Archive for energy increase

“From sedentary to marathon runner and over 200 pounds lost”

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)
Saturday, January 27th, 2024

By: Liz Derry

Looking at me today, people are shocked when they hear that I have lost and maintained over 200 pounds of weight loss, eliminated multiple health problems, including diabetes, and went from sedentary to marathon runner, all through healthy eating and exercise, without pills, surgeries, shots, weighing and measuring foods, or counting calories. The affects of my change to a whole food plant based diet were not just physical, but emotional, mental, and spiritual.

At the start of 2020, at the age of 44, I weighed almost 400 pounds and was suffering from many health problems including chronic reflux, poor wound healing, type 2 diabetes, arthritis, depression, poor sleep, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, menstrual problems, and general despondency. I had lost and gained large amounts of weight multiple times in my life, including over 100 pounds 2 other times. I had been on many different diets and none of them were working for me anymore. I was only able to lose 30-40 pounds and then would quickly gain it all back. After a recent family vacation in which I spent most of the time sitting on benches, while my family explored the sites, I had reached an all-time low. I felt so old and run down physically and wondered what type of life I had left, unable to enjoy time and activities with my children, and eventually grandchildren, and likely facing an early death.

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“I want to cry out like an angel: THERE IS AN ANSWER!”

By Jane Birch · Comments (9)
Saturday, September 3rd, 2022

By: Jeri Franz

For the first 38 years of my life I ate the wrong foods and too much of them….foods laden with sugar and flour. As a child, I started showing signs of this at about the age of eight and went on my first diet at age 11. Being born in 1951 there were not as many heavy children as there are now and so I always felt different. I also picked up a few bad habits with other things in high school but gave those up when I joined the church at the age of 24 and was made aware of the Word of Wisdom. I just never paid much attention to the food part. When I received my Patriarchal Blessing a few months later and it read, “You have a Good Body. Keep it that way and you can through the reading of good books and the power of prayer,” I figured it was referring to diet books and was always looking for those “good books” that were going to help me maintain this “good body” that eventually got up to 225 pounds on a 5’4” frame!

Fast forward through years of dieting, binging, getting to my normal weight for five minutes, having five children and then in my late thirties I discovered a twelve-step program for “compulsive overeaters.” It was then that the rest of my journey began. I felt God had led me to a place where I could learn more of Him and turn to Him instead of to the food which was truly my “drug of choice.” This journey evolved as I recognized what I truly had was a food addiction and needed to give up sugar and flour and have a food plan, which I started doing in my late forties with another twelve-step program.

I am now 71 years old and have been free of the 100 extra pounds I carried on my body. I have been at the weight of 127 for 10 years now, and I’ve been sugar and flour free for 18 years. So, I felt pretty healthy. I had energy, although usually I required an afternoon nap.  I didn’t have any obvious health problems thankfully, but I was eating 8 ounces of yogurt every morning for breakfast and 4 ounces of protein or 2 ounces of cheese at each meal. This was also augmented at each meal with 6 ounces of cooked and 6 ounces of raw vegetables and a couple of pieces of fruit; I never ate in between meals. I strictly adhered to this plan and because of it experienced a great amount of spiritual, emotional, and physical recovery.

My husband and I had come across the book The China Study about ten years ago, and he began to make a few changes like giving up red meat. I considered it, but I didn’t feel ready even after reading the book and watching the documentary Forks over Knives. I mean, I took supplements, I ate healthily, I felt good, I was just fine and loved my meat and my yogurt. I also complained about not enough energy. When we went to serve our 18-month mission in 2016 in Germany my husband started eating red meat again, and I continued on my food plan with my yogurt and meat, never eating any beans at all. We had a friend in our ward who would not eat meat in the summer, only in winter because of the Word of Wisdom, part of only consuming meat in the times of cold or famine. But I just never got on board with that.

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“I was so baffled I finally decided to take it to God”

By Jane Birch · Comments (4)
Saturday, June 12th, 2021

By: Cindy Balling

I was a junior in high school, job shadowing at the local hospital in the outpatient clinic. The nurse asked if I wanted my blood pressure taken. I sat down in the chair, and I will never forget her concerned face. I didn’t know the numbers, but she told me my blood pressure did not look good.

