My name is Adam Sud. A little over 4 years ago I weighed 320lbs, I was an undiagnosed type II diabetic, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, I was a drug addict, a fast food addict, and suffering from severe depression. At this point my life consisted of sitting in my filthy apartment, surrounded by fast food trash while either on massive amounts of Adderall or eating copious amounts of processed fast food. On average, over the course of a 24hr period, I would take around 400mg of Adderall. As for food, one double-quarter pounder meal from McDonald’s wasn’t enough for one meal. In a typical day I would start with 4-6 potato, egg, and cheese breakfast tacos with a large soda, then for my first lunch, I would get a super-sized double-quarter pounder meal from McDonalds with an extra double-quarter pounder, since 1 was not nearly enough. Then for my second lunch, I would go to Whataburger and order the honey-bbq chicken strip sandwich meal with the extra large fries and soda. Then for dinner, I would go back to McDonalds for my double-quarter pounder meal and an extra double-quarter pounder. Then at around 2-3:00am, I would hit up Whataburger again, this time for their “breakfast on a bun” sausage and cheese sandwich. I would also drink anywhere from 9-12 regular sodas a day. I was miserable all the time. I hated myself, my life, and blamed everyone and everything else for my situation. I was constantly self-conscious about my weight and it didn’t help that because I was so overweight, the only place I could shop for pants and shorts was at a store called “Casual Male XL.” I was never comfortable in any social situation without being on drugs and when I was on drugs it was very noticeable. My relationship with my family was basically nonexistent at this point. I blamed my father for everything and my mom was constantly caught in the middle of our regular arguments. I had been using my parents as an ATM machine and finally they cut me off. I wasn’t working because no one would hire an obese, smelly, dirty, college drop out, drug addict and I was running out of money. I knew that I was heading towards the day when I would be living on the street and the reality was that day was very close. I had literally spent every cent I had on drugs and drug fueled compulsive shopping. I thought I had hit rock bottom and then I suffered an overdose. I was lying on the floor, unconscious, surrounded by fast food garbage, dying at the age of 30 from a life of drugs, fast food, and depression. When I regained consciousness I took a hard look at my life and I finally picked up the phone and called my parents for help. Two weeks later I checked into rehab.
It was during my first 24hrs in rehab that I the doctor called me into his office. He asked me why I didn’t list on my medical forms that I was a diabetic. I told him, because I’m not a diabetic. He looked at me and told me that my blood sugar was almost 400. I was diagnosed that day as a type 2 diabetic with high cholesterol and high blood pressure. In fact, my blood pressure was so high that for the first week or so of rehab they had to monitor my blood pressure every morning before I was allowed to leave the dorms. I was put on 8 prescription medications, diabetes meds, blood pressure meds, cholesterol meds, antidepressants, mood stabilizers, adhd meds, and sleeping meds. I remember feeling utterly disgusted and ashamed. I knew that I had done this myself. I knew that this was entirely my fault and for the first time I had no one else to blame but myself and I had to take responsibility for my life. But I had an amazing realization, “if I am the problem, then I get to be the solution.” Luckily, thanks to my father, I had the good fortune of being able to attend the very first Engine 2 plant-strong immersion several years before this. At this immersion, Rip Esselstyn and his incredible team empower people by teaching them how to take charge of their health and their lives with a whole-foods, plant-based lifestyle. While I was there I was still very much an addict and to be honest, I was using drugs at the immersion. But, I attended every lecture and I learned that by adopting the principles of a plant-strong lifestyle I could prevent and even reverse most of the chronic western diseases and make myself heart attack proof. Because of the immersion, I knew what I needed to do. These were lifestyle diseases that are completely reversible through lifestyle change. I took it upon myself to reverse my type II diabetes and high blood pressure by implementing a plant-based nutrition plan into my recovery program of medication and therapy. What I didn’t realize was that plant based nutrition would become the backbone of my entire recovery.
Now, I am a 7th generation Texan who was addicted to fast food. This was no easy switch. I read a book by Dr. Doug Lisle called “The Pleasure Trap: Mastering The Hidden Force That Undermines Health and Happiness.” What I learned from this book was what I have come to believe is the one invariable truth when it comes to lifestyle change and recovery. In order to successfully change my life I had to “be comfortable being uncomfortable.” That has become my motto for entire recovery. “Becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable is the key to lifestyle change and recovery.” Now, I was also doing this while in sober living and I had never done this before. But I knew what plant based foods I liked. I liked oatmeal for breakfast and for the other meals I liked black beans, steamed broccoli, and fruit. So that is what I ate, everyday, for the 10 months I spent in sober living. Within 3 months I had completely reversed my type-2 diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. In 10 month I lost 100lbs and within 1 year I was off of all medications I was prescribed in rehab. Including the mood stabilizers and antidepressants. Today I am over 4 years sober and have lost a total of 160lbs. I love my lifestyle and I absolutely love the food. I have also become very passionate about fitness. Since, personal fitness is all about being comfortable with being uncomfortable, it has become another part of my daily recovery practice.
I realized that plant-based nutrition has an amazing power in regards to addiction recovery. I became a certified holistic lifestyle coach and plant-based nutritionist and developed a program using plant-based nutrition as a tool for addiction recovery and relapse prevention. I now run groups at sober-living houses and Intensive Out-Patient Therapy centers in LA. I had the honor of speaking at Rip Esselstyn’s Engine 2 plant-based health immersion in Arizona in May 2015 and 2016, the October 2016 immersions, Plant-Stock in 2016, and the 2Forks Weekender Event in Cleveland. I have also been asked to be a speaker for engine 2’s entire 2017 event schedule. I will also be presenting at HealthFest 2017 in Marshall, Tx. I have given presentations at recovery centers across the country and national recovery conventions about the power of plant-based nutrition in addiction recovery. I have also had the honor of being a guest on the Rich Roll podcast, Robby Barbaro’s Mindful Diabetic YouTube show, The Food Heals Podcast, Lean Green DAD podcast, and I have been featured on Forks Over Knives, Veganuary, T. Colin Campbell’s Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell, and several other websites.
People always ask me about what I’ve lost and I enjoy telling them about the 160lbs, the diseases (Obesity, type2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, depression) and the 8 medications. But what I enjoy more than all of that and what I think is the most profound is what I have gained. Early morning runs on the lake with my dad, a real relationship with my Mom, Dad, and the rest of my family, my self worth and self-confidence, my purpose in life, and the ability to help others, most importantly my twin brother, Bobby. He moved in to my place in LA back in January 2016 to start his own plant strong journey. He was overweight and a type-2 diabetic. Dr. Lederman from Forks Over Knives took him off of his type-2 medication the first week, his blood pressure dropped from 140/100 to 120/80 in 3 weeks, and he lost 50lbs in 4 months.
Today, I can honestly say that I am the happiest I have ever been and the healthiest I have ever been in my life. Plant based nutrition didn’t just save my life it has given me the ability to create an entirely new one. It’s one that I look forward to living every single day. I firmly believe that the simplest change on your fork can be the most profound change of your life. I know it was for me.
