Trying a Low-Carb Diet for Diabetes

In 2019, I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. My doctor told me to eat a low-carb, high-protein diet, so I started doing Atkins, with a lot of meat and prepackaged foods.

At a routine eye exam a few months later, my eye doctor noticed that I had clumps of cholesterol in one eye. I was immediately sent to the hospital for a carotid artery scan, which found that the small artery on the left side of my face, eye, and brain was around 60% clogged with plaque buildup. I was scared! My doctor wanted to put me on a statin for cholesterol and metformin for diabetes. I knew there had to be a better way.

Swift Results on a WFPB Diet

I began researching different diets and found How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn, MD. I immediately adopted a whole-food, plant-based diet, free of oil. Within just five weeks, my total cholesterol dropped 60 points, from 290 to 230. Within six months it dropped to 184, and my A1C dropped from 7.1 to 5.9, all without medication—all from just changing what I was eating! I also lost 36 pounds.

Still Plant-Based and Thriving 5 Years Later

Since making the switch five years ago, I’ve maintained normal cholesterol levels and reversed Type 2 diabetes. At age 55, I feel the best I ever have! I also became certified in plant based nutrition and cooking to help others take control of their health with a WFPB way of eating. I am so grateful that now I can share my story and help educate others about the power of lifestyle medicine. I believe that it’s the solution for preventing and reversing many of the chronic diseases that we face today.

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post On a High-Carb Diet, I Reversed Type 2 Diabetes and High Cholesterol appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

I could barely walk to the mailbox without getting winded. I remember once, when I was in my mid-30s, a friend asked me to go on a walk around the block with her, and halfway through, I burst into tears and had to stop because I couldn’t breathe and was in so much pain. I was so sick and tired of being sick and tired.

My husband and I tried everything under the sun to lose weight—Weight Watchers, SlimFast, low-carb diets, etc. We’d lose a bit of weight at first, but I always felt hungry and deprived. I was not able to stick to any of these diets for long, and I gained even more weight back than the initial weight lost.

Giving a WFPB Diet a Chance

Fast-forward a few painful years. My hubby, who also was severely obese, spotted a flier for a documentary called Forks Over Knives. We decided to watch it, though at this point I had very little hope that I could ever shed any weight successfully.

I really only heard part of the message of the film: Cut out animal flesh. I told Hubby I wanted to go vegetarian. He said that if we were going to give it a try, he wanted to commit to going vegan. So we committed to it for a year.

After a year without animal products, we’d each lost 100 pounds. The weight came off fairly easily. We decided to try transitioning to the whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet advocated in Forks Over Knives, which meant cutting out oil and vegan ultraprocessed foods. We had varying degrees of success with this. For a few years, we ate oil off and on. But slowly, more pounds came off. I decided to also cut out all refined sugar.

Fully into the Whole-Food, Plant-Based Lifestyle

Today I am 52 years old and happily committed to a WFPB lifestyle, as is my husband. I have continued to gradually lose weight and have easily maintained the weight loss, even after having a thyroid gland removed in 2019 (due to a benign but large tumor).

Prior to going plant-based, I had high cholesterol and high blood pressure, and my inflammation markers were off the charts. Now all of these are in the normal range. My doctor has said that my blood work is like that of a healthy young athlete. I take that as a tremendous testimony to the WFPB lifestyle.

I no longer struggle with GERD symptoms. Before going plant-based, I depended on Prilosec and Tums to get through the day. Now I don’t suffer any heartburn; I can eat the spiciest of foods with no problems! To top it all off, I used to suffer from terrible insomnia, and now I sleep like a contented baby.

I run five days a week and am an avid walker. I am sober, happy, and healthy. I have gained a completely new life. My husband and I are fully committed to continuing on our veggie journey and flourishing in this way of living!