I felt helpless. I was so young. I thought I was healthy! I felt fear and embarrassment, and I was too afraid to tell anyone. I tried to stay active, but I lived a pretty sedentary lifestyle. When I went to college, I decided to major in Exercise Science and minor in Nutrition. I remember sitting in my classes and learning about how exercise can improve chronic diseases, like the one I had secretly dealt with in high school. I really wanted to help people overcome these issues. While I didn’t learn as much about nutrition’s role in weight loss, my classes made me firmly believe that exercise had far more to do with our health and weight than diet ever could. I didn’t believe nutrition was important. A calorie is a calorie, and as long as you exercise, everything will balance out. Unfortunately, I taught this very wrong principle to a lot of people as a personal trainer and exercise specialist.

After spending eight months on bed-rest while pregnant with twins, I struggled to lose the baby weight. I had been lying in bed for so long and was so weak that I couldn’t even stand on one leg. My twins had serious health problems, and exercise just seemed impossible to ever have time for between all of their doctor appointments and therapies. It forced me to focus more on diet, and I did my best to follow the principles of “clean eating,” meaning as little processed food as possible.

A few years later, I became a mother to a baby girl. She was so precious to me. So healthy! It was something I hadn’t experienced yet as a mother. I remember holding her in my arms, and instead of feeling content, I would feel fear. Fear that she would develop cancer or some other horrible disease and I would have no control over it. I would lose her and there would be nothing I could do about it. I felt it every time I held my baby, and it haunted me.

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“I feel like I found the fountain of youth!”

By Jane Birch · Comments (9)
Saturday, April 10th, 2021

By: Sandy Larson

In 2012, my mom died suddenly from a major heart attack after decades of heart disease, diabetes, and being overweight. She was 69 years old, and my five kids were young. They didn’t get enough time with their sweet grandma. Her health had not been good for many, many years. She would get out of breath climbing a flight of stairs and have to stop and rest. It was rare to ever see my mom eat fruits or vegetables. She ate a lot of fast food, drank a lot of soda, and took a ton of medications and pills. It was hard to watch her health get worse over time, and heart-breaking to lose her when she passed away.

A few years ago, in the spring of 2017, I wasn’t sleeping well and felt exhausted during the day. I had gained weight and had a closet full of clothes that didn’t fit. The idea of buying all new clothes in bigger sizes was very depressing for me. Logically, I knew I should eat less and exercise more, but it was extremely hard to avoid or limit my favorite foods, and I didn’t have the energy or desire to exercise. I found myself getting out of breath climbing stairs too, just like my mom, which was scary.

I felt like I needed to get in shape and start eating better, but it was really hard to do. We were eating lots of meat with every meal, plus lots of cheese, butter, eggs, ice cream, and desserts every day. Cutting down on portions or trying to count calories didn’t seem to work, and I felt like a failure. While we cooked most of our meals at home and we did eat fruits and veggies, we loved to get pizza or fast food several times a week and go to restaurants and ice cream shops to celebrate birthdays and any kind of special occasion.

I wanted to lose weight and have more energy, but I wasn’t sure where to begin. Everyone I knew was on a different diet, and I felt confused about what was healthy and what was not. There were just too many conflicting opinions. It reminded me of Joseph Smith’s words, as he was searching for the truth about religion. He said, “In the midst of this war of words and tumult of opinions, I often said to myself: What is to be done? Who of all these parties are right; or, are they all wrong together? If any one of them be right, which is it, and how shall I know it?” (Joseph Smith History 1:10.) I started praying for guidance and understanding. I needed to know how to get healthy and help my husband and kids be healthy.

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“The Word of Wisdom has never been more important than it is right now”

By Jane Birch · Comments (8)
Saturday, November 9th, 2019

By Michael Crowley

My journey into the plant-based lifestyle seems trivial in light of many other stories I’ve read about here. Still I hope it’s one that gives encouragement to those just starting out like I was not so long ago. I am very motivated and excited about sharing the benefits I’ve experienced with others.

