In a very short period of time, I lost my job of 15 years, moved from a large modern house to a small apartment in a new city, and COVID-19 appeared in the world. I mishandled these changes. I ate and ate. I drank more alcohol than I could pretend “it wasn’t a big deal.” And I don’t have exercise. I felt useless and depressed. I knew I needed to change things: model good decisions for my children, provide my wife with a reliable partner, and perhaps most importantly, save myself from further downward spiral.
I challenged myself to make some big changes. I mustered what little willpower I had left and stopped drinking, just quit, for good. Then I dared to go out and go for a run. I spent most of the time panting and walking, but I did it. I soon joined a high-intensity interval training program with energetic trainers and great music. The gym was close to the new house that my wife and I managed to buy. Little by little, and with the support of family and friends, I began to see changes in myself and began to feel like the person I wanted to be.
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Recipe for change
One day I received an email from my primary care doctor’s office informing me that my wonderful doctor was finally retiring. I needed to find a new one, so I did some research and found a doctor that seemed promising: Daniel Pourshalimi, MD. During my first meeting with him, he gave me an exam and asked me questions about my health, including my diet. Then he said, “Rick, I’m going to say this once. It’s something I tell all my new patients. I won’t bother you with that again unless you’re interested in learning more. Most of my patients don’t follow my recommendation, but here it is: I think you should eat whole, plant-based foods.”
My instinctive reaction was “Really? I eat pretty healthy. Why this?” Dr. Pourshalimi was more than happy to explain the important points of the diet to me. health benefits, not only for me but also for my wife and our two children. He handed me a document he had created explaining the basics of plant-based nutrition. He also told me to write down the names of some books and documentaries to explore, among which were the game changers Y forks over knives. Listening to my new doctor, I thought, “Most patients don’t go through this, huh? Well, I’m ready for a new challenge.”
After that date, my wife and I saw the game changers. Towards the end of the film, a man who protects animals from poachers looks into the camera and says that he noticesd “the easiest way to protect other animals is not to put them in your mouth”. Look to our puppy, then to my wife, and I knew we would start the change the next morning.
Plant-Based Kitchen Makeover
We start by going through the refrigerator and cabinets, reading every label and removing anything that had animal products on it. We had very little food left. So we went shopping at a new vegan friendly market and were surprised that our purchases were not as expensive as what we were used to. Cousin!
We also reorganized our food storage, getting rid of all the plastic bags and wrappers that were going to waste, replacing them with Mason jars. We stopped using paper napkins and paper towels, and started composting! But what to cook? My repertoire of vegan recipes was woefully short. We invited some friends who had been vegan for years and asked if we could hear some advice while we ate vegan takeout. They did not disappoint, sharing websites, books, recipes, tips and tricks, and more.
For years, I had been preparing different meals for each family member due to individual issues or needs (food allergies/sensitivities, IBS, desire to gain or lose weight, and sometimes just aversion to a specific ingredient). So I decided to try and find some WFPB dishes that everything of my family members could eat. I went on the Internet and various Forks Over Knives Recipes appeared. So then I fallen in reason forks meal planner and thought it would be a great place to start our journey.
a bit of structure
Forks Meal Planner made the transition a lot less daunting and showed me the ropes of plant-based, whole-food cooking. I went to culinary school years ago just for fun, and thought I had very little time left to learn how to prepare meals, but I was wrong: I don’t think I’ve ever prepared a dish without first pouring several sips of oil into a pot until I used the recipes. in the meal planner.
For the last six months, we have used the Meal Planner daily and have enjoyed food and better health. I’m always excited for Thursdays, when the new recipes for the next week are posted. I customize the number of servings, swap recipes for any requests family members have made, and add a snack or dessert for the week. I use the shopping list feature routinely, which is a great help.
Before, I would prepare several dishes for each meal and order takeout more than once a week so that I could recover. Now, we regularly eat the same dishes, which feels like a miracle. Finding creative ways to use fresh produce has been a joy, and I continue to educate myself, as well as seeing a fun list of vegan chefs on YouTube and TikTok.
Stronger than ever
Since switching to WFPB last summer, my nails have gotten stronger and my mind has gotten sharper. I was diagnosed with high blood pressure many years earlier and was prescribed three medications to control it; I am proud to say that my doctor took me off two of those medications. Now my pill box doesn’t sound like a container of Tic Tacs. At 48, I am healthier and stronger than ever.
This chapter of my life has been marked by many successes (and not the career kind, which I used to think were the only kind). Each change I made gave me the will and confidence to make the next change. Giving up alcohol made the exercise seem possible. Running every day made going to the gym easier. All the physical condition forced me to get rid of clothes that no longer fit my new body, so I had to choose a new way of dressing. I decided to take my kids for a walk, let my hair grow long, establish a morning routine to drop everything, and hug my wife as soon as I saw her.
If I have one regret (and I really don’t), it would be that I didn’t make these changes sooner.
Ready to start? check forks meal planner, FOK’s simple weekly meal planning tool to keep you on a healthy, plant-based path. To learn more about a whole foods, plant-based diet, visit our plant-based primer.
