Colorado Springs CHIP - Testimonials

My name is Larry Cohen and I’m an emergency physician and the medical director for the Colorado Springs CHIP program. As an emergency physician, like most physicians, I deal with disease, not health.

I also lived the standard American lifestyle of a high fat and high refined food diet. I was not concerned about heart disease. I had good genes. No one in my family had heart disease. My father died at 68 of lung cancer, but he smoked since he was 12. He had normal coronary arteries.

I didn’t have any risk factors for heart disease, except a high cholesterol of 280. I thought my other lack of risk factors was more important. I also weighed 195 lb. At 5 foot 6, that was overweight. I decided to lose weight because I didn’t want to hit that 200 lb. mark.

So I joined a gym and got with a trainer and a dietician. I got on what I call a starvation diet, because I felt hungry a lot. But I started working out six days a week and ate “healthy.” I cut out all refined foods, and even cut out red meat. I was eating a lot of chicken and fish, lots of vegetables, and fruit.

I dropped 50 lbs. over the next few months and my cholesterol dropped to 180! I told my wife I was glad I had changed my lifestyle before something bad happened. About four years later, eating this way, with lots of fish, some chicken, “healthy” olive oil, while training for my first triathlon, I started having symptoms. Symptoms that led me to have to have a coronary artery bypass.

Lying in the hospital after surgery (two surgeries in one day due to complications), I remembered some research on reversal of coronary artery disease (plaque reversal). I looked it up and completely changed my lifestyle, again, but this time for the better. In fact had I known then what I know now, I would not have had the bypass, but would have gone on a reversal lifestyle.

A few years ago, I was asked to look into the CHIP program. This was basically what I found in my own research, and I feel this program is THE BEST nonresidential lifestyle program in the world. Since that bypass in 2003, I have done dozens of triathlons (including two Ironman), half, and full marathons, and am in better shape than I was 30 years ago.

But there’s nothing special about me. This could be you and your loved ones. I tell you this as a physician who has looked at the literature and has seen the results of real change. We are always looking for that “magic bullet” in medicine. The closest I’ve seen is the best diet and exercise. And CHIP is it!

From CHIP Participants . . .

Fall Colorado Springs CHIPpers celebrate their graduation with guest speaker Dr. Doug Lisle.

2011 grads say:

"Lost 17.5 lbs. during class. Cholesterol went from 199 to 139! Feel great, tons of energy."

"I've gotten off my high BP medication. My energy level has increased. I find I'm spending more time in food preparation, but if my blood chem improves, it will be worth it."

"CHIP has taught us a better way to eat and live and it doesn't require measuring and counting. I feel more satisfied and have more energy."

"I had no idea what CHIP was when I signed up. What a great investment of time and money! I'm feeling good, have lost almost 10 pounds and have hopes that the blood work will mean I can cut back some medications. It's changed my life. 'Old age' promises to be more fun as I am more healthy."

[After discussing gastric bypass surgery], I received a flyer advertising the CHIP program. I convinced my wife to join me in attending. . . . I feel much better and am able to walk for an hour without the wheezing and pain I felt before."

"I have struggled with being overweight since childhood. Because I learned to 'starve' off excess weight as a young person, I would always gain back double or more what I had lost. Finally, in my late forties, looking at the declining health of my parents and having faced some dangerous health situations brought on my my weight, I prayed to God in earnest. I said, 'Please show me what to do and I will listen!' The next day, my friend who had previously asked me to try CHIP brought it up again. Remembering my commitment to God, I felt I should check it out. . . .I now feel better than I have since my twenties. I have lost weight and my energy has increased while my sleep is more sound. I know CHIP is the anwer to my prayer. God always wants the best for His children. We just have to listen and obey."

