I've always been fat, even as a teenager. However, in 2001 I had a back operation. Afterward, I suffered pain in my left foot, as if my little three toes had been cut off. It hurt on the average half a day for about eight years. Then it stopped. During that eight years I gained several hundred pounds. I ate because I was trapped and could do nothing that required concentration. Doctors could not explain why the pain started or stopped. No medication, even morphine, had any effect on the pain. I saw 6 pain specialists over the years.

My primary care physician said I should stop eating meat and animal products because it would help circulation and prevent another heart attack (I had a minor heart attack in 2000, 2 stints). It took me five or six years of trying to eat vegan to actually succeed for a few months.

After 3 months on a vegan diet, my pain stopped and my blood pressure went to normal. My Dr too me off of blood pressure meds. No one said, the pain went away because of the diet, but I think so. Since then I've had no trouble continuing the vegan diet. I'm convinced it works for me.

I continued to eat too much and not loose weight. Well I'd go from 450 to 425 up and down, up and down. Then I realized that eating a salad at night kept me from being hungry and over eating for almost a day. In addition, I heard about 20 hour fasting (not really long enough to be a fast according to my doctor). Anyway, I'm now loosing weight. I last weighed in Feb, at 387, and I'm pretty sure I've lost more weight, but need to go back to the Dr. to weight again. I'll let you know next time I do. I believe I can loose down to 200 lbs. That's my goal. It's not always easy, but rarely feel hungry for more than a few minutes. I try to occupy my mind with something to avoid eating. I have a small healthful snacks during the day, avoid eating any prepared food, meat and meat products. Not perfect about it, but do OK. I try to eat less than 500 calories during the day, and eat more in the evening, with my total goal of 1200 calories for the day. I just estimate by having small proportions of food. I don't actually know, perhaps I'm eating 2000 calories sometimes. When I feel I'm overeating, I cut back the amount I eat. That cycle of eating more an less each day repeats, more and less, more and less, etc.

See: