caught up on all the shows I had missed and fell back into my old habbits.  So I decided that I wasn't going to try and quit watching television but I was going to change my life and the television is my first step.  

So here I am July 1st, 2012 to June 30, 2013. 365 days without television and I've just finished Day number 1.