I began this journey with the hope of debunking the idea anyone should remove meat from their diet. I’d heard friends talk about their experience with veganism and listened to interviews of people preaching its benefits. But I live in Iowa. I’ve grown up surrounded by dairy farms, cattle farms, pig farms — animal protein is all I’ve ever known.

I remember a former coworker asking me, “Would you ever consider going vegetarian?” Absolutely not was my response. For most of my life, there has been nothing I craved more than a juicy hamburger.

Heck, I’ve been the guy who orders a burger at a seafood restaurant. I’ve had burgers for breakfast (on more occasions than I care to admit). And I’ve gone to pretty extreme measures to satisfy my red meat craving while traveling in other countries.

To even consider the idea of removing meat from my diet sent a shiver down my spine.

At the recommendation of one of my favorite authors, I picked up a book that forced me to take a deep dive into the world of whole food plant-based nutrition. That meant a diet free of any animal protein. People on both sides of the aisle had agreed that this book summarized some of the most thorough nutrition research ever conducted.

What is whole food plant-based nutrition (WFPB)?

What is whole food plant-based nutrition (WFPB)? According to Dr. Colin T. Campbell, “The term “whole” in WFPB describes foods that are minimally processed. This includes as many whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and legumes as you want. [...]It’s not a set of complicated meal plans. It’s simply a return to whole foods, rich flavors, and natural health.”

It’s not exactly veganism and it’s not vegetarianism. WFPB nutrition eliminates animal products and other processed foods to focus on consuming calories from plant-based foods.

After reading through the book while at the same time reading what others were saying in opposition I decided to put it to the test.

I decided to give whole food plant-based nutrition a two-week trial. “Can I go two entire weeks without a burger?”

I wasn’t so sure…

The real test came after I made my declaration to my wife. She reminded me we were going to Wisconsin for a family getaway in less than a week.

Yes, Wisconsin, the cheese capital of the world, and I would be unable to partake...that meant no cheese curds this year.

DAY 1

The following day arrived: day one of attempting to go WFPB. I exchanged my usual eggs, bacon, and buttered toast for a big bowl of oatmeal, fruit, and nuts.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover I wasn’t as hungry mid-morning. But out of habit, I grabbed an apple and a handful of cashews.

Then lunch came, and since I hadn’t planned out what I would actually be eating past breakfast, I ate a salad. Yes, the burger addict swapped his red meat for a green leafy salad. I loaded it with every kind of veggie I could find in the fridge.

Since this was a self-inflicted trial, I maintained an open mind to the whole thing. I was going to eat things I wouldn’t have normally ate and be “willing” to enjoy them as much as possible.

If you’re a fan of Seinfeld, my salad would’ve made Elaine's “big salad” look like a side salad. I added a handful of walnuts as well and topped it with a red vinaigrette.

I felt good after the salad. Surprisingly, I was actually full. For dinner, we were having fajitas. I swapped the chicken for extra veggies. And instead of eating my typical three tacos, I had six.

Day one was in the books and it had been a lot easier than I’d hoped.

DAY 2 THROUGH WEEK 2

For the next week, I followed a similar meal plan. I added variety with different vegetables and fruits and used spices whenever possible.

Family vacation came and went without much of an issue. The vacation included one of my sisters and her family, one of my brothers and his family, my mom, and some of my aunts and uncles. My new dietary choices became a frequent topic of discussion.

I tend to be a little more skeptical than most. So when someone makes a subjective statement like, “I feel so much better after doing X” I say, “Show me the objective proof.”

As of writing this, I’m still waiting to get the results from my blood work that will include cholesterol, A1C, etc. But over the years I have done a lot of personal experiments and I’ll list my personal subjective results.

When I started eating WFPB Shep was not sleeping well at night. That meant Kara and I were sleeping far less than we’d prefer each night. I was in a constant state of tiredness or exhaustion. But about 3 days after beginning WFPB I felt rested even though I wasn’t getting any more sleep each night. (In reality, I was getting even less sleep some nights.

In addition to feeling more well-rested, I noticed improvements in my body’s inflammatory response. I fractured my wrist when I was 14-years old. Since then, my wrist often throbs and is painful during certain weather changes (I kind of feel like an old man talking about his ability to detect rain by arthritis in his knee).

I first noticed it after writing a long handwritten letter to my wife (not intentionally trying to win brownie points with her). Until this time, my wrist would begin aching after writing about three lines worth of handwriting.

It sounds trivial, but I was able to write two pages with a pen and not experience any pain in my wrist. (And to this day, now 6 months later, I have zero pain.

I’m beginning to think I was pretty beat-up until this point. The year before I had injured my elbow during a one-rep max. As a result, I had almost constant pain or soreness throughout my forearm. I went to the chiropractor occasionally to alleviate the pain. The pain would lessen at times but never go away.

But again, after going WFPB the pain in my forearm went away completely! My grip strength increased and I was able to do pull-ups like never before

The delicious burgers from Dirt Burger of Des Moines, Iowa have made going plant based much easier.

WEEK 2 AND BEYOND

I often use my workouts as my measure of success when trying something new. After one week, I was able to add 10 pounds to my bench press and after six weeks I added 25 pounds to my deadlift. This is without changing anything other than eating WFPB – I wasn’t taking any supplements, pre-workout drinks, or sleeping any more.

