Brian Hetrich’s chronic sickness and fatigue from his job sparked raw determination. Mother Nature helped reclaim his health and his purpose.
Brian Hetrich – Vital Stats
Before
• Height: 6ft 1in
• Weight: 270lb
• Body fat: 43%
After
• Height: 6ft 1in
• Weight: 170lb
• Body fat: 17%
Q. What about your health made you realize you needed to change?
A. I was 100lb overweight and had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, backaches, headaches, infections – everything, all the time.
I finally got sick and tired of being sick and tired. I stumbled across a nutritionist who looked and acted 20 years younger than he was.
He was very inspirational, so I went vegetarian and then vegan, then raw within three years.
Every step of the way I was losing weight and gaining energy and getting sick less often.
Q. What challenges were you presented with initially?
A. The biggest challenge was the social impact. When I changed my eating habits virtually all my friends became uncomfortably focused on my plate. The peer pressure was significant.
I did not realize how much eating is a very social activity.
Eventually, I learned that many other vegans and raw foodists feel the same way.
I decided to host my own raw vegan potlucks and other health-conscious events to create my own social circle.
Q. How did you stay motivated to eat in a new way?
A. I learned about and used many different motivational tools like goal-setting, vision boards and affirmations, to name a few.
Plus, I attended as many raw vegan events and lectures as I could.
Eventually, I began hosting the same events and found my passion is in natural healing.
Q. How did you adapt your diet for this transformation?
A. I now aspire to eat only foods that have a high enzyme and high water content. This means more fresh, ripe, raw, whole, organic, local, plant-based foods on my plate at every meal.
Q. What changes have occurred as a result of your new lifestyle?
A. I lost 100lb and all of my sicknesses mentioned above are gone. my energy is through the roof.
My senses got remarkably better. I began to feel something I never felt before – me.
This is my greatest reward. My sense of awareness mindfulness. My mental clarity dramatically improved.
I began to connect with my purpose and my passion in life. it was like getting a whole new body and life.
Q. What are your current goals and future plans?
A. My current goals are to continue being 100% raw vegan for the rest of my life.
I’d like to focus more on building extra muscle, becoming fitter and sculpting my body. Natural health is my passion and I plan to do some health coaching, host retreats and open up a natural healing center.
You can learn more about me at www.brianhetrich.com
For more raw vegan transformations, nutrition, and workouts, get TRAIN magazine direct into your inbox every month for free by signing up to our newsletter
