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| My First 5K Race - Bronze Medal Winner!!! |
Three years ago, at age 58, I was a 284 pound couch potato. When I layed down on the couch I couldn't sit back up. Either my wife would help me or I would roll on to the floor, get on my knees and then get up. That was the me that I had learned to accept. It was embarrassing. In spite of that, I didn't think anything was wrong with me.
Yesterday, at age 61, on the Saturday before Labor Day at 178 pounds, I ran in my first 5K race, placed 3rd in my age group and won a bronze medal. Check that off my Bucket List. I just started running 3 months ago! What happened?
It wasn't a pill. In fact I don't have to take anything other than a B vitamin supplement anymore. High blood pressure and high cholesterol disappeared. There was no surgery and I only started doing any serious exercise around Memorial Day this year and that was just for fun. The words "running" and "fun" had never before come out of my mouth in the same sentence without the word "not" included.
At age 58 I started paying attention to some smart people starting with Joel Kahn, M.D. He is an interventional cardiologist who lectures, writes and publishes books about healthy eating. I happened to have grown up with him, but didn't know, or didn't accept what he was saying about nutrition; specifically an entirely plant diet, until I friended him on Facebook. His writing introduced me to the science supporting good nutrition as an effective method of treating heart disease, Diabetes and obesity. Even then I didn't want to accept it. But I kept reading. He introduced me to writings by Calwell Esselstyn, M.D., T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Neal Barnard, M.D.. My mind changed.
I put into practice a Vegan Diet and in 2 weeks noticed positive results with weight loss. My weight kept improving along with my blood pressure, blood chemistry and self esteem. I started blogging as a personal journal. I was invited by Paul Chatlin to write for his Plant Based Nutrition Support Group. That gave me the opportunity to meet all of the above Doctors along with a number of other authors including Michael Greger, M.D. and listen to their presentations in person. Thanks to this group I was also convinced to remove all oil from my diet.
What I'm trying to explain is that once I accepted that this Vegan thing was something I wanted to try, it was not an immediate transformation. The more I learned the more I was convinced it was the right decision. I set a date and got started making lots of mistakes. Even so, my health kept improving. Over time with the guidance of all of the above my habits were refined eliminating oil, reducing consumption of nuts, learning to not eat too much and adding regular exercise.
I was 58 and didn't know where I would be healthwise in 3 years. Now I'm 61 and quite pleased with the results of my decisions. How about you? Where are you now and where would you like your health to be in the near future? If you are ready to start reading, click on any of the links above. What have you got to lose?
Yesterday, at age 61, on the Saturday before Labor Day at 178 pounds, I ran in my first 5K race, placed 3rd in my age group and won a bronze medal. Check that off my Bucket List. I just started running 3 months ago! What happened?
It wasn't a pill. In fact I don't have to take anything other than a B vitamin supplement anymore. High blood pressure and high cholesterol disappeared. There was no surgery and I only started doing any serious exercise around Memorial Day this year and that was just for fun. The words "running" and "fun" had never before come out of my mouth in the same sentence without the word "not" included.
At age 58 I started paying attention to some smart people starting with Joel Kahn, M.D. He is an interventional cardiologist who lectures, writes and publishes books about healthy eating. I happened to have grown up with him, but didn't know, or didn't accept what he was saying about nutrition; specifically an entirely plant diet, until I friended him on Facebook. His writing introduced me to the science supporting good nutrition as an effective method of treating heart disease, Diabetes and obesity. Even then I didn't want to accept it. But I kept reading. He introduced me to writings by Calwell Esselstyn, M.D., T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Neal Barnard, M.D.. My mind changed.
I put into practice a Vegan Diet and in 2 weeks noticed positive results with weight loss. My weight kept improving along with my blood pressure, blood chemistry and self esteem. I started blogging as a personal journal. I was invited by Paul Chatlin to write for his Plant Based Nutrition Support Group. That gave me the opportunity to meet all of the above Doctors along with a number of other authors including Michael Greger, M.D. and listen to their presentations in person. Thanks to this group I was also convinced to remove all oil from my diet.
What I'm trying to explain is that once I accepted that this Vegan thing was something I wanted to try, it was not an immediate transformation. The more I learned the more I was convinced it was the right decision. I set a date and got started making lots of mistakes. Even so, my health kept improving. Over time with the guidance of all of the above my habits were refined eliminating oil, reducing consumption of nuts, learning to not eat too much and adding regular exercise.
I was 58 and didn't know where I would be healthwise in 3 years. Now I'm 61 and quite pleased with the results of my decisions. How about you? Where are you now and where would you like your health to be in the near future? If you are ready to start reading, click on any of the links above. What have you got to lose?
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| Me in December, 2013 |