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post From Sick and Tired to Happy and Healthy: My Whole-Food, Plant-Based Journey appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

That all changed in March 2021, when I went for a checkup at my doctor’s office and found out that I was not as healthy as I’d thought. My doctor ordered bloodwork, and I received the results about a week later, on March 12, my birthday. The panel showed that I had elevated total cholesterol, at 202 mg/dL, and elevated LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, at 124 mg/dL. On top of that, I had prediabetes. It was a bit depressing to receive all this news on my birthday.

Going Oil-Free

After that appointment, a friend of mine told me about the oil-free, whole-food, plant-based way of eating. She mentioned a raw plant-based cardiologist with a heart and wellness practice located in my town of Houston. As I looked into it more, I became intrigued by WFPB diets. My research led me to watch the Forks Over Knives documentary. After that, I cut out all oils, and started learning more about whole-food, plant-based cooking. In April 2021, I attended the Food Revolution Summit to dive deeper.

By that summer, I’d lost 30 pounds! I was shocked to realize just how much oil I’d been using in the past, and what a difference removing it from my diet had made.

Two Years Later

Since going WFPB, I’ve lowered my A1C to 5.5, which means I no longer have prediabetes. I’ve lowered my total cholesterol from 202 to 171, and my LDL from 124 to 93. Today I’m shopping more in the produce section of grocery stores. I’m reading labels more carefully and eating out a lot less. While I’ve put back on a little of the weight I initially lost back in 2021, I feel that it’s more muscle, as I’ve been able to do more intense workouts.

I’ve really enjoyed trying different WFPB recipes over the past couple of years. There’s excitement in tasting the dishes and seeing how delicious they can be without any of the unhealthy junk that I ate in the past. Some of my favorite recipes are oatmeal breakfast balls or bars, Sweet Potato Waffles, baked falafel, homemade bean burgers, a cashew cheese sauce that I pour on pretty much everything, and so much more. I enjoy using the Forks Over Knives recipe app: It gives me so many options to try and I don’t have to worry about unhealthy ingredients.

I’ve shared my experiences and suggestions with family and friends. Although I’ve largely been met with skepticism, I was able to help a friend who has diabetes lower his A1C and lose weight by eating more WFPB. I also helped a family member manage hypertension and digestive problems. These experiences inspired me to obtain a certification in nutrition, because I feel it’s so essential to get this information out there and continue helping as many people as possible. It’s too important to ignore.

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post Oil-Free and Thriving: Restored to Health on a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

I struggled with being overweight from an early age. I joined my first weight-loss program at 12, setting off a decades-long cycle of yo-yo and fad dieting. I tried any new diet that was touted to help with weight loss. I was always trying to figure out how to get healthy and always on some plan or program. Eating became a very regimented part of my life, from severely restricting my calories and meticulously weighing my food to tracking everything I ate. I would have some success with losing weight, but nothing sustainable. If I lost any weight, I’d soon gain it back. My weight-loss attempts were always about achieving a goal, never about building better habits or a healthier lifestyle.

Opportunity for Change

Over the years, as I made poor diet choices, I experienced weight gain; elevated blood pressure (hypertension stage 1), cholesterol, and blood sugar; chronic arthritis, joint pain, and muscle fatigue; frequent heartburn; low energy; and poor sleep. I also had PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) and struggled with infertility. I was on medications for five of these conditions.

In 2017, my weight had gotten up to 278, and I was still in poor health and at a very low place in my life. I remembered hearing someone say, “The lowest moment is when everything changes. When you are suffering, there is an opportunity for change.”

Early that summer, I finally began my journey to wellness. I got into green smoothies and started taking regular walks with a friend. In the fall, I started working with a health coach, who helped me transition to a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle. This was a pivotal moment for me. For the first time in my life, I began to understand what healthy eating was and was not. In the past, I had made it about dieting, deprivation, counting calories, and weighing everything. It was a very rigid approach, and I never enjoyed myself—and this is why I’d never stick to any diet for long!

After working with my health coach and learning about a WFPB lifestyle, I redefined my relationship with food and started to see it for its real purpose: optimal nutrition and joy.

