Dave and his wife have been together for over 30 years and they have always shared a love of food. When they were eating the Standard American Diet of fast food, processed junk, and sugary drinks, they were both overweight and unhealthy, but Dave was by far the most affected.
At his heaviest, Dave was nearly double his ideal weight at over 360 pounds. Every time he stood up, he was carrying around a second Dave and it was weighing him down mentally too. He realized he didn't want that poor quality of life long-term. He and his wife decided to start a journey to figure out how to get healthier. She was very supportive along the way. They tried every diet out there including the Atkins Diet, Weight Watchers, The Cabbage Soup Diet, taking coconut oil and other supplements, you name it, they tried it.
He lost some weight, gained it back, switched diets, and repeated. Overall, his eating pattern could be described as "low carb". It was during this time that he was diagnosed with Hypertension, which led to one medication initially. Soon he was diagnosed with Prediabetes, then Type 2 Diabetes, which led to more medications. There he was trying to get healthier, and the entire time his list of medications increased along with dosages of all of them. He ended up on 2 different medications for Diabetes, 3 for hypertension, and 1 for Hypothyroidism.
He realized one day, "Something had to change because the damage I had done and was doing to my body was incredible. It happened so slowly that I didn't even realize it. I did not realize just how bad I actually felt, it had become my normal."
Dave and his wife came to my office just days after the above picture was taken. He admitted he was not excited to meet another provider. Until that point every time he saw a medical professional, they were adding more medications, increasing dosages, or both. He was tired of being stuck in this rut, and despite all his Doctor's efforts, he was feeling worse than ever. In addition to the above conditions, Dave had moderate daily knee and ankle pain. He was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. He was ready for a real change.
Dave and his wife listened intently and took notes as I prescribed a Lifestyle Medicine plan centered around improving his nutrition first. They went home and implemented the changes discussed immediately. They were excited to try a new plan that was actually based on the latest scientific evidence to heal his body from the inside out.
Within days Dave had a new lease on life. He was feeling better than he had for years, his joint pain was gone despite suffering with knee pain for decades. Within weeks he was reporting his energy and productivity at work had skyrocketed. Most-importantly, within months, he had lost about 40 pounds and we were able to safely discontinue 5 of the 6 medications he walked in my office taking daily. He had so much energy, he took up running and started training for his first 5K. He and his wife noticed that overall, their grocery bill had declined and they had the additional savings of drastically reduced monthly medication costs.
Today Dave and his wife Geary Beth are happier and healthier than they've ever been together. Dave is about the same weight he was in high school and he enjoys an active lifestyle including running and weight lifting. Dave got a surprise the last time he went to the eye doctor. His eyesight has improved! His Ophthalmologist was very interested in what Dave was doing and he said he has rarely if ever seen eyesight improvements in his patients. "Bye Bye bifocals! Hello new me!" he exclaimed. Dave's results are extraordinary and they are truly a testament to the healing power of Lifestyle Medicine when a person is ready for a transformation in quality of life.
Dave and Geary Beth have inspired many along their journey and they are excited to inspire more people in the Kansas City area while sharing their renewed love for foods that heal.
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