From Rock Bottom to Stronger – Our Story Begins

In the very first episode of Battle Scars & Belly Laughs, Jonathan and his wife Amy sit down together for the raw, honest, and often hilarious story that started it all.

Jonathan opens up about what life was really like at his heaviest — the mental battles, physical struggles, and the breaking point that forced him to change. Amy shares what it was like on the other side: watching the man she loves fight through 170+ pounds of weight loss while keeping their marriage strong.

You’ll hear the lowest of the low moments, the turning points, the ridiculous setbacks, and the unexpected laughs that helped carry them through. This isn’t just another weight loss story — it’s about resilience, humor in the hard times, and proving that you can come out stronger on the other side.

If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or like your best days were behind you, this episode is for you.

Welcome to Battle Scars & Belly Laughs.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's your name? Greek canvas. What's your name? Greek. What are you doing? Why are you still holding back? Have you forgotten what they said to us? What they did. They think you're lost. Fight. They think you're soft, homie. They think you're weak. They don't respect you. They look at you and they see fear. They see mediocrity. You're the one they pointed laugh at. And it's been like this for so fking long, it's about time you flip that switch. You got two choices in this life. You either accept the cards you've been dealt and let life beat the bit out of you. You dig your heels in and you fight the f back.

SPEAKER_02 0:47

You fight the fuck back. Man. What an intro. Welcome to Battle Scars and Belly Laughs. Um this sounds really loud. Why is it so loud, Amy?

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Um, I don't know. Can you hear me?

SPEAKER_02 1:02

Yeah, well, bear with us, guys, because I think my mic is too loud, actually. There you go, I fixed it. Uh, this is part of doing this again. It's uh oh, welcome to Battle Scars and Belly Laughs. Uh, I'm Jonathan, and with me is Amy.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

Hi, my name's Amy. I'm Jonathan's wife, and I'll be your co-host.

SPEAKER_02 1:20

Oh, well, there you go. Uh, you just spoiled the news. Uh, yeah, so bear with me. I used to do this a few years ago, and I'm just trying to get back into it, and decided after a year of paying for a subscription for Buzzprout to do something, uh, what better time than to do it now, right? Um, so um yeah, I mean, it's gonna talk about uh my journey, which is which is pretty crazy. Um, you know, from rock bottom struggle battles that I'd had being overweight and uh you know having fun with it at the same time. Because I know, you know, I can't be the only one that's uh going through this or have gone through it. And you know, what better person to have with me doing this than you know my wife Amy, who's been a part of my life for over 20 years now, and she's seen me practically hit rock bottom. So uh yeah, I mean it's uh you know, you have to find uh the funny and the struggle, I guess, at the end of the day, right?

SPEAKER_01 2:23

Yeah, I definitely agree with that.

SPEAKER_02 2:25

Yeah, so uh like I said, I I did this a few years ago, did it with a buddy, uh, had a long run, good times, but uh never really wanted to like get back into it. But recently I've been on this crazy journey. Uh I guess I'll start like I was, you know, over 380 pounds at one point, which is disgusting. And um, you know, I've lost over 170 pounds, so I can, you know, I'm pretty damn near 200 pounds now, which is pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_01 2:54

But like how many people? Two people?

SPEAKER_02 2:56

Oh my god. I mean, yeah, it really is. You think about it, right? Like uh 170 pounds is is definitely a lot more than what you weigh. So think of like uh I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 3:10

Two children?

SPEAKER_02 3:11

No. What kind of children are 170 pounds? Those are fat kids.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

I said two children.

SPEAKER_02 3:16

Two kids, two children, they're those are some fat kids. Okay, like how old are you talking?

SPEAKER_01 3:21

I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 3:22

I mean preteens, tall kids. Tall kids? No, those are some fat kids if they're 170 pounds preteen.

SPEAKER_01 3:30

Maybe they're buff kids.

SPEAKER_02 3:31

Maybe trend kids.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Trend kids.

SPEAKER_02 3:35

That's a thing, right? Uh, but yeah, so you know, we started this or I started this because I wanted to talk about it because it's not easy uh going from uh you know being someone that you know, really I was thinking about this the other day. I I I didn't care, and I should have cared more when I was a bigger guy, right? I was out eating whatever we wanted or I wanted, I was drinking, not like I was an alcoholic, but I would have alcoholic beverages.

SPEAKER_01 4:03

And every weekend out partying, drinking, socializing.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

Well, you made it sound really bad.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

Uh well it was, it was pretty bad. It was pretty, pretty wild.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

Yeah, but like I said, those are those are some fun times. Uh but yeah, I've I'm I think I'm like eight months sober now. I know you've joined me on that train too.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

Yeah, but I've been I think two years now sober at least.

