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A promising career, a growing business, and a baby on the way—then everything crashed. Mike shares how dehydration led to a severe concussion, relentless stress triggered chest pain from pneumomediastinum, and sleepless nights pushed him to the edge. One last kiss to his newborn daughter pulled him back. He started with a loop around the apartment, holding his baby, and rebuilt from there—first steps, then rucking, then losing 80 pounds and completing 37.5 miles with a 100-pound backpack to spotlight suicide prevention.

We go deep on why most diets fail and what actually sustains change. Mike unpacks the physiology of regain—leptin and ghrelin shifts, metabolic adaptation—and why tracking alone often backfires. He lays out an intuitive system based on “cues and skews,” teaching you to recognize true deficit and surplus, slow down hyper-palatable foods, and front-load calories when your body handles carbs best. We talk real-world flexibility: dosing treats without spirals, adjusting intake to daily activity, and designing an intentional 10–15 pound regain after major loss to prevent the avalanche.

This conversation also challenges extremes that dominate social media. We explore how to find a sane middle ground that respects body size, culture, and context without denying health risks. Mike shares how motivations evolve—from pride and fear to family and purpose—and why your best progress happens when you improve your worst day by 1%. Whether you’re coming back from burnout, starting from scratch, or trying to hold on to what you’ve earned, you’ll get practical tools you can use today.

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Connect with Mike:

Instagram: @union.health.and.fitness/

Facebook: @mike.smith.770077

YouTube: @unionhealthandfitness

TikTok: @unionfitness

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