Early in 2017, I started my year-long project to adhere to the federal Physical Activity Guidelines and Dietary Guidelines with the support of the Science & Research Team of the American Council on Exercise.

We mapped out a six-month incremental process of behavior change that allowed me to establish and then build upon new habits over the remaining six months. It was a year full of stops, starts, plateaus, struggles and triumphs. Through this process, I changed so many things about my life. I learned how to incorporate more physical activity into my daily routine (and I learned to enjoy it, or at least enjoy the way it made me feel). By making a series of small, manageable changes, I completely altered the way I eat and my overall relationship with food. I inspired my wife to get more active and helped a number of friends and family members make similar changes in their lives. I learned how to make changes that made me healthier without negatively impacting my overall quality of life.

In many ways, I still struggle with certain aspects of my new lifestyle and will admit to having gained a few pounds since my project “ended” a few months ago — though we all know that true lifestyle change never ends. In other words, it still is — and always will be — a work in progress. But I’ve learned how to live a healthy lifestyle, how to forgive myself for slip-ups and how to inspire myself to get back on track.

Of course, when people ask me how the project went, they don’t want to hear some inspirational speech. They want numbers!