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D1 Athlete to Desk Job to Jacked Again: Darin Tuttle's Real Weight Loss Journey · The Unsexy Businessmen

• Alex Skinner: Welcome to another edition of the Unsexy Podcast, where we talk about the unsexy side of everything. I'm Alex Skinner, joined by my brother Aaron Skinner, and today we have a super, super, super, that's three, special guest, Darren Tuttle, who is joining us today to talk about the health journey that he has been going on over the last couple of months. And so what we want to talk with Darren about is all of the hard things that went into this six foot four Greek God look that he has going on right now. So first Darren just, he dropped from 500. Now he's 220. But Darren, I just want to start off like what was like the aha moment where you were, I got to, I got to change something about my life. Cause this, this physical body is starting to eat itself alive. At least that's how mine was. Aaron Skinner: He used to be 500 pounds. Darin: The transformation has been incredible. Yeah, gosh, okay, what an intro. ⁓ I think ultimately it's about being brutally honest with yourself, right? ⁓ and just recognizing, you know, where I was at that point in my life and, saying, you know, Hey, these are the things that are making me unhappy. And, ⁓ and saying, you know, what can I change? You know, can I change things within my fitness, within my nutrition? ⁓ and just being like, Hey, it's been 10 plus years since I was a college football athlete. And, you know, I'm not really where I want to be physically like I was before. And just kind of being brutally honest with myself at that point in time and say, hey, change has to happen. Alex Skinner: Did you find, so you said, it's nutrition, physical fitness, did you find that it was both of those things, or was it primarily one or the other? Darin: Yeah. Um, well, I mean, it's a combination of all of them, right? Uh, but I think the first thing I did was I joined a community. So there was a WhatsApp group, uh, started in January, you know, very typical. And it was like, okay, you know, we're going to track ourselves over the next 12 weeks and we're going to progress and see, you know, how many pounds we can lose over that time. I think there was about 30 within the group. And so we would just have daily check-ins, know, text each other and, you know, send encouraging messages to each other and I think that was like the community I think that started you know me wanting to really change. Aaron Skinner: How did you find that community? ⁓ sorry. How did you, yeah, how did you find it? Alex Skinner: And are you still like a part of that community? ⁓ yeah, yeah. How'd you find it and are you still a part of it? Darin: Okay, so kind of funny, but my ex actually invited me to the group. ⁓ Aaron Skinner: It's like time to start losing some weight, Darren. You should join this group. ⁓ Darin: yeah. So we were kind of breaking up that point in time. And so, you know, by week one, we were together by week 12, we weren't, but there was a little motivation there, right? So yeah, yeah, yeah. I ended up losing about 45 pounds, Aaron Skinner: You lost a lot of weight then, a lot of weight. Alex Skinner: Yeah. do you feel like that was like good for you? ⁓ We talk about this a when we're talking about like fitness related goals. Do you feel like the ⁓ weight goal was a good for you or did you find somewhere else that you ended up going as far as like this is the ⁓ status, the ⁓ health goal I have now? ⁓ Darin: Okay, so ⁓ that's a good question. think, so I was going to the gym like five times a week, but the workouts were so hard, right? Like every single time I just wake up so sore and I was like, this isn't working for me. Right. I'm doing these high intensity 20 minute workouts, kind of a CrossFit thing. And every single time it was just a grind. And I think it was because I was overweight, right? So I'd be overweight. I work out really hard for 20 minutes. And then what am I doing for the rest of the 23 and a half hours of the day is, you know, I'm eating like crap. I'm sitting at a desk for, 10 hours. And so there was just, there wasn't that balance there. So I think, ⁓ being able to lose the weight, made the workouts a little bit easier, allowed my fitness to be a little bit longer, and then getting dialed in on the nutrition. So it was all kind of like a self-fulfilling circle, each one within itself. Aaron Skinner: How long were you going to the gym for five days a week previously? Darin: before I saw the results. ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Before you started like, yeah, I mean like you got to a place where you were like, I gotta start losing weight. But like, were you going to the gym on a regular basis before that? Darin: Yeah, yeah, I had probably about six months. Aaron Skinner: How long? Okay, okay, yeah, that's pretty typical. ⁓ But you weren't seeing, then that's where you're saying, like I was going to the gym, I was working out really hard, and I still wasn't seeing the results that I was looking for. And then I think that's kind of part of the next question is like, so was that group that you guys were in, were you like doing, was it like daily weight check-ins that you were doing? Darin: Yeah, we were doing daily weight check-ins, but we started sharing what was actually working. And for me, what started working was fasting. So intermittent fasting. ⁓ I started eating one meal a day, ⁓ around like five o'clock, like dinner time. ⁓ and then I would do a longer fast. I'd actually fast for, I'd stop eating on Friday night and then I would eat again on Sunday. And in between that Friday to Sunday timeframe, you know, Aaron Skinner: Okay. Mm-hmm. Darin: I'm drinking electrolytes, I'm still taking creatine, I'm increasing my sodium intake. ⁓ So it's like a water-based fast, but I also was working out at that point in time. And when I started fasting, that was the key that unlocked for me to be able to actually start losing the weight. Aaron Skinner: Sure. Mm-hmm. What did you start at? Weight-wise? Darin: So I was about 250 pounds. Aaron Skinner: Okay, okay. And then where are you at now? Darin: Right now I'm at like 207. Aaron Skinner: Okay, and how long, so you started like this past January? Darin: ⁓ no, so it wasn't this January. It was December of the year prior. So it's Aaron Skinner: It was just like last year. So how long before you got to the, know, your, did you have a goal weight or is it just like, wanna lose weight and we'll see how much I lose. Darin: Okay, so funny enough, this is what I did. ⁓ I took a picture of my body, right? And then I uploaded it to AI and I said, you know, make me look really fit. And then I looked at that image and I was like, okay, like this is what I wanna look like. Aaron Skinner: Nice. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Darin: And so then I was like, okay, this is the vision. Once I had the vision, then I could like work backwards in my mind from there and then say, okay, like this is the goal. The goal was more like for aesthetics and less on the weight, the weight, losing the weight allowed me to then, ⁓ put more effort into my workouts to be able to get more out of that. Aaron Skinner: That's smart. Yeah. Sure, sure. Did the picture that the AI generated, was it just a picture of Ivan Drago? Darin: No, but that's a good one. I'm a big fan of the Rocky movies. Alex Skinner: You ⁓ Aaron Skinner: That's funny. all right, so you did fast. Are you still doing the intermittent fasting and also like a water fast on the weekends or did that kind of taper off once you kind of locked in the rest of it? Darin: Yeah. So, so my weight loss journey was kind of like this. was like big drop off at the beginning, then a big plateau for about four to five months and then boom, another drop. ⁓ and so, ⁓ when I was in that plateau, I was still doing the intermittent fasting. wasn't doing the three day fasting at that point in time. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Sure. Yeah. Darin: But then, you know, to get to the second level, it's no longer been ⁓ fasting. It's about dialing in my nutrition. and also, you know, just kind of changing the protocol of what I'm working on for my overall wellness. Aaron Skinner: What are your macros every day now? Darin: So I'm not tracking macros, not tracking macros. So I couldn't tell you that, but I have got on a peptide protocol. So I'm now on Reddit TrueType. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. What do want? BBC 157? TV 500? ⁓ no, we're to get canceled because we're talking about peptides. ⁓ you're on red out. ⁓ okay. Darin: read a true time. I know, I know. Yeah, ⁓ one week. ⁓ And that has been, you the second plateau. has been kind of the second drop off from there. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, yeah, I have a buddy that just hopped onto to Retta and he loves it. So I have, I do, I'm, I am all for, I did a, I did a post about if taking GLPs is cheating and my, ⁓ comment, well, actually I think Alex, you and I talked about it. My comment was just like, whatever tool you can use to like lose weight and get healthy, like who cares? Like do whatever you got. mean, besides, you know, hardcore drugs, don't do that. We don't want to start. a bunch of heroin addicts. But yeah, like just whatever tool you have to use. don't think there's any, I don't think there's any shame in doing any sort of, any tool that you need to use in order to get healthy. Alex Skinner: Darren, what were like your biggest dietary changes? Darin: So, gosh, biggest dietary changes. ⁓ So many, so many. It's like literally cutting out, like, because when you fast, right, you're literally cutting out everything. And then you're reintroducing things back into your body. And so I completely cut out dairy. So ⁓ no cheese, you know, that was a big one for me. ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Darin: you know, just increasing protein intake, obviously, ⁓ and a lot of like Greek yogurts, like my, my like guilty pleasure now is like peanut butter, right? ⁓ So peanut butter for me is like dessert. ⁓ And, ⁓ and yeah, I think. Aaron Skinner: Yes! Yes. Yes. Darin: With that, you really start to be more sensitive to the foods that you introduce. So I'm not changing the amount that I'm eating. I'm just eating less frequently. Aaron Skinner: Sure, So do you, so you're not tracking your macros, but do you have like, I need to get this much protein in a day? Is there any macro that you're kind of tracking? Darin: Yeah, yeah, I am, am ⁓ tracking my amount of protein that I'm getting, you know, throughout the day. I don't know if that's like directly with, ⁓ the, the, the macro tracking, but yeah, it's mostly, I mean, I get a lot of it from canned tuna. I know that that's on second. Aaron Skinner: Sure, sure. Yeah it is. Darin: But canned tuna, me, the calorie per gram of canned tuna is unmatched. You're getting like 20 to 30 grams of protein in a single can. