He Lost 200 Pounds Twice. Why This Time Feels Different w/ Jess Perreca Jr.

Jess Perreca joins Ana Reisdorf to share his powerful personal story of obesity, massive weight loss, regain, bariatric surgery, and what finally feels different in this season of his life with GLP-1 support. He opens up about growing up with obesity, reaching nearly 600 pounds, losing more than 200 pounds twice, and the emotional patterns that kept pulling him backward. Jess also explains why one of the biggest changes hasn’t just been the weight loss itself, but the relief from pain, inflammation, and swelling that has made everyday life feel more manageable. This is an honest conversation about food noise, emotional eating, shame, persistence, and what it looks like to keep going even after setbacks. 

About Our Guest 

Jess Perreca Jr. is the creator of Time4Change365 and Everyday Ascend, where he shares an honest look at weight loss, mindset, and what sustainable change really takes. After reaching a high of 588 pounds, Jess lost well over 200 pounds, experienced regain, and recommitted to his health with structure, accountability, and transparency. His journey has included bariatric surgery, GLP-1 medication, and the ongoing mental battle with food noise, shame, and consistency that so many people living with obesity understand firsthand. A husband, father of two, and full-time IT professional, Jess now uses his platforms to encourage others to keep moving forward and become 1% better each day. 

Guest Links 

Instagram: @time4change365

Instagram: @everydayascendco 

Website: everydayascend.com

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*The content of this show is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. The goal of this show is to provide various points of view about GLP-1 Medications. The personal and professional opinion of the guests and their content does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Ana Reisdorf or GLP-1 Hub.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

It's it's just it's been a godsend for me. What it has done for me as far as the inflammation and the swelling that I had in my legs alone, I would take that and the pain reduction and just in the every day, day to day. I would take that over the weight loss. If you told me that that was all that it was going to do for me, I would have, you know, I would have signed up.

SPEAKER_02 0:23

Welcome to the GLP1 Hub Podcast. I'm Anna Reisdorf, registered dietitian, GLP1 user. My guest today, Jess Perika, peaked at nearly 600 pounds and lost 200 pounds twice, but kept finding himself back in the same fight. In this episode, he shares why GLP1 finally changed the game, what weight regain really feels like, and why the relief from pain and inflammation alone made this journey worth it. If this episode helps you, please leave a quick review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and share your thoughts in the comments if you're watching on YouTube. Now let's get on to the episode. Looking to explore options for long-term health and wellness? Check out Brello Health. Brello Health offers wellness care plans for women that focus on longevity and overall wellness. Through their platform, you can learn about programs like GLP1 and NAD Plus therapies under the guidance of medical providers. All care is provided online, giving you a convenient way to discuss your options with a health care provider. Visit Brello Health today to explore available wellness care plans and take the first step towards learning more about your health. Disclaimer: any information provided is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. It is not a substitute for professional medical consultation, diagnosis, or treatment. All patients must consult with a healthcare provider prior to the prescription or dispensing of any medication which will be done only pursuant to a valid prescription. Compounded drug products are not FDA approved and the FDA does not evaluate their safety, effectiveness, or quality. Patients are encouraged to discuss the risks, benefits, and appropriateness of any medication, including compounded products, with their healthcare provider before use. All right, I want to welcome today Jess Perica to the GLP1 Hub podcast. He is here to share his personal story with weight loss and GLP1 and how all that has turned into a brand new business or two businesses, maybe a bunch of different things for his life. And I think that you are the first man to come share your story on the podcast. There have given guests that are that are men, you know, obviously physicians and different people, but I think you're you're the first one who's like sharing a personal story.

SPEAKER_01 2:49

That's perfect. There should be more of us that want to step up and actually join the club because uh I think it's very important to get a met this perspective from us men and this community. I think it's I think it's very, very important.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

I've been trying to get my father-in-law to come on because he's hilarious, but he's afraid he's gonna upset the people because he's maybe hilarious in an off-color sort of way. Anyway, so can you tell us a little bit about kind of your journey, where where all this started, where the your weight loss journey began?

