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Take the Spud Fit Challenge HERE

Wendy wrote the following blog post:

My annual blood labs in October 2018 showed rising LDL, cholesterol high enough that it would need medication soon, pre-diabetic sugar levels, and continuing high blood pressure for which I was now taking low dose medication. I was 193 lb at 5'3". At 62, this was the 6th time my weight had climbed this high during my 40 years of yo-yo dieting. I am a fat person and could not change that descriptor without immense struggle and effort, calorie counting, restriction, endless gym memberships, walking buddies, and every fad diet I could get my hands on. I even did Keto -- closing my eyes to what I knew about the treatment of the animals I was eating (25 years ago, this diet was called Atkins). Each of those six times, I lost significant weight... Only to regain it again within the following years. At 62, I gave up, certain I was destined to Obesity.

But in February 2019, after the death of my father, I sat on the couch and could feel myself withering into the decay of old age. Told my husband I felt like "a little old lady ball, curling in on myself". I was on pills for the first time, trying to combat high blood pressure. My vegan diet was not good enough, as I had always thought. If we don't eat cholesterol, I theorized, that should prevent cardiovascular disease. Well, apparently not.

I DIDN'T KNOW IT'S ABOUT THE FAT. We have to stop eating fat of ALL kinds, even the so-called "healthy" kinds like coconut oil and olive oil. I stumbled on the work of Drs Caldwell Esslestyn, Dean Ornish, John McDougall.... And more.

Fortunately, I also ran into a fellow who had lost 70 lb. He did it on potatoes! So I decided to do a Potato Reset too.

After starting my Reset on July 12th, 2019, on the 3rd day my blood pressure dropped to a normal level and my ankles reappeared -- after years of chronic swelling.

......That's how I knew this was going to work.

Doc said it was okay to stop the blood pressure pills.

When I had annual blood labs 2 months later, Doc said it was the biggest drop in LDL she had EVER seen not to due to pills. My sugar had dropped, so I was no longer pre-diabetic. My cholesterol was excellent, and blood pressure still good enough to leave the pills behind.

Since 2017, I had started to get arthritis. Now it's nearly gone. My heels used to crack with thick calluses for the last 30 years, and now they were supple and much softer. Apparently, I had sleep apnea (hubby said that's what it sounded like).... That's now gone.

But with a family history of cardiac "event" deaths, I was happiest about getting weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol under control to strengthen my chances against a heart attack, embolism, or stroke.

I've lost 50-55 lbs (depending on the day, hahaha) and kept it off for over a year. This has never happened. Lost 5" around my waist. My BMI is now considered "healthy". I feel great and have much more energy, no more snoring, much hope for a happy last trimester with my 2nd husband of 9 yrs.

The best thing that's happened is freedom from food cravings that consumed my every thought before. The potato reset, and the WFPBNO lifestyle I have followed since then have freed me from food obsession. I actually enjoy boring food now, plain, without fancy recipes, toppings, sauces -- it's great!

 Hubby has lost 60 lb following me. He now eats mostly like I do.

I can eat to capacity and even beyond if I wish... no weight gain with potatoes, roasted yams, and all the steamed greens we eat to correct our cardiovascular disease (as per Dr Esselstyn's orders).

Life is good.

Though it seems way now to follow this healthy lifestyle, it was the hardest decision to START.

To get to the good life, I had to go through two weeks of withdrawal from fatty comfort foods. I have quit both cigarettes and a alcohol, so I can tell you with authority that quitting food addiction is every bit as hard.

Don't let that bother you. Just do it. Plunge in and go through that 2 week tunnel of misery. There is light on the other side.

I haven't missed cigarettes for the last 30 years, and am now more than a year wine free. Now that I've passed through the tunnel of withdrawal with those, I don't miss EITHER cigarettes or alcohol. This is like that. If we force ourselves through that terrible tunnel, there is light at the other end.

I promise.

Each compliant follower will improve health numbers profoundly -- if following FULLY, that is. Partial pollution is still pollution, and results will be slowed according to amount of junk/ oil we consume.

DETOX IS ROUGH
"Following" the reset program means willingness to endure a STRESSFUL, extremely UNCOMFORTABLE detox/withdrawal period, much like drug withdrawal. For most folks who are highly addicted to processed foods, this is super hard. I'm talking headaches, foul temper, migraines even, obsessive thoughts about food.... Until over the 12-14 day detox hump. It's common to get pimples for some people (they usually disappear after the reset)... All the while nothing to eat but plain Potatoes ....... the most "bland" food ever.

But there's light at the end of the tunnel: The body will "reset" to enjoy plain vegetables not covered up by appetite stimulants.

Get your head ready first... You have to REALLY WANT this healing. This is a very difficult change.   Expect withdrawal suffering, but remember it's temporary. Going after ~2 weeks.

This is a lifestyle, not a diet.... weight will return twice fold when returning to old ways -- it always has for *me*, in 40 yrs of dieting. I've tried them all, including Atkins (now called "Keto").

The greatest thing about this lifestyle: it's the most effective thing we can do to move the world toward stopping the obscenity of industrial meat and dairy farming. People will PAY ATTENTION if we get trim, healthy, and happy. Then they will hear our message about the animals -- because we're living long enough and well enough to tell it.

I started 2 Facebook groups to vent, so I don't bother friends and family with too much excitement about this lifestyle.:

WVegan: Hoping to point people in the right direction because there are so many snake oil salesmen promoting weight loss with methods and materials that *sound* healthy, but are not. Everyone's confused.

This group is full of pictures of my experience with the potato reset. Before and after pictures and more.  This group is aimed at people who seem to be seriously interested in correcting health, but are fence sitters.

Take the Spud Fit Challenge HERE