How My Body Healed by Changing My Diet

My parents both had heart attacks at the age of 68. At the age of 65 I was concerned I was going to suffer the same fate.

I was 35 pounds overweight and I wasn’t eating very well or exercising. I felt like an old man. I was tired and my joints ached. I had to take medicine every day for GERD. I’d wake up in the morning groggy and feeling sad.

Even with the idea of a heart attack hanging over my head, I wasn’t making any changes. I was comfortable.

My son and his wife decided they would radically change their diet for their new year resolution. They asked me to join them. Ugh! I knew it would be hard. I’d tried changing my diet several times, but always quit after a month or so.

I knew it was time for a change.

Sugar would be the big challenge.
I knew quitting sweets would be the hardest part for me. I equated sugar with happiness.

The happiest times in my life were when our family was together having cinnamon rolls in the morning or when my dad made donuts. Those were the best of times because my dad was happy. The rest of the time he was unpredictable and we never knew when he was going to blow up about something. I didn’t know I was associating sweets with happiness at the time.

The plan.
We stopped eating refined and high carbohydrate foods. That included bread, pasta, rice, cookies, cakes, muffins, donuts potato chips, and pretty much anything that would cause a glycemic spike.

We also stopped eating meat, dairy, and oils. No caffeine either.

OMG, how was I going to survive?

Withdrawal was miserable.
I felt like I had the flu for at over a week. I was grumpy, irritated, sluggish, tired, and cantankerous. I took frequent naps to deal with the fatigue. I mumbled to myself about quitting at least a dozen times a day. But I stuck it out because I didn’t want to be seen as a quitter.

About the third week, I began to feel better, and maintaining my diet got a lot easier. Six weeks in I was amazed at the changes and how well I felt.

So many benefits.
Here’s a list of some of the changes I experienced during and after the first 3 months of being on this diet:

• My mind became very clear and I was able to focus and think better.
• My emotions stabilized. I experienced less sadness and ups and downs during the day.
• I no longer needed to take naps in the afternoon.
• My joint stiffness and body aches went away.
• I woke up in the mornings with clear nasal passages and no yucky eye boogers.
• When I woke up I wasn’t sluggish. I woke up alert and energetic.
• My tinnitus vanished.
• My chronic acid reflux (GERD) disappeared.
• Restless leg syndrome went away.
• No more constipation.
• I had energy all day long and was able to sleep better at night.

Weight Loss
I lost over 30 pounds in the first three months, going from 205 pounds to 175 pounds. When my ex saw me, she told me I was too skinny. Oh my, hat was so sweet.

Overall the physical and mental changes were astounding. Before the diet change I felt like a 70-year-old man. After several months I felt like I was back in my 30’s mentally and physically.

I realized how harmful my modern American diet had been.

The secret to making this lifestyle change was to have the support of my family. Educating myself by watching some of the documentaries that have been made about our modern diet like, “Forks Over Knives” was also very helpful and motivating.

How about you?
Are you headed down the road to some serious health issues?

Take the threat seriously.
The first thing you need to do is take the threat to your health seriously. Go see your doctor and get an honest evaluation. Stop avoiding the truth and believing that someday you’ll change.

Educate yourself.
Start watching videos and reading up on the perils of our modern diet.

Here are a few resources:
Forks Over Knives
Sugar Coated
Super Size Me
King Corn

Find a partner to support you.
It’s difficult to go it alone. Find a friend or join a group and get the support you need to stay with it.

Contact me if you want some help.
You can get 2 free coaching sessions and get started on living a healthier life.