Nine years ago this week I took control of my health, deciding to live a 100% plant-based lifestyle and it’s been most glorious since. Here I will share highlights from my path and my top 40 reasons why I love living plant-based lifestyle!
I turned 56 years-old in October and I feel better now than at 46 and 36… At 46 years old I felt many symptoms of aging as my body felt like it was breaking down. In addition, my body weight had gradually climbed over the years and every diet I tried failed. No matter how much I lost, it would come right back, and a little more weight continued to add.
For my first 46 years I didn’t realize what I was putting in my body. For the last nine years nothing goes in my body without intention. Even when I indulge it is intentional. Ask those close to me how much and often I can eat and indulge when I’m not in prime training season…
At 45 years-old, my cholesterol was a whopping 327 and I was obese. My cholesterol, weight, blood pressure, and other biomarkers were inching up over the years and I never took them serious enough to investigate the root causes. I took the many pamphlets and advice from my physicians, would take immediate action based on fear and that would fade after weeks and months. I was ignorant and lazy with nobody to blame but myself.
Leading up to this point my siblings and I spent a lot of time in medical facilities caring for our mom who was struggling with her health before she passed away. This was eye opening to me how broken our overall healthcare system was. As I experienced this and began learning about, I realized we promote a sick care system in the US. We treat symptoms, not addressing the root cause before it becomes a symptom.
Why would this be? I continued to find myself puzzled with what the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and other organizations promoted. I discovered a connection with Big Pharma (FDA funded 75% by Big Pharma?!?) and found it disheartening.
The more I read the more I was frustrated leading to a complete loss of trust in those government agencies in promoting health. Funding of studies actually happen from the industries who could be profiting from the results of the studies? How could this be? As I watched news on TV, I was astonished at how I was picking apart how poor the information was they were sharing about health. How could I be picking this apart while my entire life simply accepted what was shared had to be right? Not only did I lose trust in the government agencies, but it was also legacy media as well. No longer were they a source of credible information at face value. Now when I read, watch, or listen to a story or study, I identify who funded it or has an agenda for what is published and promoted.
My simple advice for me to live a healthy lifestyle:
- Question everything when it comes to health (take nothing at face value and find trustful resources…question them too)
- Continuously learn
- Consult with doctors and other professionals I trust and go prepared
- Eat plant-based (as many whole foods as possible)
- Exercise regularly
- Make informed decisions that are best for me at the time with the information gathered
- Be intentional
- Have fun!
It is empowering to know I am in control of what happens to my body. I drive my ship. 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! Here is my list of –
40 Reasons Why I Love Living a Plant-Based Lifestyle
- 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, one of the most read blogs I have written provides more intel... As I just read it again, I love the close, “When asked the question, ‘Why did you go plant-based?’ You could easily respond with, ‘The sex!’
- So much more energy!!! Not sure how you measure this one, but it is tremendous to feel vibrant!
- Weight went from obese to normal … 224 to 159 pounds. Once I switched, the weight just kept sliding down and I was eating more, just incredible food and shedding all the fat I was carrying. It is startling 73.6% of adults age 20 or over in the U.S. are either overweight or obese. Look at the size of my head in the featured blog photo (top left). My entire body was bloated!
- Metabolism working up to 15% more efficient by not having my cells suffering from the fat.
- High/Hypertension Blood Pressure to Athletic Level. My resting heart rate now averages 42 bpm. When I went for my first annual physical after my change, the nurse in a concerned tone, asked if I was ok because I was so low and different than the year prior. I simply smiled with pride and said, “I’ve never felt better!”
- Deficient in multiple health measures shown in my blood work to ZERO since.
- Reduced inflammation – Every time you consume something from an animal, it causes inflammation and takes the body 4-5 hours to recover.
- An immune system powerhouse!!! My body works for me now, not against me…
- Not a single migraine in over nine 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…
- 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…
- I can taste the actual food…not some concoction of salt, oil and/or sugar giving meat taste. During my years of serious tailgating, I used to do all the tricks to make meat have taste and/or to make it taste better but at the expense of consuming lots of fat, sodium, sugar, and clogged arteries…
- Cravings for the foods with heavy doses of fat, salt, oil, and sugars are gone through the adaptation process…then if I have something with heavy sugar or salt now, it seems so over the top.
- I’ve learned how to cook and ENJOY it. I love to dabble…
- Learned how to grocery shop and discovered the best packaging for a food is the food itself. How to read labels was another big win on foods that have another packaging than itself.
- 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.
- With oxygen and blood flowing vibrantly through my body, I’m handling stress so much better…hard to describe but I can feel my body process better.
- Thinking clearer…not the brain fog…although some will dispute that…
- Arthritic left knee – Doc told me not to run anymore at age 45 and two years prior after knee surgery shared, I would be looking at a potential knee replacement in 10 years…sorry Doc. I eliminated the inflammation from the animals, dropped five bowling balls of weight and currently run 50-60 miles a week on my up weeks along with 150-mile weeks on the bike and feel great!
- This lifestyle leads to aging functionally well. I want to be active as I age and this enables me to just that.
- I am running fast. Oxygen and blood getting to my lungs and cells at max capacity makes my muscles work efficiently!
- I am stronger on the bike now more than ever…similar to the effects on running faster, with the muscles receiving more oxygen and blood, I’m able to produce more weight in the gym and on the bike.
- Enabled me to have high athletic performance. I tried to out train a bad diet and that didn’t go so well. I know I would not have accomplished what I have without eating plant-based. At 56 years old, I just won my first National Championship at the Long-Distance Duathlon National Championship last month and three months prior placed 10th in the World and First American at the Olympic Distance Duathlon World Championship.
- I am stronger mentally now more than ever…I know what is important and how to attack when needed.
- I am intentional about my life (health) vs. being on auto pilot.
- It feels great to feel great!!! I feel good about myself and knowing why leads to such positive energy.
- My BS Identification Meter is higher than ever through this transformation.
- Reduced my risk of Heart disease/attack – #1 killer of Americans (love that 132 cholesterol)
- Reduced my risk of Blood Pressure complications and medications
- Reduced my risk of Type 2 Diabetes
- Reduced my risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
- Reduced my risk of Colon Cancer
- 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)
- Reduced my risk of Other cancers…
- Reduced my risk of Stroke
- Reduced my risk of Chronic Illnesses caused by being overweight or obese…visceral fat can generate chronic illnesses itself…
- Reduced my risk of moderate to severe effects if I contract COVID-19…immune system power! Why wasn’t there a focus on safe, early treatment protocols, healthy eating, and exercise? Instead, it was promoted to take a toxic, experimental drug, and continue taking booster jabs that increase your chances of getting it….back to the question the sources of information…Fauci received a pre-pardon…wonder why he would need a pre-pardon…
- Haven’t been constipated since eating animals. Fiber rules here and I eat a lot of fiber…I’m pretty regular…ha!
- Time saved off the toilet. By consuming fiber, when I go now, it’s quick firing out missiles. Doing my fuzzy math, I estimate I save about 30 minutes per week and over a day per year.
- No hemorrhoids since the conversion…that is a nice relief…
- I haven’t contributed to the slaughter of an animal and it feels amazing to make that contribution!
– Add Health to Your Life
The Healthy Giraffe 
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