My Personal Journey

“Don't just say you have read books. Show that through them you have learned to think better, to be a more discriminating and reflective person - Epictetus

This quote from Epictetus was quite literally what started my journey to understanding how intelligent health works. I have been severely overweight my entire life and dealing with depression and anxiety due to my obesity and other outside factors. A doctor's appointment in August of 2023 changed my life by hitting me with a dose of reality that I was not ready for. After taking my blood pressure, my doctor gave me a blank expression and said, "I'm trying to decide whether or not to send you to emergency." My blood pressure was 218/118 and I was at 400 pounds. I was a walking heart attack. My brain flooded with thoughts of faith, family, friends, education, ambitions and all the other things that I would miss out on if I did not make a change. I was faced with an early mortality. First, I turned to prayer, then I turned to books. I joined a group of Men that were also struggling with the same issues, and along with my own Christian faith, I began to dive deep into the stoic philosophy that I had studied for years yet never applied. I began to apply the principals of stoicism to my life in its purest form. I began implementing daily fasting, prayer, journaling and reading, and it worked! I started losing weight quickly not because I was starving myself but because I was healing my brain (the doctor) to heal my body (the patient). This page will show both proof of my continuing journey as well as keeping accountability to follow the words of Epictetus and show you what I have learned through my actions. The goal is to combat the vicissitudes of life by training an intelligent mind to control an intelligent mental and physical health.

Starting Weight, 400 pounds

Current Weight, 349 pounds

Continuing Goal, 220 pounds