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, well, I'm glad we're doing this through a podcast and we're not next to you while you're eating all your He's like canned tuna and Indian food. That's all I'm eating constantly. Darin: I know. Alex Skinner: Your coworkers must love you. ⁓ wait, no, because you're, wait, are you still intermittent fasting? like, you, you're probably not even eating lunch if you're like around people. Darin: Hahaha Yeah, yeah, not so much. I try not to eat too much at office. Alex Skinner: All right, cool. So well, well, think what I was on the diet thing, something that I just want to for any anybody who is listening to this because we frequently talk about how like you got to do what's right for you. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, that's fair enough. Are you still? Sorry, Alex. Mm-hmm. Alex Skinner: I don't know. So Aaron is six foot three. Darren is six foot four. think it sounds like Darren you started at six 50 or sorry six 50 250 pounds and then Aaron would you start at? Aaron Skinner: I was at, ⁓ the heaviest ever was 280. When I started originally, or this last one, I was like 270. Alex Skinner: 280. Yeah. So the reason, so the reason I bring that up is more along the lines of like very similar physiques, obviously like a little bit heavier on Aaron's side, but you both went about it with some similarities, but quite a few differences. I don't know if you did intermittent fasting or whatever, Aaron. So when people are wondering like, ⁓ it's so hard to, to, do this. It's because you're not doing the thing that is going to allow you to do it. So you have to find the right thing for you that can be easy so that you don't want to give up eventually is essentially the point because I was asking that line of questioning to Darren so frequently because like and try to get as much information from him as possible because not completely different but like wasn't it pretty different from you Aaron? Aaron Skinner: Very, no, yeah, very different. the, that's honestly, that's one of the things I hate the most about the fitness industry is it's like, if you don't do it my way, you're gonna be a failure or whatever. And I fell into that all the time where we talked about this ⁓ on past podcasts, Darren, where it's just like, I tried keto, you I tried the carnivore, I tried all this other stuff and it didn't work. And I just had to figure out what worked for me. And then once you figure that in, figure that out, then it's sustainable. And just for me, for me, that's what I was talking about. I just tracked like everything, everything I track. I'm like a giant proponent of tracking stuff. So just tracking what you're eating, tracking your exercises, tracking your sleep, and just tracking everything. And that just helped me stay more on top of my health for sure. Alex Skinner: Yeah, like Darren, was there a reason that you decided not to track as frequently? Darin: you know, I think it's, it was just a lot of work, right? I kind of have that personality where it's kind of all or none. So, ⁓ it became, it became, yeah, it became very simple for me. Either I'm eating or I'm in a fasted state and then. Aaron Skinner: Sure. Yeah. No, I get that. Darin: You know, from there, I was able to build things after that. ⁓ but really it just kind of came down to, know, one meal a day and then fasting over the weekends. ⁓ making sure that, you know, I didn't have that brain fog. So I was, you know, taking things for me like creatine. I noticed that that really helped with my brain frog. ⁓ and then really increasing my sodium intake. ⁓ so, you know, just adding salt to water. Aaron Skinner: Did you ever do like liquid IV or anything like that? Or was it just as simple as salt to water? Darin: You know, I did those, but I never really got into it. You know, I still just like add salt to water. And for me, like for my body, I'm just like, okay, like I rejuvenated after that. Yeah. Aaron Skinner: Yeah. Yeah. That works, yeah. Dude, exactly, yes. I like that you said that, like, that's what worked for me was like just adding salt to water. And that's, again, like Alex was just saying, figure out what works for you and then keep doing that thing. And then it's the consistency, right, Darren? Like, you figured out what worked for you and you just kept doing it. And then you are where you're at now. ⁓ I think that's great. Darin: Yeah, and I think a lot of it starts in the mind too, the mindset. ⁓ So, you know, when I first started going to the gym, I didn't feel very confident. I felt like everybody was always looking at me. ⁓ But then, you know... Alex Skinner: Darren. Aaron Skinner: It's because you're hot. Darin: No, no, it's, think it was like, because trust, right? Like you're building trust within yourself. ⁓ you're doing hard things, you know, as you continue to do hard things and prove to yourself, you know, that builds your confidence, which allows you to then expand and say, you know, Hey, what else can I do? And so, you know, I think fasting was number one to kind of break through getting into nutrition, you know, was number two. And then, ⁓ number three for me is like actually starting to do these fitness competitions. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Darin: competitions. And so, you know, like these running competitions or these high rocks competitions. And so now I have a goal. You know, I did a Tough Mudder. And so these are kind of things that I'm working for and saying, okay, you know, I got to stay in shape because, or I got to stay ready because, you know, I have this thing upcoming in, you know, three, four, six weeks out. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Are you still part of that community? That WhatsApp community? Darin: You know, we ended that program, but now I started a new community, 75 Hard. So if you've heard of that, there's a group, another WhatsApp community I have with 75 Hard, and we're sharing things that we're sticking to on that protocol as well. Aaron Skinner: Oof. Can anyone join that? Darin: ⁓ yeah, I think, ⁓ yeah, I think anybody can join. ⁓ you know, this one was just a friend from Instagram that had kind of heard about the 75 hard program where you're working out two days, ⁓ you know, drinking a gallon of water, you're reading 10 pages, ⁓ from a book each day. ⁓ and then you're sticking to a diet, whatever diet that is. ⁓ and so you do that for 75 days and, and he started that WhatsApp community so that we could be able to share our progress. and what's been working for us. Aaron Skinner: Gotcha. No, that's really cool. How many of those like tough mutters or like competitions have you done? Darin: ⁓ so I've done, so for high rocks, I've done four now I did a one in Anaheim, one in Vegas. did one in Nairobi, Kenya. ⁓ and then I just finished one in Miami. ⁓ and those have been great because you know, you kind of building on your progress. It's the same workout every time. ⁓ I've done a couple of tough mutters now. And, ⁓ and then, you know, I think what's next for me is probably just more of these high rocks races because they have them. Yeah. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. What is that? What's a high rocks? Darin: Yeah, so it's kind of like CrossFit with more running and eight stations. So you're running and then you're doing a station, which is like a sled pull or a sled push, ⁓ kettlebell weight carry. So it's a good mix of running and strength. Aaron Skinner: Okay. Are, do you have like like a long-term goal of like doing like an iron man or anything like that? Darin: You know, my brother-in-law just did an Ironman and he, ⁓ you know, I think maybe eventually like building up to that, like the biking, the swimming, ⁓ you know, those are the things that I don't really have in my training program right now. ⁓ so if I wanted to do that, I'd probably have to, to really build up for that. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Gotcha, gotcha. Alex Skinner: What does a normal day look like for you now? Just to give people a little insight, following up on the unsexy side of everything, I imagine there's a lot of planning that goes into this. Darin: ⁓ Yeah, yeah, there's a little bit of planning. I'm waking up at like 4 30. I'm working out at five at my local CrossFit gym. Uh, you know, then I'm hopping in a car. I'm commuting down to Newport beach and putting in eight hour work days there. Um, afterwards, um, I'm doing beach runs. Uh, so I'll just like change my clothes in the car, run along the beach and, and get in, you know, usually a 30 to 45 minute run, uh, hop back in the car and drive home. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Alex Skinner: But has that been like pretty consistent for like this entire so what we're going on like 18 months at this point. Darin: ⁓ probably the last eight months. Yeah. Alex Skinner: Last eight months. I think that's important too, because as you've been talking about doing these competitions, know Aaron is looking to do a competition as well here soon. What's really important, and I love talking like I'm the expert on this when I'm by far the person who does the least amount here, but... Aaron Skinner: Ahem. Alex Skinner: the what I like about both of your stories, if I can compliment both of you is it's not just one thing. And what I mean by that is like, I lost weight, I'm done. It's all right, what is the next thing so that you can continue on the journey instead of like, okay, I've done it and now I've completed. So first eight months, you didn't do any of the things that you're talking about like now, but you found this thing that is consistent for you that allows you to do whatever like the next target goal is. And I think it's important to talk about like the month number thing. I always make up ⁓ statistics on this show, so I'm gonna continue to do that. Like it can take like months. six months before you're set in your ways doing a certain thing. So if you're giving up alcohol, if you're giving up ⁓ red meat because you've