Weight Loss, Twins, and a Master’s Degree: A Cautionary Tale of Momentum
Let me take you back to January 3rd, 2020. I was sitting at 332 pounds, comfortably winded from walking up stairs, and less-than-thrilled with the direction things were headed. So, I did something hard. I started counting calories and working out.
Spoiler: I didn’t stop.
By Thanksgiving that year, I was down 100 pounds. By May of the next year, I’d dropped over 130 pounds. No surgeries. No fads. Just old-fashioned, consistent effort. I traded cookies for cardio, queso for kettlebells. I was still me — just a slightly less “circumference-heavy” version. Like the data-nerd I am, I tracked every calorie, I recorded every weekly weigh-in.
But here's the real kicker: that decision to do something hard changed everything.
2021: New Babies, New Beginnings
Fresh off a year of weight loss and willpower, 2021 hit me with the ultimate plot twist: twins. Scarlett and Jude showed up and turned life from a two-kid sitcom into a full-blown family drama with a musical number.
Were they quarantine babies? I mean… you do the math.
Climbing the Ladder
As the diapers stacked up, so did the responsibilities. I earned a promotion at work and stepped into management. All of a sudden, people were asking me for decisions and guidance. And you know what? I felt ready. I had the confidence to lead — not just because I looked different, but because I felt different. I had already proved to myself that I could do hard things. What was one more?
Back to School (Voluntarily!)
In 2022, I decided to go back to school. Started with Oklahoma City Community College to relearn how to learn. From there, I earned my Associate’s, then jumped into Western Governors University — the Harvard of people with full-time jobs, four kids, and 3.2 available brain cells.
WGU’s competency-based model was exactly what I needed. No pointless busywork. Just prove you know it and move on. It’s like speed-running your education — if you’re willing to work, you can fly.
2024: Lights, Camera, Laughlin Photography
And then came the next hard thing: turning photography from a hobby into a full-blown side-hustling business. I finally leaned into the creative itch I’d been ignoring for years. Bought gear. Learned flash. Took risks. Built a brand. Learned how to spell “entrepreneur” without autocorrect.
Was it scary? Sure. But again — once you’ve done one hard thing, the next one feels a little less impossible. You feel very exposed (pun fully intended) when you put your hard work and creativity out in the wild — It’s a very vulnerable feeling.
The Domino Effect of Doing Hard Things
That’s the real lesson here. Losing weight wasn’t just about dropping pounds. It was about proving to myself that I wasn’t stuck. That momentum matters. That discipline spills over. Once I tackled that mountain, other hills didn’t seem so high.
And I didn’t just change my body — I changed the trajectory of my life.
I became someone who could say yes to opportunity. Someone who could show his kids what it means to persevere. Someone who could confidently balance family, work, education, and art — all without completely losing his mind (though we flirted with it a few times).
Final Thoughts (Because I’m Not Crying, You Are)
Doing hard things changes you. Not overnight. Not easily. But completely.
Want to build confidence? Don’t wait for it to show up like an Amazon package. Earn it. One hard thing at a time.
And who knows? Maybe one day you’ll be photographing your twins while managing a team, writing a blog, working on a master’s degree, and wondering how the heck you used to breathe with all that weight on your chest — figuratively and literally.
Let’s keep doing hard things. Life’s more fun that way.