Richard Hubbard’s remarkable journey to health and vitality is a testament to the transformative power of a whole food, plant-based diet. Richard, who once weighed over 345 pounds, has shed more than 150 pounds, revolutionizing his health and inspiring those around him. His story is featured in the latest episode of The Glen Merzer Show, where he opens up about his challenges, triumphs, and the profound impact of adopting a plant-based lifestyle.
A Wake-Up Call at 39
Richard’s journey began in January 2012 when a dreaded doctor’s visit changed his life. At 39, he was diagnosed as morbidly obese and hypertensive. Faced with the prospect of lifelong medication, Richard decided to take control of his health. He started researching dietary changes to lower his blood pressure and stumbled upon the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet.
The Transition to Plant-Based Eating
Initially, Richard’s changes were incremental. He cut out red meat and aspartame, gradually embracing Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s principles of nutrient-dense eating. By the end of 2012, he had lost 120 pounds through a combination of dietary changes and rigorous exercise. Despite initial fears about protein intake, Richard continued to reduce his consumption of animal products, moving closer to a fully plant-based diet by 2016.
Inspiration from Vegan Bodybuilders
A significant turning point came when Richard discovered vegan bodybuilder Robert Cheeke. Motivated by Cheeke’s success, Richard committed to a 13-week vegan bodybuilding challenge. The results were astounding. Not only did he build more muscle, but he also decided to adopt a vegan lifestyle permanently. His compassion for animals solidified his commitment, making the dietary change about more than just health.
Overcoming Challenges and Inspiring Others
Richard’s transformation wasn’t just physical. He dealt with body shaming and the social challenges of changing long-held eating habits. However, his story has inspired many, proving that significant weight loss and health improvements are possible through plant-based nutrition. His cholesterol levels, resting heart rate, and overall well-being have dramatically improved, showcasing the holistic benefits of this lifestyle.
Richard’s Message: Embrace the Green Side
Richard Hubbard’s story is a powerful reminder of the benefits of a whole food, plant-based diet. His journey from obesity to health demonstrates that it’s never too late to make a change. Whether you're already plant-based or considering the transition, Richard’s experience underscores the potential for profound health improvements. Listen to Richard’s full story on The Glen Merzer Show and discover how embracing plant-based nutrition can transform your life.
LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE: Richard Hubbard Lost Over 150 Pounds!
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DISCLAIMER: Please understand that the transcript below was provided by a transcription service. It is undoubtedly full of the errors that invariably take place in voice transcriptions. To understand the interview more completely and accurately, please watch it here: Richard Hubbard Lost Over 150 Pounds!
Glen Merzer: Welcome to the Glen Merzer show. You could find us across all your favorite podcasts, platforms. You could find us on YouTube and please remember to subscribe. And you could find us at RealMenEatPlants .com. My guest today is Richard Hubbard, who has an extraordinary weight loss story to tell. Rich is the author of A Plant -Based Journey to Health. Rich, welcome to the show.
Richard Hubbard: Thank you. I'm looking forward to it.
Glen Merzer: Now you've lost quite a bit of weight.
Richard Hubbard: Yes, over 150 pounds.
Glen Merzer: 150 pounds. Now if I lose 150 pounds, I'm actually in negative territory. So probably that wouldn't be good for my health.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, people love to say I lost another person.
Glen Merzer: Yeah. So how long ago did you lose this weight? Tell us your story.
Richard Hubbard: Sure.It all started back in January of 2012. I did my first physical. I hadn't had a physical in many years since college days, probably even before college, I know. And I just never liked going to the doctors. I was very overweight and I was avoiding the issue until I finally had that physical.
Glen Merzer: Now, how much did you weigh at the time?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, it was 345 plus pounds. I had stopped weighing myself to a certain point because I didn't want to see it hit 350. I'm sure it was over that.
Glen Merzer: Well, let's go back a step. At what point, I mean, were you overweight as a kid? Were you overweight as a... When did you get that over?
Richard Hubbard: I wasn't really obese, but I was certainly... I had a little pot belly as a kid. I certainly wasn't huge.
Glen Merzer: So when did you become huge?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, that didn't start until after I graduated college. And bad habits took over. Like I wasn't doing any exercise, eating all the wrong foods, eating too much food. I joked in my book that I likened myself to Nike from those life commercials because anything in front of me, people would say, give it to me, I'll eat it. You know, and that was me. There was food there, they always offered to me and, and just, they knew I would over indulge, especially at work. And nobody was really helping me at that, on that end, because I was just getting heavier over the years. And I love candy and there's some lots of candy around the office, I needed all of it. You know, there's one place I worked, they had a stash of candy in a drawer and my coworkers and I would raid it every night. And it's just not a healthy environment.
Glen Merzer: So was it the case that instead of people making mean comments about your weight, that they kind of included you and made...light comments about, give it to Richard to eat. It was like a more pleasant way of reminding you that you were overweight all the time.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly. Although I have heard hurtful comments too over the years, but it wasn't as much about that. I definitely knew I was obese, but I just denied it. I would make it more like it wasn't that bad. I kept trying to tell myself. Even though diabetes is running in my family, my mom had it at the time when I'm proud to say reverse to herself. But that's a different story later on. But anyway, so all these people around me were diabetic and sick. And my dad was on a lot of meds as well. And just different people I knew were sick. And I knew I was It, you know, subconsciously in my mind, I knew I was heading down that same path. And yet I was doing nothing. So this sort of depressing time. I know
Glen Merzer: how old were you when you went to this doctor?
Richard Hubbard: It's 39.
Glen Merzer: 39.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah.
Glen Merzer: So you're 39 years old and you go to the doctor and then what happens?
Richard Hubbard: He told me what I was dreading. I still remember those words. He said I was morbidly obese. Nobody ever used those terms before. I don't know why it just kind of woke me up when I heard those words. And it scared me. But the second thing that scared me was he told me that I was hypertensive, which is something I never even gave it a thought. I knew blood pressure problems ran in my family as well. That's just something I never thought would happen during the physical.
