This was the second chance for Dr. Carney to be hired as the Medical Director for Rip Esselstyn's Engine 2 Diet Immersions, along with assistance from her husband, Sean Carney, and Dr. Carney's Medical Staff. This second health retreat for Whole Foods employees in Austin Texas was conducted in September of 2010 at Traavasa Austin, the same facility as before. The second group of participants also arrived much like the first group with a lot of uncertainty about what they would experience. Some came hoping for a relaxing vacation experience but they all soon warmed up to the delicious food and the informative lectures. Again such plant based celebrities as Caldwell Esselstyn Jr., MD, Rip Esselstyn, Dr. Pam Popper and Jeff Novick MS, RD were presenting and were availble for private discussions.
We thought that maybe we would not see the results with this group quite as significant as the previous group because the food seemed a bit richer, although totally plant-based! As well, some of these participants actually cheated and snuck in some stashes of junk foods and on the day when they were allowed to tour the Whole Foods market in Austin some of them made their way to the section of the store with chocolate cake and had a little chow down! Nevertheless the numbers still demonstrate the power of a plant-baased diet.
The blood pressure improvements were slightly better than the previous group and the average weight losses were also a little more. Part of this we attribute to the fact that there were many less Healthy Eating Specialists at this program.