Bryan Swapped "Why?" For "Why Not?" & Dropped 20kg

Hey guys, I’m Bryan and this is my weight loss journey with The Man Shake.

My story is pretty similar to a lot of guys out there.
I was pretty fit and active back in the day but my 30s became focussed on my kids and work. I simply didn’t prioritise my health.
I had a couple of attempts at getting back to football but it resulted in injuries and the standard yearly get fit push that lasted only a couple of months. Nothing stuck.
At the end of the 2023 season, I was asked if I would coach my son’s U10 team and help the U8s.
This would be a great opportunity for me to spend some extra time with my kids and potentially get back on the field myself, ideally without injury. But I knew I’d have to regain my fitness just to keep up with the kids and I kept thinking “You’re a long time retired and a longer time dead. If I don’t do it now, I never will”.

There were a couple of people in my social circle who were on their own fitness journeys and were seeing great results. They inspired and motivated me to take up the coaching role, make myself accountable to the team and my kids, and build a healthy discipline within myself.
This quickly turned into a rabbit hole that I was more than happy to go down. Some would call it a middle-aged crisis, but I’d call it a change in mindset.
Instead of saying “Why?”, I say “Why not?”.

I started getting serious in September 2023 at 94kg with a simple goal of dropping 10kg.
I also spoke with my doctor and got a medical to see what my actual health was like. Last thing I wanted was to drop dead running up The Headland.
The Doc gave my heart the all-clear but highlighted some things I could work on. This included LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, and belly visceral fat.

So, I went hard.

By December 2023 I hit my 10kg goal and in January 2024 I locked in my new goal of 80kg on the scales. By March I was consistently weighing in under 80kgs and felt pretty good.
I had a maintenance period while starting up football again, so I did see a plateau, but I wasn’t putting any weight on thankfully.
In July it was time to reassess my goals again but with assistance from a DEXA scan, a low-dose X-ray that measures bone density and composition. 
I set new goals of 73.9kg (a weight I haven’t been at in over two decades), reducing my visceral fat (this was picked up in the scan), and increasing lean muscle mass.
“Let’s see what else I can achieve”, I thought.

This brings me to now.
I had my second DEXA scan in November 2024 and I weighed in at 74kg, obliterated my visceral fat, down to 15% body fat, and increased my lean muscle mass.
Not bad for a 42-year-old bloke who is only 172cm tall 😉

Long-term fat loss takes discipline, but there are two other things that I found just as important:
1) educating myself about food energy
2) finding tools to aid the process.
There is no better tool you can find than The Man Shake.
A 209-calorie weapon of fat destruction! Not sure I would have had the same results without it in my tool bag.

I started using The Man Shake early into in my weight loss journey and have tried all the flavours and variations. It began as more of an inquisitive purchase because I had never tried using meal replacement shakes with a diet. 
I’ve single-pumped (one shake per day), I’ve double-pumped (two per day), and I‘ve pumped every other day. For bigger results, double pumping delivered the best and a single pump was good for slower rates and maintenance.

I swear by the Chocolate flavour and I had it for months and months always straight up in 350ml of cold water
Recently I went for the Variety Pack which allowed me to try a number of other flavours.
I have now discovered my new higher-calorie favourite for brekkie, or a pre-exercise boost, Choc Honeycomb Crunch with 350ml water & ice, a banana, and two tablespoons of rolled oats in the blender. It’s bang on.
The Man Shake has become a staple in my cupboard as a dietary option and will stay an option, I feel. Sometimes you just feel like a shake...

There are heaps of things I’ve learnt that I would love to pass on to someone about to start their own journey.
A few key ones that have kept me honest are:
- Do it now and stop making excuses.
You might not get a better chance. Imagine how much harder this would be in another 10 years?
- Find your inspiration.
Your reason is entirely your own, it doesn’t have to be anyone else’s business.
- Learn about food.
It's the wrong foods in the wrong amounts that make you fat. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. 
- Find what best motivates you.
Find the thing that gets you up at 5 am to go for that run, or gets you in the gym when you don't feel like it. You might not like exercise now, but you will, you definitely will. 
- But ultimately discipline gets the results.
Know your weaknesses and work with them. Don’t try to fight them because unconscious urges and habits are very powerful..

I have never been fitter or healthier in my life, and a part of that success must go to The Man Shake. 
It’s a good feeling when you work so hard for something and bit by bit you achieve your goals.

That’s all from me.
Time to reassess and work out what’s next for me 😉