I am just a dad and a husband who became extremely passionate about his health when I realized I was going down a path of chronic disease. My life changed in 2018 when I quit drinking on the advice of my amazing wife. She had suggested that I had a problem, and I had known it for years but I didn’t want to stop.
I quit drinking September 3rd of 2018. I noticed I was feeling better within a week, but the core problem I was facing was I was still filling my body up with absolute junk. Donuts, or three, for breakfast. Energy drinks at noon. Chips, candy, crackers, and a whole slew of other junk as snacks. But perhaps the worst part was that I was going out to lunch every day and fueling my body with greasy fried food. After all, that was how I lived for the better part of my adult life. I needed to change, but I didn’t NEED to.
I was at the doctor in October of 2018 and the appointment didn’t go well. I thought since I had quit drinking I would be the epitome of health. I was 294 pounds. I had cholesterol levels that aren’t commonly seen in a 33 year old and my blood pressure was 150/94. Maybe what scared me the most though, was the fact I heard the words “Pre diabetic” and was told I would most likely work my way to type two diabetes within a few years.
I was in the insurance industry and I knew exactly what that all meant. It meant I would be spending tens of thousands of dollars on medications, doctor appointments and treating illness. It also meant low energy, often feeling sick and continually making excuses. Something I didn’t want to do.
When I told my wife she said something that changed my life. “You don’t need to go hero tomorrow. You need to get more vegetables and fruit in your diet and the best way to do it is with a greens smoothie in the morning.”
So I started with a smoothie the next day – her version of a smoothie which was disgusting. It was almost pure green and all I tasted was celery and a hint of cilantro. Yeah, I know, who throws cilantro in a smoothie? I finished half of it, almost choked and threw it out. I was destined for donuts and bagels I thought.
The next morning I decided to make my own – this time focusing on spinach, kale, and fruit. No funny business. I drank the whole thing. I was full, felt good and didn’t have my usual mid morning snack of whatever was brought into the office or leftover from morning meetings. In fact, I didn’t eat until lunch.
I kept this habit going. I went almost 40 days without missing a smoothie. I was waking up earlier – not because of an alarm but because my body was healing from within and nourishing itself with the vitamins, minerals and fiber from these smoothies I was making. I started to lose weight which was a bit of a bummer at the time because it meant spending money I didn’t have on clothes I didn’t want to buy, but when your non pleated pants look pleated because they are so baggy it was a good thing I guess!
It was smooth sailing until it came time to travel. I fell back into the old routine – crappy breakfast followed by being hungry and getting overly processed snacks, eating fried food and making excuses. I would get home from work trips feeling like I was hit by a train. At first, I didn’t really understand why. As I started to dig into it, I realized that I was starving myself of nutrients on the road! Without my morning smoothie my routines went to crap and it started to impact me in many ways. To make matters worse, I turned to the “smoothie” juices on the shelf until I realized the reason I had no energy was because of the blood sugar crash from them.
When I wasn’t traveling I was maintaining my smoothie habits and it resulted in wanting to eat better throughout the day. I slowly started bringing in more nuts, fruit, and healthier snacks to the office. It even got to the point where I wasn’t even interested in the donuts or rolls at the office because I knew how they would make me feel if I went down that path. Yes, I still eat them occasionally but I know that they are a treat, not a staple.
Six months later I had realized that I better go get checked per the doctors recommendation – and I did. My doctor was shocked. My blood pressure and cholesterol were almost normal, I was down 30 pounds and my pre diabetes was sailing away. She asked what I did and I said I was drinking a green smoothie every day and that I was focusing on whole foods – opting to bring lunches and packing my own snacks while traveling. My life was changing and it was changing for the better.
In 2018, I couldn’t have fathomed climbing a mountain like Mt. Rainier. I would have stopped after an hour and made an excuse to turn around. It was sad actually, my dreams were limited by my food choices over the past decade. In 2022 thanks to greens smoothies changing my life and my pallet, I summited Mt. Rainier – a life long dream. Since then I have climbed numerous fourteeners, hiked over 25 miles in a day, and done numerous 100+ mile bike rides on the weekends.
I didn’t rapidly change my life, I incrementally changed my life and I changed it by focusing on one day at a time. One green smoothie a day helped me start to feel the power of real, nutrient dense foods and it has reversed so many chronic conditions. My story isn’t unique. I just decided that I wanted a better life and it took hard work and dedication to get there – but not without slips, reverting to old habits, or even weeks of eating no veggies.
Since leaving my job to start Switchback, I have been able to help many people live better, more productive lives through real food and I am on a mission to continue this – through incremental change and baby steps. We will all have setbacks in life, and many of us will let those define us. For some, we will let those setbacks be a motivator. For me, the greatest motivator of all is that I am healthier, happier, and a better father and husband because I changed my health through greens smoothies.
What say you? What is your motivator to change your health or make a greens smoothie a part of your day?
I want to hear from you – and I believe that our smoothies can impact your life positively and allow you to reach your passions, goals and dreams.