SPEAKER_02 4:29

Really?

SPEAKER_01 4:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 4:30

Wow. I should pay attention more.

SPEAKER_01 4:32

Well, you didn't know.

SPEAKER_02 4:34

No, I mean I was just kind of focusing on myself. So sorry. No, uh yeah, so I guess really what comes down to it is I I had a health scare a couple years ago, and when I was going through this process, the doctors were telling me that I was overweight and that they really couldn't do anything about you know me being overweight. And so, you know, a lot of people think this is cheating, but you know, I I had to make the decision to have, you know, gastric sleep surgery, which I you know, I I don't talk about much, but it was it was something that I needed to do. And like I said, people might think that's that's cheating in a way, but you know, I don't I don't think so. I mean it it was difficult. The the process, if if any of you have done it or are looking to do it, I mean they they want you to lose a significant amount of weight before you do it, which I did. And then going into it, I mean the liquid diets, the the the preparation for it, the it's a scary surgery.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

The recovery. The recovery is serious, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:44

The recovery was pretty rough. It was um it was worth it, but it was it was scary at the same time because who wants to be cut open, right? Like it Oh, I remember the removing what 80% of your stomach? Yeah, so I you know I got I think I got down to like 335 at the time of my surgery, and then throughout this was like March of What was your start weight? 380 something.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 6:10

How did you not know?

SPEAKER_01 6:12

I was just saying, because you said it like everybody knows.

SPEAKER_02 6:14

Yeah, no, I said in the beginning, I thought it was over 380 pounds, uh, which is like I said, disgusting. And uh, you know, going what we're saying is that like I, you know, I didn't really care, right? Like you're you're a certain way, and this is what it is, and made excuses and just living your life, living my life, uh not thinking about it, not worrying about it. It was tough because this is the funny part, right? Like, is it's traveling. Who wants to fucking fly next to a fat guy? You know what I mean? Like, I I'd had people, and I don't, I mean, I may have told you or something that like groaned and moaned like when they had to sit next to me. And I had to travel, right? Like, there was no way around it. And you know, looking back, I was just kind of like, well, fuck you then. Like, if you don't want to sit next to me, that's not my problem, right? Like, right, yeah, but now that I've skin now, yeah, it's I'm big boned. Uh it's funny because like now I try still travel and I don't want to sit next to that guy. It's it's terrible. Like it's it, it's it's it's horrible. And I feel for those people because maybe they're going through something. Like they always say, like, maybe you're going through a hard time or depression or whatever, but I don't feel like I was.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

I don't think most of America is dear.

SPEAKER_02 7:31

What what do you mean? Like most of like statistically speaking, like going through like some sort of mental state.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

Well, I mean, yeah, but I mean like as far as weight, like most of the country is overweight.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

Okay, so do you think people like myself chose to be that way?

SPEAKER_01 7:47

You make a choice every day.

SPEAKER_02 7:49

I guess you're right.

SPEAKER_01 7:50

You gotta get up and make that choice.

SPEAKER_02 7:53

Yeah. So, you know, I now that I have lost a significant amount of weight, and we'll go through like that process too. It's it's crazy because like I'm so unhappy with the way I look. And I I you hear me all the time talk about it. And so it's it's rough, right? Like going through that process of just like the ups and downs and wearing I don't know what size pants I was. You said that you used to hate doing my laundry because you were almost a size 50. Gross.

SPEAKER_01 8:28

Yeah, gross.

SPEAKER_02 8:29

Yeah, but you know, a part of this is being vulnerable too in the process, and I've I've learned to like accept that and talk about it, which is you know, it's hard, it's not fun, but it's stumbling. It definitely is, and it also is a reminder of of what it used to be, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:47

So, you know, 4XL t-shirt because you know, I didn't want my belly button ring to show when I lifted up my my arms, right? Like, and going, you know, going from that size pants to now what a medium large, yeah, and then uh a large t-shirt, which is which is crazy. But you know, you lose all that weight and you think, like, oh my god, like you're so great. But no, like I said, like I'm so great. I don't know. I'm so unhappy with the way I look because of excess skin. And excess skin is is part of it, right? And it's like, fuck, man, like I would probably be another 15 pounds down if I didn't have that excess fat. So then you talk about the fact of like, oh man, I should have never got fat. And you know, I I'm pretty I don't know, I to I post stuff on my Instagram or whatever, and my stuff is public, and then people will sometimes write, like, oh, you shouldn't have shouldn't have got fat to begin with. And it's like, hey, dude, like fucking dude, I had a mirror, like you're telling me things that I know. So then, like, part of this is what I say is my journey, right? Yeah, everyone has their own journey, so you have to embrace it. So, you know, going from you know, uh, you know, I'm a big community advocate, still am, but going from taking care of everyone else around and making sure people are happy and have what they want to taking care of myself is like the best change I've ever had, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 10:06

