Is it possible for a 305 pound carnivore football player to reverse course on all of his chronic diseases and completely change the trajectory of his family’s life forever? Marc Ramirez grew up in southern Texas wth four brothers and three sisters. HIs father abandoned his family when Marc was eight years old and left his mother struggling to raise an army of children on her own. Marc ultimately rose up and earned a football scholarship to the University of Michigan, where he played right guard for the legendary coach Bo Schembechler. Marc and his teammates went on to play in three Rose Bowls and one Hall of Fame Bowl.  

To fuel his 305 pound frame and the countless hours of training, Marc required a significant amount of food intake; he was quite fond of steak and potatoes; by his own account, usually more of the steak. But once the chapter closed on Marc’s football career, his dietary habits didn’t change, and his body started to fight against him. This came in the form of weight gain, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and a host of other lifestyle diseases, all requiring enough medications to line a pharmacy shelf.

What Marc feared was that he was firmly on the same path as his mother and siblings. And just to give you an idea of what Marc’s family was experiencing…

His mom underwent kidney transplant, passed in 2002 after 33 years of fighting diabetes.

Sadly, his brother David passed from pancreatic cancer two months later.

Marc’s sister Carol struggled with type 2 diabetes for many years.

His twin brother Joe battles with type 2 diabetes, and already has suffered a heart attack.

Marc’s youngest sister Sandra, has type 2 diabetes.

And Martin, Marc’s youngest sibling, has type 2 diabetes, he’s had a pancreas and kidney transplant, he’s legally blind and had his right leg amputated. Martin undergoes dialysis 3 times per week, and is on a whopping 25 medications.

Marc was confronted with the very real possibility that he was predestined to suffer the same outcomes as other members of his family.

I’m not going to give away the entire story here, but conversation that follows with Marc and his wife, Kim (aka Chickpea and Bean), truly demonstrates what we are capable of as humans. We cover Marc’s slow decline into illness, and then how Kim’s support helped him work his way back to health, and ultimately his ability to thrive and help others get their own health back on track. I loved talking to these guys, not only because it’s clear they adore each other, but their story is a truly inspirational one. They changed their own lives and, in turn, changed the course of their family forever.

Social Media Links

Chickpea & Bean on Instagram - @chickpeaandbean

Chickpea & Bean on Twitter - @chickpeaandbean

Chickpea & Bean on Facebook - Facebook link here

Websites Mentioned in Podcast

Chickpea & Bean's website - www.chickpeaandbean.com

Marc's Historic Lab Results - Lab Results here

Music Credits for BRAVEST Episode 005

Intro music - Podington Bear, 'Sepia' & The Passion HiFi, 'Sweet Revenge'

Outtro music - Joakim Karud, 'That Day'