*****

"The pain in my hands was unbearable. I took a lot of meds to combat the pain. After CHIP I have no more pain or swelling in my fingers." —Pam

"I started the CHIP program because I was looking for a way to avoid getting diabetes. I had gestational diabetes while pregnant with my second child, and had to give myself four insulin shots a day. My doctor told me to make a change in lifestyle or face diabetes in the future. After a month on the CHIP program my glucose levels went down 11.3%." —Cyndee

"I signed up for CHIP shortly after I was diagnosed with MS in 2008. My neurologist had mentioned the Swank diet as being potentially helpful. I researched Swank online and found that it's a low-fat diet shown to minimize disability in MS patients who stick to it long term. Dr. John McDougall was a friend of Dr. Swank and is now "carrying Swank's mantle" of treating MS with diet. Dr. Hans Diehl's CHIP program is very similar to McDougall's recommendations, and I knew I needed something to help me learn how to eat differently. What I appreciated about CHIP was the opportunity to learn new habits along with other people; community is important at such times. I learned a lot about physiology and thus the "whys" of why we were learning to make changes. Most helpful were the recipes and food samples and the library of books and DVDs which reinforced and expanded on what CHIP was teaching me. Not to mention the encouragement of the directors, Larry and June Cohen. Five months after changing my way of eating, I had lost weight without trying and when I had my total cholesterol tested again, I was shocked to see it gone down 100 points! And that's not even why I took CHIP. I haven't had another MS episode and am hoping that this whole-food, plant-based way of eating keeps it that way. I've read that this diet can be helpful for other autoimmune conditions as well. I'm very happy I had the opportunity to take CHIP." —-Linda

"When I first heard CHIP was coming to town, I thought, 'No way am I going to that thing!' . . . The program opened my eyes to more information than I can explain. The knowledge I now have regarding my health IS saving me. I feel that I have a chance to change my family health history and not die of a heart attack and even beat the odds of cancer. . . . As I learned the information CHIP offered, I quickly became aware of everything that I was eating and gladly began my transformation to a much healthier life style. I started walking with my wife and our dog and enjoying the little aches developed from exercise. I felt my strength and stamina returning to me at an alarming rate. I never went hungry, in fact I ate so much, I was always full. I really put the 'eat as much as you want' philosophy to the test. . . . After 30 days on the program I realized I had not felt good in quite some time, but I was starting to feel great. Especially since I lost 16 pounds during the program. Since the program, I have joined the YMCA and am now working out regularly. My quality of life has improved greatly and I have lost 25 pounds to date. I even lost weight during the holidays! I thank God I attended the program; it changed my life. I never thought I could learn so much in a month, but it happened. I am now a proud CHIPper and can’t wait to tell people about the program." —Noah

"I really think Dr. Deihl’s CHIP program is for everyone. I learned so much about how foods work in our bodies . . . keeping myself healthy by exercise and learning self-discipline. I can’t keep from sharing this information with anyone who will listen because it is of such vital importance. I did a speech for my speech class on this and people were very surprised by some of the information presented." —Victoria

"I participated in the CHIP program because I have high blood pressure, am overweight, and my family had been discussing eating more healthfully. . . . The education process made the difference in this program. . . . The whys were explained and there were many studies to back up the information.; My blood pressure has dropped some—I continue to work on that. Since the beginning of the CHIP program I have dropped 17 or 18 pounds and members of my family have also dropped some excess weight. . . . When I started really reading labels (other than just for animal fats or flavoring) I was shocked to see how much sodium is added to foods I would have considered healthy. . . . CHIP has made me a more educated consumer." —Sonya

“After four years of being a type 2 diabetic, I was experiencing numbness in my feet and decreased vision. I used to take five different pills. Since taking the CHIP program I no longer require any medication.” —B. Hutton

“During the four-week CHIP program, my cholesterol dropped, and I lost 7½ pounds and still continue to lose weight. Best of all, I can eat until I am full and not starve myself as I would on other diet programs. Prior to CHIP, I had been taking hormome replacement therapy for more than two years because my menopause symptoms were so severe. I was experiencing the dreaded 'hot flash’ every 15 to 20 minutes. After only one week on CHIP, I was able to stop taking the medication and am now relatively symptom-free and I feel wonderful!I cannot say enough positive things about the CHIP program. Thank you for this life-changing and life-saving program.” —H. Gay

From Health Professionals . . .

