#297: Jan Brown - From Toxic Diet Culture to Food Freedom
Jan Brown and her husband embrace a plant-abundant life!
From a childhood steeped in toxic diet culture and years of yo-yo dieting, to finding peace and purpose through a plant-based lifestyle—today’s guest, Jan Brown, shares her powerful story of transformation.
It all started with a post in the PLANTSTRONG Community Facebook group. Jan wrote:
“I grew up with a mom who was always dieting. I ate everything diet and low calorie, and yet I was the biggest kid in my class. My weight kept climbing once I was out of school, and anxiety and depression took over. I was on a vicious cycle of binge eating and starvation. My last known weight was 320 pounds.”
That was more than 23 years ago.
Today, Jan is a thriving wife and mother who continues to embrace a plant-abundant lifestyle. In this episode, she opens up about the pivotal moments that changed everything—including a simple book and a heartfelt letter to Dr. McDougall—and how those signs led her to a life of strength, health, and freedom.
We dive into:
Growing up in diet culture and breaking free from it
The emotional toll of weight gain and disordered eating
Finding freedom through whole food, plant-based eating
Dealing with criticism and doubt from others
Acceptance of her new body and celebrating accomplishments and finish lines
What truly fuels Jan’s plant-strong life today - hint: it’s tattooed on her hand!
This is a story of healing, resilience, and what happens when you finally stop dieting—and start nourishing.
Jan and her four sons
Episode Resources
Watch the Episode on YouTube
Proof Positive - The book that kickstarted Jan’s personal plant-based journey
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PLANTSTRONG Meal Planner - https://home.mealplanner.plantstrong.com/
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Episode Transcript via AI Transcript Service
I'm Rip Esselstyn, and you're listening to the PLANTSTRONG Podcast.
[0:04] From a childhood steeped in toxic diet culture and yo-yo dieting, to a simple book and a letter to Dr. John McDougall, everything changed, leading to a life of abundance and freedom. This is the story of today's guest, Jan Brown. You'll hear it right after these words from PLANTSTRONG.
[0:28] If you want to make plant-based living easier more personalized and way more delicious, the PLANTSTRONG meal planner membership has everything that you need to thrive and now it is bigger and better than ever you'll get one-on-one access to expert coaches these are real plant-based nutrition pros who can help you personalize your meals.
[0:50] Troubleshoot challenges, and stay on track with confidence. Plus, your membership includes hundreds of oil-free, whole food, plant-based recipes, weekly meal plans and smart grocery lists, exclusive content that you won't find anywhere else, and VIP savings on your favorite brands like Complement Essentials, The Sprouting Company, Roube Cooking School, Vitamix, and many more. It's like having a nutrition coach, a meal planner, and a discount card all rolled into one powerful membership, all for less than $2 a week. Join today at liveplantstrong.com and take the guesswork out of getting healthy. It was a post on our PLANTSTRONG Community Facebook page that sparked my interest. Several months ago, Jan Brown wrote, I grew up with a mom who was always dieting. I ate everything diet and low-calorie, and yet I was the biggest kid in my class. My weight kept climbing once I was out of school, and then anxiety and depression took over. I was on a vicious cycle of binge eating and starvation. My last known weight was 320 pounds.
[2:04] That was over 23 years ago. Today, Jan, a wife and mother, shares her remarkable and ongoing journey with food. We'll hear about the pivotal moments and guiding signs that have led her to a stronger, healthier life. And we'll discover what truly fuels her plant-abundant lifestyle. Spoiler alert, it's tattooed on her hands. Please welcome Jan Brown. Jan Brown, I want to welcome you to the PLANTSTRONG Podcast. Thank you so much for having me. Absolutely. It's a pleasure. And what's interesting is, so you've never been on a podcast. You've never been on a TV show. You've never been in a magazine or written a book, but here you are.
[2:52] And time to break the ice. Right. And like for the last 24 hours, I just keep saying to myself, who am I? Like, I feel like I'm so humbled being here, but I also think just like, who am I? Like, who am I to be here sitting with you right now? You know, it actually brings tears to my eyes because this has been such a long journey for me. And I call it my past life when I was heavy. And it's just, it's so unbelievable that I have this opportunity to sit here and talk to you right now. Well, I appreciate you taking us up on the opportunity because, you know, you've been on quite a journey over the last, well, really probably since you were eight years old, right? Right.
[3:45] So so it's been a lifelong journey for the most part. And I think that the great thing is, is I love having kind of so-called normal people like yourself on the podcast to share, especially when you've had a, you know, a real transformation that's been life changing and has affected you in so many different ways because you're so relatable. Right and so right back at you i i appreciate you you know coming on coming on the show and sharing your story so let's start tell me where am i talking to you from right now where are you what state are you in where are you we live in benton pennsylvania so we're in northeast pennsylvania near um Scranton, Wilkes-Barre area oh yeah is it cold there today It's freezing. When I go outside, I don't like myself, but when I come back inside and it's nice and warm, it feels good again. Yeah. Yeah.
