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Jim Carpenter, firefighter for Commerce Township Fire Department in Michigan recently completed the Engine 2 28-Day Challenge together with fifteen other firefighters in the Detroit-area townships of Pontiac, Walled Lake and Commerce. They signed up to go PlantStrong with Engine 2 for 8 weeks, led by local author and nutrition consultant, Dr. Kerrie Saunders. The impetus for their collective participation in eating plant-based for a month was to get healthier, decrease their risk for disease and to join in on some friendly firefighter competition to see which city could achieve the best results.
Jim recently reached out to Rip to share his excitement with the results he experienced:
“Now that the challenge is coming to an end and we get our final blood draws tomorrow, I just wanted to let you know that your program gave me my life back. As you know, being a firefighter and weighing 280 pounds is not a good situation. And being told by your doctor that if you don’t change something you’ll be dead in 3 years or worse when you’re only 37 years old — not good either. Your program changed all those things for me. This was an 8 week challenge and I did it for 11 weeks with great success. I love the meal plan and never plan on changing to anything else. Everyone sees me and says, ‘Wow.’ I take every opportunity to talk about the Engine 2 lifestyle. I would have never believed that things could change so much in 11 weeks. I’ve included before and after pictures to show my results: lost 69 pounds in 11 weeks. Thanks for giving me a chance to have my life back.”
Jim also lowered his cholesterol from 288 to 201 and his triglycerides from 845 to 260. What are triglycerides? They are fat globules in your bloodstream that many researchers believe are a high-risk factor for heart disease. Just as your body needs a certain amount of cholesterol for cell repair, your body requires a certain level of triglycerides for fuel, particularly when it requires energy between meals or when you’re exercising. The goal is to keep your triglycerides and cholesterol levels at 150 mg/dl or below. Jim has made enormous strides and is very close to these “uber” PlantStrong numbers!
Way to go Jim!!!
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