Spotlight: Tyler A.

Throughout my life I've struggled with my weight. I am definitely blessed to not have had to deal with the same severity as others have but it's still been something that I've always been conscious of.

In 2018 I went through a pretty nasty divorce. I felt extremely alone and out of control of my life and the only thing that I thought was there for me and which I could control was food. I started eating anything and everything always. I went from 250 lbs to over 320 lbs within 3 months. Being 5' 8" that was pretty big, to the point I could barely tie my shoes and wipe my own ass.

Over the next few years I struggled with pretty bad depression and anxiety. It would cripple me. I'd wake up, eat, work, eat more, get home and get in bed and eat more. Eventually I found myself in some legal trouble at the end of 2019 which lead to me losing my job. A series of bad choices that I made stemming from my inability to cope with that depression lead me to court mandated therapy.

During that therapy I learned that where I found myself was because of my choices. Not the choices of anyone else. Not my parents, not my ex wife. Not anyone else but me. Somehow that empowered me instead of debilitated me, I'm assuming because of the skilled way the therapy presented it.

In August 2020, during the height of the virus and a time I felt like my life was completely out of control, I decided to make an attempt and regaining control of my life through my choices. I thought the best place to start would be my fitness and nutrition. I began researching the psychological side of weight loss and working out habits. Why some people succeed and why some fail. I learned a lot about inspiration and what inspires me, why I'm starting this journey, who it's for. I learned about motivation and found many podcasts and YouTube channels that I've used to help keep me focused a few of which are: obviously American Glutton, Mark Bell's Power Project, stuff from Mike Israetel and RP Strength, Greg Doucette, Brian Shaw, Martins Licis, and tons of others.

I learned about dedication and how it drives you to continue to work hard when motivation is fleeting. How important consistency is in forming habits that get you in to a routine. I set a roadmap for myself with vision of where I wanted to be. I set milestone goals along the way and then created little things to do daily and weekly that when cumulated would bring my closer to my milestones which together would get me to my end goal. I kept a journal of my daily wins and positive self affirmations.

I truly believe what Jack Canfield wrote:

"The law of attraction states that whatever you focus on, think about, read about, and talk about intensely, you're going to attract more of into your life."

I consumed as much material on fitness an nutrition as I could absorb and I implemented and tried out so many different strategies. I learned what worked for me and stuck with it. Consistency and compliance became my science a spin on what Mark Bell says.

I've weighed myself every single day since Labor day 2020 and kept track of it on a spreadsheet. I have worked out at the gym 4 days a week every single week since then as well. I implement intermittent fasting mostly to keep myself from overeating and not as much for the science of it. I eat a ton of protein. I've found that a modified keto diet, as Ethan has put it, has been a great diet for me. I eat high protein, moderate fat, and lower carbs.

I've lost just under 100 lbs now. I've gone from 320 to 226 so far and am about 18-20% and I'm not even close to my fitness journey. I've not only learned to take control of my fitness and nutrition, I've taken control of all aspect of my life. I'm still dealing with the consequences of my actions and the legal ramifications of those but I face them with optimism. I have taken control of my finances and am able to provide for myself. My mental health has never been better in my life and I feel so motivated to become even greater! I look forward to each day because it's another chance to work towards my goals and become more great. I appreciate the good Ethan his team are doing. Sharing a side of fitness and nutrition that people don't think they can be capable of achieving.