SPEAKER_01 3:21

Absolutely. Uh I mean, we we can we can take it way back. So I've been yeah, I've been obese since the age of that I can early remember as six years old. You know, there's pictures of me at six years old in the sitting crisscross applesauce in the dining room with a loaf of bread all to myself and taking a big chunk out of it. Now, probably it was a picture that was a joke or whatever, but it just puts it into perspective years later, you know, and then you know, going all through my, you know, younger years and to junior high and to high school, I was always the biggest kid and then became a you know the biggest person in the room. You know, I was very athletic as far as sports were concerned. So if I didn't, you know, if I wasn't playing sports, I was, you know, a whole cliche of like, you know, don't come home until the lights, you know, the street lights come on. Always on my bike, always in the neighborhood, always somewhere on a ball field playing football, skip ball, baseball, whatever it may be. Um, but when I came home, there was always food that was, you know, available, you know, and um I grew up in a family, so I'm 50%, you know, uh Irish and 50% Italian. So if you can take those two mixes, my mom grew up on a farm and my, you know, basically she grew up with heads being cut off, you know, chickens, but so we we had a lot of fried food in our house thrown up. So that was a big, a big thing as well. And it just later on that turned into just it it snowballed for me. Um seconds were always a thing. I never knew how to clear my plate, well, I guess I knew how to clear my plate, but never knew how to say that enough was enough. Go into my adulthood and where things kind of took for the worst, I found myself always battling obesity in a sense that I I always was in a challenge for myself of trying to lose weight, no matter what diet, no matter what I specifically tried, I tried everything from the Atkins, from any any type of diet that you that you can come up with. I probably exhausted all options in that diet. Fast forward to 2017, I found myself in the hospital with ulcers on both of my legs. Oh my god. And this was, yeah, this was the first time for me that I ever I I thought I was immortal. And I never thought that I would let my weight get bigger than what I could handle or control. And that was a sign in the hospital, excruciating pain. And I was saying to myself, I'm either going to become permanently disabled or I'm not gonna be here much longer. And the uh emergency doctor that was on staff that night, he came to my bedside after they had cleaned my wounds and everything and tried to get me comfortable. He said, Jess, you should really look into our bariatric program here. And in the past, I was this far away many years prior to that, of almost having the lap band surgery. But I had got laid off from my job, so insurance was cut off for me. And I would say that I am grateful that that happened because I probably now knowing and and being educated, I I I would not have wanted to have the lap an anabomical surgeries. And, you know, so I would elect to have the ruin why, you know, gastric bypass in the surgery. Lost significant amount of weight. And at my heaviest, I was 588 pounds, so almost 600 pounds. Lost about 240, 260 pounds, and and and where those had issues during COVID, I actually flourished. I did really well. Um, but fast forward to 2023, I had a really bad relapse type year. It was a really bad year for me. Um, and I had put the weight and basically gained back. And then fast forward again, you know, I would go back and do it again and lose another, you know, that you know, 200 pounds. But I've lost like 200 pounds twice. And all these others, if you add the 50, 60 over the course of years, I mean, I should be a toothpick. But, you know, it's all relative and everything to, you know, where we are, you know, now, um, because I've always struggled, and the struggle was always so real for me that when the opportunity came up, that GLPs started to kind of make their way. And and I was reluctant at first, again, to try to try something new because I was like, what uh what am I gonna do if I fail? And I would go to this last conference for the Obesity Action Coalition, going there and listening to, because that's one of the greatest conferences as far as the education that comes out of that. So you you really learn so much while you're there, and you have so many different resources to tap into and talk to. Well, a lot of that I went there for the main reason of I need to walk out of here educating myself because if insurance covers a GLP one for me, that is where I would like to go next. Um, and it just so happens that my insurance, thank God, does you know, cover it.

SPEAKER_02 8:20

Awesome.

SPEAKER_01 8:21

Yeah, yeah. So for so many, I feel so bad for those that either have to come totally out of pocket or just don't have the means to be able to do it. So I'm very blessed and I'm very grateful in that. Um and I've been doing that since September, and um I've lost another 65 pounds.

SPEAKER_02 8:38

September of 2025?

