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Last February, Joseph sat at dinner with his family, and his sister asked him to be the godparent to her second child. They took a family photo and that's when it clicked. At 300 pounds, Joseph was at his heaviest and saw his weight staring back at him in the photo.
He wanted to be there for his new godchild for the long haul, and he knew he needed to make a change.
Meet Joseph
Joseph has worked in the oil fields in Midland, Texas for six years. On the oil fields, there’s not much to do outside of work, and finding healthy food can be a challenge. It's easy to fall into unhealthy eating habits.
“It's a running joke, you know, when you start working on oil field you gain about 20 pounds.”
There's not much to you other than go out to eat and most of the places are not the highest quality food. You'll just grab food at the gas station or fast food joints. On the oil fields, you drive around most of the day and you don't really get to do much else when you first start.
A Choice to Change
After I became a godparent, I started to think about the future and decided I needed to lose weight. I started the keto diet and began losing weight but finding quality food and the time to prepare it was tough.
Then started working out at the end of last year, but maybe two times a week max. I just kept dropping in and out and then when I started Trifecta about three months ago, you guys started the 90 Day Challenge. That's what really made me push it honestly. That's when I started hitting workouts.
"That's what really made me push it honestly. That's when I started hitting workouts."
The hard part was just finding a groove of what works and what doesn't, what foods help keep me satisfied and what doesn't and what I can do to stay away from stuff I shouldn't be eating.
Discover what meal plan can help you conquer your goals
Quality Control
I use Trifecta a la carte ingredients to meal prep my keto diet. Trifecta gives me easy access to high-quality proteins. In the last three months on Trifecta, I have lost over 30 pounds.
I initially saw Trifecta on a YouTube channel, one of Brian Shaw’s videos. He was talking about eating the bison burger and I was like, ‘I've never had bison before I might as well try it.’ It's been awesome since it's my number one source of food. I've been ordering fish and burgers for the most part. I eat about a pound of burgers or fish a day.
The higher quality has definitely made a difference because beforehand I was eating frozen hamburgers for just about all my meals.
Paying it Forward
I’ve had a roommate with me for about six months now who used to be a football coach and you know him motivating me along with my family and friends, it definitely helped. Then my other roommate does CrossFit competitions so he's helped me out a little bit with the programming as well.
Today I lead other friends and colleagues on their own journey away from fast food and bad habits. Having direction and motivational support helped me and now I find it rewarding by spreading knowledge.
I have a couple of guys I work out with now. It took me a couple of weeks to finally get a consistent group to go with me. But it's way more motivating to have at least one other person there. We’re doing a mix of 5x5 lifts and Crossfit.
Results That Make a Difference
Along with losing weight, I have seen improvements in my health as well.
“Being obese at the time was the main one but I had high blood pressure and don't anymore. I used to have really bad shoulder joints and I still kind of do but working the joints rather than just complaining about it has helped. Well and just being, you know, a hundred pounds less has helped my knees overall.”
Lessons of Leadership
For others looking to start their own weight loss journey, take things one step at a time and don't expect quick fixes. Creating healthy habits take time and the investment to get things right will pay off in the long run.
“My biggest tip I can say is don't do too much at once so go into it. I knew if I tried to work out immediately while trying to start keto at the same time, I wouldn't have stuck with it. So I focused on my diet first and then as soon as I was comfortable and felt like I had enough energy then I focused on working out as well.”
"Try to surround yourself with people who help motivate you. Having that to begin with helped me on my journey quite a bit.”
“Everyone says that you know, it's a marathon, not a sprint but I mean, it's true. If you try to ‘oh, yeah, I'll lose ten pounds this month and then go back to the way I was eating,’ you're not going to help yourself at all."
A Godfather Looks to the Future
As for my own future, I still have eyes on my goal weight but know the journey won’t be over then. The habits I have created over the past year to lose over 100 pounds will keep me on track and healthy for years to come.
“My goal body weighs between 160 and 170 probably. I'm at 190 as of this morning. I plan to keep working out. I don't do too much other than work and work out, honestly. I just really enjoy my job.”
To learn how to eat like Joseph, check out our keto meal plans for a keto diet made simple.
