My story

Like many others once I hit my late 30's to my 40's I started to gain weight no matter what I did.  At first I was able to loose here and there when I went on a crash diet such as no carbs or intermittent fasting and I was content.  Throughout the years my scale was a yo-yo, I would gain, drop, gain drop until one day the dropping never happened regardless of what I did.  After the wonderful experience of 2020 the scale kept rising and I knew I had to do something.

When I look back I now see how much my weight insecurity impacted my life and my families lives.  I avoided pool parties and beaches like the plague, would try not to let me wife see me changing my shirt, even years ago it would be like pulling teeth for my kids to get me to swim with them in the pool.  I only wish I found this earlier so I didn't miss those years of avoidance and self consciousness.  Today...Bring the pool party on!

Post 2020 I had to get serious and attempted my usual no carbs, intermittent fasting, working out and the scale would not budge.  For about a year and a half I was using MyFittness Pal and only consuming 1300-1400 calories per day (some more on the weekends) and working out regularly.  The best I could do was maintain, if I did not follow this I would gain; this simply was not working.  My wife works in the medical field and could not believe I could not drop weight even with living a "healthy lifestyle", it was so frustrating I went to the doctor.  Like other middle aged men my testosterone level was lower than it should be and my thyroid was acting up.  I was put on medications and that still didn't didn't help, I was at a loss.

My wife was on a walk with a good family friend and she noticed that she had dropped substantial weight, she like me always struggled.  She told my wife I should talk to her about the program she was on, she experienced so much success that she became an Independent Coach for the program so she could help her mother and sister.  My wife told me about this and I ignored it, nothing worked and I did NOT want another fad diet that I spent my hard earned money on with no success.  I also did not want some sort of program that was invasive on my life, spare time for me is a commodity.

My wife saw how frustrated I was and the depression setting in, I did not want to go out or run into old friends; she convinced me just to talk to her, so reluctantly I did.  Our friend and soon to  be my Coach and mentor to the program did a great job explaining the lifestyle to me and I decided to give it a shot, it was obvious it worked wonders on her.  

I had 2 goals, (1) We were going to Las Vegas in November of 2022 and I wanted to drop something before that (2) We were going on a trip to Panama with our friends in March of 2023 and I wanted to be happy with myself so I can comfortably take my shirt off in public.

On October 6th 2022 I received my Optavia package and began my transformation.  When I am on a plan or program I am obsessively diligent at following it, that worked to my advantage.  The first week was an adjustment but after that I found the plan very easy and I never felt starved; I began to enjoy it.  By mid November we were departing for Vegas and I was down nearly 20 lbs and my clothes were getting a bit big on me which is not a bad problem.  I was feeling better, had more energy, slept better and beginning to gain some confidence in myself.  I strayed from following the plan exactly in Las Vegas but it did not impact my transformation whatsoever.

I continued to drop weight week by week, by the time Christmas came around my family could not believe how I looked, I did indulge a little on the Holiday's but not too bad and again it did not impact my path to a better me.

On March 1 2023, just 5 months after beginning this lifestyle I was boarding and airplane with my wife and 20 of my closest friends 60 lbs lighter and feeling better than I have in years, better than in my 30's.  I felt like the clock went backwards, I looked younger, healthier and confident...not to mention the airplane seat was much more comfortable.  While I did have to buy all new clothes, basically my whole closet was a nice donation to GoodWill I was able to truly enjoy the trip, take my shirt off and go swimming without feeling like a beached whale.  I still have moments of fear because of years of loosing my confidence but then I looked at myself in the mirror and would say wow, you are a different man.

Today I sit here 3-4 pants sizes less, 2 shirt sizes less and taking more pride in my appearance because I feel amazing.  I am no longer embarrassed to share my weight, take off my shirt or step on the scale at the doctors office.  I am transformed and am continuing to better myself.

The results I had were so apparent that I would have people asking me on a daily basis what I did and how I did it.  Our friend, my mentor and my Optavia Coach said I should go through the steps and become a Coach, I was not interested whatsoever (at first).  

Upon my coming home from Panama my boss approached me and said he and his wife want in on the plan, I took that as a sign and made the choice to follow the steps and become an Independent Optavia Coach and signed them on as my first 2 clients and am not looking back.

This is a lifestyle that changed my life and it works, that cannot be denied.  I felt like I could take the opportunity to pay my journey forward and help others that are struggling to transform their lives, or even help those that want to loose a few pesky pounds before an event.  I took this as a sign, it is a product that I believe in whole heartedly while allowing me the opportunity to build a small business on the side.  This is my path, I feel great myself and want to help others feel as good as I do.