Vegan lifestyle articles that discuss ways of living in peace with humans, animals, and the environment.
Chrissy Roth, T.
Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies
August 2017
I’m not sure that even three years ago a plant-based show would have been sold to any channel, but there has been a shift. People are starting to listen. They are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.
Pick the statement that would have NEVER been uttered by my husband three
years ago:
A. These black beans taste so good in this quinoa.
B. Steamed spinach with lemon is incredibly delicious!
C. I just found the BEST plant-based restaurant in NYC!
D. All of the above
Answer: D. All of the above
These three statements came out of my husband’s mouth this past week alone.
If you would have told me that my meat loving husband would utter just one
of these assertions three years ago, I would have laughed in your face. If
you told me that JD, executive producer and creator of The Biggest Loser,
Extreme Weight Loss and just about every other transformation weight loss
show on TV, would sell a plant-based weight loss TV show, to a new, forward
thinking network called Z Living, I would have called you delusional.
Plant-based weight loss shows on TV? Impossible!
I never thought when I started researching ways to lower my cholesterol
three and a half years ago, that what I was learning would transform not
only my family’s life, but so many other people’s lives as well. I certainly
didn’t know that we would put people on a plant-based diet and they would
not only lose weight incredibly fast, but we would also watch their bodies
reverse disease right in front of our eyes. It was like a magic trick, only
it was very simple, food was the magic bullet.
What began as a quest for the best lifestyle to keep me off of statins, led
me down a brilliant, eye opening path to unarguable research that proved a
plant-based diet is the best path to vibrant health and longevity. I learned
that food is medicine, and the very foundation of our health. I knew at that
point that we as a family, needed to eat a lot more plants and stop eating
animal protein all together. As a physical therapist I know how to dive into
research, pull it apart, and determine its validity, and it was all right in
front of me. Eat a plant-based diet, and slash your risks of heart disease,
cancer, diabetes, stroke, and dementia, to name a few illnesses that I would
prefer my family and friends not suffer from.
The transition was easy for me because within a few weeks of going “cold
turkey” I felt incredible. I had always questioned eating animals and no
longer had to justify to myself that I needed to. The environmental impacts
of eating meat had been bothering me a lot too, so it was good to feel free.
I like all foods so switching to plants was easy. I just needed to find new
go-to’s and break old habits. That took time, and was a little frustrating,
but I love a good challenge. My cholesterol levels, despite my having a gene
that causes high cholesterol, had gone down 60 points almost instantly
(mostly my LDL, yay), and my energy levels were through the roof. My 3:00pm
slump vanished and my workouts were rocking. No more pain in my joints, and
my hair and skin were aging backwards.
I wanted to make sure that I knew as much as I could about eating a
plant-based diet, so I completed the Plant Based Nutrition Certificate
through eCornell, and started reading voraciously on diet and health. I was
finally ready to take on my toughest task… getting my family to buy in.
Implementing an “eat more plants and way less meat” diet in a family of two
meat obsessed teens and a husband who saw his “grilling of steak” as an art
form was far from simple. It was HARD!!! You would have had a better chance
of converting Dr. Atkins himself to a plant-based diet than my husband!
But, now, 3 years later, my husband has become a poster boy for eating a
plant-based diet, ‘preaching the veggie gospel’ to anyone who will listen.
The boys eat so much better at home and make some pretty amazing choices
even out of the house a well. They will someday decide if they want to go
all the way and I’m guessing they will. Kids listen to only part of what we
say, but see everything we do, so leading by example is paramount. People
ask all the time how we get our kids to eat so healthy and the answer is
simple, because we do!
Friends and family thought we were nuts to change our eating habits because
we were the healthiest family they knew. The old “eat everything in
moderation” phrase was thrown at us a lot. People want so bad to believe it.
