My relationship with health and fitness wasn’t always a good one. To be honest, I never had great health and fitness education growing up. I remember my dad would come home from work and give me a big gulp of soda at night. At that age, I didn’t realize how much sugar that was or that it was causing me to gain weight. Fyi, that’s 80 grams of sugar at 312 calories.
Even when I tried to work out as a teenager, I was still a little chubby. The problem was I was trying to work out, but I didn’t have the proper nutrition to support it. This cycle continued until two key moments changed everything.
The Turning Point
The first major shift happened when I was in Dallas. My pastor at the time had us do a three-week fast. It wasn’t about starving ourselves; it was a gradual process of learning about our diet. The first week, we cut out sweets, sugars, and confectioneries. Next, we pulled out things like fast food and bread. He was showing us what was causing illnesses and inflammation.
After those weeks, I went from around 200 pounds to 180. I looked better. I felt better. But something was still missing.
The second turning point came on a trip with my older brothers. Looking at the pictures, it was so clear that I was the little brother. They worked out a lot, and I was just this skinny guy next to them. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was what some people now call “skinny fat.” At that moment, I told myself, “Never again.”
Simple Nutrition
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that you can’t out-work a bad diet. I started thinking about food in three simple categories, something I now teach my own kids.
- Muscle Food: These are your good, lean proteins like beef, chicken, and fish. Their purpose is to build muscle.
- Energy Food: This includes grains and veggies. You need lots of energy to do all the things in your life. If you eat too much, it gets stored in your body. If you don’t have enough, you feel lethargic.
- Junk Food: This is the fast food and the stuff packed with ingredients you can’t pronounce. As much as we can, we should avoid that.
Just understanding this breakdown gets you about 80% of the way there. But here’s the other key: calories matter. No matter how “clean” you eat, if you consistently consume more calories than you burn, you’ll gain weight. On the flip side, if you want to lose fat, you have to maintain a caloric deficit—eating fewer calories than your body uses. Tracking calories, even for a short season, can be eye-opening. You quickly realize how easy it is to overshoot, and how powerful small changes can be when you create a sustainable deficit.
Proper nutrition really is the foundation. Once I understood that food fuels my body and muscle protects my future, everything about my health started to shift.
Why I Lift
I’ve tried different forms of exercise, and while walking and running absolutely have their place for heart health and mental clarity, I discovered that the real turning point for me came with strength training. I grew up around a retirement community and saw firsthand how fragile life can become when muscle mass fades away—a small slip or fall could mean a broken bone and a long recovery. That made me realize: muscle isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about resilience.
When I started lifting consistently, I put on nearly 30 pounds—mostly muscle. More importantly, my daily life changed. I used to feel pain in my back and knees just from carrying my child up the stairs. Now, because squats are a non-negotiable part of my week, I can carry my kids, give piggyback rides, and move through life without that constant discomfort. Strength training didn’t just reshape my body—it gave me back my freedom of movement.
My Workout Tool
The worst feeling is showing up to the gym and not knowing what to do. That’s why I use an app called Fitbod. It takes all the guesswork out of the equation and designs a workout for you based on your goals, how much time you have, and what equipment is available.
The best part is how it helps you progress. If I did dumbbell curls with 10 pounds today, Fitbod remembers that. Next week, it will push me to try 15 pounds. It even asks for feedback after a set to see if the weight was too light or too heavy, then adjusts the plan accordingly. It also has videos to show you the correct form, so it removes the fear of doing an exercise wrong.
My Advice
If you feel intimidated about starting, I get it. My advice is simple. First, if you can, go with a friend or a partner. My wife Charrisse and I work out together, and it’s become quality time for us. Having that encouragement makes a huge difference.
Second, have a plan before you walk in. The worst feeling is showing up and not knowing what to do. That’s why I use an app called Fitbod. It takes away the confusion and tells me exactly what to do.
Finally, don’t be intimidated by other people at the gym. The person you see lifting heavy weights didn’t just get there yesterday. They’ve been at it for years, and they started from the same place you are now. Use them as inspiration, not as a reason to feel discouraged.
Conclusion
My journey to fitness was about shifting my mindset from simply losing weight to building real, functional strength. It started with understanding basic nutrition and was fueled by the desire to live a more resilient and active life for myself and my family. The goal isn’t just to be fit, but to be strong enough to handle whatever life throws at you.
Key takeaways:
- You can’t out-work a bad diet — proper nutrition is the foundation.
- Think of food in three categories: muscle food, energy food, and junk food.
- Lifting builds resilience and strength for everyday life, not just appearance.
- Consistency and having a clear plan make it easier to stick with fitness.
- Everyone starts somewhere — don’t compare your beginning to someone else’s years of progress.
Building a healthy lifestyle is a marathon, not a sprint. The key is to start with a foundation of good nutrition, find a workout plan that removes the guesswork, and remember that everyone begins somewhere. It’s about consistency and the decision to do the hard things that lead to a better life.