Thriving 7 Years Living a Plant-Based Lifestyle

Seven years ago this week I decided to take control of my health living a 100% plant-based lifestyle and it has been most glorious since! Here I will share highlights from this most incredible discovery and journey to fantastic health.

I turned 54 years-old in October and I’m still wondering when I’m going to start feeling old and begin slowing down. At 46 years old I felt old, tired, and my body was breaking down. I remember trying to out train a bad diet and found that not possible. When I put crap in my body, my body was crap.

For those first 46 years I didn’t care what I put in my body. For the last seven years nothing goes in my body without intention. Even when I indulge it is intentional. Ask a few of my close friends how much I can eat and indulge with a sweet dessert when I’m not in prime training season… When I indulge I gain a few pounds and when I dial it in, I’m back to my race weight flying fast. When I was 45 I had a 327 cholesterol and was obese. My cholesterol, weight, blood pressure, and other biomarkers were inching up over the years and I always thought I would have time to clean things up and nothing would happen to me… I was ignorant with nobody to blame but myself.

I didn’t know at the time heart disease was and still is the number one killer in the U.S. every year. It puts COVID-19 death rates to shame but we don’t hear anything about it. Simply astonishing along with all the other chronic health issues we have in the U.S. I realized we had a sick care system, not a healthcare system. It is startling that 73.6% of adults age 20 or over in the U.S. are either overweight or obese and that statistic is from 2017-2018. Children are halfway there themselves. Why isn’t there a firestorm of news and efforts to promote health?

When I began educating myself about health over seven years ago I quickly found myself puzzled with what the FDA and CDC promoted. I discovered their connection with Big Pharma (FDA funded 75% by Big Pharma?!?) and found it disheartening. I lost trust in those government agencies with the purpose of promoting health. I found so many discrepancies around health. Now going through COVID-19 and vaccine recommendations and mandates I found myself frustrated again. I understand what it’s about now and my trust in these organizations have completely vanished.

When I took control of my health, I demanded from myself to look at various sources of information and identify if there was an agenda behind what was presented. I continue that daily. My simple advice for myself – question everything when it comes to health, find resources I trust…question them constantly as well, consult with doctors and other professionals I trust, and make informed decisions. I made my transformation happen with self education and the desire to live healthy, compete at the highest level, and promote animal well-being in the process.

It feels great to feel great and here is my list of 30 things that have been great since I made the fabulous decision to live a plant-based lifestyle.

Positives Since I Switched to Living a Plant-Based Lifestyle

1. Sexual prowess – As Dr. Aaron Spitz states in the documentary, Game Changers, “when I think of a manly man, I think of somebody who has strength, endurance, sexual prowess, and fertility. In fact what the scientific studies are showing is that the more meat men eat, the more quickly they lose their manly manhood.” What a game changer this was! If guys don’t want to try a plant-based lifestyle for this benefit alone… Also the fifth most popular blog I wrote in 2021 demonstrates the long and short of it.
2. An immune system powerhouse!!! My body works for me now, not against me…
3. So much more energy!!! Not sure how you measure this one…like I was in a coma prior…
4. Not a single migraine in over seven years. I used to have them weekly and once every three months I would have to find the darkest room and lay down without the ability to move the pain was so severe. I was once trapped in a Target parking lot for over three hours with the inability to move or open my eyes. I used to take Excedrin Migraine like it was candy. I really had to cut into their profits…
5. Cholesterol plummet from 327 to 132…without a pill…just whole plant foods opening up my arteries! Crestor just wasn’t doing the trick and the side effects sucked…
6. High/Hypertension Blood Pressure to Athletic Level. My resting heart rate is now at 42. When I went for my first annual physical after switching the nurse asked if I was ok because I was so low and different than the prior year. I simply smiled with pride and said, “I’ve never felt better!”
7. Weight moved from obese to normal … 224 to 159. Once I switched I never tried to lose weight either. I was eating a ton, just incredible food and shedding all the fat I was carrying. The lost weight felt so much better on my joints, especially my knee.
8. Arthritic left knee eating animals and drinking dairy prior to now wondering if I have arthritis at all…woah!!! Doc told me not to run anymore at age 45…sorry Doc, eliminated all the inflammation from the animals, dropped five bowling balls of weight and currently run 55-60 miles a week on my up weeks along with 150+ mile cycling weeks …. with zero arthritis feel… where did it go????
9. Deficient in multiple health measures shown in my blood work to ZERO since.
10. With oxygen and blood flowing vibrantly through my body, I’m handling stress so much better…hard to describe but I’m so much calmer… Now I do get triggered by things that can set me off…I’m a work in progress for sure…
11. Thinking clearer…not the brain fog…although some will dispute that…
12. I am intentional about my life vs. being on auto pilot prior…
13. No more diets (yo-yo effect)! No calorie counting. I eat as much as I want and when I exercise a lot, I eat more…without gaining weight. Diets are marketing money makers that do not sustain…
14. I can taste the actual food…not some concoction of salt, oil and/or sugar giving meat taste. Removing the processed salts, oils, and sugars eliminates the cravings… I used to do all these tricks to make meat taste better but at the expense of adding a ton of fat, sodium, sugar, and clogged arteries…
15. I am running fast. Oxygen and blood getting to my lungs and cells. I gotta be slowing down soon…I am 54…thank goodness there are age groups!
16. I am stronger on the bike now more than ever…us older folks can hang on to strength longer as we age vs. the lung capacity when running…
17. I am stronger mentally now more than ever…I know what is important and how to attack when needed
18. It feels great to feel great!!! So I feel good about myself vs. wondering what was happening to me…
19. Reduced my risk of Heart disease/attack (love that 132 cholesterol)
20. Reduced my risk of Blood Pressure complications and medications
21. Reduced my risk of Type 2 Diabetes
22. Reduced my risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
23. Reduced my risk of Colon Cancer
24. Reduced my risk of Prostate Cancer (more important what I put in my mouth vs. genetics from my dad who passed away from Prostate Cancer)
25. Reduced my risk of Other cancers…
26. Reduced my risk of Stroke
27. Reduced my risk of Chronic Illnesses caused by being overweight or obese…visceral fat can generate chronic illnesses itself…
28. Reduced my risk of moderate to severe effects if I contract COVID-19…immune system power!
29. Haven’t been constipated since eating animals. Fiber rules here and I eat a lot of fiber!
30. I haven’t contributed to the slaughter of an animal and it feels amazing to make that contribution!

– Add Health to Your Life