🏊 Meet Coach Ruben 📖

The autopsy that changed his life

Before medical school, a young Ruben worked as a pathologist’s assistant at a hospital in Southern California and helped with about 75 autopsies. Most were people who had died of chronic disease. Then came a woman in her mid-seventies whose organs, the pathologist said, looked as healthy as a young athlete’s, even though she had lived for decades with a serious heart defect. Her family described her life: a plant-based diet with no processed food, a backyard garden, long daily walks, strong faith, and close family.

That moment set the course of his life. Ruben changed how he ate in 1981, went on to three years at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, and then earned his Master of Public Health at the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in behavioral sciences and health promotion, because he wanted to help people stay well, not just treat disease.

Then life knocked him down

In 1990, a ruptured Achilles tendon ended the basketball he loved. He fell into depression and comfort food, and over four and a half years gained more than 55 pounds, with rising blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. In 1995, one honest comment from a friend woke him up. He took full responsibility, changed one habit at a time, returned to plant-based eating and daily exercise, and lost the weight in about a year. He has kept it off for three decades.

🪔 Why we celebrate him: Coach Ruben has lived both sides of the story, the science and the struggle. He doesn’t sell quick fixes, powders, or magic formulas. He teaches mindset, habits, and support, one step at a time. That’s exactly the spirit of Nursed to Flourish.

🌱 How to Fully Live: 12-Week Lifestyle Medicine Immersion

✨ Fall 2026 · 💻 Online on Zoom · 🎬 Every session recorded

😮‍💨 Feeling tired, stuck on a plateau, or worn down by aches and pains? Coach Ruben built this program to help you radically increase your energy and vitality and start transforming your health for a lifetime. He has completely revamped it for 2026.

🎯 In 12 weeks you’ll learn to

• 🧠 Shift your mindset so you can move forward without sabotaging yourself
• 🔬 Use an evidence-based approach to change lifestyle behaviors
• 🔁 Build habits that last
• 🤝 Create real accountability and support

🎁 What’s included

• 🩺 Health assessment and a one-on-one onboarding session
• 👥 Twelve 3-hour group training sessions
• 🗣️ A 30-minute one-on-one coaching session every week
• 📖 A copy of How to Fully Live (hardback, e-book, or audio)

🗓️ See the 12-week outline

1. 🎯 What is your WHY? Purpose defines your success
2. 💥 Creating breakthroughs
3. 🧠 Changing your mindset
4. 🚫 Eliminating self-sabotage
5. 🥦 Cellular physiology, hydration, and nutrition
6. 🏃 Physical activity, sleep, reducing harmful substances, stress, healthy relationships, and happiness
7. 🔁 Working SMAART: habits that stick for a lifetime
8. 🕊️ Fears, radical forgiveness, and completion work
9. 😊 Happiness practices
10. 🧭 Living a life of integrity
11. 💬 Communication, connection, and conflict resolution
12. 🌟 Creating your high-powered social support team

⏰ Pick your group (Pacific Time)

🌙 Tuesday evenings, 6 to 9 pm: Oct 20; Nov 3, 10, 24; Dec 1, 8, 15, 29; Jan 5, 12, 19, 26.

☀️ Saturday mornings, 9 am to noon: Oct 24; Nov 7, 14, 21; Dec 5, 12, 19; Jan 2, 9, 16, 23, 30.

💻 All group sessions and one-on-one sessions are on Zoom, and every group session is recorded for participants. After you register, you’ll get access to Coach Ruben’s calendar to book your one-on-ones.

📝 How to register

💲 $1,000 for this specially offered program (it will be $2,000 starting in 2027). Payment arrangements are available if needed. Spaces are limited, so contact Coach Ruben directly by phone, text, or email to check availability and register.

✅ After you register, you’ll fill out a 9-page online lifestyle medicine health history, book your onboarding session, and build your first action plan.

🎥 Hear from past participants

Videos Coach Ruben lists on his program page, in which past groups share what they got from the program. Each button opens that exact video on YouTube.

▶️ June 2021 group shares ↗

▶️ February 2021 group shares ↗

▶️ October 2020 group shares ↗

▶️ Mark Rodriguez, May 2018 group ↗

Participants describe their own experiences, not guaranteed results.

A paid program run independently by Coach Ruben; Kitchen Monk does not run it. Kitchen Monk earns nothing from any link here: no affiliate commissions and no payments. Program details come from CoachRuben.com and are shared at Coach Ruben’s request; updated October 21, 2026. Check with your healthcare provider before major lifestyle changes.

🍜 Free Sunday community dinners

Coach Ruben has hosted open Sunday community dinners at Pho Fresh in Rancho Cordova, California, 5 to 7 pm, with a vegan menu and oil-free and gluten-free options. Everyone is welcome: vegan, vegan-curious, or simply health-minded. You pay for your own meal. Check his page before you go to confirm it’s still happening.