Finding PD was that greatest blessing of my life. Julie’s classes fed me never-ending knowledge and the support that I so needed. To this day they are like sitting down to a huge Thanksgiving meal for my mind, body, and soul. Staying true to the PD way of eating including balanced plates of 50% veggies and 50% starch, and eating when I was hungry and stopping when I was full were the key to my 100 lb weight loss in 10 short months.

About 90 days after beginning my PD journey it was time for another round of blood tests. By this time I’d lost another 30 lbs. or so, and I was not taking BP meds. My total cholesterol had dropped to 132, and I was no longer “pre-diabetic.” The nurse had taken my blood pressure (it was something like 124/72) and when the doctor came into the office and looked at my chart he commented on how things were looking really good. He commented on my blood pressure so I asked him “are those numbers satisfactory?” He said “absolutely”. I said “Awesome…because I’VE NOT TAKEN ANY BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINE IN THE PAST 3 MONTHS”. I even showed him the app I’d been using to track my readings. He scrolled back through the days and kept shaking his head…”I’ll take these readings all day long.” I reminded him…”IT’S THE FOOD!” There are two thoughts I’ve held very close during this journey. One is a play on what Weight Watchers uses. My version is NOTHING TASTES AS GOOD AS HEALTHY FEELS (they say skinny…I think that’s the wrong message!). And the other is “WHEN THE STUDENT IS READY, THE TEACHER WILL APPEAR.” I was so ready! Thankfully, Julie appeared!