Name: Carlos Cascos
Age: 24
Starting Weight: 191
Current Weight: 140
Which Dolce Diet books helped you on your journey? Living Lean, Living Lean Cookbook, 3 Weeks to Shredded.
TELL US YOUR STORY! I started attending the University Of Nevada Reno fall 2007. I remember it was the first taste of freedom from my parents and I was ready to experience college. My parents helped me move into my dorm room and we said our goodbyes. Looking back at this moment I knew that I was not ready to attend college. I did not have a focus or goal on what I wanted to do with my life and like many other college students I turned to partying which of course led to a lot of binge drinking. My first semester in college I drank almost every day and ate most of my meals in the dining hall . The dining hall basically consisted of pizza, burgers, sandwiches and more junk food. Most of my friends and peers ate all of the food and I never thought anything of it at the time. I found myself three years later weighing in at 191 pounds and I am only 5’7″.
My GPA was in the gutter at only a 1.9. My binge drinking was out of control because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life and I was running away from what I could not fix. I fell into a slight depression and, like many other people, I used food for comfort.
Some nights I would drive through Jack in the Box and then drive next door to get some Taco Bell as well. After a night of partying my junior year I woke up one morning out of a blackout and couldn’t stop puking. My whole body was numb and I was sweating like crazy and vomiting uncontrollably. At this point in my life I told myself that day that I wanted to change, and I couldn’t do this anymore. I was upset at myself that I was basically ready to drop out of college, and I felt like a failure that day.
I woke up the next day and decided that this was going to be the start of something new. I started listening to the Joe Rogan podcast at this time and that’s when I heard Mike Dolce come onto the podcast. From that day forward I bought Living Lean and 3 Weeks to Shredded.
When the first weekend came around my friends brought home a case of beer like usual and asked me if I was ready to drink. I remember telling them that I was good on drinking for the night. For the next 8 months of my life I received huge amounts of peer pressure, it was unbelievable. People would make fun at me because I was on a diet and no one around me really understood.
To stay busy and focused I began training Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and this changed my life forever. My goals became more strict, and I couldn’t have been happier. Eventually, I started to become really motivated when I started to see some changes in my body. At one point I had to go to the DMV recently and get a new picture because people didn’t think it was my license. This really had me motivated, and nothing was going to stop me.
If there is any advice I can give anyone it’s that you have to make the decision for yourself. You are going to encounter many obstacles and a lot of peer pressure but that is all part of the journey. Like Mike says, you have to stay accountable. If you are just starting your college career be very careful of who your friends are. There is nothing wrong with partying but everything in moderation is key. Be careful of all the food around you and follow the principles. You can be on The Dolce Diet and still have a blast throughout college.
I am proud to say that ended up graduating just recently from the university with a degree in General Studies. I barely squeezed by school, and I never really found my passion until now. I can honestly say that diet and lifestyle are my passions now, and I love helping others out with the knowledge I have obtained from Living Lean and the Mike Dolce podcast. This is the story of my journey. I now weigh 145 pounds, went from a size 36 to a size 30. I feel stronger than ever, and I cant wait to push myself ever further.
Thank you so much guys! You have changed my life forever, and I finally know what I want to do with my life: Help others through nutrition and guidance, and change their lives forever physically and mentally.
~Carlos Cascos