Glen Merzer: You remember how how hypertensive you were with your blood pressure?
Richard Hubbard: It was like it was like 150 over 100, somewhere around that. Yeah. I mean, I know there's higher compared to what my blood pressure is now. That was extremely high. Right. Yeah. And so he threatened to put me on meds. He said, give me another appointment to see how it was.
Glen Merzer: He wanted to give you meds for your blood pressure and also for cholesterol, I'm guessing.
Richard Hubbard: The cholesterol was high, but he wasn't as concerned. And the blood sugar was... Interestingly, he didn't do an A1C, which I don't know why he didn't at the time. But my blood sugar was a little high at the time. But he can't really gauge if somebody is pre -diabetic just from one lab work. So...Looking back, I don't know why he didn't test it, but he was concerned about the blood sugar, but not as concerned about the hypertension. So, you know, a few weeks later, I go back, the blood pressure is still high. He had the lab work results at the time, saying that I could be pre -diabetic, he's going to keep an eye on that. He's concerned about the cholesterol, so everything was wrong. You know, I had all the symptoms of, you know, heart disease and diabetes and everything. And I was scared. He wrote the script. I remember going to CVS and picking up the pills, reading the side effects. And then I talked to my mom because she's a registered nurse. And I asked her opinion And her opinion was just basically, what's the big deal? Everybody's on something. you know, like it was bound to happen and like it's no big deal. Everybody, she knows, I mean, all her clients are on pills because that's what she does is pass out pills as if, our life. Right.
Glen Merzer: You're 39 already. It's time to start taking medicine, right?
Richard Hubbard: Exactly. So I don't know what it was in me, but, there was something in me where I just, didn't want to do that. I wanted to go down a different path because I saw people were on these things for life. And even when I asked my doctor how long I'd be on it, he kind of implied that it'd be for life. So I didn't want to do that. So I started to do research. And I remember one of the first phrases I Googled was who would set lower blood pressure and foods to avoid with blood pressure, you know, high blood pressure. And I remember one of the things that came up was about red meat. So at the time I gave up red meat. And, you know, I find to keep, you know, taking a step further. And I remember aspartame was another thing I read somewhere. And also, you know, doing this research, it expanded more than just blood pressure if I read. you know, could cause blood sugar problems or whatever. You know, I was thinking about that as well. So I would Google, you know, different phrases. And what I was really doing was gradually turning whole food plant based. And another wake up call was in April of 2012. I don't know how I happened to be home at the time. Dr. Ross had an episode with Dr. Furman on it. And I happened to catch that episode and that was life changing. Because ever since then, even if my diet wasn't perfect back then still, I was working toward it, but I would include G -bombs. And I still include, and for those who don't know that, greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, and seeds. So that essentially became the big part of my diet. So I was going more toward whole
food plant based because when you have your big salads and everything, you're crowding out your stomach. So you don't have room for these junk foods.
Glen Merzer: Now, were you still eating chicken, fish, eggs, dairy?
Richard Hubbard: I was until 2016. Very minimal.
Glen Merzer: So this was when you went to the doctor's 2012?
Richard Hubbard: Yes.
Glen Merzer: So it was a slow four year transition to the diet.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, it was probably, I'd say it was 90%, but I still have like turkey and eggs during that time. Just because of the ridiculous fear I had of not getting enough protein. And I know it was ridiculous now, but back then that's what it was. Just, my God, if I don't have this, then I'm gonna lose muscle or whatever.
Glen Merzer: Right.
Richard Hubbard: But I do say that even 90 % of food plant based by the end of year one, so December of 2012, I was at 120 pound weight loss.
Glen Merzer: In one year, 120 pound weight loss.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah. Just by eating more plants and less meat. Yeah. And I was working out like a maniac, which I probably didn't have to do because it would have fell off anyway. So I was really overdoing it a little. I'm working out. I remember doing seven days a week on the treadmill and I don't know how I did it. It was a lot of work, sometimes 60, 90 minutes on the treadmill. You know, I was heavy in the beginning. I don't know how I didn't just drop it at the time, just doing that. But yeah, I didn't have to work as hard because I have friends who have lost the weight without doing exercise and it does work.
Glen Merzer: In general, The recommendation is that when someone is morbidly obese, take the exercise a little more gradually. Exactly. Concentrate on the diet, maybe do more and more walking. Yeah. But if you're morbidly obese, you probably don't want to run any marathons.
Richard Hubbard: No, definitely not. I definitely wouldn't have been able to do that. Right.
Glen Merzer: So the exercise is not the main key to losing weight.
Richard Hubbard: No.
Glen Merzer: helps facilitate it down the road.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly. Exactly.
Glen Merzer: So you lose 120 pounds in year one and ultimately you would lose about 150 pounds. So you had 30 more to lose.
Richard Hubbard: Yes. And if you don't mind, I'm on the back track. I just realized I left this out six months after my initial physical. I went back to that doctor and you know, at that point it's probably down 70 pounds or whatever And he was just so impressed. He says, I did something that probably less than 5 % of his patients have done. He's never seen anything like it. Even at that point, I wasn't at my lowest. And he was so impressed. He says, I'm not going to need the meds. My blood pressure is already normalized. At the time, it was probably like 120 over 80 or something. Didn't get down to where it normally is now. But
Glen Merzer: You know, it was much healthier in his eyes. Now, had you had a conversation with a doctor saying, I don't want to take the meds, I'm going to try diet?
Richard Hubbard: yeah, I did.
Glen Merzer: How did that go?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, what I did was after I picked up the pills, you know, I talked to my mom, I did call him up and say, I don't want to take the pills. If there's any way if I lose the weight, because he had had a conversation, I need to start losing weight. If I lose the weight and the blood pressure comes down, is he willing to hold off on the meds? And he gave me six months. So I was really, you know, I was pushing myself after that because I really wanted this blood pressure down, which is why I was exercising as hard as I was too because I wanted to prove I could do it.
Glen Merzer: Now, as you're losing the weight, did your friends and colleagues at work? say, hey, let's give the candy to Rich or did they begin to back off?
