Firefighters, Rip Esselstyn says, are a tough bunch. A tough, wings-eating, sausage-scarfing, aggressively carnivorous bunch.
Well, except for those in his station, Austin's Engine 2. They're more likely to avoid spaghetti and meatballs, savoring soba noodles with bok choy and gingered mushrooms. No meat for most of 'em there. No cheese, no Cheetos, no chicken pot pies.
Wellness Central
Only trim bodies and lower cholesterol.
Esselstyn, 46, is the impetus. Not just as fodder for his recently released book, The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan That Lowers Cholesterol and Burns Away the Pounds (Wellness Central; $24.99). Nah. Esselstyn, a former professional triathlete, has been eating "plant-strong" (which some would call vegan) for years. But not until the cholesterol level of one of his colleagues reached 344 did Esselstyn take his plan to the masses; namely, his fellow firefighters.
He challenged: Three weeks eating the Rip way, and see what happens.
This happened: His buddy - who had a family history of heart problems - saw his cholesterol level drop to 196.
Thus, Esselstyn's theory: "Genetics is the loaded gun. Diet pulls the trigger."
He professes to be neither a medical type nor a health-care professional of any sort. Just the son of a cardiologist, an ardent reader, a passionate studier of all things nutritional.
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And someone who believes in his cause. Before writing the book about the plant-based diet, he wanted to make sure it could work for anyone. So he recruited 58 volunteers to try it, including a 13-year-old neighbor, cancer survivors and multiple-sclerosis patients.
This time, he decided the magic time frame was six weeks; afterward, volunteers' blood pressure, weight and cholesterol levels had dropped significantly.
For Esselstyn, a plant-strong diet is a lifetime commitment. He asks readers to try it for four weeks - somewhere between his firefighters and his volunteers. That's time to tell a difference, he says.
After that time, he predicts, our bodies will be "a nutrient paradise." He's optimistic we'll want to continue following it. Maybe not as strictly as he does, but at least a large part of the time.
"You will feel clean and light, energetic and optimistic," he says in the book.
That said, here are 10 Engine 2 tips to follow on your way to getting as ripped as Rip. A warning from the author: "It won't be easy. You may go through withdrawals, but if you can go through 28 days, you'll never be the same."
Week One: Ditch the dairy. No milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ice cream, sour cream. "Milk substitutes - soy, rice - are awesome," he says.
As long as you're cutting back, rid your pantry of processed and refined foods: white rice, white flour, white pasta, sodas, cookies, cakes.
Week Two: Eliminate animal products. No chicken, beef, eggs, fish, pork, turkey, buffalo, venison, elk. "Nothing that paws a hoof or flaps a wing," Esselstyn writes. "Nothing with a face and nothing with a mother."
Week Three: Ix-nay on oils. Yes, that includes olive oil. It's all fat, Esselstyn says.
You're still not eating dairy or mothered-foods either, right? Good.
By Week Four, you're eating plant-strong. Here are more tips:
Peel your vitamins. He takes only 500 milligrams of B{-1}{-2}; everything else, he gets from food.
Think cost. "The plan isn't expensive. I don't buy organic," Esselstyn says. "Plus, if you're healthy, you save money on doctors' bills."
Think outside the box or can. "Some people have never tried kale," he says. "One woman had never had a fresh peach."
Yes, you will get enough fat. Think nuts, seeds, avocados, peanut butter.
And enough protein. Vegetables have more than you might suspect. Plus, of course, beans have lots. And speaking of beans ...
Fiber is your friend. "When you eat this way," Esselstyn says, "you're as regular as a Swiss commuter train that makes stops rain or shine, two or four times a day."
Exercise. "It makes everything better: Your mood, your weight." His book includes strength-training exercises using your body weight.
Be prepared for the hardest part: "People will think you're crazy," he says. "But if you read this intellectually, you'll know you are doing the right thing."
Keeping track: Want to find out how well you're following the Engine 2 plan? Keep track of your meals at
WHAT'S A HEALTHY LEVEL OF CHOLESTEROL?
Melinda Safir, clinical dietitian at Texas Health-Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, offers this: "A good rule to follow is total cholesterol below 200 mg/dl is good, and greater than 240 puts you at risk for heart disease. Between 200 and 239 is considered borderline high."A dietitian's take
We asked Melinda Safir, clinical dietitian at Texas Health-Presbyterian Hospital of Dallas, her thoughts on this plant-based diet.
First, she says, such a diet is not new. Second, because of the inherent reduced-calorie nature (so to speak) of plants, weight loss on this plan is not surprising, she says. Nor are its cardiovascular benefits.
"Careful planning to ensure optimal nutrition on a plant-based diet involves paying close attention to adequate vitamin, mineral and nutrient content of foods chosen, and this involves getting enough protein," she says. "Based on Rip's Web site's Q&A, his report on the amount of protein needed daily is actually too low." Women need on average 45 grams a day, and men 55, she says. Such protein needs can be met on this type of diet through consumption of such foods as beans and tofu.
Though she encourages everyone to include more plant-based, unrefined foods in their diet, she has two primary concerns about Rip's plan: getting adequate calorie intake, and making careful food-choice selections.
"From a dietitian's perspective, it is weight maintenance via a lifetime healthful-eating plan that results in overall improved health and long-term health benefits." She recommends meeting with a dietitian to make sure all the nutritional requirements needed are being met from such a plan.
She also recommends that pregnant or breast-feeding women consult their physician before beginning a plant-based diet.