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 8:40

Super responder.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

Yeah. So well, not trying to boast at all or whatever, but maybe just a little bit. It's it's just it's been a godsend for me. I would take what it has done for me as far as the inflammation and just the swelling that I had in my legs alone. I would take that and the pain reduction and just in the every day, day to day, I would take that over the weight loss. If you told me that that was all that it was going to do for me, I would have, you know, hanged up. Yeah, I mean, I know I know I stretched that out a little long there, but that's kind of just the the yeah, that's the gist of you know kind of where I've where I've gone, and there's obviously the in-betweens, you know, from that.

SPEAKER_02 9:21

So when you were a child, was your family struggling with weight? Were you the only one? Did they try to help you out with the weight at all?

SPEAKER_01 9:30

Or yeah, the only one in my family that really um did not uh suffer really with his weight was my brother, my older brother. Um he always seemed to be the one that um kind of went through his um younger years without really having to struggle with that. Fast forward for him now, him and I have a very we we had a different type of relationship as far as like support that I had in the household. My my mother, my father supported. My brother, on the other hand, was one to um he would take the approach of you don't need medication if you just you know stop eating as much as you're eating, if you work out more. He had to move more, you know, eat less type ment mentality. Fast for today, where he, you know, struggles himself, there's a lot more as we've gotten older, a more appreciation for each other and a more understanding of how much of a struggle, you know, that it really is. Age will do that to you, you know, because you know, it just things things change and and progress differently for each individual person as the years go on. So, you know, you become, you know, a husband, you become a father. And like even for myself, I am I am, you know, a husband and a father of two girls, 15 and 12. And uh I wouldn't have it any other way. And I've always tried to preach and still put good habits into their minds of just to set the example. I I don't want the same life that I had for them by any so trying to do this as early on as possible because they've they've seen me at they've seen that that nearly, you know, 600 pounds, and they've also seen me be successful in losing your weight as well.

SPEAKER_02 11:15

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SPEAKER_01 12:39

Sure. Obviously, I I have this phrase and quote that I like to use, and it's stop making life your excuse, make life the reason. And it's life gets in the way. Life has a lot of different twists and turns. Um, and it will I am an emotional eater and I am a bored eater as well. So if I have routine and I find myself busy with something, it will I will avoid the temptations because it takes my mind for the most part off of it. As far as the GLP1 concerned, it's really taking my mind off throughout the whole you know, day now. So but it it it's always been obviously a struggle for me, but I will also contribute it to when I was a younger, about 11 or 12, I there was a gentleman locally uh in our area that had lost over, I think it was almost to the tune, he like almost lost 600 pounds total. And oh yeah, it was a whole big thing in the news. Um, and he wanted to, at the time, he wanted to help and give back to kids in the community because his kind of his mindset was I wish that I would have had someone that mentored when I was a kid. The problem with all this and where I'm going is is we would me and these and other children would be in this program. We would, you know, all have very good success. We would go, we would meet once a week, we would, you know, play different sports, trade baseball cards. I mean, anything and everything, just and and he would have different meal plans for us to follow. And all of us were doing great. We would take that home. We were working with our parents. It was something that just was very it it rejuvenated me at a time that I needed it when I when I was a kid. I had lost maybe 50, 60 pounds during the course of like doing this, and things were just going really, really well for me. And then all of a sudden, he stopped showing up to the our meetings each week. And we started asking questions, and the first couple of times it was, oh, he just couldn't make it, he just couldn't make it. Well, the third or fourth time, it's kind of like getting old with what's going on. Well, come to find out that he he turned in working with us and mentoring us because he was being approached for book deals, and then he also put out a like at that time back then, like a$99 to program. So the greed and everything with his story kicked in and devastated me more than I can explain even till this day. So where I was going with all this is I feel like when you said, what is it maybe that derailed or or or I have this thing where I call it success abandonment. And I feel like it may be another form of like self-sabotage sometimes too, where I think I get to a point to where, and I'm not sure I really know that what I feel the term of success really is when it comes to weight loss. I don't think you ever really like achieve that because it's a lifelong thing. And and I think it's till the mindset figures out that it's gonna be a lifelong thing. Like when I had my gastric bypass surgery, I really was naive to the fact that I thought I was gonna have the surgery, I was gonna lose all the weight, and then boom, it was gonna be done. I wasn't gonna have to work for it anymore. Oh my god. Well, I I beat myself up every day because because of that. What really that success abandonment, you know, comes from that childhood, you know, moment where I just think, now, prior to that, as far as the obesity is concerned and where it came from, I grew up in a loving household. There was no abuse, no nothing underlining of that. It was just I was a product of my environment. And I really believe that because of the food that we ate and and the habits that we took around that food. And that just carried me from me being a child up until my adult life. And even in my, you know, you know, current, you know, situation now. There's still times where it's like I always feel like even going to a, you know, it's very much different now, but just going to a restaurant, feeling like I have to eat every single piece of, you know, meat, whatever anything that's on my plate, I feel like it has to be gone. Like, oh my God, I'm going out to dinner, I'm paying a lot of money for this meal. I don't like leftovers. All of those things kind of just go through through my mind. But yeah, the success abandonment part of it is very real with me. It's still something that I struggle with, you know, even today. But I do feel like I've made a very big turn in that. And and I don't know if it's the GLP, I don't know if it's just maturity in myself, but I I recognize things a lot more than I did in the past when things are starting to kind of roll into like bad habits or or I'm starting that temptation starting to come back in. Sure. I can I can dial it back and kind of understand. I can look at the things that are going on in my life at that time and kind of write them down on a piece of paper, check them off, and say, hey, we need to fix this, we need to fix this because this is what's going on right now. Where I didn't really have that or was using that tool for myself previously.

