Just as a disclaimer, please don't expect proper grammar and punctuation in this blog post, or any other future blog posts. I'll do my best with the spelling, but everything else is up in the air. Run-on sentences, incomplete sentences, numbered lists, and bullet points are all very good friends of mine, you will meet all of them very soon.
It’s officially 2026.
The New Year has officially begun.
Which of course means… more people at my gym for the next couple of weeks.
The whole “New Year, New Me” thing is admirable — it really is. A fresh start, new goals, a new mindset.
Then January 15th hits, and a lot of people are already back to their old habits.
I used to do the same thing with diet and exercise. I’d go to the gym for a bit, without much of a plan, then go home… and eventually I’d stop going altogether.
Fortunately, I was able to break that cycle.
I’m now consistently at the gym at least three times a week — Push, Pull, Legs. That split has been part of my routine for a few years now.
The nutrition side is finally starting to catch up too, which is the real backbone of everything.
The phrase “You can’t outwork a bad diet” is 100,000% true.
Don’t get me wrong — weight training and cardio are still huge parts of the puzzle. But diet is the key. Without paying attention to what you’re eating and how much of it you’re eating, you can easily undo the progress you’re making in the gym.
That’s why I finally started tracking my calories with an app on my phone. It keeps me accountable, and it shows just how quickly calories can add up.
My next step is really dialing in my nutrition: high-protein, low-calorie meals that I can prep ahead of time, in bulk, for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
If I know my meals are already prepped, I won’t be tempted to “just do whatever” when I’m hungry and unprepared — which can sometimes lead to… bad decisions 😅
Taco Bell will always be my weakness.
But even then, you can still make better choices. For example, the Cantina Chicken Bowl is around 500 calories, it’s filling, and it actually tastes great. Pair that with water or a zero-sugar soda, and you’re good to go.
The two biggest habits I’ve built are water and walking.
I used to drink anything except water — full-sugar sodas and juices all the time. I never stopped to think about how many calories I was drinking every day.
Now I drink water about 95% of the time. If I do have soda or juice, it’s the zero-sugar version — not only because it’s zero sugar, but because it’s zero calories. And honestly, they taste just as good. That’s a hill I’ll gladly die on.
Then there’s walking — the habit I’ve latched onto the most.
I walk every single day.
On workdays, I get there about 45 minutes early so I can get my “airport lap” in. If I miss it or it feels rushed, my whole routine feels off.
Getting my steps in is just as important to me as getting my meals and water in.
I’m a creature of habit, like most of us.
I wake up, shower, eat breakfast (usually a Nurri protein shake and a couple of yogurts), grab my essentials — wallet, keys, phone, headphones, charger — then head to work early and start walking.
That walk is an essential part of my day. It doesn’t feel right without it.
Sometimes people join me and it turns into a Walk & Talk — which I love.
Then the workday starts. Two hours in, I take my first break… and I’m walking and drinking water again. Same thing on my last break.
Between my morning walk, my breaks, and all the walking I do on the job, I usually end up with 8–12 miles by the time I get home.
It adds up fast.
Walking is sustainable, simple, and something I can do anywhere. On top of that, I play disc golf, ice skate for a couple of hours a week in the winter, bowl when I can, and lift weights three times a week.
Nutrition is the missing piece that will get me to my ultimate weight-loss goal.
I’m already down over 60 pounds, which I’m proud of — but I still have more to lose. Years of eating and drinking whatever I wanted don’t disappear overnight.
That’s why meal prep and consistency are my focus this year.
So to sum it all up: my goal for 2026 is to reach a weight I haven’t seen in at least 20 years — and I won’t stop until I get there.
That’s a promise.
If you have any health or fitness goals, just remember: if you truly stick with something for a full two weeks, it can start to become a habit.
You can do this.
It’s never too late to turn your health and fitness around — trust me.
As the saying goes, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.”
Happy New Year, thanks for reading, and we’ll do this again next week.
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