“In all the years we have been conducting healthy lifestyle programs, we have never experienced anything as effective as CHIP. For a fraction of the cost, CHIP participants get all the benefits of a live-in program while establishing new lifestyle habits in the realistic home environment and working with an on-going support group. Our ‘Chippers’ love CHIP and so do we.” —George Guthrie, MD, MPH, and Dena Guthrie, RN, MS, ANP

"Dr. Hans Diehl has brought a very powerful message to all who would listen in how to use diet and exercise to prevent the number one killers in our society.” —William Castelli, MD, NIH, Director, Framingham Heart Study



		From the Director . . . My name is Larry Cohen and I’m an emergency physician and the medical director for the Colorado Springs CHIP program. As an emergency physician, like most physicians, I deal with disease, not health. I also lived the standard American lifestyle of a high fat and high refined food diet. I was not concerned about heart disease. I had good genes. No one in my family had heart disease. My father died at 68 of lung cancer, but he smoked since he was 12. He had normal coronary arteries. I didn’t have any risk factors for heart disease, except a high cholesterol of 280. I thought my other lack of risk factors was more important. I also weighed 195 lb. At 5 foot 6, that was overweight. I decided to lose weight because I didn’t want to hit that 200 lb. mark. So I joined a gym and got with a trainer and a dietician. I got on what I call a starvation diet, because I felt hungry a lot. But I started working out six days a week and ate “healthy.” I cut out all refined foods, and even cut out red meat. I was eating a lot of chicken and fish, lots of vegetables, and fruit. I dropped 50 lbs. over the next few months and my cholesterol dropped to 180! I told my wife I was glad I had changed my lifestyle before something bad happened. About four years later, eating this way, with lots of fish, some chicken, “healthy” olive oil, while training for my first triathlon, I started having symptoms. Symptoms that led me to have to have a coronary artery bypass. Lying in the hospital after surgery (two surgeries in one day due to complications), I remembered some research on reversal of coronary artery disease (plaque reversal). I looked it up and completely changed my lifestyle, again, but this time for the better. In fact had I known then what I know now, I would not have had the bypass, but would have gone on a reversal lifestyle. A few years ago, I was asked to look into the CHIP program. This was basically what I found in my own research, and I feel this program is THE BEST nonresidential lifestyle program in the world. Since that bypass in 2003, I have done dozens of triathlons (including two Ironman), half, and full marathons, and am in better shape than I was 30 years ago. But there’s nothing special about me. This could be you and your loved ones. I tell you this as a physician who has looked at the literature and has seen the results of real change. We are always looking for that “magic bullet” in medicine. The closest I’ve seen is the best diet and exercise. And CHIP is it! From CHIP Participants . . . Fall Colorado Springs CHIPpers celebrate their graduation with guest speaker Dr. Doug Lisle. 2011 grads say: "Lost 17.5 lbs. during class. Cholesterol went from 199 to 139! Feel great, tons of energy." "I've gotten off my high BP medication. My energy level has increased. I find I'm spending more time in food preparation, but if my blood chem improves, it will be worth it." "CHIP has taught us a better way to eat and live and it doesn't require measuring and counting. I feel more satisfied and have more energy." "I had no idea what CHIP was when I signed up. What a great investment of time and money! I'm feeling good, have lost almost 10 pounds and have hopes that the blood work will mean I can cut back some medications. It's changed my life. 'Old age' promises to be more fun as I am more healthy." [After discussing gastric bypass surgery], I received a flyer advertising the CHIP program. I convinced my wife to join me in attending. . . . I feel much better and am able to walk for an hour without the wheezing and pain I felt before." "I have struggled with being overweight since childhood. Because I learned to 'starve' off excess weight as a young person, I would always gain back double or more what I had lost. Finally, in my late forties, looking at the declining health of my parents and having faced some dangerous health situations brought on my my weight, I prayed to God in earnest. I said, 'Please show me what to do and I will listen!' The next day, my friend who had previously asked me to try CHIP brought it up again. Remembering my commitment to God, I felt I should check it out. . . .I now feel better than I have since my twenties. I have lost weight and my energy has increased while my sleep is more sound. I know CHIP is the anwer to my prayer. God always wants the best for His children. We just have to listen and obey." ***** "The pain in my hands was unbearable. I took a lot of meds to combat the pain. After CHIP I have no more pain or swelling in my fingers." —Pam "I started the CHIP program because I was looking for a way to avoid getting diabetes. I had gestational diabetes while pregnant with my second child, and had to give myself four insulin shots a day. My doctor told me to make a change in lifestyle or face diabetes in the future. After a month on the CHIP program my glucose levels went down 11.3%." —Cyndee "I signed up for CHIP