Common sense views from an uncommon retired Marine Colonel!
A 110 Percent Mentality
“January 18, 2022. I stepped on the scale: 309 pounds.
Two years earlier I had retired from the Marine Corps after 39 years of staying under 220.
I had become what I used to discharge Marines for.
That morning I made a decision: I would attack my body the same way I attacked every mission in the Corps—with a 110% mentality.
110 pounds later I’m 199 pounds, have a six-pack at 63, and feel better than I did at 35.
If a hard-charging Marine can do it after retirement, you can too.
My book shows you exactly how.”
From 309 Pounds to a Six-Pack at Age 63: Retired Marine Colonel Drops 110 Pounds Using the Same 110% Mentality That Forged U.S. Marines
“Marines don’t give 100%. Marines give 110%!”
That scream from Drill Instructor Sergeant Antoinette still echoes in Colonel Dan Hunter Wilson’s head—nearly 45 years later. In January 2022, the 6’3” retired Colonel stepped on the scale and saw 309 pounds. The man who once ran a perfect 300 on the Marine Corps PFT, led Marines in Fallujah, and retired as the senior Colonel in the Corps had eaten himself into obesity in under two years.
He didn’t make excuses.
He didn’t buy pills.
He didn’t get surgery.
He simply decided to attack his body the same way he attacked every mission in 39 years of active duty—with his 110% mentality.
The result?
110 pounds gone.
Cholesterol from 235 to 171.
Blood pressure from 185/121 to 106/75.
Resting heart rate in the 40s.
A visible six-pack at 63.
And a book that is already changing lives.
A 110 Percent Mentality: My 110-Pound Weight Loss Journey is not another diet book.
It’s a battle plan written by a warrior who refused to stay soft.
Inside you’ll discover:
• The exact “Daniel Diet” (yes, straight from the Bible) that Colonel Wilson used—vegetables + lean protein + portion control that tastes so good cheating never tempts you
• The Basic Daily Routine that rebuilt his body, mind, and spirit (includes a 5-minute ice bath at 42–45°F every morning for unbreakable discipline)
• The wake-up run + garage circuit + 2 hours of Pickleball + iron + wind sprints schedule that melted fat while building muscle
• How he used faith, accountability, and ruthless consistency to power through every plateau
• The same leadership principles he used to turn civilians into Marines—now applied to turning your body into a fighting machine
This is NOT theory.
This is a retired Colonel who packed his seabag for 39 years, led in combat, trained thousands of Marines, and then proved the same principles work in retirement when the stakes were his own life.
He lost the weight slow and steady (never more than 10 lbs a month) so his skin tightened naturally—no loose skin, no Ozempic face, just lean, hard, Marine-ready muscle.
And now he wants to help you do the same.
Ready to stop making excuses and start making progress?
Grab your copy of A 110 Percent Mentality right now and begin your own transformation today:
I grew up in Africa, the son of missionary parents who devoted their entire adult lives to helping African tribespeople in desperate need. Read all about it in my recently published Memoir, OUT OF AFRICA AND INTO THE CORPS. I spent eight years in the southern Sudan, four years in South Africa & South West Africa, and two years in Kenya. It was perfect preparation for a career in the Marines.
I led Marines for 39 years on active duty, first as an enlisted Marine from Private to the rank of Staff Sergeant, and then as a "Mustang" infantry officer for 31 years: Second Lieutenant to full bird Colonel. I was the senior Colonel in the Marines when I retired on Leap Year Day in 2020 of some 555 Colonels with almost a full ten years time-in-grade as a full bird Colonel.
A week after being notified that I would be considered by the selection board for Brigadier General in July 2016, I was falsely accused of sexual assault, and wrongfully convicted of one charge at a court martial fourteen months later in September 2017. I spent nearly 3 years in 3 different military prisons, before being exonerated "WITH PREJUDICE" in a unanimous decision by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals for "factual and legal insufficiency." Upon my release from prison, I was forced to retire and my leadership reneged on our agreement of "no punishment" by weaponizing the retirement process to have me retired in the pay of a Lieutenant Colonel and with an "Other than Honorable" characterization of my service, which equated to "severe punishment." It was the military lawyers' way of getting their revenge for losing the most important case of their careers.
In retirement, I have written and published the true story of my case in my first book, UNDAUNTED GLADIATOR.
These are the eight books that I've currently written and published. I am working on three more books presently:
UNDAUNTED GLADIATOR
A 110 PERCENT MENTALITY
THE BATTLE OF FALLUJAH - PART II...Operation Phantom Fury
DAN 2.0 by DAN W.
THE SWAMP F0X UNLEASHED
OUT OF AFRICA AND INTO THE CORPS
PICKLEBALL BATTLEFIELD
THE BLONDE BOMBSHELL
All eight books are available on AMAZON in the following formats: Hard Cover, Paperback, Ebook/Kindle, and as audiobooks that I personally narrate.
I aspire to fix the inequities in the military legal system someday. I aspire to have HONOR restored to my military career and that JUSTICE be done in my case. I aspire to inspire in others a desire to acquire a Higher Power of their own understanding. I give all credit to any successes I've had in life to my Higher Power, whom I choose to call "GOD." "I can do all things through God who strengthens me." I dedicated UNDAUNTED GLADIATOR to God, because He imbued in me the attitude to not just survive in prison, but to thrive in prison. On account of God, I went from “Victim” to “VICTOR!” All glory be to God Almighty!
Semper Fi and Semper God!
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A 110 PERCENT MENTALITY-THE COLONEL'S CORNER 