About Me

Mark OsborneWelcome
My name is Mark Osborne and like many people on a typical American diet I had been getting a few pounds heavier every year.

The turning point
When I started approaching 200 lbs on the scale I decided that I needed to take action. My approach of trying to eat sensibly just wasn’t working.

Calorie Restriction
So I estimated how many calories I was consuming on a typical day and then calculated how many calories I should be consuming to get back to a healthier weight. Then I resolved to try and reduce my calorie intake to that target number. It was hard, but I stuck with it and successfully lost twenty pounds. Did I mention it was hard.

Discovering a plant based diet
About that time I read a book called The China Study
that made a compelling case that plant based diets were good for you and meat and dairy based diets were bad for you. Having tried to avoid vegetables for most of my life, this was rather an unsettling conclusion.

The experiment
Rather than dismissing the book I decided to conduct an experiment and embark on a vegan diet. Much to my surprise one year later the experiment was still going and I found myself lighter, healthier, fitter and more enthusiastic than ever.

Sharing the secret
I lost a total of fifty pounds and I am healthier and fitter than I have been since a teenager. So I decided to create this site to share my experiences and learning with you.

4 Responses to About Me

  1. Jodi says:

    Dear friend,

    I was surprised to learn that the United States is one of the few developed nations not to require the labeling of genetically engineered foods. Even China and Russia label them! Don’t you think we have a right to know what’s in our food?

    We have no time to lose. The FDA is preparing to approve genetically engineered salmon, which would be the first genetically engineered animal on supermarket shelves in the United States. The salmon is engineered to produce growth hormones year-round that cause the fish to grow at twice the normal rate. The government already requires labels to tell us if fish is wild-caught or farm-raised — don’t we also have a right to know if our salmon is genetically engineered? Without labels, we’ll never know.

    As consumers, I think we have a right to know how the food we buy is produced, including whether it’s genetically engineered. Otherwise, we can’t decide what’s best for us and our families.

    That’s why I submitted a comment to the FDA demanding that genetically engineered foods be labeled. And with just a few clicks, you can join me! Will you tell the FDA that you support mandatory labeling of genetically engineered foods too?

    http://www.JustLabelIt.org/takeaction

    Please, click on that link and contact the FDA today. They need to hear from more people like you and me!

    • Mark Osborne says:

      I checked this out and it appears that justlabelit.org is a legitimate organization (how come I never heard of them before now?) and there cause to improve the labeling of food is definitely one I agree with. They have been mentioned in the media including the Huffington Post and the Boston Globe.

      I have signed the petition!

      Thanks for bringing this to my attention Jodi.

  2. Nicole says:

    Hi Mark! My husband and I live in Minneapolis and have been eating a whole foods, plant based diet for over a year now. We now want children, but we are concerned about finding a doctor that will accept our diet through my pregnancy, etc. Do you have any tips or leads for us to find a doctor? Thanks for any help.

    • Mark Osborne says:

      Hey Nicole,
      Sorry I don’t have specific recommendation. A friend has a very healthy child that has been vegan most of his life, but she switched to a vegan diet after she gave birth. Most dietician’s should be able to provide advice on how to construct a healthy diet, however it’s worth checking out a few OB/GYNs to make sure they are comfortable handling a vegan pregnancy as their usual advice might not be suitable. As with any vegan diet, remember to include some form of B12 supplementation. Also be sure to include enough fats in your diet including saturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. Coconut is a good source of vegan saturated fat, ground fax and chia seeds are a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, you might also consider supplementing with vegan DHA.
      Good luck!

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