It didn’t work (in case you’re wondering). 

Taking a picture of ‘Chubby Me’ did not jump start me into a transformation, but that’s okay because that’s not the point of showing you this embarrassing picture anyway.

The point is to show you what normal looks like. 

I was 43 in that picture. 

Sadly, being 43 and chubby and out of shape – that is normal. 

It’s what most people accept; it’s how most people live. 

Most people want to lose weight and they want to get in great shape, but they talk and plan and try new hacks and supplements and magic workout routines and eventually these people get tired of failing so they give up and begin to believe that their excuses are reality. (I don’t have enough time. My equipment is no good. I don’t have enough self-discipline. My body type is different. Et cetera, et cetera.)

This is normal.

It’s what most people do.  

Every now and again a fire will spark inside those same people and a few weeks of hard core dieting and exercise will follow, but this too will sizzle out when they don’t see results after the first few weeks.

And then all that’s left is another failed attempt at reaching their goals. “I’ll try again later,” they’ll tell themselves, “It will be easier after the holidays.” 

The holidays end.

“Meh…I’ll start after my birthday.”

After their birthday, there is another excuse waiting in line. 

Again…this is normal. 

The vast majority of people do this.

You’ve probably done it. 

It’s what I was doing as well.

Here’s what I learned that helped me.

What I learned during my fitness journey is that my failures were not due to laziness, or a lack of willpower, or a lack of time; it was because I was thinking and acting just like all the other normal people were acting and thinking.

I thought weight loss was running, sweating, feet pounding the pavement. I thought it was salads and chickpeas. 

And I hate running. 

And I hate salads.

And I hate chickpeas.

But everyone around me (all the normal people) that’s what they were doing. 

And it’s still what most people do.

They run. They eat salads. They suffer in the gym. They believe that like it or not, these are the things you must do to lose weight and get in great shape.  

I believed this for a long, long time.

And then, slowly, I began to do things differently.

I started to become a weirdo. 

Eating lasagna as part of my ‘diet.’

Walking while watching a movie rather than running while being miserable. 

Focusing primarily on time goals instead of weight loss goals. 

Quitting all the ‘best’ exercises and instead focusing solely on the exercises that I actually like.

Different.

Everything I did.

Weird to everyone around me.

What I was doing was one hundred and eighty degrees opposite of what my friends and coworkers were doing. It was completely against their beliefs. Contrary to all their preconceived notions. 

It was weird. 

But it was working. 

This is a picture I took of myself today in 2023.