SPEAKER_02 17:53

Right. So what are some of the habits that the GLP one is making easier, maybe these mindset things? Like what are some of the things that have changed?

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Yeah. Um, I am not finding myself thinking about food as much as it's more of like uh I'm eating food as a necessity now to make sure that I'm getting my protein in. It's very weird now. I don't I don't have this mindset of going and looking for the the snacks or anything like that. When I do feel hungry, the first thing I want to eat is so weird because I I I I want the protein and I crave the protein more than I do anything else that's on that's on the plate. Very, very weird. Not taking it like I'm not I'm not saying it's a bad thing for me at all. It's actually the greatest thing that's actually come out of all of this. And as far as the temptation to recognizing, knowing that I can still have something if I want it, where I think like in previous, I would totally avoid having anything at all, you know, or I would have too much of it because I didn't really know how to judge one way or the other, you know. So there can be things in front of me or placed in front of me. I can be around the food. I don't have to feel like I have to avoid anything anymore, and that's the greatest thing. As an example, birthdays or types of events where stuff is going to be there that's very different. A Super Bowl party, a birthday, New Year's, you know, New Year's Eve party, maybe Christmas time, all those holidays and everything that comes in here, you know, food is an essential part of those, you know, those events, and it's always going to be there. And that goes back to my whole the whole life philosophy. It's like life is life, and it's that I I can't make that stuff go away. I just have to learn how to adapt to it all. And the GLP one has really changed my mind, rewired some stuff in that that has been proved very positive.

SPEAKER_02 19:47

So, what about exercise? Have you incorporated any exercise? You said you used to be very active as a child.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

Yeah, it's few and far. It's not as much as I would like to be honest with you. Prior to me gaining back the second part of this 200 pounds and like losing again, during that stretch of time after having my surgery in 2017 up until 2024, I was a very avid. I picked up in the love of the game of golf. And I golfed more times and went on different trips and and out of state and just, you know, I mean, golf was a very big part. And I I lost a little bit of that and now the urge and everything. I think as I gained some of the weight, I knew that it was going to be hard for me to go back on a golf course again. I do know that I have to get myself into the into the gym. I know that the mu losing the muscle mass is a big thing when it comes to the GLP ones. And I'm keeping pretty good track on that with some of the the tools that I'm using to dial in on on my weight and that type of thing. Is it a is it a cause for concern? Yes. Do I need to have the exercise in there? Yeah. I even call myself out on that. And it's not a time thing. It's I can make time for it. Um, I just have to, I just really have to not let life life get in the way and actually incorporate it into my, you know, routine.

SPEAKER_00 21:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

It's more so that more so more so than it is right now. I mean, I walk like crazy and that's but but that's I I know at the end of the day that that's that's not enough for what I Right.