The Healing Power of a WFPB Diet

As I adopted a WFPB diet, I noticed amazing changes. Between 2017 and 2020, I lost 100 pounds naturally. My energy and sleep improved. My blood pressure, cholesterol and A1C (a measure of average blood sugar) returned to normal ranges. I eliminated all symptoms of PCOS. The heartburn, fatigue, and joint pain I’d been experiencing for years slowly dissipated, and I was able to safely come off all the medications I’d been on. This surprised me the most, because all I’d done was fix the food!

Following a WFPB diet has significantly improved my quality of life overall. In addition to being free of chronic health conditions, I have more energy. I exercise consistently, typically five or six days a week.

This lifestyle has also inspired the cook within. I now love to cook and create spice blends to flavor my dishes in exotic ways. I even completed a plant-based culinary program to learn more about plant-based cooking. Grain bowls are one of my favorite things to make. I change up the ingredients, but every bowl features a whole grain, lots of vegetables, and one of my signature sauces or dressings.

Paying It Forward

Today I try to do all I can to spread the word about the health benefits of a WFPB diet. I earned a certificate in plant-based nutrition and became a certified health coach and Food for Life instructor with a nonprofit that provides nutrition and cooking classes to the public. I love teaching people how diet can fight disease and showcasing how versatile this lifestyle is. I also started an online WFPB community to share information and to help grow the movement. I love giving back to my community!

I’m so grateful that I chose to follow a plant-based diet. It changed—and saved—my life.

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post Breaking the Cycle of Deprivation: I Lost Weight and Resolved Several Health Issues on a WFPB Diet appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Discovering the Whole-Food, Plant-Based Way of Eating

I got married and had kids, and as they got older, I noticed how out of shape I was: I couldn’t even keep up with toddlers! They started making observations about “Daddy’s weight.” I wanted to be a role model for them and to have more energy, and I knew that the older I got, the harder it would be for me to lose weight. I was already a vegetarian at that point—a direct result of having watched the documentary Forks Over Knives—but I hadn’t gone completely plant-based yet. Then I started reading more about other people’s weight-loss journeys, and I discovered doctors like Joel Fuhrman, MD, and Michael Greger, MD. That’s when the world of whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) eating opened up for me!

Finding a Balance

Once I had my mind in the right gear, I decided to devote at least 30 minutes a day to movement. I came up with some exercise routines that I could fit into my days and found excuses to walk as much as possible. I combined the fitness with calorie-counting and found that the weight just started to fall off. I lost around 8 pounds a month for over a year. As I started to get toward a healthier weight, I found myself hitting a plateau. But soon I discovered intermittent fasting. I’d always had a bad habit of having late-night snacks, and that stopped it in its tracks. I stopped eating after my last meal of the day and didn’t eat again until after I had my morning workout. The weight started to come off again.

Eventually, I got down to my goal weight of around 160 pounds—200 pounds less than I was at my heaviest—but there was a problem: I was addicted to calorie-counting. If I’m honest, it made me feel a bit controlling, and I found that it was turning me into a kind of person that I didn’t want to be. After a heart-to-heart with my wife, I realized that there was no need for me to continue counting my calories, especially since I was eating entirely whole-food, plant-based by that point, and everything I was reading was saying that calorie-counting wasn’t necessary. So I stopped, cold turkey, and I promised myself I’d weigh in only once a week.

I ended up gaining some weight back, which upset me at first, but eventually I realized that I had actually overdone it with the weight loss before. So the next year was about finding a balance—eating properly, moving regularly, and figuring out what my natural body weight should be.

Staying the Course

Today I sit around 200 pounds without having to try that hard at all. I make time in my day for movement, eat when I’m hungry, and never worry about portions, because the food I’m eating is good for me.

I love making delicious plant-based comfort foods. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I filled some of the time with Rouxbe online cooking courses and took my culinary skills up a level. I was bursting with ideas and new recipes that my family and friends were loving just as much as I did. They were shocked that they were all WFPB.

