A Plant Based Diet for The Heart. 90% Coronary Blockage Inspires Jeff to Do the Plant Fueled Reset

Jeff had been eating from our meal plans for years with his wife and incredible former Team Dirty member, Meghan. They were vegan, but Jeff was noshing on more vegan treats and processed foods than he wanted to admit. That all changed when he found out he had a 90% blockage in one of his coronary arteries. Shit got real, quick. Doctors wanted to insert a stent, but Jeff had other ideas. He joined the Plant Fueled Reset in January 2023 and made some serious changes alongside his dedicated Dirty wifey. 

Below is his powerful story of change and progress. Often, health conditions aren’t obvious until they’re life-threatening, and many of us wait to make changes until the problem is so big it can’t easily be reversed. Luckily for Jeff, he was able to improve his health quickly with the help of the Plant Fueled Reset. 

A Plant Based Diet for The Heart.

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“A card-carrying carnivore for most of my life, in early 2020, shortly after my identical twin brother died of pancreatic cancer at age 48, I decided something needed to change. I thought about some significant shifts I could make to improve my overall health, watched some documentaries, did a little online research, and ultimately told my wife…I wanted to switch to a vegan diet. I didn’t fully understand what that meant at the time, nor did she, but she decided to join me on this journey, and together, we set out to overhaul the way we ate.

After a few weeks of piecing together menus from recipes we’d found in books and online, my wife discovered Clean Food Dirty Girl. This was truly a game-changer for us. A whole food plant based, no oil meal planner? This is exactly what we needed! That discovery was about three and a half years ago. We’ve been using CFDG ever since, and we love it.

However, left to my own devices, I still found myself snacking and ‘cheating’ more often than I wanted. When I say cheating, I should clarify that I was still almost entirely eating vegan, but there’s a lot of junk food out there that’s technically vegan. For me, it’s savory stuff. Potato chips, Impossible Burgers, tater tots… these were all a part of my regular diet, and probably a bigger part than I wanted to admit.

I’ve been an avid runner for the last ten or so years. In late 2022, I started to notice some tightness in my chest during my runs. I had it checked out, and while I probably shouldn’t have been surprised, I was blindsided by the news that I had developed a 90% blockage in one of my coronary arteries. I attribute this in small part to my genetics, but I believe that most of the damage was self-inflicted. I simply ate too much junk food, vegan or not, in the first 51 years of my life.

Now what?
I was already 99% vegan.
I ran regularly and generally felt I was fairly fit.

Can I fix this? 

Most of the doctors and people I trusted were telling me I needed to get a stent put in to open up the blockage. I instead opted to treat this with a better diet and exercise. It was around this time that Clean Food Dirty Girl offered the 2023 Plant Fueled Reset. I decided that this could be a great way for me to try to support that healthier lifestyle.

Well, the Reset was another game-changer. I had no idea just how transformative it was going to be for me. It literally changed my relationship with food… when I eat, why I eat, and what I eat. Yes, I was trying to address a major, specific problem with my health, but the Reset gave me a framework…to do that. After just a few days, I found it wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be to abstain from snacking. As the Reset went on, the between-meal cravings I had for savory snacks went away, and I just loaded up my plate with whole foods at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And I found myself open to a whole new area of food that I had largely ignored before—fruit. Ask anyone who knows me well, and they’ll tell you that I’m not a fruit eater. Yet, now I love it, even crave it.

The proof is in the pudding…

I’ve lost about 30 pounds without really trying. At mealtimes, I can—and do—fill my plate without fear of overeating. My total cholesterol has gone from 204 to 116, and my LDL is down to 53 from 138.

I take a statin medication that helps, but even my doctors have said that this change has been fully realized because of my diet, and now I’m pushing to go off the statin because I believe the way I eat alone can sustain this.

I’m so grateful for CFDG and for the Plant Fueled Reset. They’ve impacted my life in such a positive way it’s hard to describe. Thank you!”

– Jeff

Wow, Jeff! Thank you for sharing your story. We look forward to helping you in your ongoing success. It fills our Dirty hearts with joy when we see the power of partnership and plants, getting healthy is a hell of a lot easier when you have support.

Clean Food Dirty Girl recipes? Check.
Having a partner to help you? Check!
Joining the Plant Fueled Reset to get serious results? Triple check.

If you want to get ridiculously healthy in 2024, hop over here and see if the Plant Fueled Reset is right for you. If you have a partner or friend who would benefit, consider them an accountabili-buddy and share this blog post with them. We hope to see you both in 2024. 

Disclaimer: Nothing contained in this blog post is medical advice or diagnosis, nor should any information on this website be construed as such. You assume full responsibility for how you choose to use this information. We suggest you seek the advice of a physician before beginning any weight loss effort or program. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.