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The Theory of One Actionable Action.

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Maybe You Should Just Stay Fat. (Yes, I’m Serious.)

Fat&Happy
Losing Weight Is Easy...

Hey!

Josh here.

Lemme show you a quick pic. 


This is me from a few years ago. 

For reference, I’m 5’7″ and was pushing close to 180 in this photo. At the time I felt like a tub of lard but I recently showed my brother this photo and his response was, “You’re in much better shape now, but you weren’t fat back then.” 

I musta looked at him like he was on a train to LocoLand.

To me, at that time, I may as well of weighed a thousand pounds. I felt terrible. My self-confidence was in the dumps. I avoided cameras like the plague. My clothes bulged against my skin making me look like I was always rocking spandex. I was constantly tired, always fatigued, never able to stick to any weight-loss or fitness program. I was depressed. Frustrated. A bit angry.

All-in-all, my life sucked.

I’m not gonna go so far as to say I hated myself, but I certainly hated how I looked and felt. 

Long story short: I was not able to live within my own body and still be happy with my life. 

Let me say that again: I could not be overweight and be happy. I just couldn’t. It’s not in my DNA. I couldn’t accept looking and feeling the way I was looking and feeling.    

Something had to change.

Because no matter what my brother or anyone else said, I was ashamed of my body and it was making me miserable.

But here was the problem: 

Even though I was not willing to accept my body, I was also not willing to stop drinking coca-colas. I was not willing to stop snacking on Publix Peanut M&M cookies. I was not willing to give up fast food, or Publix Carrot Cake, or Tostitos chips. 

As much as I wanted to get in better shape, I was not willing to make the sacrifices that were required to get in better shape. Instead, I wanted some method or system that would allow me to continue to live the way I was living while also transforming my body into a physique I was able to accept.

I needed to find that one special diet. That one secret workout routine. That miracle weight loss pill.

But here’s what I eventually figured out:

There is no special diet, no secret workout routines, no miracle weight loss pills.

There are only choices.   

On November 12th, 2022, I made a choice as to how I was going to live and what was going to make me the happiest.

The way I saw it, these were my three options.

  1. Do nothing. I could just keep eating how I was eating, doing what I was doing, living how I was living. AKA: I could just keep on being miserable and hating how I looked and felt. 

    With this option, I would continue to binge on fast food, and Publix cookies, and Publix carrot cake, and Tostito’s chips; and I would be blissfully happy while I was stuffing my face; but when I was not busy shoving food down my throat, I would be ashamed and embarrassed by my body and frustrated by my inability to exercise any level of self-discipline to accomplish my goals. Every now and again I’d surely summon up a burst of motivation and start a diet and workout routine but after a few weeks or months I would fizzle out again and find myself right back wearing my fat boy pants.

    With this option, I would keep blaming low self-discipline or weak willpower for my failures. I’d keep blaming life, or my current circumstances. I’d keep promising myself that I would try another diet, another workout routine at some point in the future. I’d go my entire life being ashamed of my own body, frustrated with who I am, not realizing or being aware of all the opportunities and happiness I missed by not becoming the version of myself that I wanted to become. 

    This is how I was currently living, and I was sick and tired of living this way. For me, this wasn’t much of an option. This was hell. It was miserable. I needed change. I wanted (and still want) to be happy and proud of myself with this one life I have been gifted.

    This option is open to you as well. It’s available to everyone. And let’s be honest, it is by far the easiest option to choose. It’s easy to do nothing. It’s easy to ignore change. It’s easy to keep living how you are living and then to pretend you had no other choices. It’s easy to make excuses, to live your life and throw up your hands and say, “This is my fate. It’s who I am! It’s how I was born! It’s the cards I was dealt! There’s nothing I can do!”

    It’s easy to pretend you are a victim to fate, but in all honesty, fate is only the destiny of those who fail to make a decision.

    You have a choice.

    You can make a decision.

    You can change.

    And if you are unhappy with your life and your body, then I’m begging you to make a change. Because there are already too many unhappy and miserable people in this world.

    Please…be different. 

    Make an actionable choice. 

    Because if you make no choice at all, then by making no choice, you are still making a choice. You will be choosing this option. To do nothing. And in my opinion, anything is better than allowing yourself to be unhappy while hiding behind nothing but hope and excuses. 

    Enough preaching. Let’s get to option two. 

  2. Be Fat & Happy! First off, let’s start with this: There is nothing wrong with being overweight. There is nothing wrong with being a bit thick and having a little extra padding. If you are happy with your body and happy with your lifestyle, then I see no reason to sacrifice your happiness only to conform to other people’s perceptions of how you should live or how you should look. The goal is to be happy. 

