Laura's Story

As a young person, I never considered myself or my diet unhealthy. I was raised on the SAD: dinner was always meat and potatoes or white rice, and a vegetable out of a can. Breakfasts were a bowl of cold cereal and milk. I took my lunch to school, consisting of a deli meat and processed American cheese sandwich, chips, and cookies.  My afternoon snack was usually more cookies.

I was always plagued with severe allergies and bronchial illnesses. In college, I got very sick with mononucleosis. I always struggled with insomnia, night sweats, headaches, acid reflux, and mysterious hives. In my 20’s, I had a long-term and debilitating illness, which was eventually diagnosed as chronic fatigue syndrome.  But I never connected any of those things with my diet. I was blessed with a lean body, and never dealt with weight issues, except for gaining and losing the same 5 pounds. I always had enjoyed exercising and was a “gym rat,” which helped offset my unhealthy eating habits.

At the age of 28, I became a vegan for ethical reasons, but ended up compromising – instead, I was a vegetarian for several years. I thought my diet was excellent at that point, certainly better than the one I followed in my early life. But by the time I reached 39, I had gone from being a reliable 120 -125 pounds in my 20’s, to 140 pounds. I decided to follow Dean Ornish’s plan, Eat More, Weigh Less. It worked wonders, and I lost all of the excess weight.

But then, life presented some personal challenges, and I moved away from the healthy eating. I was involved in a car accident that left me with a knee and back injury that made my exercise routine impossible to continue. I gained back all of the weight I had lost, and then some. At 44, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer. I underwent an aggressive treatment of 6 months of chemo, surgery, and two months of radiation. My doctors encouraged me to eat anything I wanted – as long as I was eating and not losing weight. Well I didn’t lose weight!

By the time my treatment concluded I weighed 160 pounds, which was more than I had ever weighed. I felt terrible and had no energy, partly due to the cancer treatment, but also from being overweight and out of shape. 

After eating myself sick and feeling miserable for so long, I became motivated to get my health back naturally. I went back to being vegan, and followed an anti-cancer diet and lost quite a bit of weight. Just as things seemed to be turning the corner, my mother suddenly became seriously ill and dependent on me. For five years I took care of everything for her and ignored my own health, all while continuing to work in a very demanding career. 

At the end of that, I was burned out, dealing with grief, and comforting myself with food. In my mid-50’s, I began having high blood pressure for the first time. It continued to creep up, as did my cholesterol and triglycerides. I ended up in the ER twice for extremely high blood pressure in excess of 220/115.

I was put on blood pressure medication, which almost killed me from an anaphylactic reaction. I was tried on several different medications, and though many of them had negative side effects, I didn’t have any other options. However, even with three medications a day, my blood pressure was still not controlled. The last straw was a cholesterol reading of 297 and triglycerides of 230, and my doctor almost insisting I go on cholesterol meds. I refused, and that is when I decided to take control of my health again.

 

I watched Dr. Fuhrman on PBS and started reading his books. I was convinced it was the right way to eat, but I still struggled to give up my food addictions, and commit to the plan. When the Weight Loss Detox Program and Challenge was announced, I knew that’s what I needed to hold me accountable.

On Day 1 of the detox, I weighed 173 pounds and had a BMI of 28.8.  Right away, I started to lose weight and was encouraged by watching it go down each week. I started to feel better and was able to start exercising. Fast forward to August 2021 and my blood pressure was 118/77 and I had dropped all the blood pressure meds except for a half  dose of one of them. My cholesterol was down to 207 and my triglycerides were 98, within the normal range. I was able to get off my acid reflux medication, and I sleep like a baby at night.

The results from this program have been nothing short of amazing, and I have never felt better. On the last day of the Challenge, I weighed 140 and my BMI had come down to 23.3. I still have more to go, but my goal is to be on zero medications, be my ideal weight, and safeguard my health. With this lifestyle it is possible!