I know it’s a subjective measure of success, but I’ve never felt better.

As an organ transplant patient, my immune system is much weaker than most. Usually when I “feel a sickness coming on” I can expect the full weight of symptoms within about 12 hours. But it’s as if my body has been able to combat sickness better

During this time I’ve felt my body fighting a cold and the flu. Both times I felt my body begin to experience the symptoms and both times it was gone within 48 hours. To give you some context, in the past, a typical cold takes about 14+ days for my body to get over the symptoms.

My immune system is stronger and my body appears better equipped to handle sickness now.

Frequently asked questions

I’ve been asked a lot of different questions since going WFPB. I’m sure you have a lot of the same questions. So allow me to answer a few of them.

Question: Have you been 100% WFPB?

Answer: No, I have not been 100% WFPB this entire time. I would say I’ve been about 95%.

London, Iylee, and I have a monthly tradition of pizza + movie night. That means I’ve had pizza several times during these past 6 months (I did forego the pizza for the first 2 months). I’ve also had cheese on a couple of my salads when I’ve met friends or clients for lunch (due to me forgetting to ask for no cheese).

However, I have been able to avoid meat completely and eggs (other than a couple of cookies that had an egg in the recipe).

But rather than following something with dogmatic habit, I’m more concerned about making an indefinite lifestyle.

Question: Did your weight fluctuate?

Answer: One of the most common questions I get asked is about my weight throughout this journey. “Have you gained weight because you’re eating so many carbs?” Or “Have you lost muscle mass because you’re not eating any ‘proteins’?”

The answer is “no” and “no.”

My goal in going WFPB was not to lose weight. My daily calories have been lower many days, but the amount of food I consume has actually increased. That might sound confusing, but the reason is that I am eating less calorie-dense foods.

Fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods have fewer calories and are made of more water. They can fill you up without consuming a larger amount of calories.

My protein intake also hasn’t decreased. That’s a surprise for many people when I explain this phenomenon. But, pound for pound, plant-based foods actually contain more protein. Horses and apes, two of the strongest animals on the planet, get their protein from plant protein, not animal protein.

One morning I actually calculated the amount of protein I was consuming in the typical breakfast I now eat. It came out to 32 grams of protein! My previous two-egg breakfast (6 grams of protein per egg) didn’t even come close to this.

Question: Do you miss meat?

Answer: I still craved red meat for the first couple of months. But those cravings have slowly decreased over time. I’ve also fallen in love with a local plant-based burger restaurant. Their patties are 100% plant-based and free of any unhealthy preservatives.

The benefits of going WFPB

I noticed a lot of physical improvements: feeling more rested (in spite of not sleeping any more), decreased inflammation, more sustained energy, increased strength, clearer skin. I actually cut my coffee consumption by about 50% (4+ cups per day down to 1 or 2 at most).

Before trying a WFPB way of eating I remember thinking there would be absolutely no way this type of diet could sustain an athlete or high performer. Then I came across Rich Roll, an ultra-marathon athlete who switched to this way of eating so that he could perform better! Since then I’ve come across many other athletes and high performers who have done the same.

There are additional physical benefits associated with this style of eating like weight management and disease prevention.

Beyond the physical benefits, an unintended result was saving money. Groceries are much cheaper when you’re not buying meat.

The downside of going WFPB

As far as symptoms or how I feel, the only downside I have experienced so far is gas…

Honestly, it was embarrassing at first. But there are two things I’ve discovered that help: thoroughly rinsing your beans, time, and not consuming too much fiber in one sitting. It takes time for your body to adjust to consuming as many beans as I eat now.

Other than that, I haven’t experienced any physical limitations.

Honestly, the biggest hurdle to overcome has been the social side. But it becomes so much easier when you have the mindset that this is what you’re doing because of how good you feel.

In addition to visiting the cheese capital of America, we traveled a lot during these past few months. One of the times was for a close friend’s wedding.

I can still remember the conversation I had with my buddy a few days before the wedding rehearsal dinner…”Dude, get ready to eat! The rehearsal dinner is at a Brazilian Steakhouse – all you can eat meat!” I obviously hadn’t shared my ongoing experiment with him.

I laughed as I told my wife about it. I figured it could lead to a humorous, hungry night. But to my pleasant surprise, the steakhouse had an amazing salad bar! I left stuffed – one of the very few people to leave an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse after eating four platefuls of vegetables and greens.

Will I ever eat meat (or animal-based proteins again)?

Even taking the social aspect into consideration, it’s been much easier than I expected. It requires a little planning ahead at times and even some explanation. But it’s definitely doable.

Going WFPB has been a process for me. Growing up throughout college and until I was married I consumed a lot of dairy milk. I suffered from adult acne. But then Kara and I got married and she slowly helped me eliminate milk from my diet. It made it so much easier when I realized it was the cause of my skin issues.

We also started consuming less cheese and less highly processed foods. I believe this helped me understand the benefits of consuming more whole foods.

Today, I’m consuming about 95% WFPB foods. Occasionally I’ll have a couple of slices of pizza with cheese on it. And sometimes I’ll have a gluten-free cookie that used an egg in the recipe. But in general, because of the way I’ve seen my body respond to this way of eating I don’t want to go back to the way I ate before.

Stay tuned for updates as I continue to make this a lifestyle rather than an ongoing experiment.

My First Six Months Going Plant Based