    If you are happy being a few pounds heavier than your fighting weight, then good on you!

    Live your best life. 

    I, however, was not happy with my weight, or my body, or my lifestyle. My body and my weight were a source of my unhappiness. I hated how I looked and felt. I couldn’t accept being overweight. I couldn’t be happy living inside that body. 

    But’s that’s me. And you are you. If you are comfortable carrying around a few extra pounds, and it does not detract from your happiness, then by all means… eat a full carton of Publix M&M cookies for me!

    For some people, making the required sacrifices that come with losing weight and keeping the weight off will be the very thing that takes away from their happiness. Some people will be miserable not eating certain foods or drinks. They will not be able to live that way. They would rather eat and drink all the foods, snacks, and drinks they want, whenever they want, and accept a body that is a bit flabby and pudgy rather than having to restrict certain foods, snacks, and drinks from their diet. 

    I completely understand this. 

    Because losing and keeping off fat requires sacrifice.

    No matter whether you are trying to lose five pounds or five hundred pounds, it requires commitment and effort.

    It takes work. In my opinion, that is what makes it such an impressive feat.     

    But if you choose to not partake in the game of health and fitness, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. 

    The problem is not with the person who is a few pounds overweight, instead the problem is when being a few pounds overweight makes a person unhappy.   

    Life is way too short to be miserable for the entire duration of it.

    So either learn to be happy with your too tight pants and with your fat rolls, or start getting back in shape and learn to be happy with a healthier lifestyle and more controlled eating habits.

    Either decision is fine, but for God’s Sake, please choose something.

    And please choose something that you can accept and that will make you happy!

  3. Be Fit & Happy! 

    Let me show you another quick pic.


    This is me now.

    Am I super jacked?

    Nope, I’m not.

    Am I gonna win any Olympic Bodybuilding Competitions?

    Nope, I’m not.

    But here’s the thing: I love how I look now! I love how much more energy I have! I love how my clothes fit! I love where my self-confidence is at!

    So yea, even though I could be more muscular, and I could have less fat, and I could have a more defined six pack, and I could be better in a million different ways – the question is…why would I do that?

    My goal isn’t (and has never been) to be an Olympic Bodybuilder. My goal has never been to be the most muscular man in the world. My goal has never been to have crazy-ripped-eight-pack abs.

    My goal has always been to look good and feel good about myself. 

    My goal is (and has always been) to be happy. 

    If I were to pursue a more muscular physique, or if I wanted to get crazy-ripped-eight-pack abs, or to develop bigger shoulders, or to have less body fat, or to be an Olympic Bodybuilder, or whatever…that goal would then require me to eat differently than I currently eat, and to spend more time in the gym than I want to spend in the gym, and doing those things would only take away from my current level of happiness. 

    Again…why would I do that?

    At this point in my life, I’m not willing to exert any additional effort in an attempt to look or feel any better than I look or feel right now.

    And that is perfectly okay!

    The message I am trying to get across is this: the entire point of weight loss and fitness is to reach a point where we are content and happy with not only our bodies, but also with the efforts and sacrifices required to get and maintain that body.

    The goal is to be happy. With both your body and with your lifestyle.

    There’s no point trying to develop the body of a Greek God if you’re absolutely miserable because of all the restrictions required to develop the body of a Greek God. 

    That’s foolish. 

    On the flip side, there’s no point in gorging on all your favorite unhealthy foods if being overweight is what makes you miserable. 

    The goal is to find an equilibrium where you can happily accept both your body and also the sacrifices required to get and maintain that body. 

    And you can do that! You can get in great shape and still eat the foods you love. For me personally, I still eat lasagna two or three times per week (I Love Lasagna!). For lunch today I had spaghetti with meatballs and for dinner tonight I’m having a half pound cheeseburger with french fries. I only spend roughly ten to thirty minutes per day exercising.

    It’s easier than you may think. 

    None of this fitness and weight loss stuff is rocket science. It doesn’t have to be super complicated. It doesn’t have to be crazy difficult. You don’t have to eat chickpeas and salads for the rest of your life. You don’t have to spend hours in the gym.

    However, I don’t want to make it sound like everything about fitness and weight loss is all rainbows and sprinkles. 

    There are challenges. 

    To lose weight and get in better shape (no matter whether it be five pounds or five hundred pounds) it does require a level of sacrifice and commitment. 

    Anyhow, the entire point of this article is to let you know that you have choices, and the choice you make should always be the choice which leads to your long-term happiness.