SPEAKER_02 21:15

Right. For the muscle and everything. So what about side effects? Have you had any side effects from the GLP one?

SPEAKER_01 21:19

Short of a little bit of the constipation here and there. I have had knock on wood, no nausea or anything like that. If you want to call it a side effect, one thing that has creeped up since I've been taking the GLP one is I have I have better sleep, but I have very, very vivid dreams. And I tend to wake up remembering in very vivid detail those dreams. I don't know if that is something, I don't know if that's just me getting better sleep. I don't know if it is a side effect from I've I've done a little bit of research just trying to just trying to find out about that, but um nothing that really others, there's been some Reddit forums that I've read where others were like, oh yeah, my dream. Dreams have, you know, not not nothing bad, nothing bad as far as dreams or anything like that. Um, but just vi just vivid, like very, very like I can come out of a deep sleep and then recount what had happened that night as far as dreams are concerned. Something just kind of kind of goofy in my own set, but hey.

SPEAKER_02 22:19

I'm gonna add that. I'm I'm thinking about doing a little video on uh weird GLP one side effects. I'll add that. I'll add that to it because there's like weird things that people keep telling me, like, what is that about, right? I don't I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 22:31

I can't I can't explain it. It's not, you know, if if it were, I think I would cause more attention to it if they were bad dreams, but but it hasn't been that. So it's just been one of those things that I've not was not noticed until I started taking the GLP one.

SPEAKER_02 22:46

Sure. So tell me about the change in your professional life, or I don't know if it was a change or this new everyday ascend, and then you've got another platform where you talk about inspirational stuff for people.

SPEAKER_01 22:56

So I'll start with so a time for change 365 is my um account for I will say it's the the um my weight loss journey side of my social media, you know, platform. Um but it's also uh my account for advocacy for obesity and just causing awareness, making sure, you know, I'm just causing awareness to weight stigma, that type of thing. It's very important to me. I am an active member of the OAC as well as other, you know, and so it's important to me that knowing that there's other Jesses that are out there. And this goes back to the very beginning of us when we started talking about men and making sure that men are I am I am there to support the the men in this community because they're they're out there, they're there, but there's a lot more that I just wish would speak up about their journey, and not just speak up, but but share it a lot more than than what they do. And and sometimes it needs to be done privately, but just to even if they share it, you know, privately so that they someone will listen to them, I think that's the hardest thing is we keep a lot of things inside, and I'm one of those, and I I've I've had that challenge, you know, way back when. But I I I think things got better for me when I decided to maybe put a little bit and and and you come out and put it on display that I I battle with this each and every day. And if I can just touch one person and help them and just have a voice when maybe they don't have or they can't say really what they want to say, or even as I explain some of my past experiences and they resonate with that because oh my God, I'm going through the same thing. It's it's amazing the individuals that will reach out to you and just ask, or they check up on you. One thing that I will say is like, what if you're following someone on social media, the most important time to really pay attention and reach out is when they go, if they've been active, when they go silent, they go silent for too long, just check, just check in on it. How are you doing? What's going on, just check in on it because I will say, even from myself, from past experience, you know things are bad with me when I stop showing up. That's that part of it for time for change. But um and then my other side, and I this whole like I'm really playing on my comeback story as far as like this, this has really stemmed into me having the philosophy, the mindset of being just one percent better than I was the day before. And and and from that was always like, if I just get one percent better, if I just do something a little bit better than I did the day before, and I just ascend further each and every day, um I'm gonna be successful. And from that, I just woke up one day with a vision of I am going to start everyday ascend, which is my it is a mindset lifestyle brand that but is a clothing company. But it's more yeah, it's it's more so of me wanting to build a community, but wanting to reach out reach people that are just trying to, whether it's in health and wellness, whether it's in their career, whether it's in them just trying to find something to better themselves, just just to be part of that one percent better mindset. I call it the one percent better club, but it's it's what I promote just to for them to have there's a sense of like I feel like a sense of purpose going forward now. And that's why I've created Everyday Sin. It's been very, very successful for me. And the early on stages, I um building a brand is hard, I will say that. Just building your own personal brand or building any type of brand is hard. But I've this has been something that has helped me even in the weight loss starting as a whole. Right. And I say that because it goes back to me saying, like, if I found things that made me busy, then it took my like getting an office space, building out this office, building out wanting to do more content, wanting to do just like these are things that I probably would not have really tried to do. And even at a fast pace or that I'm trying to do now, where in previous I just really I took a lot of things for granted, I will say.

