Kevin Tinter: 0:33

Hey friends, welcome back to the Uncommon Freedom Show. Today we are talking with my friend and a longtime client named Brad Taysom. Brad recently lost roughly 70 pounds working with me as his coach. More important than just the weight loss, though, is the many health metrics he improved during this process. This is astonishing. He reduced his visceral fat from off the charts of above 20 to 5, which is well within the healthy range of below 10. He went from a body fat percentage of 39.8% to 14.3%, which is an astonishing 25% decrease in body fat percentage, and he went from being obese to healthy. He decreased his body fat mass from 101 pounds to 27.8 pounds. That's a stunning 73 pound loss of body fat and he increased his skeletal muscle mass from 93.5 pounds to 95.9 pounds. Brad, welcome to the show. How are you this morning Doing well? Welcome to the show. How are you this morning Doing well? Awesome, it's good to see you. You're coming to us live from Wyoming, right? Yep, that is right In your backyard.

Brad Taysom: 1:47

This is my front yard, actually Front yard.

Kevin Tinter: 1:49

Hard to tell the difference when you have, how much land do you have?

Brad Taysom: 1:53

Two acres Two acres, awesome, awesome.

Kevin Tinter: 1:56

So, folks, before we get started, I want to just share that the primary plan that I helped Brad use to lose this weight was the Optavia Optimal Weight 5-in-1 plan. The average weight loss with this plan is 12 pounds. Clients are in weight loss on average for 12 weeks, so clearly, Brad is not the average person and the only one who gets to decide if you are average or in common is you. I wanted to share that if you or anyone you know is trying to lose weight, get healthy or improve their fitness, the key mindset shift is to move from focusing on weight loss to improving your body fat percentage and overall body composition, which is what Brad did. One of the things that I absolutely love about what I do is that, in addition to helping many people reclaim their health and live life to the fullest, is that many of my clients become great friends during the process and, brad, I count you as one of those good friends. So how are you doing this morning, buddy?

Brad Taysom: 2:53

Oh, I'm doing good. It's a beautiful morning here in Wyoming, which these are few and far between most of the year.

Kevin Tinter: 3:01

Yeah. So, as we get started, tell us a little bit about yourself. And, you know, just give us the Reader's Digest version of Brad Taysom.

Brad Taysom: 3:10

Well, I'm the youngest of five boys, the youngest of five boys. I live in Wyoming, work in the oil and gas industry and I remodel homes on the side. I'm married with four wonderful children. We've been very blessed and, uh, very fortunate to to be up here, but, uh, I'm an avid outdoorsman. When I can be, and, uh, I love hunting and and, uh, being in the mountains, um, but uh, uh, yeah, that's probably the long and short of it very good.

Kevin Tinter: 3:53

Where'd you grow? You grow up, Brad.

Brad Taysom: 3:55

I grew up in St George, utah, so Southern Utah. Uh, most of my family is still there.

Kevin Tinter: 4:00

Okay, excellent, uh, and tell us a little bit about what you do. I know you're an oil and gas. How'd you get into that?

Brad Taysom: 4:08

Uh, that was my brother-in-law and uh it uh, that's what obviously brought me up here.

Brad Taysom: 4:15

Um, I had uh done construction, uh, several different trades.

Brad Taysom: 4:21

I was my, my dad was a brick Mason, Um, and so I was raised in masonry, um, and still have a a love for it, um, but uh, construction was always a hard way to make a living and um, there was a uh uh time in my life that I needed to rebuild and I took a safe job that was uh um in the medical field and uh didn't like it. Uh, and the company was going under and my brother-in-law worked for an oil gas company up here and uh, they were having a hard time finding help and uh, he told me it'd be a long shot, but uh, he'd see if he'd get me an interview and um, they uh uh and um they uh uh. Oddly enough, they ended up giving me a shot after two other people had quit and uh, now I've been with the company for almost 12 years, so, um, it's worked out well. It's been a huge blessing for my family and I um given us a definitely some stability and and uh opportunities that otherwise I would have never had.

Kevin Tinter: 5:43

So that's great, great. So let's shift our conversation to your health journey. Uh, we originally met when a mutual friend referred you to me. I think it was back around December 2016. Is that the right timeframe? Yeah, that is right. Okay, it's funny, I don't remember every conversation that I have, but I remember talking to you. I was in the basement of our old house and I remember a lot of the conversation. Would you do you mind sharing kind of what prompted you, your decision to get healthy back in 2016, or cause this was your original health journey?

