On September 25th 2018, I decided to make a change. This change was in the way that I thought about what the food that I was eating was doing to my body. I was very over weight. I was on multiple medications. My days consisted of being tired all of the time. I would go to work, cook dinner, and sit on the couch watching tv. That was my basic existence. We didn’t do things as a family that required much activity. We would go see movies or just go out to eat.

The days and months leading up to this day I had many conversations with myself. How much longer did I have if I continued down this same path? Will I get to see my daughter graduate from high school? Go to college? Get married? See my grand children? Would I even make to see another Christmas? These are scary thoughts to have. I couldn’t imagine leaving my wife to deal with everything on her own. I didn’t want to think about what they would go through because I didn’t try.

This became “My Why.” I say this a lot now to people that ask me how I did this. The first thing I tell them is, “Find your why.” Find the reason you want to do this. Find the reason that you can’t give up for. Find the reason that will push you day in and day out to become not only the person you want to be, but the person that your “Why” deserves. My “Why” simply put, is my family. My wife and my daughter. They deserve not only the man I could be, but the man I should be. They deserve to be able to enjoy all the things that I was holding them back from. They deserve to be able to enjoy all of those milestones I mentioned above with me and not without me.

The next thing that I tend to preach is to “Trust the process.” This is a difficult one for some. Many get discouraged. Many want instant gratification. I get it. This change can see some quick results, but there are many plateaus through this process and it can get frustrating. I get it. There were many days and weeks that the scale did not move for me as well. I stayed the course. I stuck with it. I trusted the process. I succeeded.

In the end, I have made this transformation with strictly diet and exercise. There was no surgery involved. Did I try? Yes I did. I was denied by our insurance. I guess they felt It would be easier just to continue to pay for the medication than a possible fix. Regardless, I did this on my own. Day in and day out I got up and started moving.

Lets get to the how. A group of coworkers started doing the “Keto” diet. They were having some great success. So I jumped on the bandwagon. I started slow by cutting my carb intake down to 50-60 a day. Within a couple weeks I was able to find ways to cut that even more. I saw the initial “Swoosh” as they call it and lost 10 pounds in 14 days. This got me excited. So I continued on. The initial weight came off more and more. After about the first 30 pounds I started to go for walks around the block. What started as a trip down the street turned into all the way around the block. This grew and grew. I did tons of research. I read books. I scoured the internet for any information I could. I spent days looking at recipes and turning them into my own. I learned the difference between healthy fats and the bad ones to avoid. Over time, more and more weight came off. I became more active. We went on some family vacations. Things were getting easier. You can currently find me every morning at the gym on the treadmill doing my 5 1/2 to 6 miles.

Fast forward 2 1/2 years. I am now down 290 pounds. 20 inches off my waist. 5 shirt sizes. 7 inches on my neck. I have had to replace my closet three times. Yes, I get this a good problem to have, but it still gets expensive. I currently am off all medications. All of my blood work is better than normal. My cardiologist says I have the heart of an athlete. He actually told me to stop losing weight. Crazy, I know.

I truly believe that I could not have done any of this without the support of my entire family and a few close friends. It was that support that made every bit of this possible. I owe all of this to them. They deserve as much credit for this journey as anyone.

I still eat very low carb. Do I consider myself “Keto?” I am not sure. Am I still in ketosis? When I check I am, but I check very rarely now. I have eliminated all breads, pastas, rice, and as many sugars out of my diet as I can. I have found substitutes. I have found ways to curb those cravings. I have become creative over time.

That brings me to our little venture. FareByFire. To start, I an offering up some of the things that have helped curb my sweet tooth over time. Is everything a perfect replacement for the original? No it is not. However, I think that its close enough. I hope you feel the same. Over time, what we are offering will evolve into more of the savory things like meals to go and meal prep. The ultimate goal is to have a location that anyone can come pick up some or all of these items as well as sit down and have a bite to eat. That day will come, but for now, we will be doing pick ups and deliveries.

I hope that you enjoy at least some of what we have to offer for now.

Matt

Location:

6714 River Ridge Lane

Dickinson, TX 77539