Richard Hubbard: Well, at that point, I had a different job. There wasn't as much about food at this job. But I was very not used to having all this attention and I would downplay my weight loss. I remember when I was like 50 pounds down or 70 pounds down. I would downplay it. I would say, this only 20 pounds. And gradually by the end of the year, it was getting ridiculous trying to say, it's just a little bit of weight because it was so noticeable. So that got me to open up more about really how much weight I lost. And I eventually became proud of it.
Glen Merzer: Why were you initially shy about it?
Richard Hubbard: I didn't like the attention at first. I thought, you know, it's too much. I wasn't used to it. And I thought, you know, I didn't think it was something to be proud of. I thought, you know, people would be concerned. I don't know what it was at the time, honestly, but just a very uncomfortable feeling. And it wasn't until, you know, at the end of that first year that I thought, I should be proud of this. And you know what it was, I think also? I was doing wellness challenges during that year. And I remember at the end of that challenge, there was a newspaper reporter and he did a story about my weight loss. And I thought, you know, this is going to be in the papers. I better, I better own up to it. And, you know, so it just got me gradually more and more proud of my story. And I think also as more people approach me about
other day lose weight. That also made me own up to as well.
Glen Merzer: Okay. Now I'm sure that as you're losing weight, you're not eating the candy anymore, right?
Richard Hubbard: No, no.
Glen Merzer: Okay. So now that's kind of a no brainer. I think we all know that candy is unhealthy and that it's, it leads to weight gain. And so clearly with the candy, you were just doing what was obvious, giving up the candy. But you were also giving up meat. Yeah. And I imagine cutting way back on dairy, right?
Richard Hubbard: yeah. That was another tough thing. Yeah.
Glen Merzer: Yeah. Did you have any dairy at all or did you eliminate it?
Richard Hubbard: I did have minimal dairy again. It was only certain things like I remember. And I used to think it was disgusting, but I ate it because of the protein. Right. Flashe, plain yogurt. Greek yogurt, I thought there's no sugar in it. Right. This is healthy.
Glen Merzer: So you cut way back, but didn't quite eliminate the dairy and you cut way back, but didn't quite eliminate the meat.
Richard Hubbard: Right.
Glen Merzer: With that, that wasn't the kind of thing that for most people would be a no brainer. There's a lot of people.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly.
Glen Merzer: To this day, there are people who insanely make the argument that eating meat, you could lose weight.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly. Exactly.
Glen Merzer: So. In that case, you were doing something that people may have disagreed with, cutting out meat. Did you begin to feel, wait a minute, how come everybody's wrong about this?
Richard Hubbard: yeah. Yeah. I did question that. I would do vegan challenges. This is many years before I became fully vegan. And I would do week long challenges here and there. And I felt great. And I'm wondering what's all the negativity about. And, you know, people would think I'm nuts if I said I was doing a vegan challenge or, or, you know, I had another friend who said I did that. Yeah, I couldn't do it long. And so you have got this false impression that, you know, wasn't sustainable and, you know, you're not getting enough protein and it was just a lot of wrong ideas I heard.
Glen Merzer: So you were edging towards a vegan diet without yet embracing veganism.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, exactly.
Glen Merzer: And were you thinking, gee, could it be possible that this vegan idea is actually right? And maybe I should go all the way.
Richard Hubbard: I was thinking that, but yeah, I had that constant fear. Like I told you about, you know, not gain of nutrients, protein, especially since they have ingrained in your mind.
Glen Merzer: Did you start Googling the, you know, the prominent vegan doctors?
Richard Hubbard: I did.
Glen Merzer: And you know what it was?
Richard Hubbard: There's one man who actually changed my life. It's Robert Cheeke, the vegan bodybuilder. I mean, I did listen to all the plant based doctors at the time. I followed all of them. But really, it was the reason he woke me up is because at the time I was still trying to fight this loose skin. I wanted to build one muscle. And I thought, you know, I look, I don't know how I ended up Googling vegan bodybuilders way I did. And he came up and I saw that he had a journal along with his book about his book shredded. And the workout journal was for 13 weeks. And I thought to myself, I'm going to do this challenge as longer than any other vegan challenge I've ever done. And I also bought his vegan sweatshirt. This is a different one that he sells. Anyway, I bought his vegan sweatshirt and I started to wear it around because I wanted people to know I was doing this challenge for 13 weeks. And the reason why I was doing that is because if I was building muscle, I wanted people to know that I was fully vegan doing this and they were noticing the difference with somebody who's 100 % vegan. So at the end of 13 weeks, I was building more muscle than I was as somebody who was eating minimal animal products. And after 13 weeks, at the time I didn't realize that I was gonna go fully vegan. I always intended to go back to animal products after that. After 13 weeks, I felt so good. And watching ethical videos about what happens to animals, I never wanted to go back.
Glen Merzer: So how long ago was that now?
Richard Hubbard: That was in September 6, 2016. I remember the exact date because I had my last dinner while I was out with some friends and it was chicken marcellus I had and that was it. I said this is it for 13 weeks. But after 13 weeks, there was no more after that either.
Glen Merzer: So. So after that, was there still some more weight loss to go?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, you know, I was I probably leveled out around 210, 220, maybe somewhere around there. Yeah, you know, I was I was fit.
Glen Merzer: And how tall are you?
Richard Hubbard: I'm six three.
Glen Merzer: Okay.
Richard Hubbard: And I was fit and I didn't realize that, you know, I had more to go. But when you're eating whole food plant based, you know, it's impossible to keep this any kind of body fat on you, you know, beyond what you need. So, you know, I lost another 30 pounds. And I'd say that fell off pretty quickly, probably around 2017 and 2018. I'm currently about 190 to 195. That's the range I stay in. And I think that's the perfect weight for me. I maintain muscle and I'm not trying to lose more. And that's another thing that got annoying besides the weight loss. In 2016, I heard comments like, You don't want to lose too much more weight. And yet it wasn't about weight loss. I was eating enough food. It was just, you know, when you're eating the right foods, your body will, I think, just go to the right weight that you're supposed to be. I think it just happens naturally. And I think people were just worried for nothing, really. You know, it's just like they're worried about the protein. They were worried that I would lose too much weight. And it wasn't about weight loss at that point. It was just about being healthy. Yeah.
