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December, 2021 // LIFESTYLE Brian Brister with The Daily Practice
This week, I have one of my favorite humans and long time friends, Brian Brister.
He seems to like to follow me around the world starting with moving to New York City right after me, and then Nashville (though he did spend 2 1/2 years in Los Angeles before following me to Nashville). A worship leader, fashion photographer and now, health coach - he is someone I can say has truly turned his life around… The funny thing is: the No’s he once said turned into saying “Okay. lets try.” and that trying led to him losing 155 pounds, transforming his life and becoming a successful health coach. He is one of the biggest cheerleaders, go-getters, and huggers I know. Brian Brister.
Describe the moment you decided to completely shift your life and make the leap. Why did you say YES when you wanted to say NO?
I had just made the move from NYC to Los Angeles and I saw a friend of mine post this before and after photo of a guy who had lost 110 pounds in six months. Though that sounded too good to be true, I still reached out. When my coach told me that I could do it too, all just by changing my nutrition and my habits, I didn’t believe him, but I decided to give it a shot anyways. My thought was “Eh, I’ll try it for a month. If it works, awesome. If not, well, as unfortunate as that is, I’ve wasted money on things before.”
What are some things you’ve had to unlearn?
I had to unlearn unhealthy ways of dealing with my emotions. Covering emotions with food was my go-to, but it also never worked. It doesn’t change the situation or make me feel better about it long term. For the moments I’m eating the food, I may feel better, but I’ll feel worse after and will still have to deal with the emotional situation.
What would you tell someone who is on a journey similar to yours?
Remember that it’s a journey and it’s yours. It’s not going to happen overnight and it’s not going to look like anyone else’s. The greatest gifts you can give yourself in the process is grace and consistency.
What did you celebrate today - one thing that brought you so much JOY?
I love this question so much because I have alarms set on my phone that go off 5 times a day to remind me to celebrate something that I’ve done well since the last alarm went off. One of my alarms just went off and I celebrated having a FaceTime call with a friend who just needed to chat. Any time that I can show you and just love someone, I’ve won.
What’s one thing you can’t leave the house without?
My one gallon water bottle. It’s a big blue bottle named Gibraltar and he goes everywhere with me. On the journey to a healthier Brian, hydration became a main focus of mine and Gibraltar sets me up for success in chasing those goals.
What is something you love now, that you never could have imagined you
would like in the past?
Salads. I legit hated them my whole life. A Brian salad consisted of ham and cheese and sometimes croutons for over 30 years. It wasn’t until probably 6+ months into my health journey that I actually started eating salads and now I eat them multiple times a week. I even crave them sometimes. I actually just ate one for lunch.
You can find Brian Brister @BrianBrister. Seriously, go check out his page.
