Husband and Wife Approach Rebooting as a Team Effort
By Success Stories
Name: Gaetano & Renee Buffa
Location: Flint, Michigan
Reboot: 60 and still going strong!
How did you learn about Reboot Your Life?
From researching the concepts behind “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” on https://www.fatsickandnearlydead.com, we found the Reboot with Joe site.
What inspired you to do a Reboot?
Feb 26: Gaetano visits Doctor for Physical, expecting to be down in weight, but is actually higher. Doc said there were no meds he could suggest because of Gaetano’s Hypertension and the fact Gaetano doesn’t consume any caffeine. Gaetano & his Doctor discuss available Weight Control Surgeries and they will talk about where they may go from there at a future visit. (Baseline Size)
Feb 27: We watched “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead”. We were very impressed and inspired. In fact, as the credits rolled, we sat there quietly in awe staring at each other. Hollywood couldn’t write a more inspiring ending. We contemplated trying Juicing for Health and Weight Loss.
How did the experience go for you?
Feb 28 / Mar 1: We decided to make some basic dietary changes (for example stopping Red Meat, dairy milk, etc.) in case we do a Reboot. We didn’t really know there was a “prep”. As an engineer, I knew we could not do an abrupt start and needed to ramp down our old habits.
Mar 4: Renee gets green light from Doctor to do a Reboot.
Mar 5: Purchased a Breville JE98XL.
Mar 12: Gaetano returns to Doctor 10 lbs. lighter from the basic dietary changes. Doctor gives Gaetano green light for a Reboot. We began experimenting with Juices and the Juicer replacing maybe a meal every few days with Juice instead.
Mar 29 (Good Friday): Started Reboot (-30 lbs. combined drop). We approached this as a team effort; therefore we look at our combined totals as well as our individuals. {Gaetano’s mother always said that the term weight loss is not a good one. Anything you lose you will eventually find or replace. Therefore we approach this as a shedding, an elimination, or a destroying. Keep it positive, so we “drop” lbs.}
How much weight did you lose (even if that wasn’t your goal!)?
Apr 27: Day 30 of Reboot (-87 lbs. combined drop).
May 13: Day 46 of Reboot (-100 lbs. combined drop) & met Joe Cross in Detroit at an event sponsored by Drought (a local Organic Juicing company). Gaetano hadn’t weighed this since 1998!
May 24: Day 57 of Reboot (-113 lbs. combined drop). This is the day we took our after photo. The before photo was from February 8th, 2013 which was a few weeks before the Doctor visit, but is a good comparison to Day 57.
Did you have any notable health or physical improvements?
We are both down 2 pant sizes & 1 shirt size so far. We recently have gone on some long walks without breaking a sweat or shortness of breath. Stairs are easier to climb. Basic energy levels are very high. Renee no longer uses caffeine to stay awake. Sleeping is better. Gas mileage is better in our cars (ha!). In addition, our Doctor has approved us to cut our Blood Pressure medicine amounts in half. We can’t wait to see the full results of this lifestyle change. Even beyond the initial Reboot. Our hope is that eventually after the full lifestyle change, that we can both stop BP meds altogether resulting in Gaetano being Prescription Free. In addition, our hope is to eliminate some other prescriptions for Renee.
What was the toughest part about the Reboot experience?
Having courage to start, but once started, only the first 3 or 4 days during the detox. Gaetano insanely craved cheese. (Even jokingly asked Renee if we could “juice” cheese – or at least put some on my tongue and let it melt). Unrelated, Renee found the tabbouleh juice recipe (which isn’t for everyone). The added olive oil and salt cured the craving. As we started over Spring Break, we were unsure how to do it once back to work. We got into a routine to do the day’s dinner and next day’s breakfast and lunch each night. First day back to work (Day 10), we knew we would go 60+ with that routine.
What habits have you maintained and kept a part of your everyday life?
As we are still within our Reboot, we anticipate it enabling us to get back to better health by a pathway to healthy eating habits.
We also linked something our Pastor often says to our Reboot philosophy. “You need to go into something when you come out of something. When you are busy doing the do’s, you don’t have time for the don’ts.” While his comments are about things of the Spiritual nature, we look at the change a Reboot encourages in the same way. It is great to have a healthy lifestyle to go into, beyond just coming out of the less than healthy eating habits.
Our plan is eat only Fruits, Vegetables, Nuts, and Beans for about 3 or so months. Then move to a “balanced” diet continuing the aforementioned items and introducing only some Animal products (Chicken, Turkey, Fish), and very little to no processed foods. A few times a year we may do a 5-5-5 (5 days eat only Fruits & Vegetables + some Juicing, 5 days Juice only, and 5 days eat only Fruits & Vegetables + some Juicing). We likely will drink fresh juice often, if not daily, as a complement to our balance.
What is your lasting impression of the Reboot experience?
Thank you Jesus for placing the work of Joe Cross & Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead into our lives. Be encouraged.
Share your success story with us! And read more of our Reboot Success Stories.