I remember reading about Jane Birch’s experience where she said something like, “Some people get an answer about the Word of Wisdom before even praying about it.” That was pretty much my experience in a nutshell. My wife and I had been going through some challenges. On the evening of Sunday, April 14, 2019, I prayed not for help but to recommit myself to the Lord. Then something miraculous happened. Later that evening, while scrolling on social media, I came across a friend’s post with a link to a video on Netflix called What the Health. Usually I would have just kept scrolling, but I felt for some reason I should check it out. As I watched the video, things started to click for me. The Word of Wisdom was suddenly front and center in my thoughts to the extent that it felt as if God was suddenly speaking to me.

Even though I had not been in good health, I really had not even been thinking about the Word of Wisdom at all. While watching the video, the beam in my eye of “vegans being strange” was removed, and my mind was suddenly open to the message being shared. I clearly recognized the health issues presented as the same ones I had previously thought of as the normal effects of aging or bad luck. I now understood what was causing them, and I was impressed at how many of the chronic diseases that had impacted my extended family over the years were being addressed.

Again the Word of Wisdom had not even been on my thought horizon that evening, but the Lord was mindful of me. He surely knew where I was headed health wise and the negative impact it would have had on both my family and me. I marveled that the Lord was so quick to enlighten me on his law of health that very same evening.

To describe my situation: at 6 feet tall and weighing 220+ lbs, I was heading towards 230 lbs with no indication of stopping there. I had horrible sinus problems, migraine headaches, poor focus, and low energy. Terrible pain in my lower back had me in physical therapy and chiropractic care and was again threatening to put me back there, no pun intended. The flare-ups would often last for months at a time. Getting out of bed meant literally rolling out. Putting on my socks was near impossible due to my limited range of motion and the sharpness of the pain. Driving was unbearable during those times. There were also multiple skin issues, including a rather large and painful boils on my back that had to be surgically removed. There were infections and sickness that just repeated over and over again. There was increasing soreness and fatigue that left me depressed and feeling useless. I had become an unbearable version of myself.

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“I was told I would most likely never have children”

By Jane Birch · Comments (5)
Saturday, October 12th, 2019

By: Jessica Peterson

Shortly after graduating from high school, I was given a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and told repeatedly by multiple doctors and specialists that I would most likely never have children. I was prescribed metformin. It was supposed to help balance out my health condition, but after months of no results, and the doctor continually increasing the dosage, the drug wasn’t working and had started to damage my kidneys. So I decided to take my health into my own hands and do as much research as I could on diet and exercise for reversing my condition. No cure was out there, but many professionals touted that “this” diet had significant improvements in patients and “that” form of exercise was the best.

I was desperate to feel normal again and not feel sick all the time. I tried everything that had even an ounce of hope attached to it. Over the next several years, I tried Low-Glycemic, Paleo, Gluten Free, Keto, Vegetarian. You name it, I tried it.

Meanwhile, I married the man of my dreams, and two years into our marriage he approached me saying he felt there was a boy who was waiting to come to our family. Skeptical, yet hopeful, we returned to the doctors.

Four years ago, after multiple doctor visits and tests, we tried a drug we’d only heard rumors about and were finally able to get pregnant with our son. That pregnancy and birth were so successful and positive, that we decided to use that same drug to conceive my daughter.

Shortly after getting pregnant with my daughter, we started doing some research on the effects of a Whole Food Plant Based (WFPB) diet for people who struggle with hormonal imbalances, chronic illnesses, infertility, and a lot of other health problems. By this point in my life, I was tired. I had tried so many diets that had promised wonderful results, with no noticeable results showing up in my life.

