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About a week ago, I said to my husband, whom I met when we were both emergency medical technicians, “I feel like I’m becoming one of those people we used to look at and say knowingly to each other, ‘there goes a walking heart attack.’” 

A few days ago, I got the results from som some routine bloodwork that I’d had done for a physical. The results were shocking. I AM a walking heart attack!  Especially considering my family history — heart attack & stroke has hit everyone on my mother’s side, killing many by their mid-50’s. That could mean I’d be dead before my precious daughter even finishes high school.

I’ve had two wake-up calls now. First was breaking my ankle — badly — a few months ago. In an extraordinarily sensitive manner, my surgeon explained that my excess weight contributed to the severity of the break. Let me tell you, I’ve broken my share of bones in my life, and this was something else. The pain was phenomenal. I still get woozy when the memory crosses my mind, and when I recently stood near the spot where it happened, I couldn’t stop tears from coming (I’m not someone who’s prone to hysterics).

My primary-care physician has been pushing me to adopt a low-fat, plant-based diet for several years. I’ve been pushing right back, claiming that I can’t possibly live without cookies, chocolate, eggs, cheese, yogurt, etc. Nevertheless, as I’ve been feeling physically worse and worse since the ankle accident, I’ve been gradually moving towards a plant-based, low-fat diet.

Well, the bloodwork results have given me a big push!  Despite having “good” health insurance, I already pay almost $300/mo for my shelf-full of daily medications (my skinny husband, on the other hand, pays only $40/mo); the prospect of having to either shell out another $50-100 for various cholesterol-lowering drugs is just too much, especially knowing that even though it would help protect my heart, I wouldn’t physically FEEL any better. I feel like crap, all the time. I am tired of just existing: I want to live.

So for the past 3 days, I’ve been doing it — eating an entirely plant-based diet that is low in fat (10-15% fat). But you know what’s weird? It’s been remarkably easy.

I’ve made a committment of 3 weeks. That’s what my doctor asked. After that, as he said, “if you don’t want to continue, you can go back to the ways that are killing you and making you feel like crap. It’s entirely your choice.” Hmmph.