From 230 to 180 lbs

These are the practical and mental strategies that actually worked for me. My only hope is that you can take away even one thing and apply it to your own transformation.

Why I Knew I Had to Change

When I started, I was 230 lbs and over 25% body fat. I had convinced myself that getting bigger would help me get stronger for powerlifting. The truth? It did the opposite. My body felt worse, I was inflamed, and mentally, I was in a darker place than I realized.

I couldn’t even move well enough to hit proper lifting positions. My back and hips constantly felt wrecked. Outside of working out, I was glued to a chair or couch because I didn’t even want to move my body. I knew I had more to give athletically, and I was done feeling and looking like that.

Fast forward nearly two years later, I now weigh 180 lbs at 14% body fat, the lowest I’ve ever been in my life, and I’m just as strong, if not stronger, than I was at 230. I feel more athletic, more capable, and more confident than I ever have.

3 Mindset Shifts That Changed Everything

➙ Commit to a New Lifestyle, Not a Diet

Things really shifted when I started coaching football in August 2023. I remember standing on my feet for two hours and realizing just how heavy and locked-up I felt. I couldn’t even demo linebacker drills without getting out of breath, and was having low back issues just from standing.

That’s when it hit me: “Why the hell would anyone listen to me to help them if I can’t even help myself?”

From that moment, I declared that the old me was dead. I told myself that anyone who used to know me didn’t anymore — because I was fully committed to building a new version of myself.

Anabolic Fasting is meant to be a lifestyle way of eating, not a crash course diet. At no point with my eating did I say “man, this is really tough, I feel like I’m struggling each day to get by because I’m starving” – It truly felt easy.. It’s because I slowly adjusted over time (for me, personally, it was mostly dropping carbs and adding more fat).. I always knew I adjusted right adjustment because after a few days of following my tweaks, I just felt BETTER.

➙ Run Your Own Race

I didn’t set a deadline. No, “I have to be shredded by this date.” I simply decided I was going to work until I got there, however long that took.

I took all the pressure off and was willing to stick to the process, no matter how long it took to see change. I didn’t compare my timeline or results to anyone else’s. I just kept showing up, making small adjustments when I felt like I needed to, and focusing on my own progress.

One of my favorite quotes is “Hard work pays off, but nobody will tell you when. So are you willing to sprint in the dark, even if you don’t know where the finish line is.”

You have to continuously put the work in the gym, stick to the diet, and full-heartedly trust the process. There’s been a million transformations come through the CoryGFitness community, so the results are guaranteed. I just knew it was a matter of time before I got mine.

➙ Throw the Scale Away

This is my belief. The scale doesn’t tell the whole story. I used to check it daily, letting that little number wreck my mindset and make me question whether what I was doing was working.

Your weight changes every day based on stress, sleep, water retention, and increasing muscle mass.. It could not drop for weeks.. But the mirror?

The mirror never lies. Your weight could stay the exact same, but your body fat can drop and you’ll look even better.
So if you’re looking better in the mirror, feeling good in the gym, and have great energy from what you’re eating… Then why the hell would you be so concerned about what a little bitch ass number says on the scale?

Stick to the process. The results will come. Trust the Mirror.

Nugget: I checked my weight maybe once every 2 weeks, just to get an idea.. Always on a friday morning, when I was most depleted, and felt lean.

3 Simple Diet Rules I Lived By

➙ Start Small, Adjust as You Go

I didn’t start extreme. I started with small changes. Moving from Anabolic Fasting 102 to 101.5, which took me from 230 to 200 lbs in about six months.

When I plateaued, I dialed it back even more with AF 101. I found that I’m more carb-sensitive, so my best tweaks were lowering carbs and increasing fats.

Start small. Build momentum. Adjust when you stall.

If I had gone straight to AF 101 from my “dirty” lifestyle, I probably would’ve failed and quit.

Bonus Nugget: None of this ever felt “hard” or unsustainable. Sure, some days I felt low energy or flat, but I learned to ask myself: Is my body just adapting? Stick it out. Or do I need to eat a little more (not cheats—maybe just an extra avocado or clean meal)?

Nugget: Anabolic Fasting is meant to be a lifestyle way of eating, not a crash course diet. I always knew I made the right adjustment because after a few days of following my tweaks, I just felt BETTER. If I felt worse or I went felt like I lost some progress, I didn’t stress it. I just adjusted again and kept moving.

➙ Only Buy What You Need

Big mantra I live by: Food is fuel during the week. Food is fun on the weekends. If it’s not part of the plan, don’t buy it.
No “just in case” snacks. No “for later” cheats. Out of sight, out of mind. “Can’t relate” mentality throughout the week.

➙ Cheat With Caution

Cheats are crucial for progress, but I earned them. I started with one cheat meal per weekend. I kept it simple and consistent to limit guesswork:

2 M&M Ice Cream Sandwiches

2 Reese’s Big Cups

(Reese’s… I’m still waiting on that sponsorship call)

Pro Tip: Cheats aren’t an excuse to binge. They’re fun way to fuel, which is used push harder for the next week of training.
After your cheat, check the mirror 30–45 minutes later: Skin feel tighter? It worked.

Feel bloated? You overdid it.

This also goes back to my point of, running your own race. CoryG and some of the members in the community are absolute maniacs with cheats and it works for them lol. I wish that was me, but I just know that it’s not. I had to be more strategic with them.

2 Training Strategies That Built My Best Physique

➙ Train with Intensity

Every workout is a challenge. You’re in the gym to work—don’t waste it.

➙ Push the Conditioning

Pick your poison— lunges, incline walks, stair master, jump rope. Just get after it. I found my body changed the most with 10–20 minute, high-intensity conditioning sessions a couple of times per week. I mixed it up to keep it fresh. The other days, I focused on 30–40 minutes of steady, Zone 2 work to keep the engine running.

➙ Whatever You Do — Don’t Quit

Don’t build momentum just to throw it all away because it’s “taking too long.” It’s been almost two years, and I’m still working, still testing my body, and still chasing the next level. This is all a lifestyle, not a quick fix I hope this helped or gave you some ideas.