And then, you know, I wouldn't say the best thing, because obviously marrying you, having two kids, like that's the best thing. Oh okay, don't get all weird. But like, man, like being being heavy, like I'm trying to remember of like all the times of like I broke like a wicker chair at your aunt's house, or like you know what I mean? Uh sorry, Anita, if you're listening. Um yeah, I mean, you you'd be scared sitting at at different chairs, or like going to different places or events, right? Or like, let's tell the story, right? Uh, since we're talking about all this stuff. SeaWorld, okay.

SPEAKER_01 10:43

Before kids, right? It was before kids.

SPEAKER_02 10:45

Do we have do we have kids yet or no? It was before kids. It was before kids. So SeaWorld had like that that um fucking roller coaster. And then it's funny because they have the seat of shame before you enter where you go in to line up. And it's like, okay, if your fat ass can fit in the seat, like you're good to go. I think I sat in it and I was like, all right, cool. I can force it down. I could force it down, right? But then we got on the ride, remember?

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_02 11:11

And they're like, sir, no, that's not okay. You're gonna fly into the the shamu thing on the roller coaster, and he's gonna think you're an elephant seal and he's gonna eat you. Right? Like that's essentially what it was. And they fucking embarrassed the shit out of me. And you know what I did? I turned it back on him. I said, You guys embarrassed you guys fat shamed me. I got where do we get a free pass or something? Yeah, we got a free pass. Hell yeah, we got a free pass. Uh, I'm not proud of that, but that's what I'm saying is like you don't care, then you feel sorry for yourself because you're embarrassed in that moment, right? And I had people around me, like my dad and different people are just like, Hey man, you gotta get your shit together. And I was like, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. And I'd go golfing, and then like by 13th hole, I'd be like, fuck, dude, I'm just gonna sit in the cart and drink a beer or whatever, right? Like, I'm just gonna chill. Um, but yeah, man, like those are like just horrible times of of being that way for so long. Like, we're talking so long. And when you met me, because we've been together for over 20 years, like I'm probably in better shape now than you met me when I was in high school.

SPEAKER_01 12:19

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:20

Fucking hey, dude. I'm in my prime. You know, we both turn 40.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

That's right.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

You both we both turn 40 next next month. And I what I tell you, I want to be in the best shape of my life by 40, and I think I'm getting pretty damn near close. And then, like, another thing is like sporting events. I love basketball games, I love hockey games, I love baseball. But man, those fucking seats are tiny, though they aren't for fat people.

SPEAKER_01 12:42

No, they're meant they're meant to pack everyone in.

SPEAKER_02 12:44

So, what I used to do was like purposely buy the aisle seat so that way half of my half of my fucking fat self would be in the aisle, right? Uh, and I'd walk down with my fucking popcorn and my icy drink and whatever else. Like, I don't know, looking back at that, like that's so like disgusting. It's so I don't know. I waited so long to make a change, but then you look back, or I look back, and I think, man, like if I didn't get sick, would I have made the the change?

SPEAKER_01 13:15

Right.

SPEAKER_02 13:16

Like, I don't know. What do you think?

SPEAKER_01 13:17

I don't know. I don't know. I think that that had a major um effect on why you made the change. It's definitely definitely forced you to.

SPEAKER_02 13:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:29

Like you said, you had to have the the gastric sleeve. It really wasn't like a matter of, oh, I want this to lose weight. It was like you need to lose weight, or there's nothing we can do for you.

SPEAKER_02 13:39

Yeah. Yeah, it's crazy. Like I think about that a lot more now that I'm like now that I'm going through this. That was very scary. I would say like I've gone through two phases of like this weight loss journey. And like that was like, I don't know. I'm I'm so glad I did it. Um, but I'm also like sad that I didn't do something about it sooner and waited till that point because you know when I was younger, I used to always joke, like, oh, I'm gonna turn 40 and that's it. Like, I'm gonna get to 40. And it's funny, I I was talking to someone else about this recently, and they're like, Yeah, you used to say that. And I'm like, fuck, I used to say that out loud.

SPEAKER_01 14:13

I'll be happy if I make it to 40.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

And then now that like I'm turning 40 in a month, and then I got two kids married, like I got so many good things. Like, now I want to live till I'm a hundred. So you're gonna have to. I gotta figure out what that guy, you know that we were about to turn on that show on Netflix or whatever. I was looking through and I was like, Have you heard of this guy? He's like spending millions of dollars trying to stay young. I don't want to do that, I just want to spend millions of dollars to stay fit. Uh, but I don't have millions of dollars.

