How I Lost 100 Pounds Using AI

You asked how I lost 100 pounds. Before I share the how, I want to share the why — the turning point.

"You're Diabetic Now."

March 2023. After getting my blood test results, my doctor turned to me and said: "You're diabetic now." I was floored. Blood sugar: 6.5. Reference range: below 5.7.

Despite my weight, and growing amounts of aches and pains, I still considered myself to be a healthy person. I was wrong. It was that moment that I decided I had to change things. I immediately started using ChatGPT — which had just launched — to help me understand my diet.

The Mirror Lies

As I gained 100 pounds, I didn't feel like I looked that different. I'd check the mirror and think: "I look good." "Getting a little bigger, but still sexy." "I haven't changed that much."

The truth is: I had changed. A lot. But my brain didn't want me to notice.

Did you know your brain is the most energy-hungry organ in your body? It runs on calories. It loves when you eat more. And it controls how we see, hear, touch, and feel. My brain was comfortable. Rewarded. It wanted more. It wanted me to stay overweight. It was doing exactly what evolution designed it to do: keep me full, safe, and rested.

So when I looked in the mirror? I always looked "pretty good" — no matter how much weight I gained. But that mental survival trick doesn't serve us anymore. In today's world, it works against us.

We can't rely on what we think about our health. The mirror will lie. Our brain will justify. But the numbers won't.

The Turning Point

Then one day, I saw an old photo of a skinnier version of myself. I remember thinking: "Ah... another life." But then it hit me: it doesn't have to be.

So I taped that photo up and started talking to myself. When I looked at it: "That's you." When I looked in the mirror: "That's not you."

That shift made me see things differently. So I started tracking.

Calories
Steps
Sleep
Weight

Because what gets measured gets managed. And it's a lot harder to lie to yourself when you're staring at the truth.

The 2,000-Calorie Lie

Here's the lie no one talks about: the 2,000-calorie number isn't real for everyone.

We've all heard it: "The average person burns 2,000 calories a day." That's the number diets are based on. It's the number nutrition labels use. But here's the truth...

I don't burn 2,000 calories. Not even close. I bet most of you don't either. My Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is just 1,610. That's how many calories I burn if I sit around and do nothing all day.

If I get my 10,000 steps in, I can eat a 2,000 calorie diet and still lose a bit of weight each day. Great. But the average American walks less than 5,000 steps a day. That would mean 250 + 1,610 = 1,860 — meaning I would slowly gain weight if I relied on the 2,000-calorie number.

So even if you're trying to lose weight, you could be failing simply because you don't have the right data. The 2,000-calorie number isn't real for everyone.

The AI Difference

I'm a software engineer — 24+ years building applications. So I approached my health like I'd approach any complex problem: with data and intelligence.

In 2023 I co-founded TheGain.ai to research, study, and help others understand the risks and opportunities of AI. I attended conferences, hackathons, tech events — all while quietly using AI to transform my own health. By October 2024, what started as a personal experiment became Healthy Choices.

I didn't just count calories. I tracked 26 health categories — vitals, sleep patterns, activity levels, medications, conditions, lab results, stress. Then I used AI to analyze what all that data meant for me specifically.

The insights were immediate. My blood pressure was spiking after specific meals — not because of calories, but sodium. My sleep quality dropped from evening processed foods. The AI detected pre-diabetes patterns from my lab data. It found connections between sleep and metabolism, between activity intensity and biological age — connections invisible without AI.

I started thinking of weight gain like credit card debt. Spend what you want when you need it, but don't carry the debt. That debt — the extra weight — has interest charges in the form of inflammation, aging, and chronic disease.

The System That Works

Here's how it played out in practice. One week I ate like a maniac — a pretzel bigger than my head, red velvet pudding, a turkey pesto cheese crepe, brisket and pulled pork BBQ with cornbread, and an IPA. Monday came... and I was up 4+ lbs.

But I didn't panic. Because I have a plan:

Fridays are for weigh-ins. Mondays are for reality checks. If I'm heavier on Monday than I was on Friday, I fast. No food. Just water, tea, and coffee. By Friday, I make sure I'm at least 0.5 lbs lighter than the Friday before.

That week: Friday 167.86 → Monday 172.04 → Friday 166.98. Net loss: 0.88 lbs. While eating like a maniac on the weekend.

Our bodies are marvels. They can store hundreds of extra pounds just in case we need them. But we can't treat that ability like it's free.

Why I Built Healthy Choices

100 pounds later, I enrolled in Stanford's AI & Longevity Lab to study biological aging. In 2026, I incorporated AI Me Technologies as a Delaware corporation to make everything publicly available. For nearly three years I had been building quietly — no public announcements, no fanfare. I didn't want to say anything until I felt it was truly ready. I've been testing on myself, and I am the proof.

26 health categories. Biological age across 9 body systems. Three AI agents analyzing your activity, sleep, and nutrition. Health pattern detection from lab results. Personalized wellness insights based on YOUR health profile and YOUR goals.

Not a 2,000-calorie-per-day generic plan. Your plan, based on your body.

This wasn't easy. But it was possible.

Download Healthy Choices free on iOS →

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