Throughout this process a lot of friends and family started asking me how I’d so drastically improved my health. I realized that many people out there just didn’t have the right information. So I started to talk about my transformation on social media, and I now have a plant-based cooking series on YouTube. I can’t wait to see where this plant-based journey takes me next. I feel like I’m just getting started!

My Tips for Winning Over Friends and Family with WFPB Dishes

When friends or family come over, I like to stack their plates with comfort-food goodness that’s so delicious they don’t even think about the fact that it’s WFPB. Here are a few things I’ve found to be effective.

Texture Helps: Don’t underestimate mouthfeel when building your dishes! For instance, when making something like a grain bowl or salad, try adding a little crunch with a sprinkling of nuts, seeds, tortilla chips, or shredded cabbage.

No Faux: Omnivores know what animal products taste like. Instead of trying to fool them with highly processed vegan “meats” and “cheeses,” I fill them up with healthy homemade plant-forward faves like taco soup, falafel, or lentil stew and mash.

Sweet Spot: It’s easy to come up with naturally delicious desserts when there are so many simple baking swaps: flax eggs in place of regular eggs, fruit purees instead of oil, dates or pure maple syrup instead of refined sugar. The omnivores in my life can’t get enough of my fruit cobbler, avocado-banana brownies, or chickpea cookie dough—and they can never believe the goodies are WFPB!

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post On a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet, I’m Staying Fit Without Counting Calories appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

I learned about veganism at some point, and I realized that cutting out cheese would probably be a good move not just from an animal rights standpoint but also for my health. So I tried going vegan, many times. I failed. I just wanted cheese, cheese, cheese. I felt like I could never really give it up.

From Vegetarian to Vegan

In 2011, I watched the Forks Over Knives documentary and decided to finally cut out all animal products, including cheese, for good.

But I still couldn’t shake my craving for ultraprocessed foods. I ate a lot of fake meats and oil-laden fake cheeses, and my weight crept up over the years. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I found myself leading a more sedentary lifestyle, and I reached 340 pounds. It was so frustrating!

Looking back, I find it interesting that It was so easy for me to alter my food choices based on what was best for animals, but it was much more difficult to do so for my own health. I knew I needed a mental reset.

From Vegan to Whole-Food, Plant-Based

In February 2021, I revisited Forks Over Knives and read books on whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) nutrition, including How Not to Die by Michael Greger, MD. I also worked through my psychological issues related to food.

Once I began eating whole-food, plant-based, I found that the weight started coming off easily. What surprised me the most about the transition was how easy it was to cook WFPB. It wasn’t as complicated as I’d feared. Another shock was just how quickly I began to feel better. Within two short weeks, my energy level noticeably improved! This helped me to keep on track.

Since making the change, I’ve lost 180 pounds. I have so much more energy now! I’ve had many friends and colleagues approach me with curiosity about eating WFPB. I love sharing recipes with them and bringing WFPB dishes in to potlucks at work.

Finally, for the first time, I feel like I’m setting a good example: living proof that a vegan/WFPB diet doesn’t just help the animals; it can also help you live your best life!

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post I Went Vegan for the Animals. I Cut Out Highly Processed Foods for My Health appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Exercise didn’t work, either. I always maintained gym memberships. I had a walking buddy, with whom I walked religiously during warmer months. At one time, I could bench-press more than my 15-year-old son and do 25 consecutive flat-backed pushups, but I still weighed 175 pounds.

At 52, I decided to go vegan, but I ate a lot of highly processed vegan junk foods. Around that time, I gave up on losing weight. It was simply too much work to try to keep the weight off.

Stumbling Across a Surprising Solution

A few years ago, my doctor began pushing me toward statins to lower my cholesterol, as well as medications to address my prediabetes. I was already on medication to lower my blood pressure. I desperately wanted to avoid more meds. Then I met someone who told me that he lost 70 pounds by eating only potatoes. Potatoes?! I was shocked: Didn’t potatoes make you fat? He told me about The Starch Solution by John McDougall, MD. This sounded like the type of thing I could do. I went home and read everything I could about Dr. McDougall and learned about the benefits of a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet. I wanted so badly not just to lose weight but to lower my cholesterol, lower my blood pressure, and prevent Type 2 diabetes.