[4:47] You know, Wilkes-Barre, I've done the Wilkes-Barre triathlon back when I was doing triathlons. I did that probably five, six years in a row back in the eighties, eighties and early nineties. It was, I remember it being very deceivingly hilly. mm-hmm yep that's actually they stopped it for a while but they did bring it back um i think this is going to be the second year that they're doing it in a row again, yeah yep so let's jump in and uh take me back to kind of i guess when you were let's start when you were eight years old because that's that's that's from my understanding is when you started, dieting um what was what was your household like there and um what was going on, Um, I, I feel like I grew up in a normal household. I have an older sister and my mom and dad, my mom was a stay at home mom and my dad worked two jobs, uh, very hardworking. And, uh, I'm proud of both my parents. And I'm also proud of my sister as well. Um, I'm thankful for the family that I've been given. And uh my mom just always even though she was very heavy always focused on losing weight like that was just always her goal and um it just down to my sister and i and everything in the house was diet i remember even taking like diet high c to um just for my school lunches all diet food for my school lunches.
[6:16] And then if she would buy something that was like regular, like a regular bottle of Pepsi or something, I would just, I would chug it. Like I would gorge it because I never had it. So when I would get that bag of chips or that bottle of soda, it was like, I needed to have all of it at once. And even as a young child, that's just how I was.
[6:38] I also remember um actually at six i i went to get like a professional photo done with my sister and my grandparents and the photographer at the studio told me to suck it in and i still have this photo it's up in my attic um but i was sitting there a little girl in the front six years old and they told me to suck in my stomach and uh.
[7:02] I remember that like it was yesterday, you know, and it's just the impact of that words have on kids, you know? Yeah. Yeah. Do you remember at what age you started to get heavy? Oh, yeah. By like first grade, kindergarten, first grade, I was always the biggest kid in my class. Yet I was eating all this diet food. Like, how could I be eating all this diet food? And I was active. I went to dancing school. I always played sports. Never good. I did it for like socialization and for fun. But I was constantly moving, yet I was always large. Mm-hmm. Well, I think you say your mom was always on a diet, so all you had in the house was diet food. But for whatever reason, it sounds like the diet food that you had in the house wasn't the right kind of food because it obviously wasn't working. No, it was heavily processed. I don't even know if they still sell it, but Tasty Cakes had a sugar-free version of their products. It was everything with sugar-free or diet salad dressing. Oh, gosh, that's awful. Like fat-free salad dressing is terrible. So we never ate fruits and veggies.
[8:23] Yeah. What about your dad? Was he overweight or what was his? No. No, my dad was never overweight. He was just tall and thin, no weight problem at all.
[8:38] Gotcha. Um, all right. So let's progress. Uh, so how was, how was your middle school, high school years? Um, I was always very social. Um, even though I was the heaviest girl in my class, I didn't, I wasn't bullied. I didn't get made fun of. I just, I was friends with everybody And I always enjoyed going to school and being around people so that my weight never affected me. I mean, I didn't have boyfriends, but that didn't bother me at the time. I was just happy to have my friends. So I was I was constantly dying, dieting, though, like by the time I was in middle school, I wasn't eating school lunches like I wouldn't eat breakfast before I went to school. I wouldn't eat lunch at school because God forbid anybody saw me eating and then I would eat everything at night. So everything at night that was in the house were so was your were you buying some of your own food or was this just food that your mom and dad had gotten at the grocery store yeah by the time i got my driver's license and a job that's when i was buying my own stuff and it was never good lots of fast food um lots of uh like refined carbohydrates.
[9:58] Yeah so so you you weren't eating for breakfast and lunch and then it sounds like you just kind of go to town at at night is that about right oh yeah like i would just go to a a restaurant and just get an entire large pizza and that was what i would eat yeah yeah um all right and did you end up going to college? No, no, I, I wanted to work with adults with disabilities and that's what I did right out of high school. So I got a full-time job right away. I worked in a group home. I was a job coach. Um, I did, um, they were, I was with my husband. Uh, we got together when I was 18. So right out of high school, um, I was with Chris. I started working full-time and then i would just hit up fast food places on my way home from work and i would eat i would eat two whoppers and then go home and make dinner for chris like and he never knew it i never told him that i would eat so much before i would come home and make dinner for him um.
[11:09] How did you meet Chris? In high school. He was a senior and I was a freshman. And I always thought he was so cute. And I just had the biggest crush on him. And after I graduated, I was still working at a grocery store. And he came in with his nephew. And I gave him my phone number. And the rest is history. My sister did tell my mom not to let me date him. But, I mean, we've been together for almost 29 years. So something worked out right. Uh well kudos to you for giving him your phone number oh yeah right that's awesome um do you know why your mother didn't want you to date him uh my sister he was uh he was a bit of a rebel in school he was uh like an old school punk rocker from like the 80s and 90s he uh was a little rough around the edges and my sister just thought i could do better but he he really is the best. Got it. Yeah. I'm sorry. I said your mother, your sister. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.
