At Vidant Wellness Center in Ahoskie, where I workout, they have a system where you are able to keep up with your physical activities. The more you exercise, the higher numbers you get. We are able to key-in the weights we lifted, the cardio, the walks we take, working in the yard, swimming, etc. At the end of the month they displayed the list with the top thirty members with the highest numbers as it relate to their exercise program. I worked very hard to be on that list for the last two months, last month I ranked 14^th.

As a former athlete, numbers and statistics are important to me. However, I was not paying attention to some of the most important number in our lives, our cholesterol and triglyceride’s levels. On June 4^th 2012, after avoiding a visit to the Doctor, who by the way, is my wife; I finally went to check my cholesterol and Triglyceride’s levels. The results were terrible!

A good cholesterol number should be between 120 and 199. A good triglyceride number should be between 20 and 149. My cholesterol number is 238; that number is considered Borderline High Level. My triglycerides number was more alarming as it was categorized as Very High Level. My number? 590.

With those numbers I have basically two options: One: Medication or Two: Eat my way back to health. I have chosen to eat my way back to health. The Vegan community gives us a very simple diet. No meat of any kind, no fish, no dairy products of any kind (That includes: no milk and no cheese) and, no oil of any kind (That includes: no vegetable oil and no Extra Virgin Oil) So, what can a Vegan eat? A vegan can eat everything without a mother and everything without a face. Am I going to become a Vegan? It is my smart choice if I want to see all of these numbers coming back to normal.

In a month or so I will go back to the Doctor’s Office to check my cholesterol and triglycerides; I started eating as a Vegan the same day of my physical, June 4^th. Today is day 8. Too soon to give an opinion, too soon to testify, but not too late to start making healthier choices in my life. I can only say…To be continued…