The Discerning Brute

Terrence in 1989 at 225lbs

I’ve been following and documenting a pretty surprising story that is unfolding as we speak.

Terrence, a real man’s man who was a high-school football star, scoffed at vegans, worshiped Filet Mignon and scotch, and threw caution to the wind concerning his love of pleasure through food and drink, switched to a 100% vegan diet on November 1st on a quest to reclaim his health and return to his high-school-hay-day weight of 225lbs. I travel with him to Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s office once a month and document him as he has his vitals and blood work analyzed. From Terrence’s blog:

November 1st, at 302 lbs

“On November 1, 2009 I started this 6 month vegan quest because I had no choice. Moderation was a failure, actually, moderation to me was an anathema. If I was going to lower my cholesterol which was at levels that made the Devil salivate, and if was going to reach back to a time when I was my healthiest, a time when the Berlin Wall still divided East and West, I was going to have to push all my chips to the center of the table and go all in. Not moderation, not portion control, not more exercise – I was going 100% vegan, work-out every other day, and belly up to my favorite taverns and order a seltzer water.”

Did I get used to it? Of course. But the real change is that I actually ENJOY it!

From unexpected vegan gourmet meals at the legendary (and not for being vegan-friendly ) “21 Club” to his social struggles with the stigma, to the triumphs of losing weight and cholesterol, to cooking for skeptics and sharing the grill while tailgating, and with the help and guidance of Heather Mills and her product line VBites, Terrence’s is a compelling tale thus far of a normal guy who went vegan – and is still a normal guy. And it’s only halfway over.

My 6′4″ frame carried around 302 lbs on November 1st. Today, I am 265 lbs. Exactly half way there both in time and weight loss. My cholesterol dropped 100 points down into a safe and healthy range. All this without medication. I take Vitamin D and a multi-vitamin every day. That’s it.

You can follow his inspiring story, too, at http://myveganquest.blogspot.com/

It’s more than my rent, but check this Armani Collezioni Pickstitched Two Button Sportcoat in Bamboo Rayon. $855 at Nordstrom.com

Now, these are affordable. Nordstrom’s 1901 Recycled Cotton Blend Crew Socks. $7.50 at Nordstrom.com in argyle and stripes