30/08/2026
I LOOK BACK ON THIS PHOTO…
18 months of keto is what gave me this body (2018 photo)
Finally, I thought I’d nailed the anti-aging formula…
OR SO I THOUGHT.
This was an admittedly RRRRIIIPPPED body.
But it was also weak. Frail. Burnt out. Irritable.
And, looking back… I had a slight hint of jaundice about me 😂
All I really wanted back then was to be cut and lean.
I thought being lean would make me happy.
I thought looking younger would make me content.
And for a long time, I was chasing my youth without really realising it.
Now I look at the other side of things.
I’m a man now. Not a child.
And I’ve realised I don’t want to spend my life trying to look like a younger version of myself.
I want to see what I’m capable of as a 37-year-old man.
I EAT like a man.
I LIFT like a man.
I’M TRYING TO ACT like a man.
I don’t fear getting older anymore.
I embrace it.
My goal isn’t to revisit my youth.
It’s to become stronger, more capable and more resilient with every year that passes.
And that means I’ve completely changed the way I think about my body.
I’m not trying to become as light as possible anymore.
I’m trying to improve the QUALITY of the weight I carry.
More muscle.
More strength.
More capability.
More resilience.
And there’s something else I’ve come to believe about being a man.
I don’t think the goal should be to become harmless.
The goal should be to become capable:
- Capable of protecting yourself.
- Capable of protecting the people you love.
- Capable of handling hardship.
- Capable of standing your ground when things get difficult.
And, if necessary, capable of being dangerous.
BUT HERE’S THE IMPORTANT PART….
You should be able to control that capability.
There’s no virtue in being weak simply because you’re incapable of causing harm.
Real strength is having the capacity for ferocity and choosing NOT to use it.
Being strong enough to protect, but gentle enough to nurture.
Strong enough to stand your ground, but disciplined enough not to let your strength control you.
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So if there’s any advice I could pass on to another man going through the same crisis of identity that I went through, it would be this:
STOP TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT.
START TRYING TO CHANGE THE QUALITY OF YOUR WEIGHT.
Stop trying to revert to boyhood.
Start stepping into manhood.
Don’t shy away from responsibility.
Don’t always choose the easiest path.
Build yourself into someone capable of handling a difficult, demanding and worthwhile life.
Because getting older isn’t something we need to fight.
It’s something we get the privilege of becoming better at.