I decided to jump into a WFPB diet. I stuck to it strictly from the outset, because I wanted the weight loss and the health gains, and I didn’t want anything to pollute the results.

I knew that the results would take some time, and that was OK. It was more about learning how to do this every day and maintain the lifestyle for the long run. So I focused on learning to be happy with what I ate. Weaning off of highly processed foods wasn’t easy, and the first week was really hard, but the second week got a little easier, and from there my palate adjusted pretty quickly. I found that following a WFPB diet strictly, rather than “dabbling” in oil and ultraprocessed foods, was helpful, as it helped my taste buds adjust rather than stay hooked on unhealthy stuff.

A month after starting this way of eating, I had my annual checkup. My doctor was shocked, saying I’d had the largest drop in LDL cholesterol she had ever seen in her career that wasn’t due to medication. My blood pressure was normal, and my A1C was fine, too: I was no longer prediabetic.

The diet resolved some other issues I’d struggled with, like sleep apnea and headaches, and I even noticed a difference in my skin. In the past, the heels of my feet were thick and cracked. Sometimes, if the cracks opened too much, it would get very painful to walk. After going WFPB, they became more supple and soft, with no more fissures! That was a big relief.

Staying Committed to the WFPB Lifestyle

Today I’m 65 years old and don’t need any medications. I lost 44 pounds in the first year of eating WFPB and 10 more pounds the second year, and I’ve maintained most of that weight loss in the year since. I feel that I still have about 15 pounds to lose. As an older postmenopausal woman, it’s coming off extremely slowly. Because I’m trying to lose weight, I limit heavier WFPB-compliant foods such as whole grain bread and tofu.

I’ve had some age-related arthritis flare-ups, but they went away almost as quickly as they came. Added sugar and salt both seem to aggravate my arthritis, so I’ve also done the hard work of eliminating those from my diet. Going salt-free has been a struggle. However, I’m in support groups with many people who assure me that it gets easier as your palate adjusts.

Getting Better Together

My husband adopted a WFPB lifestyle about a year after I did, after suffering a heart attack. He’s lost 70 pounds. He also ditched migraines, heartburn, gastric reflux, and arthritis pain, and his chronic eczema is almost gone. Since he’s a heart attack survivor, he still has to take statins, but he’s hoping he might eventually be able to get off of those. Because of the cardiovascular disease, my husband and I have been strictly following the dietary recommendations of Caldwell Esselstyn, MD. That means eating six servings of greens every day, 365 days a year.

My daughter was so impressed with our health transformations that she decided to give WFPB a try, too, and she’s lost 40 pounds. All three of us have much more energy. My husband and I now look forward to walking our dog 2 to 4 miles a day (or more, if we have time). We take lots of rigorous hikes.

I’m so excited by all this renewal, I started a group online to share recipes, tips, and progress. My WFPB friends and family members love the way we eat, because we just feel so much better.

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post I Beat Heart Disease and Lost 44 Pounds in 9 Months Without Portion Control appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

My biggest health concern was my weight. When I started piling on the pounds during my teenage years, I was told to simply cut down the amount that I ate. Every diet I tried only lasted for a limited time. I’d always give up and return to my old ways. Sometimes setting my mind up for a diet was too challenging. Even after reading through all aspects of a new “regimen” in a magazine, I would flip the magazine over and go indulge in sweets.