Despite my hesitation, my husband was certain that this WFPB diet was worth a shot. So I agreed to try it for 30 days. Within the first WEEK I noticed a huge difference in my energy levels and ability to eat without feeling sick (something I had just gotten used to for years since my diagnosis). 30 days later, I went back to eating the standard American diet for one day and immediately felt worse then I had all month. I felt achy, nauseated, constipated, dizzy, and had some serious heartburn! I decided I would try to continue eating this way at least until my daughter was born. Read More→

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“I am not after mediocre results with my health or life. I want outstanding results!”

By Jane Birch · Comments (4)
Saturday, June 22nd, 2019

By: Janeen Alley

For as long as I can remember I’ve loved health and the human body and was fascinated with how it worked. I also knew that in my life journey I really wanted to help people. Fortunately, I found plant-based nutrition early on, but it wasn’t until after a few unhealthy detours. Currently, I’m a health and life coach and run my own business. I’m passionate about educating others about the newfound energy and life I discovered after I stumbled upon plant-based nutrition in 2004.

After I graduated from college, I got a job working as a personal trainer in a gym in 2001. I had taught anatomy as a teaching assistant at BYU for 2 years, so it was an easy position to transition into.

The job proved to be more challenging than I thought. As a trainer, I couldn’t give specific nutrition advice to my clients because it was beyond my scope of training. I could ask if they were eating “a balanced diet” – if they said yes, I could move on to their workouts. If they said “no” – I could point them to the My Plate guidelines, and then… move on to their workouts!

I knew diet mattered, but at the time, I didn’t realize how much. When my clients failed to reach their goals, I was devastated for them. I was also frustrated and embarrassed I couldn’t figure out how to troubleshoot better and get them the results they were after.

At the time, I thought I had a “pretty good diet.” My dad was a physician and my mom made everything from scratch. They lived by the Moderation Mantra: everything is okay, even healthy, as long as it is consumed in moderation. I have found that this thought and lifestyle only creates mediocre results. I don’t know about you, but I am not after mediocre results with my health or life. I want outstanding results!

I knew how the body worked – down to the nitty gritty details – but I couldn’t figure out how to get outstanding results for my clients. According to my training manual, I was doing everything right. But I was still confused by ALL the conflicting information out there on nutrition, and I definitely didn’t feel good about recommending gym supplements because I knew there were some dangerous side effects.

When my husband started dental school in Philadelphia in 2002, I was more than relieved to get away from my frustrations at the gym and move on to the next phase of my life. Our first two children were born while we lived there (2002 and 2004). But not only had I stopped training clients, I stopped taking care of myself. As a result, my energy levels tanked, I put on weight, struggled with my acne, and lost a TON of hair during my pregnancies.

I remember being exhausted! When my son was about 9 months old, I have memories of being so tired I couldn’t get up off the floor. I would lay down and try to stay awake while he would crawl on my legs and back to try to get me up to play with him. I felt like a horrible mom. I didn’t want to take him to the park or to the library because I didn’t have the energy. I knew I needed to do something different.

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“We were all blown away by the power of these simple dietary changes”

By Jane Birch · Comments (9)
Saturday, February 16th, 2019

By: Danielle Dinkelman

In the Fall of 2016 I started diving into some Netflix food documentaries. That was the first time I seriously considered the idea of shifting to a whole food, plant-based way of eating. I had been a mom on a mission for the last year and a half to eliminate processed foods and added sugars from our diet. My husband and four little ones (ages 7, 4, 3, and 1 at the time) had come a long way, but I was looking for the next step.

It was the movie Fat Sick & Nearly Dead that really got my attention. I remember Joe Cross pointing out that by definition the only foods that contain fiber are plant foods. Having suffered from digestive issues my whole growing up years, this was an answer I had never considered: eat less animal products. Then there was the point on inflammation and the immune system. In the film he explained how when we eat inflammatory foods, especially dairy and sugar, our immune system is weakened. I finished watching that movie, determined to add more fruits and vegetables to our diet, and maybe start avoiding dairy.

The next few months, I experimented with these ideas on myself and my kids. It was the perfect time to test these ideas out because it was the height of cold and flu season. So, when we started to get the sniffles or a sore throat, we would cut out all dairy and all sugar. I saw a dramatic difference in our ability to stave off infections. When we did get a full-on cold, the kids and I were able to get over it so much faster than before. Instead of 7 to 10 days or more, it only took us 3 to 5 days at the most to get better. I was amazed at how predictably well this worked, so much so that I started to wonder why I was feeding my kids dairy at all.

