“I’m healthier at 35 than I have ever been before”

By: Brandon Berrett

I’ve been a “larger fellow” all my life. I simply chalked it up to genetics. I watched my father and grandfather be diagnosed with diabetes and saw them struggle through everything that comes along with obesity. After years of seeing this happen, I didn’t want to be that person.

So I took action and 15 years ago I started to do everything that traditional medicine and weight loss advocates say to do. I went on a high protein, low carb diet filled with as much meat as I could handle.

I saw a lot of success. I lost about 50 pounds. I looked great. It was suddenly an option for me to pursue a career in the military, which I did. Even in the military though, I was always at the high end of the weight scale. I had to constantly count my calories. I found that pounding back tons of protein every day was no longer effective.

Despite my high level of physical activity, I was gaining weight. I was distressed and depressed at the same time. And it never sat right with me that I was told to avoid certain fruits and vegetables. How could carrots and fruit be causing my weight gain but unlimited steak and bacon were perfectly fine?

My health was also suffering. I was diagnosed with chronic recurring pleurisy. I had terrible chest pains that would leave me incapacitated for days or weeks at a time. Needless to say, this was not good for my military career, and I was medically discharged.

Over the next 7 years, I watched my weight gradually increase and my health steadily decline. I felt 30 years older than I was. I found myself weighing 320 pounds and was constantly sick from ailments doctors couldn’t diagnose. I was in my early 30’s, and I had to walk with a cane.

Despite my pain, I decided it was time to make a change. For the second time. I decided to skip the high protein route though and after a year of really hard work, I dropped myself to 300 pounds with pure exercise.

During this time, my mind kept returning to my patriarchal blessing. In it I am specifically admonished to remember the Word of Wisdom and the principles of taking care of my body. In my wrecked physical state, I wondered what that could mean. It told me specifically to “only take into [my] body that which is pleasing to the Lord.”

I, of course, thought this only applied to the Word of Wisdom in a traditional sense. I took special care, more than most, to avoid harmful tea, alcohol, tobacco, etc. I thought I was keeping that admonition in my blessing because I was keeping the worthiness aspect of that section of the Doctrine and Covenants. I wanted to run and not be weary and walk and not faint. But somehow that promise was elusive to me.

As I wondered about this personal admonition from the Lord, I discovered the principle of intermittent fasting in all the clamor that is out there and through it was able to lose a substantial amount of weight. It was a miracle! Without guzzling expensive foods or protein powders, in fact, without buying anything at all, I went from 300 pounds to my Army weight of 230. I was able to fit back into my Army dress uniform. In fact, it’s a bit loose! By accident, that process led me to start living a whole food plant-based diet. I discovered after my fasts that meat sat in my stomach like a rock. So I ate significantly less. I discovered sugar made my heart race and so I began to avoid it too. Dairy destroyed my stomach after a fast and so I cut it out, which is something I never thought I would be able to do. I was listening to my body and became attuned to the effects food had on it. I was discovering these principles through trial and error on my own.

Halfway through that journey, I was casually flipping through the Doctrine and Covenants and came across the familiar section 89. I began to read it, and it was as though I was reading it for the first time. I felt the Spirit powerfully testify to me of the truthfulness of what I was reading. I was drawn to the phrase that states and warns against the “designs of conspiring men.” I could see how nearly everything in our food industry is done by “conspiring men” who pour ingredients into their food to maximize its power over you. My own food addiction wasn’t just my poor behavior alone as I had been taught. Society says that if you only ate less and moved more you wouldn’t be overweight. That’s only partially true. It’s difficult to win a game when the rules are stacked against you. Our modern diet is stacked against us. Heavily. Pun intended.

But the most powerful moment came when the verses about meat came up. My “heart was pricked,” It was powerful. “It is pleasing unto me that they should not be used” (D&C 89:13).This phrase entered powerfully into my heart. Not only because I felt a desire to please the Lord and felt the love he has for all of his creations, but I had received an answer to my health mysteries. I recalled that phrase in a personal revelation the Lord had given me almost 20 years prior. “Only take into your body that which is pleasing unto the Lord.” I was overwhelmed with the love and care my Creator has for me. He knew what my body needed to run at its best, and he was outright telling me now. My body was being harmed by eating meat and dairy. He knew that and gave me a way to be better.

I now currently eat no meat. My wife has joined me and also has experienced health benefits and weight loss. And we’re dragging our children behind us. Everyone has experienced a betterment in their health. Our chubby kids have slimmed out. Their palettes are getting used to the change, though it’s not always a smooth transition. There have been breakdowns and tears when they wondered why they have to eat lentils! Again! The pleurisy that has plagued me for decades has vanished. My pre-diabetes has reversed. I continue to lose weight. I’m the healthiest at 35 than I have ever been before.

But the greatest thing for me is knowing that I am doing something that pleases our Heavenly Father. He knows my body and gave me the answer decades ago. It has strengthened my testimony to have received such a personal answer from the Lord.

Benjamin Franklin joked that “beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” It’s a funny joke, but the opposite is true: the Word of Wisdom is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy, and I bear to you my testimony of that.

Brandon Berrett is 35 years old and lives in West Jordan, Utah with his wife Heather and their 4 young boys. He served his mission in the Poland Warsaw Mission, served in the Utah Army National Guard, and graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in English. Brandon also has master’s degrees in Writing and Educational Leadership. He studied the organ at the University of Utah music department. Brandon has been teaching since the days of his mission. He’s taught seminary, elementary school, middle school, and college. He currently works as an instructional designer in the corporate world. Brandon and his family enjoy camping and exploring National Parks together. Brandon serves as his ward organist and teacher’s quorum advisor.