If you’ve ever found yourself intrigued by the virtues of vegetarianism or tempted to give meat a much-needed hiatus, then Rip Esselstyn is living proof that you’re not alone. The former Austin pro triathlete and All-American swimmer who now fights fires for a living, has spent the last 20 years fueling his body with nothing but fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes. And in the process he’s managed to not only transform his body, but completely change his life.

“Eating a low-fat, plant-based diet has affected my life in so many ways,” he says. “It’s evolved to become a huge part of who I am and it influences every decision I make in life.”

He’s not kidding. In 1986 Esselstyn made the sudden switch from a diet of bacon, steaks and cheeseburgers to one of beans, broccoli, tofu and squash. As a college student with a high metabolism and an unusually active lifestyle, he found he couldn’t stay competitive and feel good in the process, without tipping the scales towards a plant-based diet.

“Having been an athlete for the past 30 years, I’m intimately acquainted with my body and what makes it run well. Fueling my body with plant powered foods is the equivalent of high octane fuel,” he says. “It doesn’t get any better. Period.”

Since that time, Esselstyn’s been on a cruciferous crusade – living, studying and preaching a simple gospel about the power of plants. To put it a nutshell, he believes that each of us can do a better job of listening to our bodies and embracing the whole foods nature has designed to fuel us. In fact, he’s even written a book about it.

With the debut of “The Engine 2 Diet” this month, named after the now infamous Austin firehouse where the diet was born,

“My goal [with this book] is nothing less than to make Americans healthier. I want everyone in America to eat well, to feel great and to ace their next physical check-up.”

For starters, Esselstyn couldn’t help but share the captivating story that led to the Engine 2 Diet in the first place. It all started when a few of his fellow firefighters gave up meat for a month on a bet. Before they knew it, they were eating veggie burgers and sweet potato fries instead of the fast food fare that had catapulted their cholesterol. Not to mention, they were resetting their palates, waistlines and overall heart health without even thinking about it.

By following Rip's program, everyone lost weight (some more than 20 pounds), drastically lowered their cholesterol (some by as much as half) and their overall health improved. Chronicled locally and even garnering national attention (Engine 2 was covered in the New York Times in 2006), Esselstyn followed the bet up with his own 28-day study to see if the results could be replicated. Needless to say, he put out even more health fires, helping people from all walks of life lose weight and improve their total, LDL and HDL cholesterol levels. Empowered by each success story and irrefutable data that the diet actually works, he now has designs on a much broader audience.

“This book applies to anyone. The truth is my [Engine 2] diet is not ‘all or nothing.’ It’s not vegan and I don’t even like to classify it as vegetarian [because there are a lot of unhealthy vegetarians out there eating things like peanut butter, cookies, fries and jelly beans].

“It’s all about embracing the power of whole, plant-based, natural foods. And ultimately finding where you fit in the spectrum, whether it’s totally diving in and saying goodbye to meat-based products or simply eating more fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. At the end of the day, the goal of the diet is not to pigeon-hole you, it’s to get you eating healthier foods.”

According to Esselstyn, all it takes is a leap of faith, a healthy dose of willpower and the patience to take the diet one day at a time — giving your body a chance to reacquaint itself with the foods that naturally make it stronger, sharper and disease-free.

“One of the biggest apprehensions people have about a plant-based diet is fear of the unknown and fear of not knowing what to eat,” Esselstyn explains. “The truth is there’s nothing to be scared of — soon you’ll find a vast array of delicious foods with tons of taste, flavor, shapes, presentation and textures, and best of all, it’s all very affordable. Preparing the food is quite easy, too. There are 125 recipes in the book, and the average prep time for them is about 15 minutes.”

One of the reasons Esselstyn feels a diet like Engine 2 hasn’t yet taken Americans by storm, is because they’ve essentially become desensitized to food. In other words, they no longer know what “healthy” tastes like.

“The American diet consists of about 10 percent plant-based foods — fruits, vegetables, nuts and beans,” Esselstyn says. “Forty percent is devoted to processed foods and the rest — about half — is meat and dairy products. If, through the Engine 2 diet, we can get people to bump up to 50 percent fruits and vegetables — either by cutting processed foods or the amount of meat they’re eating – then we’re way ahead of the curve. And they’ll be so much healthier, so much better off for it.”

Having now weaned dozens of Austinites from the fatty, oily and artery-clogging diets that plagued them for years, Esselstyn has become a poster boy for herbivores everywhere. And it couldn’t come at a better time. Consider that more than two-thirds of Americans today are currently overweight and just as many describe themselves as “clueless” about nutrition, Esselstyn may just be a beacon of light in a sea of nutritional misinformation. If nothing else, he’s living proof that a simple, vegetarian lifestyle can not only make you healthier, but curious as to why you’ve been eating any other way for so long.
To meet Esselstyn, is to meet a man who is plant-power personified. Upon first glance, you realize that many of the kooky clichés about vegetarians — that they’re weak, protein-deprived hippies with wasted taste buds — is as ridiculous as any out there.

