Anthony Guerra, Founder/Editor-in-Chief, healthsystemCIO, writes that structure—not motivation—is the real driver of change.
It started with a bald spot. I noticed it one day at the gym. I was looking in the mirror and saw the back of my head more clearly than before. Over the next couple of years, the hair loss became more noticeable. I began cutting my hair shorter, which I thought looked better. In my view, longer hair next to a bald patch only highlights the issue. Eventually, I got to the point where I realized the barber wasn’t doing much I couldn’t do myself. So I decided to buzz my hair.
That’s a big step, but it appealed to me—no more appointments, less time wasted, and money saved. It was efficient. But once I buzzed it all off, I looked in the mirror and saw something else: my face looked much larger than I expected. I hadn’t fully realized it before, but the change in hairstyle made it obvious. I was overweight. I wasn’t inactive—I worked out regularly, lifted weights, took spin classes. But my diet was, basically, whatever was within reach, and therein lay the problem.
I weighed 233 pounds. At 6 feet tall, that’s at least 35 pounds more than I needed. And that’s when the thought hit me: ‘let’s not be bald and fat.’ I didn’t have control over the hair, but I did have control over the weight.
I started reading and spoke with people. I opened a OneNote file and began collecting information—meal plans, food lists, guidelines. I used ChatGPT to learn more about nutrition and portion sizes. I didn’t want a gimmick; I wanted a system; I needed structure.
So I built it by making a plan and following it. I prepared meals ahead of time. I brought food with me each day when I left the house and stopped eating impulsively. I didn’t guess anymore—I measured. This wasn’t about restriction or willpower. It was about knowing what I was going to eat and when. It was about removing the variables that had allowed things to get off track.
The results came slowly but steadily. From January until now, I went from 233 to 206. I’m not done, but I’m close. I feel much better and am not hungry all the time. I don’t feel like I’m dieting; I just follow the plan. It’s simple because it’s repeatable.
That’s the main point – if something matters, it needs a process. Without one, you’re relying on guesswork. If you can’t track what you’re doing, you can’t improve it. The work becomes reactive instead of deliberate. And when results don’t meet expectations, you don’t know what to fix.
People sometimes think success depends on motivation. It doesn’t. Motivation fades. Discipline matters, but even that isn’t enough on its own. What matters most is structure. You build a system, and you follow it. That gives you the stability to keep going when things aren’t perfect. And it gives you the visibility to make adjustments when needed.
This approach works beyond diet and fitness. It applies anywhere results matter. If you want something to improve, break it down. Build a framework. Make the steps clear. Then follow them. If the outcome isn’t right, look at the input. Make a small change and try again. That’s how you move forward.
Will I fall off the wagon and start chowing down again? Who knows, I hope not. I know that I’ll do my best to avoid it. Unless my hair magically grows back, of course.