got a heart condition, if you're giving up like whatever it is, it takes a long period of time before you are almost safe from whatever that negative thing that you have in your life. So that's why we like talking about this stuff because usually, and I think what's been cool about your story too, Darren, is You don't realize the impact that you have by simply sharing the story that you have. And I don't mean on this podcast right now. Like you're constantly documenting the stuff that you're doing on Instagram. And I'm sure there are people who reach out to you and they get pumped by it like, ⁓ This is awesome. But there's also like, don't reach out every, I am one of your bigger fans, I would say, but I'm not like your biggest fan, but there's going to be a lot of other people who are motivated by the stuff that you're doing and aren't saying it. So I want to make sure I say that out there, because I've been extremely motivated by both Aaron and Darren. Look at that. ⁓ And what they have been doing. And so thanks for documenting it. But for the people listening, like, I've been watching Darren do this for once again, like 18 months. I know what he looked like at. He looked great at the start too. Like he's got some great genetics, but he looks, that's why I dropped that Greek God line right now where it's just like, all right. So I went from like Brad Pitt in Brad Pitt in Benjamin Button to Brad Pitt and Fight Club. that's the, that's the, the, the, looked like a small, it looked like a small old man child. ⁓ Aaron Skinner: No, terrible. You used to look like a baby. Darin: No Alex, I really appreciate that because it is the unsexy things that I'm sharing ⁓ throughout my journey that sometimes is a little cringe. know, I'm like, gosh. Aaron Skinner: Sure. Darin: Do I really need to post like, you know, me waking up like that? Is it, you know, is that really like fulfilling my purpose? ⁓ you know, but it's like, then you stack that up over time and, then that's where the power comes. That's where the compounding comes is like, Hey, you know, waking up at 431 time. That's great. You know, doing it for eight months. That's when you see the compounding effect of your decisions, your habits, building it to your routine and kind of recreating like who you are. Aaron Skinner: Yes. Darin: and what you tell yourself too. Because I think all of this kind of starts in the mind. And for me, it was having a community that was like-minded. I didn't have that physically around me, but I was able to find that online. And then once I found that like-minded community online, then I started bringing in the physical people around me. And so I think the same for you, Alex, is like, hey, you're watching this, you're like-minded, you're studying it, and you're finding that. And so then that's what kind of builds you into that pathway to be able to think that way going forward. Aaron Skinner: And I'm like that we're talking to you because ⁓ I came from the more of the kind of your average dude who, you know, was overweight for a really long time and then figured it out. even where'd you play college ball at? Darin: ⁓ I walked on at BYU, Brigham Young. Aaron Skinner: ⁓ okay. So D1 athlete. So even a D1 athlete can fall off and then figure it out again. Like it's like anyone, anyone can fall into that trap of getting overweight. And I mean, I guess that shouldn't be a giant surprise. Look at like any almost any professional athlete 10 years later, they're always like way fatter than they used to be for the most part. So it's just like, it's not just, it's not just your average person that can fall off. It's really anyone. And so you know, for the people that couldn't relate to my story because like I was a D1, I knew what it was like to be super jacked and whatever. Like your story is more inspiring for those people. Cause like, ⁓ here's a guy who was a D1 athlete, kind of lost his way and was able to figure it out again. So that that's possible as well. ⁓ It's just, it's a really, it's a very fascinating story. I like the community part of that too. The gym I got to, don't talk to anybody. Actually I made a, ⁓ a video about it, just how weird it is you go to the gym and don't talk to anybody for 10 years. ⁓ But yeah, do that's a do you so you're still doing crossfit? How long are your crossfit sessions? Are they still like 30 minutes long? Darin: Yeah, I mean, it's an hour program, like when you're doing that, yeah, it's, it's always an hour program, but like when you're doing the high intensity workout, you know, sometimes these workouts are only eight minutes long. Sometimes they're 45 minutes long. They vary, but you know, it's still like short bursts that you're, that you're doing it. Aaron Skinner: It's our, okay. Yeah. Sure. I do have a question for you. Do you look like that AI picture? Darin: ⁓ now? Yes. Yes, we've built, we've built into it, right? And it really... No, I think it was like, I needed a vision. I needed to see... Yeah, I needed to see it first before I could believe it in myself. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, nice, nice. Yeah, like, I look better than that AI picture. Alex Skinner: Hehehehehe ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Yes, no, dude, I love that. Yes. Dude, I think that's a great idea. Yeah, yeah, yeah. ⁓ yeah. Yeah, that's actually a really interesting strategy to do it because mine was, mine was always like looking at fat pictures of me was more of like, I don't want to look like that guy anymore. You were the exact opposite. You're like, I want to see what I'm going to be like when I'm Jack. That's a fascinating way to do that. My impetus and like Alex has heard this story a thousand times, but I'll say it again. And anyone's listening to this a thousand times too. Mine was a I was listening to a quote, there was a podcast I was listening to and there's a Navy SEAL on there and he was just like, yeah, I find it interesting that you have all these dads out there who said they'll take a bullet for their kid, but none of them will lose 40 pounds for their kid. Like, be, get in shape for their kid. And that, that was the one that is still lives in my head rent free. And I think about it all the time. And anytime I'm like, you know, if I'm starting to... go back to where, which there's no issue anymore, but especially on my journey of like cutting all the crappy food out, that's all I ever thought about. was like, it's easier to lose 40 pounds than to get shot. So I'd rather just lose 40 pounds. I'm just gonna do that. Although it ended up being like 60 something pounds, but you know, then just whatever, the point being is like, whatever your motivation is, whatever it is, it's a super sexy AI version of yourself, or it's a quote that you hear or whatever it is, like, just find that motivation that can change your mindset and then just go for it. And then consistency, right? Like just, you have to lock it in. You have to be consistent because the motivation always goes away eventually, right? Like you could be motivated, but I'm sure dude, how many mornings do you wake up and you're just like, especially in the beginning, like, don't want to wake up. I'm so tired. I just want to go back to bed. I don't want to go. Darin: Yep. Yeah. Aaron Skinner: But now is it a lot easier every morning? Like you're pumped to go work out. would say the majority of the time, sure there's maybe you're not feeling good or whatever, but I would say 90 % of the time, 95 % of the time you wake up and you're pumped to go see your buddies at the gym or just like, know I'm gonna feel great after I go to the gym. Darin: Yeah, so you're kind of talking about this fourth level for me, ⁓ which... ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Darin: You know, number one is if you don't have the voice within yourself, adopt the voice of somebody else. And the voice for somebody else for me was ⁓ Tim Tealdo. He has a YouTube video called Positive Self Talk. It's 14 minutes. ⁓ And I would listen to that when I didn't have the voice within myself. So when I'm not feeling motivated, you know, I'll put on that Tim Tealdo video. I must have listened to that, you know, a thousand times now. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Darin: And now those words can echo and play within my own head and now it becomes my own voice. The other thing I did was I have a little bit of a competitive edge within myself. So I took negative comments that people said about me either online and I wrote them on my mirror in whiteboard and I left them on there until they no longer rang true anymore. Aaron Skinner: Yes. Alex Skinner: little bit. you Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Alex Skinner: and Darin: dead weight, know, he's lazy. No, I did not say that. was the unsexy. So I took these negative phrases that people said, I wrote them on the whiteboard. I looked at them every morning and I was like, that's not true, you know. ⁓ Yeah. And then here's the fourth level now. ⁓ For me, I started getting into Vedic meditation. Aaron Skinner: He's so sexy. He's only so sexy. can't believe how sexy he is. Alex Skinner: No. Aaron Skinner: Yeah? Mm-hmm. Yeah, dude, that's awesome. Yes, and I got offended by that. Yeah. Alex Skinner: He did the Michael Jordan. Aaron Skinner: Okay. Darin: This is, you know, comes from the Eastern, you know, background from India. It's like 20 minutes in the morning. You literally just kind of detach. You have like a single word that kind of resonates within you. ⁓ And so I meditate. And by meditating, I'm like turning my brain off. I'm kind of resetting. And then it allows me to like come back and perform at a high level. And so that's kind of what I've been finding now in this fourth iteration of what I'm going through is I'm going, I'm doing, I'm doing so much, but I need to have time to be able to reset and refresh myself so that I continue to perform at a high level. Aaron Skinner: That's awesome. That's awesome. How long you been doing that for? Darin: So I did the meditation retreat about a month ago. So it was like three, no, not, not Iowa, not Iowa. ⁓ But yeah, it was just Elton Santa Monica, Victoria Larkins is her name. ⁓ Aaron Skinner: Was it an ayahuasca retreat? I just checked it. Alex Skinner: Aaron Rodgers wasn't there. Just Aaron. Darin: She has, she's pretty incredible. Taught me how to meditate for myself, because for me it's just like, what, am I just going to close my eyes and go to sleep? ⁓ It's very active ⁓ and she really kind of helped