One night in February 2018, I began experiencing an odd pain in my upper left back and shoulder area. I’d been actively competing in natural powerlifting, so aches and pains were common—but this time felt different. It was a constant throbbing that couldn’t be massaged or stretched out. I’d been feeling more winded than usual, too. Weighing 396 pounds, and thinking of my family history of heart issues and high blood pressure, I decided to go to the ER. At 32 years old, I was almost certain that I was too young to have heart disease, but I wanted to get checked out just to make sure.
At the hospital, I found out that my blood sugar was 120 mg/dL (indicating prediabetes), my triglycerides were 235 (high), and my blood pressure was 200/100 (very high). The marker that landed me a two-night stay in the hospital was elevated troponin, a marker for heart damage. My levels were not high enough to indicate a heart attack but it was enough to indicate damage. I was shocked, confused, and scared. How could this be, when I was still young? I thought I had more time before I had to start worrying about these kinds of things.
The doctors conducted several heart tests, including an angiogram, and found that I had an artery blockage of 95% on a branch off the obtuse major 1 artery. They placed a stent and prescribed me several medications (aspirin, clopidogrel, beta blockers, and a statin), and they had me stay another night in the hospital for monitoring and recovery.
A Pivotal Moment
I was lying in the hospital bed wondering how things had gotten to this point, and I started reading everything I could get my hands on about improving my heart health. The first book I came across was Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., M.D. I’d tried all sorts of diets over the years, but they were low-carb; the most recent one I’d tried was the ketogenic diet. The low-fat, whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) way of eating that Esselstyn described in the book was totally foreign to me. It was an insightful read. I decided that I would give WFPB a try. I was determined to change my life forever, to never end up back in the hospital bed because of poor nutrition. I would do it not just for me, but for my future self and family.
I was discharged from the hospital, with an appointment to see a cardiologist 30 days later. I resolved to follow a WFPB lifestyle for at least those 30 days, to see if it really worked and if it was manageable.
As soon as I got home, I threw away all the animal products, oil, and highly processed foods in my kitchen, and I went shopping for WFPB foods like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. I was cleared to walk, but that was the only form of exercise I was allowed until I could meet with the cardiologist. So, my routine was to eat WFPB and walk 10,000 steps per day until my follow-up appointment.
Stunning My Cardiologist
When I went to my follow-up appointment, my cardiologist was floored: Not only had I lost a significant amount of weight but my blood pressure had normalized, and all my blood lipid profile numbers had significantly improved. The cardiologist told me that the keto diet had wreaked havoc on my cardiovascular system, and he encouraged me to stick with my new way of eating. I was sold! From that point on, I knew I could do WFPB, and I decided I would never go back to my old way of eating.
With my exercise restriction lifted, I began incorporating new fitness routines. I shifted from being a powerlifter to an endurance athlete and focused on combat sports, strength training, and cardiovascular conditioning. I came to view WFPB not as a diet or quick fix but as a way of life, and it became easy to choose healthy foods. The most challenging part was how foreign the concept was to many people. They didn’t understand why I would make such a “drastic” change to eating only whole plant foods. However, I felt that ending up on a surgeon’s table would be more drastic. I was literally choosing the fork over the knife.
Within the first 12 months, I lost 100 pounds, and my health markers improved enough that my cardiologist took me off several of my medications and lowered my statin dose. By the two-year mark, I’d lost 150 pounds in total, and my numbers had all normalized—in fact, they were in athlete ranges. I asked my doctor to order another heart scan to check my progress. When the results came back, he was once again floored: There was no sign of cardiovascular damage, and no signs of buildup in my arteries. I did it: I reversed my disease, just as the book that I’d read in the hospital bed said I could! My doctor couldn’t believe it; he wanted to know what I was doing and all the details. He advised me that I could discontinue all my medications.
2 Years In, 200 Pounds Down
As of this writing, I weigh 194 pounds and am in the best shape of my life. I am dedicated to a fitness lifestyle, because my body is now capable, and I want to be good to my body. I am grateful I’ve had the opportunity to heal and do right by the gift I once took for granted. I lift weights. I run. I cycle, do martial arts, swim…you name it.
It feels so fantastic to shop for clothes without having to order special sizing. My go-to breakfasts now include tofu scrambles, loaded oatmeal, and air-fried potatoes. For lunch and dinner, I like veggie and grain bowls, big salads with potatoes, burritos made with Ezekiel whole grain tortillas, lentil soup, and split pea soup. If I am craving something sweet, I make banana nice cream, WFPB cookies, or a dessert recipe from Forks Over Knives. I find the FOK recipes to be super delicious and satisfying!
My results have inspired people around me, and I have dedicated my life to helping others in the same position I was. As a licensed psychotherapist, I’ve incorporated health coaching into my mental health clinic so that I can offer comprehensive support to those looking to drastically change their lives for the better.
To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer. For meal-planning support, check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path.
