I was a meat eater and believed that if the dear lord did not put animals on this planet to be eaten, well what are they here for? Well, that was my way of thinking for the past 40 years. This is my story, yes I am a REAL person with REAL results.
I had a great normal life growing up in a small town in North East Ohio. My father and Grandfather both had High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol and both passed away at the young ages of, 46 and 62 respectively. With this known, I figured it was hereditary and I was doomed no matter what I did. I ate healthy occasionally but my plate was usually more meat than anything else. It’s what I knew, put a meat product on my plate and supplement with veggies and a big glass of milk, protein and calcium.
In October 2013 I awoke to such a bad headache at 2am, I thought my head was going to explode. I took some Tylenol and patiently waited what seemed to be hours for it to reside but unfortunately it did not and I woke my wife to drive me to the ER at our local hospital. As they were checking me in through the normal process the nurse took my blood pressure and it was through the roof, so much so that she had to verify with a reading from my other arm. They immediately took me back and started administering drugs to relieve my headache as well as to bring my blood pressure in check. A few hours later I was released but was told to follow up with my normal physician. I was put on a daily regimen of 100mg Atenolol and was encouraged to eat healthier due to my Cholesterol levels. I had been on Atenolol for one full year when I had my blood checked a second time (March 2015) to find that my Cholesterol was completely out of whack and worse than the previous year. It was inevitable; I was going to be on medications for the rest of my life.
Then it happened, my wife was invited to attend a meeting in April 2015 by some close friends of ours. I was very reluctant to attend but I did in support of her wanting to learn more about eating healthy. She tried to explain to me who Chickpea and Bean were and what their story was, Marc’s story was very impressive as to what he has been able to accomplish by just eating the right foods. I listened but still had no intentions of going Vegan. I attended, I paid attention, I absorbed information and by the end of the night I was starting to really think about this lifestyle and how it could change my life. Dr. Neal Barnard was the guest speaker at this event and the factual data that he shared was beyond anything I would have thought but it made total sense. I made a plan to give this lifestyle a test drive for 60 days and at that point have my blood work done again. My Doctor supported my decision and was anxious to see my results at the 60 day mark as well. I jumped in with both feet, I did not look back, I would give it my all for 60 days, what could it hurt? If it did not work and my numbers did not get better, then I would resume my previous lifestyle but try to eliminate as much junk food as I could. My numbers have improved quite a bit in just 60 days.
I am now proud to say that I am officially a Plant Based, Whole Foods Vegan. I have not had any dairy, eggs or meat since I started this journey on April 13, 2015. I have lost 45 pounds, I am no longer taking any medications, I am exercising daily and I have not felt this good in close to 20 years. It is not an easy lifestyle to adhere to at first but it does get less overwhelming as knowledge grows and time passes.