[12:15] And so at what point in this period, did you start getting anxiety and depression and then go on some prescription meds? I would say I was probably around 2021. And I, we would go out, like, say we would go to a restaurant or we would drive somewhere to go shopping. And then all of a sudden it would feel like the world was caving in on me. It was like I was looking through a tunnel. My vision wasn't clear. And wherever we were, we would have to leave because these anxiety attacks were just overwhelming for me. So I did go to the doctor. He prescribed medication for me and I was taking it and I was doing really well, but I knew that I didn't want to be on that forever. Like immediately as I was taking it, I'm like, I'm, this doesn't feel right. I don't feel like at my age, I should be on medication. And, um, I was going to a gym, even though I was very heavy, I was going to a gym inconsistently. And, uh, there was a book on the table and that was proof positive. And immediately I looked up anxiety, like, what can I do for anxiety? What's this book going to tell me. And it mentioned a whole food plant-based diet. And I started the next day. Like it was one.
[13:39] Like I, I didn't even give it, give myself time to think about it. I just started the next day. Did you take the book from the gym or did you go buy your own copy? No, no. I think my dad gave me the copy that I have now and I still have it. I still flip through it. I love it. Well, I looked it up and that book was written in like 1999. So that was a while ago. Yeah.
[14:07] Well, you know what? Fantastic. I mean, I love it that, you know, something in that spoke to you and, uh, and obviously it's still with you today though, the whole food plant-based part. Yeah. And to be fair, that book reads like an encyclopedia, but it's an easy read. Like it's, it's intimidating when you see it, but if you look in the index in the back for whatever ails you, you can flip right to the page. And that's what I did. Like, I, I, I remember it like crystal clear. Now it just being on that table and just looking up anxiety. And I saw what I needed to do. And it was like a light was shining, telling me, this is how you're going to make a change. And I didn't overwhelm myself. I took baby steps, like with not with growing up, not eating fruits and veggies. I just started adding them. And I started eating three meals a day instead of, cramming in all the bad stuff at night. Yeah.
[15:12] You're right. That book, I looked it up. It was like 540 pages. So it was, it was rather large encyclopedic. That's, that's really, I mean, I know you said it before, but I just want to come back and visit it. That you didn't have fruits or vegetables growing up. So you didn't have oranges or apples or bananas or grapes or watermelon or, or frozen corn, frozen peas. Really? Never. My mom would make like a serving for my dad for dinner, but my sister and I, we never ate it. Even when I, um, even when my mom would make chili, I'd pick out all the beans. I'm like, I'm not going to eat this. This is gross.
[15:56] Okay. So you thought of beans as a type of vegetable even. Yeah. I think we probably, we had some watermelon in the summer, but it wasn't anything that like we had all the time, always available. We never had a fruit bowl or anything like that. Well, just, I'm just want to dive in. So give me an idea of, I mean, I know you weren't for the most part eating much breakfast and lunch but what what what would a breakfast or lunch or dinner look like at your house can you like remember uh box cereal uh for lunch um i would be at school and i honestly wouldn't eat um and even for breakfast with the the cereal only on the weekends and um at night my mom made lots, lots of meat. So it'd be like chicken and rice or, um, um, pork chops, steak, anything like that. Okay. So what was your, the heaviest weight you got up to? I stopped weighing myself at 320 pounds, but I definitely was past that. I just gave up weighing myself. I was at a tight 26, 628 size.
[17:12] And what kind of a relationship, I mean, did you have with the scale and when did it start? And then, um, was it like, would you, were you, would you weigh yourself once a week, once a day, once a month, or up until that point when you're at 320, you're like, okay, I'm not looking anymore. Yeah. I think I would just check it every once in a while. it wasn't anything that i didn't i wasn't obsessed with it i didn't get on all the time, because my self-worth was determined by the number on the scale and um if it went up or down especially if it went up i would be in a terrible mood if it went down then i'd be like oh wow i lost two pounds you know it put me in a good mood for the day so that that was then that is definitely not now so okay let's go back you found the book at the gym you who literally said you started the next day with these little atomic habits, baby steps, I think is how you framed it up.
[18:16] So walking somebody through it, if they're, out here listening to this right now, and they're considering this lifestyle. What were the baby steps that you took that helped you be successful? Three meals a day. Make sure you're eating. Don't starve yourself. Food is never a punishment, and it's actually not even a reward. We just need it to survive. And just try different things. Add in some fruits and veggies. Make sure to eat some fruit with your cereal in the morning, add vegetables for lunch and dinner, you know, just take these little things and, um, they become big things. If you keep going, um, I'll give you, I'll give you a, for instance, I have two coworkers that I take my dinner break with regularly. And, um, just two days ago, the one lady said to me, Oh, Jan, I have chicken and waffles, but I have it without any chicken. So it's vegetarian. And then the coworker next to her was like, oh, well, I have macaroni and cheese. And I know that both things are things that we don't eat, but they were so proud that they were not eating meat and they were sharing that with me. And of course I am happy for them and I'm encouraging them. I'm not going to be like, oh, well, you need to add some greens to that, or you need to add a salad. I'm not going to be condescending or put them down. I am cheering them on because they're seeing what I'm doing and they're trying.
