Veggie story

Thanks, Henry Petty, for serving as today’s guest writer!

This week marks the one year anniversary of the movie “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” being released to Netflix, and I wanted to share my gratitude to Joe Cross, creator of the documentary that has changed so many lives and the impact the movie has had on my own life.

Up until early 2011, I had gained massive weight by sitting in front of a computer for 10 hours a day.  I had the worst eating habits.  My breakfast, lunch, and dinner all consisted of meat, meat, meat, mashed potatoes laced with lard, and more meat.  My gut was hanging over my belt in my size 46 pants; I was depressed, had no energy, and suffered from sleep apnea among other conditions.  The skinny people in my life and who I spent time with only made me feel fatter than one could imagine and made me even more self-conscious and unworthy of love from anybody.

My “come to Jesus” moment happened after a routine health screening showed I was in the red (bad) margin of bad health 7 out of 8 health categories.  I was borderline diabetic from what the Dr. told me, and having a history of diabetes coming down from both sides of my family didn’t help my chances of escaping.  Quite frankly, I was surprised I didn’t have diabetes already.  The embarrassment grew worse as I saw the scales tip to 310 pounds.

The Indian doctor, bless her heart, told me bluntly, “This is not good.  You need to change.”  She recommended I limit my beef intake to 2 times a week.

Then, in July 2011, I watched a movie, “Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead,” which changed my life.  I highly recommend you Netflix it;  it’s about a man’s decision to juice for 90 days straight. He cured his ailments as well as lost massive weight.

I began the juice fast for all of 2 days, because my girlfriend feared I wasn’t taking in enough.  The downfall to juicing is it’s very expensive, and I was taking in half of the ingredients I should have.  The “reboot” program costs up to $30 daily.

Then, I made a decision to give up all meats and go strictly veggie & fruits.  I’m not vegan like Tess by any means, but I eat a vegetarian diet peppered with seafood (technically, I’m a pescatarian, but I tell everyone I’m vegetarian to avoid the blank stares followed up with endless questions).

And then 4th of July happened.  Like I have so many times before, I failed on my lifestyle change and was really hungry.  In a frantic state of mind, I threw burgers, hot dogs, cole slaw & bratwurst on my plate, nuked them in the microwave, and away I ate.  Momentarily, I felt great and fulfilled.  Afterwards, I felt like crap.  I screamed to myself, “This is IT; this is the LAST TIME I allow myself to fail.  Never Again!”  I quickly made myself a veggie juice to cleanse myself, and never looked back.

I never was addicted to hamburgers, though they are my favorite food that I now substitute with a veggie patty or portabella mushroom.  The reason I ate meat mostly is because of how I was raised.  I was raised around burgers, fried chicken, and Coca-Cola.  Never was I addicted to these foods–it was just a way of life.

Currently, I don’t follow any specific diet, though I’ve read some great books like “The Engine Diet,” “Eating Well for Optimum Health,” and many other books to guide me through.  I do P90X workouts frequently, and I try to stay active.  I’ve lost 30 pounds since I began my journey and have never been happier.  I’m more confident in myself, my clothes fit me better, and my blood pressure is now at a happy medium.

But it all started with Joe’s movie, and for that I am dearly grateful.

For more of Henry’s thoughts, check out his blog.