Glen Merzer: Now Robert Cheeke is one of at least two bodybuilders I know, the other being Geoff Palmer, who know a lot about nutrition. They are amazing vegan champion bodybuilders. They know a lot about health, but when you get right down to it with them, It really is about the animals. Their primary motivation for this lifestyle is their concern for the animals.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly.
Glen Merzer: Which you wouldn't expect because you might think, it was first because they realized it would help them build muscle. Exactly. Or just in general about health. But no, they're really about the animals first. And all this kind of follows for them. With you, you were losing weight to try to stay off meds. Yeah. And then you discovered that you're feeling much healthier and you're losing weight. Then did the concern for animals begin to to come into the picture?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, and it is very strong, my compassion, and it built up over the years. And even now, if know, if somebody were to say meat is healthy, I would never go back to it just because I know what the animals go through. Too many people are just going blindly, you know, at the stores buying meat, not even thinking about where it comes from. And I could never be a part of that anymore.
Glen Merzer: Yeah. Now, talk to me about the issue of body shaming because.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah.
Glen Merzer: This is a tricky one for me because nobody wants to body shame anyone. At least I don't. I'm sure you don't.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly.
Glen Merzer: Nobody wants to make anyone feel bad for anything related to physical appearance. On the other hand, there's a risk on the other side, which is a risk I would argue that we are encountering, which is when you have this but anti body shaming movement that says, you know, body positivity, I guess they call it. Well, what they're doing is normalizing obesity.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly.
Glen Merzer: And almost sometimes celebrating obesity and obesity is a disease state. So what are your thoughts on this issue of body?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of a double edged sword because I could see it from both sides. you know, I, I've experienced body shaming, not as much as other people, but I know how it feels. And, you know, it's an awful thing. But at the same time, as Dr. Fuhrman says, there's nobody who is overweight who is healthy. You know, somehow there is some health issue, even if they don't know about it. There's no such thing as a healthy, overweight person. So you have to tread the waters very carefully, but, you know, I have gently told family members and people who need to lose weight over the years, you have to be smart about how you approach it. You don't want to be insulting. If you care about somebody, you got to tell them too. So, one of those people is my mom, I'm telling her over the years, I can help you lose the weight and get off your meds. And you just gradually approach it and look what I did. My story is…
Glen Merzer: Did mom listen?
Richard Hubbard: She did. She did. I'm really proud of her. She was probably around two, 50, about 10 years ago. She's short. She's like 5 '1". So she was getting up there. And she was eating all the wrong food. She would eat a bag of chips a day sometimes. It really ran in the family, this overeating. Except interestingly on my dad's side, not so much, which I'll get to in a minute. So she was getting to be obese and her weight loss is gradual and she wasn't as aggressive about it as I was. But she is now fully whole food plant based. And I'd say she weighs about 135, 140.
Glen Merzer: Wow. So she lost almost half her weight.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah. And something she never thought because she was a nurse getting meds to everybody. She never thought she'd be off meds. Now today she's not on any meds.
Glen Merzer: Wow.
Richard Hubbard: And I just am so proud of her because she's in her early seventies and how many people in the age group can actually say that they're not in meds But the man she was married to, my dad, they divorced many years ago. He's on probably 10 meds and he's the type who takes one med to cover the side effects of another. And that was the road I didn't want to go down. And that's the road he's still on today. He has aches and pains and the difference between them, just, you know, their attitudes, you can see it.
Glen Merzer: Yeah, he's a type dead overweight.
Richard Hubbard: He's not. He was the type where he would stay skinny. He bragged he was the same waist size as when he was in the army. You know, he was just skinny and that's just the way it was. He had a high metabolism. He still is today. But he doesn't eat the right foods. He was just blessed with that ability to keep the weight off. as Dr. Firm said, which I learned years later, is that even the skinny people who think that they're healthy are not, that aren't eating this way that we do, because they might be smokers or other reasons why their weight is staying down, but they might have other things going on. So they're not completely healthy either.
Glen Merzer: All right, we're going to take a quick break and we'll be back with Rich Hubbard.
Richard Hubbard: So so Rich, you had tremendous success getting your mother on a plant based diet. She she's lost almost half her weight. But with your with your father, no luck.
Glen Merzer: No, unfortunately, he just does what he does.
Richard Hubbard: Does he does he? I mean, he's seen your dramatic weight loss. He has seen his ex -wives. traumatic weight loss. And he's seen you, you avoid meds and her get off her meds. And he's on a lot of meds.
Glen Merzer: What's his argument against doing what's worked for the other members of the family?
Richard Hubbard: I think it's all about addiction because he loves these foods. I mean, I was addicted to it. So I don't know why he can't break the habit, but I know how powerful it is. But I think also what plays in his mind is, He's getting up there in age, even though there are people far older than him that incredibly turn their lives around, they've heard stories and they get healthy. But he just, he thinks he's too old to do it. And he'd rather stay on meds because he thinks that that's keeping him healthy enough. Even though he complains about body aches and he has something, he was diagnosed last year with giant cell autoritis. I don't know if you heard of that. It's the inflammation of the arteries and it causes body aches and certain muscles, especially the shoulders and arms and makes people exhausted. So he's doing monthly infusions and I'm trying to tell him, you know, maybe just maybe this anti -inflammatory diet could help you. You know, I'm not even telling him to cut out all the meat at this point. Just...you know, eat more greens, eat more salad. He is incorporating more salads, I believe, because he does tell me he does eat more of that. But still, he eats the candy bars, he eats the meats and the dairy. You know, he'll have ice cream. you know, it's funny that he never liked milk. And over the years, he would...It's kind of funny me now because of what I know. He says because he developed osteoporosis and he tells people that it's because he never drank milk from him. And now, knowing what I know today, if he drank milk, he probably would be in worse shape now because that actually leeches the bones of calcium.