[19:44] Do these co-workers know you when you were 320 pounds? No. Yeah. And is that something that you talk about with some of these people? Do they know your history at all? They know my past, but I don't talk about it often. Right. Right. Well, super aspirational. Did you keep a food journal and how important, if so, was that? I did for maybe the first six months because I wanted to see what I was eating and I wanted to make sure that I was eating. And I did put my weight in there too. And it just was like a reminder of, okay, last week I weighed 256 pounds. This week I weigh 254 pounds. Like I would see that gradual decline in my weight. So, and that was also motivating for me as well.
[20:40] I'm sorry. No, go ahead. And keeping a food journal, I could see, oh, well, I didn't quite reach my goal of eating enough vegetables for today. So here, let me, let me add an extra one with my dinner. You know, when you started this, were you married? Yes. Yep. And, and so what did your husband think when you came back and were all gung-ho about this? He has always been 100% supportive of me. And he's never given me a hard time about any of it.
[21:16] He's just been super encouraging. So anything I ever cooked, he was happy just to eat. You know, he likes home-cooked meals. Food, ah, yeah. Yeah, yep. Is he on board with the lifestyle now? He is a vegetarian. in. So he still eats some dairy, but he definitely limits it. It's not like he has it at every meal. He just won't say no if it's in front of him. But our entire family, nobody eats any meat. That's how we raised our boys. Yeah. So tell me a little bit about your family. How many boys do you have? We have four boys. Our oldest is 21 and then 19, 17 and 12.
[22:03] I always promised that I would never put my kids on a diet because just growing up like that constantly on a diet, I just knew that was something I could never do to my children. But we also knew since Chris and I had changed before having kids to being vegetarian, we knew that we wanted to raise them vegetarian. So, and that's how they've always been. And they're happy, healthy young men. Congratulations on that. That's wonderful. And obviously they, they know about your journey. And are they just like, go mom, go. I, I think they're just so used to it that they don't even, And they don't even think twice about it. They just know what it was.
[22:53] It's just, I don't, I think because they're teenagers, they just are like, whatever, mom. Yeah. Yeah. What, how, um, what's your weight today? Uh, I weigh 150 pounds. Wow. Yeah. So that's, so you're down about 170 pounds from your, from, from the 320, which you say maybe it wasn't even your highest, but, um, that's something else. I'm five eight. So I'm taller. I'm not, I'm not a small lady. So. Yeah. And so you started this just for a, you know, a time frame here. You started this how long ago? Um, around the year 2000. So I started about 25 years ago. That's when I was introduced to everything. So, and I have been doing this, I had four children. I was pregnant doing this.
[23:56] Yeah. And I'm just wondering, how long did it take you to lose the 170 pounds and how long have you basically been steady at that 150-ish? It honestly didn't take too long. After I gave birth to our oldest son, I was losing weight. I probably lost about a hundred pounds. And then I had Owen. And, um, after I gave birth to him, it's like the weight just melted off. That's when I got down. I probably lost another 50 or 60 pounds, just losing the baby weight with Owen. And, uh, then I've just been consistent since then. I mean, I've lost a little bit more weight since they, since they're older now, like I've lost like another 10 pounds or so, but it's my body has maintained itself probably for.
[24:50] I don't know how to say it because Ben's 12. So giving birth to four kids and I mean, it has to be at least 18 years that I've maintained the weight. And how are you active? Is there any exercise that you're doing these days? Yes, I'm very active. I run marathons, but also my job is also very active. I work at a hospital. so I'm on my feet and going all day so it's not like I have a sedentary job so I am I'm constantly moving yeah yeah so um I I saw a little post that you did and you mentioned that you're just getting better with age yes it sounds like your running times are getting better with age your your energy is getting better with age um and you have a quote that that I love and I want to say it, that this lifestyle does not get in the way of living. No, absolutely not.
[25:57] It just makes it better. Yeah. Yeah. Sounds like you are like thriving and then some. Absolutely. Yep. And I, it's funny because I can run back to back marathons and I actually love to do that. And people are just like, how, but our bodies just recover so quickly. Like after running a marathon, I want to be lazy and lay around the next day, but my legs are fine. So then I just keep going and I keep running. So I like to sign up for like back-to-back marathons where they're on like the next weekend. So in seven days, I'm running another marathon because my legs, My legs are fine. So. Wow. Yeah. Wow. Good, good, good for you. Yeah. Are you a listener of the podcast at all? You know what? I was. I was.
[26:49] I didn't know how to tell you guys this, but no, I have not listened to the podcast and I almost was going to last night and I thought, no, I'm coming in here blind. Like I'm going to do this. And then I absolutely 100% plan on listening to it after this because I wanted to like kind of be naive coming into this. And I didn't really know. I didn't want to get other people's ideas in my head. I wanted to just give you 100% of me. Yeah. Good for you. The reason I mentioned it is a couple of weeks ago, I think it was episode 282. We dropped an episode about born to walk and it kind of in many ways makes us take a hard look at running and marathons and ultra marathons and how healthy is it for us. And so I would just encourage you to take a listen to that and then see if you have any takeaways. Okay. Yeah. But it sounds like this has worked incredibly well for you.
