I get a sense that some people, friends, co-workers and even family (excluding my wife) are a bit intimidated when I talk about”McDougalling” and how it affected my lifestyle. As I have said previously, this is NOT a diet. While my physician begs to differ, this is a lifestyle change. I’ll agree with you, the reader that this is lifestyle not for everyone, but arguments could be made that it should be.

By no means do I feel as if I am supporting a cause. I don’t consider myself “vegan” or “vegetarian” rather I eat a plant-based, whole food diet. Yet many I talk to seem to be rather narrow minded when the words “vegan” or “vegetarian” are spoken. Many conger up images or sitting in front of a big plate of salad and eating tofu for your sustenance rather than meat. It seems I am asked on a regular basis, “What do you eat?” I tell them, anything I want that is not meat, dairy or oil based. More importantly after nearly 30 pounds of weight lost, I have not been hungry since living “plant strong.”

But it’s not about weight loss alone, I have seen wonderful results internally, as my blood work numbers were trending in the correct direction. Meaning my total cholesterol was going down, my LDL (bad) cholesterol was down, my HDL (good) was unchanged and my Triglycerides were down. Toss in about 45 minutes of weights or exercise a day and it’s just a matter of time before my appearance begins to change. That is MY goal, as they say, “lead by example.”

Men especially seem to puff out their chests, being the “manly” thing to do and start to make jokes and be humorous when it comes this way of eating, backing the call of “I need meat!” in order to survive. In what I have experienced, no you don’t. Much like not supporting a vegan cause, I don’t lobby for PETA or think someone who does eat meat is a bad person. Each one of us my decide for ourselves what is best. It has taken 42 years, but going plant-based has been the best move for my health. Why would I want to change?