You Have to Stay on Top of Your Health

You Have to Stay on Top of Your Health

Here’s the deal. I have been on a genuine health kick for close to a decade now, and I am not sharing this to brag, because plenty of people reading this are probably in better shape than I am. I am sharing it because of a pattern I fell into that I think a lot of people in this industry recognize immediately, whether they admit it or not.

How I Ended Up at 248 Pounds Without Noticing

I let myself get to 248 pounds, and I want to be honest that letting that happen was not a disciplined choice. It crept up the way these things usually do. Then something interesting happened. I spent nine days in Japan with Paul Akers, eating genuinely well the entire time, real meals, real steak, wonderful food, and I still lost fifteen pounds without trying.

When I got back to the United States, that lack of hunger stuck around for about six weeks. I was eating carefully, following the principles from Paul’s book on Lean health, genuinely committed to keeping the processed food out of my system for good. Then, roughly two to two and a half months later, the hunger came back in full force. Frantic hunger. Not enough willpower in an entire day to hold the line against it. The weight started creeping back.

Realizing This Was Not a Discipline Problem

That experience changed how I think about weight entirely. I grew up watching relatives make cutting comments about people who struggled with their weight, and I always found that unfair, especially watching kids get picked on for the same thing as a child myself. What I eventually realized is that this is not laziness or a lack of discipline. It is biology, combined with a food system in this country that works against us constantly.

That reframing led me to try peptide treatments, which have genuinely changed things for me. I do not crave food the way I used to. My mood has improved. Everything feels more level. I want to be clear that this is my own personal experience, not a medical recommendation, and anyone considering something similar should work directly with their own physician rather than treating my story as a how-to guide.

The Numbers I Am Actually Tracking

Beyond weight, I have gotten serious about the specific, measurable things that actually predict long term health. I am working on my kidney filtration rate, aiming to get it back above eighty. I am addressing insulin resistance, which my body tends toward naturally. I am also managing high cholesterol, and in my case, that cholesterol is not coming from diet. My body simply produces more of it on its own.

Instead of going straight to medication for the cholesterol issue, I found that whole fiber made a real difference for me specifically, somewhere between thirty and fifty grams a day between whole fiber and fiber supplements. My numbers have improved significantly since making that change. Again, this is what worked for my specific situation, verified through regular blood work with my own doctor, not a universal prescription for anyone reading this.

Watch for these signs your own health tracking has quietly fallen behind your professional discipline:

• Regular physical checkups skipped for months or years while other parts of life stay tightly managed.
• Physical symptoms, like bleeding gums or persistent fatigue, treated as normal rather than investigated.
• No recent blood work tracking cholesterol, insulin resistance, or kidney function.

The Dentist Visit That Changed My Whole Approach

For years while I was deep in construction, I kept my personal hygiene tight. Showered twice a day, brushed, flossed, all of it. What I was not doing was going to the dentist or the doctor regularly. I eventually went in for a bad tooth, one that had bothered me since childhood and had required a root canal years earlier, and needed a crown placed over it.

That visit revealed gum recession from plaque buildup, purely from not having a professional cleaning in far too long. The deep cleaning that followed was one of the most genuinely painful experiences I have gone through. I told myself I would never let it get to that point again, and I have not. Now I go to the dentist every six months, sometimes every three if something feels off. My teeth are aligned, I wear retainers to keep them stable, and I keep enough space between them to actually floss properly, since teeth genuinely shift and warp as we get older.

Why the Right Professional Changes Everything

Here is something I have learned that applies far beyond dentistry. Most of the friction people experience with their own health comes down to not having found the right professional to actually help them.

Once you find a doctor or dentist who genuinely takes care of you, the entire equation changes. My dentist here in Phoenix, Dr. Vo at Advanced Laser Dentistry, is genuinely excellent. My doctors at Living Wellness Medical Center, Dr. Brower and Dr. Turner, take real care of me, and our kids have an equally strong dentist and doctor of their own. My father has a similar relationship with his doctor in California, someone who treats health like ongoing coaching rather than occasional maintenance, aiming to keep him well into his nineties. That kind of relationship is worth actively seeking out rather than settling for whoever happens to be closest or most convenient.

Sleep and Kidneys Deserve More Attention Than They Get

Two things deserve specific mention, because I do not think either gets talked about enough. Sleep matters enormously, and not getting enough of it is genuinely detrimental in ways that compound over time. And kidney health deserves far more attention than most of us give it.

In my own life, I have not personally known many people who suffered heart attacks or cardiac arrest. I have known six or seven people who died from COVID, and three or four who suffered kidney failure. In my own sphere of experience, kidney failure has been a real and present danger, which is part of why I now drink around one hundred eleven ounces of water a day and track my kidney function regularly.

If your gums bleed regularly, that is not something to shrug off. It means you do not currently have the support you need, and getting that addressed is worth prioritizing rather than postponing. The same goes for cholesterol, triglycerides, and anything else that shows up on a routine test. Get tested often enough that you actually know what is happening inside your own body before a small issue becomes a serious one.

Why This Matters for Anyone in This Industry

None of this is really about my specific numbers or my specific doctors. It is about a pattern I think a lot of people in construction fall into without noticing, staying disciplined and clean on the surface while quietly neglecting the actual medical care that catches problems early. Physical work and long hours can make it easy to convince yourself that showing up every day is proof enough that everything is fine.

If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your teams build the same kind of disciplined, proactive systems on the jobsite that I am describing here for personal health, because the underlying principle is the same. Catching a small problem early is always cheaper and less painful than discovering a large one late.

So here is the challenge. Think honestly about whether you are investing in your own health with the same discipline you bring to your work. If you have not had a real physical, a dental checkup, or basic blood work in longer than you would like to admit, that is exactly where to start, and finding the right professional to partner with is often the entire battle.

Jason Schroeder said it plainly: “Most of the friction is not having the right professional helping you.” Find that person, and the rest gets a lot easier.

On we go.

FAQ

Is this article suggesting a specific diet or treatment plan that other people should follow?

No. Everything described here reflects one person’s individual health journey, including choices that were made and verified in partnership with their own doctor through regular testing. Anyone considering changes to their diet, supplements, or treatment approach should work directly with their own physician rather than treating someone else’s personal results as a general recommendation.

Why does the article emphasize finding the right doctor or dentist rather than just committing to more visits?

Because a genuine, ongoing relationship with a provider who understands your specific situation tends to produce far better outcomes than sporadic visits to whoever is most convenient. The right professional relationship removes much of the friction that keeps people from staying consistent with their own care in the first place.

Why does the article compare weight struggles to biology rather than discipline?

Because the author’s own experience of losing weight effortlessly during a period of good food and low stress, only to have intense hunger return later despite continued effort, suggested that biological factors play a much larger role than willpower alone. That perspective is offered as one person’s reflection, not a medical explanation intended to apply universally to everyone’s individual situation.

Why might people in physically demanding jobs like construction be more likely to neglect preventive healthcare?

Long hours and demanding physical work can create a false sense of security, since staying active and disciplined on the job can feel like proof that overall health is fine. That can lead to skipping routine checkups, dental visits, and blood work for years, even while other parts of daily life remain highly disciplined and well managed.