Hey Reader,

Some weeks, I have to fight to find a bright spot. This week, the bright spot found me.

I have been feeling pretty good. No major flare-ups to speak of. After so much uncertainty, that feels like a genuine gift. It has also reignited something in me: I am ready to keep moving back into the weight-loss space and help people who feel stuck.

Then I stepped on the scale for the first time in a while. What I saw stopped me in my tracks.

---

What's Inside

• A surprise on the scale
• Could we walk this road together?
• Why you do not need a gym to begin
• New plant-forward weight-loss research
• West Virginia, Michigan, and Texas ahead

---

Fifty pounds. Officially!

Since my gastric bypass reversal, I have lost more than 50 pounds. I still cannot believe I get to write that sentence. It’s crazy that those two photos were taken less than a year apart! It’s really hard to look at too.

Some of the same feelings I had when I first lost weight bubbled back up to the surface. How did I get there?

At least it wasn’t Taco Bell binges this time!

Here’s what I find incredibly interesting. My surgeon warned me that I could regain a ton of weight after the procedure. I never thought that would happen, but after everything my body has endured, it is natural to have doubts.

The evidence shows that was a real possibility. In a 2025 study of 70 RYGB reversals, the average total weight gain was about 33 pounds.

I have not simply avoided that average. I am down more than 50 pounds, an 83-pound swing in the opposite direction. The results so far have been tremendous!

Clearly, I have not regained weight. I am thrilled, and my surgeon is ecstatic. As I have shared before, he says I am among the top 5% of his patients.

I hope my gastroenterologist feels the same way, because she and I are still working to solve the lingering pieces of this puzzle.

---

Remaining Questions

I recently talked about my latest appointment in a video I posted Facebook. One possibility my gastroenterologist raised is muscle dysfunction and nerve irritation. The faulty section of bowel that was removed may have stretched my abdominal wall and diaphragm beyond what they could comfortably handle.

That could help explain why a flare is not always about food. Sometimes breathing, drinking water, or simply turning the wrong way can set things off. It is frustrating, but it also gives us a direction to explore.

The bottom line: I want to keep clearing up the residual symptoms, and I am confident I can keep moving forward no matter what. I am a Never Give Up kind of guy. We are always going to keep searching for answers.

---

Walk With Me

This milestone has me thinking bigger.

If I created a walking club, would you join me?

I am picturing a place where we become accountability friends, take walks together, and talk honestly about the tools that helped me lose weight and keep it off.

The idea would be to open my book of not-so-closely-guarded secrets, from my One Nacho Theory to the mindset shifts that changed everything. I would also bring in my medically credentialed friends (so many doctors and dietitians!) to help us make sense of the conflicting advice that is everywhere.

Maybe that happens during our walks. Maybe it becomes a separate course and community. Either way, I want to take this message far and wide and help as many people as I can, no matter what obstacles they are facing.

Hit reply and tell me: Would you join?

Also, please let me know what would make it most helpful for you — regular walks, accountability, practical lessons, expert guests, or something else?

I’d love to hear what support you need and all ideas that you have!

---

No Gym. No Problem.

The best gym in the world may be the free one outside your front door.

If the idea of a gym makes you nervous because it has been years, or because it simply is not your jam, start with a walk. You do not need a membership to clear your head, reset your mind, burn calories, and invest in your health for the long haul.

I did not set foot in a gym until I had lost virtually all of my weight. Even then, it happened because two friends who are professional athletes pressured me into it. They are still gym-going guys. I am still not. And that is okay. They do not judge me, and I do not judge them.

You have to find what works for you. I can tell you from experience: walking absolutely can work.

---

New Weight Loss Research

Last week I mentioned that we'd get a little deeper into the science end of things. So let's get into a fancy pants food study comparing the effects of various diets on weight loss.

​A 2025 randomized trial from the Medical University of Warsaw assigned 90 adults with overweight or obesity to a vegan, lacto-ovo vegetarian, Mediterranean, EAT-Lancet, or control diet for 12 weeks.

Eighty-five completed the study. Every plant-forward group reduced body weight, waist circumference, fat mass, and calorie intake compared with the control diet.

The largest average weight losses came from the vegan group, down 6.7%, and the mostly plant-based EAT-Lancet group, down 5.6%.

This is encouraging, not magic: the trial was short and relatively small. But it adds evidence that structured plant-forward eating can move the scale in a meaningful direction.

Download the Study

---

Before I wrap up, I would love to see you in person next month at Brenda Workman's Wellness Weekend in West Virginia on October 9–10. It will be a great chance to reconnect, learn, laugh, and maybe even get a few steps in together. My good friends Cyrus Khambatta, Ph.D., and Kylie Buckner, RN, from Evolution Health will be joining us this year.

Wellness Weekend Tickets

And the road keeps going. I also have big Vegan Retreat events planned next year in Michigan and Texas.

First up is Utopia, Texas (March 18–22) and then Lake City, Michigan (Sept. 7–11).

Dr. Michael Greger, Kip Andersen from What the Health, Cyrus and Kylie, and so many others will be joining us at the Vegan Wellness Retreats for a bunch of fun!

Vegan Retreat Tickets

Save $100 with the code CHUCK

---

Wrapping Up

Fifty pounds down and a week without a major flare-up feels pretty darn good. But I am not treating this as a finish line. It is a reminder that progress is possible, even after the roughest chapters.

If you are in a difficult stretch right now, keep taking the next step. Keep asking questions. Keep looking for the path that works for you. We can move forward from here — together.

Never give up,