    If being fat makes you happier than having to make certain sacrifices, then be fat and happy! 

    If, like me, you cannot accept living inside a body you despise, then maybe it’s time to make some changes. 

    If you’d like to learn more about how you can lose weight and get in great shape while still eating the foods you love, then the bus to Camp Weirdo starts by clicking HERE! 

    And nope, I’m not trying to sell you a course, a book, a meal plan, a coaching program, nothing. I believe everyone should have free access to information that will lead them to a healthier and happier life. 

    But it’s up to you to implement and take action. 

    No one can do that for you. 

    It’s your choice.  

Hey! You’re Busy.

Don’t waste time searching for all the latest diet tips,
health hacks, and limitless pills. I’ll send all my best finds straight to your inbox!

Don’t waste time searching for all the latest diet tips, health hacks, and limitless pills. I’ll send all my best finds straight to your inbox!

Fat&Happy

Maybe You Should Just Stay Fat. (Yes, I’m Serious.)

, 0

Maybe You Should Just Stay Fat. (Yes, I’m Serious.)

Fat&Happy
Losing Weight Is Easy...

Hey!

Josh here.

Lemme show you a quick pic. 


This is me from a few years ago. 

For reference, I’m 5’7″ and was pushing close to 180 in this photo. At the time I felt like a tub of lard but I recently showed my brother this photo and his response was, “You’re in much better shape now, but you weren’t fat back then.” 

I musta looked at him like he was on a train to LocoLand.

To me, at that time, I may as well of weighed a thousand pounds. I felt terrible. My self-confidence was in the dumps. I avoided cameras like the plague. My clothes bulged against my skin making me look like I was always rocking spandex. I was constantly tired, always fatigued, never able to stick to any weight-loss or fitness program. I was depressed. Frustrated. A bit angry.

All-in-all, my life sucked.

I’m not gonna go so far as to say I hated myself, but I certainly hated how I looked and felt. 

Long story short: I was not able to live within my own body and still be happy with my life. 

Let me say that again: I could not be overweight and be happy. I just couldn’t. It’s not in my DNA. I couldn’t accept looking and feeling the way I was looking and feeling.    

Something had to change.

Because no matter what my brother or anyone else said, I was ashamed of my body and it was making me miserable.

But here was the problem: 

Even though I was not willing to accept my body, I was also not willing to stop drinking coca-colas. I was not willing to stop snacking on Publix Peanut M&M cookies. I was not willing to give up fast food, or Publix Carrot Cake, or Tostitos chips. 

As much as I wanted to get in better shape, I was not willing to make the sacrifices that were required to get in better shape. Instead, I wanted some method or system that would allow me to continue to live the way I was living while also transforming my body into a physique I was able to accept.

I needed to find that one special diet. That one secret workout routine. That miracle weight loss pill.

But here’s what I eventually figured out:

There is no special diet, no secret workout routines, no miracle weight loss pills.

There are only choices.   

On November 12th, 2022, I made a choice as to how I was going to live and what was going to make me the happiest.

The way I saw it, these were my three options.

  1. Do nothing. I could just keep eating how I was eating, doing what I was doing, living how I was living. AKA: I could just keep on being miserable and hating how I looked and felt. 

    With this option, I would continue to binge on fast food, and Publix cookies, and Publix carrot cake, and Tostito’s chips; and I would be blissfully happy while I was stuffing my face; but when I was not busy shoving food down my throat, I would be ashamed and embarrassed by my body and frustrated by my inability to exercise any level of self-discipline to accomplish my goals. Every now and again I’d surely summon up a burst of motivation and start a diet and workout routine but after a few weeks or months I would fizzle out again and find myself right back wearing my fat boy pants.

    With this option, I would keep blaming low self-discipline or weak willpower for my failures. I’d keep blaming life, or my current circumstances. I’d keep promising myself that I would try another diet, another workout routine at some point in the future. I’d go my entire life being ashamed of my own body, frustrated with who I am, not realizing or being aware of all the opportunities and happiness I missed by not becoming the version of myself that I wanted to become. 

    This is how I was currently living, and I was sick and tired of living this way. For me, this wasn’t much of an option. This was hell. It was miserable. I needed change. I wanted (and still want) to be happy and proud of myself with this one life I have been gifted.

    This option is open to you as well. It’s available to everyone. And let’s be honest, it is by far the easiest option to choose. It’s easy to do nothing. It’s easy to ignore change. It’s easy to keep living how you are living and then to pretend you had no other choices. It’s easy to make excuses, to live your life and throw up your hands and say, “This is my fate. It’s who I am! It’s how I was born! It’s the cards I was dealt! There’s nothing I can do!”

