“In 1988, I was an 8-ball a day crack user. I would start every morning and would drink 6 to 12 beers before lunch and finish the night off with a bottle of Jack Daniels and an 8-ball of cocaine. So, I know what addiction is. This is what we’re suffering from. Food addiction is the crux of the problem, and people don’t want to hear it. We deny it.”
J. Michael Phillips is 58 years old, a self-employed builder, an ultra-distance cyclist and proud dad of a 24-year-old high school biology teacher. With a history of drug and alcohol addiction, bladder cancer, prostate cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis, Michael turned his life around after moving to a whole-food, plant-based diet.
Tell me about your health journey.
In 2006, I was diagnosed with bladder cancer and over the course of about two years, I was in and out of the hospital getting multiple tumors removed. I was ultimately treated with a form of tuberculosis virus that boosted my immune system to fight against the cancer. In 2008, six months after my surgery, I went in for a routine check up and found out my PSA levels doubled. After a biopsy, I found out I had prostate cancer. I had a radical prostatectomy.
But two rounds of cancer didn’t jar me into making the change. What did motivate my diet change was the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis. I’m a carpenter and work with my hands. I was having severe joint pain with my hands and with a history of arthroscopic knee surgeries, I realized that as a creative person if I couldn’t work with my hands, I would lose my way and wouldn’t know what to do. This really scared me.
My orthopedic physician did a complete blood work panel, my RA factor was high, liver enzymes were high, my cholesterol was high at 281, and I was overweight at 225 pounds. I went to a rheumatologist for my RA and he prescribed a drug and told me I would have to be on prescription medications for the rest of my life.
What led you to a whole-food, plant-based diet?
I quickly started asking myself, why am I taking drugs for my RA that could cause cancer or other crazy side effects? At the same time, I started dating a beautiful lady I met while on a mission trip in Peru. She was a vegan and had completely recovered from medical issues with a whole-food, plant-based vegan diet under the advice of a lifestyle medicine physician in Peru. I don’t see anything as coincidence, I believe there was a reason we met. She had a friend in Peru with multiple sclerosis (MS) who was in a wheelchair. After her friend adopted a whole-food, plant-based diet under the guidance of the same plant-based doctor, he was out of the wheelchair with no noticeable symptoms of MS.
In 2012, I started my journey towards a whole-food, plant-based diet. It began with an elimination diet. Over a year and a half, it led me to a whole-food, plant-based diet. I was sold on it after a detox crisis I had mid-way through. I got really sick, like scared sick. I fasted for 3 days with just water and lemon juice. I had inflammation all over my body, but you have to understand that my right knee was particularly painful and stiff. I was often getting fluid drained out of my knee and had about 70% range of motion.
After going through this 3-day water-only fast, I broke my fast with a half of a banana. About 45 minutes later, I had a bowel movement with oil and toxins that almost sent me to the hospital. It scared me to death. The next day, all of the inflammation in my body was gone. Up until that day, I was taking 800mg of ibuprofen 3-4 times a day along with antihistamines and other drugs. After that fast, I had and still have to this day 90% range of motion in my right knee. My cholesterol improved, and my liver enzymes are now normal. Also, my allergies, recurring upper respiratory infections, and acne all went away when I got rid of processed, refined and animal-based foods and replaced with whole, plant foods.
What was your normal diet before making the change to plant-based?
I ate most of my meals from 7-Eleven convenience store. As a contractor, I would pick up whatever was convenient and fast. I would get the largest cup of coffee with 8-10 sugar packets for breakfast. Lunch was usually a couple of large Polish sausages, ham or bologna sub, or hot dogs, and sodas. For dinner, it was pizza or fast food or Stouffer’s frozen lasagna. I didn’t like most vegetables, so I just didn’t eat it. I’d have fruit every so often.
Peru had a big influence on me with fresh fruit and vegetables found on carts. The freshness is like nothing else we could get here in the United States. It gave me an appreciation for vegetables and fruit.
How much weight did you lose?
At my peak I was at 225. I went down to 165 pounds, but today I’m about 175-180. I love to eat and I’m not one of those vegans who have trouble getting enough calories.
What do meals look like today?
I have a NutriBullet blender and I love to make smoothies and soups in that. I put a ton of fresh veggies in my smoothies. I’ll eat like 4 quarts of salad, and it’ll take me an hour or more to eat all that salad.
