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Michael Magee
I had gone through a rough period in my life where I would get little sleep, no exercise, and ate fast food every day (McDonald’s what is the only place open at 1 AM). In late 2010, I decided I needed to make major changes having just tip the scale at 195 (only being 5’7”). One of the decisions I made was to change the way I ate. That let me to read book after book about various diet … and I read a lot of them. There were two books that I read that pointed me to a vegan or whole food plant-based diet: the China Study by T: Campbell and How to Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Dr. Caldwell Eccelstyn. So I adopted a plant-based diet in early 2011. I also decided to take running back up and began running marathons. I was quickly back down to my normal weight of 150.
While I see I adopted a vegan diet, I wasn’t very good vegan and consistently fell off the wagon. Cheese pizza was the usual meal that let me down the dark path; I guess you could say cheese pizza was my gateway drug. I would go off the wagon for 46 weeks at a stretch, which start feeling lousy, and then jump right back on.
I see my vegan story begins on June 27, 2017, because that’s the day that while I was riding the New York subway, I had my heart attack. Fortunately, it was an extremely mild heart attack … I walked to my office from the subway … after several doctors visits, one doctor sent me down and said the plaque on my arteries was better than most people, my age, but given my diet lifestyle, weight and cholesterol (175 at the time), I shouldn’t have any plaque. He suggested that I get tested for LPa. I tested positive for high levels of LPa and the doctor recommended. I keep my cholesterol as low as possible. That’s when I became a serious vegan.
I had discovered during my vegan apprenticeship, that it’s easy to cheat when you’re just eating for yourself. I then studied the effects that the meat, dairy and eggs industries have on the planet and more importantly, on the animals. It was, then I decided that I was going to eat not only for myself, but for the planet and my furry, feather and finned friends. I haven’t touched an animal product since.
While I see I adopted a vegan diet, I wasn’t very good vegan and consistently fell off the wagon. Cheese pizza was the usual meal that let me down the dark path; I guess you could say cheese pizza was my gateway drug. I would go off the wagon for 46 weeks at a stretch, which start feeling lousy, and then jump right back on.
I see my vegan story begins on June 27, 2017, because that’s the day that while I was riding the New York subway, I had my heart attack. Fortunately, it was an extremely mild heart attack … I walked to my office from the subway … after several doctors visits, one doctor sent me down and said the plaque on my arteries was better than most people, my age, but given my diet lifestyle, weight and cholesterol (175 at the time), I shouldn’t have any plaque. He suggested that I get tested for LPa. I tested positive for high levels of LPa and the doctor recommended. I keep my cholesterol as low as possible. That’s when I became a serious vegan.
I had discovered during my vegan apprenticeship, that it’s easy to cheat when you’re just eating for yourself. I then studied the effects that the meat, dairy and eggs industries have on the planet and more importantly, on the animals. It was, then I decided that I was going to eat not only for myself, but for the planet and my furry, feather and finned friends. I haven’t touched an animal product since.