Search Weight Loss Topics:

Home » Diet » Whole Foods CEO John Mackey Shares the Diet that Got Him Back to His Teenage Weight – PEOPLE.com

John Mackey, the CEO and founder of Whole Foods,didnt eat any vegetables growing up.

He discovered his love of veg in his 20s, just a few years before startingthe health foods store. Now Mackeyshares his story, and the benefits of a plant-based lifestyle, in his new book, The Whole Foods Diet: The Lifesaving Plan for Health and Longetivity.

In my 20s, I moved into a vegetarian co-op and that was the beginning of my own food consciousness journey. I was a very picky eater. I never ate vegetables, but within a pretty short period of time I became a vegetarian, Mackey tells NBC News.

But he didnt completely stick to vegetarianism, and started eating fish.

Gradually, over time, I was starting to gain weight, Mackey says. My biometric measurements were not as good as they used to be. I was getting older. I just thought, Oh, this is coming with age.

Then he discovered Colin Campbells book The China Study, whichconvinced him to go vegan, and ditch processed foods entirely.

When I stopped eating all those processed foods and combined that with a plant based diet, my health was just amazing, Mackey says. I now weigh the same as I weighed when I was 18 years old. My cholesterol is under 140. My LDL is under 70. My blood pressure is 110 over 65. Im an extremely healthy person now.

From Coinage:Heres When Its Worth to Buy Organic

But Mackey says you dont have to cut out meat and processed foods all at once, move through the transition on a relatively slow basis. Mostly because we need to re-educate our taste buds. You have to expose yourself to a food about ten times before you really come to like it.

Mackey used this method to train himself to love vegetables, which was the key to his weight loss, and what he says is the best way to eat.

When you combine the things our body naturally craves whole starch foods (sweet potatoes, brown rice, beans, etc.) with fruits and vegetables you can eat all you want and youll lose weight, he says.

Still, though, he isnt perfect, and other foods slip in to his diet.

Im still on a health journey too, Mackey says. I do not put myself out as a perfect human being in terms of healthy eating. However, its the overall diet pattern that matters. If you occasionally make a mistake, or you occasionally indulge yourself, it doesnt matter. Its about the overall pattern: when you have the next meal, or the next snack, just do better.

More:
Whole Foods CEO John Mackey Shares the Diet that Got Him Back to His Teenage Weight - PEOPLE.com

Your Full Name
Your Email
Your Phone Number
Select your age (30+ only)	30313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120
Select Your US State	Select Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington,DCWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Program Choice	Select Your ProgramInjectable HGHInjectable TestoteroneInjectable SermorelinInjectable Weight LossInjectable HCG DietInjectable Vitamins
Confirm over 30 years old	Yes
Confirm that you resident in USA	Yes
This is a Serious Inquiry	Yes
Message:

Home » Diet » Whole Foods CEO John Mackey Shares the Diet that Got Him Back to His Teenage Weight – PEOPLE.com