a message of hope and possibility for the obese [View all]

i was an overweight child. you know, when your mom takes you to get new school clothes and you have to go with "husky". i was slow of foot, and not very athletic until i hit puberty when things kind of evened out a bit, but as you may guess that didn't last.

from the time i was in my mid-20s until now (late-40s) i watched the pounds pile on and my health slide away, as i worked at increasingly stressful tech industry jobs. i had bouts with depression and anxiety, and 7 years ago i was diagnosed with MS. exercising became difficult and dangerous, due to being obese and extra-clumsy. eventually, after breaking a toe in the showers at the health club, i gave up on it. but the pounds kept coming. there was nothing i could do. i despaired and just kind of accepted that i was on the express train to heart disease and all i could do was wait for the inevitable death blow.

then something interesting happened. one of my favorite film directors, the formerly obese Kevin Smith, had a heart attack and was away from his webcasts for a while. when he returned, he was thin -- well not exactly thin, but on the upper edge of normal. he talked about what he did during recovery. basically he got in touch with Penn Jillette who had lost a lot of weight and referred him to the diet i'm using now. before+after pic:

quick excerpt from an extended interview about his diet:

the general idea is quite simple: avoid "dense" foods - foods that pack a lot of nutrients into a small package. these are things like meats, dairy, refined sugars, and oils. in particular, eat plants as much as possible.

for the first week (or few days, however long it takes to get your body to understand) of the diet, only eat potatoes. you can bake them or air-fry them however you like, but no oils or salts. important: you can have as much food as you like, as long as it is a potato. you will quickly discover that many of the ideas you previously had about potatoes were based mostly in the oils and salts required by society for "civilized" dining. eventually when you have a hunger attack you may ask yourself "yes i'm hungry, but am i potato hungry?"

for the second week, you can add corn to your potato diet. after a week of eating potatoes, you will be surprised at how sweet corn actually is.

keep going along like this for a while - every week add another plant or two until you are getting an enjoyable variety of flavors from your meals in addition to the fullness. jalapenos are fantastic - i'd definitely put them in the top 5 foods to add, but proceed in a way that works for you.

as this progresses, also be mindful of the food messaging you receive from the ambient culture (which food is advertised where, how is it presented and who is the target audience). i found the messaging to be significant, dangerous, and causal. being aware of such things can help you down the road. remember, your previous diet got you as far as it did, you can damn well try this for a couple months.

after almost 3 months on this diet of plant-based eating, i have lost 45 pounds. my eczema (which formerly covered my legs, arms, and shoulders with small itchy bumps) has completely disappeared. my hair, which was falling out in an unpleasant way, is growing back in with a lot less grey. most importantly, i have no desire to return to the Standard American Diet. my energy levels remain high, and i walk a lot faster now that 20% of my body weight is ... just gone. the great bonus of this approach to eating is its inherent simplicity - you already know what you can eat, you don't need to track points, and after a couple weeks you might not have any urges to deviate anyway. don't get alarmed about the nutrients - there are plants that give you iron and calcium and selenium and all that good stuff nutritionists will tell you aren't available on a vegan diet. we now live in a society where it is possible to research and acquire excellent plant-based nutrition, it would be a shame if we don't make use of these abilities.

yes, i still have a way to go - about 30-40 pounds before i'm where i want to be. but here's the difference: now i have hope where before there was resignation and despair. i'm sharing this because as one of the many millions of Americans dealing with our own personal tribulations in the mass-obesity epidemic, i found a way back from the danger zone, and it would be downright selfish and irresponsible for me to not pass it on.