You Can Run From A Bad Diet, But It Will Eventually Catch Up With You

In 1969, The Hollies recorded a hit song called “He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother “. It’s a horrible song, but until recently, I could always recite the title without lying.

My brother David has been an endurance runner for three decades and looked the part. His normal adult weight was 155 lbs. and he has weighed less than me for as long as I can remember.

So imagine my surprise when he revealed to me that he now weighs 178 lbs – a few pounds more than me.  I assumed that he had stopped running and that his regular exercise was no longer compensating for his horrific diet.   It appears that he is in a light training period right now which I imagine is customary for him this time of year. He’s certainly noticed that running has become more difficult as his weight has increased with his age.

My interest in nutrition has never rubbed off on David. Up until recently, his only requirement of food was that it be tasty. Some common foods in the Davey diet include: Fried Foods, Pizza, Milk Shakes, Mashed Potatoes (with butter and milk), and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups. Most People who eat such calorically dense foods tend to slightly over consume calories on a daily basis and gain weight slowly over many years. I think it is pretty clear that my brother’s consistent running helped him to avoid this fate for quite awhile, but it looks like he’s beginning to see that you can run from a bad diet, but you can’t hide.

If weight gain gets him to transition to a Whole Food Plant Based diet (WFPB), he will have gotten off easy. Some longtime runners and athletes who were under the impression that regular exercise made them immune to coronary artery disease (CAD) found out the hard way that they were mistaken. The story of Jim Fixx is a well known example. Jim Fixx is known as the father of the US running movement. He thought that his arduous training regimen provided him great protection against CAD and allowed him to eat whatever he wanted. This misapprehension cost him his life at a young age.   (To learn more about his story click here).

I’m hoping my brother has seen the light and will make the necessary dietary changes that will greatly reduce his risk of suffering a cardiac event. I am certain that if he eats mainly fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes (beans, peas and lentils), his risk reduction will begin almost right away. I’m also quite certain that he will get back closer to his normal adult weight and his running will improve.

I tried to shame him into making dietary changes by calling him “Fat Ass”. So far, that hasn’t worked  and it isn’t likely to work. We’ve spent most of our lives inventing derogatory nicknames for each other, so this latest name bothers him as much as water bothers a fish.

I will be giving him a Plantastic Life “Roadmap to a WFPB Diet” to help him on his way.  I’m hoping that this “Roadmap” will be available on our Web Site in the not too distant future.

I also will refer him to a video presentation by Dr. Doug Lisle called “How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind”. After watching it, he will realize that a WFPB diet is not about calorie counting or portion control. It’s about dominating your diet with fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes while eliminating or strictly limiting meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy, added oils, refined flour and added sugars.

Fat Ass, I mean David, can do it! And so can you!