I had been working in Information Technology for 25+ years, which meant many late nights and weekends, lots of fast food and pizza and of course as many soft drinks I could find. I wore that lifestyle (food and habits) like a badge of honor.
Fast forward to August 2012. It was the middle of the night and I wasn’t feeling well. I decided to head to the hospital. I was having a heart attack. Once I got into the ER it was discovered that I had suffered and survived The Widowmaker. I had 3 other nearly blocked arteries as well. The cardiologist looked at me and told me that I should be dead. While in the hospital I was also diagnosed with high blood pressure and Type-2 diabetes.
I knew I wasn’t the healthiest of guys at 40 years-old but didn’t think I was anywhere near as bad as what was discovered. I had avoided going to the doctor for years thinking that if I wasn’t feeling sick why bother.
Lucky for me I was given a second chance at life.
The next 3 years became extremely difficult for me. I began to stress about my health. I tried many different diets. I would make it about a month and would give up. The stress, anxiety and depression caused me to visit the ER on multiple occasions thinking I was having another heart attack. My weight got close to 300 pounds. This was significantly higher than the day I had my heart attack.
My Type-2 diabetes was also getting worse. I was on both oral medicine and insulin. My HbA1c had risen to over 11 and one point. This caused problems with my kidneys, feet and eyes. I allowed my diabetes to take 95% of the feeling in my feet, which nearly caused me to lose my left foot due to infection. I was then diagnosed with retinopathy during a standard eye exam. I started to get monthly injections in both eyes to reduce the swelling and help prevent me from causing further damage, including going blind. I was told I would never be off my diabetes meds.
I was in bad shape.
In January 2015 my life changed. I watched someone close to me pass away from Leukemia. He was about the same age as me. He didn’t have a choice and here I was wasting the opportunity that was given to me. I had to make a change.
A few days later I saw a story on Fox 2 News about Marc Ramirez, who was able to lose weight, reverse his diabetes and get off several medications by going on a plant-based diet. I started doing my research. I watched Forks Over Knives. I saw Marc on Fox 2 News again talking about reversing his diabetes.
I started to attend meetings hosted by Marc and Kim (Chickpea and Bean) and learned a lot about being plant-based. I was inspired by the success stories being shared. I started to experiment with different types of plant-based meals.
On August 31, 2015 I completely switched over to a whole-foods, plant-based way of eating and started to change the bad habits that got me in trouble to begin with. I continued to attend Chickpea and Bean meetings.
Shortly after that I learned about Dr. Joel Kahn, America’s Heart Healthy Doc. Through his care I was able to make major improvements to my heart health.
Since I started my journey I have lost over 90lbs. I am no longer on cholesterol meds, statins or diabetes meds. I lowered my blood pressure and have also reversed my diabetes. This has made such an impact on my life that it has led me to start health coaching and help others like me make the necessary lifestyle changes and turn their health around.