Glen Merzer: The nations that consume the most milk get the most osteoporosis.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly.
Glen Merzer: But they still have a campaign of convincing people of the reverse, especially people of his age group, because he still believes that despite what I say. There used to be those commercials. I don't know if they ever run them anymore. Milk builds strong bodies 12 ways or something like that. Yeah. So have you had luck with friends getting friends?
Richard Hubbard: I have. I have. You know, I have done vegan challenges over the years just various challenges where I offer her friends like a lovely challenge or a couple of weeks. And one friend, she gave up, well, she gave up all meat and everything, but especially the dairy. When she gave up the dairy, she noticed her asthma got better. And so she's off of all of her medication for asthma. And I'm proud of that because to...you know, to be a part of somebody else's health journey where they're, or they're getting off meds or feeling great, you know, what a, what a gift that is to help others.
Glen Merzer: now do you feel that you were addicted to certain foods?
Richard Hubbard: Yes, I definitely was addicted.
Glen Merzer: Which foods?
Richard Hubbard: Candy, sugar. Sugar was the toughest thing to get off. And I realized over the years that it wasn't just about sugar. I have a big appetite and that's why I also love eating this way because I can eat a large volume of food. And even today because I eat the big salads, I'm sure I could easily eat those other foods if I was tempted or not. Just that appetite. Somebody can eat a lot, especially if you're athletic, you can overdo it. But it was the sugar that was devastating to get out.
Glen Merzer: So you were addicted to sugar. And of course, you were eating all that candy. Now, do you allow yourself any treats like, I don't know, maybe something date sweetened or anything like that?
Richard Hubbard: yeah, that it will do. And, you know, somebody offers me something that's vegan. This has happened at work. You know, it might have something that's outside my typical diet, but they went out of their way to make something that was vegan. So I'm, I'm happy to eat something like that. You know, I won't do something that is outside of vegan because I'm ethical about it. And I tell them, I'm sorry, you know, that has animal products and I'm an ethical vegan. But if somebody makes something with a little bit of sugar, white flour, Yeah, I'm OK with it for for just that one day because I go immediately back on it and it doesn't happen very often, even.
Glen Merzer: Right. Right.
Richard Hubbard: And I'm glad that it doesn't trigger, you know, further incidents. You know what I mean? Because I I'm very strict outside of that.
Glen Merzer: But if you're home, will you sometimes snack on a date or have some nuts and raisins or what's a treat for you?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, I do eat nuts. I try to have an ounce of nuts a day. I love pistachios, almonds. But you know what I also love, which helps me a lot, is apples. I do eat an apple or two a day, midday, maybe between lunch and dinner, because that really fills me up. And I feel great. And I know it's...something good I'm putting in my body, not candy. And, you know, it fills the gap because, you know, there's sweetness in there. And so I know I finally found a good substitute. Yeah.
Glen Merzer: Well, two apples a day and you keep the doctor away from yourself and one other person of your choice.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly.
Glen Merzer: That's how that works. Now, tell us about your resting heart rate, because that's an interesting. Phenomenal. What is your current resting heart rate?
Richard Hubbard: It ranges between 45 to 49 and then it's been down as low as 44. I had a I went to the doctors four months ago and they checked my resting heart rate. The nurse same concern.
Glen Merzer: And then, you know, for those who don't know, basically a resting heart rate below 60. This is your.pulse below 60, they call it bradycardia. They may get a little bit concerned about a resting heart rate below 60 and yours is 44.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, but they try to make it seem like a disease,
Glen Merzer: but great athletes will have a resting heart rate like yours.
Richard Hubbard: Yes. And then that's why I told the nurse and. locally for me, she was informed, well informed. She says, that explains that I've had other people with this pulse who are also athletic. And she dropped it at that.
Glen Merzer: So in your case, do you attribute your low healthfully low, I'll add, resting heart rate to your athleticism? You work out a lot.
Richard Hubbard: That's part of it.
Glen Merzer: Or do you attribute it to your diet or both?
Richard Hubbard: I also attribute it to my diet because beans and lentils, they supposedly, Dr. Greger sent a video on this, they lower the resting heart rate as well. And I eat beans every day, you know, a cup of beans. And I think that's part of it, too.
Glen Merzer: Well, my resting heart rate is around 50 or so. So I have just decided that that just means I'm a great athlete.
Richard Hubbard: You do eat beans, too.
Glen Merzer: I eat beans and lentils. Yeah. There you go. So, you know, what is there to be concerned about if the heart isn't working as much? You would think that might be a good thing, right?
Richard Hubbard: Exactly. But we're against the norm. And when you're against the norm, these typical doctors who see patients withpulses of 90, they're not used to it. And I've even been told my blood pressure was concerned. And I know it's not because I've talked to many plant based doctors and they say the only symptom of low blood pressure that's a concern is if you're dizzy when standing up.
Glen Merzer: So what is your blood pressure?
Richard Hubbard: It's been anywhere from 110 over 65 to 95. over 60 and
Glen Merzer: nothing wrong with that. In fact, Dr. Goldhamer once told me that, you know, 95 over 60 is better than 110 over.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I'm just thrilled this below 120 over 80. I mean, I don't want to be your typical American who thinks that they're fine at 120 over 80. And I know the truth. Like
Glen Merzer: being fine with serum cholesterol of 200.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly, exactly. And my cholesterol, I'm proud of too, because that was like 124, I believe, total cholesterol. Yeah. Which is typical.
Glen Merzer: That's very healthfully low. Yeah.
Richard Hubbard: Now, mine, my cholesterol is higher than that. The last I checked, it was 154. But my cholesterol has gone up, flirting with 200. And I've had to get it down because I'm already off all animal products and off oil. But I had to get it down by minimizing fructose. Apparently, fructose will induce the liver to create more cholesterol. So I used to have sometimes two or three bananas a day. And sometimes they were ripe bananas with a lot of fructose. Now I'll have maximum one banana a day and I try to have them a little less ripe. The other thing was dates. I used to often have a date or two a day. Now I don't have that. But the question is now that I got my cholesterol down 45 points in three weeks by doing that, The question is, am I really healthier or have I just made one of my numbers look better? Because I don't think I was going to get a heart attack because of bananas. Right.