SPEAKER_01 14:41

But yeah, you don't have to, you honestly don't have to. It's not that complicated.

SPEAKER_02 14:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:46

And it gets overcomplicated, and I think that's why people don't take that step, is because um they overcomplicate it in their minds to the point where they just give up. And they're like, it just is what it is.

SPEAKER_02 15:00

Man, how many fad diets do we do, like keto and fucking Oh, we've been doing diets like our whole life back and forth.

SPEAKER_01 15:07

Just try this, try that.

SPEAKER_02 15:09

Yeah, I gotta blame you for being fat though, because I fell in love and I was like, oh, this chick's not gonna go anywhere.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

It's uh this chick's not gonna go anywhere.

SPEAKER_02 15:19

I'm just joking. I'm just joking. Wow, kind of not really though. Wow. That was my thought. It was like, I'm fucking trapped her. If she leaves, I'll sit on her. Um, I'm just joking. But again, kind of not really. But yeah, like you you look at like being that big and then like the effects on like everything in your body, like your your heart. Like I was like, you know, going back even before that, finding out I was type 2 diabetic, and then eating those cutie oranges, and then ending up in the ICU for nine days, like practically that was only your first stint of finding you were only pre-diabetic at that point.

SPEAKER_01 16:00

Do you remember that? Yeah, you were pre-diabetic. Remember, like I and that was before we had Matthew. And then when I was about eight and a half months pregnant, almost ready to give birth to Matthew, you wound up in the ICU, and I was walking up and downstairs, going to the hospital and ICU, visiting you every day, hoping that I wasn't gonna be giving birth alone.

SPEAKER_02 16:26

Yeah. See, that's that's scares me down. Yeah, well, that should have been like the fucking first scare that like got me to do something, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:33

Yeah, but they th the doctors also make it so easy to just be like, we'll give you some medicine and make it make y'all better.

SPEAKER_02 16:40

Yeah, which is so crazy.

SPEAKER_01 16:41

Instead of like I don't know. I mean, I'm I really don't know what they would do.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

What do you mean?

SPEAKER_01 16:49

Honestly, like because you need like you have to have like a whole life change. Like you have to have a whole new mindset. Like this, you can't live your life like this anymore.

SPEAKER_02 16:57

Dude, it's crazy that I even scheduled that doctor's appointment to go. And then what did he say? Like, you need to go to the hospital right now. Like I had like what? No potassium, no sodium.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

Yeah, my and you had just came back from traveling that time, and you had lost like it was like 70 pounds, 70 pounds or something.

SPEAKER_02 17:15

Like real fast though, really fast. And I was like, hell yeah, dude.

SPEAKER_01 17:18

Within less than a month, and you thought, like, oh, this is cool.

SPEAKER_02 17:21

This bad diet's working, right? Meanwhile, I'm dying.

SPEAKER_01 17:24

Um, but why do I feel so terrible?

SPEAKER_02 17:26

Yeah, it was crazy. He's like, You need to go to the hospital now. He admitted me. It was the craziest thing, like going through that and then being in there. I was so scared, but I also wasn't at the same time, which is so weird. Like looking back at it now. I don't know, you saw me in there.

SPEAKER_01 17:42

Yeah, you were you seemed like you were in a lot of pain when you were in there.

SPEAKER_02 17:45

I was a lot of pain. I couldn't poop.

unknown 17:48

That's disgusting.

SPEAKER_02 17:49

But it's true. You remember that? I remember that, dude. I took like a two-hour poop.

SPEAKER_01 17:53

I came to visit you, and you're like, Don't come in here.

SPEAKER_02 17:55

Don't come in here. But that's like part of the the stuff. Like, and that's part of like what I said to be involved.

SPEAKER_01 18:01

And who wants to live a live your life like that? Like stuck in a hospital room, like not able to.

SPEAKER_02 18:07

Nine days not being able to poop. I pooped the last day, and they're like, You can leave, sir.

SPEAKER_01 18:11

You can't leave till you poop. All right, I'm just gonna sit here for a while.

SPEAKER_02 18:15

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 18:16

Ten days later.

SPEAKER_02 18:17

Yeah, yeah, it was a rough one. I don't know. I I I gave birth that day. So, you know, bless all those women. Um I feel bad for the nurses. They're like, Whoa.

SPEAKER_01 18:30

Um, how long has that been in the body, right?