sort things to be able to be at peace with myself ⁓ and be able to build that up. So I'm about a month in, pretty good results so far. I feel like it's kind of unlocking things to be able to continue to perform at a high level. Aaron Skinner: That's awesome, man. That's really cool. Alex Skinner: I got two more questions and then if questions come in between those two questions, it's totally fine. But question number one, without getting into too much detail, how much better do you feel now compared to 18 months ago? Darin: Confidence is like way up there. ⁓ And yeah, I mean, I just feel better throughout the day and have more energy. Alex Skinner: And then my last question, and I think that might lead from what you just said, like, what is the, if you could only have one hill to die on piece of advice to give to someone, just do this one thing, this will make, this will allow all of the other dominoes to fall in place, what is that? Aaron Skinner: That's awesome. Darin: You gotta believe in yourself. You gotta believe in yourself. It's so cheesy. It's so cheesy. But like, it's crazy because there are things, like I'm generally a nice guy and I don't really say mean things to other people, but I say the meanest things to myself, right? Like my inner voice, my inner self-talk. Like if you don't believe in yourself and you don't have a positive inner voice, like you're not gonna get very far in life. Aaron Skinner: No. Alex Skinner: you Aaron Skinner: Yeah, ⁓ yeah. Yes, I really thought it was gonna be make a sexy AI version of yourself was gonna be here. ⁓ Darin: Step one, know, that's the AI version. Step two, work to be able to build into that. See the vision. That's true, that's true too though, is you got to have the vision. You got to have the vision. Alex Skinner: believe in yourself. Aaron Skinner: Yeah, oh yeah, do 100%, 100%. And this is Alex and I talk about this a lot too. And he kind of brought it up was I just, hate the word diet. I really do because it always, there's a connotation of an end date. It has to be like just a lifestyle change. It has to be because lifestyle is the rest of your life. Diet, it's, oh, I'm on a diet for six months or three months or whatever it is. And then it ends and then you, for me, this had happened all the time. Darin: Yeah. Aaron Skinner: I would do that, lose 30 pounds and then gain it all back. if it's like kind of like you said, like you believe in yourself and then you commit to that lifestyle change is when you actually see those results. And it doesn't happen fast. Dude, you've been doing this for 18 months. We live in a society, I'm gonna start going off. We live in a society where it's just like, ⁓ I didn't lose weight in like three months or I'm not where I wanna be. Like you've been eating like shit and not exercising right for 30. Alex Skinner: you Aaron Skinner: 40 years, it's going to take a while. Like you have to be able to commit for like at least a year. And I'm not even saying, but just like to changing your lifestyle, you have to commit for at least a year. And I promise anyone out there, if they commit for at least a year, they're never going to want to go back. Cause just like you, Darren, you don't want to be the version of yourself 18 months ago. I don't want to be the version of myself nine months ago. And once you, once you get to that spot, it's nothing's you're never going back like dude you're never going back to the way you were like they're just you know what it was like it sucked and so just don't think it's gonna happen overnight and don't be let down if there's like ⁓ you stumble a little bit because everybody stumbles don't let that one stumble be the reason like ⁓ i messed up on my my diet or my life change ⁓ this weekend so i'll start again next week or whatever it is like no just get right back to it you screw up one day just The next day you start over, you start pushing right towards that same goal. Don't, don't just give up. God, don't give up people. Don't give up. And rant. Darin: Yeah. Don't, don't give up. think, I think one thing too is, you know, I, I track my workouts in an app, right? So I can see my progress over time. You know, I started weighing myself, but I wouldn't treat those. I wouldn't treat those like tests. I just would treat those as data points or information. Alex Skinner: In the words of Jim Valvano. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Yes. Yes. Mm-hmm. Exactly. Yes. Darin: So, okay, I'm weighing myself, know, Sundays I'm, you know, up five pounds, some days I'm down five pounds. That's not a test, right? It's just a progress report. I'm just kind of checking in. I have the habits and I have the system in place. Aaron Skinner: Yes. Darin: You know, so I'm not treating those as like a pass or fail. They're really just data points along the way for my journey. And, ⁓ and then, you know, being able to see that compound over time is, where it builds the confidence and gives you, you know, the satisfaction that, okay, like I am doing this, this is who I am. But if you're not tracking it, then there's kind of that fear of the unknown and you're treating everything like a test. Then, you know, it, it really kind of can discourage you. So. Aaron Skinner: Well, especially if you're not tracking