Much to the contrary, Esselstyn is a stark contrast to stereotypical myths about vegetarianism. For starters, he has a striking and vibrant presence: at 46, he’s fresh, bright-eyed and quick-witted; there’s a boundless energy to him and he has a wacky sense of humor that’s unmistakable. Plus, he works out just about every day; and it shows (they don’t call him Rip for nothing). Save the gray locks, Esselstyn could easily pass for someone half his age; he’s got clear skin that’s virtually wrinkle-free; no aches, no pains; no bald spots or love handles to speak of. He’s strong, sharp and full of energy. And he lives completely on plants.

“Protein deficiency is unknown in this country as long as you’re consuming enough calories,” he explains.” Since human beings only need a measly four to six percent of their calories from protein, consider it a non-issue; after all, potatoes are 11 percent protein, oats are 16 percent protein, mushrooms are 34 percent protein and spinach is 51 percent protein. The truth is, there are actually a lot of myths surrounding nutrition and plant-based eating. I tackle many of them at theengine2diet.com just to set the record straight.”

And that’s exactly what he intends to do. Like a firefighter battling a raging inferno, Esselstyn is determined to put out the flames of chronic disease.

“Engine 2 is not a short-term solution to losing weight. It’s a holistic approach to healthy living,” he says. “If you’re sick of short-term quick fixes that don’t last, if you want to control the destiny of your health and your weight, then buy the book.”


GETTING THE HOUSE RIPPED

Here are few of the workouts the firehouse does when they’ve got downtime.

1. Air squats are tougher than they look. These get your whole body heated up.

2. Medicine ball throws build strength in your core and upper body.

3. Push-ups are an old-standby you can do anywhere with no equipment. Great for the chest, tris and shoulders.


FIREHOUSE FUN

Getting a little recreation in, between alarm calls, keeps the Firehouse balanced and ready to respond.

When you’re relegated to 24-hour shifts (even if it’s only 10 days a month), very little sleep and a rigorous schedule, finding ways to bring levity to the job are essential. Just some of the ways Rip and his colleagues pass the time is by exercising, playing cards and breaking out the paddles for a little ping-pong. “All the workouts we do focus on using your own body weight,” Esselstyn explains. And the table tennis is just for kicks. From what we saw, they’ve been practicing.


FIVE QUESTIONS FOR THE MAN BEHIND THE DIET
We recently sat down with Rip to get the skinny on why he sticks to Engine 2, the hardest part of adopting the diet, his current fitness regimen and the state of American health and fitness today.

1. WHY DID YOU SWITCH TO THIS KIND OF DIET?
Two big reasons. First: For health. My father was a general surgeon who got frustrated with surgery as a means of treating disease. After years of studying the literature and finding cultures free from western diseases, he became convinced the only way to stop disease (rather than treat its symptoms) was through diet. He then conducted a groundbreaking study at the Cleveland Clinic that showed everyone can prevent heart disease as well as reverse it by eating a plant-healthy diet.

Second: For performance. My hero in the sport of triathlon, six-time Hawaii Ironman champion, Dave Scott, ate this way to fuel himself for the toughest single-day endurance event on the planet.

2. WHAT DOES YOUR DAILY EXERCISE ROUTINE CONSIST OF?
I need exercise in my day in order to feel great. Without exercise I only feel good. I typically do 60 minutes of aerobic activity in the form of either a swim with Weiss and Weiss aquatics masters swim program, a mountain bike on one of the arteries off the greenbelt trail, or a run on the hike and bike trail. I also get in at least two 30 to 40 minutes of resistance training at the fire station using body weight strength exercises.

3. IF YOU HAD TO CHOOSE ONE, WHICH WOULD BE MORE IMPORTANT TO OVERALL HEALTH IN YOUR OPINION -- DIET OR EXERCISE? AND WHY?
The most important criteria for overall health is diet -- bar none. The best way to effect change at a molecular, cellular, and bio-chemical level is through plant-savvy nutrition. I know way to many people who seem fit yet are actually unhealthy because they eat poorly. I don’t care how hard you exercise, you can’t burn off dietary cholesterol, artery clogging saturated fat, and acidic producing animal protein--it just doesn’t work that way.

4. WHAT INTRIGUES YOU MOST ABOUT THE OBESITY EPIDEMIC IN OUR COUNTRY?
We can cure it easily. Just as we know how to extinguish a fire by putting water on it, just as we know how to stop lung cancer by not smoking, we know the answer — it’s a matter of getting a simple yet profound message into people’s heads and mouths — eat more fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans; and eat much less meat, dairy and processed foods. When you get down to it, that’s what The Engine 2 Diet is all about. It’s a crusade to get Americans to eat more plants and less animals and processed foods. Obesity epidemic solved.

5. WHAT ARE THE HARDEST PARTS OF THE DIET? THE EASIEST?
The hardest part of the diet is the negative peer pressure you get from other people who want you to eat as badly as they do. People can get downright ornery. This is why I’ve written a whole chapter on attitude. The easiest part of the diet is losing weight, dropping cholesterol, and getting totally jacked up about how good you feel and look. If a firehouse can do it, any house in America can do it.