Glen Merzer: But you know, I know some plant based doctors do say that some people, their numbers will be higher anyway, just genetically.
Richard Hubbard: Right.
Glen Merzer: It might be OK, depending on the size of your cholesterol anyway.
Richard Hubbard: Right.
Glen Merzer: Did you ever have a check the size?
Richard Hubbard: Did I ever have what?
Glen Merzer: The size of the cholesterol check?
Richard Hubbard: No, I didn't. Yeah, because it might be because of that, too. You may have larger particles which are safe.
Glen Merzer: Yeah. I don't like doing a lot of medical testing. About a year and a half ago, I got a hernia.
Richard Hubbard: I have one as well.
Glen Merzer: Yeah. And I decided to go for surgery. But when I decided to go for surgery, they made me do an EKG. And then when I did the EKG, it turned up that low heart rate. And they wanted me to do an ultrasound, echocardiogram, I think they called it, to make sure that I could live through hernia surgery. And I was really scared of doing that, not because I think there's anything wrong with my heart, but what if they find a leaky valve or something?
Richard Hubbard: Exactly.
Glen Merzer: And so I called up a retired cardiologist friend of mine and I'm afraid I almost killed him because he said, why don't you want to do this test? And I said, I'm scared they're going to find something. And he said, Glen, if you have heart disease, don't you want to know it? And I said, of course not. And I heard, I thought I killed him. But I don't, I don't want to go looking for problems. I'm feeling fine. So anyway, they forced me to do the test to have the surgery. I did the test. The guy said my heart was terrific. I had the surgery. I went to the best hernia surgeon in the country, I think, who did it without that synthetic mesh that they put in. That's what I worried. That's why I didn't get it repaired.
Richard Hubbard: I did you have the inguinal?
Glen Merzer: I'll go to Sarasota to my guy.
Richard Hubbard: That's what I was thinking if I do get it repaired. Yeah, the inguinal hernia.
Glen Merzer: What's that?
Richard Hubbard: It was an inguinal hernia. That's what I had.
Glen Merzer: The Center for Hernia Repair in Sarasota, Florida.
Richard Hubbard: Yes, I know it well. I actually did a consultation.
Glen Merzer: Yeah, that's where you go.
Richard Hubbard: But my doctor said I had less than 40 ,000 percent chance. I mean, one in 40 ,000 that would ever strangulate. So it's not painful.
Glen Merzer: Right. So I like to do that. So that's your choice. Either doing nothing or going to the. place where they'll do it without the mesh.
Richard Hubbard: But you know what they say about testing? When you do one test, like a CAT scan, they're always bound to find something, even if something would never be a problem. And the interesting thing about testing, because you brought it up, I'm about the only one I know of in my peers who hasn't done a colonoscopy. And the reason why, not only because I'm afraid of tests, is because of the inguinal hernia the doctor agreed that it could cause issues. There's a chance. So I've done the, what's it, Colicard, which was fine. And my doctor, he doesn't want to aggravate it either, which is great. It's fine by me. I figure, if I do this Colicard screening for many years to come and if… still not cancerous. And I. There's no reason to do a colonoscopy. Well,
Glen Merzer: I've I've never done a colonoscopy either. And for our listeners, remember, neither Rich nor I is a doctor. You make your own decisions.
Richard Hubbard: Yes, exactly.
Glen Merzer: Glen Merzer: Consultation with whoever you want to consult, probably a doctor. But I'll tell you why. Just my opinion, my amateur opinion, why I've never done a colonoscopy, which is that all the science.
Richard Hubbard: Which, by the way, when you look at it on the face of it, seems to make a good case for colonoscopies. You know, there's a certain small percentage of people who suffer negative effects, perforated colon, other effects from the anesthesia or whatever that are negative. But then you look at how many lives presumably are saved, polyps found and so forth the doctors look at those numbers and they say, well, yeah, there's a little bit of risk, but there's more reward, so we recommend it. And that seems to make sense, except all those numbers are based on the American people. It's based on the American population. What do I have in common with these people other than I speak the same language? I'm not eating what they're eating. So they have no science that relates to you or me. If they ever do a study of 100 ,000 people on a whole food plant -based diet getting colonoscopies or not getting colonoscopies, I'll look at it. Until they do that study and they never will, the science is irrelevant. They don't have science that relates to us. Therefore, maybe there's more risk than reward, and there's certainly a good deal of inconvenience, so I don't want to do it. Just my opinion, folks.Don't listen to me, do whatever you want. All right. So we are talking with Rich Hubbard. You are listening to two people who have never had a colonoscopy, so we won't talk about colonoscopies anymore.
Glen Merzer: My next question to you, Rich, is this. The food you eat now, does it taste better than the food you used to eat?
Richard Hubbard: Definitely. Definitely.
Glen Merzer: Tell us about that because you were probably ...Perfectly happy with your hot dogs and hamburgers and meatloaf or whatever you were eating then pizza with that thing And you were probably thinking this food is delicious. I don't want to give it up
Richard Hubbard: Exactly.
Glen Merzer: And now how do you feel?
Richard Hubbard: I feel so much better now with the food I eat and I'll tell you a story why because Now I can imagine exactly what that candy bar tastes like and to me it tastes nothing nothing that I'd like now. Now it seems like it's all chemicals, doesn't really seem like a real taste. I mean, I imagine exactly what it tastes like and it's not appealing anymore. To me, it's disgusting, overly sweet, not natural. And I realized that I've overcome my addiction when I think about how it tastes. The foods I used to love just really aren't appealing anymore. You know, you could have a date or a banana, any kind of fruit, and it's way more satisfying than the candy ever was.
Glen Merzer: What are your favorite foods to eat now? What's a favorite dinner?