[27:53] Let's talk about, so do you have any battle scars left over from when you were heavy? Absolutely. With being a heavy child and then a heavy adult, when I lost the weight, I just assumed my body would bounce back, but my body never had anything to bounce back to. So yes, I have, I have a tons of excess skin. And, um, that was something that I, I literally like cried a lot over when I first lost the weight. Cause I'm like, what is this? Like, I look like a deflated balloon. This is terrible. Um, there has to be exercises I can do to tighten this up, but there's only so much that my body can do. So you have a ton of excess skin and stretch marks. I did go to a doctor to talk about plastic surgery, but because my skin is healthy, it wasn't covered by my insurance. So my husband and I, we sat down and had a really long, deep conversation about it and we decided instead of putting money towards plastic surgery we want to take a family vacation we want to make memories with our kids i don't need the plastic surgery i don't i'm fine i'm healthy everything's good i want to make memories with my family.
[29:22] Hmm. Wow. What a decision. Yeah. Excess skin sucks though. Oh, it's awful. It's strangers will just come up to me and start talking to me about, oh, did you lose a lot of weight? And I'm like, oh yeah, you know, it does open a door, but it always catches me off guard because I'll be doing something and I'll be distracted and then somebody will randomly come up to me and talk to me about it. Yeah. Where where on your body do you have the like noticeable excess excess skin where people will come up and talk to you about it? Definitely my arms. That's what they say, my arms. But I mean, of course, my stomach, my my chest. I went from a double D to an A. So they're literally just skin. My breasts are just skin. I have it in between my legs, the upper part of my legs. I have excess skin. And so like I can't wear cute little running shorts. I have to wear it. Make sure I wear like compression leggings just to hold everything in.
[30:23] And just curious, when you went to go see the plastic surgeon, was it about doing some skin removal from all those places or just one place in particular? No, we talked about it was a double tummy tuck, but he also said that it would raise my my butt because it is very saggy back there. And then also my breasts, because one breast is like nine inches hanging too low. And then the other one is like eight inches. So I just because of the excess skin, I just wear sports bras. So it holds holds everything in nice and tight for me. Have you have you guys talked about where you want to take that family vacation, i think the first thing that just came to my mind was disney world because it that's always a fun place to go with older kids yeah yeah um.
[31:23] All right. Well, I want you to keep me posted on when that trip potentially will happen. Okay. What's so funny though, is that we're campers. So like to say Disney world, that's so like what we wouldn't normally do. Like we're campers. We like to go hiking in the mountains, but just as a family, go to Disney world, you know, go see Mickey Mouse. Yeah. Yeah.
[31:48] Do you know who Chef AJ is? Oh, yes, of course. Yeah. So, you know, she's actually at Disney World right now. No, I didn't know that. Yeah. It's one of the things that was on her bucket list. And, you know, now that she's been diagnosed with stage three lung cancer, she's kind of getting after it and doing all those things that she wants to do. Awesome. Yeah. That's one of them. Yeah. So in the last 20 plus years that you have been, do you refer to yourself as vegan, whole food, plant-based, plant-strong? How do you define yourself when people ask how you eat? I just say that I eat plants. I don't like to say vegan. I mean, to be fair, I love vegan. I'm absolutely vegan. But I think sometimes people think negatively about it. So I just say that I am like PLANTSTRONG I munch on plants. Good. I like that. I eat plants. I just eat plants. Yeah.
[32:54] So over the last 20 plus years, you've heard a lot of vegan jokes, a lot of derogatory comments. Can you think of any off the top of your head? I'd love to hear some if you can think of any. I have a coworker that's relentless with me. And every day he tells me that my dinner's outside and to go eat grass. And right now it's frozen, you know, frozen dinner. Go get it. Mm hmm. Yep. Every once in a while, we have a pizza party at work and I'm just sitting there munching on my plants as usual. And I had a coworker take a piece of pepperoni pizza and like wave it in my face, thinking that he was funny. And I didn't get offended by it or anything. I just thought, ugh. But he just thought he was being so funny and tempting to me. And I said, this doesn't tempt me. Like, I don't want to eat that. Like, I'm okay sitting here eating my salad and my veggies. I'm good. Um, and then also, uh, when my mom was alive, she actually told me that I had an eating disorder because of eating plants. Yeah. But she obviously had seen your, was she able to witness your, your transformation? Yep. Yeah. And, and was she, was she excited for you?
[34:12] I don't think so. I think she had a really hard time because it was something that she wanted. You know, and she had a really hard time achieving it. And she would see me eating these huge plates of food. I mean, big hearty salads with lots of stuff in it. And she thought that I was like gorging myself, like eating too much. But I really wasn't. Like I was waiting until I was hungry. And then I would eat a nice big salad with a nice variety of fruits and veggies in it. Yeah. Yeah. And you could have told your mom, well, mom, because of the calorie density of these foods, I get the privilege and the opportunity to eat a lot. Yep.
