Helena's Story

Dr. Fuhrman saved my life.  I found him just at the right time.  I was a morbidly obese 43 year- old woman,  extremely unhealthy and getting sicker each year.  I asked my doctors for more than a decade what to do to lose weight.  I got the same answer each time, “you’re healthy but you need to lose weight, your heart is healthy now but it won’t be if you continue on this path.”  This answer made no sense to me, and none of my doctors could tell me how to make the change I so desperately needed.  Through the years I was diagnosed with asthma, hypertension, sleep apnea, but it wasn’t until I got the pre-diabetic diagnosis with an A1C of 5.9 in July 2016 that scared me out of my wits.  I was a whopping 310 pounds, and miserable.  I had swollen ankles on a daily basis and just barely fit in a 24-26 size; my bra size was a 40G and my neck and shoulders were constantly in pain.
Unfortunately, I was caught up on the Standard American Diet for years.  Feeling completely on my own, in August of 2016 I decided to completely cut out sugar and starches and go organic and non-GMO.  My husband was also overweight (235 pounds), unhappy with his physique, in pain and ready for a change.  Throughout that fall we began to lose weight rather quickly, completely emptying the cabinets, fridge and freezer of any foods that didn’t meet my requirements., I learned to really read labels and ingredients.  I was a full -time student at Stony Brook University with a double major in Anthropology and Sociology.  Two classes absolutely changed everything I thought I knew about healthfulness and nutrition and was the catalyst for change.  The first class was the “Sociology of Medicine” and the other class was “How We Eat.”   The knowledge I gleaned from them came just at the right time for me- and they have positively influenced me to look at food, nutrition and the healthcare crisis of our country in an entirely new light.
The day after Thanksgiving 2016 my husband and I went in to our doctor’s office for our flu shots and our PA Patrick Dooley told us about Dr. Fuhrman’s book and who he is.  I said I don’t want to be a vegan, I love cheese and I’m not giving it up. Patrick told us about Eat to Live and proclaimed “Dr. Fuhrman is a respected doctor like no other” and asked me to read the book.  He promised it would be a good read with lots of information and he guaranteed that I would learn from it.  Commuting to campus every day and listening to the audiobook Eat to Live changed my life forever.  Hearing Dr. Fuhrman lay out all of the facts and back it up with research convinced me that there was something to this lifestyle. I am grateful that I found this information in time, I know it has saved my life. As I got through the chapters, I began making small changes at that time in January 2017, adding a plethora of nutrient dense vegetables and eliminating meats one at a time- first beef, then pork, then all poultry.  Lastly, I also completely abandoned dairy the day I heard Dr. Fuhrman say that butter, and yes, my beloved cheese, was the worst things an individual could ever eat. I was done. 
I conducted my very own ‘clinical trial’.  My endocrinologist gave me two blood slips- one for March 16th 2017 (I weighed 250 pounds at this point), and one for six weeks later.  On St. Patrick’s Day 2017 I was ready to completely implement the Nutritarian lifestyle for the next six weeks.  By week four, I told my children, husband and parents that I felt so good and I had so much energy that I didn’t want to stop being a Nutritarian! At the end of the six weeks I had lost 18 pounds and I was on my way to superior health!  I took my blood slip to the lab and completely shocked all of my doctors.  During this span of time, I came off the Edarbyclor for hypertension, Asmanex and albuterol for asthma and my bi-pap machine for sleep apnea. I no longer needed them.  My A1C was in normal range, down from 5.9 to 5.3 (it is now 4.9) and my overall cholesterol had dropped from 170 to 122.  In addition to feeling better, breathing better, and looking better, I had a ton of energy and wanted to exercise.  The treadmill I bought back in October of 2016 that I only utilized a couple days a month, (because that’s all I could muster) has had the dust shaken off.   I lost 111 pounds. Many people stop and ask “What powder, pill, potion- or surgery did you have to lose the weight?” My answer is always the same- “superior nutrition and exercise”, and I pass along Dr. Fuhrman’s name and the information about Eat to Live.  I am greeted with responses of shock and amazement on a daily basis.
This past January I visited my MD who asked if I could share all I have learned with her, as well as my cardiologist who said that he considered my office visit a social call since my heart is so healthy. We decided to talk about exercise so he could justify the visit!
I am not done with my journey.  I plan to lose 59 more pounds and achieve a healthy weight of 140 pounds.  I am on the path, and I will never let myself get back to that horribly unhealthy lifestyle and weight.  I am now free from hypertension, asthma, sleep apnea and a pre-diabetic diagnosis because of the foodways I have adopted and the healthy lifestyle I now lead.  My husband has also lost 50 pounds.  We are the healthiest we have been since our 20's!!
This fall, I plan to begin work on dual Masters Degrees in Public Health and Nutrition at Stony Brook University because my long-term plans include work and research in foodways and health outcomes, as well as my career goal of becoming a professor.  I am eager to begin work in this discipline, where I plan to use this precious training to educate others who are suffering needlessly due to poor health. 
These days you can find me on the treadmill on a daily basis, the energy I have cannot be contained! I am now in size 14 jeans, and I can wear a large shirt off the rack.  I donated nine hefty bags of all of my plus size clothing (sizes 18-26) because I know for sure I’ll never need them again.  Our household is completely Nutritarian, my daughter has embraced the lifestyle and my husband and son are mostly there.  My parents have also implemented the information I have shared and are grateful to be able to make positive changes that will extend and improve the quality of their lives. We have all of Dr. Fuhrman’s cookbooks and I quote him on a regular basis.
I respect and admire Dr. Fuhrman’s research and his dedicating his life to his work so that others can live healthier lives is an example that I plan to emulate.  I thank Dr. Fuhrman from the bottom of my heart.   He has added years to my life.  I promise to write in again when my journey is complete.