Brad Taysom: 6:17

Yeah, it was, and um, I'll probably be a little bit emotional talking about that. Um, it's been a long time and even between now and then there's been ups and downs. Um, uh, that particular time, um, uh, I had been hunting, uh uh uh, with a cousin of mine. We were uh hunting late season cow elk uh in uh northern wyoming and um, we, uh, during that trip I had several different wake-up. My weight was, um, I was sitting right at about 300 pounds and um, my cousin had always kind of taken care of himself. Um, and as we, as we hunted, um, we ended up uh killing some elk and um, one day, and you know, we we got those packed out and taken care of. And then we still had one more tag to fill and we needed to go into this area and and we came to this, this barbed wire fence, and I watched my cousin walk up to that fence and he, he just grabbed a fence post, put his foot up on the fence and hopped over it and he turned around and he looked at me and was waiting for me to do the same and I couldn't do it. I had to hand him my rifle. I had to hand him my rifle, I had to hand him my pack and then I started to climb up on that fence and I all but crushed it and you know we laughed about it and things, but for me it was kind of a straw that broke the camel's back.

Brad Taysom: 8:20

That that time, um, there's a sense of fear, um of uh, because you don't know what to do. I was a grown man, in my mid-30s, and I battled my weight my entire life and I was at a weight I'd never seen before. I had a young family and I knew I needed to do something, but I didn't know what to do because I'd tried so many things and it was some success, but rapid failure at the same time. But rapid failure at the same time. And you know, god knows us and knows what we need. And you know, a friend reached out that had known my struggle, but I'm working with you and, um, he told me about the program and it sounded too good to be true, to be honest, and um, but I was desperate, I really was truly desperate and I'm like I'm willing to do anything at this point because my life needs to change, my health in order for me to do all that God needs me to do and to be the man that I need to be. I needed to regain my health, I needed to get control of that and I knew that. And and um, you know I, I still remember our first conversation and you, you asked me if I could wave a magic wand, how much would I weigh?

Brad Taysom: 10:44

And I remember telling you that I would give anything to weigh 220 pounds. And you said, well, we'll see when we get there. And I remember almost being pissed, thinking like you're saying that, like it's easy to do, but I didn't know the program, I didn't know or understand how the program worked and, um, the system that had been built and put in place, um and uh, I don't know. We, we began, you know, yeah, and what?

Kevin Tinter: 12:08

what if your friend hadn't reached out to you? Cause I'm sure that for people who have someone that in their life that is struggling with health, struggling with weight, and we know that it's impacting the quality of their life, it's kind of a delicate subject to address. But what if your friend hadn't offered that to you?

Brad Taysom: 12:32

It's almost a scary thought, you know, um, I know that I would not be able to do all that I'm able to do at my age.

Brad Taysom: 12:43

Now, you know, um, you know, I'm now now 45 and I've, you know, because of this, my life has, you know, forever been changed.

Brad Taysom: 13:06

I know, because of my recent journey, that it's a scary thought to me of the life that I would be living, mm-hmm, one of fulfillment and of joy, um, and I think it would, ultimately would impact my family, because if I'm not happy, and I'm not happy with myself, what kind of, what kind of joy am I going to bring into my own home? You know, um, what kind of joy am I going to bring into my own home? You know, um, and so, uh, it's hard for me to think, you know, I'm sure there'd be some crash diet somewhere in there and me giving it my best shot and trying trying something with, with, not near the success, um, uh, with, with, not near the success, um, uh, with, with Optavia and this program I've, I've achieved, you know, my weight loss goals and, and, uh, body fat percentage that I only dreamt about, um, I don't. I don't know that, even in high school, that I ever, ever looked the way that I do now um so that's incredible, bro.

Kevin Tinter: 14:29

Thank you for being so vulnerable, um I mean, uh, we're both emotional glad this is a audio podcast and not video uh, yeah, right.

