Life Before KickStart

How was your body before Trevor Kashey Nutrition?
Tired.

I was tired a lot. I would get sick a lot. I did not have full range of motion in my left shoulder and my right hip was worse than it is now. Tendonitis, tendonosis, impingement on the greater trochanter, bursitis…

I had more fat and less muscle, and was weaker, and felt tired weak and old.

How did that (state of being) make you feel?
Part of it sucked. My shoulder and hip were limiting me.

I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin or how I felt or looked.

Was there anything you were unable to do that you wish you could have done?
Yes. Lift my left shoulder laterally and up over my head under it’s own power.

Run a 5km without paying for it dearly with my hip.

Bench pressing, as my shoulder was limiting that.

Chin-ups or pull-ups were out of the question.

And it wasn’t that I wasn’t able to, but I wasn’t as comfortable as I am now without a shirt on.

Back then I felt like I always needed a nap to get through the day.

During that time, how did your current state of being affect those around you?
I may have been more snappy around those around me. Definitely had a shorter fuse. Especially when tired, which was basically all the time. I was more frustrated which they likely felt.

The Moment Everything Changed

How did you hear about Trevor Kashey Nutrition?
I heard about TKN from Michael Easter’s book, The Comfort Crisis which was recommended to my by a hunt guide.

What were your doubts and fears before starting the program?
That it would only be valuable for those who wanted to lose weight as a weight loss program.

What made you say YES anyway?
That TKN worked with athletes from the highest levels to people who were at their lowest, those with injuries and everything in-between. The methodology just tracked with me.

It wasn’t about yelling slogans at people to “push the envelope” but to address underlying issues and behaviours and introducing systems and tracking that works.

Life After KickStart

Where is your body/mind now?
9% measured body fat, 13.8 lbs of total body fat.

More than half my body weight is muscle mass (not lean body weight but muscle).

My abs are showing and I feel great in my own skin.

I am not tired all the time. When I am tired, I can handle it.

I sleep better, live better, am happier and am loving life.

How does that make you feel?
Freaking amazing. I feel better at 40 (I turn 40 the day after kick-start officially ends), than I did at 25. I look better too.

What are you able to do now that you were not able to do before (mentally, emotionally, or physically)?
Mentally: Handle anything that comes my way. And do it rationally.
Emotionally: Handle anything that comes my way. And do it rationally.
Physically: Run, bench press, shoulder press, full range of motion in my shoulder, go for long heavy rucks with hills and feel great.

Literally everything is better. Examples:

I have competed in three long range rifle competitions during KickStart. I won two of them. But more importantly, I felt way sharper/alert, less stressed, had more energy, felt better fuelled and felt stronger. I had better preparations in everything going into them, and a better mindset. Precision shooting is a confidence game and I felt great.

I am a pilot. I fly bush planes. During KickStart, I flew from north Toronto, Ontario up into remote parts of Quebec for recurrence flight training in a Beaver on Floats. We did our training in the bush and flew back in the same day. I had 7.2 hours of flight time in a single day. My instructor said “you don’t even look tired. The last time we trained, I was able to tire you out. What’s changed?”

The Ripple Effect

What positive impact did that have on others around you that you might not have expected?
Two of my friends have lost a lot of weight. We started a group chat at the start of me starting TKN with 5 of us.

My best friend’s wife now tracks all of her intake and has goals.

My wife Ariel loves the changes physically in my body and my tolerance for when life doesn’t go according to plan.

My son just knows that he can play with his dad more. That I will chase him if he asks, lift him over my head and throw him in the air, wrastle him (not wrestle.. there is a difference!), and be present with him and not somewhere else in my head.

Daryl’s Words to You

What would you tell someone who is reading this right now and is unsure about taking the next step?
Just fucking do it. I have a hard time describing what this has done for me because it is so much that my words don’t do it justice.

TKN came at the right time in my life when I was ready. I was freakin’ ready.

I still have a long way to go and I am also damn proud of what I have accomplished so far. I love the journey and that is a huge win. It isn’t about the finish line but celebrating all the wins along the way.

I love being aware. I love having so many tools to at my disposal. I love having better aptitude/knowledge. I have control over the my life, much more than I would have imagined (autonomy). I have really enjoyed my interactions with my affiliations – with the coaches and my fellow KickStarters. Learning about their challenges and wins has helped more than I would have imagined.

Just…. fucking…. do…..it.