SPEAKER_02 18:33

Like it's just it's it's so fragile, like you gotta take care of it.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

Um, and I think we take that for granted, like we don't realize it until it's too late.

SPEAKER_02 18:43

I think a lot of people do. And that's why, like, you know, going back to starting this podcast is being vulnerable and telling stories and man, maybe someone's sitting there on the other side being like, fuck man, like I feel that same way too. I can't poop. Maybe for a different reason, but yeah, I mean it's just it's part of the process. Hey, embrace the journey, right? Embrace it. Um, no, but like just like the like you know, then stabbing yourself with insulin because you're dia diabetic or like how scared you were at first of needles and doing that and how horrible that was, and you're like, This is horrible.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

I'm I'd rather die.

SPEAKER_02 19:18

Did I say that?

SPEAKER_01 19:19

Yeah, oh yeah, you always said that you'd rather die.

SPEAKER_02 19:22

Terrible. Well, here I am. But like, you know, going back to like the that part too is like the your body with your your joints, and like it's funny, like I've lost all this weight, and it's taken me, you know, almost a couple years to kind of heal some of this pain from carrying that weight around. And then, like, you know, it's funny is like you lose this weight, and then we in the community we have these um what are they? Those garage sales.

SPEAKER_01 19:51

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 19:53

Trying to like sell these clothes because I used to buy like fat nice clothes, you know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 19:59

Like they're expensive traveling suits and things like that.

SPEAKER_02 20:02

Yeah, and like I don't know, lacosse, polo, like good shit. And then like, you know, these people would come and they're they're not like they see the label and then they see the size, they lift it up and then you can't see the sun, like you know what I mean? It's like and then it's like oh no, no, no, too big, gordo. Uh oh, and then it's even it's even happened this last time, even when I had lost, like, okay, so going I don't want to skip too much, but like you know, I was you know, going to surgery at 335, and then um going into I don't know let's go to like November of last year, the end of last year. I was like 265. And then even before then, like August, I had gotten back up to 280. And I'm like, fuck, dude, like I don't want to mess with the city, I don't want I don't want to do this anymore, and like eating out, and it's like it's hard because like you know, I get to stay home for for work or travel, and then she has she has to leave, so then it's like I could go pick up the kids, and then I'll get lazy and then not want to cook, so then I'd get you know, I would not eat a lot, but it was like the stuff I was putting into my body was not helping me. So back in November, I had a buddy of mine start YSO B Fit. Um, shout out Damon, and um, you know, he he put this this thing together, and and the first thing was like a 21-day challenge. And I had I had told him like the year before, like, hey, my wife wants me to be on whatever diet you're on. And then sure enough, like, you know, months later, I ended up joining this program with him, and uh it was me and and and some other great guys, and I dove into it. You know what I mean? Like it was uh plain everything. There was no seasonings, like no salt, no pepper, no nothing. It was no butters, no oils, it was asparagus, veggies. fruits, plain chicken, salmon, and I did that for for 21 days.

SPEAKER_01 22:04

It's like it's what do they call that? A um like a reset?

SPEAKER_02 22:08

It was a it was a 21 day reset essentially.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

So that way you you kind of like you get no flavor and it's hard.

SPEAKER_02 22:16

A lot of eggs. Fucking eggs.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Then your body like rejects um cravings.

SPEAKER_02 22:23

Yeah I guess you can say that. In a way okay with those that have had the surgery before the weight loss surgery like you have a pouch and you always they talk about like resetting your pouch or whatever. It's the weirdest thing. But that essentially did that for me. It like got me back to where like I should be in eating the the right amount of food and then the right food right so you know I stuck with or even too much for you at some times you were like I can't eat this much. Yeah because like they have this like you know you're they change like everything and it comes up into what is it the esophagus or whatever. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:58

Oh man you weigh all your food but you you had to do different weights.

