Freedom is great… but it turns out accountability pairs nicely with vegetables.
Traveling solo and being single is a great way to learn just how little supervision I actually need—and how badly I sometimes need it anyway.
Balanced meals become a suggestion, vegetables go missing in action, and there’s no one around to question why dinner is beer with a side of “I’ll fix this tomorrow.”
The upside is total freedom. The downside is realizing I am not, in fact, the responsible adult I thought I was, and carbs are my enemy!
I’ve been both versions of that guy more times than I can count. I buckle down, lose the weight, feel great… then get comfortable and slowly put it back on—sometimes a little, sometimes impressively.
Every time, I confidently declare, “This time will be different.”
And look—I know the track record. I’m fully aware of the evidence.
But still… THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT.
THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT! 
There’s a saying: “You can’t outwork a bad diet.”
For me, that couldn’t be more true.
I’ve walked, run, hiked, biked, paddleboarded…
Paid for gym memberships most of my adult life when I wasn’t traveling…
Bought treadmills, steppers, rowing machines, weights…
I’ve also thrown away—or quietly watched expire—more supplements than I will ever admit to owning.
Thousands of dollars.
Endless effort.
All expertly undone by travel, convenience, beer, and the magical thinking that calories don’t count when you’re moving.
I didn’t lack discipline.
I lacked consistency… and apparently vegetables.
And yet—here I am again, staring down the same cycle, saying it with full confidence and zero shame:
THIS TIME WILL BE DIFFERENT.
(History suggests otherwise.
Optimism insists otherwise.
We ride at dawn.)
In the summer of 2025, I finally put myself in a timeout and decided to combine everything I’d learned over the years—plus one major change.
I quit drinking and traveling.
Well… I switched to non-alcoholic beer and still went to Mexico—but that version doesn’t sound nearly as dramatic, so we’re going with the first one.
Still, the intent was real. Fewer excuses. Fewer resets. More structure. Turns out removing just one bad habit makes all the other “this time will be different” promises slightly less fictional.
Progress, not perfection. Even if I had to negotiate the terms.
Check out the non-alcoholic beer blog by clicking HERE!
(I review and list all of the best NA beers; take a look if you would like to see them.)
Here was my daily schedule for almost three months:
Wake up at sunrise and blog and YouTube until 9 AM. 
One homemade latte to kind of break my fast.
Stationary bike and row for one hour at home.
Spend 2-3 hours at the gym/spa.
Get home, make a protein shake, and take my supplements.
Eat my only meal between 3 PM and 5 PM as part of intermittent fasting.
Drink non-alcoholic beer in the evening and watch a ball game a few times a week.
I did have a few couch days, but kept track of my gym progress diligently, which is key for me!
(I followed the above to a “T” on gym days shown below)
