Discussion Board

It was a good suggestion that I make this post into the Testimonial forum (I originally posted it in the Lounge)

Dr. McDougall and Dr. Esselstyn promise that heart disease can be reversed, and I am happy to say that I can confirm what they say.

As I posted earlier, I had a follow-up radioactive heart scan done today, and I had an appt. with the cardiologist immediately afterwards to discuss the results.

My last such test was in Jan of 2008. That showed a marked and large defect in one wall of a circumflex artery and another moderate defect. I experienced chest pain early on in the treadmill portion of that test, and had difficulty getting to the 85% of predicted max for my age of 62. A heart catheter procedure with a stent was recommended by my docs. Instead, I immediately went on 100% Esselstyn protocol and hired Jeff Novick as a personal coach.

Almost to the day I started the program, I have had no chest pain, even with exercise. I am off my cholesterol meds (e.g. ldl drop from 212 to 60), off my bp meds (today I was 110/75), and off my diabetes meds (my last A1C was somewhere around 6.0 I believe). I feel WAY BETTER in every way I can think of. But I was nervous about what today's test would show.

Today I had no pain on the treadmill, and took my heart rate to 160, which is over my predicted max - and I knew I had more. The large defect that showed last time is completely gone, and the other defect would now be classified as minor. The doctor would not go so far as to say that the results were normal, but said that they were only mildly abnormal. I could see that he was working hard to say that it was not normal - he does not want me to be feeling too confident (don't worry, I won't be celebrating with a milk shake). The reversal is large and obvious, and I am so pleased with that.

My thanks to Dr. Esselstyn, Jeff Novick, especially my wife, and all the friends here who have helped me change my lifestyle, which was definitely one of the hardest, although one of the most rewarding, things I have ever done. And special thanks to Dr. McDougall for pioneering this healing lifestyle and making this board available.

The only other thing I can think to say is YES! YES! YES!

Congratulations, Bob. That's great news. I'm just starting down the road to health myself at 57. Hopefully, it's never too late.

Does Dr. Esselstyn also have a discussion board somewhere. I can use all the encouragement I can get.

Congratulations, Bob. Well done. You are a prime example of what compliance looks like.

Hey, Maggie's Meadow! Great blog site. You do a lot with 8/10ths of an acre....John

Those are amazing results Bob - a testamony to your hard work and committment! Sorry I didn't send congrats sooner, but I have been away.

What do SactoBob and the others that have achieved tremendous success have in common with each other? What common denominator does he share with others that have conquered health problems, weight issues, and more? I think the answer is obvious. It's also why SactoBob takes heat from those that haven't met their goals yet.
So Bob, what do you see as the defining quality or trait that has put you over the top in achieving your health goals? Could you summarize briefly the things that you attribute your success to as you have traveled this path?
What were the pitfalls that might have kept you from your health aims?
f1jim

Dr. Esselstyn has a website:
http://heartattackproof.com/

Dr. Esselstyn's son, Rip, the fireman, has a website for his version of a healthful diet and lifestyle at
http://www.theengine2diet.com/
plus a helpful Q&A and support section; as well as kitchen, recipe, meal-planning, exercise hints, etc. at his "Engine2Academy" page. (Free Registration required.)

I'm reminded of this, one of my favorite quotes about/from Dr. John McDougall, shared with us by KareninTN:

KareninTN wrote: "...When I was at the 10-day, asking Dr McD about another teacher with similar, but not identical ideas, he said, 'We're on the same team. Everyone who's getting people off the Standard American Diet is part of the same team....' "

f1jim, it's not obvious to me, unless it's that Bob and all the others just went 100% and burned the ships behind them, never looked back. Is that it?

I think that Jim is referring to the adherence component. There seem to be many who want to adopt the philosophical idea that McDougalling is the optimum way to eat, but only look to it as an unachievable ideal that they could never actually do. So they try to move in that direction and never get out of the pleasure trap. They seem stuck on a treadmill.

To me, that is the worst of both worlds. They don't get much in the way of results, and are always down on themselves for failing to do better.

For Jim and I and others like Letha, a serious health problem made it impossible to think like that. I guarantee that every person who is having trouble with adherence would have no trouble if it was full adherence or heart surgery. So we were lucky. I never seriously considered going off plan, although the though crossed my mind on the sickest days of transition.

The interesting thing is that my health is so much better in so many ways other than the heart disease. It is a case of not knowing what i was missing. A member recently likened SAD eating to addiction, with people rationalizing something that they know is bad for them.

But I am too happy to scold anybody. I just wish that they could feel as lucky as I do right now, and I know that they could but for the pleasure trap/incomplete adherence.

Mrs Doodlepunk and others. Yes, I was referring to actually implementing this diet. Before you know it it's a lifestyle, not just a diet. Big difference in attitude and results. I was not blessed with good chronic disease genes so if it works for me it can work for anyone. No scolding necessary. Just do it and let the results speak for themselves. All of us that have achieved success must let as many people as possible know that it's within your reach. It's now a piece of cake. This month marks 2 years since I embarked on this journey. It feels like 6 months.
Join us.
f1jim

good post Bob - yes, you had one helluva motivating factor. You made it work though and so many even with a motivation don't.

One point in McDougall's book he says, if you put in 50% you will get 50% results, and if you put in 80%, you'll get 80% results. Folks have to decide what do they want, it's all in their hands.

Some like me, didn't have as strong of a motivating factor but at least we are improving and moving in the right direction. If I faced what you and Jim faced, I have a feeling I'd had been more motivated. It's a shame.

In my family, at least with my mother, food is love. If the food is good, everyone's happy. At least, that's the way my mother and I are.

