Fifteen years ago, when I first started training people as a business, I spent just about every waking hour in the gym. I was renting space from a local facility, and most days ran from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 or 7:00 p.m. I was either coaching clients, studying training methods, or working on ways to build my business. That grind didn’t leave much time for anything else — including eating well.
Back then, I didn’t have a solid system for preparing food ahead of time. So more days than not, I grabbed a couple of turkey sandwiches and a Mountain Dew (maybe a bag of chips too) from the Kroger in Oakland. It was cheap, quick, and right down the road. I told myself it wasn’t that bad — I was young, active, and constantly moving.
What I didn’t understand was that I was slowly building an addiction.
Even years later, after I’d cleaned up my nutrition and really started to understand what food does to the body, I still craved Mountain Dew. Every few weeks, I’d give in and buy one. And almost every time, I’d take a few sips, get that old familiar hit, and toss the rest. Just enough to scratch the itch.
But here’s what finally hit me — it wasn’t the flavor I missed. It was the chemical response in my brain and body. I was addicted to the formula — the engineered blend of sugar, caffeine, acidity, and artificial flavors that kept me coming back.
And breaking that addiction didn’t happen overnight. It was slow. Gradual. A weaning off that took real intention. But once I was past it, the cravings stopped. I didn’t miss it. I didn’t want it. And more importantly — I felt better than I realized I could.
Here’s the truth most people don’t know:
The vast majority of the processed food and drinks on our shelves today are chemically engineered to be addictive. And most people have no idea they’re hooked. They assume they just have “no willpower” or “bad habits.” But the reality is much deeper than that — they’re dealing with a real addiction, one that keeps them feeling sluggish, inflamed, and constantly chasing another fix.
They don’t know how good they could feel, because they’ve never actually been free of the pull.
At Penance Gym, we talk a lot about strength. And sometimes, that strength starts with making one small decision to step away from the thing that keeps pulling you back in — and choosing something better.
It’s not easy. But it’s worth it.