[34:56] I'm sorry that your mom didn't get it. No. And again, you know, I've seen it time and time again. So it's not shocking, but it's kind of surprising that she was able to witness you do something that she had wanted to do her whole life, but yet she couldn't bring herself to basically say, Jan, show me how to do it. I want to follow your lead. Right. I don't know if it's still the same way, but when she had gastric bypass surgery, they wouldn't do it after the age of 60. And she just met the cutoff like days before she turned 60. She had gastric bypass surgery and she still never got down to the weight that she wanted. I think maybe after the surgery and after the losing weight, after losing weight, I think she got down to maybe like 220, 200, somewhere around there. But I think she just assumed that she would be thin and trim. And it's it's still work when you have gastric bypass surgery. There's still work that you have to do. yeah she instead of eating plants he drank crystal light and had gastric bypass surgery yeah um.
[36:13] And so when she, when she died, do you know, like, what did she die from? She had Parkinson's and dementia, but on her death certificate, it says something about her heart.
[36:23] Your father's still alive. Yeah. My dad, he's doing well. He's retired now. He does have a pacemaker. Just recently he, during the holidays, he was telling us that, that his time is limited and he doesn't know how much longer he has because his pacemaker, pacemaker could go at any time. But he also, I don't even know what it's called. He had six bypass, like six bypass surgery in his heart when he was 60. So he's been having heart issues since for the past 15 years.
[37:01] Gotcha. Is he at all? Oh, he's not on plan at all. He just, uh, he wants to die happy. Those are the words that I hear. So and beer, you know, um, standard American diet. Like he, uh, he did buy himself collards and he was so happy to buy himself collard greens, but he went to a butcher and got pork chops to go along with it. And guess what? He cooked the pork chops and didn't cook the collard greens. And he was talking about how they were the best pork chops he ever had, but he didn't eat any grains with it. You know, so you've been doing this for a while. What what suggestions, tips would you give to people that have an issue with motivation? Because obviously you've done a wonderful job at keeping yourself informed and kind of on this path.
[38:01] Rip it off like a bandaid. Start right now. Make sure you eat when you're hungry. Like don't punish yourself. Don't. If say you had a half a dozen donuts and you're so frustrated and upset with yourself, don't.
[38:20] Punish yourself. Start at your next meal. The next time you're hungry, make sure to eat some fruits and veggies and whole grains. The worst thing that we can do is like abuse and punish ourselves. We are our own worst enemies. So we have to make sure that we're saying kind things to ourselves. Like, how would you talk to your best friend or your spouse or a stranger? Talk to yourself that way. Um start moving do anything do what you love like I didn't like running I still joke and say I don't like running I love crossing the finish line that's why I do what I do crossing that finish line and getting the medal that's my reward so um write it down if you need to yeah at one point you mentioned that you wrote Dr. McDougall for help. Did anybody get back to you? Yes. I was pregnant and I thought, I can't do a whole food plant-based diet pregnant. This can't be healthy. I sent him an email and he got right back to me. He said, yes, absolutely. It's very healthy for you and for the baby.
[39:32] It's not expensive. That was another issue of mine. Like I'm pregnant. I'm a new mom. How can I do this on a budget? And everything that he said to me was so true and things that I still hold very close to me now. Like just think grocery shopping for four boys. My grocery bill is astronomical. but it's less because we're eating whole food plant-based we're eating rice and beans and you know fruits and veggies so and lots of oats it's not expensive yeah yeah that's a really really important point this really is probably the one of the most economical ways to to eat and and, and take care of yourself that exists. Um, you mentioned your sister, um, was she an older sister or younger sister? She's my older sister. Okay. And, and is she on board? Is she doing her own thing? What's she doing? No, she does her own thing. She, um, she's heavy and she just eats a standard American diet. But when we come over, she's very supportive. You know, she always tries to make something that, um, she thinks that we would like.
[40:48] That's, that's wonderful. Um, tell me what are your, some of your favorite meals that you make? Um, all right. I'm going to show you my, one of my favorite tattoos. Let's see if I can get it up there. Let's see. Um.
The Power of Burritos
[41:06] Hold on there we go how about that does that say burritos it sure does anytime you want me um anytime you want to go out to eat just ask me what i want to eat and i'll say burritos.
[41:22] It's it's so true it's so true those those little pack meals are amazing so do you when do you ever when you go out uh for restaurant food do you ever go to like chipotle or another place where you can build burritos oh yeah absolutely yeah yeah and um when i go out i feel that people are super accommodating i'm not um super duper strict uh i don't know how to explain it but like when i go out, I make sure to get vegan food. Um, if there is some salt or oil, I'm not going to not eat it. I remember when I first started, I mean, this was, you know, over 20 years ago, it was actually before the kids. So I would say probably close to 25 years ago. So it was when I first started, Chris brought me home a Dunkin' Donuts coffee and it had cream and sugar in it. And I just remember dumping it out. Like I was so mad. I'm like, I can't believe they put cream and sugar in it.
