Dave is a 36-year-old who has been lifting on and off since he was 16, always hoping that consistent gym work could make up for a more sporadic approach to nutrition. Over time, though, he realized that without a system to manage both sides of the equation, he’d always be fighting for what he felt was mediocre progress.
“I was at a loss. I knew how to lose weight, but the nuts and bolts of actually doing it had escaped me,” Dave said.
Before MacroFactor
Dave always leaned on his physically demanding job to keep his weight somewhat under control, but nutrition always remained a struggle. He utilized Excel sheets to plan his meals, but he found that only worked for him if he was really rigid and any little deviation was met with a loss of momentum.
“It only worked if I rigidly stuck to eating the same thing for every meal of every day,” Dave said. “I managed to lose 50 pounds once, using that strategy, before gaining it all back and then some.”
Feeling pretty defeated, Dave didn’t know where to turn next.
From frustration to finding what fits
“A friend of mine suggested MacroFactor,” Dave said. “He even found me a referral code for a two-week trial. By the end of the first week, I was hooked and by the end of the second week, I realized I couldn’t get by without it.”
Rather than setting a daunting long-term goal right away, Dave aimed for an achievable first step: getting down to 210 pounds.
“I started out with a goal of 210 pounds because that seemed achievable,” Dave said. “Once I got closer to the goal, I modified it, aiming to dip a bit under 200 pounds to 195. I knew from experience that I feel great around that weight and wanted to get there again, but I also knew that seeing how far away that goal was right from the start would be discouraging.”
Dave used a coached plan and prioritized high protein intake while balancing carbs and fats.
“Reaching my first goal felt surreal,” Dave said. “It happened so slowly, so gradually, that I didn’t even notice the difference in the mirror myself. It wasn’t until I saw pictures of myself that I realized how far I’d come.”
Reaching his first goal took about six months, but one of his eye-opening moments came from an interaction with his nephew.
“One of the biggest wins has to be when my nephew saw a pretty fit guy on TV and said that I was probably stronger than that guy,” Dave said. “I may struggle to see my own achievements sometimes, but to that kid, I’m Superman.”
Dave’s favorite features
For Dave, the MacroFactor adherence-neutral approach really helped keep things in perspective and take the pressure off.
“The fact that MacroFactor is weight loss agnostic is big for me,” Dave said. “I can keep track of days I go over, knowing that I’m not going to get a finger wag from the app. It just presents the information clearly and treats me like a human being with half a brain, and I appreciate it.”
He’s also pretty partial to the barcode scanner and gives it “GOAT” status.
Compared to past apps like MyFitnessPal, Dave found that MacroFactor fit seamlessly into whatever strategy he wanted to use.
“The nice thing about MacroFactor is that you can adapt it to any strategy,” Dave said. “Eat more one day. Eat more tomorrow. Look at the weekly totals. Watch your targets. It just fits.”
Lessons learned along the way
Dave’s biggest takeaway? Just start.
“Just start,” Dave said. “You want to start going to the gym but it’s the middle of the week? Just go. You want to start tracking your meals but it’s Saturday? Just start. You don’t need to wait for Monday. You don’t need to wait for the perfect time.”
This mindset shift really helped Dave stay consistent and build on gradual progress.
Looking ahead
Dave can now hang his son off his bicep and depend on a system that just makes sense for him. Currently, he is focusing on losing another 10 pounds to hit his secondary goal of 195. After that, he plans to shift into maintenance and hold onto all the progress he’s made.
“In the future, I want to put on a bit more muscle,” Dave said. “I’m already in my 30s, and it’s not going to get any easier, so I want to be as prepared as possible as the years start to add up. I’d rather go into my 40s already strong and healthy than hit my 40s and have a battle to fight to get there.”
If you’d like to connect with Dave, you can find him on Instagram.
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