I gained a lot of weight over the summer between the 4th and 5th grades. I’m not sure how or why it happened, but it did, and it stuck with me well into my adult life. Over the years I tried just about everything trying to lose weight, with only mixed results. At age 33, weighing 360 pounds, on medication for high blood pressure, with a 54 inch waist, experiencing frequent migraine headaches, and unable to get a 20 year term life insurance policy, I was ready to give it another try. That’s when I found Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book Eat to Live, and switched over to a whole foods plant based diet, consisting of almost exclusively vegetables, fruit, beans, nuts, and seeds.
I stuck with it and in less than two years lost a total of 160 pounds! I also got off all medications, stopped having headaches, and was finally able to get that life insurance policy!
I now have an amazing new life! I enjoy spending quality time with my family and love playing with his kids, the way they want me to play with them! I also enjoys all kinds of things that used to be difficult for me like snowboarding, skateboarding, running, bicycling, riding motorcycles, hiking, and almost anything else I can get myself into.
This year I decided to step it up a notch again and entered the lottery to run the 2015 NYC Marathon. As fate would have it, I was selected and will now be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my journey to get healthy by running my first every marathon. I’m excited, and nervous, and totally ready to do this!