Hey Reader,

Three years ago, when I was at my lowest and searching for answers, I made a bold proclamation to my wife, Julie. Driven by a potent combination of frustration and fear, I turned to her and said, “If I ever pull out of this, I’m going to get a tattoo.”

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What's Inside

• The promise I finally kept
• What true strength looks like
• My wild week with MAVY
• The weight loss lesson that stuck

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Prior to this point, tattoos were something that I would avoid like the plague. For one, I thought it was going to be incredibly painful. It is a needle piercing your skin over and over again, after all.

But the concern was greater when it came to aging. How would it look in 20 years? My skin is already stretched out and sags from the years of being overweight. Certainly, time will only worsen the issue, and then I’ll be left with what? An amorphous colored blob that only vaguely resembles what it once did.

The concerns are valid, but there’s just something about going through a life-altering experience that changes one’s perspective. It was time to put those reservations to bed and instead make a reservation to do the thing I thought I’d never do.

I had been working on the concept for months. It needed to be a reminder of how far I’ve come and motivation to keep going on my down days when the recovery process feels like it’s moving in reverse.

The first thought was to simply get the phrase “Never Give Up” etched somewhere on my arm. But as powerful as those words had become to me, I felt like they could still be amplified.

Enter Tubby Nugget.

This little bundle of wholesome, friendly energy had become my emotional sidekick. For the majority of trips to the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, I was alone, but Tubs was with me every step of the way.

​One of his videos in particular was the sweetest medicine.

It was ten times more powerful than any anti-anxiety prescription that could ever be written. The words and that little voice evoked a torrent of emotion. It was such a simple but profound message that settled my shaken view of what life would be like moving forward.

I’d like to share those words with you today.

Everything's gonna be okay because I love you

I love you

And today might not be your best day

But I'll still love you

I love you

And I guess that's not really a logical solution but that's okay

'Cause I'll always want to be here for you

'Cause I love you

Watch Tubby Nugget

Even reading it now, this 44-year-old sports fanatic gets choked up.

Years ago, I might have been embarrassed to admit that. These days, I see it differently. My definitions of strength and power have evolved.

Strength isn’t just how much weight you can lift or how big your arms are. There can be supreme power in just getting out of bed in the morning.

Mental resolve takes more discipline than any workout when you feel as though your life is on the line. Each day, you know when you open your eyes that you will be forced to rise to a challenge you didn’t ask for.

It will drain every fiber of your being and feel incredibly isolating. Physically and mentally, your tank was emptied long ago. And yet, you’re tasked with finding a way to muster enough fuel to get through the day.

This is true strength.

And yes, in case you have your doubts, you are that strong too. You were born with this trait. It has been inside you since day one.

You can rise to meet the challenge — whatever it may be.

I never want to forget that. I want to live that every day.

So, I memorialized that lesson by doing something I never thought I’d do. The tattoo would become a permanent reminder of how far we’ve come and the many miles still to go.

The cool thing about journeys is that not every step has to be taken alone. Certainly, this was one where an experienced companion would come in handy.

Enter my well-inked confidant Maxime Sigouine.

More Tattoo Photos

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A MAVY Good Time

After the Plant-Powered Party, I stayed in Las Vegas to help with the fantastic group of fitness enthusiasts at the MAVY Wellness Retreat.

I hope to be half as fit as this crew when I’m older. Holy cow!

You want to talk about turning back the hands of time? I was watching people from their mid-40s all the way to their mid-70s test their limits.

And they rose to the occasion every time.

The group, led by Maxime, was treated to world-class workouts and recovery methods intended to rebuild and sculpt the bodies of those who thought time had already passed them by.

In some ways, Maxime and his team are wizards. People routinely say they look and feel decades younger after working with them.

Someday I’ll be able to write about all the ways he and his wife, Ivy, have helped me throughout the years. But right now, I’ll just say that life tested him supremely at an early age, and that’s given him old-soul wisdom.

He’s able to connect with his clients, friends, and family with maturity on a level far greater than most people his age. He’s battle-tested with a heart of gold.

So, thank you, Maxime and Ivy, for everything… including the trip to the tattoo parlor!

He got a couple of new pieces while we were there too.

And my new friend, Nic Patenaude, who is one of their trainers, was there as well. That guy is just plain nuts in the best way possible.

Hanging out with Mr. Nic is not for the faint of heart. Endurance sports are his specialty, and his energy levels are off the charts! Maybe that’s because he previously trained with the Canadian national team. I don’t know.

All I do know is that if a company were somehow able to bottle his energy, it’d put Red Bull out of business overnight.

I love this guy!

The week also included dinner trips to Crossroads Kitchen and Daikon Sushi. As the kids say, “10 out of 10. Would recommend.”

The “steak” at Crossroads was next level. It was made from mushrooms, perfectly seasoned, and then grilled to absolute perfection.

Wowza!

Anyway, the entire MAVY group are superheroes in my eyes.

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Tip Of The Week

This week’s tip: Start where you are. Then take one more step.

Recently, I’ve been pondering what avenue I want to go down as I move forward.

Do I want to be the medical mystery guy or the weight loss guy?

I’d been leaning heavily into the medical mystery category because that’s where my life is now. However, my deepest connections are still built around weight loss.

Perhaps that’s because more people understand that struggle. It’s something we’ve all experienced or know someone who has.

So, with that in mind, I’m going to begin incorporating some tips and insights that proved to be game changers in my case.

Within days of undergoing painful non-laparoscopic weight loss surgery, I was up and moving around. These steps would become my first big tests on the road to recovery.

And with each passing week, I found that I could take more and more of them.

There were days when I wanted to throw in the towel initially. Each step was incredibly painful, and it was only intensified by the large hill that circled the Northern Virginia development where I was living at the time.

My lungs burned as though they’d been doused in gasoline and set on fire. My abdominal area was in tatters. And my legs felt as though they had anchors attached to them.

But I kept moving.

I wanted to know how much strength I actually had.

I wanted to walk toward a healthier future.

I wanted to walk out of the nightmare I was in.

That’s when my late grandfather’s words popped back into my head. They’re the same words that I’ve shared with you.

If you’re going through hell, keep on going.

Accept where you are today without accepting that you have to stay there.

Simultaneously, rip off the rearview mirror and embrace the fact that there is no going back to where you came from.

The only way forward is to put one foot in front of the other.

Then do it again.

When the sun rises tomorrow, do it again then too.

With each passing day, the key is just to take one more step.

As time passes, you’ll find yourself able to maneuver into calmer waters even as challenges remain. Each step won’t necessarily get you to perfection, but it can make you one step better.

And when everything else feels like complete chaos, trust that this is one of the things you have absolute control over.

Exercise that control as though your life depends on it.

You never know… it just might.

Pushing through those trying times 17 years ago gave me the blueprint I needed to be able to push through this modern hell I’ve found myself in over the last three and a half years.

Sure, there are days when I feel like I’m still at the beginning of this odyssey.

But there are far more days that serve as reminders of how far we’ve already come and that blue skies are ahead.

Rays of sunshine have been breaking through the clouds already, and their warmth helps propel me forward.

Take your step.

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Wrapping Up

I’ll write something more science-driven in the future, but I wanted to give the fundamentals first.

These concepts can be the foundation upon which you build your health. Truth be told, they can apply to other areas of your life as well.

Just keep tapping into your inner strength and continue to grow.

Whatever the challenge, I’m confident that you can conquer it like a champion.

You already have what it takes.

Never give up.