Congratulations Jim! (& an important question for you!)

[JeffN]

Hey Jim

I know your 10 year anniversary is coming up. You are a long term forum member, a moderator, a Star McDougaller & now, a long term success story.

Congratulations!!!

It's been a pleasure getting to know you and your wife over the years.

As you may know, one of the things I repeat on these boards is that if you want to be successful, find someone who has been successful for 10 or more years and talk to them. The reason is, that is what really matters and not just short term results. Knowing how they did it may give you insights that may help you in achieving your own long term success and not following every new dietary "trick of the day" that comes along, even in the WFPB world.

So, what I want to do, if you don't mind, is to ask if you will respond to these three questions in regard to what were they keys for you.

1) what are the most important things that led you to adopt the diet

2) what are the most important things that led to your long term success

3) what have been the major obstacles and how did you best overcome them

Thanks!
Jeff

[f1jim]

Thanks so much Jeff for acknowledging what will be 10 years of eating this way for us. It certainly doesn't feel like we have been eating this way for that long. Maybe that's a good thing! I'll do my best to provide the answers to your questions.

1. The most important things that lead me to this diet.

The first answer that pops into my head is fear. After my worsening bouts of angina and the formal diagnoses of heart disease, my family history came crashing down around me. I knew what the diagnosis meant to much of my family and I knew I wasn't going to be around much longer if they were an accurate predictor of my future. So that drove me to a fairly exhaustive search of the medical literature on treatment of heart disease and the only thing I could find with any data behind it were the works of Pritikin, Ornish, Esselstyn, and Gould. All treatments based around this way of eating. Nothing else had respectable data behind it. I thought this was my only choice. But fear isn't a long term motivator. By the time I had adapted to eating this way I didn't have to rely on fear anymore. Enjoying the food after discovering the ease with which I converted over then made it pretty simple to stay motivated with the results I was seeing.

2. The things that lead to long term success.
Initially my seemingly unbelievable changes in blood work and weight kept me excited about continuing. After everything stabilized I was already hooked on the taste of the foods. Rice, potatoes, corn, and beans as staples in my diet seemed too easy to be called a "prescription." I loved this stuff and I felt like a kid being told he had to eat cake for every meal. I am still in love with the idea of eating hash browns for dinner! I also kept a steady diet of books and videos around so I read all I could of McDougall, Esselstyn, Campbell, Barnard, Ornish, and many more. Hearing them live kept it even more personal. All the pieces seemed to fit together like a large picture puzzle. Since I have almost zero willpower I knew I couldn't do any cheating without blowing the entire diet so I found it easier to never give myself the chance to cheat. I still feel that way today and I have more fear of that little nibble than the thought of going without something. Having my wife following in my footsteps is easily as important in keeping me healthy and alive. From the day I started this program she has followed with me.

3. The major obstacles and overcoming them.
The only real major obstacle was early on and that was my fear that this program wouldn't work. 10 years ago there was even less belief that one could arrest the development of heart disease than today. I had my own serious doubts about it's effectiveness. There was no hurdle to overcome in feeling that way. It was either going to help or not. Since it did I figure nothing can really derail me now. I am so appalled at the way I used to eat I couldn't imagine falling back to eating that way. I still get discouraged by how little influence i have over the friends and family in my life. There are so many people that need this program yet so few open ears. That's a tough one for me to deal with, even today.

Jeff, you, Dr. McDougall, and the other nutritional gurus we follow have the real tough assignment. You have to carve out a living in the whole foods, plant based community. I don't. I work with computers, routers, networks etc. My life isn't dependent on people buying in to this message. The only person I have to worry about is myself in that regard. I shudder to think about making a living in plant based eating based on the people in my circle. I'd starve. I sometimes am surprised anyone is able to pull it off. My hat's off to you.

Yes, it's been 10 years of extra life that many of my family never got. Some of them got a few more years but they were filled with misery. I've had 10 years of life. If it ends tomorrow I got my moneys worth from following this program. Every day beyond that is just gravy. Let's go for more, shall we?
f1jim

[JeffN]

Thanks Jim

I appreciate the time and effort you put into this. I am sure your words will help many who read them.

As a guy who likes bullet points, (and who will be discussing this in the 10-Day Programs), let me see if I can bullet point a few items and you can let me know if I got it right and/or add anything.

1. The most important things that lead you to this diet.

- Fear, of a health crisis, both the immediate short term and the long term consequences, was the biggest initial motivator

- Availability of respectable data behind it.


2. The things that lead to long term success.

- Finding out how good the food is (I know you listed this under #1)

- the dramatic and continued improvement in bio-markers.

- immersing yourself in ongoing education (books, videos and live events)

- Keeping your environment safe

- not allowing yourself the first bite of "forbidden" food.

- a supportive wife who joined you in the adventure.


3. The major obstacles and overcoming them.

- (obstacle) Fear and doubts that the program wouldn't work for you. (solution) Seeing your quick dramatic results. Disgust with former habits that you now know led to this and not wanting to go back.

- How little influence you have on friends and family. Difficult one.

Jeff, you, Dr. McDougall, and the other nutritional gurus we follow have the real tough assignment. You have to carve out a living in the whole foods, plant based community. I don't. I work with computers, routers, networks etc. My life isn't dependent on people buying in to this message. The only person I have to worry about is myself in that regard. I shudder to think about making a living in plant based eating based on the people in my circle. I'd starve. I sometimes am surprised anyone is able to pull it off. My hat's off to you.

Truth be known, most people who carried this message forward from the early days until today did not make a living at it. Few tried and those who did often found it extremely difficult. They were just traditional health care professionals doing their regular jobs and this was a specific interest of theirs. For many of them, their regular job had to fund the work they did in regard to this or this was a small part of their regular work. Few, if any, were after money, fame or rock star status.

While we have many more health professionals who are learning about this today, they face two huge obstacles, they no one has found a solution to yet.

1) There is no cash flow for payment/reimbursement for them in the current medical system and paradigm to practice this type of health care. So to do it, they are back to where we all started, do it on the side for very little money or do it as a service. In addition, even if they did, there is very little money in it as it is mostly based on education.

2) Patients/clients who live in an environment that exploits certain aspects of human nature and the pleasure trap making this extremely difficult to do. I have seen many in much worse shape then you, with plenty of reasons to live, with full family support, who have not been able to do it.

Yes, it's been 10 years of extra life that many of my family never got. Some of them got a few more years but they were filled with misery. I've had 10 years of life. If it ends tomorrow I got my moneys worth from following this program. Every day beyond that is just gravy. Let's go for more, shall we?
f1jim

I agree 100% with those comments. This is not about us all living to 120 disease and medication free. This is about a gift we have all be given. The gift is how to optimize our life and health however long that may be, and we pay it back by living our lives to the fullest.


In Health
Jeff

[f1jim]

You have summed up my answers nicely.
I appreciate even more today than at the beginning of my health seeking journey, your contributions to my health. You are an integral part of the network of people that keep me focused on my health and importantly, keep me focused on the things that matter.
Thanks
f1jim