It was 2005. I was 24 years old and on my first deployment as a Marine in Ramadi, Iraq.

One afternoon, sitting in a hot, abandoned apartment building, I took off my long sleeve and sat down wearing only my body armor over a green t shirt. As I opened an MRE for lunch, I felt a sharp pinch in my stomach. I looked down and saw my belly wedged between my armor and my belt. Sweat dripped onto the concrete floor, my shirt stretched tight, and my stomach spilling over my waistband. That moment hit me harder than any training evolution ever had.

Just months earlier, I had lost 25 pounds in Boot Camp and felt proud of my body. But old habits crept back in. Fast food. Soda. Too much alcohol. Even though I could still pass the PFT and keep up in training, I knew something was wrong. Discipline had eroded, and it was no one’s fault but mine.

That realization changed everything.

When we returned to base, I changed into PT gear and went straight to the gym. It wasn’t much, but it was enough. One workout became another. Days turned into weeks. Progress came slowly, but it came.

My body changed, but more importantly, my mindset did. Exercise stopped being something I did and became part of who I am. I’m not perfect, but I’ve dramatically reduced my risk of disease and decline. I wasn’t always healthy. I worked for this.

And that means you can too. Start today. Take responsibility. Keep going. As long as you do, what you move toward will eventually come to be.