It's hard, especially with teenagers, to make it seem like I love them when I am telling them they can't have pepperoni and cheese on their pizza any more. They are really giving me a hard time. Sad faces, slumping and flopping around like dead fish. Trying to get me to cave. Not working today.

I gave them The Lecture. I put on my loving mom face and asked them to remember their grampa and what he's like now, and told the whole story about him doing what the doctors said to do, and the doctors being wrong. And now he's stuck because nothing will help him now. Then I told them that's NOT what I want for them and we are going to learn together how to avoid it.

I could just kick myself for ever letting SAD back into the house. It came in gradually, just a little bit won't hurt.

I think we will watch the McDougall DVD's tonight. I have Made Easy with the cooking segments so will have them make some food of their own.

Sactobob: Your story is great. Could you have imagined what would have happend to you with simple diet changes? Probably not.

I posted this on another topic, but I feel I should post it here as well.

Anyway my husband and I have good friends. Brian, unfortunately, had quadruple bypass at 41. He has a history of heart disease on both sides of his family, big time. Before his surgery, him and his wife were both McDougalling at home. But he was cheating at work, eating whatever he wanted. He is a teacher at a boarding school but doesn't live there.

In November of 2008 he experienced chest pains while walking up a hill at work. This was on Wednesday. He went immediately and had an EKG which was abnormal. Thursday he had a stress test which he flunked big time. And on Friday he went for a heart catherization where his wife was told he had 10 blockages. And on Monday of the following week he had the surgery. It all happened so fast no one even had any time to consider other options.

I wish I could tell you that he is now 100% McDougalling but not so. When he is at work he still eats what he wants. And the results? He has been back to the hospital twice for chest pain and is now on nitroglycerin. He is overweight, and looks terrible. My husband and I are both afraid we will lose this good friend of ours in a few years.

His wife keeps telling me that she can't follow him around all day, watching what he puts into his mouth. Unfortunately, she is right.

All of this has me thinking, what will it take before someone like this makes the eating change permanent?He still likes his meat, and it looks like he won't give it up. Even my husband realizes that eating meat is putting our friend in an early grave. Is "meat" really worth that much? You would think so wouldn't you?

At any rate your story is really great!! Don't expect your doctor to say your results are normal. I expect that's something they really don't want to do. If they can keep you on the pills, etc. isn't that what keeps them going?

Wendy,
I am sorry that your friend experienced heart disease, and sorrier that he chose symptomatic surgical intervention instead of treating the disease itself with diet and lifestyle changes. If your friend wants to talk to me, I would be happy to help him in any way that I could.

I'm sorry that your friend, his wife, deals with his non-compliance by just saying that she is not his watchdog. I can't imagine my wife saying anything like that. My wife treated this as the family problem which it was. She took great time and pains to be sure that I left for work every day with a large and healthy lunch. I almost never had to face the problem of being hungry without good food to eat.

I'm happy to report that I continue to get better and better with time. My last cholesterol was 139 and last LDL was 39. I've had no further problems and feel great in just about every way. I have no problems with the food at all. This program is very doable once you get the hang of it. My doctor not only approves and is amazed, he has even referred a colleague of his to me to explain how I did it.

Sactobob: I wish Brian's wife, Karen would be his watchdog, but she continues to keep telling me that she can't be around him every minute of the day to see what he is eating. The least she could do is make him something to take to work, but unfortunately, that just hasn't occured to her to begin doing this. And she doesn't like to cook which doesn't help.

We have known these folks for a few years now. When we first met them Brian was obese and looked awful. Whem my husband and I began McDougalling we introduced these folks to this eating style. Karen took to it immediately. We all thought Brian did too, but not so.

When Brian first went on McDougall, he lost weight and began to look real good. Unfortunately, he went off the diet almost completely in the summer of 2008. Brian works as a teacher in a boarding school in the area, but the family doesn't live there. So when he goes to work, he eats whatever they serve. And he goes to work Wednesday nights to eat with the kids in one of the buildings. His daughter, Eva goes with him as she attends school there. One night she had to watch her dad eat pork chops and she couldn't stop him.

Dr. McDougall has said that those who have bypass surgery experience something called "pump head." This is when the cells of your body change shape because your blood is being pumped through the heart machine to keep you alive during your surgery. The end result of your cells changing is that your personality changes. Everyone who has bypass surgery usually experiences a personality change.

My husband and both prayed and hoped Brian would not have this personality change. On the surface he seems like the same Brian we knew before the surgery. But his wife, Karen has said not so. He is moody, hard to talk to, and just different. He is not the same man she married. And talking to him about his eating only makes him mad.

I wish Karen would take a much more active roll in what Brian eats, but it just hasn't happened. I have talked to her many times about this, and she keeps telling me she can't be his watchdog. My reply is "Why not?"

My husband works nights. Where he works he can eat what is being offered in the kitchen. But most of the time it is the high fat standard American diet. I got into the habit after we began McDougalling of making him something he could eat. He loves bean salads and soup so I make that a lot. And lately he has begun taking Dr. McDougalls right foods. He says the minestrone soup is great!! And ocassionally they do offer something he can eat. Last night someone cooked bean tacos with spanish rice. He watched it being prepared and said it was okay, so he ate.

You are right in saying this is a family problem. It sure is. Unfortunately, Karen is a VERY private person. Only my husband and I know what is really going on here. Getting this man to talk to other people is just not going to happen unfortunately.

The reason I share this story here is that I don't want to see anyone else go through this. Brian has a history of heart trouble in his family on both sides, big time. He choose to ignore it, and bypass surgery was the result.

Dr. McDougall has a saying that goes something like this: "Taking insulim for diabetes is hard. Taking blood pressure pills is hard. Changing your eating is easy." How right he is!

You keep it up. Your story is an inspiration to many others here.