Carsen M.
PROGRAM
Lifestyle
TESTIMONIAL
When asked if I wanted to be featured on the results page of the new BIN website, I shed some tears. To think that I could be considered inspiring and a prime example of this program’s success made me emotional. I have been at odds with food for most of my life, even as a former Division I athlete. I never saw food as fuel, instead I cared more about what tasted the best and what would hold me over during my moments of hanger and impatience. I grew up on fast food, even as I trained for my collegiate career as a volleyball player, and those habits absolutely followed me into my adulthood.
I started the BIN program on June 28, 2017. I could never forget that day. I had taken a look in the mirror and truly did not recognize the person staring back at me. I had ballooned. I was bigger than I’d ever seen myself and it prompted me to shop around for a new program online, because in my mind – I was CURSED. I couldn’t do it alone. Additionally, I had no interest in facing the fact that I was eating so poorly. I thought, “Oh – maybe I just need to ease up on the carbs and not snack as much at night. Yeah.. that should do the trick”. Man oh man, if I had a dollar for every new week that I promised myself I’d ease up on the carbs and snacks yet didn’t follow through, I’d be a billionaire. All of these programs that promise minimal effort and massive weight loss allow you to believe that achieving your dream body is easy. What these quick fix diets and short-term programs forget to tell you is, if you want to keep the weight off and maintain your weight loss, you have to be willing to make some real, long-term changes.
I think I always knew I’d have to change my lifestyle if I wanted to stop crying every time I looked in the mirror, but I never knew how. My idea of achieving the ideal body was cutting carbs, training harder – adding some cardio in there, maybe trying to Rx a Crossfit workout from time to time – Oh and let’s not forget how often I’d play the blame game by categorizing certain foods as “evil.” My thoughts would range from “No Carsen, no pizza!” “You can’t eat that!” “Stop eating the bread!” to “Dude, we’re in the middle of a strength cycle, eat ALL the food. Eat ALL the pizza. Eat ALL the Chinese. Eat ALL the Wendy’s”. I was conflicted and utterly confused. Before BIN, I didn’t know what the hell a macro was, I couldn’t tell you jack shit about sodium, I had no idea about the nutritional makeup of an apple… I truthfully knew ZERO things about nutrition.
If this internal struggle sounds all too familiar to you, it’s because this shit is REAL. The world we live in right now wants you to keep buying into these programs and “challenges” that maybe really do make you change your lifestyle, but for short bursts at a time. There’s nothing built in about consistency, sustainability, and discipline for the long-run. BIN is unique in that it’s coaches guide you through the ups and downs of creating a sustainable path for yourself. They help you recognize methods that work for you as an individual. I’d be willing to bet that no path to success for this looks the same. The BIN team not only embraces that struggle with you, they also never leave your side while you’re figuring things out.
My biggest take away from this program is that I am in the driver’s seat in my life. No one else but me. And I’m not BS-ing you when I tell you that this powerful mindset has made its way into every facet of my soul. Black Iron Nutrition is about so much more than food and aesthetics and results and weight loss and maintenance. Because of BIN, I eat whatever I want, whenever I want, on any given day – and know that before I go to bed at night, I am held accountable for that, and every other decision I make. This program and its coaches have changed my life for the better. If the thought of trying this has even just barely crossed your mind - Shut up and go for it. Give it a chance. Better yet, give yourself a chance – take the wheel, because you’re driving!!