I touched my first weight at the age of 13 and never looked back. My mindset though is something that has taken a huge 360. I began lifting for sports. I was a three sport athlete in H.S. competing in football (OL), wrestling (HWT), and T&F (throwing). I went on to college to play division II Football (OG). That entire time my only concern was getting BIGGER, FASter, STRONGER.... and that is what I did. At one point I had gotten up to 285 lbs (I started my senior season @275, end of season @260. Although I was considerably strong (500 lb squat, 405 bench) and considered a big guy, and never really called "fat", I knew that my body was no where near where it should be and I had let myself balloon.
In November 2012, I played my last football game. Prior to that season I had already mapped out how I was going to attack my body when football was over (I'll get to this in a minute). To be honest, I never wanted to be big, but in H.S. that's what I was good at. I was a lineman in football and a top ranked HWT in wrestling. I knew that the only way I was going to get a scholarship to play sports in college was to maintain the path that I was already headed (get bigger). I can remember two different conversations with H.S. teammates and telling them that I couldn't wait till I was done playing sports, so I could lose all my excess weight and be considered lean/ripped/SHREDDED. They laughed, and said I would only get fatter (Hey NIck, Hey Anthony). I still remember those conversation and saved it for November 2012 when the real journey began.
From November 2012 till the end of January, I had successfully lost 35 lbs (225lbs)using the Targeted Keto Diet, but I was very unsatisfied. I took a break to focus on putting some strength and muslce back on the right way for two months and then starting dieting again, this time using a more tradition cut and worked my way back down to 225, but this 225 was a whole lot different then the first 225 I had made it too the mini bulk was just enough to add enough size, that when I cut back down this time I could see something I had never seen before... ABS lol. Since then I have been going back and forth between cuts/lean bulks/recomps and I have continually been seeing results.

When I walk in the gym, throw my headphones in, I'm in my own world. In that 1-2 hours that i am in the gym, nothing else matters, all outside stresses/problems are forgotten and if somehow they enter my mind, they leave through the weights.