Susan's Story

At 380 pounds, miserable doesn’t adequately describe how I felt. I was always heavy. My life was filled with perpetual yo-yo weight gains and losses. I tried every fad diet imaginable. I even tried a form of acupuncture, getting a “seed” placed in my ear, which was supposed to reduce food cravings. It didn’t. I tried hypnosis, and eventually succumbed to lap band surgery, the biggest mistake of my life.  Having a lap band was continually painful, and I couldn’t even eat a salad with it in place. By the time I had the procedure reversed four years later, I was thirty pounds heavier. It was a nightmare.

I work in a very busy hospital and was embarrassed to be so unhealthy. Looking back, I don’t even know how I went to work every day and raised four children. It was hard for my kids to have a morbidly obese mother, and because I hated myself so much, I also hated my husband.  I was constantly fatigued. I couldn’t even climb a flight of stairs without being exhausted. I lived in daily fear of going to work and having my dead body found in the parking garage.

I had to wear an extension seat belt when flying, and couldn’t put the tray down when eating a snack on the plane.  I developed high blood pressure and was taking medication for it. I had abnormal EKGs and heart arrhythmias, and was too large for many of the medical diagnostic machines. In the summer of 2010, when I was in my late forties, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I knew it was time to get serious about my health and make the necessary changes.My father died at age 58. He was obese, angry, and diabetic, and I refused to follow in his footsteps. 

 I first met Dr. Fuhrman about twenty years ago and he said to me, “you are going to suffer from a heart attack and die.” I knew he was right. Years before, in 2004, I had gone to his office and he was so sincere and helpful, I knew he really cared for my health and well-being. He gave me a copy of his book Eat To Live. Unfortunately, I went home and put it on a bookshelf. I didn’t look at it again until 2010 when I was officially diagnosed with diabetes, and started the Nutritarian plan.

I lost 220 pounds in two years, going from 380 pounds to 160 pounds. My blood pressure has dropped from an average of 150/100 with medication to 115/70 without medication.  And I no longer have diabetes!

I feel so grateful that my life has been spared and I have my health back.  Eat To Live has literally saved my life and marriage. It feels like I’ve woken up from a life-long coma. I have not had any food cravings for so long that I honestly have forgotten how bad they were.  I go to Zumba and BarreAmped classes weekly, hike, bike, etc. My energy is boundless.

In December 2012 I underwent a lengthy surgery to improve the look of my upper arms. Finally I will be a girl in a summer dress, no more "bat-wings." The future looks bright! I wish the healthcare industry (really the sick-care industry) would recognize and reward people who take charge of their health. Let's get the word out loudly! This superior Nutritarian lifestyle can reverse the ill effects of disease as well as prevent disease.