Healthy Living in Connecticut Blog

Recently, I made some black bean brownies at work. This was from a recipe I got from the Physician’s Committee For Responsible Medicine website. I had heard Chuck Carroll, host of one of my favorite podcasts, Exam Room, brag how good these were and thought they would be perfect for work. I typically make some kind of holiday dessert for work each holiday season.

They were really easy to make. The only thing I substituted was the raspberry jam, as I only had a guava jelly available. The guava jelly was unsweetened. I quickly mixed the ingredients, baked them in the oven and had everything done and cleaned up within an hour. I don’t waste any time!

I still remember my last meal, Chicken Marsala, at a small dinner party celebrating my friend’s birthday. My plan was to start Robert Cheeke’s workout journal, a 13 week workout challenge where you are completely vegan for 13 weeks, the next day. I had done week long challenges before and always thought about how great I felt. I thought 13 weeks would be the ultimate test. Little did I know I would never go back to animal products after that!

I was plant based since 2012, having first started my healthy lifestyle through the work of Dr. Fuhrman. His advice about GBOMBS foods (greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds) is still an important part of my diet. Over the years, I’ve picked up advice from Dr. McDougall, Dr. Gregor and countless others. I think all plant based doctors have something to offer.

142/90. For some reason, that blood pressure reading stood out. There were others that were high around that time, over nine years ago, but this is the one that confirmed to my doctor that I was pre-hypertensive. I was a walking time bomb, also being most likely pre-diabetic. It was only a matter of time that I would have full blown hypertension and diabetes if I didn’t make some changes.

As many of you know, my doctor initially wanted me on blood pressure pills. I was fortunate to have a doctor that worked with me as I did not want to go on medication. He agreed to let me lose the weight and hope that the blood pressure would go down as the weight went down. It worked, as 6 months later, my blood pressure was normal and I never took a single pill.

It’s more than about muscle, vegan gains has to do with health. For me, my plant based journey is always about my health, just as much as it is for the welfare of animals. I feel equally passionate about both. So this shirt is one of my favorite shirts to wear at the gym. As you can tell, it got a lot of wear and tear!

I want others to know how good being plant based feels, how muscle growth can be achieved, how weight loss is possible, how having energy to compete is races is easier on a plant based diet. I have been plant based for 9 years now, but completely one hundred percent vegan since September of 2016. I have never regretted it as I feel better than ever. I was not feeling great when I was 350 pounds, as you can imagine.

I have been following Robert Cheeke's career for almost 5 years now. His book “Shred It!” helped me become completely vegan, after having been previously plant based for four years prior. So, any new books that he puts out, I definitely want to support him. But his latest book “The Plant-Based Athlete: A Game-Changing Approach to Peak Performance”, which is co-authored by Matt Frazier, is sure to interest people well beyond just the vegan community. The book is destined to become huge, much like the “Game Changers” movie.

There are so many inspirational stories in the book, from the well known athletes like Rich Roll and Rip Esselstyn to lesser known athletes that are equally awesome.One of those athletes featured is my friend Josh LaJaunie, who became an ultra-marathon runner after losing over 200 pounds. He is one of many stories you find of athletes achieving unbelievable success, all without animal products. If you ever need proof that we don”t need meat for survival, look no further than this book!