My story part 2

I had walked straight into the most obvious trap of them all.

See, I like to start my day early – 6 AM – and hit the gym first thing. So that’s what I did. On an empty stomach.

I had read a ton of things, but I was a little impatient and figured: “Hey, if I train fasted, I’ll lose even more weight.”

What I didn’t understand was that I was actually slowing down my metabolism.

I’m a big guy – 2 meters tall (6’7”). Even at 160 kg, I still had a decent amount of muscle.
But those muscles were starving.

Eventually, I gave up on the diet.
But by then, going to the gym had become a habit.

And then something strange happened: I started losing weight.
A lot of it.
We’re talking 10–15 kg of pure fat… gone in just a few months.
And I was eating whatever I wanted — barbecues in the evening, sausages and bread, sandwiches for lunch, eggs for breakfast.

At that point, my girlfriend was seeing a personal trainer and got a meal plan based on macros. That wasn’t new to me, but I’d always thought: “That’s not something I need.”

But I got curious. I started digging deeper — and that’s when I discovered the protein thing:
3 grams of protein per kilo of bodyweight.

So, we started meal prepping.
But hitting 400 grams of protein per day?
That’s a lot. It meant nearly a full kilo of meat, eggs, shrimp, etc. every day.
So I added protein shakes to hit my target.

I built a daily plan:

• ~400g protein
• ~400g carbs
• ~100g healthy fats

And that’s when things really started to shift.

Suddenly, my lifts felt lighter.
I had to increase weights constantly.
Tracking progress became a weekly routine.

• I went from doing reverse rows with 12 kg dumbbells to 22 kg.
• I maxed out the quad extension machine at my gym — 160 kg.

My muscle mass is now well into triple digits (kg),
Body fat is around 18–20%, and dropping.

And I feel incredible.

• I can put my socks on without breaking a sweat.
• I can get in and out of my car without sounding like a steam engine doing a 3-point turn.
• I have energy like I’ve never had before.

And I never want to lose this feeling again.

This entire journey has been overwhelming in the best possible way.

I see guys my age who look like they’ve already checked into the nursing home — and I want to reach them. I want to share what this has done for me. Because life can be radically different, even well past 40.

I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve achieved — not for fame, not for glory, but for myself.

One of my friends noticed the change and said:
“Damn, Ruben why… you’re almost 50!”

I looked him dead in the eye and said:
“So what? Does that mean life’s over now?”

I reject that mindset entirely.
Life doesn’t end after 40 — it starts.

Right now, I’m living the dream of every man out there:
I feel like I’m 25, but with nearly 50 years of wisdom.

That’s not the end. That’s real life!