I did too. Until I educated myself. We really didn’t eat processed food, or
any dairy and I cooked almost every night, but we ate a lot of meat, because
we were all taught that protein was the star on your plate. All other things
were just bit part players. We were brainwashed, bought into the protein
myth, and like so many others who are bombarded by “protein pushers,”
thought we needed it to thrive. The best way to describe how I got my family
on board is that I was absolutely relentless. I am pretty sure that there
was a point that they wanted a different mom and wife. I would make the same
foods again, and again, and again, and insist that they try them. Quinoa
dishes of all types, veggie burgers, whole grain pastas and stir-fries,
salads, and lots of raw and cooked veggies at every meal. When the kids got
home from school, a fruit and veggie tray was out (and still is out) every
single day. At first they picked at it, and in a few weeks they were
fighting over the last red pepper. Their tastes took a little while to
change, but they were soon eating a lot less meat and way more fruits,
veggies and whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.
JD’s tastes took longer to change (he is after all, a much older dog to
teach new tricks to), but eventually, he started eating foods that I never
in a million years thought he would eat. He had absolutely hated beans
before, and started eating them in soups and burgers. And he liked them! He
also started paying more attention to why he was eating the foods I was
serving him. Forks Over Knives (FOK) found it’s way into our movie night one
night and this helped him and the kids to understand why I felt so strongly
about them eating better. It was no longer purely out of his “happy wife,
happy life” mantra that he was eating what I put in front of him. He was
feeling amazing and his health problems disappeared. He also realized that
he was recovering from his workouts in no time flat, sleeping better, and
had tons more energy. His life had changed. Food was medicine and he knew
it. A big turning point for him was meeting Dr T. Colin Campbell, Nelson
Campbell, and John Corry the producer of FOK. Being around people who were
so educated and passionate about the plant-based lifestyle, and bringing it
to others truly inspired him to do the same.
Fast forward three years and this man, formerly the king of the perfectly
grilled burger, will talk to anyone who will listen about the merits of
taking one’s lives into one’s own hands, and eating a plant-based diet. I am
more of a lead by example and educate, and he is very outspoken. He has
become evangelical and it is amazing. He is a gifted public speaker and has
caught the ear of so many influential people, and I believe he will help
change how we think about health and weight loss.
The show he created and hosts called The Big Fat Truth (named after his book
of the same name), airs on the Z Living channel and in addition to
addressing the mental issues that are keeping weight on people. We put all
participants on a plant-based diet for 90 days. The changes in their health,
and weight are nothing short of astounding. Diabetics no longer taking
medicine; triglycerides and cholesterol brought from dire levels to healthy
ranges; and high blood pressure brought to normal. And all within the first
10 days! One of our incredible participants lost 106 lbs in 90 days! They
couldn’t believe their new energy levels. They would ask if it was normal to
feel so much energy. People who are obese are often volume eaters, in that
they eat a lot of food. A plant-based lifestyle allows for eating lots of
nutritionally dense food, so volume eaters love this way of life because
they don’t feel deprived and they feel full because they are being
nourished. The weight falls off, and they can stick to this lifestyle
forever and achieve optimal health, versus some fad diet of restriction
where they lose weight and gain it all back the minute they go off.
I’m not sure that even three years ago a plant-based show would have been
sold to any channel, but there has been a shift. People are starting to
listen. They are sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. They are fed up
with watching friends and family suffer from heart disease, cancer, and
diabetes that all could have been prevented if they weren’t eating the
Standard American Crap Diet.
Chrissy Roth is a mom, wife, Physical Therapist, Spin Instructor, and Wellness Coach with a Plant Based Nutrition Certificate. She’s always had a passion for health and nutrition. She, with her husband JD Roth, educate others about how to live healthier lives through weight loss, choosing a plant-based diet, and working on emotional issues. JD is the creator and Executive Producer of The Biggest Loser, Extreme Weight Loss and other transformational tv shows. The new show, ‘The Big Fat Truth’ airs Sundays on Z Living. Visit their Facebook page, Plant Based Cooking with Chrissy and JD Roth.
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