Progress and Setbacks

In 2013, I had time off work and took up hiking on trails and going for daily walks. Around this time, I met my now-girlfriend, Mary. She was on a weight-loss diet, and I started to eat some lighter meals with her. Between eating a little lighter and getting more physical activity, I managed to lose 50 pounds over the course of about a year, getting down to 200 pounds. But soon after that, I went back to work, and I found myself relying on truck-stop convenience foods again and exercising less, and I gained back about 25 pounds. I eventually developed sleep apnea, and my doctor had me start using a CPAP machine nightly.

Making the Switch to WFPB

In January 2022, Mary and I decided to transition to a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet at the urging of her daughter, who had been plant-based for eight years at that point. Mary and I supported each other as we made the switch. I started fixing meals at home. I came to enjoy cooking things like banana-zucchini pancakes and snacking on snap peas, carrots, and all kinds of fruit. We learned to always be prepared—e.g., to bring WFPB food whenever going to dinner at a family member’s house.

Losing Weight, Gaining Energy

I weighed 213 pounds when we started a WFPB diet. In eight months, I lost 30 pounds. I’ve kept the weight off since then, weighing around 175 today. My doctor has significantly reduced the dosage of my blood pressure and cholesterol medications, and I no longer need a CPAP machine! I have way more energy and am back to exercising every day. Relatives and co-workers are happy to see me getting healthier. I encourage everyone to give this way of eating a try. I’m so glad I made the switch!

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post I’m 30 Pounds Lighter and CPAP-Free Thanks to a WFPB Diet appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Two years ago you could not have convinced me that changing to a whole-food, plant-based diet could change my life and my wife’s life so drastically, but it has.

I had sleep apnea, chronic pain, acid reflux, high cholesterol, and borderline high blood pressure. I was taking six Lortab and two Flexeril a day for pain from a back injury.

During one of my trips to the pain management doctor, my wife, Vicky, said, “Enough is enough: We are going to do something about our health.”

We started counting calories and limiting our carbs. Then one day we watched the Forks Over Knives film, and that changed everything. We decided to stop counting calories and instead switch to a whole-food, plant-based way of eating focused on nonprocessed foods.

After five months, we were down a combined 80 pounds and off all prescription medications. My sleep apnea is gone! Our lives have changed in so many ways, and so has our outlook. It’s never too late to make a change. I didn’t start until I was 50 years old; my wife was 47. If we can do it, you can!

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.

The post From 8 Pills a Day to 0: How a Plant-Based Diet Treated My Chronic Pain and Sleep Apnea appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Before that doctor’s visit, I thought I watched what I ate. But the problem was, I would eat large portions—and then grab a donut. I ate out a lot and was big on cheeses, pizzas, and desserts. There was a pizza place on my way home, and I would go there once a week and order two pies just for me.

It took me about two weeks to fully transition. At first, I was still eating fish, but then I was able to find enough plant-based foods for every meal. My friend Steve Mittleman was a big help. He’s a fellow comedian, and he’s big on the plant-based lifestyle. He started sending me clips and lots of good info. We did a comedy show recently and we drove for about five hours together. During the drive, he filled me with information about what he eats. That was a big help.

In my first six weeks on a completely whole food, plant-based diet I lost 45 pounds, getting down to 215 pounds. Already, I look at myself and I like what I see. I went down two sizes in clothes, and for the first time in a long time I can see my stomach muscles and some definition. Before, I would lift weights and work out, but there was too much fat over the muscles to see anything. I’ve also really taken to cardio since changing my diet. Five minutes on the treadmill used to be a struggle. Now I don’t even feel the fatigue after doing 30 minutes on a stair-climber or bike.

My health changes not only surprised me, they surprised my doctors. Looking at my paperwork at my last checkup, my diabetes doctor was floored. After four weeks on a plant-based diet, my A1c reading (a measure of average blood sugar) went from a 7.3 down to a 5.8, which is just a little higher than normal. And I know it will get even better from here because the A1c reading is based on a three-month average—which means my 5.8 reading was still pulling from old high numbers. My doctors can’t believe it.

I should also mention I had sleep apnea for a good while before I transitioned. I would wake up every two hours with panic attacks where I couldn’t breathe. I thought sleep apnea was going to be a life-term affliction. I thought I was doomed to wear that mask. Now that I’ve gone plant-based, I haven’t had sleep apnea for the last 55 days—not one episode.

As someone who’s struggled with depression for years, I’ve also noticed my lows aren’t as low. I feel better and more optimistic. I think my improved physical state is affecting my mental state and energy. I’m able to sleep better and therefore think better.

