Certain foods are completely off-limits. Set it in stone in your mind that you are going to eliminate some foods completely from your eating. Whenever you see them, you will turn and “run.” No discussion. No thinking through.
These are your silent enemies:
I tell you these off-limits foods for a reason. Unless you make a decision to avoid such foods, it is easy to let them creep back into your eating lifestyle. They can silently work on your arteries, with you being completely unaware of the damage. The Prescription for Life eating plan is the best prevention strategy you can have.
Otherwise, I am afraid you will end up like Bob.
Bob and I were classmates in medical school. He went into radiology and I went into surgery. We had kept in touch from time to time, and not many nights ago my wife and I happened to be visiting in a town near where he lived. I called and invited him and his wife to dinner to talk over old times.
It was the first time I had seen him in more than five years. He wasn’t fat, but the lower part of his abdomen covered all but the bottom of his belt buckle. He was at least twenty pounds heavier than the last time I had seen him, and, overall, about thirty-five pounds overweight. And he walked funny. With each step, he had to flip each foot slightly upward before planting it on the sidewalk.
We discussed things we had done as we started our medical careers, about what our families had done the past few years, and about what happened to our doctor friends since those early days.
Then he told me about his foot drop. “It began just a couple of months ago. Every time I take a step, I have to sort of flip the end of my foot up before I put my foot down or my toes drag. They are not sure what is causing it, but, as I said, they are working me up for possible diabetes as the source.”
I began asking him about his overall health, his cholesterol numbers, whether or not he exercised or had attempted to lose weight. We are friends, so this was more than just two doctors talking shop. I explained that if I had what he had and was told it was probably related to diabetes, I would do two things. First, I would get skinny. Next, I would exercise on the elliptical thirty minutes a day, five days a week, keeping my heart rate above 120 beats per minute.
That’s when his wife chimed in. “He had three of his coronaries bypassed a few years ago. He isn’t even mentioning that.”
That shocked me. I realized his problems consisted of more than the possible diabetes affecting the nerves to his feet; they also included damaged arteries to his heart. Because of the arterial involvement, I added to the discussion a third lifestyle change: eating habits emphasizing fruits and vegetables, fish, whole grains, and nuts.
I told him that if I had what he had, I would be scared to death. (Actually, I told him three times.) I explained that I would get fanatical about changing my lifestyle. Scared to death, I told him again.
“I know my HDL Cholesterol is low, but I didn’t know how to get it up,” he said. With that acknowledgment, I smiled and told him he made a good lead-in statement. I then explained that the main way to elevate his HDL is to exercise and that weight loss is a close second. So he needed to do both.
He asked why I decided to lose weight. He had remembered me heavier during med school. I told him my “moment” story—the moment I tried on a pair of new trousers, realized I was going to have to increase the waist size for the third time, folded the pants and handed them back to the salesclerk, and made the decision to attain the ideal weight I had weighed in college.
That night, I told my old classmate and friend that this could be a “moment” time for him also. This could be the moment he decided to stop the progression of damage to his body in its tracks, right then. He could prevent any more plaque buildup in his arteries by controlling what he eats. He could control his diabetes by getting to an ideal weight. He could add numerous good, healthy years to his life.
He nodded his head in agreement.
Then I told him what had been on my mind ever since we began our after-dinner discussion at the restaurant. I explained to Bob that there was one concern I had that superseded all the others.
“What could happen to you would be much worse than foot drop. It could be much worse than another blockage to another artery in your heart. It could be worse than progression of your diabetes.
“You could have a stroke.” I said it in almost a whisper. “The next time I see you, you could be having trouble making your words. I might not be able to understand what you are saying. You talk about having a foot drop now, but if you don’t do something different with your lifestyle, later you may have such a limp that you have to use a walker. Or even worse, you may be in a wheelchair. The same blockages that are happening in the arteries of your heart are happening in the arteries of your brain. What scares me about your health is that you are sitting on a time bomb for a stroke. I guarantee you, Bob. It scares me to death to even imagine things like that happening to you.”
I looked at him with all the sincerity I had in my heart for someone I had spent so much time with in medical school.
He quit nodding his head and said, “I realize what it’s all about.”
Before we parted company, I told him I would send him medical journal articles concerning the changes we had just discussed. As we parted, he gave me a hug that lasted longer than the usual good-bye clinch.
My greatest desire is for Bob to take all I said to heart.
I hope what scared me to death will scare him from death . . . for years to come.
I look forward to our next dinner. I want to see if he has placed certain foods completely off-limits. I want to see if he will turn and run from some of the food he had ordered for dinner. It will be great if I am unable to recognize the Bob I saw that night.