In 2020, when COVID-19 hit, health became the most talked about topic worldwide. In researching the leading causes of death, I was surprised to find that most of them were lifestyle-related, and that many of the diseases had been linked specifically to diets high in animal products. I was flabbergasted. I watched Cowspiracy, What the Health, and Game Changers. I followed up on the expert sources in these documentaries and read Dr. Michael Greger’s book How Not to Die followed by How Not to Diet. His research led me to Dr. T. Colin Campbell’s book Whole, which explains how a whole-food, plant-based diet provides optimal nutrition. My nutrition education continued with Dr. Neal Barnard, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, and Rich Roll. All of my inherited beliefs regarding diets, health, and nutrition were completely upended.

But the idea that we could prevent and reverse chronic diseases just by eating fruits, veggies, and whole grains almost sounded too good to be true. I was skeptical that food could have such a significant influence. My partner and I decided to test it for ourselves. The fact that nobody was trying to sell us anything—nobody was trying to get us to subscribe to expensive supplements or pay to join a club—is what convinced us to give it a try. There were zero costs involved. The local grocery store had everything we needed to start our experiment. We challenged ourselves to go one month on a whole-food, plant-based diet. I used the Forks Over Knives website as a source for meal and cooking ideas. After getting an understanding of the principal points, I established a menu for us for the month. And we went all-in, cold turkey (pun intended).

Never Going Back

Two weeks of eating WFPB was all it took for me to say, “I will never eat meat again.”

I started feeling the positive changes right away, as soon as Day 3. The amount of extra energy I had—and the feeling of being as light as a feather, even after a meal—were mind-blowing. I’d never felt so good after eating in my life. I was convinced.

I was surprised that I no longer experienced hunger attacks: Technically, I was on a diet, but it didn’t feel that way. I was able to have more food than ever before. Every diet I’d tried before had strict portion sizes, allocated time slots for eating, no variations; they all required a lot of hard work, were not enjoyable, and left me feeling hopeless. The WFPB lifestyle suits me so much better.

It’s also improved my understanding of nutrition. It’s made me question why I was eating certain products in the first place. I later realized that I was simply following cultural and family habits.

Eating this way has also opened me up to a seemingly infinite array of vegetables and a wide world of spices. It’s improved my relationship with food.

Since making the switch, all forms of exercise have become much easier. Today I look better and feel happier than I did 20 years ago. I am delighted to speak to anyone who has an interest in a plant-based lifestyle. I feel obliged to share the positivity and empower others. People have the right to know that they can improve their mental and physical health by replacing what’s on their plate.

To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post As Early as Day 3 on a WFPB Diet, I Noticed I Had So Much More Energy appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Seasonal Affective Disorder—also known as SAD—is a type of depression that occurs during winter and can lead to fatigue, weight gain, irritability, and social isolation. Women are four times more likely to experience it than men, and the farther north you live increases the likelihood of developing SAD. While light therapy is the most common form of treating SAD, exercising in the sun (particularly in the morning hours) may offer an extra boost of protection against the winter blues. Remember, regular exercise is a great way to fend off depression because it reduces the level of stress hormones, such as cortisol, in your system while increasing endorphins, which are natural mood boosters. Combining the physiological benefits of a workout with the SAD-fighting powers of sunlight can help your spirits stay high all winter long.

We asked some of our favorite plant-based pros for their best winter fitness tips to help you stay motivated during the chillier months. Take a look at their expert insights for some much-needed inspiration, and then get your body moving!

Chase the Sun

“I usually try to walk twice a day, morning and evening. I have seen more sunsets during the winter than I ever did before! On the morning walk, I stop at a local park that has an outdoor exercise space and do some planks, push-ups, and other strength training. It’s motivating to be around other people and I’ve discovered I like doing these exercises a lot more when I’m outside compared to when I was doing them indoors at a gym.”—Michelle McMacken, MD, FACP, DIPABLM, executive director of Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine at NYC Health + Hospitals

Get Spinning

“I strap on my spin shoes and saddle up on my Peloton. Race me! We will stay in shape together. My username is GrapeTang. See you on the leaderboard!”—Robert Ostfeld, MD, MSc, FACC, preventive cardiologist in New York City

Create a Morning Routine

“To me, physical fitness doesn’t change because the weather around us has changed. It’s more about developing habits and routines than it is about special equipment and gadgets. Try doing some push-ups, crunches, squats, lunges, or planks as soon as you wake up in the morning. If you can make some form of exercise routine, it can become a daily habit, just like brushing your teeth.” —Robert Cheeke, bodybuilder and author of SHRED IT!

