Rock Bottom
Let me be honest about where I was in 2019:
I was eating late-night meals minutes before falling asleep. I'd wake up and immediately stuff food in my mouth. Fast food was my go-to more often than not. Sure, I'd hit the gym for 30 minutes a couple times a week, but who was I kidding? Those workouts couldn't outrun my terrible diet.
My body was sending clear signals that I was ignoring. My shoulders ached constantly. Health issues popped up like unwelcome guests. I felt heavy, both physically and mentally. The worst part? I knew I was doing this to myself, but I couldn't seem to break the cycle.
The Decision
By early 2020, I finally admitted to myself that nothing would change if I kept doing the same things. It sounds obvious now, but sometimes the simplest truths are the hardest to accept.
I didn't hire an expensive trainer or sign up for some miracle program. Instead, I downloaded Freeletics and a couple other fitness apps. No dramatic promises or overnight transformations—just some basic guidance to get moving in the right direction.
Small Steps, Not Giant Leaps
Here's the thing about lasting change: it's boring. It's unsexy. It's the opposite of those before-and-after photos you see on Instagram.
My approach was painfully simple:
- Started with 25-minute bodyweight workouts, 3-4 times weekly
- Gradually pushed to 30-40 minutes as my stamina improved
- Didn't cut any food groups or try fancy diets
- Just ate 5% less each week than the week before
- Stopped eating after 9PM (eventually moved that earlier)
No dramatic hunger pangs. No "cleansing" or "detoxing." Just small, consistent adjustments I could actually stick with.
The Slow Burn of Progress
By December 2020, I'd dropped to 169 pounds. That's 16 pounds in about 8 months—nowhere near those "lose 30 pounds in 30 days" promises you see advertised. But unlike those quick fixes, these were 16 pounds that weren't coming back.
In 2021, I doubled down on what was working:
- Added protein shakes to support my workouts
- Got more structured with my exercise routine
- Trimmed my eating window further—light breakfast, proper lunch, and dinner before 6PM
When 2021 ended, I weighed 155. Four years later, in 2025, I'm holding steady at 150. The weight loss slowed and eventually stopped, but the habits remain.
What Actually Works
If there's one thing I've learned, it's this: there are no shortcuts to lasting change. Those "fast results" programs sell because we all want the destination without the journey. But the journey is where the real transformation happens.
Reading "Atomic Habits" by James Clear put into words what I was experiencing. Building lasting habits isn't about intensity—it's about consistency. It's showing up on days you don't feel like it. It's making the slightly better choice a thousand times until it becomes automatic.
My body didn't change overnight. It changed over 2,190 nights. It changed through thousands of decisions to move a little more and eat a little less. It changed through building systems that made the healthy choice the easy choice.
There's nothing glamorous about my story. No dramatic reveals or television-worthy transformations. Just a guy who got tired of feeling heavy and decided to do something about it—one small step at a time, over and over again, until those steps became the path.
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