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Army veteran, husband, father, First In Family: John Hosegood

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Whatever level of discipline you THINK this takes I’ll just about guarantee you that you’ve built it up in your mind as being WAY harder than it actually is. It’s not that it doesn’t require ANY discipline but it’s all been much easier than I ever imagined.”

Tell us a little bit about yourself... ​

John Hosegood
Age 49
Winter Haven, FL
Chief operator at an Industrial Chemical plant
Army Veteran
Married with 3 adult children ages 26, 21 & 18.

What brought you to the First In Family initially?

I’ve known Jonathan for years. Saw his success first hand and that made it easier to trust that this was something real rather than some scam being sold on the internet.

Tell us a little bit about your background and history with food.

I’ve been involved in some sort of athletic endeavor or another pretty much my entire life but I never really paid much attention to how I was eating. For years my activity level was enough to somewhat counteract the effects of a poor diet. As I entered into my late 40’s the old adage “you can’t out train a bad diet” really started becoming a reality for me. I was working out harder and more often but my performance was plateauing and I was carrying too much body fat and basically didn’t feel too great about how I looked.

What was the turning point in your life when you realized you needed to make a change?

At one point in my life I was pre-diabetic, on 5 different medications to include anti-depressants, and just basically felt like my overall health was rapidly declining and that this was my life now and felt a bit hopeless about it all. I was literally driving down the road and a song came on the radio. “Not My Time” by Three Doors Down. (It has become my life’s theme song and still gives me goosebumps when I hear it) I decided right then and there that I wasn’t going out like this. It wasn’t my time. I committed to saving myself from myself. There’s been a lot of changes I’ve made along the way since that day and FIN is only one part. But this epiphany caused a domino effect of things that led me here and now I’m in better shape and overall health than I may have ever been in my entire life. For the record, I’m currently on zero medications.

What was the journey like and what changes did you make?

Measuring and monitoring my food intake was the big shift. The way I trained changed BECAUSE I changed the way I ate. As I started fueling my body more deliberately my recovery from workouts started getting better. That perpetuated being able to workout harder and more often which perpetuated more fat loss. It all snowballs and the different things pile up to create the big picture of improvement.

How do you feel after making those changes?

On a day to day basis I feel much better. I have more energy and I like what I see in the mirror much more. I’m not someone who has ever had a lot of vanity. It’s just not who I am. But I’ll tell you this; at almost 50 years old when you get unsolicited compliments from people you don’t even know about how great you look then that’s a pretty amazing feeling.a

What did your friends/family think of your transformation?

My wife has always been super supportive of anything I wanted to commit to. After a little over a year of seeing my success my wife and daughter both signed up to become members here at FIN themselves and have been having great success over the last 6 months. That pretty much says it all doesn’t it?

Were you active or did you workout during your journey?

Active Crossfitter

What does being First In mean to you?

Just the value of being around like minded people is immeasurable. The support and culture in this group is amazing.

What was the biggest challenge or change when you started with First In and how did you overcome it?

The overall process was WAY easier than I thought it would be and requires a lot less discipline than I thought it would initially. But I’d say that planning my food to fall within my numbers each day was trickiest at first. Thinking ahead a bit about what I planned to eat in order to be successful at “Food Tetris” was the hardest. It’s a skill set they help you learn along the way.

What’s next for you and where do you see this journey taking you in the future? ​

My goal has always been one day at a time. I fixate on the process and the journey each day. I have no destination in mind. No look, no goal weight, none of that. Just keep doing what I need to do every day and then let’s see where it goes. Just trying to get a little bit better every day.

What are your top 6 "secrets" for success?

1. Give up the desire to understand WHY you’re being told to do/eat whatever your coach tells you. Over time you’ll start to connect the dots on your own a bit but initially just trust what they’re telling you to do and follow it.

2. Some of the things you’re being told will be completely foreign and different from things you’ve heard about diet and exercise over the years from “experts”. Ask yourself one question, “How much success did you have while following that expert advice in the past?” That’s why you’re here.

3. As much as many folks don’t like to talk about it out loud, there will be days you fail miserably at this. You’ll go off the rails, have a bad day, whatever. Don’t let one bad day identify you. Start over again the next day or even the next meal if possible. If 99% of your days are perfect then one bad day isn’t going to completely derail your overall progress. Own it, correct it, and move on. Eventually your “bad” days are still going to be better nutritionally than every single day of your life was before you started this program.

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4. Realize that some people in your life will criticize you, tease you, or try to undermine you. This is because your success and progress undermines the lies they tell themselves about why they can’t accomplish the same thing. This is a THEM problem. Not a problem with you.

5. Never underestimate the power you have to influence others just by your own improvement. Other people are watching whether they tell you or not. You are motivating and inspiring others whether you realize it or not. Changing yourself for the better is bigger than you.

6. Don’t be upset by the results you didn’t get from the work you didn’t do. Consistency is the key here.

any advice for someone thinking about getting started?

I sat on the fence for a couple years despite the fact I actually knew Jonathan personally. I questioned whether or not I would be disciplined enough to do this. Whatever level of discipline you THINK this takes I’ll just about guarantee you that you’ve built it up in your mind as being WAY harder than it actually is. It’s not that it doesn’t require ANY discipline but it’s all been much easier than I ever imagined.
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Testimonials were given freely and service members did not receive any preferential treatment, discount, or other benefit due to the nature of their service, rank, or position and in no way are the views or beliefs of any branch of the armed forces or uniformed services.