Beer! Shortly after turning 21 I discovered an awesome dive bar down the street from home which took most of my money but provided some amazing nights. I also earned a set of man boobs and the gut to go with it. I was always the skinny kid growing up, so seeing my body this way disgusted me quite a bit. I figured a gym membership, a few bench presses and curls and I'd be golden.
Well I did that for over a year, maybe even two and saw the results that most beginners see but that quickly came to a screeching halt. Confused and frustrated, I hit the forums and read books looking for the easy solution. I eventually figured out that I needed to workout my back and legs in order to see any kind of decent results, but still I saw no real progress. Mind you, I kept drinking like a fish and ate whatever I felt like (Del taco and Denny's after long nights of drinking). It wasn't until a coworker introduced me to pre-workout sups that I snapped out of it. I started working out with an intensity I had never experienced before and the results started coming ever so slowly. It was then I decided this was something I was going to take seriously. The drinking slowly decreased and so did the midnight fast food trips.
I have now been eating clean and working out smarter for a few months and the progress is unbelievable. I LOVE food so eating clean took some getting used to, to say the least. But the sacrifices have been well worth it! Like most people, I just wish I would have started sooner.