Brandon McCutcheon

This 23-year-old ditched video games and junk food and adopted the fitness lifestyle. He's down over 100 pounds... and counting.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated September 28, 2023

Written by Brandon McCutcheon

I remember like it was yesterday: Three years ago, I was sitting on my couch playing Xbox with a bag of chips and a two-liter of Mountain Dew sitting next to me. I remember trying so hard to improve my character, when all of a sudden I thought, "Why am I doing this? Why am I trying so hard to improve a fake video-game character?"

I got up and looked at myself in the mirror. At the time, I was 310 pounds, with 30+ percent body fat. I decided in that moment I was done being unhealthy.

I started my journey by eating better – cutting out soda and fast food and trying to make better choices for myself. I lost over 40 pounds just eating healthy for three months.

All of my friends and family started to notice I was losing weight. That's when my best friend asked if I wanted to start working out at the YMCA with him.

We started going every day, and I slowly started to fall in love with the lifestyle. I loved waking up hardly being able to move; it was like a trophy for me. It gave me a sense of pride.

The pounds just kept falling off and my clothes started to become huge on me. I was feeling better than I ever had. After about a year, my friend joined the U.S. Navy, which left me to train by myself. It was hard for a while, until I came across JimStoppani.com.

I started my first Jim program, which was Shortcut to Shred, and I was hurting so good by the end of it. As I went through the programs, the results just keep coming; it was truly amazing.

All of the content keeps me motivated. I'm always learning something new, between the JYM Army Facebook group and Jim. As of right now, it has been a little over three years since I started. Now I'm 23 and in the best shape of my life.

I started at 310 pounds and I'm currently at 183 pounds. My body-fat percentage is below 15 percent. I went from size XXL shirts to medium, and from size 42 jeans to 32. When it starts to get hard, I remember someone telling me once, "A year from now, you will wish you would have started today."

I think about that every day. After my buddy left, I almost quit. If it wasn't for Jim, I don't know where I would be right now. I know people say it all the time, but if I can do it, anyone can. Put the work in and the results will follow. Nothing is impossible — you just have to stay JYM Army strong!

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