My life has been characterized by weight consciousness. I remember my parents fighting about Dad’s weight—he was 5’9” and weighed 275 and above. Mom was a fabulous cook. Well, with that role model and that enabler how would you expect a guy to come out? But I still played hard, football, shot put and all the stuff that “big” guys play. Both of my sisters are still obese, and I was “big” through college, marriage, divorce, and starting a half a dozen businesses over the last 50 years. Adult onset diabetes was hardly a surprise, from the way I ate and the way I exercised (not). And, high blood pressure, all the excuses came out to play–(stress of the job, I’ll do better in the diet tomorrow, my kids are driving me crazy.) And of course high cholesterol (it’s hereditary don’t ya know…) had me taking four drugs by mouth, and shooting 100 units of humalog insulin every day.
So, one day I was working out in the basement with the t.v. on and I see a segment about the plant based diet with Marc talking about how he was in much the same situation I was. I realized that I had to try something. I committed to try the plant based diet for six months. Let me say that the changes were shocking! I used to eat rare 1 pound hamburgers for lunch and a huge portion of prime rib for dinner. Now, I eat five or six small meals a day that consist mostly of fruits and vegetables. What I miss the most is cheese—I used to eat Port du Salut with port wine and Stilton blue cheese in what seem to me now to be shocking quantities—but here’s what I don’t miss—the sluggish feeling that all that fat put into my body. My energy levels are so good that I started another new business right after I reached retirement age. I don’t miss shooting insulin three times a day. I don’t miss taking those pills frequently, and I don’t miss the worry about how soon my heart is going to give out, or my feet will need to be amputated toe by toe… I feel like I have accomplished a near miracle… And I thank Chickpea and Bean for showing me the way.
Long story short, it worked… three months later I am using NO insulin at all, and the blood pressure drug has been reduced by half, while the cholesterol drug is not needed any more. Here’s the point… THIS IS SIMPLE, IT JUST ISN’T EASY.