[42:21] But like now if I go out to a restaurant and say there's some oil, I won't let that stop me. Like it's not something that I won't let get me down. I just know that we eat 21 meals a week. So if I eat 20 whole food plant-based and one out at a restaurant that has some oil or some salt in it, I'm okay. But it's because I've been doing this for so long. And like, I know that my weight's okay i know that my health is okay so i'm not going to waste food or punish myself for having a little special treat yeah yeah um.
[43:04] So over the last two decades of really embracing and running with this lifestyle, what has been the hardest thing for you? And conversely, what's been the best thing?
[43:22] The hardest thing, I think, in the very beginning was sugar, because I love sweets. and just getting, taking that away. It was something else that I cried about. I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't have sugar anymore. Like this is terrible. But once you realize how good you feel, you don't want it anymore. I do, that's something else I say for special treats. There's a vegan bakery in Bethlehem, PA that we go to maybe once a year. And I just enjoy it. I don't overdo it. I pick out something that I want. I embrace it. I love it. I enjoy it. And then I get right back to it. What do I love the most is absolutely the energy and just thriving in life. I feel better at 47 than I did at 23. My life is completely different. I mean, I know I used to be heavy. I know that I used to have a problem, but I don't even think about that anymore. I just think about right now and just how amazing my life is. Like I have lived a life that is truly amazing. Everything I've ever wanted to do, I have done. And I'm thankful for that. And I know it's because of the lifestyle that we are living. You mentioned that you, thank you for all that. You mentioned that you work in a hospital. Yes.
[44:52] Are a lot of your coworkers overweight? Yes.
[44:59] And do you.
[45:03] I think you said you don't talk about this unless people ask you questions, but are many people asking you questions or yeah. Yeah. I, I, I have a funny story. I love working in the emergency room and the one night I was talking to one of our doctors about being on this podcast and he is a weightlifter. He does competitive weightlifting competitions. So we support each other with his, his fitness journey. And then also with me, with my running journey, and there was a physician's assistant just listening in on the conversation. And he came up behind me out in the hallway, away from everybody and just said, how do I get off of sugar? How do I do this? And I'm like, listen, it's hard. Like you're going to struggle for about 21 days. But after that, if you stay away from it and be consistent, you'll feel much better. But like people come up to me privately. They don't want to talk about it in front of other people. What about cheese or eggs? Any issues getting off of those? No, no, not at all. Especially because I love watching documentaries, like vegan documentaries. So I see, you know, the slaughterhouses or, you know, other stuff like that. And just even like that, just the health that it's just not good for us. So it's not a temptation. Right. Makes it easier for you to just kind of say no. Yep.
[46:32] Mm hmm. What's what's been the favorite vegan documentary you've seen as of late?
[46:40] You know what? We just watched Christ Spiracy and I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. Like it I I felt like I was talking to the television the whole time. Like I just couldn't believe Christ.
[46:55] The whole thing. I felt like the whole thing was very well done. But I see everything that's on Netflix right now. Like I've seen all the documentaries because it motivates me. It just, it gives me more information and it motivates me to continue on this journey. Yeah. I haven't seen that documentary. Was it on Netflix? Is that where you watched it? No, they only have it on their website and it is free. So if you go on their website. Right. Christ-spiracy. Well, you know, that's Kip Anderson and he also did cow-spiracy. He did sea-spiracy. So he, whatever he kind of puts out there, he usually does an amazing job with it. Yep. Yep. It's very well done. Chris and I watched it together and I actually want to watch it again with the kids just so they can see what's going on. Yeah. All this running that you've been doing, do you do it solo or are you part of a running group? No, I do it completely by myself. It's my quiet time. It clears my mind completely. I don't even listen to music. It just clears my mind and it gives me time to think and pray and praise. And even when I run marathons, like every mile marker, it gives me something to pray for. So it's my quiet time with God. Yeah.
[48:21] What is your typical breakfast in the morning? What does that look like? Always, always, always fruit. I love fruit. Lots of berries. I love watermelon. So I actually eat that a lot at our local grocery store. They have it just already cut up. And I know it's a little bit more expensive, but I just, it's convenience food for me. So I just, I grab that quick. So I have it and it's already ready. I don't even have to worry about cutting it up. So always fruit. Right. So it's fruit. You don't do an oatmeal or a toast or Rip's Big Bowl cereal. It's just the fruit. Just fruit. Yep. I work second shift. So I work 3 to 1130. So I usually hit the gym before I go to work. So eating fruit is nice and light before I go to the gym. And then what about, do you pack your own lunch then when you're at the hospital? Yeah. Yeah.