Kevin Tinter: 14:42

I mean, I remember that story and you know, my heart just went out to you, like just knowing how that impacted you, and I can just say, you know, as a coach, being able to help you, you know, change your life and be able to hunt without any fear of you know what you're going to have to climb over or having the stamina. That's incredible and the truth is there's millions of people across the world, certainly in this country, that are dealing with similar things, whether it's they're sitting down on an airplane and they have to ask for the seatbelt extender seatbelt extender. Maybe you hear the stories about people getting on a ride at an amusement park and they're asked or told you're too big, you can't you can't get on this ride.

Kevin Tinter: 15:29

And then there's just the day-to-day of not having the energy to be the spouse or parent to be able to live life to the fullest, and it's such an honor to be able to help people like you and you know. Thank you for being willing to just, you know, share your vulnerable story, because I'm sure someone will be inspired by you. So you, when we originally worked together back in 2016, 2017, you ended up losing well over a hundred pounds and then, during that journey, you got into CrossFit. How did that initial uh, weight loss journey and transformation go for you? And, kind of like you, you really got into CrossFit. How did that? How did that impact your life?

Brad Taysom: 16:14

You know, um, it was, it was awesome. Um, the you know CrossFit it's kind of, you know, you drink the Kool-Aid and you can kind of get carried away with it, which I, I definitely, I definitely did. And um, you know, hindsight there's always, always mistakes and things, that things that you wish you could change. But for me, I think part of that Kool-Aid and part of, like, what was happening for me during those those years, were I hadn't been able to move like that and I mean, I, I couldn't tell you, um, uh, doing pull-ups and pushups and running, um, you know, an eight minute mile without breaking a sweat. Um and uh, you know, to climb ropes, um, to be able to push your body.

Brad Taysom: 17:17

Um, I fed off of it, I loved it and it took my hunting to a new level. Um, that you know, there wasn't a place that I didn't dare go. Um and uh, between the weight loss and the conditioning of CrossFit. It did, it felt amazing, but yeah, it was, I loved it, it was amazing for me at the time, you know, and I've learned a lot, you know, since then, and definitely some things that I will approach differently, this go around, yeah, at the time, you know, and I've, I've learned, I've learned a lot, you know, since then and, um, definitely some things that I will approach differently this go around, yeah.

Kevin Tinter: 18:07

Um, where were there habits or mindsets that you didn't change when you the first time you lost weight? That you think caused you to regain weight over time?

Brad Taysom: 18:25

yeah, there's, uh, I think I think there's a. You know the, the word of, of caution, I guess that you would you would say, is so many times I, I believe, on on these journeys it's. You get the body scan or you take the picture that you're like I've arrived, I'm there. I remember the first time that when I lost over 100 pounds it was 120, I think, is what I ended up losing and I had a body scan done and I was at 10% body fat and there there was that feeling of like I'm here, I did it, yeah, and. And so then there's this level of okay, I'm, I'm fit and healthy. Um, I'm doing CrossFit? Um, clearly, I have, I have room to, you know, enjoy myself with, with foods, um, not understanding or respecting the path that those, those foods and those old habits can take me down. And so it begins, this cat and mouse game of I'm working out, I'm working hard, but I'm putting on weight and well, is it muscle? Is it not what's going on? And then there comes a point of of frustration to some extent, um, as you're messing with your workouts and with your diet a little bit and you think you have it figured out, but it's not working like you thought. Um, and it's uh, and it's uh, it can get extremely frustrating. Um, you know, for me, it uh, I, I know the uh.

Brad Taysom: 20:30

The second time that I did Optivea leading up to it, I was, I was doing CrossFit, um, I was, I was still working out, um, but I had lost control of my eating and my habits, that had slipped and, um, I had to, you know, get recentered in an effort. And even that time, you know, every time I've had to reach out for help, um, there's a lot of pride that has to be swallowed. Um, and it is very difficult, uh, which is you know why, before this last, this last journey, that it took me so long to reach out and to talk to you again. Um, because it's somewhere in the back of your head. You're like I can do this, like I know I can do this, like I don't have to have, you know, I don't have to have my health coach, I don't have to have Octavia, I can do this. But the thing is, it works, it is an anchor. It is not something you should not be ashamed to ask for help.

Kevin Tinter: 22:15

Yeah, One of my recent guests. He mentioned I think he called it the paradox of transparency. I'm not sure if that's the right term. The point was, when we're in the spot where we need help, we feel like we feel shame about needing to ask for help. You know, the pride creeps in there.

