You don’t have to wait for your “goal weight”

Carmen’s Carnivore Journey Continues

This week I sat down with Carmen, a longtime member of our Monday morning coaching group, and her story reminded me of something that I think a lot of us need to hear:

You do not have to wait until you reach your goal weight before you start living your life.

That sounds obvious when we say it out loud, but many of us spend years postponing things. We tell ourselves we’ll travel later, try the hobby later, take the pictures later, or put ourselves out there later. Somewhere along the way, we start believing that life begins after the scale reaches a certain number.

Carmen’s story is a great reminder that it doesn’t work that way.

A Different Kind of Progress

Carmen is an ICU nurse who has struggled with her weight for most of her life. After years of trying conventional nutrition advice, she eventually found her way to a carnivore diet through Dr. Bosworth, Dr. Ken Berry, and some of my content. She started with a three-day sardine fast, moved quickly to ribeyes, and never really looked back.

Since then, she has lost more than 166 pounds. She’s off anxiety medication, off blood pressure medication, no longer prediabetic, and her A1C has dropped to 5.4. She also shared that the tinnitus she developed years ago has completely resolved unless she eats something that triggers inflammation for her, which has become a surprisingly useful signal from her body.

Those health improvements are remarkable, but what struck me most during our conversation wasn’t the weight loss. It was what she has chosen to do while she’s still losing weight.

The Dream She Stopped Postponing

Last year Carmen told our group that she wanted to learn how to scuba dive. Her brother and sister-in-law are avid divers, and she dreamed of someday joining them.

The first attempts didn’t go particularly well.

She struggled in training, realized she needed more practice, and spent months working on the skills she lacked. She joined the YMCA, practiced swimming with her gear, learned how to control her breathing, and gradually improved. Eventually she passed the pool portion of her training and moved on to open-water certification.

That brought a whole new challenge. Cold-water diving in Puget Sound requires a tremendous amount of equipment, and after a couple of difficult attempts she realized she wasn’t ready.

So she did something wonderfully practical: she changed the plan without giving up on the goal. A phone call to a dive shop in Florida eventually led to a plane ticket, a successful certification, and more recently, a return to the cold waters of Puget Sound where she completed dives in her own backyard.

For the record, carrying 80 pounds of scuba gear sounds exhausting. Then again, it is still less than half of what Carmen used to carry around every day.

Consistency Creates Opportunity

One of my favorite moments in our conversation came when I asked whether she had reached her goal weight before becoming scuba certified.

Not even close.

She started this journey at 385 pounds and still considers herself a work in progress. But she stopped treating life like something that needed to wait.

I think there’s an important lesson in that. We spend so much time focused on the destination that we sometimes miss the opportunities available along the way. Better health isn’t only about what happens when you arrive. It’s also about what becomes possible while you’re moving in the right direction.

Carmen also spoke about the role community has played in her success. Like many people, she initially underestimated how important support would be. Now she considers it one of the most valuable parts of the journey. Having people who understand the challenges, celebrate the victories, and help you stay focused during difficult seasons makes a difference.

Her story is a good reminder that consistency doesn’t just change your health. It changes your options. Sometimes the rewards show up as better lab work. Sometimes they show up as fewer medications. And sometimes they show up as an unexpected plane ticket to Florida because you’ve decided you’re done waiting for permission to live.