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Every now and then, you hear a story that doesn’t just inspire you—it stays with you.
This is one of those stories.
It’s about my brother, Josh Hewlett, who is also the inspiring leader and Vice President of Cardio Miracle.
Josh was born in the mid 1980’s, my second brother, fourth of five kids, and was by far the largest baby in the family. “Big boned” was what Dad used to say. Mom delivered 5 of us little Hewlett’s, and Josh was going to easily outgrow all of us.
By middle school, even though he was 6 years my junior, he was already as tall and weighed more than me.
He played football, could pick up a fridge or couch, and was a literal strongman from his youngest years.
But through the years his big boned nature went to a new level of being overweight, and became a great concern for our entire family and all who knew him.
This is the kind of story you may have heard only on TV or in movies, but for us it’s real life, and it’s my brother, so I have to share this extraordinary story of transformation.
It’s a story about health.
It’s about humility.
And it’s about what happens when someone finally decides, “I’m not quitting on myself anymore.”
Josh has lost 200 pounds.
Not through hype.
Not through shortcuts.
But through consistency, ownership, and one walk at a time.
Josh called his real wake up call his “three walks of shame.” Not because anyone shamed him—but because life held up a mirror he couldn’t ignore anymore.
Here are his words, exactly as he shared them with me:
“At my heaviest I took three ‘walks of shame’ before I finally woke up and decided to take my health into my own hands.”
Those moments were:
- Being asked to leave a plane because he couldn’t buckle the extender seat belt.
- Getting kicked off Space Mountain at Disneyland because the safety bar wouldn’t come down.
- Being forced to walk across the street to a warehouse to be weighed on a pallet scale because a clinic scale couldn’t register his weight.
No lectures. No speeches. Just reality…and a chance to say enough is enough.
And sometimes, reality is the most powerful coach there is.
Nearing his 35th birthday, the day everything changed was April 1, 2021.
Josh was challenged by us, his brothers (Jared is one year older) a simple, even playful:
- How many pushups can you do?
- How many steps can you take?
That was it.
No 90-day plan. No perfect roadmap. Just a challenge… and a choice.
I suggested that if he is getting up to go the bathroom in the middle of the night, he may as well put on his walking shoes and start walking. It sounds ridiculous, but happened most nights around the same time, in the 4 AM hour, so why not?
He looked at me like I was crazy, and I didn’t actually think he’d do it.
But he took it to heart. His mantra became:
“Just go for a walk each day… and start again.”
That word matters.
Again.
I remember when he texted a photo of himself before the sun had come up. He was bathed in sweat and said, “I went for a walk instead of going back to bed. I’m going to do this again tomorrow.”
I was surprised and encouraged.
One Walk Turned Into a Way of Life
Josh didn’t overhaul his entire life overnight.
He went for a walk.
- Half a mile turned into one mile.
- One mile turned into five miles.
- Five miles turned into a daily promise.
Eventually, Josh set a personal baseline:
12,500 steps per day.
And here’s the part that still blows my mind, in his own words:
“I have hit that number for 1,747 days straight. Never missing a day.”
No excuses.
No “I’ll start Monday.”
No waiting for motivation.
Just showing up. Never giving up. Keeping The Promise.
Let the Math Sink In!
Josh did the math so you don’t have to:
21,837,500 steps
Over nearly five years
One day at a time
That’s not a program.
That’s a promise to yourself, kept daily.
Yes, losing 200 pounds is extraordinary.
But that’s not the headline.
The real lesson is this: Consistency beats intensity every time.
Josh didn’t win by being extreme. He won by being faithful to the process.
Walking when it was easy.
Walking when it wasn’t.
Walking when no one was watching.
There were nights we would wake up too early for him to do his walk, then work the ENTIRE day, at a conference or event, having traveled 350 miles by car or , ready for bed, exhausted, and he would throw on his shoes to go for a walk before midnight hit.
No one else keeping track for him, just knowing he would do so every single day.
Opportunities to “cheat” at dinners, desserts abound, and he would never do it, it wasn’t worth it to him to fall again. Afterall, he had just walked between 13-20k steps that morning…
Never missing a day.
As he says, the eating is the harder part than the working out or walking part.
Thank goodness he has a solution for everyone:
“Cardio Miracle as my cornerstone! Taking Cardio Miracle every day, 4 servings a day at least to keep me going, helping not only my endurance, but my drive to get out of the house and walk!! Cardio Miracle has been the cornerstone that has helped keep me motivated and strong to keep pushing every single day.”
I learned a couple of vital lessons:
It’s never too late to take that first step.
I’ve lost hundreds of pounds over the years. But I’ve learned that the confidence, energy, and freedom that come with being fit are so much more rewarding than the fleeting pleasure of eating whatever I want.
I can tell you — feeling strong and free is far better than any meal.”
So...
Why This Matters for Your Health Journey
If you’re reading this at the start of a new year, here’s what I hope you hear:
- You don’t need perfection.
- You don’t need to start big.
- You don’t need to have it all figured out.
You just need to start again.
One walk.
One habit.
One decision today that honors tomorrow.
Josh’s story isn’t about what’s possible for him.
It’s a reminder of what’s possible for anyone willing to keep their promise—especially to themselves.
Health isn’t built in a moment.
It’s built in moments repeated.
And sometimes, the bravest thing you can do…is lace up your shoes, step outside, and take the next step.
Again.
The photo below is with Josh’s son, Jaxon. In reality, as much as Josh did this to transform himself and hopefully inspire others (which he has), he mostly made the change to be an example for his kids.
He did this as his Promise to His Family.
To be there for them, healthy enough to enjoy their time together, to live longer than perhaps was expected after years of health compromise.
He is a product of the product, and as his brother it is hard for me to even describe how proud I am of my little brother…and yes, he is now little compared to what he once was, at least in T-shirt size. He’s still bigger than all of us, in height, in heart, in stature.
What’s your Promise to yourself and your health?
We are here to help you with that journey and would love to hear from you as you take the first step. But even more importantly, that second step, again and again.
1 comment
Way to go Josh!! Keep up the great work!!