One of my favorite things about living is that each of us has the ability to reinvent ourself on a whim. It’s true, you, me, and the guy next door can consciously make a decision at any given moment to make changes in our lives that will start a domino effect leading us to eventually becoming the person we have always wanted to be. –Limitless365

I came across Matt on Facebook a few months back. I believe he mentioned Limitless365 in a status update. I went to check it out and what I saw was the picture above. I had to get in-touch with Macklemore’s doppelganger 🙂 (kidding Matt, well not really. You guys do really look alike).

He has made such a dramatic and inspiring transformation and lucky for us he was willing to share is journey.

Ladies and gents… Matt Ball.

Q: Matt, let us know a little bit about yourself. Who are you, what are you into, what’s your background? Any interesting little tidbits?

A: My name is Matt. I live in the suburbs of Chicago and work in International sales. I graduated college in May of 2012 and am fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. I love traveling, basketball, lifting, running, and nutrition.

Q: What was your fitness history like before this radical transformation?

A: I played sports growing up, but when I graduated high school I basically stopped doing any physical activity. I ate unhealthy foods in large amounts, consumed alcohol without moderation, smoked heavily, and would drink at least a two-liter bottle of Pepsi a day.

Q: So why did you decide or what got you motivated to create change in your life and to get healthy?

A: I wasn’t really in an “ignorance is bliss” state, but I was more in an “apathy is apathy” point in my life.

“By far the most dangerous foe we have to fight is apathy – indifference from whatever cause, not from a lack of knowledge, but from carelessness, from absorption in other pursuits, from a contempt bred of self-satisfaction” -William Osler

I knew that I was an alcoholic and chain smoker, fat and unhealthy, misanthropic and pessimistic, single and masochistic, but I just didn’t care. I was unhealthy psychologically and physically. I got a tattoo that says “¿Y si murieras hoy? Which literally translates to “And if you were to die today?” and lived with a complete disregard for future thinking and lived only of the moment.

There were two distinct things that made change in my life.

1. The first was falling in love with the most amazing woman I’ve ever met and getting turned down by her because she told me it didn’t matter how much I cared for her if I didn’t care for myself. Not surprisingly rather than take that first wakeup call I went out and got extremely drunk and made some bad decisions.
2. When sitting in a jail cell and not having anyone to talk to except for this girl, a part of me died inside, but it was the worst part of me. Overnight my tattoo changed its translation from a “YOLO” perspective to a “what if you died today?” Would you be happy? Would you be proud of the life you lived?

Q: How did you get started? What were some strategies you used to make sure you got the ball rolling?

A: When I started I just told myself I was going to go to the gym for an hour a day. The first day at the gym I couldn’t even jog for 2 minutes and 30 seconds without having to stop because I couldn’t breathe. For probably the first month I just did that. I would jog for as long as I could and walk until I caught my breath and then I would jog some more.

Not really sure when it happened, but soon I was turning the treadmill up faster and faster and taking fewer breaks until all of a sudden I was running an hour straight without stopping.

Then I was addicted.

I started running 10k’s in the morning and 10k’s at night. The biggest strategy I used, and still use, was just forcing myself to go to the gym every day. 5 minutes, 15 minutes whatever I could. Once I was there it didn’t make sense not to put in a good workout.

Q: What were some of the first changes/results you noticed (physical, mental, etc…)?

A: Happiness. Complete happiness. I was feeling better than I’d felt in years, getting attention from the opposite sex, and I felt confident in many different aspects of my life. I started feeling huge mental changes and they made me hungry for more changes and once I started seeing physical changes I couldn’t stop.

Q: How did you track your progress during your transformation?

A: I weighed myself every morning, checked my body fat percentage. I started at 260 and 31% and I’m currently 178 and 14%. I took a lot of pictures and would flip through them to see the changes as well. When I stopped caring as much about what I weighed and focused more on how I looked and how I felt  the experience was much more motivating and rewarding.

