Wakeup call

Sometimes we need a gentle nudge, right?  Or maybe not so gentle...

In this case, the nudge was a very strong push....or shove....

On Friday, October 14, 2016, my husband of 23 years had a heart attack resulting in 3 stents and a directive from the cardiologist to  begin a vegan diet to reduce heart disease.

I love beef.  We both love beef.... We even have a quarter of a cow in our freezer.   Hmmmmm...

Our wedding day in 1993

On his first day home from the hospital,my husband held my hands and asked me to be his coach.

To me, that was earth-shattering...and even romantic... then it sank in.....He wanted my help, but, to me, this means he wanted me to help keep him alive...

Scary times...

John was referred to hospital's Cardiac Rehab, and we chose the Ornish program.(Ornish's research suggests cardiac disease can be reversed by moving to a vegan diet and incorporating yoga, stress management, and family support.) We were super excited to begin this next step, as the rehab would include food classes with a chef.

Then we received the call from the Rehab to discover that only John was to attend these session (4 hours each, 2 days a week for 9 weeks). I was not included! A program that required a life change from the entire family, and family could not attend?  Ludicrous! Personally, I think the hospital was using this as a money maker, and since I was not a cardiac patient - a revenue stream for them - they did not want me there.

We ordered books on reversing cardiac disease, including Ornish's program, and started research on becoming a vegan.  John had already started drinking Vegan Chocolate Shakeology, so we ordered the Tai Cheng program. (We use DVDs as our streaming capabilities are somewhat limited.)


I am comfortable with the Beachbody portion control planning, but using beef - chicken - seafood...not legumes and grains. This was a whole new world to me.  I searched the Beachbody Blog for vegan recipes and found a few to save to Pinterest. This summer I had been a part of the 21 Day Fix Extreme TV test group, so I posted a request for assistance there...and found a whole new family of support with people volunteering to offer support and answer questions.

And we are off to veganism..and integrating this new lifestyle.....


NEXT: Our first vegan meal...