Disclaimer: There is an entirely real chance I may come off as a complete whiner. In my defense, I love meat.
About a month ago, my wife convinced me to watch “Forks over Knives”, and even I couldn’t predict what would happen afterwards. This was not the first documentary on food or the food industry we’ve watched over the years (Super Size Me and Food, Inc. come to mind), but it has had the most significant effect.
On the Our Family page, I am mis-portrayed as somebody who was born and raised on meat and potatoes, but who is willing to give fruits and veggies a try. The truth is that I am a Nebraskan, born and bred, and that in the eyes of my fellow Nebraskans, beef is second only to Husker football. (“The beef state” appeared on our license plates until the mid-1960s, when it was replaced by “The cornhusker state”.)
In other words, we gather around our respective altars of sacrifice, bearing bags of charcoal and corn-fed beef. If you want to say thank you to a true Nebraskan, please consider either Husker season tickets or one of the gift packages from Omaha Steaks.
To say a Nebraskan is raised on meat and potatoes is an understatement, to be sure.
This was not an easy choice.
I’m the founder of Building Heroes, which empowers people to identify and act on their core values, committing themselves to living extraordinary lives. One of the core principles of Building Heroes is to challenge yourself to do the right thing, which often involves making a sacrifice for a cause, an issue, or a person you believe in.
In this case, I believe in my family and my wife, as well as my health and my ability to live a long life for those people I care for.
My best guess (and hope-since I’m sacrificing my carnivorous ways) is that my body and health will witness significant results. Coincidentally, I just completed a wellness assessment last week at work. I’m providing my results in this most public of venues for evaluative and scientific reasons. (No jokes or free medical advice, please.) So, here is the “tale of the tape”:
- Age: 33 years old
- Height: 6’0″
- Weight: 229 pounds
- BMI: 31.1
- Blood Pressure: 158/100
- Total Cholesterol: 165
- HDL: 32
- LDL: 106
- Triglycerides: 137
- Glucose: 81
So, that’s me pre-FOK (Forks over Knives). I’ll see you on the flip side. Now, if you excuse me, I have to complete my bucket list for carnivores by the end of the week… (Any recommendations for the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area? Leave a comment.)