SPEAKER_02 23:03

Yeah I had to like measurements I had to change a bunch of stuff. But it you know I followed the plan to a T and it was right before the holidays it started like December 1st and then went to the 21st and I had lost like 22 pounds I think 22 pounds and it was so great. And then you know comes the holidays right Christmas New Year's and at the same time he announced a 90 day program and then I was like I definitely want to be a part of that because I want to get back into the gym. You know I had started kind of walking a lot more yeah that was part of the the program you had to do walking 10,000 steps. I guess I shouldn't say kind of I did I walked I walked over 10,000 steps 15000 steps sometimes um and just and and I was like fuck it if I'm doing this and I have skin in the game in this like I I want to I want to do this and I know you had like done it a little bit with me um I was yeah I was definitely doing the the walking and the dieting I wasn't completely giving up the seasonings. It's hard because it's funny because then he was like surprised you can have salt free seasonings and I was like fucking hey I'm getting Mrs. Dash and I found I bought that like pack on Amazon and I was I didn't I don't think I over seasoned anything but I definitely put seasoning on things oh yeah and it had changed the flavor but even then like not having seasonings for a week like when you reintroduced that stuff things were spicy to my tongue like it was it was weird where you could just like eat eat spice like as hot as you wanted and didn't I didn't think about it. It's funny because you know me I like I love spicy stuff. I cannot have anything like you buy like Tostito salsa and it's spicy to me. I never had that before um and it was you know a lot of water it was like tea water coffee plain plain coffee. I don't mind black coffee I can't do it. Yeah um but I did it um it was one of the things I didn't give up unfortunately yeah I mean look at like I didn't lose as much as you did on that 21 days let's be clear yeah and I know some other like you know there's a lot of people that had lost a shit ton of weight and did really well and went into 100% and that's why it was so like I'm sure it was rewarding for Damon because he got to see people like really like want to do something for themselves. So like going back to like a health scare right something scaring you into doing something right this was like that extra push that I needed to like okay I've gotten down to this I'm not happy where I am there's still more to do and you know what I mean so fucking that that's what did it for me and then you know during the holidays during Christmas and stuff I was you didn't give it up you didn't stop either no I kept it going so good. Kept it going and then you know having an Italian family and stuff and then the pasta and everything I wouldn't eat it. It just I just can't and I didn't want to do it. I didn't want to set myself back so I you wanted to be ready for when that program started so like you know fast forward to like January time frame um we started a 90 day program and then it was like consistently in the gym I had signed up to 33 elite uh gym over here um by us and I fell in love with the gym I fell in love with the people I fell in love with the message of the gym um I'm gonna have Andrew on on this podcast at some point him and I talked about it uh but they they've become friends of ours and so like that you know it's it's really cool how all this like came together so I think I started back in January uh at I don't know 238 or 239 I think like right under 240 is where I like started and I was in the gym I started off at it off like three days a week and I was like fuck it I'm going six days or six days a week in the beginning so I knew at some point that the program was going to do that and and and want you to go in six days and so I was like fuck it I'm gonna do it right off the gate and then I know what a few weeks later a month later you joined the gym with yeah I wanted to know make sure because we had gym passes in the past and we you know we didn't really know what we were doing we didn't have a plan or anything like that.

SPEAKER_01 27:29

So we were just going in there messing around on the weights throwing some weights around doing doing a lot of cardio not really for me a lot of cardio not doing weights not knowing yeah not knowing what I was doing.

SPEAKER_02 27:41

I would just push weight around because that's what I thought I was supposed to do right like right then I would hurt myself like I'd lift too much weight or yeah and then you just stop you could just kind of quit because you don't have any structure in there and you don't yeah so what the what this program did was was do structure or provide a structure and then you were essentially following everything that I was doing.

unknown 28:01

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_01 28:01

Yep I I joined in with you to uh for support and um to see what kind of I guess kind of side results I would get and they were pretty impressive.

SPEAKER_02 28:12

Yeah. What are you down?

SPEAKER_01 28:13

Like how many how much weight since you started like with me with you 10 pounds but like two years ago since two years ago since I started like since I stopped drinking um I'm down like 20 something pounds 25 pounds.

SPEAKER_02 28:38

Yeah see that's good and the slower you want it to come off slowly yeah but me I I the my the hardest thing was the scale because the scale wasn't moving for me at first one in January and I would look in the mirror and be like shit like things are changing um but the scale's not moving but you if you like just look at the scale it's so deceiving right like it's I would take progress picks I would do measurements and I did measurements from the beginning. I don't know if a lot of people did that but like the measurements were were crazy.

SPEAKER_01 29:10

Like I lost inches and that's where you're seeing the results and not necessarily on the scale my abdomen my hip my my arms my legs like everything and like and I think that's why people get discouraged too is because they don't know to do that kind of thing. Yeah and realize that their body is is going through a recomposition and um like physically changing before the weight comes off.