Build a Bumpin’ Playlist

“Regular exercise is a powerful way to boost your gut health, and these three things are helping me enhance both my muscles and my microbes: an exercise ball, my Bowflex adjustable dumbbells, and some great music. Exercise is a simple concept; we just need to move our body (cardio) and work against gravity (weight-bearing). Fire up some great music and just go to town on push-ups, crunches, curls, and burpees.” —Will Bulsiewicz, MD, MSCI, gastroenterologist and author of Fiber Fueled

Embrace What Feels Fun

“Staying active in the winter months is all about finding activities you really enjoy—sometimes I don’t feel like going running bundled up in my hat, gloves, and a winter coat, but I really enjoy active walks in addition to sledding with my kids, ice skating, and snowboarding. I also try to stand up as much as possible while working, and I make sure to take stretching breaks throughout the day to keep moving inside.”—Micaela Karlson, PHD, MSPH, author or A Plant-Based Life and contributor to Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health

Try a Slower Pace

“Although we see countless gym and fitness challenges in the new year, the energetics of winter call us to pull back and conserve our strength. It’s the most yin time of year, so it’s helpful to moderate exercise routines and include more restorative practices such as yoga. Of course movement is still beneficial, and my daily routine includes fascial release through engaged stretching.”—Dreena Burton, author of six plant-based cookbooks including Dreena’s Kind Kitchen: 100+ Whole-Foods Vegan Recipes to Enjoy Every Day

Turn Cardio Into a TV Treat

“Stream your shows while doing cardio. My trick to an easy 30 minutes on the elliptical machine is that I save that time for watching my favorite TV shows and movies. I streamed the entire series of White Lotus while exercising…45 minutes would fly by! It’s also really fun to have adventure-type shows to watch while working out. The Amazing Race, Welcome to Earth, and Living on the Edge are all shows about pushing your limits which is really motivating for getting that heart rate pumping!”—Katie Simmons, plant-based chef

The post How Plant-Based Experts Stay Fit All Winter Long (No Gym Membership Required) appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

One night I was up late snacking and scrolling through Netflix when I came across the Forks Over Knives documentary. I watched it, and then I watched The Game Changers and What the Health. In those days I always stayed up late because I didn’t sleep well. That night I was up well past 3 a.m. watching health documentaries.

The next day, I noticed how exhausted I felt just carrying my 3-year-old boy upstairs. That was it. I decided I wanted to be around as long as possible for my son, and that meant getting healthier. I switched to a whole-food, plant-based diet overnight.

Near-Instant Improvements

After a week, I noticed I had more energy. I woke up feeling more refreshed and less groggy. Even my mood was improving. As the pounds started to fall off, I felt like I was becoming me again. I started walking a few miles each day, and I found it easier to walk long distances as the months went on. My self-confidence was growing week after week. The feeling was amazing.

In the year since making the switch, I’ve lost more than 60 pounds. Today one of my go-to meals is a four-bean salad with sautéed spinach and mushrooms, a squeeze of lemon, and fresh cilantro. It tastes good hot or cold.

People always ask me, “What are you doing? How have you lost so much weight?” When I tell them, they’re often shocked and say something like, “I could never give up meat.” I tell them that they definitely can. If you want to be stronger, faster, healthier, and more confident than ever, this is the way to do it.

Ready to get started? Check out Forks Meal Planner, FOK’s easy weekly meal-planning tool to keep you on a healthy plant-based path. To learn more about a whole-food, plant-based diet, visit our Plant-Based Primer.

The post I Went Plant Based (and Dropped 60 Pounds) After Losing My Dad to His Third Heart Attack appeared first on Forks Over Knives.