About me

I'm Vlad Gendel. I write about diet, health, and food—from lived experience, not credentials.

Photo coming soon

258 to 184

At 24, I weighed 258 pounds.

I tried several diets. Each one lasted a few days. Then I binged. Every time.

In the summer of 1998, I stopped dieting. I decided to become a healthy person first. I started asking one question before I ate: "Would a healthy person eat this?"

I quit pop, then milk, then fries, one at a time.

Today I weigh 184. I walk every day. I drink 32 ounces of water every morning. I grew up in Russia.

That's my story. Not a promise about yours.

What Change Who You Are is

Change Who You Are is my way of sharing that shift. Diets ask you to do different things while staying the same person. I flipped the order. Decide who you are. Then make the choices that person would make.

The free 5-day challenge is the starting point. One short email a morning. One question. Topics stay on diet, health, and food.

Not a doctor

I'm not a doctor. I'm not a dietitian. I have no medical credentials. Everything here is educational, based on what worked for me. It is not medical advice. Talk to your doctor before you change your diet or activity, especially if you have a health condition.

Try the free 5-day challenge

Five mornings. One question. Free.