SPEAKER_02 29:34

Yeah no I would say so like I have like I was doing body scans too like it's just crazy that like I was high high high high high on everything and then now it's like balanced optimal like it it's it's it's pretty wild like uh they talk about visceral fat which is like the fat around your organs and that was high and now it's optimal and then my body fat percentage dropped almost 10% from January to now which is which is crazy like I'm in the high teens which I would love to get 10% but you know I don't want to be greedy I guess. But yeah like I I got down to 207 like 207 was the lowest and I think I weighed myself to I was like 211 uh but I also that's the thing is too is you know we did a lot of stuff this week and we really slacked it on meal planning. Oh yeah and while we were celebrating a lot we had our anniversary and we went to a baseball game we did baseball we did a bunch of stuff yeah um and it just it fell off right and then you didn't go to the gym with me that much this week or I've been resting don't rest I know but yeah I'm still in the gym six days a week the program ended you know at the end of March and I'm still doing everything to the to a T. Uh and I even it sucks because like I feel like I'm cheating on my gym because I um had to get a planet fitness uh pass uh when I travel and so I've done that which I never uh would have imagined you to be that type of person or to do anything like that. It's just crazy what something does to you and then like you make this change and then you know I don't we we don't hang out with a lot of people which is which is good in a way so then it allows you to kind of focus in on what's important and like I said I got to well that instead of routine. Yeah and I I definitely and it's all consistency discipline at the end of the day like if I if I know I'm having a long travel flight day the next day I will do two workouts the day before. Yeah which because you don't like the other gym well because I don't like planet fitness no shout out to planet fitness but that you know that's just part of just part of it right like you you do this you you figure out a way and you just you just you just make it you have to you have to make it work. Yeah I mean and just like my energy my strength like I definitely for those that are listening that you know know me that haven't seen me like it's it's it's pretty wild like the changes I've made um and I mean I yeah I gotta thank you right for for supporting and joining me like I love going to the gym with you. Yeah we have fun it's it's nice it is in a way it's stress relieving it's relaxing it's fun I think so too it gets the day going yeah we start it you know starting off the day because we wake up at 4 30 in the morning and and go by like 5 5 30 I make I make sure I get my pre-workout and everything in yeah the pre-workout's a lifestyle that way like fucking my face is peeling when I walk into the gym like that feeling just so crazy um but like I don't know it's just it's made me proud of you for joining me like I think it's I think it's awesome. I think we have a lot of good support around us that are like constantly motivating us to continue doing it. Like we run into people and they're just like holy shit like I don't even recognize you.

SPEAKER_01 33:08

Yeah like when people say like um like my coworkers be like you and your husband are so inspiring I'm like I'm not like an inspiring person like that's so strange. Yeah but thank you like I'm just you know I'm just trying to be supportive I'm not I'm not trying to be like it's not like fitness model or anything. No you don't need it's not my yeah it's not my uh I'm not a a total gym rat. I definitely am no I think but I do I like um for me the stretching I feel like is the most important with um pain management and mobility um and aging and things like that the just the stretching and then the strength building um is definitely helpful makes just makes life easier like being able to lift yeah just being able to lift something yeah not have to struggle yeah that's a big thing because I I'll lift things down and I'm just like fuck that's light. Yeah me too or push something and I'm like oh that was easy. Yeah I didn't know I could do that. It's crazy because like I could do a pull-up in the gym now kind of you'll get there yeah you get there uh I mean that's hard right like it's uh I can't do a pull up I'm still gonna try every day I did one today but I can rattle off like so many pushups now which is crazy to me like I couldn't do one before when I was fat fuck what a lard what a lard but that you know like I said like you know the but it wasn't even something that you would do it's not like oh let me let me try to do a pushup let me it wasn't anything yeah I can do them bro you don't need to see them right yeah it's so funny because it's like uh I don't know your mind is um thinks you're stronger than you are yeah and it's funny now because or you think you're in better shape than you are because I'll look at photos now um like from back before and be like I didn't even remember you no yeah but I'm like I don't remember you being that large like you didn't look that large to me do it I didn't look that large to me I definitely look that large Amy I don't know what you're talking about. Well yeah you're being very nice because well when you're living like living in it like you don't think about it you don't notice it what do you mean same thing with me like I thought that I was just like curvy like whatever.