Kevin Tinter: 22:34

Yet when someone like you reaches out, I don't have any an ounce of judgment. Um, I'm honored that people want to help me and I need to remember that when I need help because I'm a huge fan in coaching you know any, any area of your life that you want to improve in spiritual, marriage, physical exercise. If you want to improve, you need a coach, right, that's what the top performers at every level and every discipline, that's what they do. They hire coaches, and I think it's this. I don't know this. You know Satan likes to put this pride in us to keep us from asking for the help that we know that we need. So I'm grateful that you finally reached out. So, basically, I know you did great managing your weight for a while and then COVID hit and then, obviously, now we're in 2025. What caused you to decide to take back your health in a very serious way this year?

Brad Taysom: 23:36

The last time that I had been at a healthy weight, I think it had been like 2021, maybe 2022. I think it was 2021. I think I made it through 2020 pretty good. I'd just come off doing Optavia again with you. I'd had my weight down under 200 pounds and I'd done pretty good. And then I bought a real doozy of a fixer upper and, um, somewhere in the middle of that, being in my forties somewhere, I thought it was a good idea to have another kid. So we threw a, we threw a baby on top of a very overwhelming remodel. So I'd gotten overwhelmed and stressed and, you know, freaked out and my health, you know, took the back burner.

Brad Taysom: 24:39

And every year it's kind of funny. The hunting, you know, is kind of a sanctuary thing for me. It's a place of peace in the mountains. I feel a special connection with my Heavenly Father and the peace that I have out there. It's not about the killing of animals, there's something way more to it for me.

Brad Taysom: 25:15

But every year my health was having a pretty bad impact on that experience and, um, making it extremely miserable and, uh, making me feel older than I know that I was. And um, I, uh, I had a friend that I was riding around with in the wintertime. It's kind of our deal we go for rides and just look around for animals and BS and just friends. He knows that I'd been frustrated with my weight and my health for a while and he just sat there and he looked at me one day and he's like Brad, why, why have you not gone back and called your health coach and gone on Optavia again? He's like you know, it works for you and it would help you get your life back. Wow and um, and you know he looked at me and he's like you, you need to do something. And it was that voice of concern. You know I wasn't 300 pounds again by any means, but I was still very heavy and my weight had done nothing but creep up year after year. And um, it was kind of that voice of warning.

Brad Taysom: 26:51

And then my wife and I had been talking about extensive projects that we have planned for the for home this year to try and be done with home projects once and for all, and I knew that there was no way that I was going to be able to do it physically. Um, I just couldn't. I mean just the projects that I'd done, you know, in the previous years, a few things that I'd done. It just I'd work for a few hours and I remember just being exhausted and, uh, beat down and recovery was terrible and and all of it and uh, so there's a sense of urgency with that and my kids are getting, you know, a little older and I want to set that example, I want to be that example for them and it was kind of a myriad of all of those things.

Brad Taysom: 27:57

Yeah, and you know my wife wife, I think she wanted to shoot me because, um, I don't know if you remember or not, but my, my, my first box showed up while I was on vacation in um cancun, uh, with my wife and my brother and his wife, and uh, it was waiting for me when I got home and, uh, I started the five and one and you know, coming off of that trip, you're not eating good stuff out there, um, and my wife is like you just flip a switch, just like that. Huh, you know.

Kevin Tinter: 28:45

Brad, what's really cool is that both times you really decided to go all in in your health journey. You had friends, you and holding you accountable, and I think it's a great reminder for us to be that friend to other people. A lot of times we have friends that are encouraging us to go down the wrong path. There's like, oh, you deserve to have that to eat, that to drink, just be happy. Or you know, you know, if it's in a tough marriage you might have some friends that are like, oh, you know, she's a jerk, you deserve better. And what we really need are friends that will hold us accountable and encourage us to be the best version of ourselves. Brad, I know it costs to be healthy. It also costs to be unhealthy. In your opinion, in your experience, is it worth making the investment in yourself to be the healthiest version of yourself?

