This past Sunday, August 24, marked the eleventh anniversary of my transformation from a pizza-loving, mega-chocoholic to a super healthy eater. I attribute this to God’s gracious intervention alone and take no credit for it whatsoever. He answered the fervent prayers of my wife Nancy (along with my less fervent prayers) and helped me to follow Nancy’s expert guidance, based on the guidelines of Dr. Joel Furhman, best known for his book Eat to Live. In doing so, I was able to reverse 59 years of unhealthy eating and begin a radically new life.
And when I speak of “unhealthy eating,” I’m not exaggerating.
As a boy I used to have four Oreo cookies for breakfast.
As a young man living on Long Island, from my teen years to my early 30s, I ate pizza virtually every day, and sometimes twice a day. (And I’m talking about New York pizza, with big thick slices and loads of cheese.)
And I was a genuine chocoholic, eating chocolate, along with other sweets, at least twice a day, including, every so often, special treats like a Dairy Queen Chocolate Extreme Blizzard (large, of course).
There were also favorite meals like burgers and fries or chicken parmesan, and always lots of bread.
As for fruits, I virtually never ate them at all, other than an occasional slice of watermelon or an even rarer orange. (The first time I ate a blackberry was in 2014, and I took a picture of it and sent it to Nancy, asking what it was and telling her it tasted great. The same with other fruits like kiwi.)
I did enjoy eating salads, but I would generally have one small salad a day, doused in an unhealthy dressing.
And while it is true that I was not a glutton, controlling how much I ate and even skipping a meal if I was going to really indulge (such as having a Five Guys burger with loads of fries or one of those Chocolate Extreme Blizzards), I was obese, and I was stuck.
That’s why I am grateful beyond words for God’s intervention in my life, as He not only saved me from obesity but from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and, as I learned years later, real problems in two of my arteries. I am alive and thriving by His mercy!
It’s true that I exercised rigorously while I was fat, but all the exercise in the world cannot undo seriously unhealthy eating.
Today, at the age of 70 – and I repeat, by God’s grace, and not boasting about tomorrow – I almost feel like I’m getting younger rather than older, sometimes working out with fit young men in their late teens and twenties.
In less than 8 months in 2014-15, I went from a high of around 275 to 175, and my weight has averaged around 180 during the last year. As for my annual blood work, which is quite rigorous, requiring 12-14 vials of blood for the tests, my doctor, who is nationally recognized, informed me that I’m healthier than 99.9 percent of people over the age of 50. (To say it once more, I am not boasting about tomorrow or taking any credit. I am giving thanks to God for today.)
As for the eating guidelines I follow, they call for no dairy, sugar, or flour; I rarely eat meat (by rarely, I mean every few months, on average); I don’t salt my food and watch my sodium intake overall; and I don’t eat processed or fried foods.
Instead, I enjoy overnight oats and fruit for breakfast and I feast on a giant, mega-healthy salad later in the day (by giant, I mean filling a four-quart bowl). And I supplement that with veggie burgers or vegan pasta (made from beans) and a healthy red sauce, or other vegan options. And I have replaced chocolate with healthy bars (they are hard to find but available) and healthy protein shakes (with pea protein, and very clean).
And rather than feeling deprived, I am thriving, proving the dictum that our palettes will crave whatever we feed them.
I do take a number of vegan supplements, but these are supplements to a healthy diet, not substitutes for a healthy diet.
And while it’s wonderful to be vibrant and healthy for Nancy and our kids and grandkids, and while I really enjoy not being sick, above all, this lifestyle is ultimately a matter of stewardship of my body for the Lord and His work.
Perhaps there’s some encouragement here for you too? I say this without any condemnation or judgment of any kind, simply believing that the same God who helped me is willing to help you. I am grateful beyond words to Him.
(If you’d like to hear more, you can read our book Breaking the Stronghold of Food.)
