Read his story:

Congrats Carlos!

Like most people out there, I had been searching for a way to be healthy and strong, but without having to drink shakes all day or eat stuff that taste like newspaper. My wife, Renee, got me to sign up with her and attempt to do the Fall CSE Challenge in 2018. I started off strong, both with the exercises and the food choices. However, by week 3, I had already peered myself out of the challenge. Upon evaluating where I struggled during that challenge, it would be that I wasn't making the right food choices consistently enough. I was snacking way too much. Chips here. Candy here. Donuts there. So, after the challenge, I thought to myself, "well, what if I just eat what I want, lift a lot of heavy weights, and be just a large strong man." It made sense, and I loved being able to see progress on the weight bar every session. I felt bigger and looked bigger and felt strong. I was consistently weighing around 230 pounds, but with a less than ideal distribution of fat and muscle. It wasn't until I was playing football with my son in the backyard one day, that I started to think about the effects that all the weight might have on my body. I was winded after just a little bit of running. Like I had to lay down and catch my breath. My son asked if I was okay, and when I told him I was, he waited a little bit longer, and then went inside the house as I lay there. It wasn't a medical emergency or anything, but it was enough to realize this form of exercise and eating would be for naught if I couldn't play with my kids. So, I started running more, and got back in the CSE cookbooks. Then I had a friend who was on his own health journey that inspired me to start my own journey. Then we signed up and trained to do a Rugged Maniac event as motivation to be consistent. My wife told me about the Summer CSE Challenge, and I saw it as another opportunity to commit to consistency for a goal. I was so much more consistent with my exercises and eating for this challenge. I feel good and looked forward to each and every workout (except double unders). I don't know how to end this, but it was a fun challenge, and I the food is almost always good. I would recommend to anyone to try it, and the time actually fly's by. Also, it’s a lot more enjoyable going on the journey with other people.

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