Lose Weight and Get Fit After 40

The habit journey of a formerly chunky corporate guy

Disclaimer: I’m not a personal trainer or physician. I also don’t receive any type of affiliate income from the training programs I mention. I’m just a normal middle-aged guy who got his health back!

I remember the day that I had finally had it with my declining health.

It was during the holiday season at the end of 2008. I was tired all the time, drinking buckets of coffee to keep going all day, and the scale had tipped over 200 lbs. That might have been okay if I was 6'4" like my son, but I am not. It might also have been okay if I was a powerlifter or bodybuilder. I assure you, at that time, that was also untrue.

I typically write about work and careers — so why am I talking about my journey back to health? After 7 years of spiraling down, I discovered that my health and fitness levels were directly affecting my work. When you feel like crap and have low energy levels, you simply are not doing your best work. If your physical body isn’t 100%, you can’t give your career 100%. (On top of all of this, you also face increased job discrimination when you’re overweight.)

I was 42 years old and had spent decades of my life in a sedentary career, going from desk jobs to graduate school to Silicon Valley…