There are obvious benefits we all see for being in better shape.  Most people want to get in shape for vanity reasons. I won’t lie, this was a part of the reason for my journey, but it was not the deciding factor that changed my world.  

To understand my journey we have to start at the low point.  At my worst I was a 6’3” male, who weighed in at a doctor’s office at 315lbs.  I had not weighed myself in a long time and I was only doing it because I needed a physical for a new job.  The number on the scale was both alarming and demoralizing as I had never been over 300lbs before. My whole life I was “the big kid,” I was born at over 10lbs and there’s not a day in my childhood that I was not the largest kid in the room.  When playing sports, coaches used to tell me that I couldn’t be as aggressive because I might hurt some of the other kids; I was always picked to play goalie in soccer. Ultimately, what I am trying to say is I was used to be fat. It didn’t bother me, and in truth, usually gave me the freedom to do whatever I wanted because I already knew how others viewed me.

Most people argue that if you exercise, you will get in better shape but that isn’t necessarily true.  I had exercised before this, I played sports and I lifted weights, but I never truly understood what I was doing.  I always ate whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted. Fast food wasn’t a special treat it was a daily meal. Exercising and having the desire to be better was never the problem...the problem was I had no plan, no idea how to get better, and nobody to help me along the way.  I always understood that if I wanted to make a significant change, I was going to need help, and that ultimately, the results would come from my decision to put in the effort and stick to a plan.

That is when I decided to approach Andrew Romeo to discuss a plan to control the outcome.  I put it simply to him that for me to be successful for the rest of my life, I was going to need more energy and to be in much better shape. He sat me down and told me what it would take to get this done. The commitment I made was that I was no longer making the decisions; I made the only one that mattered and that was trusting him. From that day forward my motto was to “Shut Up and Do What You Are Told.”   Seems like a simple enough thing but after about a week I realized it wasn’t.

The outcome was simple:  I am now a 6’3 male who weighs 215lbs!  I am no longer the fat kid. The first time I realized that, it was a weird.  Now I can walk into a room of people who don’t know the “old you” and they can’t believe I was ever that big.  Every person who did know me before asks me how I did it, and the answer I give every time is that I found Rome, told him what I wanted to accomplish, and then “Shut Up and Did What I Was Told.”

Honestly, it wasn’t easy, and there were days I hated it, times I just wanted to go eat some Taco Bell, but I always reminded myself that we made a commitment not only to me but to Rome. If he wasn’t going to quit on our commitment, then I wasn’t going to be the person who quit first.  It took two years of dieting, exercising, and complaining, but here I am 100lbs lighter!

If you are someone who is looking to get stronger, leaner, and in better shape than you have ever been before, all I can say is put your trust in Rome.  He will guide you to where you want to be...you just need to be patient and get out of your own way. He will put a diet and exercise plan together for you that will transform you into what you want to be.  And remember that he is investing his time into you, so don’t be the one to break that commitment first.