The Sweet Potato Diet

Preface: Introducing Michael: From Fat to Fit

My story starts over ten years ago. I had been trying to get fit since my early twenties. The problem in my early twenties was that drinking in bars, doing drugs, and chasing girls got in the way of that. And while I was working really hard at the gym, I had absolute crap to show for it. Boy was I out of shape! I was the guy who one week would do cardio because I saw an article in the magazines that said it was best for fat loss, and after a few days (lol) when that didn't work, I would be on to the next. Maybe you can relate? I know after helping hundreds of thousands of people lose fat, that it's a very common cycle people go through. You hear about the latest and greatest diets, supplements, and gadgets, and immediately think it's "your answer." Well, the shiny stuff always got me. I was that guy. I did the fad diets. I tried low carb, no carb, I was on the Atkins and the Zone diets. There were just so many I lost track—it's safe to say I tried everything!

Well, not everything (as you'll read in just a moment). But I had to hit the "rock bottom", a pivotal moment, and I remember it like it was yesterday. I was walking up two flights of stairs, winded, gassed, and out of breath. I finally reached the top (it felt like Mount Everest) with two measly little bags of groceries, one in each hand, winded with a little sweat on the upper lip. I said to myself, "This shit has got to change." At this point I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. It was this pivotal moment, and some news I would receive shortly after, that lit a fire under my ass like I never felt.

At that point, I had no idea where to start. But I remember getting a call that no guy wants to get: She said, "I am pregnant." I said, "Are you sure?" She (my fiancé now) said, "Yes, I am sure." No pressure, heh? News I got at a time when I was down and out. It was bad, and I am not talking about just my health (more on this in a minute).

It's amazing how resourceful you can become in the midst of what at the time felt like a crisis. As far as my health was concerned, remember I had tried everything. Google and I became best friends, and began to sift through the never-ending plethora of diet advice until I stumbled on what the mainstream refers to as the Paleo Diet.

As I read more and more it became almost an obsession. It was the only thing that has ever made sense. If it was going to work, I knew I had to simplify it otherwise I was doomed for failure. I couldn't do the same thing I had done in the past and expect a different outcome—that's just insanity. The baby steps included a more whole foods diet. I slowly—and I repeat, slowly—started to replace the processed crap I was eating with whole foods from as close to nature as possible.

I remember the last couple of things to go (haha)! What do you think they were? What would yours be? For me it was cereal and pizza. Damn I love me some Fruity Pebbles! I could polish off a whole pizza and an entire box in one sitting. Looking back: Holy moly, what a chemical shit-storm that was. It was a gradual process that took months and months. The less processed my diet became the better and better I felt. I had more energy—insane amounts actually—and clarity and focus. It was during this time I kicked my alarm, too.

Now that I finally had a good hold on my diet, it was time to take a look at my exercise. Along with my less-processed diet, I started doing what I thought were really cool exercises. I found them online and just started stringing them together. These are exercises that you may have heard of, like burpees, mountain climbers, and planks. More on exercise later, and don't worry, it will be much simpler than that, in fact this diet works like magic even without exercise.

At this time I was very limited, and didn't have the money for a gym membership. As this was all going on I was also going through bankruptcy and divorce (I told you it was real bad!).I was living in a tiny 1,000-square-foot apartment, and all I had access to was a set of dumbbells. It was actually a blessing—remember I had tried the gym before and failed over and over again…

Are you ready? Get this! Just 113 days later, I was able to go from 24% body fat down to 8%, I dropped 27 pounds of fat, and saw my abs for the first time in my life. It was like the fat melted off my body as I witnessed it in real time.

At this time, believe it or not, I had what many refer to as a spiritual awakening. One of my very best friends, and someone I still admire, handed me a Bible. His name was David Olson.It was a little green Bible with my name in it and it had a suggested reading schedule.

I wasted no time. I started reading it every day. You see, David was the kind of guy I wanted to be like. Always positive, caring, sympathetic, and most of all, willing and ready to serve. He had something special and it wasn't money, which I had thought for the longest time equated to happiness. I was, and still am to this day, hungry for growth. Would you believe I made flash cards with biblical verses and started to memorize them?

Four months passed by and all of the growing began to compound, people started to notice me. It felt so good, especially for someone that always craved his dad's approval. Looking back, through all of the client work I have done, I have realized that validation is something that makes us all feel good. I also will always remember my family saying all sorts of positive things. I even remember this girl at a coffee shop I went to regularly noticing my progress. Back then it was called Alterra, it since has been changed to Colectivo. Talk about motivation! There is no better motivation than being noticed and acknowledged for your accomplishments.

Even with all of this very gratifying success, I had a couple big clouds looming. I knew I had to get on the other side of the divorce and bankruptcy in order to really make some serious strides, because what it was doing to my mindset at times was very much holding me back—I could just feel it.

I needed more motivation than just a nice set of abs, so I dug deep in search of something more meaningful than looks or success. Something that could provide me with that lasting motivation, a motivation I could wake up and think of every day. Needless to say it was my little girl Carina Marie. The biggest blessing my life has ever seen. Words can't explain what this little girl has taught me in the four short years she's been in my life.

