Here is what Ryan had to say in his own words...

Working with Alli has truly turned out to be a critical pivot point in my life. 

Like most people I have a busy life between work, family, and the usual pressures.

While I have excelled in some areas of life my health took a back seat.

I would get motivated for a few months and work out and eat good but eventually the motivation would go away and the old habits would creep back in.

I have lost hundreds of pounds over the years on the roller coaster ride of weight loss.

This past summer my weight peaked at 460 lbs after splurging on a family vacation.

My life was miserable!  At that weight I could barely stand much less go about normal daily activities.  

I had worked at home during covid and didn't get out much so when it was time to get back to normal life i realized I was in trouble.

I had followed fitness twitter for some time and had been impressed by Alli's knowledge, insights and dedication.

More important than anything to me was the fact that she lived what she preached!

I reached out and we started working together.

While I was desperate at the time I was not especially motivated.

She patiently worked with me week in and week out helping me to change my habits.

The first big shift was my thoughts and mind set.

It took a couple months but Alli helped me recognize all the stressors in my life that were leading me to use food as a comfort mechanism.

I came to be mindful of those stressors as they occurred and used the strategies that Alli taught me to handle them positively and without eating to subdue the discomfort.

This was the first breakthrough for me, taking a couple months, and it allowed me to get out of my own way and move onto the next steps.

Up next I started to improve my eating habits.

Alli had me start drinking 100 ozs of water each day and track my eating to make sure I got my macros right, most importantly getting plenty of protein while minimizing calories.

She does not have a rigid diet that you must follow but explains the guidelines to follow to have success.

Over the next couple months I dialed in my eating habits and consistently hit my eating goals each day.

I would allow myself slightly higher calories and a treat on Saturday which would help me to stay on track during the rest of the week.

It also helped so I was very consistent about eating well the other days.

Eventually my eating habits became automatic.

While all this was going on Alli had me working to improve my fitness.

I was so heavy that I struggled just to move so doing a full blown exercise routine was out of the question.

My earliest exercise was to walk around my front room and kitchen.

I could only walk for 5 minutes before the stress on my body became too much and I had to rest.

I also bought some dumbbells and started doing some weight lifting, mainly body weight movements at first.

Alli has a great app that shows you the exercises to do either at home in the gym.

They each have videos where she shows you how to do them.

While it didn't feel like I was doing much at first I eventually became consistent at doing some exercises every day.

I would do 3 days of walking and 3 days of weight lifting in my own house.

With the whole system now in place the weight started coming off at a consistent pace.

As I progressed I made small victories that would get me excited.

For example before too long I increased my walking time from 5 minutes to 20 minutes.

I started to incorporate more lifts into my routine and do them at a little higher weight.

All the while Alli would hold a weekly coaching call with me and she would check in with me each day to see how I was doing and encourage and provide guidance.

She is an excellent listener and doesn't just force feed you information that you are not ready for but provides what you need when you need it.

It has now been just over six months that I have been working with Alli.

I am down almost 90 lbs and all my health habits are automatic.

While not that long ago I dreaded the thought of forcing myself to exercise and eat right now Alli was able to "trick" me into loving it.

This was probably the most fundamental shift that happened.

My identity as a lazy, overweight, binge eating person had gradually shifted.

I came to that realization when having a conversation with my mom recently who asked me what I would do if I put the weight back on.

I told her that the old me was dead and the only me that existed now was the fit and athletic person that was in front of her.

I was almost shocked when I realized that those statements were true!

That identity shift was probably the most crucial thing that has happened to me and I'm confident it will lead me to being fit for the rest of my life.

I still have a long road ahead of me and much weight to lose but I'm not nervous at all because of who I have become.

These are habits that will be with me the rest of my life.

I now go to the gym each day and my wife and kids have started to come as well.

Not only has this transformation happened to me but it is happening with my whole family as they watch me change.

I want to be clear that this journey has not been quick or easy.

Alli can provide all the support and knowledge she has but at the end of the day you have to do the work.\

Don't be discouraged if you get it wrong throughout the process and mess up.

You will!  I certainly did.

Be patient and improve your consistency and the results will come.

I am so grateful to Alli, she has given me my life back and I am encouraged by what lies ahead.

I was in prison and now I am free.

I have multiple trips planned in the next year including one hiking the mountains around Machu Picchu.

I could never have done that in my old life!