Brandon, a 35-year-old professional and father, faced a tough stretch with injuries and two skin cancer surgeries. He hit a low point, frustrated by not being able to play basketball or do the activities that once brought him so much joy.
“In all honesty, I used those circumstances as an excuse to feed my body absolute junk,” he said. “I couldn’t work out or play sports the way I wanted to, and I was in a rough spot toward the end of the year.”
Before MacroFactor
Brandon had always taken an intuitive approach to nutrition and didn’t worry much about the details beyond protein.
“Basically, when I wanted to bulk to gain strength or muscle, I just made sure to get more than my body weight in protein and eat almost as much as I could of everything else,” he said. “When I wanted to cut fat to lean out, I would stick to an approved foods list I wrote out. It was made up of foods I saw people I trusted eating when they were cutting.”
But without focusing on macros or his actual energy needs, Brandon wasn’t always thrilled with the results.
“The way I had been doing it made it hard to bulk without gaining too much fat, which left me feeling sluggish and like crap most of the time,” he said. “Then when I would cut, I’d end up losing a lot of the muscle, strength, and progress I had built.”
When Brandon started using MacroFactor, it was a whole new direction. He realized he was dialing into an entirely different way of doing things.
Putting in the work
Brandon likes to compete, and when he decides to tackle something, he dives in full force.
“I’m an extremely competitive person, so I needed something to turn me around and something worth running hard after,” he said. “I used the [MacroFactor Transformation] challenge and was able to absolutely lock in and give everything I had.”
He committed to giving his body and transformation serious attention. Brandon got up early, never missed his steps, and built habits that not only fueled his progress but also gave him skills he could carry far beyond this cut.
“I got into a routine to accomplish something worthwhile,” he said. “I got up at 4:20 a.m. six days a week, and I would go walking every night after my kids went to bed.”
For Brandon, though, the biggest win wasn’t just the physical results. It was strengthening a skill he believes will serve him for the rest of his life.
“I’ve strengthened my muscle to do hard things, and I truly believe this will carry on after this challenge, not just in fitness but in other areas of my life as a husband, father, and professional,” he said. “If you deny yourself some instant gratification for something greater, you can do something insane that you never thought possible.”
The features that made it possible
Brandon was most appreciative of the way MacroFactor didn’t just let him track macros, but also guided him with clear targets.
“The fact that not only could I track macros in the app, but it actually gave me the numbers I should be hitting through the strategy and coaching feature, was an absolute game changer,” he said. “Having an actual clear target that was extremely easy to use allowed me to achieve the best physique of my life.”
Still, his favorite feature was probably the barcode scanner.
“My favorite feature of the food log is the barcode scanner,” he said. “I can’t tell you how many times I said to my wife that I couldn’t believe this works so easily when I would scan a random food item and it entered its actual macros.”
For Brandon, those small conveniences and clear answers gave him the extra support he needed.
“The barcode scanner and the strategy feature saved me time and gave me clear direction every day,” he said.
Looking ahead
For Brandon, this journey has been an awakening in how he views the relationship between effort and reward. He’s truly proud of what he has been able to accomplish in such a short time.
“This experience changed my life and how I will go about fitness and nutrition forever,” he said. “The MacroFactor app made it simple to do all of the hard things that I’ve pushed myself to do over the last three and a half months.”
The impact has reached beyond just his own progress, as his friends and family have felt it too.
“My wife is in the best health she’s been in since we started having kids 10 years ago, and I’ve also been able to help dozens of my friends and coworkers get on fitness and nutrition plans,” he said.
Looking ahead, Brandon feels confident that the discipline he’s built will carry into every area of his life.
“I truly believe that my biggest win has been the disciplined routine I’ve stuck to,” he said. “This gave me confidence that I can do really hard things in life.”
If you’d like to connect with Brandon, you can find him on Instagram.
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