The Lutheran Vegan

“You look depressed.”

”I’m not depressed.”

”I think you’re lying.”

”I’m not lying.”

”But you look so down.”

”I always look this way.”

”Then you need help.”

”I have help.”

”Well, it’s not working. You look depressed.”

Believe it or not, that is the encapsulated conversation I had with a friend recently. Apparently, my physical appearance is not very joyous. Granted, I’ve been sick – cancer sucks. But I’ve never had that healthy glow about me. My sleep habits since college have been terrible. For decades, I’ve averaged less than five hours of sleep a night. The lack of sleep helped stuff the bags underneath my eyes. I’ve worked and worried for years. The lack of sleep, endless worry, and tireless work make me appear more unhealthy than I actually am.

And my diet – it’s sucked forever. Growing up, living on Italian food, meatloaf, and deli sandwiches was not a healthy diet. High carb, high fat, everything chocked full of animals. And I’ve consumed coffee by the gallon, or so it seemed. Some days, six or more cups of the. High-caffeine stuff, no decaf passed my lips. At one time, the coffee came with milk and sugar (or, as they say in New York, “regular”); then just the cream (during my low-carb days); and for a long while, just black, nothing in it. My diet evolved from “I don’t care, I’ll eat anything” to low-carb (in the pre-Keto days of just Atkins) to consuming more animal products, but with bread, to eventually adopting a junk-food plant-based diet, and now to my whole-food, plant-based diet, which excludes salt, caffeine, bread, and fat.

My health has never been great. I’ve always been perceived as depressed, with my raccoon eyes and quiet, scowling demeanor. With the zigzag diet and basically no exercise for my 53 years, I do look older than I should. Yes, all of this sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. Maybe my friend pegged a depression I’ve never seen.

Then, on December 20, 2024, things in my life changed again, hopefully this time for the last time. A doctor suggested that since I’m battling cancer, I should refrain from caffeine, so there went the coffee. Another doctor told me that my blood pressure was too high and I should be put on meds. Also, my cholesterol was way high, and I needed meds. And I was embarrassingly fat, so I needed to lose weight.

She gave me a choice – go on meds or get healthy. The meds wouldn’t cure the underlying problems of high blood pressure (155/90) and cholesterol (293); they’d only mask it. Plus, the side effects suck with medication. My weight of 297.3 pounds was morbidly obese, and nothing I could buy on an infomercial could help me. The doctor said that there were no magic pills or potions that she could prescribe that could make me healthy. It would only happen if I did the work. Her advice was simple: No more being a junk food vegan. I had to adopt a truly healthy, plant-based diet. That meant no salt, no bread, no fats (meaning zero oils and fake butter), and no vegan or general junk foods. And I’d have to exercise. Her recipe for good health was starting a real meditation practice and setting aside time to reflect on my life. Her suggestion was to start a journal. 

From that fateful day, December 20, 2024, to today, my diet has been nearly perfect. I love foods without salt. I cook with no oils or fake butter and love the results. While I’ve liked kale and greens in my junk food vegan days, now I can’t do without them. Somehow, I’ve managed to stay away from all caffeine and have survived. And yes, I exercise daily. My walking started out at 10 minutes and has grown to about an hour a day of just putting one foot in front of the other without any distractions. This week, I started using my stationary bike, the Peloton and pedaled for twenty minutes. Strength training begins when I set aside the time to do it.

As I sit here this Tuesday morning writing this post, my weight is down to 216.3 pounds. To achieve a normal BMI range, I need to lose an additional 56 pounds to reach 160. As of my last blood test, my cholesterol is down to 141 (total cholesterol). My triglycerides and LDL are now in the mid-normal range. My sleep has also improved – I now get over 7 hours of sleep per night. I have cheated twice – I went out to lunch with friends from one of my congregations at Applebee’s and had an Impossible Burger with a kid’s side of broccoli. 

Yes, I am a Lutheran pastor in New Jersey. I serve at two congregations in Bergen County – Saint Matthew’s in New Milford and Holy Trinity in Garfield. 

I’ve done the work on nearly every part of my reformed life, except starting a journal. Starting this Tuesday, June 17, 2025, my journal is now live. My doctor told me to be “honest” and vibrant as I write. I tend to be, at times, a complainer and too willing to share information. But this is a journal. If I can’t be honest here, where can I be?