Weight... Lost!

So, what exactly is the point of this writing? Why should you read this instead of the thousands of other books on weight loss, health improvement, etc.? I understand your time is valuable, so I am going to address the why before I even start to address the what’s. The point of this is to inform people about what it takes to lose weight and the importance of being mentally ready to embark on the weight-loss journey. To answer question two, I certainly feel that this is going to fill a huge need. I believe that people need transparency in the minefield that is the weight loss industry, along with a dose of reality. There are things that I have learned through years of research and experience (seeing thousands of clients over almost two decades). I want to use this knowledge to convey some troublingly overlooked (in my opinion) facts about losing weight and, more importantly, keeping it off, all while feeling happy and content. Believe this if you believe nothing else that I will say: This is not a pipe dream. Losing weight naturally, keeping it off, and being happy with how you are living your life is fairly easy to achieve if the right plan is utilized. As you will see as you read on, the key is having the right plan for YOU. This is not a comprehensive weight loss plan, however. In my opinion, a plan must fit an individual in order to truly be successful. To that end, the full answer to the second question is that you certainly should not ONLY read this. Read and learn as much as you can from many different sources, and only start the process of losing weight, transforming your health, etc. when a plan really “clicks” with you. In keeping with the theme of transparency, hopefully now you have at least enough information to decide if you want to continue reading.

First, let us make no mistake. I do not want to waste anyone’s precious time. My focus is helping people lose weight. This is not always the same as “eating healthy” or “eating clean.” Intentionally trying to metabolize body fat is more complicated than that. Certainly, there will be between these and other concepts. Eating good, clean food—fruits, vegetables, and lean meat—is going to be part of losing weight in a healthy way. But, to use one of the more tired cliché, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Intentionally trying to get the human body to metabolize fat and keeping to a schedule that will allow for that process to happen over an extended period of time is just a bit more complicated than “just eat less and exercise more.” One thing that I am fully confident in is that I know why weight-loss programs fail and I know why they succeed. I know how to succeed, what to do, and when to do it. But knowing what to do and doing it are often different things. People are becoming more and more conditioned to believe that there is a magic pill or a miracle cure for being overweight. Either this or they are becoming more and more lazy and “believing” in these miracle cures as simple self-narcotization. It feels better when you are “trying” to improve. They don’t believe it will actually work, but they take out their wallets and lay down their hard-earned money anyway. And the vulturous companies eat it up. Pills, potions, shots, classes, gurus, meetings—none of them can fix the underlying issue on their own. They may be useful as part of a plan, but a comprehensive plan will no doubt be needed. For reasons we will discuss, it is much more complicated than many may lead you to believe.

At its core, what is losing weight really about? Is it really about lowering blood pressure or controlling blood sugar? Is it really about fitting into a dress or bathing suit? Yes, and not completely! At its core, losing weight is about living a healthier and happier life overall. This is the whole meaning of life. The most important asset anyone will ever have is their time. And having more of it and enjoying it more are the keys to actually “living.” Unfortunately, in my experience, struggles with weight are the number one issue that people face with getting to this place of “living.” That is certainly not to say that everyone who is overweight is unhappy. Of course, there are countless people who are not at their ideal weight and are perfectly content. Cheers to them. Congratulations! But we are not talking about these individuals (I have no idea why they would be reading this anyway). I am speaking to those who feel trapped in their own bodies, don’t like looking in the mirror, have extensive health problems, etc., that can be attributed to their weight. In my experience, being overweight is the number one thing that makes people feel that they are not living life to the fullest. At the end of this, you don’t have to do what I say. You don’t have to use any of my methods or even research my programs specifically, but hopefully you will want to do SOMETHING. And hopefully that something will be what fits YOU . . . for LIFE.

There are fundamental truths to living healthy and at a healthy weight. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on how you look at it, these truths can be difficult to hear. We are almost programed today to. We crave shortcuts and results with minimal effort. We want our food to be cheap and filling and our packages to arrive the next day (sometimes the same day). We have become spoiled. We are victims of our own success and status. We are victims of living in a world where comfort isn’t just attainable; it is the norm. This comfort is a product of the rapid advancement of technology and industrialization and, for the most part, in my opinion, is a positive thing. It is, however, a double-edged sword and can lead to people falling into what Nietzsche would call “decadence.” This concept basically means the erosion of what made a civilization great (hard work, self-reliance, etc.) and a shift towards apathy and gluttony. This may sound harsh, but I think if we all take a step back, we can see how Nietzsche’s concept of decadence rings true for many in western culture. Me telling you later on that real effort and sacrifices may be required to lose weight, get healthy, and maintain your healthy weight for the rest of your life may then seem off-putting (although empirically, I feel like anyone can see that it makes sense). With health and weight loss, however, sometimes we just don’t want to hear it. Fair warning, then. There will be some of that.

