When Tim Kaufman was in his late 30s, he weighed about 400 pounds, struggled with addictions to pain killers, and figured this was how his life was gonna be from now on. After all, he had been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a genetic disease that messes with connective tissue and left his knees essentially useless.
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Eric O’Grey co-stars in a 6-minute video that’s been viewed over 50 millions times. He’s been on NPR, Rachael Ray, Oprah.com, and Today.com. He runs multiple marathons a year, advocates for animal rescue and plant-based diets, and is in the process of inking a book deal.
All because of a scruffy, obese, middle-aged rescue dog.
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Hey there, it’s me, Howard.
My mind has been buzzing lately, full of input from some of the guests I’ve interviewed over the past few months. It’s like they’ve been talking with each other, in my mind, and I have these momentary revelations and confusions as I go on runs, sit down to write, and lay awake at night when I’m not tired enough to sleep
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When Jamie Gannon was 27, he was an aspiring actor living the dream in Hollywood. Reading for films, TV, and commercials. Working his day job. Working out to keep his leading man physique. Taking voice and acting classes. And living a healthy, active life.
When it all fell apart, thanks to a golf-ball sized malignant tumor at the base of his brain.
A tumor that, even after its removal and long courses of chemo and other intensive medical therapies, left Jamie with a 10-15% chance at survival.
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Bob Cafaro was enjoying a successful career as a professional cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra when he was struck with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in December, 1998. After some serious denial and three increasingly nasty attacks, he was forced to confront the reality and severity of his diagnosis.
With Bob’s eyesight worsening to the point of blindness and his hands unable to control the cello, it was only natural for his doctor to write him a note for permanent disability. And slip him a script for an antidepressant to help him cope with the loss of his profession, his livelihood, his passion, and his independent existence
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Nina Cooke is a performance coach who specializes in helping people find success, balance, and happiness in their lives by questioning their most subterranean beliefs and thought patterns. I met her through a mutual friend who shared with me how helpful Nina had been in showing him how to unlock his own potential.
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I just recorded a wonderfully inspiring interview with professional cellist Bob Cafaro, who beat MS using, among other things, a plant-based diet. But there’s so much more to his story than broccoli and rice! We talked about Nolan Ryan, Bobby Fisher, Lance Armstrong, the US Army Survival Manual, Nando Parrado, finding free parking in Manhattan,…
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Chef AJ is a funny, ferocious, blunt, and incredibly warm and supportive leader in the plant-based movement. It’s always a treat to talk with her, and this podcast gives me a good excuse to do so at least a couple times a year.
This interview was inspired by her talk at the Raleigh NC Vegfest in the fall, on weight loss. Her approach is as easy to understand as it is simple to implement. And it appeals to my wholistic brain, since it involves no counting, weighing, measuring, or proportioning. Just eat foods to the left of the red line, as much as you want, whenever you want, until comfortably full.
To me, this ease about food is the ultimate benefit. Freedom from obsession, from the need to keep your food scale close, and from the inherent distrust most of us have developed about our bodies and our urges.
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I goggled at my Facebook feed, early one December morning, when I read that Arnold Schwarzenegger, of all people, was advocating for a plant-based diet at the Paris climate talks. The “You hit like a vegetarian” actor, bodybuilder, and politician was the last person on earth I would have ever guessed to make such a statement.
paul-kertonRight after that, I turned on BBC World Service radio and started making my oatmeal. The interview in progress was with a soft-spoken, articulate, and passionate vegan bodybuilder from Norwich, UK named Paul Kerton. Kerton was responding to the Schwarzenegger story, and sharing his own, and was reaching roughly 300 million people with this message of life and hope.
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Ted “Dr Herbivore” Crawford grew up in Iowa, eating meat and dairy at every meal. Even as a Doctor of Osteopathy, he thought that healthy eating meant less red meat, and more chicken and fish.
His own health was a mess: medicated for high cholesterol and hypertension (the latter at the highest allowable doses), suffering from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, overweight and experiencing frequent migraines. His wife had survived breast cancer, and was dealing with osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.
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