My Story, a Journey to Better Health

(Category: My Journey)

Hi, I'm Stu.  In 2012, at age 62, I could barely walk around the block and had to use hand rails to go upstairs, stopping often to catch my breath.  I had been diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, 65 pounds overweight and was diabetic.

then I made a change...  

6 years later in 2018, at age 68, I hiked to the top of Sacajawea Peak (9665 ft), near Bozeman, Montana.  This is my story of the journey to better health.

First of all, let me tell you that this web site is about the journey, the journey you are on.  A journey that, through the articles found here, may redirect you to get a better sense what is right about you.

Each body is uniquely different.  What works for one may not work for the other.  Your journey, though possibly similar, will not be the same.

It started in April of 2012.  A phone call from my doctor got my attention.  She said my blood pressure and cholesterol was too high.  Plus, I was overweight and had type 2 diabetes.  The solution offered was to prescribe several medications.  That was like putting poison in my body!  No, not going to happen, I am not going down this road.

This is poor diet and lack of exercise.  To stress this point, at age 62 and 225 lbs, at most, I would walk about a quarter of a mile on flat land.  Stopping at that point to let the heart rate slow down and catch my breath.  It was at this point a conscious decision was made.  I am going to improve these conditions through diet and exercise.

The first step was to start educating myself.  The first book was Dr.  Bernard’s book Dr.  Neal Barnard's Program for Reversing Diabetes: The Scientifically Proven System for Reversing Diabetes without Drugs.  This led me towards a plant based whole food diet.

In reading this book, to control blood sugar, it was necessary to remove animal fat from the diet and from me.  I did a type of a fast, if you will, drinking only green smoothies.  A month later, 30 pounds lighter, my blood sugar was near normal.

That cursed animal fat.  As soon as I went back to eating animal products, the blood sugar went through the roof again.  Now, the realization that a whole food plant base diet may be the only way became all too real.

To get educated in a plant based diet, I started reading a book by Kathy Freston called The Veganist.  This took me into the world of a vegan diet.  While I do not claim to be vegan, the diet suited my nutritional needs.

At the time of this writing, January 2016, it has been 4 years on this vegan type diet.  Blood sugar has been normal for 2 years.  Blood pressure is excellent.  Cholesterol is perfect.  Weight is down to 165.  I can walk up to 15 miles in a day in the mountain, carrying a 15 pound day pack.

Exercise was a challenge.  To overcome the short coming of exercising knowledge, I joined a fitness center.  One of the biggest gains from the fitness center was learning from the trainers.  They pushed me beyond what I could do.  Taught me to ignore when the mind was saying, “We’re tired and let’s rest”.  I started pushing myself beyond tired.

Remember, your journey will be different than mind.  A whole food plant base diet may not work for you.  But, explore its possibilities.  The nutritional gain, by increasing fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts into your diet, is massive.

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