I’m enjoying the food now too. At first, I thought, “I’m gonna be deprived of eating good-tasting food,” but that’s not true. Thanks to a great vegan restaurant near me, I discovered portobello burgers and other dishes. I don’t feel deprived at all, and I know my taste buds have changed. For breakfast, I eat oatmeal with blueberries and strawberries—something I would never have considered eating before. For dinners, I eat salads, brown rice, beans, and I’m also a big fan of eggplant.

And I don’t cheat, even on days when it’s hard. Over Mother’s Day weekend, my friends were having a big dinner with all these ribs, and they smelled really good. But I didn’t give in. I thought, “Nah, I don’t need to have that rib,” because I knew it would become three or four ribs. So instead I had a salad, soup, and beans and I was full and satisfied.

Now I think of my diabetes diagnosis as a blessing—it motivated me to change my life. Just a few months ago I thought I was going to go blind. Now, I have a newfound optimism, I feel 20 years younger, and I know I’m never going back to my old diet.

The post I Reversed My Diabetes and Cured My Sleep Apnea with a Plant-Based Diet appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

After Justin’s successful thyroid removal and radiation treatment, we began our plant-based journey. Justin did a juice cleanse and then transitioned first to a plant-based diet. The kids and I were slower to transition but started by cutting out all processed food.

For me, this was the most difficult part. I don’t mind cooking, but finding dishes that were easy to fix and tasted good was a challenge. But one by one, we cut out dairy, oil, and meat from our diet. After that, we began to incorporate more whole foods and plants into our meals. The last part of the transition was our kids’ lunches at school. The total transition took three months.

I couldn’t believe the difference in how I began to feel. Within a year of eating plant-based, ailments I had struggled with for years began to lessen significantly or even fully disappear like my chronic migraines, skin problems, low energy, and painful menstrual cramps (from my endometriosis).

In total, I lost 100 pounds while my husband Justin lost around 200 pounds. He also saw a significant improvement in his overall health and no longer suffers from back pain or sleep apnea.

But we also noticed changes in the health of our two kids, Hannah and Hayden. Not only did our kids’ concentration and grades improve, their moods became more level, Hannah’ s acne cleared up, Hayden’s eczema healed, and Hannah lost around 15 pounds, while Hayden lost 20 pounds. For snacks we can take with us, we love air-popped popcorn with nutritional yeast, and homemade granola and kale chips.

We love how our family spends more time together now. We’ve become more active and do more activities together. We even started having family movie nights together to watch documentaries about plant-based lifestyles like Forks Over Knives, Food Inc., and Vegucated. Ever since we switched to plant-based, every year has been more rewarding than the last with more physical activity, family adventures, and improved quality of foods in our diet.

The post After a Cancer Diagnosis, Our Family Went Plant-Based and Lost Over 300 Pounds appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

I stand at 5 feet 2 inches, but there was a time when I was wider around than I was tall. I’m 62 inches tall and back then I measured 90 inches around my hips and belly.

As a child, my parents were completely baffled by my weight. Unaware of how to help me, they put me on a strict diet, but all this did was isolate me more. They made a mistake that a lot of parents do: They singled out the child as opposed to committing to a healthier lifestyle together as a family.

When I reached 436 pounds in my 40s, I vowed to lose the weight and, this time, to keep it off. I had lost over 100 pounds three different times and had taken off more than 40 pounds at least 20 times, but whenever a crisis occurred, the stress would drive me back to comfort foods. That’s when I decided to try a whole-food, plant-based diet. And it worked.

I’ve now lost over 240 pounds. Whereas I used to be in constant pain in my back and joints, even while sleeping, I now sleep easily and walk pain-free. My sleep apnea, migraines, and need for medication have disappeared. I attribute my success to focusing on the behavior I need to maintain to achieve my goals rather than the outcomes.

The truth is these are the behaviors I need to do for the rest of my life so this weight stays off. I believe I have a brain that’s especially sensitive to sugars and simple carbohydrates. Now I avoid those things. I eat very simply. I avoid sugar, oil, flour, and salt. I eat a strictly plant-based diet. No meat, dairy, or eggs.

When I see someone struggling with obesity, I have nothing but empathy for them. We judge fat people so much and it’s an anguished life. But I want others to know it’s possible to break out of the vicious cycle.

My Tips & Tricks for Success
• I keep healthy foods in my pantry and close at hand.
• I prepare food ahead of time and often plan my meals.
• I eat simply.
• I don’t eat at restaurants often, which helps keeps me on track and also saves money.
• If I’m feeling vulnerable, I don’t feel the need to attend every social engagement or party.
• If I slip up, I don’t beat myself up. I get back on track.
• The longer I’m on my plant-based path, the more bulletproof I feel. So stick with it!

The post I Beat Food Addiction and Lost 240 Pounds on a Plant-Based Diet appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Here’s a picture of me in September 2013 with my two daughters and my great-niece, stepping up for a “Light the Night” Leukemia & Lymphoma Society one-mile charity walk. I was wearing an XXL shirt, my neck measurement was 18.5 inches, my waist was 44 inches, and there were definite limits on my physical activity. Stairs made my knees hurt, and I was easily winded.