SPEAKER_02 27:06

Sure, sure. So the community piece of it, I mean, it's like clothing, like you could go to the website and buy clothes, right? But how is the community part of it work?

SPEAKER_01 27:15

So that's where, like I was saying, my one the 1% better, you know, mindset 1% better club. So I like to showcase individuals that, and I'll just go whether you call it the doom scrolling or just going through, even individuals that reach out to me and just want to be featured. I I will promote those that I see, whether they're working out in the gym, whether they are an entrepreneur themselves, just trying to better themselves. One of the biggest things that I am promoting in 2026 and going forward is I'm not looking at the comparison piece where I used to do this in previous. I'm not looking at the competition piece. Everyone deserves to win. That's how I feel. No matter what you are doing, everyone, everyone deserves. I just want to see everyone winning at what they're aspiring, what they're what they're just trying to do, you know, and whatever that may be in their lives.

SPEAKER_00 28:06

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 28:07

As opposed to, you know, just the negativity and just finding finding, you know, finding something wrong with what someone's doing. It's it's all cringe until it works. So and and that's just the funny thing about it is everyone will they'll they'll say stuff, they'll whether it's just having it's trying to really release and get rid of any of that negative type of attitude that that individuals have. And I just I really don't want, nor do I need or have a place for that in my life. And that's it's a big step, even for myself. But if I can project that, then I know people will really see and understand exactly what it is that I that I am trying to do with every day.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

So sure. So I think I think we definitely need more positivity in this world. It's a good anything that's uh going towards positive direction, I think is a good thing. Um, so where can people find out about both pieces of that and uh connect with you?

SPEAKER_01 29:02

Yeah, so on Instagram is pretty much where I am most active for both accounts. Time for change 365 is my and the the four is the number four. So time for change three six five. And that is my weight loss journey. I, you know, I do weekly updates, GLP1 updates on what is going on. And then my other side, where you know it's for everyday ascend, that's everyday ascend co and that's on Instagram as well. And then my website is just everydayascend.com, and then that's where I have my my founder's blog where I talk about different things that are going on, but also is is where any of the the clothing that I have that's going on right now, and it's it's it's rooted and based. You'll find that it there's some Detroit love in there just because of where I'm from, but there's there's a part in there and there's a piece for everyone. And just all I ask is that you just reach out to me. If there's something that I can do to help with anybody in any any aspect, um, if it's just to say hi, if it's just because you need, you know, an ear, I always tell people, just use me because I want to be there for you. And it's there's no, there's never any, you know, commitment. There's never, as far as my side is I will always be there for anybody that needs needs a needs a hand and someone to support them because that's all I ever wanted in this when I was going through even my my toughest times and just any time really from the start of my journey is I always think that community comes first and the support is so, so important. Without that, it's there's there's so many of us that know that you can't you have to put in the work alone by yourself, but you can't do this. Sure. And that's that's that's the biggest thing.

SPEAKER_02 30:46

Awesome. Well, thank you so much for being here, Jess. I really, really appreciate you sharing your story so bravely and and your support and this community that you're growing. I think we could all use a little uh positivity and help.

SPEAKER_01 30:56

Yeah, no, Anna, thank you so much. I appreciate you having me and and uh look forward to uh speaking with you and and hopefully at one of these conferences and yeah, I'm I hope our paths you know cross not so virtually in the real life too.

SPEAKER_02 31:09

Yes, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 31:10

No problem. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_02 31:11

Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the GLP1 Hub podcast. Just this story is so inspiring, and I'm really grateful that he was willing to come on to talk to us about it. If you want to stay in touch and learn about everything that's going on in the GLP1 hub and also get some advice from me about your weight loss journey, I send a newsletter every Tuesday. It's called the Steady State Newsletter, in which I share all sorts of nutrition information, updates on what's going on in the GLP 1 world, and more. And you can find the link to sign up for that in the show notes. And I will see you in the next episode.