Brad Taysom: 29:46

Oh, 100%, without question. My dad and I actually were talking about it one day and I said, you know, I was like, instead of spending my money on treats and fast food and junk, I spend my money on, you know, supplements and you know, healthy foods to help keep me on track. You know, and it's interesting that I, I do that and it's funny when I get hungry, I don't think of a restaurant, I don't think of think of something at the convenience store or anything else. When I get hungry, I'm thinking of something that I can cook at home. It's usually meat and veggies. If I'm feeling depleted or run down, I'm looking for a good source of meat somewhere.

Brad Taysom: 31:05

Doing those things, doing the right things for your body, to have that respect for God's gift to us, these bodies that we have, you know, and you reap the blessings of making those choices right. I mean no different than living the gospel. It's. You choose the, the right, you're going to feel good, right and um, this is. It's funny. I, I, I find a lot of similarities between you know, health and fitness, and journeys and and spiritual journeys as well. So many parallels there to be drawn, but it gets easier and it gets better and it gets better. Um, you know, I've I've gone long enough now, uh, without the the treats, um, that, uh, it no longer bothers me to be at birthday parties and uh other special gatherings. Um, I just had my birthday, um you know, a couple of weeks ago, and uh, other special gatherings, um, I just had my birthday, um you know a couple of weeks ago, and uh, I didn't even, I didn't think twice about the um uh, having birthday cake or ice cream, or or give yourself the gift of health instead of junk food.

Kevin Tinter: 32:50

Right, yeah, brad. So you did this. I mean you started. It was either late January or early February that you started this round. Your life and your work schedule are very difficult. You rotate between day and night shifts. I mean your schedule is crazy. You have a family, four kids. You've got this house. This project I know you're building is crazy. You have a family, four kids. You've got this house, this project you know, I know you're building an outbuilding that you've done a ton of the work for you, excavating all kinds of stuff, all kinds of excuses. How did you manage to get healthy with a life as chaotic as yours? And what would you tell someone who's like I don't have time, my life is too busy to get healthy?

Brad Taysom: 33:28

You know that that's the beauty of OptiBea is it doesn't it doesn't require that time. It actually gives me more time. The because of, because of the five and one and the simplicity of it, um, and the leaning greens, um, I'm able to, I get up and I have a bar and I get to work, Um, that's the beauty of the fat burn and and and all of it. It it so simplifies my life and it it takes away the need for those decisions, those difficult decisions at times, at different times. Um, my, my hardest, hardest thing was probably realizing, depending on what my day was and how hard I had been working, was, you know to, and I felt extremely depleted and and hungry. You know it was okay. Like, if I'm gonna do any variation or vary from this plan at all, I'm going to eat healthy sources of protein and fats and it always served me well and so I.

Brad Taysom: 35:02

That's the beauty of of the program is there's not you don't have to have a mandatory workout schedule. There's nothing stating that you need to do this crazy workout in order to see your body change. I will be the first to admit that my life is's different than most and my workouts are kind of built into what I'm just doing every day. Um, a lot of the time there is a. There's a time coming soon that that will change from working on my home as my workout is to going to the gym and rebuilding those habits.

Brad Taysom: 35:50

But if your life is busy, this will simplify it like a hundred times over. Like it will like um, you get the feelings that that fit your life, that are easy for you to take and grab, and um, it's your. Your focus is more on because it's all laid out and you know exactly what has to happen each and every day and you're only planning one meal, it it. It takes all the distractions away from you and at the worst case, at the end of the day, I'm throwing chicken thighs in my air fryer and I'm throwing some broccoli in the in the microwave and I'm good you're done, yeah um and the amazing thing is you and anyone else who follows you know a good program.

Kevin Tinter: 36:52

They can get to 15 percent sub 15 percent body fat, which is incredible. I mean the physical transformation, the visual transformations, profound for a man. That's healthy. And most people don't understand. They think that they have to do killer workouts to get there. And you and I, we both love exercise.

Kevin Tinter: 37:11

But the analogy I use is exercise is really the fine tuning tool. You know the, your diet, your habits, that's the heavy lifting. And when you realize, when you learn that you can get to a healthy weight without having to implement a crazy workout schedule, that you can take yourself to that next level. But you'll always fall back to your habits and you'll always fall back to your diet.