Each day started with a statin for my cholesterol and Losartan to control my blood pressure. I thought I was doing just fine, enjoying my family, friends, and all the salty, high-fat, processed food readily available every day. Heck, I thought: l look like my mom and she lived to be two weeks short of 90, so that was my genetic destiny, right? On the other hand, my dad had angina in his 60s, a heart bypass at 72, and a bypass on his leg shortly after that. He was never overweight, but he was a heavy smoker. I could rationalize that his medical problems would never hit me because I never smoked. That’s me. I can rationalize away almost anything.

Warning Signs

Then some of my friends and neighbors started having serious medical issues. One dropped dead from a heart attack in a bowling alley parking lot, another died suddenly from heart failure, and three others had to have stents put in their hearts. Only one of the above was seriously overweight. Then one of my first cousins died suddenly from a heart attack. He was only five years older than me and kept himself in pretty good shape his whole life. That hit me like a ton of bricks. What would happen to my wife and kids if I was next? I have life insurance. Life insurance insures your death, not your life. I decided at age 58 to start insuring my life.

That is when I started paying attention to one of my friends, Joel Kahn, MD, who is a local interventional cardiologist. We met in high school. His brother was my roommate during my freshman year of college in 1973. That’s how far we go back. He is not my doctor, but when I got interested in insuring my health, I turned to him for some guidance. We were already friends on Facebook. He constantly promotes a whole-food, plant-based diet and healthy lifestyle.

Up to this point I had no intention of changing much of anything other than adding or subtracting pills. Giving up meat, cheese, eggs, chicken, fish, and all other animal products was ridiculous! Everyone knows you need meat for protein. You can’t live a healthy life without at least some meat, right? Isn’t that common knowledge? What about oil? Don’t you need some of that, too?

The more I read, the more apparent it became that common knowledge is just plain wrong. You don’t need any animal products or oil at all to have a healthy diet. On the contrary. It was the animal products and oil that were keeping me fat, raising my cholesterol, and elevating my blood pressure. I had never been made aware of this, even as a possibility. Not by my family doctor and not during my medical school training. It was really hard to believe!

But then again, cows, horses, sheep, moose, elk, deer, rabbits, buffalo, elephants, giraffes, hippos, and gorillas don’t eat any meat or animal products. They don’t even drink milk after they are weaned, and they stay healthy. All of the nutrition they need is provided by fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and legumes like peanuts and soybeans. There is nothing weird on that list. I was already eating all those things. I had all nine of the essential amino acids—the building blocks of protein—covered every day without even thinking about it.

A New Perspective

My mind was changing. I went from thinking there is no way that I would ever do that to maybe I could try it. I kept reading Dr. Kahn’s Facebook page and Huffington Post articles. Over the next two or three months, learning a little at a time, my mind changed again from maybe I could try this to I HAVE TO DO THIS!!!! That became my New Year’s Resolution for 2014. It turned out to be the only one that ever stuck.

It has been over three years since I transitioned from the typical Western diet to a whole-food, plant-based, oil-free vegan diet. What a huge difference in my life, my health, my feeling of well-being, and my energy level! I lost 110 pounds. My neck is now a 16.5, and my waist is 32 inches. My shirts are now Medium instead of XXL, and they are slim fit! No more statins. My total cholesterol is 137. No more blood pressure pills because it’s 105/68 without them. No more need to wear a CPAP machine all night for sleep apnea either. I had an overnight sleep study done, and my sleep apnea has disappeared. Even my bucket list changed. Last Memorial Day, after losing about 100 pounds, I started going out and running. By August I got my distance up to 5K and lost an additional 10 pounds. Now I run 5K three times a week. I put running a 10K on my bucket list for next summer. I don’t avoid sweating anymore. In fact, I kind of look forward to it now.

I’m not telling you that I had to start reading textbooks or science papers. I was just reading social media. There are guys out there that do the research, read all the hard science, and make it understandable. Dr. Kahn is one of them, but there are a few others that I have met along the way through the Plant Based Nutrition Support Group, our local heroes in the Detroit area. Men like Caldwell Esselstyn, M.D. (who I’ve seen lecture several times), Michael Greger, M.D., Neal Barnard, M.D., T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., and John McDougall, M.D. Check them out on YouTube, check out PBNSG.org, or watch Forks Over Knives on Netflix.

I know your health matters to you and to your family. This whole-food, plant-based thing is way easier than it sounds—and it works consistently. Time for a midyear resolution?

The post Life Insurance Insures Your Death. I Decided to Start Insuring My Life appeared first on Forks Over Knives.