    It’s easy to pretend you are a victim to fate, but in all honesty, fate is only the destiny of those who fail to make a decision.

    You have a choice.

    You can make a decision.

    You can change.

    And if you are unhappy with your life and your body, then I’m begging you to make a change. Because there are already too many unhappy and miserable people in this world.

    Please…be different. 

    Make an actionable choice. 

    Because if you make no choice at all, then by making no choice, you are still making a choice. You will be choosing this option. To do nothing. And in my opinion, anything is better than allowing yourself to be unhappy while hiding behind nothing but hope and excuses. 

    Enough preaching. Let’s get to option two. 

  2. Be Fat & Happy! First off, let’s start with this: There is nothing wrong with being overweight. There is nothing wrong with being a bit thick and having a little extra padding. If you are happy with your body and happy with your lifestyle, then I see no reason to sacrifice your happiness only to conform to other people’s perceptions of how you should live or how you should look. The goal is to be happy. 

    If you are happy being a few pounds heavier than your fighting weight, then good on you!

    Live your best life. 

    I, however, was not happy with my weight, or my body, or my lifestyle. My body and my weight were a source of my unhappiness. I hated how I looked and felt. I couldn’t accept being overweight. I couldn’t be happy living inside that body. 

    But’s that’s me. And you are you. If you are comfortable carrying around a few extra pounds, and it does not detract from your happiness, then by all means… eat a full carton of Publix M&M cookies for me!

    For some people, making the required sacrifices that come with losing weight and keeping the weight off will be the very thing that takes away from their happiness. Some people will be miserable not eating certain foods or drinks. They will not be able to live that way. They would rather eat and drink all the foods, snacks, and drinks they want, whenever they want, and accept a body that is a bit flabby and pudgy rather than having to restrict certain foods, snacks, and drinks from their diet. 

    I completely understand this. 

    Because losing and keeping off fat requires sacrifice.

    No matter whether you are trying to lose five pounds or five hundred pounds, it requires commitment and effort.

    It takes work. In my opinion, that is what makes it such an impressive feat.     

    But if you choose to not partake in the game of health and fitness, there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. 

    The problem is not with the person who is a few pounds overweight, instead the problem is when being a few pounds overweight makes a person unhappy.   

    Life is way too short to be miserable for the entire duration of it.

    So either learn to be happy with your too tight pants and with your fat rolls, or start getting back in shape and learn to be happy with a healthier lifestyle and more controlled eating habits.

    Either decision is fine, but for God’s Sake, please choose something.

    And please choose something that you can accept and that will make you happy!

  3. Be Fit & Happy! 

    Let me show you another quick pic.


    This is me now.

    Am I super jacked?

    Nope, I’m not.

    Am I gonna win any Olympic Bodybuilding Competitions?

    Nope, I’m not.

    But here’s the thing: I love how I look now! I love how much more energy I have! I love how my clothes fit! I love where my self-confidence is at!

    So yea, even though I could be more muscular, and I could have less fat, and I could have a more defined six pack, and I could be better in a million different ways – the question is…why would I do that?

    My goal isn’t (and has never been) to be an Olympic Bodybuilder. My goal has never been to be the most muscular man in the world. My goal has never been to have crazy-ripped-eight-pack abs.

    My goal has always been to look good and feel good about myself. 

    My goal is (and has always been) to be happy. 

    If I were to pursue a more muscular physique, or if I wanted to get crazy-ripped-eight-pack abs, or to develop bigger shoulders, or to have less body fat, or to be an Olympic Bodybuilder, or whatever…that goal would then require me to eat differently than I currently eat, and to spend more time in the gym than I want to spend in the gym, and doing those things would only take away from my current level of happiness. 

    Again…why would I do that?

    At this point in my life, I’m not willing to exert any additional effort in an attempt to look or feel any better than I look or feel right now.

    And that is perfectly okay!

    The message I am trying to get across is this: the entire point of weight loss and fitness is to reach a point where we are content and happy with not only our bodies, but also with the efforts and sacrifices required to get and maintain that body.

    The goal is to be happy. With both your body and with your lifestyle.

    There’s no point trying to develop the body of a Greek God if you’re absolutely miserable because of all the restrictions required to develop the body of a Greek God. 

    That’s foolish. 

    On the flip side, there’s no point in gorging on all your favorite unhealthy foods if being overweight is what makes you miserable. 

    The goal is to find an equilibrium where you can happily accept both your body and also the sacrifices required to get and maintain that body. 

