Every journey has a beginning, and mine started with a documentary. I didn’t set out to change my life, my health, or my future — I simply pressed play on Forks Over Knives. But sometimes the smallest moment becomes the turning point you didn’t know you needed.
That film opened my eyes. It was practical, clear, and deeply convincing. I’ve thought for a long time that food was the answer for most of our health problems, but I didn’t really have a clear idea of how to do it. Suddenly I saw food not just as something I ate, but as something that could shape my health in powerful ways. I decided to give their version of a whole‑food plant‑based diet a try. I didn’t know where it would lead — I just knew it felt right. And so I began.
Finding My Structure: Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen
After being on the Forks Over Knives approach for a while, I discovered Dr. Michael Greger’s Daily Dozen. That changed everything again — but in a more organized way.
The Daily Dozen gave me structure. It wasn’t restrictive; it was a checklist of abundance. Beans, berries, greens, whole grains, nuts, seeds — all the foods that nourish and energize. It felt like someone had handed me a simple roadmap. I didn’t have to guess anymore. I just followed the list, one day at a time.
And it worked. It worked better than I ever expected.
Two Years Later… Everything Is Different
I’ve now been eating a whole‑food plant‑based diet for almost two years. In that time, I’ve lost a lot of weight — the kind of weight that doesn’t come back because it wasn’t a “diet,” it was a lifestyle shift.
But here’s the part that still amazes me: I’m at my normal weight. A weight I haven’t seen since I was 14 years old.
And I am now 73.
I don’t think I fully realized how much my body had been carrying — physically and emotionally — until it let go. I feel lighter in every sense of the word.
Why I’m Sharing This
I’m not telling this story to convince anyone to eat the way I do. I’m sharing it because sometimes we need to hear that change is possible — even later in life, even when we think we’ve tried everything, even when we’re not sure where to begin.
I also want to be clear about something: I don’t have any problem with using meat for food. After the flood, God gave us permission to eat meat, and there is nothing wrong with that when animals are treated humanely. My journey into whole‑food plant‑based eating was about my health, not about rejecting meat itself. I still indulge when the occasion comes and it’s the most reasonable thing to do — like if I’m invited to dinner. I’ll eat whatever is served. I’m not allergic to any foods, so nothing prevents me from enjoying a meal when the situation calls for it.
Now I am planning a new change in my life. I want a homestead — a real, down‑to‑earth homestead where I can eventually be completely food self‑sufficient. The kind of place where the work is honest, the rhythm is steady, and the land provides what I need because I’ve tended it with intention. It feels like the next step in this journey toward living simply, eating intentionally, and building a life that makes sense to me.
