My Story

In January 2014 I weighed 280.2 lbs with a BMI of 37.43 and had recently turned 55 years old. I made it part of my 10 year retirement plan to lose weight with the goal of losing 10 lbs, 10 times for a total of 100 lbs. Twenty months later I accomplished that goal. I am down 100.8 lbs at 179.4 lbs with a BMI of 23.92 which puts me solidly in the “normal” weight range. The last time I was in the 170s was in the 1970s.

This weight loss milestone coincides with another milestone. It is exactly one year since my wife and I switched to a whole food, plant-based, no oil way of eating. You heard correctly, no meat (beef, pork, fish, chicken etc...), no eggs, no dairy, no cheese and no oil for the last year.

The great plus to this way of eating is that it is the only way of eating that has been clinically proven to halt and reverse most major chronic diseases.

• Halt and reverse heart disease
• Halt and reverse Diabetes, type 2
• Halt and reverse Obesity
• Halt and reverse early stage prostate cancer
• Halt and reverse Rheumatoid arthritis
• Drastically reduces the chance of having a stroke
• Provides the best chance of avoiding breast cancer and best chance of preventing a recurrence once treated for breast cancer.
• Halt and reverse early stage Multiple Sclerosis

I initially started to eat this way because my father died of heart disease and I worried about dying from it as well. Dad had a triple-bypass operation at age 53 and never woke from a second bypass operation at age 65. According to the science by eating this way I reduced my chances of dying from heart disease from about 40% down to well below 1%. To top it off the food tastes great and once you understand what’s involved it is extremely easy to eat this way.

I have read in various Facebook groups of these "before and after" stories and I am always inspired. I wish that I had similar stories, but I wasn't on any medications when I started and didn't have any ailments to speak of. Then I got to thinking, what of the ailments I didn't speak of? Since I started, certain things have changed. Here are a few of them.

Cold feet - This is a simple thing but marks a change in my physiology, for years I wore socks to bed because my feet were cold. Now I haven't worn socks to bed for months.

Night sweats - I don't know when they started but at one point I would have to switch out pillows in the middle of my sleep, disgusting. The progression was gradual and it never occurred to me that there was something wrong. This symptom has been gone for well over a year.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) commonly known as acid reflux. I never thought of it as a "disease" I thought it was something that happened as you got older. Bottom line is all symptoms disappeared long ago and I no longer have to watch what I eat, ever.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome - For 30 years I have had very loose bowels. Unlike those folk that went twice a week I went about 4+ times a day. In the last few years it got so bad I had to worry about my 30 minute commute because the vibration of the car could trigger a sudden need to go. Now I go 1-2 times a day and never have to think twice about it.

Minor migraines - Along with the bowel trouble came migraines which would occur if for some reason I didn't go in 24 hours. It would come on slow but stay for hours, then I would realize what was happening and go. These would happen once every 1-2 months. Now, I can't recall the last time this happened.

Lower back pain - Previously any time I would help my wife load the van so she could take her home made soap (packed in heavy bins) to a fair or market I would take a couple of ibuprofen prior because I knew that there was a good chance my back would cramp up. When folks say, they threw their back out more times than not it is the small muscles in the back cramping up. Even though I haven’t started any exercise routine I no longer worry that my back is going to cause me any pain.

Foot Pain - The other day as I was putting on my shoes and I realized I had gel heel pads in each shoe. Somewhere along the path any foot pain I had previously experienced had disappeared.

But what has nagged at me are all of the posts in my Facebook groups where folks say they have so much more energy. I thought I felt the same, I didn't feel like I had "more energy." But in May, My wife and I went to watch Postmodern Jukebox at a local club. A year ago we never would have considered it because the venue was standing room only. This means for three hours we would be standing and dancing at a concert. From the photos you can see we were front and center right at the stage and the only thing sore the next day was my wife's voice.

So after reflecting on things I have come to realize I do have a before and after story. I am feeling much better and do have much more energy than I have had in a long time.