Changing your life is one thing. Keeping the change is a completely different skill.

In this episode: what happened after the weight came off and the drinking stopped. I'm approaching 3 years since October 21st, 2023 - the day the switch flipped - and people still ask me what the secret is. Some say I'm lucky. Some say genetics.

So what happened when I was 60 pounds overweight? Were my genetics on a siesta?

I get into the 21 days to build a habit, 90 days to build a lifestyle rule I've repeated for 3 years, why I leave alcohol for last when someone says "tell me what to do, Mike," and how 30 days turned into 60 and then into almost 3 years. I didn't start with forever - forever is a long time.

I also talk about the holidays - my family's Blackout cookie tradition that goes back to WWII blackout drills when my great-grandmother started making them to keep the kids from being scared during blackouts. I'm eating every last one of them this year. I'm 80/20, not 100%. Living healthier isn't eliminating what you enjoy.

The real work is what you do on the average Tuesday when motivation is gone: showing up to the gym when you don't feel like it, eating for the goal instead of negotiating every meal, protecting sleep, cutting the numbing habits.

Consistency beats intensity 100% of the time. If you don't have 90 minutes, do 40. Don't have 40, go for a 20 minute walk.

If you're in that January 15th cycle where you gave it 2-3 weeks and quit, this one's for you.

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