Richard Hubbard: My favorite? Well, let me start with breakfast, because I've been doing this since 2012 oatmeal. What I do is I've recently Probably six months ago, I finally found some on grow oats. Those are the ones that aren't processed. I've been wanting to try those for years. So now I have grow oats every morning.
Glen Merzer: And that's the highest form of oat. It is.
Richard Hubbard: And it's hardier. And I love it. It's my favorite breakfast.
Glen Merzer: How long does that take to prepare?
Richard Hubbard: We can do an overnight version too. If I have time, if I'm working, I'll just check on it and it can take 45 minutes sometimes, loyal and mixed. But if I have time, if I'm working on something else, I could just go back and when it's ready, it's fine. Or you can do an overnight version. And I had the typical berries, plaques, or chia seeds, walnuts And that is my favorite breakfast. I love it way more than I ever did eggs or the egg McMuffins that I used to eat, which were never satisfying. This satisfies me until lunchtime. And I have the big, big salad down ever since I learned about Dr. Fuhrman. Tons of greens, tomatoes, onions. Yeah, I compare this ahead of time, you know, days ahead sometimes just so I have them ready. And, you know, I enjoy the salads with, you know, some walnuts on top where I'll have just balsamic vinegar, just plain vinegar. I don't need any oil. And sometimes I'll add mustard with, you know, sodium, just a little bit of mustard because it has turmeric in it. I'm just her some flavor. I found that I love spices, especially with, are you familiar with Dr. Sunil Pai?
Glen Merzer: I know that I'm not very familiar. I've come across the name.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah. He's done a number of podcasts on Chef AJ's show about spices.
Glen Merzer: Yeah.
Richard Hubbard: And I've learned so many spices from him and I've been incorporating more and more spices.And I just love to add different kinds of spices down the group.
Glen Merzer: Now, spices are the most nutrient -dense foods on the planet.
Richard Hubbard: They are. But you have to get organic, which I've learned from Dr. Pai, because some of these are heavily contaminated with metals, and especially the cheap kind that are plastic. And I'm careful with what kinds I buy. But. But if they add so much flavor and so many antioxidants and nutrients, you know what also is interesting? I found that I love spicy food, which I never used to and I never realized that I could tolerate it. But I do like spicy food now.
Glen Merzer: Do you use cayenne pepper?
Richard Hubbard: I do. Yeah. I mean, not not daily, but that's just one of my spices you know, jalapeno pepper spice as well. cardamom, turmeric, I love turmeric, just, just so many new spices that, you know, the average American, they don't really open their eyes to all this out there. I think, cause you know, when I was the average American, I would never try these things.
Glen Merzer: Now those spicy red pepper flakes, are those healthy?
Richard Hubbard: I hope they are because sometimes
Glen Merzer: I have to research that. I'm not sure.
Richard Hubbard: And for dinner, I'll have maybe some steamed veggies. You know, I love potatoes, baked potatoes or purple sweet potatoes is my favorite now.
Glen Merzer: I love purple sweet potatoes.
Richard Hubbard: They're great. Japanese sweet potatoes. Yeah.
Glen Merzer: I love everything purple, purple grapes.
Richard Hubbard: Yes. Yeah, me too. You know what I can't find is seeded grapes ever since I heard Dr. Greger say that nutrients are the seeds. I never can seem to locate them.
Glen Merzer: I'm sorry. What is it?
Richard Hubbard: Seeded grapes. Seeded grapes. They're grapes with seeds. I'm not able to find them anywhere. I don't know if you are.
Glen Merzer: They're supposed to be healthier?
Richard Hubbard: That's what Dr. Greger said. He did a recent video on that.
Glen Merzer: I mean, grapes are nutritious, but if you can find the seeds, they're even more nutritious. Yeah.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, I heard Jerry Seinfeld recently talk about how the heck the seedless watermelons propagate.
Glen Merzer: I mean, yeah, exactly.
Richard Hubbard: You go into the seedless watermelon business. I don't understand. Yeah. Luckily, my local supermarket, they have seeded watermelon, so I never buy the unseeded.
Glen Merzer: Yeah. so what is your workout regimen? how much do you run and what's your fitness regimen?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah. Well, first I got to credit my Apple watch because it reminds me to stand every hour. And before I had that, I had a pedometer, a pocket pedometer I used to keep, but this Apple watch reminds me to stand every hour, which I love because
Glen Merzer: I want to point out that this podcast is accepting no money from Apple.
Richard Hubbard: no, definitely not. For this little promotion here. Exactly. I mean, any of these watches really do the same thing. So I stand every hour. I also, you know, I make sure I get 10 ,000 steps minimum every day. That's the minimum. Usually it averages about 12, 13 ,000 steps. That keeps me motivated trying to reach that number every day. And I do make the gym. I try to do four days a week now. It's tough with my job, but I'm always getting to step seven days a week regardless.
Glen Merzer: When I met today's going to be a challenge because you've just done an hour with no steps.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, but it was a little after 10 when I stood. So this is still counts. Yeah, if it wasn't, I would have been going crazy with it. But anyway, so. Yeah, I'll make the gym. I'll do the weights. I try to do a different muscle group each time I'm at the gym.
Glen Merzer: Do you do you bench press a lot of weight there? What do you do?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, well, I'm building up more again. I do bench press. I mean, it's not heavy, probably 90 pounds. Yeah, I'd like to build up again and do more. But. Really, my focus is on maintenance right now and maybe I'll want to do more bodybuilding initiatives, but I'm happy where I am too. Yesterday was like chest and arms. Today I'm going to do a leg workout. I did have a knee injury, which I meant to mention a few years ago. I side railed and I ambition to do a leg workout a marathon, which I still plan to do, but I haven't been running as much because I have an knee cap that isn't stable. I had a knee injury back in college and I thought it was healed, but come to find out that when I started to run again, the issues started to show up. So I was dealing with chronic swelling and the swelling never was painful except for the first time it happened. My doctor agrees it was probably because of my anti -inflammatory diet that I never had pain because other people with this issue they've been constant pain and you know, the swelling can be annoying. So, you know, I have to take it easy when it happens, but it has to happen now and probably a year or so. You know, I did to the PRP which is platelet rich plasma. And that helped you to under control. And now I'm doing stretching exercises. So it's under control now and I'm easing myself back into running.
