I hope you will allow me this break from my normal newsletter flow…this week (and for 6 weeks total) I am going to be changing the format. Instead of the normal newsletter I am giving you the opening 6 days of my 2026 weight loss journal.
Maybe you are also trying to lose weight…or maybe the change you want is to delegate more, or get home for dinner, or spend better time with those you care about…whatever it is, my EXAMPLE might be different, but the FRAMEWORK is the same and I hope this raw and honest run down will help you.
My Journey from 215 to 170
I have struggled with my weight for my entire life. There are photos of me at 6-7 years old where it’s already become a problem. 2 years ago I FINALLY buckled down and went from 235 down to 185…however I was not able to stick with it and back slide to 200…then 210…still WAY better than 235…but not the direction I wanted to take.
At the end of last year I knew I was going to get back on this now…so I didn’t worry about it for my time in Orlando and Iceland and ended up just breaking 215.
I was listening to the book Change Anything and it gave me a really cool framework that I wanted to try to finally get back down to where I want to be (170 pounds… really it’s under 20% bodyfat) and I am hoping to use this journal to help me and to help you the reader make the change(s) you have always struggled with.
This isn’t about surviving the first few easy days. It’s about installing the skills, habits, and mindsets now that will still hold when this stops being exciting and starts being inconvenient. To finally make this change stick.
I’ve run a marathon, I’ve done 75 hard (multiple times), I’ve walked for 12 hours straight, I’ve done everything I have set my mind to…and kept most of it going…except for my weight.
So whatever YOUR biggest need to change is – I hope this helps! We are going to start going day by day and then it will probably move to week to week…we will see how it goes.
I hope you will enjoy the journey along with me.
Day 1 – Personal Motivation The Concept
Personal motivation isn’t what gets you started. Almost everyone is motivated on Day 1. Personal motivation is what still works months from now when progress slows, the scale stalls, and no one cares anymore. If your motivation only functions when things are easy, it’s not motivation. It’s momentum.
The Question
When this stops being new, when doing what you have always done is easier, why am I still doing this? Why not backslide? What facts and realities will matter enough to override comfort and short-term pleasure?
My Answer
Today wasn’t hard, and that’s exactly why today matters. I know how to start. I’ve lost 50+ pounds before…multiple times. That’s kind of the problem. The failure point has never been the first few weeks. It’s been staying consistent once the novelty wears off and the rewards become less obvious.
The motivation that actually holds up for me isn’t aesthetic. It’s mechanical and long-term. Every extra pound I carry right now isn’t just “weight.” It multiplies. With walking, each pound of bodyweight translates to roughly 2 to 3 pounds of force through the knees with every step. With running, that number can jump to 4 to 6 pounds of force per pound of bodyweight. That means being 45 pounds over where I want to be isn’t just 45 extra pounds. It’s potentially 180 to 270 pounds of additional force hitting my knees and joints ever step…ten thousand or more times a day.
That’s not dramatic. That’s physics.
Future me doesn’t need motivational speeches. He needs reminders like this. Less weight means less joint stress, less fatigue, easier movement, and fewer limits on what I can do physically. Losing weight isn’t about restriction. It’s about removing drag from my body so everything else gets easier.
I also don’t want to normalize decline. I’ve watched older men, including people I love, talk about being old and frail like it’s just how things go. I don’t accept that as inevitable…or at least I want to push that date back as FAR as I can. I want to live long enough to see 2100 (I would be 112) and actually enjoy being alive while I’m here, as much as I can. That requires making decisions now that compound in the right direction.
I want to be able to play with my son and grandkid(s) and great grandkids. I want to be fun to be around and not be a physical burden on those I love and care for.
So my motivation isn’t urgency or fear of missing out. It’s trajectory. It’s choosing a version of my future where movement stays available to me instead of slowly disappearing. Day 1 isn’t about proving I can do this. It’s about locking in the reason I’ll come back to when this gets boring, frustrating, or slow.
This is the argument I’m building for my future me. Not feelings. Facts. And this entry is here to come back to WHEN it gets hard (hopefully not for at least a few weeks).
Today was easy. I went to the gym and it was shockingly not packed (I guess most people don’t start on the 1st…).
Next week, I will move to Personal Ability, where the question stops being “why does this matter” and becomes “do I actually have the skills and defaults in place to execute this when motivation alone isn’t enough.”
In the meantime make sure you have your answer to these questions:
When this stops being new, when doing what you have always done is easier, why am I still doing this? Why not backslide? What facts and realities will matter enough to override comfort and short-term pleasure?