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Have you been thinking about starting a major health journey? Are you contemplating bariatric surgery? Do you have a chronic health condition? Are you worried about starting and failing? Lastly, are you ready to overcome bad health habits that are cutting your quality of life short? If you answered yes to some of these questions, you are reading the right blog post. I know from experience that starting a major health journey is a courageous and challenging mission. It’s courageous because it shows the willingness to change an unwanted behavior. It shows the determination to start and finish an important task. Most importantly, it shows the bravery to venture out, and immerse yourself in an unfamiliar world. That takes moxie. Below you will read: I will start with the truth. I will be 100% honest with you…starting a major health journey is demanding, but also achievable. It requires discipline. It requires patience. It requires determination. Most importantly, it requires a detailed and thought-out plan, something a good coach can help you with. Believe me, I know about the difficulties, potholes, crashes, and the temptation to give up. It’s all apart of the major health journey. If it’s your first-time cooking steak, the meat likely will not melt in your mouth. If it’s your first-time roller skating, you will fall. If it’s your first-time starting a health journey, you will have struggles. That’s just the straight down the middle truth. No person, coach, book, or guru can prevent that. However, do not let these facts deter you. Starting a major health and fitness journey has several benefits, including eliminating, or decreasing chronic health conditions such as: hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, certain cancers, osteoporosis, depression, anxiety, arthritis, and decreased chances of heart attacks and strokes. These are just some of the benefits of starting a major health journey. These are all attainable, life-changing benefits. Increased energy, fall prevention, feelings of fulfillment and accomplishment, muscle gain and increased flexibility (which makes functional activities easier), and increased blood flow (which leads to higher intimacy levels), are also beneficial byproducts of starting a major health journey. Side Note: Perfection, and eating dry, flavorless foods is not required to start and complete a major health and fitness journey. How my health journey started. My health journey began as a little boy in Fort Wayne, IN. Playing outside all day and night, running around the neighborhood, riding bikes across town, playing in creeks, climbing trees, and going to a magnet elementary school – that was the start of my enjoyable fitness journey. In 1990, my life changed. When I was eight- years- old, my mother made me play little league football that summer. I remember that day clearer than any other day in my life. My mother notified me, letting me know that I would be going to football practice that day. I was devastated! I refused, I cried, I begged her not to make me go. She took college courses in the evening, but she let her sister know that I needed to go to practice. After my first day of practice, I came home excited, exuberant, overjoyed, happy and ready for the next day. I was so pumped! What changed in two hours? What made me love football practice? How did I go from hate to love in the span of two hours? As I reflect on that life changing moment… It was GOOD COACHING. Good coaching is the only way to get someone to go from hating something, to loving something. Talk about the patience one must have to coach someone from hate to love. The little league coaching staff knew my fears, my shyness, my resistance to participate. They coached me according to my level. That, coupled with the natural endorphins that were unlocked from working out and having fun with my peers, got me hooked. I went on to become voted the “hardest hitter,” and most improved player that year. What if they coached me on day one, like they coached me on day 30 or day 60? I would have hated football. I would have missed out on so many great experiences. Once they gained my trust, and saw I was coachable, it was a totally different coaching experience. They were sterner, they focused on discipline, they became father figures, with a lot of tough love. I’m forever grateful for my little league coaching staff. Starting over Super Long story short: I moved to Flint, MI on December 9th, 2009, from Fort Wayne, IN. I was 26 years old when I moved. My books, a pallet I would sleep on, a few kitchen utensils, 40 college credits, my clothes, and 50 dollars cash. My high school sweetheart had a friend who needed someone to maintain a newly renovated house she’d owned. It was empty. I went for it! It was an opportunity for me to make some major life changes. I didn’t have much. However, I had a clear and detailed visions. A few of those main visions were: As the years passed, I achieved some of my main goals. I got married on June 30th, 2012. I got a job as a fitness professional the next day. I overcame part of my fear of numbers and and created engineering drawings for my fitness device. I created a working prototype. Fast forward to 2015. The health coaching job I had, went out of business. My world was rocked! All the things I was in the process of creating with my fitness product halted. I went into a depression. I started smoking cigarettes and cigars. I consumed alcohol. My love and passion for health and fitness was sucked right out of me. Six months passed. Finally, through hard work, prayer and my wife’s encouragement, I got myself together. We decided I should enroll back in school to get a degree in design and computer assisted design (CAD). I wanted to really learn how to design and develop consumer products