shortly after I was diagnosed with MS in 2008. My neurologist had mentioned the Swank diet as being potentially helpful. I researched Swank online and found that it's a low-fat diet shown to minimize disability in MS patients who stick to it long term. Dr. John McDougall was a friend of Dr. Swank and is now "carrying Swank's mantle" of treating MS with diet. Dr. Hans Diehl's CHIP program is very similar to McDougall's recommendations, and I knew I needed something to help me learn how to eat differently. What I appreciated about CHIP was the opportunity to learn new habits along with other people; community is important at such times. I learned a lot about physiology and thus the "whys" of why we were learning to make changes. Most helpful were the recipes and food samples and the library of books and DVDs which reinforced and expanded on what CHIP was teaching me. Not to mention the encouragement of the directors, Larry and June Cohen. Five months after changing my way of eating, I had lost weight without trying and when I had my total cholesterol tested again, I was shocked to see it gone down 100 points! And that's not even why I took CHIP. I haven't had another MS episode and am hoping that this whole-food, plant-based way of eating keeps it that way. I've read that this diet can be helpful for other autoimmune conditions as well. I'm very happy I had the opportunity to take CHIP." —-Linda "When I first heard CHIP was coming to town, I thought, 'No way am I going to that thing!' . . . The program opened my eyes to more information than I can explain. The knowledge I now have regarding my health IS saving me. I feel that I have a chance to change my family health history and not die of a heart attack and even beat the odds of cancer. . . . As I learned the information CHIP offered, I quickly became aware of everything that I was eating and gladly began my transformation to a much healthier life style. I started walking with my wife and our dog and enjoying the little aches developed from exercise. I felt my strength and stamina returning to me at an alarming rate. I never went hungry, in fact I ate so much, I was always full. I really put the 'eat as much as you want' philosophy to the test. . . . After 30 days on the program I realized I had not felt good in quite some time, but I was starting to feel great. Especially since I lost 16 pounds during the program. Since the program, I have joined the YMCA and am now working out regularly. My quality of life has improved greatly and I have lost 25 pounds to date. I even lost weight during the holidays! I thank God I attended the program; it changed my life. I never thought I could learn so much in a month, but it happened. I am now a proud CHIPper and can’t wait to tell people about the program." —Noah "I really think Dr. Deihl’s CHIP program is for everyone. I learned so much about how foods work in our bodies . . . keeping myself healthy by exercise and learning self-discipline. I can’t keep from sharing this information with anyone who will listen because it is of such vital importance. I did a speech for my speech class on this and people were very surprised by some of the information presented." —Victoria "I participated in the CHIP program because I have high blood pressure, am overweight, and my family had been discussing eating more healthfully. . . . The education process made the difference in this program. . . . The whys were explained and there were many studies to back up the information.; My blood pressure has dropped some—I continue to work on that. Since the beginning of the CHIP program I have dropped 17 or 18 pounds and members of my family have also dropped some excess weight. . . . When I started really reading labels (other than just for animal fats or flavoring) I was shocked to see how much sodium is added to foods I would have considered healthy. . . . CHIP has made me a more educated consumer." —Sonya “After four years of being a type 2 diabetic, I was experiencing numbness in my feet and decreased vision. I used to take five different pills. Since taking the CHIP program I no longer require any medication.” —B. Hutton “During the four-week CHIP program, my cholesterol dropped, and I lost 7½ pounds and still continue to lose weight. Best of all, I can eat until I am full and not starve myself as I would on other diet programs. Prior to CHIP, I had been taking hormome replacement therapy for more than two years because my menopause symptoms were so severe. I was experiencing the dreaded 'hot flash’ every 15 to 20 minutes. After only one week on CHIP, I was able to stop taking the medication and am now relatively symptom-free and I feel wonderful!I cannot say enough positive things about the CHIP program. Thank you for this life-changing and life-saving program.” —H. Gay From Health Professionals . . . “In all the years we have been conducting healthy lifestyle programs, we have never experienced anything as effective as CHIP. For a fraction of the cost, CHIP participants get all the benefits of a live-in program while establishing new lifestyle habits in the realistic home environment and working with an on-going support group. Our ‘Chippers’ love CHIP and so do we.” —George Guthrie, MD, MPH, and Dena Guthrie, RN, MS, ANP "Dr. Hans Diehl has brought a very powerful message to all who would listen in how to use diet and exercise to prevent the number one killers in our society.” —William Castelli, MD, NIH, Director, Framingham Heart Study

From the Director . . .

From CHIP Participants . . .

From Health Professionals . . .