You see, she deserved a good life. I remember holding her (I was the very first one) like it was yesterday, looking into her eyes (tears filled mine up), and I remember saying to her, "Daddy will not ever fail you." And from that moment on I get a reminder every morning at 7 A.M. and it reads, "You're doing this for your kids," because since then we had Carmello, our little man.

So my quest for knowledge began. I read and read and read. I studied everything from paleo, vegan, IIFYM, carb cycling, and blood/DNA type diets. You name it, I read and studied it. I was hungry (pun intended) and always learning, and that hasn't stopped ever since.

Through all this hunger, a passion had been formulated. I realized my passion was to help others realize their full potential so they, too, could live happier, healthier, more productive lives.

This was all well and good, but I knew if anyone was going to take me seriously, I needed more than just a nice six-pack and a good story. I needed some credibility to go along with it. And so over the next six months I completed a total of five certifications: CPT-ISSA, RKC, CF-L1, OPT, and CrossCore. Today I have a total of six with a certificate in Neural Linguistic Programming (NLP), believe it or not this is the one that allows me to help people break through the mental barriers that we all face from time to time.

Talk about cruising, that was me! My brain, my body, my spirit. I remember fist-pumping through the house saying to myself, "Look out world." Haha! At the time I had absolutely no idea what that meant. I know now that I needed to capture America's attention somehow, someway. And with all of the social media channels sounds easy, right?

But it wasn't. There were thousands of stories just like mine competing for the world's attention. I had to think, what made me any different? At the time I didn't know. But what I did know was that my daughter, only months old, needed me and quitting was not an option. She was depending on me.

So I knew it was time. It was time to put myself out there. I remember my very first video about three years ago (it's still on YouTube). No one was watching, I mean no one. I didn't have even 100 subscribers. I remember being in my mother's basement, bankruptcy finally behind me. It wasn't fun. Imagine being on your own for over a decade and having to move back in with your mom in your thirties, with a newborn and a fiancée.

I will never forget the day. I finally made the commitment in my mind. I set up my iPhone and walked in front nervous as all hell. If you watch that video (and I hope you do) you'll see me rocking back and forth, so much that I probably left a groove in the floor. Haha! Fun times for sure! Lots and lots of retakes and videos later I found a new confidence in myself, one that surely I never knew I had. From that point on it just got easier, now you can't keep me from getting in front of the camera, I love it! From my daily live streams, to the weekly YouTube videos, with daily Snapchat and Instagram posts, you'd think I would have a couple clones!

It's so surreal now that I have such an amazing community that allows me the privilege of sharing my journey. I remember back a few short years ago, months and months went by when no one was listening. I remember for what seemed like forever, I had no subscribers, as in zero!

But then along came Instagram, and I saw lots and lots of action happening, so I quickly started posting daily; multiple times a day in fact. I remember at one point, waking up a couple times through the night so my followers in other parts of the country would see my content. I did this for over a year. My mother thought I was crazy, and poor Amanda. I remember waking her up on several occasions, as if taking care of our newborn wasn't enough. Looking back, I realize just how lucky I am to have such a cheerleader in my corner.

Fast forward just twenty-four months and I have a best-selling program called HIIT MAX™ with over 150,000 copies sold by May 2015. I also have a newsletter with over 300,000 active subscribers and millions of followers all over the world.

Today, just a year later, we are a full-fledged health and wellness company providing custom nutrition and training solutions and some of the cleanest supplements on the market. We have served over 200,000 people through direct sales of products, programs, and services. We have clients on every continent and look forward to serving even more. We also have a very active blog (www.morellifit.com) that's updated with new cutting-edge nutrition and training advice a couple times per week. The daily unique visitors are growing and nothing brings a big smile to my face more than an active, growing community of like-minded individuals who share a passion to live their best.

I chalk up this early success to a couple of key factors: transparency and trust. I have never recommended or put my name on something that I didn't feel was the absolute best. As you read the chapters of this book, it's important to know that I am right there with you, eating sweet potatoes, enjoying the benefits and the results that this lifestyle offers. My entire family eats them as our main carb source, even my kids follow the Sweet Potato Diet, we are all in!

Since my mother's basement, the mission has been: "Let's get fit together." It's through this mission that comes a vision to create a social revolution. By using health and fitness as our catalyst, I believe we can foster a community where people continually grow to the next level of awareness. It's in this environment where people will thrive, and live a life full of abundance and fulfillment.

I believe it's the Sweet Potato Diet and its simplification that lends itself to the cultivation of such a group, and I will always look for what will have the biggest impact on the most amount of people. This is why you're holding this book. This is why I live this book each and every day, and this is why this book is the last diet book you'll ever feel the need to buy.

Not only have the principles in this book paved the way for my new lifestyle, they have also changed the lives of thousands of my clients, and I am proud to share it with you now. The Sweet Potato Diet is based on proven results, from people just like you every single day. Here's to your transformation. And always remember to be patient, stay the course, and let's get fit, together.

—Michael Morelli