[49:19] What does that usually look like? 100% always a salad. And then like yesterday, I also had roasted veggies to go on top of the salad. So lots of veggies because I'm always on my feet. I'm always moving. So I don't want to eat anything heavy that would weigh me down. I don't want to get tired at work. I want to keep going. Yeah. So give me an idea, like the salad, what do you put in that salad? Do you also have any beans or chickpeas or tofu uh in there oh yeah um i love smoked tofu that is like super duper flavorful but i i honestly just love tofu like you know it just takes on whatever flavor you're cooking it with so um i've never found a tofu i didn't like yet um and i eat tons of chickpeas those are my favorite um, But yeah, I make sure to throw in like cabbage, kale, spring mix. I love baby arugula. That's my favorite for a salad. So, and just, I put in a mixture of things I love, you know, stuff with lots and lots and lots of flavor. And of course I love jalapenos. I like to add that extra cake in there too.
[50:35] So give me an idea. Do you put it in a Tupperware bowl or how do you carry your salad into work? You know, what's so funny is that I have, um, I have this bowl at work and I call it my trough and that's what I put my salad in. No, I just, I, I take everything in, in a bag and then I make my salad at work at night. I just throw everything together. Got it. Yep. And it doesn't take long. Like I only get a 30 minute break, so I need to make sure that everything's chopped and ready to go. And I just throw it in there and mix it up and wolf it down and get back to work. Do you have a dressing that you put on it?
[51:13] There, every once in a while, like, I like, like, an Asian dressing, but really just like a squirt, like something small. But honestly, like, I just like some guacamole or some avocado, lots of lemon juice. I think that the veggies are okay on their own. Like, my taste buds have adjusted. And also with marathon, I'm constantly in marathon training. So everything just tastes better yeah and um everything i eat i'm like oh my gosh this is the best thing i ever ate so um i just enjoy now the flavors of the fruits and veggies you know remember for the first 20 plus years of my life i wasn't eating that so to get it now i'm like man this is amazing yeah yeah you're making up for lost time yeah yeah what did you have for dinner last night.
[52:07] Oh, I did have, I had a burrito. A coworker of mine got me a burrito with lots of veggies in it and rice and beans. And then I had some roasted veggies. Right. So when you have, when you have a, you know, all the, all the kids are home. Do you have a traditional favorite family dinner that you guys make? I'm sure lots of rice, lots of pasta. I don't actually eat as many potatoes as I probably should. But with running, it tends to mess with my stomach. So I eat more, lots of rice, stir fries.
[52:48] I'm trying to think like tonight for dinner, because I went to the grocery store before we started this. Like I got stuff to make a veggie stir fry and I have tofu. Um the kids they just eat whatever i have on the table and like i said working second shift i only get to cook two meals a night i'm sorry a week two meals a week um because chris you know he does the rest because of me working second shift so that's nice i embrace those two nights a week that I get to be home with them and cook for them. Yeah. Yeah. Well, as we wind down here, I just, I want to ask you this. You tell people don't accept mediocrity. Nope. Can you expand on that?
[53:41] When you wake up in the morning, is it a chore? Like when I jump out of bed in the morning, like I put my feet on the ground and I'm just happy to be alive. I look forward to every little thing that I do. Everything is an accomplishment. And just getting into that boring routine of getting up, going to work, paying bills, do something out of your comfort zone. Make sure that you are not just living, that you're thriving. And it doesn't have to be running like it could be anything that makes your heart and soul genuinely happy because we only have one life to live. So make sure it is a life well lived.
[54:27] Hooray. yep jan brown i can't even tell you how wonderful it's been getting to know you a little bit hearing about your your journey your incredible journey that started with one one step and then look where you are today right wow you've you've covered a lot of ground yeah pretty incredible yeah yeah huge congrats to you thank you so much and you know i'm just going to keep on keeping on Like there's nothing. I'm not going to let anything stop me. No, you shouldn't. And neither should any of you that are out there listening. Well, Jan, thanks for coming on the podcast. Phenomenal, phenomenal job. Will you give me a plant strong fist bump,
Closing Thoughts and Key Takeaways
[55:17] a virtual one on the way out here? PLANTSTRONG to the Itos.
[55:25] Thank you, Jan. Thank you. Bye for now. Thank you, Jan, for your authenticity, humor, and courage in sharing your journey. Being the outlier, especially around food choices, isn't easy, but your positivity is truly inspiring. Your energy and love for life sets a powerful example for all of us. One key takeaway from this episode, small, consistent steps matter. For Jan, it started with three meals a day and 20 minutes of exercise. Simple, repeatable actions that have lasted over 20 years. What small habits can you start today to create lasting change? We're here to support you. Check the show notes for links to our online community where you'll find encouragement from people like Jan and others going down the same path. Thanks so much for listening and always, always keep it PLANTSTRONG.
[56:31] The PLANTSTRONG podcast team includes Carrie Barrett, Laurie Kortowich, and Ami Mackey. If you like what you hear, do us a favor and share the show with your friends and loved ones. You can always leave a five-star rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And while you're there, make sure to hit that follow button so that you never miss an episode. As always, this and every episode is dedicated to my parents, Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. And Anne Crile Esselstyn. Thanks so much for listening.