SPEAKER_02 35:22

But you were you were curvy don't you still like in all the way right ways. But still it wasn't like when I look back I wasn't like satisfied with my appearance that crazy though because you you you look nothing like me like I don't know well as a woman like it's just different I don't know yeah I mean it's just uh I don't know I didn't put much thought into it because I was like oh my mom like whatever you mentioned the stretching like that is a big part that I do with you in the beginning too is we stretch and let me just tell you that the stretching like actually definitely helps me and there's times where like I don't stretch as much and I feel okay but like I stretch between my exercises too. Uh because I I got this like weird tendonitis thing in my wrist right now that goes in my thumb. I it's been like two months now and then I have this weird shoulder click and it's starting it's starting to feel better but I'm not gonna stop like has nothing to do with your age really it definitely does no I'm in the prime of my life now but it's uh I don't know like like I said like having you join me and and do all that with me and kind of follow what I'm doing and obviously it worked. Yeah uh and is working like that's to me that's so awesome. Um and then like I said the plan that Damon put together like obviously works right yeah uh and those a lot of those guys he yeah he had um big deal trainers like helping helping with that program yeah I mean like some of these guys and the transformations they made I think were more wild than mine um and man it's it's it's so cool because it wasn't like a a one upper with each other it was like a motivating like he created a community around this we still have that community which is super cool um but like we're constantly posting uh if someone's down someone brings someone else up like we've we've become like a brotherhood in that sense with this with that program which is really cool um but man like it I don't know it's um I don't know like going through all this stuff and then you know maybe I can help motivate someone to get going and tell you know our stories because like outside of like the life of the gym and like balancing everything there's a lot of like funny that happens around us and so like and that's what it is too is I can look back and be like fuck dude like you were fat dude like how uh you know if if it the roles were reversed right like what what are you saying? I'm just saying like there's I'm not saying me okay let's go back I'm saying like I know of guys that had their wives get bigger and then they have left them or forced them like you need to do something or I'm gonna leave you and those people have actually left like it's so crazy like I don't know like I appreciate I have no I'm saying I appreciate you staying with me don't be an asshole okay like don't be an asshole I already told you if you do again though that's it that's the final straw that's it that was a straw that broke the camel's back fat ass straw dude uh but yeah I mean you you kind of have to look back and and and laugh a bit of like just how stupid I was like in that point of just not caring like it it's funny but also not it because it was a wake up call at the same time. Yeah I mean and so I you know obviously appreciate all that stuff so like I don't know and then now I'm living with this loose skin that like is just eating me alive. It's a total mind fuck to me. And I don't know at some point I'm gonna have to have surgery but then I look at friends or people online that have done it and the recovery is like so scary to me. It's it's a it's a very serious very major surgery and it's really something that's hard to it's hard for me it's hard for me to sit still as it is so like I don't know having like those tubes and the drains it's so gross. Ugh I don't know so we'll see how much of what I can get down to and then figure it out because that's the next step.

SPEAKER_01 39:50

Well and that's the thing too is that um we're still so early on in this like we've had such major progress but it hasn't even been a year yet.

SPEAKER_02 39:59

Right but like I've made such a huge progress that like it's literally all I have now.

SPEAKER_01 40:04

Like would I not be super flat like have no stomach if it weren't for my skin you would be yeah you would look different you would definitely look different. Yeah see fuck but it just is what it is.

SPEAKER_02 40:17

I have to do it I'm gonna have to do it. I don't know but yeah I don't know it's it's nice mean thinner now because now you don't you can go to like Nordstrom or go to like a store and like get clothes like where's your favorite place now Costco oh yeah you can buy you can buy Costco clothes now that's being old though these pants are fire is that what I said yeah Costco clothes are are the best it really is it's so crazy because then I'd have to go like uh our neighbor over here like manages uh one of those DXL stores and I used to have to go in there and used to have to buy my fat clothes from her and now I don't go in there. I loved it when she was like you can't shop here anymore like not in this range I walked in there on purpose so that way she should she said that to me so that way I'd walk out and be like ha ha ha ha that's right that's nice just joking uh I did not do that but yeah so um that's what it is man this is the podcast we're gonna do this you I want you to do it with me I want people to come in here and explain like their stories and talk about their battles and I I think like I said being vulnerable and talking about them and like I said maybe maybe it's real I mean uh we're not the only ones who struggled and there are a lot of people out there who are struggling. Yeah so I don't know I went from like a funny podcast joking having fun to like you know obviously some sort of motivation factor in this and and wanting to to give back because people have helped me through my journey uh and I'm not like some influencer or fitness person by any means but like if a conversation yeah mom and dad but if yeah just a mom and dad um husband wife yeah um and a friend so you know hopefully or maybe this conversation or uh conversation we have in the future will will get someone to to make a change and I'd love to hear those stories too um so you know friends family that want to reach out reach out I think it's awesome but yeah we'll we'll do these I'll probably do once a week I don't know I I'm gonna launch this out see how it goes get some feedback from it if you guys want us to continue we'll continue otherwise I'll shut this shit down and won't do it anymore. Like that's literally what it is because this is time it took me like fuck what how many how many like 45 minutes to set this up yeah I I don't know it's I I had way better equipment back in the day and now I'm just running this little shit. Uh but it works and I know how to do it. So let's try it. All right you down I'm down let's do this all right well guys have a good evening give me some feedback let me know what you think about this and uh you know like I said it's uh battle scars and belly laughs and uh we'll catch you on the next episode guys have a good night good night