Kevin Tinter: 37:35

And so if you learn how to create lifelong habits, healthy habits in those areas, then when you go through busy seasons where you can't work out the way you want to, it doesn't mean that your, your health and your weight goes out the window. So, brad, you're, you know you've wrapped up. You're wrapping up transition, you're kind of moving into this what we call optimization stage of your life and you know you might need a slight tune up every once in a while, but certainly I know your goal is that you never have to lose a significant amount of weight again. What are some of the lifestyle changes and habit and mindset changes you're committed to this time around to help you stay healthy even longer and, ideally, just to continue to improve your health for the rest of your life?

Brad Taysom: 38:33

ties in protein in my diet, um, whole foods, as you know, in general, like you know, the fresh fruits and veggies and and things, I, I really um staying away from processed foods altogether. Like I, I don't see any reason for me to need to reintroduce those things into my life, right? Um, that's, uh, what little satisfaction, or brief satisfaction, or joy that might come from them. Um, there's not worth the, the longing, you know, lasting effects of it. It's not. It's not that those temptations aren't there, don't get me wrong. I mean it's, it's there, it's been.

Brad Taysom: 39:07

It's not that those temptations aren't there, don't get me wrong. I mean it's, it's there, it's been a part of my life, um, and and there's all kinds of things that are, they're tied to it. Food is an emotional thing, um, for a lot of people. But you know, I've I've had conversations even with my daughter, um, as she's trying to make changes, and for me, a constant reminder to myself is, no matter how good that, that treat or that food might be at the time, the consequences of eating that, and it's not that I'm going to eat that and instantly gain five pounds that's the problem, right yeah, like it's, you're not like, I mean, it's just not.

Brad Taysom: 39:59

But what am I going to feel the next day, or the day after that, or even the hour after that? It doesn't stop with just that one, that one treat, that one indulgence, the the food is designed and and to trigger those, those thoughts and those desires for that, for the unhealthy foods, and so for me, when I'm, when I'm faced with those things, it's not worth it. It's not even worth the risk. I don't, I don't, even if it doesn't do that to me, even if I could just have that and be done with it and everything's good for me in my history, it's not worth having that indulgence and risking the fact that I might have to deal with that for the next two or three days.

Kevin Tinter: 40:56

Yeah, it's choosing your heart right. You can either choose the hard decision of eating healthy and making healthy decisions, or you can choose the easy decision in the moment, of eating crap, but knowing that you're going to experience the hard after the fact. Um, if you do that and and we're certainly not saying that you can't ever have a treat you know, you and I have talked about the fact that we both struggle with, you know, sugar addiction, and it's just one of these things where, uh, you know, if you're an alcoholic and you've been sober for years and you get to the point where you think you can maybe manage a drink like it's, you just have to decide is it worth the risk, cause you don't know what's going to trigger, um, that full on addiction again. So, um, for those who are listening, if you haven't already had a conversation with an Optavia coach and you're interested in learning more, you can go to beckandkevcom. Or go directly to beckandkevcom slash get-healthy. So that's slash G-E-T-H-E-A-L-T-H-Y for the link to our quick health assessment that will help you start the conversation with us or one of our qualified coaches.

Kevin Tinter: 42:08

And the cool thing is anyone who signs up for a full month on our program a minimum of $350 and references this podcast with Brad Taysom, will get a $50 credit from us to help them get started at even bigger savings and, most importantly, start your own personal journey towards your version of healthy freedom. So, brad, again, brother, congratulations. It really is. It's an honor to be your coach. I'm honored to count you as a friend. I know we've only seen each other in person one time, but that was a special.

Kevin Tinter: 42:44

I remember that and it was a treat and I consider you a good friend and I know that if I and I, you know, I consider you a good friend and I know that if I'm ever in your area, that we would connect and have some good times, and I hope you know that if you and family ever down here, you are welcome the same way. So again, congratulations. Thank you for sharing your story. It's an inspiration to me and I know it will be inspirational to many other people. Thank you, kevin. I appreciate it. Awesome, all right, friends. I hope you enjoyed.

Kevin Tinter: 43:19

Um, if this strikes you as something that would be helpful to you, please reach out. And if, if it's not for you, I think we all know someone, uh, that is in the shoes, similar to what Brad has been a couple of times in his life, and the question really is are you going to be that good friend to reach out and offer a lifeline to someone who desperately needs it? So thanks, brad, so much for being here. Thank you, friends, for listening and go have a wonderful uncommon day. God bless.