My husband was unaware of my experiments until he himself was going on month 3 of a chronic sinus infection where drugs had not helped at all. I told him about the success the kids and I had with ditching dairy and sugar to kick our colds. I asked him to just try it and see what happened. He did, and it only took 7 days for him to feel the symptoms start to subside. We were all blown away by the power of these simple dietary changes.

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“I have experienced all of the promises of the Word of Wisdom”

By Jane Birch · Comments (3)
Saturday, January 5th, 2019

By: Alicia Schick

It was summer of 2015, and I was expecting boy #4. We’d been seeing specialists in an effort to resolve digestive trouble my husband had experienced for years, and I was exhausted trying to make enough food for him on a strict elimination diet composed of primarily organic meat and four types of cooked vegetables. So much of the digestive advice emphasizes meat and recommends avoiding grains that we thought it was worth a try. While a few of my husband’s symptoms did subside, others became worse, and we were uncomfortable with the high intake of meat. Looking back I can tell it was a much harder pregnancy than the others–including my highest weight gain and challenges I hadn’t experienced before.

Shortly after our son was born in the fall, we were amazed to learn some new friends of ours didn’t really eat animal products at all. Janeen Alley and her family had eaten whole food, plant-based for at least 10 years and become an expert in the benefits, so we decided to give it a try. We ate a dramatic increase in plants between Thanksgiving and Christmas that year, and I was amazed that we managed to avoid getting sick—no easy feat with a newborn, a 3 year old, a Kindergartner and a 2nd grader in the thick of winter.

As the months progressed, I couldn’t believe the benefits I experienced by eating whole food, plant-based. By March, I had lost all of my pregnancy weight and then some. I had to buy new pants because everything I owned was too big. In June I competed in a triathlon. I was still up with my baby many nights and because of that was pretty inconsistent in my training. Yet my paces were not too far behind my pre-pregnancy times, something I had previously struggled to reach until my babies were much older and I was able to resume more consistent training.

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“I decided to put the Lord’s promises to the test”

By Jane Birch · Comments (6)
Saturday, December 1st, 2018

By: Amy Adamson

I’ve always been interested in nutrition, so much so that I studied it in college. But sadly, I’ve always been a “do as I say and not as I do” kind of nutritionist. I was raised in a family of junk food junkies! My dad would give my brother and me $20 and tell us to go buy as many candy bars as we could. Back then we would literally come home with about 50 candy bars! Our family could easily polish them off in a couple of days. My mom was an excellent baker. We had delicious cakes, pies and cookies for dessert daily. Every meal revolved around meat and milk. Our family did have one healthy habit going though! We all loved physical activity. Tennis, skiing, running, hiking and sports filled up a lot of our family time.

By using many physical activities to “make up” for my poor dietary choices, I was able to remain slim and trim. To me that meant “healthy.” Then in the fall of 2017, I began having some bowel issues. I felt sheepish about the problem so I put off seeking treatment. Finally, in the May of 2018 a colonoscopy revealed a tubulovillous adenoma. I ended up having surgery a few weeks later to remove the tumor. The surgeon told me that the pathology revealed it was in the process of changing to cancer. At only 48 years old, I had dodged the cancer bullet.

This set me on the path of change. I knew I needed to change my dietary habits. But nutrition today had become so confusing! The more I learned, the more confused I became. Everyone believed and touted something different. One day, while searching online, I came across a sample of a book that I quickly began reading. It was called Discovering the Word of Wisdom. I read and read, until the sample ended. I immediately ordered a hard copy on Amazon and could not wait for the book to arrive so I could finish it. As I read, the spirit testified to me of the truth of what I was reading. While at the same time, the ideas seemed very radical to me. It was very different from my current lifestyle. But, based on my brush with cancer, I knew I did not need more of the same.

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