Background
All my life I’ve been physically active. In high school I ran track and cross country. I’ve enjoyed bike riding. Up into my forties I was riding long rides on my road bike and enjoyed mountain biking with friends several times a week. I had always wanted to run a marathon. So in 2010, at 44 years of age, I ran over 700 miles to train for and run the Dallas White Rock marathon. I completed it in 4:50 more than an hour less than my goal!
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”
― Hippocrates
My dad died at age 75 with Parkinson’s and Lewy Body disease. My mom had diabetes and had been on numerous medications. She would eventually spend the last year’s of her life suffering from Alzheimer’s disease before she died at the age of 83. I don’t have any chronic illnesses. However, with a family medical history including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Diabetes and Heart Disease I decided I needed to do all I can to take care of myself. Over the years due to being less physically active I had put on extra weight. My doctors would tell me I should lose weight. But never offered any plan of how to actually do that besides telling me to “eat healthy” or “in moderation”. Sound familiar?
I was overweight, out of shape and wanted to lose weight to regain my health and prevent chronic disease.
My quest—better health
I’ve had an interest in better health for a long time. I always thought I ate fairly well preferring fish and chicken over read meat, pork, bacon and processed meats. Years ago my wife and I switched to grass fed farm raised organic meat and dairy as well as organic produce whenever possible. I gave up soda years ago. I’ve researched supplements and taken them for many years. And while I thought I was following healthy patterns, I continued to gain weight.
I started walking in hopes of losing weight. When I tore the meniscus in my knee I was unable to exercise. Due to job and insurance circumstances I had to wait a year to surgery to repair it. Then in October 2016 I had resurfacing of my right knee due to arthritic damage.
Following two months recovery I was released from physical therapy. With little guidance from the doctor or physical therapist I joined the rec center near my house and started using the elliptical. I started watching what I ate by calorie counting. If I worked out one day I could eat more. If not.. no ice cream for me!
I lost about 15-20 pounds in a few months. But, eventually the weight loss stopped. Frustrated and searching for answers, I learned that sugar was empty calories and also lead to many chronic illnesses. So I went on a mission to remove added sugar from my diet. And the weight started to come off!
As I transitioned to a sugar free diet, I replaced yogurt and granola for oatmeal. I replaced snacks with organic chickpeas, fruit and veggies with hummus.
I eventually learned about a book titled “How Not to Die” by Dr. Michael Greger. I put the book on my Amazon wish list and my wife got it for me for Christmas. The book describes the benefits of a Whole Food Plant Based diet which not only include weight loss, but prevention and reversal of chronic disease including Heart Disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Diabetes that run in my family.
Given the scientific facts behind the WFPB lifestyle, I decided that this was what I needed to be the healthiest possible. In January 2018, I transitioned to a WFPB lifestyle. The weight has continued to come off!
What if everything we’ve learned about diet is wrong? We’ve been told “milk does a body good” and “eat more chicken”. But, what if meat and dairy actually caused the weight gain and chronic diseases that are plaguing us? That is what I started learning as I researched diet choices. What if changing our diet could reverse and prevent the leading chronic diseases that are killing us?
At the time of writing this, I’ve been eating Whole Food Plant Based for more than fifteen months. The diet eliminates all dairy, meat, processed foods and oil. The focus instead is on fruits, vegetables and whole grains. I feel great. I’ve lost over 60 pounds and am getting many complements on my weight loss. Many people are asking “what are you doing”? I wrote this to share my story.
More than a Tweet
In 2018 most people are looking for a “tweet” or a “meme” with the answers to complex questions. Understanding how to nourish the human body can’t be reduced to 140 characters. You’’ need to do some research.
I encourage you to watch either or both of “Forks over Knives” and “What the Health” on NetFlix. Next watch the introductory videos at NutritionFact.orgs. Having watched these I realized every time I eat it’s an opportunity to eat better. For long term benefits!
I’ve continued learning from the likes of Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. James McDougal and Dr. Michael Greger. You can find videos from all of them on YouTube.
When you are ready to get started go “getting stated” on this website or contact us! We’d be glad to help you start your journey!
This picture was taken with my mom (age 83) at Thanksgiving 2016 a month before she died. I was 243 pounds one month post-op from my knee resurfacing surgery. We are both laughing because I had said, “we have matching canes” and she said, “no, yours is a cane, mine is a walking stick!” The video below is a testimony of my weight loss journey.
The picture to the right was taken in September 2018 when I weighed 168 pounds. Nine gallons of water represent 75 pounds of weight loss (from the Thanksgiving 2016 picture on the left). The graph shows weight loss from diet and exercise alone (blue), elimination of sugar (red), and WFPB lifestyle (yellow).
The weight loss is a visible sign of a healthy body. Eating a whole food plant based diet also contributes to better results on blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar and other health indicators. Check those numbers on this post.
In 2016 my wife and I celebrated our “one hundred” when I turned 50, she turned 40 and we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. She is on the WHPB journey with me. When we realized that we are approaching another 100 (our combined pounds of weight loss) we thought we would BLOG about it. Currently we are at 110 combined pounds. We have started a website to track our progress not only to lose 100 combined pounds, but a journey to better health. It is our hope that by sharing this information others may not only choose a healthy WFPB lifestyle, but also lose weight, reduce your risk of chronic illness and reverse chronic disease. Check back regularly on this website and let us know if we can help you!
