Seeds of Change

By Shain Saberon

March 29, 2017

It’s difficult to put into words what I experienced when my weight approached three hundred pounds. I remember a bitter sorrow twisting inside me compounded by a feeling of loss. To say the least, the emotional nature of my reaction jolted me into a state of awareness that allowed me to fully understand the extent of my unhealthy state. This health scare had my full attention.

Not a Happy Camper

I wish I had a heroic tale to share about my transformation. Sadly, I can only relate that about every two hours for nearly a week I peed day and night. There were other issues too. For starters, I was morbidly obese, had high cholesterol coupled with mild hypertension, and my soul was dark. (I clearly remember loathing myself, feeling depressed, yearning for adventure, and hating my life.) On top of all that, I depended on la lot of caffeine to get through each week and devoured excessive quantities of meat, dairy, and highly refined carbs. Compelling evidence forced me to accept some hard-to-swallow facts: At age forty five I was among the walking dead and would soon be another statistic in the US epidemic of diet related disease and death.

Some days or weeks before this defining moment in my life, my sweetheart penned and placed to the right side of our computer a list of health and nutrition documentaries available on the Internet and Netflix. Once or twice a week, I attempted to leave behind the sorrow I felt by binge watching movies of others exploring the world and testing their limits. One night after becoming fully aware of my terrible state of health, her note caught my attention, and I decided to try something new. The first movie on the list was Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. After watching it, I felt compelled to change.

Me and Mean Green

Following Joe Cross's lead, I cleansed my body and soul. Juicing fresh fruits and vegetables was a revelation that began the process of healing. I drank Mean Green, Orange Dream, Holiday Spice, Pineapple Delight, Bloody Beat, and Ginger Shots for thirty days and nights. (Once in desperation, I even tried to juice the ingredients for fresh salsa!) Thirty days later and forty pounds lighter, I found hope and experienced a different hunger, one for health. I watched the other films on my wife’s list: My Crazy Sexy Cancer, May I be Frank, Food Matters, Forks over Knives, and more. And I read. The Gabriel Method, Eat to Live, The China Study, and other books continued fueling my passion for a plant-based life. I willingly drank the punch.

Little-by-little and step-by-step, I learned and changed. It was a metamorphosis from the inside out. Yes, I eventually exercised too; however, that came later after properly feeding my mind and body. In the end, I became highly energized and really wanted to move. Inspiration from others, nutrition from whole plant foods, and the healthy stimulation of exercise was and still remains my formula for wellness. That was how I began my journey to a plant-based life.