Change your life in two weeks

Because transformation starts with a spark!

Jumpstart is designed to kick off rapid improvements in your health—without calorie counting, measuring portions, or restrictive dieting. A whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) lifestyle can help you feel more energized, sleep better, improve your mood, and lower your blood pressure, cholesterol, weight, and blood sugar.

In just 15 days, many people experience measurable health improvements, often allowing for reductions in medication—with physician guidance, of course.

Fifteen days is long enough to feel the difference and short enough to feel doable. You can do anything for just two weeks! 

Jumpstart’s WFPB diet is powerful for preventing, managing, and even reversing many chronic diseases including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. These conditions are all part of an interconnected disease state known as metabolic syndrome, and improving your diet can often improve all of them at once.

We follow the evidence-based model of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn (Cleveland Clinic) for reversing heart disease—but the benefits extend far beyond the heart. There’s also promising research showing that this lifestyle may support brain health and even slow the progression of some cancers and autoimmune conditions.

Nothing in Jumpstart will go against doctor’s orders, so you should continue taking your medications. We recommend that you tell your physician or PCP that you are taking Jumpstart, so he or she can monitor any changes you may experience, and can taper dosages of your medications if necessary. For example, medication for high blood pressure and diabetes or pre-diabetes, as well as blood thinners, may need to be adjusted during Jumpstart.

Jumpstart can absolutely complement GLP-1 drugs. If you're already taking one of these drugs, Jumpstart will support your progress with a sustainable eating pattern that promotes satiety and weight loss—without the side effects or long-term costs of medication. If you're considering one of these drugs, know that a WFPB diet can produce many of the same benefits naturally by helping your body find a healthy weight set point and keeping you feeling satiated.

Each day of the Jumpstart program offers new resources to support your Very Low Fat Whole-Food Plant-Based journey. You'll have access to a wealth of information about how food impacts human health, you'll receive recipes, watch cooking demonstrations, and get daily emails with specific information about the hows and whys of taking on this challenge. Most importantly, you'll have the ability to interact with our facilitators and fellow Jumpstart participants, so you're supported in this process.

We’ve got you covered! Jumpstart participants get extensive support during Jumpstart and beyond.
You’ll receive:

• A detailed and comprehensive Jumpstart Guide to help you succeed
  
  

• Daily emails with tips, resources, and encouragement
  
  

• Access to our secure online platform: the Pale Blue Dot Community
  
  

• A trove of recipes, and shopping, cooking, and meal prepping tips
  
  

• A vibrant support forum where you can ask questions and share your wins

PLUS: After Jumpstart the journey continues! Jumpstart alumni get extensive, ongoing support, including access to our monthly whole-food plant-based support group meetings in our membership community

We’ve instituted a Pay-It-Forward model to make Jumpstart as accessible as possible to those who need it, while still trying to cover our program costs. 

This means you can choose the price that works for your financial situation.

As a nonprofit, RLMI relies on the generosity of donors and participants to help cover costs and expenses, as program fees alone do not. So if you’re in a position to pay more, we invite you to do so. Your contribution directly supports others in accessing the care and knowledge they need to transform their health.

However, if a higher payment would prevent you from participating, please choose the lowest price that allows you to join. Every price level helps. Thank you!

You’ll be eating real food that fills you up and fuels your health. Jumpstart follows a low-fat, whole-food plant-based (WFPB) diet: think beans, whole grains, fruits, and lots of veggies. You’ll skip the animal products, oils, refined sugar, and most processed foods—but we’ll show you how to make your meals delicious, satisfying, and enjoyable.

You’ll get:

• Sample meal plans and shopping lists
  
  

• A recipe booklet filled with simple, flavorful dishes
  
  

• Guidance on navigating social meals and dining out
  
  

• Tips for your morning coffee and sweet cravings
  
  

The best part? No calorie counting, portion control, or scales and weighing food! No tracking needed. Just eat until you're full - as long as you stick to Jumpstart-friendly foods!

Follow our advice and you won’t just survive…  you’ll thrive!

We're all about the power of whole foods.
Oil is processed and stripped of fiber and nutrients. It's calorie-dense, low in satiety, and contributes to inflammation and weight gain. That’s why we teach you how to cook without it—and yes, it’s easier (and tastier) than you might think!

Jumpstart follows a Very Low-Fat Whole-Food Plant-Based (or VLF WFPB) diet. That means only plants, no oils, and also limiting high-fat plant foods like nuts, avocados, olives, and coconut. You can always add some of these foods back later—but we’ve found that starting with a clean, low-fat slate gives people the best results.

Yes! We would not deprive you of your morning cup!  Coffee and tea, whether or not caffeinated, are allowed. A small amount of natural sweetener and plant milk can be added

Yes—but it’s more than just vegan.
Jumpstart is 100% plant-based and excludes all animal products. But unlike many vegan diets that may rely on processed foods, Jumpstart emphasizes whole, minimally processed plants—and avoids added oils and high-fat plant foods during the program.

So, while it’s technically a vegan diet, it’s also optimized for health, healing, and results. That’s why we call it Very Low-Fat Whole-Food Plant-Based (VLF WFPB).

We’re proud that Jumpstart is part of an ongoing lifestyle medicine research study that began in 2018. If you’re willing to meet participation criteria below,  we’ll invite you to repeat Jumpstart Live for free!

To qualify, you’ll need to:

• Attend at least 5 out of the 6 live sessions
  

• Complete the brief before-and-after health assessments
  

• Submit results from your blood work immediately before and after the program
  

• Schedule your repeated Jumpstart within 12 months of program completion

Your participation means that your anonymized data will be added to our data pool.  It helps us to not only improve the program,  but adds to the overwhelming evidence regarding the power of eating real food.