At the same time, we do have the science, knowledge, and understanding to make the process of living at a healthy weight manageable in a convenient way for literally anyone. We can also work smarter while working harder (I never understood why these two are consistently thought of as mutually exclusive). In order to be successful long-term, we need to use science and combine it with an individual’s lifestyle, body type, motivation, and preferences to come up with a “plan” that does not feel like “a diet.” For the vast majority of people, diets just don’t work long term. You can find some short-term success by counting calories, taking a pill or even starving yourself, but these are always short-term plays. They never lead to a sustained healthy lifestyle or living at a healthy weight. These are strategies that have no long-term foresight. To get off the rollercoaster of losing and regaining weight, we need to start playing chess instead of checkers. We need to think of long-term strategies from the start, not once we are approaching the goal.

The writing contained hereafter will be primarily directed at those who do want a more permanent option for weight loss—those who have yo-yoed in the past or have tried and failed numerous times throughout their lives. This is my intended audience.

It is very rare for someone to go from gaining weight over an extended period of time (their entire life) and not watching what they eat or exercising, etc., to immediately taking on the changes needed to reduce weight and get healthy permanently. Yo-yoing is almost a pre-requisite. Most people who feel that they are ready to lose weight and get healthy after a lifetime of not being concerned with their weight fall into the trap of thinking that the solution is in a bottle, starvation diet, an extreme exercise program, etc. And why not? These options are generally cheap, simple, and promoted as miracle cures for obesity. Throughout my career, it has been exceedingly rare for me to encounter someone who is ready to take on the responsibility of the changes needed for permanent weight loss without having been burned by fad diets multiple times in the past (although admittedly, it has happened). Hopefully, for some, this writing can bring awareness to this trend and then prevent them from falling into this pattern. More likely, however, this is for those who just don’t want to be taken advantage of again.

None of this is to say that wanting to lose weight “quickly” or “temporarily” is inherently “wrong.” Honestly, people should do and be allowed to do whatever they want. For example, if you go into the process with a clear mind and only want to drop a couple of sizes to fit into your wedding dress and are completely unconcerned with what happens with your weight afterwards, then fine. You are an adult, and you get to choose what is best for YOU. It is the false expectations and promises that I feel are so inherently dangerous. Just to be abundantly clear, this type of short-term weight loss will not be covered in any great detail going forward.

Remember that the best plan will always be the one that is best for you. The plan that fits your lifestyle, body type, and preferences will always trump a well-thought-out and scientifically sound plan that you won’t stick to. This plan beats the newest plan that all the celebrities are talking about in Hollywood and even the one your best friend lost 50 pounds doing. Later on, I will give suggestions and my best advice for healthy weight loss, but I will stop short of describing a full “plan.” After working with clients for almost two decades on weight management, I know that the cookie-cutter “just do this and it works” approach just doesn’t work. This is a huge pitfall, with a lot of “nutrition experts” that have “science” on their side and expect clients to “just stick with the program.” To illustrate this further, before anyone can begin one of our programs, we require a fairly thorough screening process. We would rather not take someone on as a client if we feel that the likelihood of success with our program would be low. Trying and “failing” can be even more destructive than doing nothing at all. I certainly encourage anyone interested to take our screening questionnaire for themselves by referring to the links in the resources page at the back of this book.

Before we get too far along, let’s talk just briefly about what we actually need to do if we are to win at healthy weight loss. Do we need to deal with stress better? Do we need to learn to distract ourselves from cravings? The simplest answer to “What do we need to do?” is that we need to simply control the action of putting too much junk food into our mouths. That is it! Obviously, this is much, much easier said than done. The obesity epidemic is still worsening, so taking this action consistently must be a complicated matter. Mental retraining helps. Getting a distracting hobby can help. The reality, however, is that we gain and lose weight based on an action, not based on a mental state. The enemy we are fighting is the action of overeating. Defeat that enemy, and the game is won. Again, this is not simple, but I feel that it is important to note that pragmatically, action, not emotion, is what truly matters. Mental retraining simply makes positive actions more likely and consistent.

Do me one favor from the onset, please. Do not feel guilty about the past. Maybe you lived a gluttonous life of excess, or maybe you just fell away from being concerned about your diet or exercise for a short while. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. The truth is also that the past is the past. Feeling guilty or ashamed of things that happened in the past does us no good. This is not to say we should forget about the past. Certainly not! We should learn from it, just not feel bad about it. Let go of the negative feelings about the past. The past is the past, and the future is yet to be written. You write the future with the actions that you take in the present. If you want the past to become the future, don’t change a thing. If you want a different future, understand that changes will be needed. You have already taken one action by starting this reading. The win or lose question will be “Are you ready to take further action?”