it. you have no, there's sometimes there's just like, if you know you're not doing good, like, I don't want to weigh myself. I know I kind of ate like crap yesterday. Like, no, that's when you need to track yourself. But you're right. Like, yeah, your body fluctuates so much just depending on, you know, how much glycogen your muscles hold it onto after a hard workout or how much water you drank or how big of a dump you took that morning or whatever it is. Like it's fluctuate. So my thing was always like, I would weigh myself every day. I wouldn't freak out about it, but I'd always look like, all right, well, where was I like last, cause last Friday, that's what I would always like judge it off of the Friday before. And it was always going down. Like, well, it wasn't always, you know, 10 pounds, but it was always, the trajectory was always going down. And that's what's the most important. Don't, don't fear the track. That's my heel I die on is you have to track everything. Cause I track everything in my app too. Like I have a workout app that I use to track all my lifts and it's another just motivating factor because you could look back three months like, my gosh, I remember when I thought that was like super hard to bench press that much. Now those are like my, that's my warmup rep or whatever it is. And just all those little tiny things that can keep you motivated is so powerful when you're just changing, changing your, your entire health life and rent. Yes. Darin: And it has lot over effects, right? It starts at the gym, it starts at nutrition, but then it goes into work, goes into your relationships, goes into the self-respect that you demand, goes into your interactions and confidence in talking to strangers and other people. mean, it's like fitness is the gateway drug, right? To having self-discipline to be able to build a life that you want. Aaron Skinner: Yes. Alex Skinner: you Aaron Skinner: Yeah, and the thing is like, as sad as it is, like we do live in a society that is based on like how you look. And so you're gonna just automatically be taken a little bit, if it's not significant, just even, it might be significant, but even a little bit more seriously of like, ⁓ that guy clearly works out. He takes care of himself. You know, I can trust him or whatever. Like he knows what he's talking about. He must be smart because he knows that. And we're not saying that every strong, Alex Skinner: takes care of Yeah. Aaron Skinner: athlete is a good person. That's not what we're saying, but there's just something again in life. Don't don't make life harder than it needs to be. If you can, if you can, if you can get in shape and you have that one extra advantage over the other person that's applying for a position, take advantage of that. Like do do whatever you have to do with, with whatever it is. Even if you're not starting your own business or doing whatever it just, makes life, it just makes life so much better. I don't know. Other random. Alex Skinner: Okay. Darin: Yeah, no, you're totally right. I think, okay, so before my fitness journey, when I was feeling kind of lost, I wasn't just sitting around doing nothing. I was performing at a high level, but it was like more in the academic sense. So in finance, there's this charter called the CFA charter. It's really competitive, only about 10 to 15 % people actually pass all three levels. It took me four hours. You I was studying 300 hours for each test, but I'm at a desk. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Darin: You know, I'm sitting at a desk for eight to 10 hours. was like a weekend warrior. I'd study on the weekends, drinking a lot of energy drinks and thinking that like, hey, if I'm just like really smart with my mind, then, you know, that's going to lead me to a life that I want to live. And then I realized that I didn't have the balance. I was, I was too much on the academic side, not so much on the fitness and self-confidence side. So I was really smart, but I was like afraid to speak up in meetings. Aaron Skinner: Mm-hmm. Darin: I would stutter and not be able to clearly communicate my ideas. People are like, who is this guy? ⁓ Now it's about finding that balance where academics are important. ⁓ Being smart and articulate is important, but if you don't have your fitness and your mental health dialed in, then you're out of balance and it's just something that's not going to resonate with lot of people. Aaron Skinner: Right, right. Yeah, no, I totally agree. Alex Skinner: Amen. Well, Darren, thanks a ton for chatting with us today. We really appreciate the insight and the perspective that you bring. And to everybody listening, you can go check out Darren's health journey. don't know if you want us to put your Instagram tag in there or if you want people publicly following you or not, but go search Darren Tuttle. He's one of the only ones out there and you can start seeing all the cool stuff that he's Well, yep. Hey, have... Darin: I appreciate it, Alex. Yeah, I'll put the tag after and yeah, it's a public profile, so you're welcome to follow and I'll be sharing stuff along my journey too. Aaron Skinner: Cool. Thanks, Darren. Alex Skinner: All right, well everyone have a great rest of week and we'll chat with everyone next week.