I’ve lost weight before. A lot of it. More than once. And every time, I found a way to gain it back — usually with a little extra.
I’ve done every fad diet imaginable. I’ve taken every supplement you can think of. I’ve bought countless gadgets that promised to be the secret weapon for weight loss. None of it mattered. The problem wasn’t the diet, the workouts or the tools.
The problem was me.
I knew how to lose weight. I knew how to work hard. What I didn’t have was the right mindset to keep it off. I’ve trained with the intensity of pro athletes — sometimes even alongside them. At one point, I lost 100 pounds in four months, only to gain it all back. I had weight loss surgery, dropped 85 pounds, and still ended up trapped in the cycle of losing and regaining. I once weighed 340 pounds on my 6-foot-2 frame, but because I’ve always had a higher-than-average muscle mass, most people never guessed how heavy I really was.
And then, a few months ago, I had a health scare. It turned out to be nothing serious, but it was enough to shake me. I’m 55 years old now. That number carries weight — literally and figuratively. I don’t have unlimited do-overs. I have to make this one count.
That’s why I’ve embarked on 56-for-56: A Transformation Story, a documentary journey that will chronicle my path to what will hopefully be a new me — inside and out — by my 56th birthday on July 12, 2025.
But this transformation won’t happen in a vacuum. The reality is, I’m not stepping away from my demanding career to train like a professional athlete. Far from it. This series will follow me as I attempt to balance an all-consuming fitness mission with running six hyperlocal newspapers and launching several major initiatives — including the Creator Collective, a high school journalism mentorship program. That’s always been part of the challenge. How do you stay committed to a goal like this while juggling everything else? That’s something a lot of people struggle with, and I want to be real about what it takes.
A Different Approach
I’ll also be real about why I’ve failed so many times. This isn’t about quick fixes or shortcuts. I’ve tried those before, and they never worked long-term. Episode 1 is the first of seven chapters in this transformation, each one adding layers to the how and why, ultimately building toward a detailed playbook for how you, too, can take control of your health.
This time, I’m not doing it alone.
I’m working with Mickal Thomas, senior director of Personal Training at the YMCA of Greater Birmingham, to build a sustainable workout plan — not one that leaves me wrecked and unable to train the next day.
“I’d fail if I just blasted you with workouts that leave you so sore you can’t function,” Mickal told me. “My goal is to keep you progressing — so that Monday’s workout doesn’t ruin Friday’s.”
But this isn’t just about workouts. I’ve also enlisted:
✅ A Registered Dietician – Planning meals and macros to fuel workouts while staying in a calorie deficit
✅ Recovery Experts – Using IV therapy at Prime IV Homewood to improve hydration, speed recovery, and prevent burnout
✅ A Mindset Coach & Therapist – Because this is as much about changing the inner dialogue as it is the exterior physique
That last part? That’s the biggest change of all. I’ve always believed that if I worked hard enough, I could fix anything. But the real work isn’t just in the gym — it’s in breaking old patterns and rewiring how I think about health, food, and my own self-worth.
The Plan: Training, Tracking & Transformation
🏋️ Workouts
✅ Weight training + HIIT with Mickal
✅ Walking with a weighted vest – (Yes, there’s a story behind this one!)
✅ Cycling + hot yoga at HOTWORX Vestavia Hills
✅ 5K training – Running the Red Shoe Run 5K in March, my first in nearly a decade
📊 Tracking Everything
✅ WHOOP – Monitoring strain, recovery and sleep
✅ InBody scans – Starting weight: 280 lbs; tracking muscle retention and fat loss
✅ MyFitnessPal – Logging meals + macros with a registered dietician
💪 Recovery & Nutrition
✅ IV therapy for recovery
✅ Mindset & stress management work to reinforce long-term change
The Science of Change
My InBody scan shows that I have a strong muscular foundation (Skeletal Muscle Mass: 121.3 lbs), meaning the focus isn’t just weight loss—it’s fat loss while preserving muscle. My Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is 2,411 kcal, meaning even on rest days, my body burns that much just existing. To achieve my goal, I’ll strategically adjust my intake to stay in a deficit while still supporting muscle recovery.
Why “56-for-56”?
Illustration by Meta / Ted Perry
Technically, I’ve already lost 21 pounds since late December, when I started at 301 pounds. But 77-for-56 doesn’t have quite the same ring, does it? When I hit 280, I committed to making this public.
The number 56 isn’t just about my birthday — it’s also about going full circle. If I reach my goal of 224 pounds by July 12, I’ll weigh one pound less than I did in the summer of 1986, when I stepped on the scale for my senior year of high school football.
That moment in ‘86 was the best shape of my life — and now, nearly four decades later, I’m working to create a new best shape, one that lasts.
This Is Bigger Than Me
This is 56-for-56: A Transformation Story, but it’s also just the first chapter of The Transformation Project — a movement dedicated to showcasing real stories of change. Whether it’s fitness, financial breakthroughs, career pivots, or personal growth, we want to tell the stories of transformation happening all around us.
Follow along on Facebook, Instagram, and X for behind-the-scenes updates, workouts, and milestones.
And now, I want to hear (and possibly tell) your story. Have you or someone you know gone through, or are planning, a dramatic personal transformation of some kind? Nominate them here: Submit Here.
📢 BONUS: Get a behind-the-scenes look at the first steps of my transformation journey here.
This won’t be easy. But with the right guidance, technology and community, I’m all in. Who’s with me?