Breakfast is either smoothie or muesli. My smoothies are usually two cups of spinach, 1 banana, 1 beet, 1 carrot, berries, and a handful of walnuts or cashews. Muesli with almond milk and berries or other fruit, and a little maple syrup to sweeten.
I dehydrate my own fruit and carry that in my truck for my go-to snack. It’s also fuel for cycling.
My lunch is 3 servings of beans or another legume. I love pasta. I’ll also do hummus wraps with avocado, tomato and spinach. Black bean rice burritos. Black bean quinoa salad is also typical. When I’m strapped for time, I’ll run into the grocery store grab a cucumber and hummus and eat that for lunch.
Dinner is usually a huge salad with an assortment of vegetables, and some kind of legume. I dress with pink salt and lime juice. Sometimes I’ll cook something, like a one-pot pasta dish, veggie burgers or vegetable soup.
I also make my own almond milk and crackers. I don’t have a lot of time to cook, but I’ll make a large batch, freeze it so I can pull it out and heat it up.
How did you get into cycling?
As a kid, cycling was one of the first victories in my life. I struggled at first and got frustrated when my dad was trying to teach me. But one day, and I was seven years old, I got on my bike and just started riding. I went everywhere on that bike. By 11 years old, my best friend and I would log in about 30 or more miles a day just riding around.
When I was 12 years old, we moved to Ithaca, New York because mom went to work for Cornell University. There’s a bike shop at the top of Buffalo Street in Ithaca where I got my first road bike. There’s a very steep hill to the bike shop, and most people would walk their bikes. I was determined to climb that hill on my bike. After I got the bike, it’s 95 degrees out and I rode up that hill. When I got to the top of this hill, I passed out from heat exhaustion. Mom had to come get me to take me to the hospital, but I had the biggest smile on my face because I conquered the hill.
Fast forward to when my orthopedic physician told me my cholesterol was 281, he told me I needed to eat better and exercise more. But as a construction worker, I didn’t think I needed to workout because I work my butt off daily. It’s a physical job, but its not the same as the exercise I needed. A few months after learning of my high cholesterol, I went and bought a new bike.
When I first got the bike home, I rode it an 1/8 of a mile up a small hill and my quads were burning. I almost took the bike back, because I was like, “What’s a 50-year-old man doing riding a bicycle?” But I didn’t. I got back on it again. That little boy that climbed Buffalo Street emerged.
Within six months, I had my first road bike and did back to back century rides. The first century had 8,000 feet of climbing and the second had over 12,000 feet of climbing. I over did it, but I knew this [cycling] was what I needed to do. I already have an addictive personality. This got my endorphins going. It’s what I need. If I don’t have something positive, I’ll go to something negative. It keeps my legs moving.
Today, I’m preparing to do the virtual Race Across the West. I’m happy to be sponsored by Hammer Nutrition and will be using that to fuel my virtual race.
What advice or key points would you like to share with others?
It’s been fascinating to gain an understanding of how my body works, where I can feel it every day, and I’m in control. It’s empowering to me to know that when I eat certain foods, I know how my body will respond.
Look, in 1988, I was an 8-ball a day crack user. I would start every morning and would drink 6 to 12 beers before lunch and finish the night off with a bottle of Jack Daniels and an 8-ball of cocaine. So, I know what addiction is. This is what we’re suffering from. Food addiction is the crux of the problem, and people don’t want to hear it. We deny it. We’re all addicted to junk food.
I took charge of my health. In seven years, I went from 225 pounds, a cholesterol of 281, a resting heart rate of 90 and unable to ride further than an 1/8 of a mile to 175 pounds, a cholesterol of 125, a resting heart rate of 40 and can ride 24 hours on a bicycle for 375-400 miles. It may be hard for some people to believe, but this type of transformation can occur. It’s what happened to me.
Interviewed by Gigi Carter
Gigi Carter, nutritionist, personal trainer and author, resides in Washington state. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from John Carroll University and a master’s in business administration from Cleveland State University. Over the last two decades, Carter’s career has been mostly with Fortune 500 companies in financial services and manufacturing. Carter made a career change in 2016 to pursue her master’s in nutrition sciences from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, where she graduated with honors, and launched the socially conscious nutrition and wellness practice, My True Self, PLLC. Carter is a licensed nutritionist in the State of Washington, and certified personal trainer and senior fitness specialist with the National Academy of Sports Medicine. She is the author of The Plant-Based Workplace and co-author of The Spinach in My Teeth.