Glen Merzer: So basically because of your low inflammation diet, you don't you have very little experience of pain. Yes. Which is what happened to me with my hernia surgery. I was worried after my hernia surgery how bad the pain would be I had no pain. I had open surgery and they cut me open right in the groin. No, not a laparoscopic surgery.
Richard Hubbard: And now the series on one side too as well.
Glen Merzer: It was on my right side. So it cuts me open, open surgery in my groin, repairs the hernia, sews me shut. I wake up in the emergency room and I say, there's no pain. And the nurse says, of course not. You're still under the effect of the anesthesia. Wait till tomorrow.
Tomorrow comes, there was no pain. I never had to take an aspirin.
Richard Hubbard: I'm so glad you got that.
Glen Merzer: Yeah. I mean, you know, he cuts me open, prepares me, sews me shut, no pain. So I have to think, I mean, I'll give the surgeon credit. He probably didn't hit a nerve or something, but I have to think it has something to do with having a low inflammation diet.
Richard Hubbard: I'm sure it does.
Glen Merzer: And that's really a relief to me. I do like to have the surgery. That's good to know. Yeah. So you do your homework, too, because I found that same doctor.
Richard Hubbard: OK. Yeah. Yeah. And what I don't understand, maybe I can have the doctor on my podcast. Why are there I think there are two doctors in America who do this repair.
Glen Merzer: If you could ask them that, I would love to know the answer to why don't they train other doctors to do this correctly? Because when I went to local doctor here, a nice guy. I'm sure he's a terrific surgeon. But I said, why do you use the mesh? And he said, lower incidence of recurrence of the hernia. So I said, how much lower? And he said, 50 % lower. Now that sounds significant, 50%. I said, is that in relative terms or absolute terms? He said, well, relative. I said, give it to me in absolute terms. He said, well, about a 1 % chance of recurrence with the mesh, 1 .5 without the mesh.
Richard Hubbard: Interesting.
Glen Merzer: So he calls that 50%. I call that 0 .5 % in absolute terms. Yeah. So that's the first way you could be misled a little bit by doctors. But the second thing is, again, who are those statistics based on? The American people. Don't you think you're more likely to have a recurrence if you're overweight or obese?
Richard Hubbard: Yep.
Glen Merzer: Right? So maybe for me, it's less than 1 % and less than 1 .5 % that we're talking about because I'm 142 pounds. And then if you're going to have a recurrence, wouldn't you rather have a recurrence without mesh inside you?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, because we're the mess trying to get the mesh out.
Glen Merzer: Yeah, exactly. So for me, it was a no brainer. I want to avoid the mesh. Then I find there are, I think, two doctors in America who do this surgery, a particular method called the shoulder ice method. So...So that's why I went to Sarasota, which is where I'd gone to college for the surgery.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, there is another method. I forgot what it's called.
Glen Merzer: There's the disorder method and the shoulder. Yeah, I didn't know this was going to be a podcast about hernias, but I know it really interests me, though, because I'm glad you're talking about. Well, you know, who knows how many hernia surgeries there are every year in America? And almost everyone's getting this synthetic mesh and hopefully it won't cause them problems. And probably 99 % of people, it won't, but there are already lawsuits.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah. I just don't want chronic pain. I don't want anything to do with that.
Glen Merzer: Yeah. So how many hours a day was it one hour a day or so that you work out?
Richard Hubbard: The gym, it averages between maybe an hour and hour and a half.
Glen Merzer: And you try to get there every day?
Richard Hubbard: No, no, four days a week. Sometimes it's three days a week.
Glen Merzer: And when you're not doing a formal workout at the gym and when I say formal, I don't mean in a tuxedo, but I mean, when you're not doing a real, you know, actual workout at the gym, do you try to walk a lot?
Richard Hubbard: yeah, definitely.
Glen Merzer: So every day there's some exercise every day.
Richard Hubbard: Yeah. You just have to get the steps in. Yeah.
Glen Merzer: All right. So one final question here. Looking back to when you were 350 pounds and the way you used to eat and how you probably
Richard Hubbard: felt out of control. Yep. And now you've taken control of your life and you eat human food and you enjoy your food more than you did then.
Glen Merzer: When you look back at it, do you get a little angry or a little, annoyed, to say the least, that you were misled about what food is?
Richard Hubbard: Well, for me, it's more about why they wait so long. You know, because I think it is in terms of how many animals I could have saved and how many people I could have helped if I didn't wait so long. You know, that's not really a regret because there's nothing I could do about it. That's what I think about. What if I did this earlier? Because people put off changing. And, you know, I was doing diet after diet at the sale because I was still addicted to all those foods and eating the wrong foods. And I just wish I knew about it then. Although if I knew about it then, before the doctor would notice, I probably wouldn't have changed because there was no nothing to push me. into that change.
Glen Merzer: What scared you was your fear of medicine.
Richard Hubbard: Exactly.
Glen Merzer: Strange feeling. A justified fear in my mind. All right, Rich, it's been a pleasure speaking with you. People can find you at what website?
Richard Hubbard: Yeah, there's a couple of them. My blog is at HealthyLivingCT .com. You can also find me at the PlantBasedCoaches .net. I also am on Facebook. You can find me at Plant Based Rich on Facebook. I'm on Instagram, Plant Based Rich. And also, let's see, I have somebody.
Glen Merzer: Well, I remember one more thing, which is they could find your book, A Plant Based Journey to Health on Amazon. Yes, that's on Amazon.
Richard Hubbard: Yes. All right.
Glen Merzer: Well, thanks for joining us today, Rich, and we'll see you soon.
Richard Hubbard: OK, I had fun.
Glen Merzer: Thank you.
Richard Hubbard: Take care.