Adele's Story

Following the Nutritarian diet plan I lost 83 pounds and think of my daily walks along a fitness trail as signposts of the life-affirming journey I started that continues today. With each vigorous step along the trail, I am continually amazed that I am even walking at all and am filled with gratitude for the profound changes in my health that have made these walks, and so many other activities possible. 

Before I set out on this journey, I was obese and miserable, carrying an exhausting burden of 276 pounds on my 5ft 4-1/2in. body.  I was afflicted with fatigue, chronic back pain, high blood pressure, frequent skin infections and post nasal drip that would trigger hacking coughs every morning.  Simple exertions such as climbing up a few stairs would render me breathless.  I was also developing edema in my feet and ankles severe enough to keep me from wearing shoes.  At 48 years of age, I knew I was too young to be having such problems, yet I felt helpless to break my addiction to the fat-filled, sugary, salt-laden junk foods that formed the bulk of my diet. 

One night, as I propped up my swollen feet, I chanced upon a documentary in which Dr. Fuhrman is featured and purchased Eat To Live.   As I read I came to realize that the key to breaking my addiction and achieving great health was to build my diet exclusively around nutritionally dense, unprocessed whole fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and grains. From reading Eat To Live, I learned that many of the foods I ate before, though vegetarian and low fat, were nutritionally empty.  It dawned on me that, despite being obese, my body was starving for high-quality nutrients that were nowhere to be found in the processed junk I loved to eat, and I was perpetuating the cycle of addiction with every cookie, potato chip or plate of spaghetti I ate.

I dove into the Nutritarian way of eating, abandoning chips, donuts, white rice and pasta, and the cheeses I loved in favor of crisp green salads, fresh vegetables, beans, fruits and other whole, natural plant foods.  During the first difficult week, as my body purged years of built-up toxins, I reeled from nausea and headaches, but I stuck it out.  I also started moving my body again with water aerobics.  I lost six pounds by the end of week one. More significantly, my edema had vanished and I could comfortably wear a pair of shoes for the first time in months,

Encouraged and feeling much better, I continued my Nutritarian journey well beyond the first week and added power walking to my routine.  As I kept losing weight, I also took grateful notice of other things I was losing, such as chronic fatigue, aches and pains from my 100 plus excess pounds, my morning cough and susceptibility to colds and respiratory allergies; high blood pressure that had averaged around 160/90 but now consistently scores in the range of 110/80.

From every lost pound, I gained not only strength and stamina, but also found renewed confidence and the profound joy that comes not from food, but from the blessings of being able to partake fully of a life fully lived.  Thanks to the Nutritarian way, I now chose foods that love me and enhance my wellness, and I no longer reach for foods that cause much more misery than the fleeting pleasure they give me.   I eagerly anticipate a future that promises freedom from disease and disability, and I have the hope of being there for my family and friends for many more years to come.

My nine-year-old daughter, who I am proud to say, has also embraced a whole food, plant-based diet.  Like me, she has discovered that eating your veggies is not only good for you, but is also incredibly tasty.  My daughter’s health is so vibrant that she has not missed a day of school this year, and she eagerly touts the advantages of her diet to her classmates who are curious about the beans, kale and other plant-based goodies in her lunchbox.

Just a year ago, I was fat, miserable and felt far older than my actual age.  But if it is true that you are as old as how you feel, then I can honestly say today that I am a college kid once more.  And although my journey is far from finished, I can’t wait to see what the next stop along the trail will bring