How One Medically Retired Veteran Beat Chronic Pain and a 230 Pound Starting Weight to Strip 10% Body Fat in 18 Months
"I caught a glimpse of man boob, and was like, ‘oh, f***. I've got to do something about this.'"
Sound familiar? That's 42-year-old Don Pearce, but it could probably be just about any of us who have hit our fourth decade.
Two years later, Pearce is a different man. No more boobs, and way less fat-in the 18 months that followed his unfortunate glimpse in the mirror, the Army vet-turned-stay-at-home-Dad dropped from 26 percent body fat to 16 percent. And the tools he used to get there aren't complicated, and don't require insane discipline, time, or money. Pearce carved his new, leaner body with daily workouts that take an hour or less, added protein from cottage cheese in almost all of his meals, and a secret weapon: a super-filling bowl of berries, Icelandic yogurt, and oats that he downs several times per day to crush cravings and stay full.
Here's how he did it, how he feels, and two recipes that helped turn Don from busty and broken back to buff.
The 60-Minute Workout That Melts Stubborn Fat After 40
When Pearce first caught sight of his newly bountiful bosom, he tipped the scales at more than 230 pounds. Worse yet, he hurt all over. A direct result of the nine surgeries and beating he took during his nearly decade-long stint in the U.S. Army.
"I fell off a cliff in Afghanistan, and my back got really messed up," he says. He's had surgeries on his toes from wearing boots, suffered a brain injury, has had multiple knee surgeries, and has had herniated discs in both his back and neck. He was also battling mental anguish, mourning the death of one of his 10 siblings, numbing the pain with alcohol.
When his fat loss quest began, the medically retired father of two had already begun to turn things around, dropping alcohol and soda from his diet simultaneously. But the mirror moment was a signal to dial in. He says he was too embarrassed to go to a regular gym, so the former sergeant got a set of adjustable dumbbells and mismatched kettlebells, and started marching-he did kettlebell farmer's carries all around his apartment, swung and overhead pressed the weights while his kids napped, and started to see results.
A few months (and a few pounds lost) later, he started going to the gym again, putting knowledge from his Army days to work.
"I probably look crazy in the gym because I'm probably the sweatiest guy in there," he says. That's by design. To keep his heart rate up during four weekly lifts, Pearce starts with 10 minutes of stationary-bike riding or incline walking on a treadmill, followed by five minutes on a rower to warm up his shoulders and back.
After that, his workouts are short, simple, and super-setted, giving him time for his stay-at-home dad duties, and keeping his injuries in check. Each week, he does four different lifting sessions: First is chest, back, and triceps. Session two is shoulders, biceps, and back. Sessions three and four focus on legs and abs.
Each workout has just a handful of exercises, performed for 4 sets in supersets, done with 8-12 reps until failure.
For example, on his chest/back/triceps day, Pearce will do:
- Incline dumbbell chest press
- Cable fly
- Dumbbell pullovers
- Shrugs
- Lat pulldown
- Hammer Strength seated row
- Rope pushdown
- Straight bar pushdown
- Kettlebell overhead triceps extension
By supersetting the moves, each workout takes less than an hour, as do his once-weekly swim and yoga sessions, done on his off days from lifting.
The Simple Nutrition Strategy for Blasting Fat After 40
Keep your heart rate as high as you want, but you can't blast fat on a bad diet. To clean his up, Pearce kept things simple, focusing on three key moves:
More Vegetables
He says he's constantly trying to fill his plate with as many low-calorie plants as possible. Doing so increases dietary fiber and water content in your diet, both of which are associated with easier weight loss. In one large study, the amount of vegetables people ate per day was inversely proportional to their body fat composition.
Cottage Cheese on Everything
If you're part of the protein-obsessed portion of our population, you probably already know the power of these curds: A half-cup of low-fat cottage cheese has 13 grams of filling protein in just 100 calories.
Pearce puts a one-cup serving on (and in) many things he eats to stay full. For example, he'll mix 200 grams into a five-egg omelet at breakfast, put it on top of his low-sugar, whole wheat banana pancakes (recipe in the next section), and even adds it to homemade and canned soups.
His Super Skyr Bowl
Skyr is Icelandic-style yogurt that's got less fat and more protein than Greek yogurt. It's mega-thick and mega-filling, and has become a staple in Pearce's diet. Each day, he downs two or three skyr-focused bowls made with other filling ingredients: Oats and chia seeds, both of which are loaded with filling, belly fat-fighting fiber, berries, and either honey or peanut butter. (Recipe in the next section.)
"I eat that two or three times per day because it's so easy," he says. "It's my comfort food. I just mix up which fruits are in it."
The results from these habits are incredible. Not only did he drop 10 percent of his body fat in less than two years, but Pearce also lost more than 50 pounds, settling in at 183 from his top weight in the 230s. Physically, he's a new man: His legs used to go numb just sitting on the ground. But now, he can get up without using his hands.
Best of all, he's happier.
"Before, I was just angry, I think probably because when I'm in pain, I'm angry…I used to have migraines so bad four times per week," he says. "I might have two a month now, and the gym has definitely helped my mental health massively. The days I don't go, my wife says, ‘you need to go work out,' because I'm getting restless."
Pearce's Two Favorite Fat-Crushing Recipes
Don's Whole Wheat Pancakes
As with many of his meals, Don tops his serving of these family-favorite banana pancakes with cottage cheese. He'll also add a splash of honey or agave.
Ingredients
- 3 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 ripe bananas, mashed
- 2 eggs
- Cinnamon to taste
- 1/2 cup berries of your choice
- 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese
- 1 tsp agave
Directions
- Mix all ingredients except the berries and agave. Let the batter settle for a minute or two.
- Add the berries.
- Heat a skillet to medium, and spray with nonstick spray.
- Add batter in 1/3 cup scoops. Cook until bubbling slightly at the edges, then flip.
- Top with cottage cheese and agave.
Don's Skyr Bowl
For his skyr bowl, Don likes to change it depending on the time of day: In the morning, he'll eat it with berries and honey. To reduce late-day sugar intake, afternoon and evening bowls get topped with peanut butter or a handful of cashews.
Ingredients
- 400 grams skyr
- 100 grams oats
- Splash of milk
- 2 tbsp chia seeds (or more)
Optional toppings to choose from:
- 1/2 cup berries of your choice
- 1 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 tbsp cashews
Directions
- Layer the bottom of the bowl with half the skyr.
- Add the oats, milk, and chia seeds, then top with the rest of the skyr.
- Mix the whole bowl, and let it sit for a few minutes to let the oats and chia soak up the liquid. (You can also put this in the fridge for a while to let it really soak in.)
- Mix in your topping, and enjoy.
This story was originally published by Men's Journal on Jun 11, 2026, where it first appeared in the Fitness section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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This story was originally published June 11, 2026 at 7:13 AM.