I wanted to tell you what "organic" has done for me.

Five years ago I weighed 480 pounds. I was miserable. I went through a weight management program through my local hospital for the morbidly obese. They supplied us with counselors, fitness gurus to get us moving, and nutritionists. As I went through this program I started reading about nutrition and trying to understand how food reacts in our bodies. As I kept reading I started seeing more and more benefits of being vegetarian. My nutritionist was not very enthusiastic about that, but I decided to try it anyway. So I went vegetarian and immediately started feeling better. As I worked with my fitness trainer I told him I had two goals; to be able to run, and to be able to ride a bike. The weight was coming down and when I got to 385 I decided to start riding. I picked up an old Schwinn Suburban at a yard sale and started riding. It was so free-ing! Then as I continued to learn about nutrition, I decided to go vegan. Now the weight REALLY started coming off. I started shopping at Whole Foods and buying only organic fruits and veggies, and eventually started my own raised bed garden so I could grow all kinds of stuff and know that it was clean, organic food. I am now at 199 pounds and am running 5 day week. I just signed up for my first "organized" 10k race, and am training to do a mini-traithlon next year with hopes of doing a full triathlon sometime. I know these are pretty big goals as a 48 year old man, but when I put on my OrganicAthlete cycling jersey and line up at the Saturday morning shop ride, I can keep up and even beat these young guys who are putting garbage in their stomachs. Organic is DEFINITELY the way to go! Thanks for being there and encouraging an organic lifestyle! I can't WAIT to order my cycling bibs that say "Go Veg" on the back. It will be fun to see the expression on the young guys' faces who think you can't be vegan and be competitive! Thanks for all the great info that you supply!