Meet Patrick Pete: Rewriting a family history of heart disease and diabetes

I have a friend who sets two or three alarm clocks to be sure she doesn’t oversleep. Sometimes it takes more than one wake -up call. 

At the young age of 39, Patrick Pete had already been diagnosed with diabetes, had surgery to place a stent in one of his arteries, and was being treated for high cholesterol. Then he was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

As he was recovering from cancer surgery, Patrick had an “A-ha” moment.

“I realized that the way things were going, I probably didn’t have a very long lifespan in front of me.  I figured I could either get depressed, or take action. I decided to take action. I started exercising and, for the first time in my life, I started really paying attention to my diet. 

"Nutrition Data helped me take control. I started by tracking my calories and fat and using the Better Choices to find more nutritious foods. I used the recipe analysis to come up with a bunch of different breakfasts, lunches, and dinners that had the right balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates.  I really like that I can tailor it to fit my goals.

"I also want to make sure I get all the right vitamins and minerals. I try to get as much nutrition from whole foods as possible instead of just taking pills. ND helps me see what I'm missing and find foods that fill the gaps.

"When I use ND to track my intake, I can see a direct correlation between my diet and my body. When I increase my protein, I can see a difference in my work-outs. When I cut back on fat, I get leaner. I’m in the best shape of my life now. You know, when you’re 20 and in good shape, it’s just because you're 20. When you’re 40 and in good shape, it’s because you earned it! I’m proud of my body now, and my wife and daughter are, too. 

"My doctors are happy, too. My cholesterol numbers are great and my diabetes is well-controlled. And the only reason for that is that I finally made the decision to change my life. Heart disease and diabetes run in my family and I have watched a lot of people in my family die when they didn’t need to. At age ten, my own daughter already had a serious weight problem and I could see that she was headed down the same path.

You can not lead where you will not go

"Fortunately, I love to cook and cooking for my family is a way for me to teach my daughter about food. Believe me, we didn’t start out eating healthy in my family. We have to overcome that history, but I’m working at it. I’ve completely changed the way our family eats and cooks.  And we’re all healthier.

"I really believe that the only way we’re going to get our kids to be healthier is to convince parents that they need to have healthy lifestyles. We have taught our kids terrible eating habits. They’re not going to change until we change. You can’t lead where you won’t go.

"Now, I’m trying to reach out to other guys in their 30s and 40s and get them to take this stuff seriously. It’s a struggle. People usually don’t make a change until the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain of making the change.  But I want to tell people: Don’t wait! You may not get the chance to save your life.  I’m lucky. I got that chance.

"I want to tell people to be smart about their health.  Don’t trust what other people tell you. You need to do your own research. Ask for nutritional guides at restaurant.  Use the tools at Nutrition Data to learn what foods can do for you and what you’re putting into your body. And never give up!”

To read more about Patrick’s successful battle against cancer and diabetes and his ongoing quest for better health, check out his blog: U Can Be Healthy