Happy New Year!

And here’s some healthy inspiration for the beginning of the year and #TransformationTuesday!

Before Michael and I met over 20 years ago, he was morbidly obese at about 500 pounds. His heart kept “jumping.” He went to what was then called Boston City Hospital with a friend and said all the nurses and doctors were dismayed. The doctor told him that each time his heart “jumped,” he should thank God that he was alive because that was his heart wanting to stop with his weight reaching 496 pounds that day. His waist was 54 inches. His lifestyle included eating an entire large bucket of fried chicken and a 2-liter coke by himself for one meal. Soon after that doctor’s visit, Michael made the decision to throw out all the meat in his freezer and become pescatarian (including seafood but not other meat). He lost over 200 pounds!

When we met, he was around 280 pounds. About 7 years ago, we both lost about 20 pounds just by stopping soda and most juices. Then in July 2013 I went from a junk food vegetarian to a nutrient-rich WFPB eater after praying, having an epiphany and reading Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s book Eat To Live. That launched my health journey and I’ve learned so much since then. Michael supported me and ate what I cooked at home but didn’t make a big change. He lost about 20 more pounds “tagging along” with me and got to a 44-inch waist.

In 2017 Big Change The Film came to film me and my family in their upcoming documentary. I wanted to do it because I thought it would help people. I’m forever grateful to them because the first person it helped was my husband! Having the Kaufman’s (of Fatmanrants.com) visit us and knowing of the other remarkable people in the film really did something for Michael. It sparked something in him and he started to research more on his own. Around that time his blood pressure got to 184/111 (June 2017) and he got on meds and that was AFTER he had cleaned up his diet and went 100% Nutritarian WFPB and was feeling better so God knows what it was before. That summer we went to New Jersey to hear Dr. Fuhrman speak and also visited with friends Anthony Masiello and his family (Anthony was in the 2nd Edition of Eat To Live). Michael really related to Anthony who had lost a substantial amount of weight and was no longer hypertensive. AND he’s kept the weight off for over a decade. I joke that Michael must have finally realized that my journey wasn’t just a fluke.

Michael is now less than 180 pounds and wears a loose size 34 waist pants and medium t-shirt. (He’s around 5’9/10”). He was able to get off the blood pressure medication two months after starting it (got off it completely on 8/27/2017) because of the Big Change he made in his diet and lifestyle. Now he is training to run the 2019 Boston Marathon for a great organization called The Play Brigade that supports inclusion in play, recreation and sports for people of all abilities!

#BigChangesBigResults

#PlantBasedGodsGrace

https://www.dotnews.com/2018/he-s-prepping-marathon-run-twist-his-dream

https://www.universalhub.com/2018/dorchester-man-not-letting-blindness-stop-him?nocache=1