Marty's Story

I work for an amazing company, Whole Foods Market, who has a Health Starts Here program. One of our company's resources is an Immersion Program where you see one of the doctors that our company partners with to learn more about health, and the best part is they pay for it.

I was accepted to the Dr. Joel Fuhrman Immersion.  I arrive at the Immersion, and get my time for my first day of tests. The first test is blood work. When I was done I am asked if I have an appointment with one of the doctors. No why?  Well, we will do one more test just to make sure.  Second test and I hear “did you know you have diabetes?"  Next, better news, my blood pressure. Can I first say that the last thing you want to get tested for right after hearing that you have a life threatening disease is a blood pressure test?  Yup, it was156/ 96.  This was shocking as well, and not something I had been expecting because I actually test often and it was never that high. It was high, but not that high.

Then I walked over to get my measurements and weight. The scale reads 280 pounds and said I was 72 years old.  I am only 41.  It was my age, but not by years. It was my age by my body. Pretty scary thought that you are 41 and your body is 72. Does this mean that my years are numbered?  Let me say what I ate before the Immersion. I had meat probably seven days a week and two times a day. I ate sweets like they were no longer going to be on the planet and drank a six pack of soda a day. I entered competitive BBQ competitions and made my own BBQ sauce. That was me at 280 pounds.

My road to health hasn’t been easy one, and to be totally honest. I hated the new food I was eating for about two months until my taste buds changed. But I knew I had to make a change no matter what. It was going to take hard work and dedication to get to where I want to be, and that wasn’t going to come easy. Dr. Fuhrman has amazing recipes, but I didn’t know that at first because when I read his ingredients they were things I didn’t like or hadn't tried before. At the Immersion everyone told me that my taste buds would change and in a month and a half. I thought they were crazy and trying to sell me a bill of goods. But after that two month mark, it finally set in and the food was starting to taste amazing to me. No salt, no oil, non-processed foods can and will taste good to you, all you have to do is give it a chance.

Fast forward to today. Before I was 280 pounds. XXXL shirt, 44 size pants, diabetes and high blood pressure.  Now 205 pounds, large shirt and 34 size pants, daily blood sugar levels between 70 and 80 and my blood pressure is 105/70. I am not finished with my journey, but I am motivated to complete it.

I want to thank the many people who helped me that week. I want to thank Randi and her team from the Motivational Outreach Program for the support and care they gave me. I want to thank Dr. Fuhrman for his wisdom and dedication to help others understand that they can be healthy, one choice and one bit at a time.  Eating a Nutritarian lifestyle will not only help you become healthier, but save your life.

Knowledge is power. You, and only you, can make a change. I am the same happy man I was before, just a much healthier one who is in control of his own life for once.