Q: What are you doing to stay in shape/healthy?

A: I run every morning, lift every night, bike everywhere and stick to the Paleo Diet. I’m currently running 7.25 to 7.5 miles in an hour and trying to hit 8 and I am about three weeks into a 60 day challenge I set for myself to only eat eggs, chicken, fish, vegetables and water.

Q: What was the toughest part during your transformation and what strategies did you use when you felt like willpower was waning, motivation was dying, etc…

A: By far the hardest part was realizing when I was hitting a plateau and figuring out a new workout to keep seeing gains. My best friend is also a huge inspiration, motivation, and help to make sure I keep going and never settle. I also started reading as much as I could about everything to do with nutrition, fitness, and motivation. I currently read two blogs and three editions of Men’s Health (Brazil, Latin America, and US) to keep motivated.

Q: What do your friends and family think? How did your transformation effect relationships then and now? 

A: Being healthy has changed me, but it has been a very positive change. Most notably my priorities in life have changed. I don’t drink unless there’s an occasion that calls for it, like a wedding. My family may not practice or understand my diet, but they respect it and I know they’re proud of me.

During this transformation I’ve grown farther apart from friends I used to think I was inseparable from and I have grown even closer to people I never would have imagined I would be friends with. For me it’s all about surrounding myself with like-minded individuals, and getting rid of the negative influences.

Q: Any tips, tricks, insight you would like to share that others may find helpful?

A: In order of how much I feel they help me personally here are my tips:

1. Paleo diet. (This is also how I discovered Limitless365) Best decision I’ve ever made and I’m never going back.
2. I drink as much water as I can. Then I drink more.
3. I get my heart rate going in the morning before I eat breakfast.
4. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes and with dumbbells in my living room I still make sure I work out every day.
5. I set small attainable goals that are still challenging, and hold myself accountable, and once I get them I make new ones that are even more challenging.

Q: What’s up next for you in terms of your health, life, anything in general really?

A: Short term goals are getting to 10% body fat and, this one’s a secret, but to get engaged to that girl who turned me down. Long term goals are never reverting back to that guy I used to be.

HOW MATT DID IT AND YOU CAN TOO

I feel fortunate that Matt decided to connect with me and share is story, so with gratitude Matt I thank you.

Matt had circumstances in his life probably very similar to you and others out there but he was able to overcome those obstacles and achieve the results he desired.

1. Matt just got started: He good only run 2 minutes when he first started but he didn’t let that deter him. He ran those two minutes, walked until he caught his breath, and then ran another 2 minutes.

2. Matt was consistent and developed a habit: It didn’t matter if he could only work out for 5, 10, or 15 minutes. He made it a point to just show up daily and get the job done.

3. He measured his progress: Matt used the scale to measure his weight, took body fat percentages, and became aware of psychological factors like and increase in his happiness through the changes he was making. He also took pictures and found that the changes he noticed physically were more motivating than anything.

4. He had a buddy: He used a friend to help motivate him and keep him accountable when he needed a little mojo. It’s hard to do these things on your own sometimes and you may just need a helping hand along the way. Don’t be afraid to ask for one from time to time.

5. He got clear on what was giving him the most bang for his buck: He didn’t mess around trying a bunch of fad diets, weird workouts, or crazy supplements. He paid attention to the key things that were producing results and ran with it.

As a refresher:

1. Paleo diet. (This is also how I discovered Limitless365) Best decision I’ve ever made and I’m never going back.
2. I drink as much water as I can. Then I drink more.
3. I get my heart rate going in the morning before I eat breakfast.
4. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes and with dumbbells in my living room I still make sure I work out every day.
5. I set small attainable goals that are still challenging, and hold myself accountable, and once I get them I make new ones that are even more challenging.

Have any questions for Matt or for me? We’d love to hear them or just give Matt some congrats and love in the comments below. 

Have a success story of your own? Let me know about it, I’d love to feature it on the site.

Live limitless,

Justin

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