Today we’d like to introduce you to Zachary Allen.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Zachary. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
From a young age, I was overweight. This changed my entire outlook on life and limited my ability to succeed. I had a poor self-image and lacked confidence because I saw myself as someone “less valuable” since I could not get my weight under control.
For years I was always trying the latest “fad” diets. I tried Nutrisystem, Keto, Low Fat, Whole 30, Vegan, Weight Watchers but nothing ever stuck. I would have moderate success, losing upwards of 70-80 pounds, only to hit my goal, and slowly put back on the weight (sometimes quickly) over time. This pattern of successes and failures reinstated the lies I told myself about my value.
I continued to work on my weight, cycles of losing and gaining. My self-image permeated into every aspect of my life – including my marriage. I was 27 years old, working a job I was unhappy in, going through a divorce. I had hit my rock bottom. I woke up one morning in February of 2018, walked into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and did not recognize who I had become. I did not see me in that mirror and knew that something needed to change. I turned around and looked down only to see a scale and for some reason, I decided to stop on it. The first time I did, I remember seeing “ERR” pop up which meant there was an error in recognizing my weight – either too heavy for the scale, or uneven ground. I moved the scale and slowly stepped back on. 404 pounds…
I had never seen a “4” on the scale in that place before. I saw the next 20 years of my life quickly flash before my eyes. Where would I be in 20 years if I don’t make some changes? The answer was likely dead from being so overweight and out of shape that eventually all my health problems would catch up.
I decided that day to make some small changes, buy a gym membership and begin a journey which I had no idea was headed to. For the next 30 days, I hit it hard. No fast food, no soda, no carbs and 30 minutes walking on the incline treadmill each day. I also decided to work on myself – a time of introspection. I knew I needed to take responsibility for where I was in life today. I contacted my wife and asked if we could meet up.
I told her all that was going on and we mutually decided that day that we were going to give it another shot. We were focused on going back to church, working on ourselves and our marriage (spoiler – things worked out and we have never been better going on the start of our third year back together and working on the same things daily).
We were watching Netflix one night when a documentary called Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead caught out eye. It was the story of a man named Joe Cross who lost 90 pounds in 60 days doing a Juice Fast. I thought to myself, “If he can do it, so can I.” We bought everything I needed to start and I embarked on a 60 day fast. After fasting for 60 days, and completing my fast (along with the 45 days or so of healthy eating and exercise prior) I was down 103 pounds.
I kept this going over the next eight months and continued to lose weight through OMAD (One meal a day Fasting) and IF (intermittent Fasting) and exercise. By March of 2019, I was 224 pounds and a completely new person. I found the confidence I never had. I was mentally and physically stronger than I had ever been. After speaking with a few friends and family members, they could see the same thing and felt I needed to share my story and help as many people as possible.
At this time, I was not interested. I had a new job at a Law Firm which was going great, I had just taken the LSAT and submitted my Application to Law School. I was going to be an attorney, not a life and health coach. I prayed about it and spent hours deeply considering this thought – giving up on Law and going into health.
I knew it was my calling to help people, so I abandoned the path to an attorney, quit my job and decided to start my own health and life consulting business. My goal is to help as many people as possible understand that your health and happiness are synonymous and you can completely shift the paradigm of life by taking charge of your health.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This had been an extremely bumpy road, up and over mountains, through storms and even sunny skies at times, but I would not change it for anything. The biggest struggles have been financial and mental. Financially, living in San Diego is expensive. Adding that to quitting my job and potentially not having any income exponentially increases the stress of daily living. Part of this is finding side jobs for income – driving Uber, and doing odd jobs to supplement income.
Mentally, it is hard to believe that anyone wants to hear “My Story” and that it can help them. In an age of exposure, social media and cell phones, the territory is saturated. I am not the only person to lose a lot of weight and keep it off. I am not the only person who is a life and health coach. Why choose me? I wake up every day and have to remind myself that I am different because I am me. My story could be similar to another, but it is unique. I am dedicated to doing anything and everything I can to help someone reach their goal(s) and will lose sleep over it so my clients do not have to.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I do life and health coaching. The main premise of who I am and what I do is focused on taking responsibility for where you are and becoming a self-motivated, goal-oriented thinker who is willing to push themselves for what they want. This can be a promotion at work, weight loss, financial freedom – anything you want or need to change in your life can be accomplished with the right set of boundaries and goals to get you there.
My idea is based on reverse engineering. For example, somebody hands me a computer component I have never seen before. I look at how it interacts with the surrounding parts (environment) and slowly take it apart by keeping track of all the parts – where they go, how they fit, and overall function. I can then replicate that same part and understand how it works.
The same goes for people. I sit down with the person, I ask lots of questions, observe body language, find a way to relate to them and set a very specific program for each person based on individual needs. No boilerplate formula is slapped on each person who wants to see genuine change because each person is different. We set a series of small goals and big goals to be reached and chip away at them.
I would honestly say that my “pride” is more “joy.” I am most joyful when I see a client’s attitude start to change. When I see everything start clicking and they realize, ” I can do this.” It makes me proud to see clients have that epiphany moment when they have now taken complete control and no longer need me. My ultimate goal is to eventually put myself out of a job with each individual where they can stand tall and firm on their own.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I would love to move from consulting with only individuals to also consulting with businesses. Health and Happiness have a direct result on the production and profitability of employees. I am working on trying to reach the businesses and help them emphasize health with their employees. Not only will the investment increase their profits, but it will create a better business culture.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 6193374394
- Email: ztoahealth@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feasting_to_fasting/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juicechallenges/
Image Credit:
Melissa Sniff
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