I found Forks Over Knives online while looking for ways to naturally drop my “hereditary” high cholesterol, a diagnosis I received at age 25. My doctor told me that once I was done having kids, I needed to go on statin drugs. I had tried lots of diet changes, but nothing seemed to help. I had cut meat out of my diet, but I still ate fish and dairy—and my total cholesterol hit a high of 316! Finally after I had my second baby, I knew that I needed to either find something that worked or start taking cholesterol meds for the rest of my life.

I went 100% plant-strong as a last-ditch effort—and my total cholesterol dropped 90 points in 8 months! My doctor was quite impressed and no longer recommended statins! My HDL number was fantastic, as well.

Not only did going plant-strong have a huge impact on my cholesterol, it has helped me to finally drop extra baby weight effortlessly. In fact, I am now 20 pounds under my pre-pregnancy weight. I have always struggled with food addiction, binge eating, exercise and food obsession, and maintaining a healthy weight. Now I no longer obsess about food and exercising. I don’t feel deprived. I listen to my body and eat plant-strong until I am satiated. I have found many great blogs and recipe books to help make this a relatively easy (and tasty) transition for me. I am 5’3″ and now weigh 110 lbs., down from 148 lbs., which was a lot of weight on my petite frame!

I am a 35-year-old single mom, and I run a business from home. In addition, I chase my kids (ages 1½ and 4½) from morning until night, manage my house and yard, and still have energy to run five miles whenever I get a kid-free hour. I have no doubt that being plant-strong helps me to have the energy to do everything I do.

My sister is another plant-strong success story. She changed her diet when she learned about my success, dropping her own “hereditary” high cholesterol by 80 points in four months.

Thank you to FOK for breaking through the noise of the traditional (non)solutions, like living on medications! I am so happy to be cholesterol-med-free and PLANT STRONG!