    And you can do that! You can get in great shape and still eat the foods you love. For me personally, I still eat lasagna two or three times per week (I Love Lasagna!). For lunch today I had spaghetti with meatballs and for dinner tonight I’m having a half pound cheeseburger with french fries. I only spend roughly ten to thirty minutes per day exercising.

    It’s easier than you may think. 

    None of this fitness and weight loss stuff is rocket science. It doesn’t have to be super complicated. It doesn’t have to be crazy difficult. You don’t have to eat chickpeas and salads for the rest of your life. You don’t have to spend hours in the gym.

    However, I don’t want to make it sound like everything about fitness and weight loss is all rainbows and sprinkles. 

    There are challenges. 

    To lose weight and get in better shape (no matter whether it be five pounds or five hundred pounds) it does require a level of sacrifice and commitment. 

    Anyhow, the entire point of this article is to let you know that you have choices, and the choice you make should always be the choice which leads to your long-term happiness.

    If being fat makes you happier than having to make certain sacrifices, then be fat and happy! 

    If, like me, you cannot accept living inside a body you despise, then maybe it’s time to make some changes. 

    If you’d like to learn more about how you can lose weight and get in great shape while still eating the foods you love, then the bus to Camp Weirdo starts by clicking HERE! 

    And nope, I’m not trying to sell you a course, a book, a meal plan, a coaching program, nothing. I believe everyone should have free access to information that will lead them to a healthier and happier life. 

    But it’s up to you to implement and take action. 

    No one can do that for you. 

    It’s your choice.  

Hey! You’re Busy.

Don’t waste time searching for all the latest diet tips,
health hacks, and limitless pills. I’ll send all my best finds straight to your inbox!

Don’t waste time searching for all the latest diet tips, health hacks, and limitless pills. I’ll send all my best finds straight to your inbox!

Eat What You Want

There’s Only Two Things You Need To Know About Eating For Weight Loss. (And They’re Not Nearly As Complicated As You Think.)

, 0

There’s Only Two Things You Need To Know About Eating For Weight Loss. (And They’re Not Nearly As Complicated As You Think.)

Eat What You Want

Number One:
Calories Matter Most!

It’s not carbs. It’s not fats. It’s not sugar. It’s not how many burpees you can do. It’s not how far and fast you can run.

It’s Calories. 

I’m gonna say it again. But in bold this time:

It’s Calories!

You will lose weight if you eat less calories than your body burns. Period. End of story. That’s it.

Again, it doesn’t matter if you eat foods that are loaded with sugar and carbs and fats and whatever other things the media says you cannot eat, as long as the foods that are loaded with sugar and carbs and fats and whatever other things the media says you cannot eat contain less calories than your body burns.

If you are serious about losing weight, then figure out how many calories your body typically burns in a day, and then eat less calories than that. 

It’s easy in theory, but hard to consistently apply. 

Here are a few tips and tricks that made the process easier for me.

I think they will help you as well. Don’t worry, they’re all free. 

Number Two:
Your Muscles Need Protein!

First off: Protein is essentially food for your muscles. 

And you need to feed your muscles a sufficient amount of protein. Why? Because if you are not using your muscles, and feeding your muscles (with protein), then your brain (which is pretty effing smart) will decide that you no longer need those muscles. 

And when losing weight, you want your body to burn fat, not muscle.

So how much protein should you be stuffing down your throat every day?  Chances are you’ll get different answers depending on who is preaching. But to keep it simple and safe, let’s just go ahead and say you should be eating one gram of protein for every pound of body weight. 

So if you weigh 180 pounds, eat 180 grams of protein every day. If you weigh 250 pounds, eat 250 grams of protein every day.  

Look…that’s it. There’s no point in complicating things any further. 

Quick Recap: If you consistently eat less calories than your body burns, you WILL lose weight. But the weight you lose may be from muscle loss rather than from fat loss. This is because all your body cares about is in getting the energy it needs to keep your body functioning. It doesn’t care whether that energy comes from fat or from muscle. But you do. So eat enough protein and make sure your body is burning fat rather than muscle. 

And that’s it.

That is everything you need to know about eating to lose weight. 

Ignore everything else and only focus on those two things. 

If you can do this, I guarantee you will lose weight.

The problem is that most people (Normies) can’t do this consistently, and so they start searching for shortcuts and quick hacks instead. 

And shortcuts and quick hacks are the absolute wrong place to start. Because there are no effective shortcuts or quick hacks. Those scams will only lead you into circles of frustration and wasted energy. 

I think you’ll agree that it’s always smarter and more effective to start in the right spot. If you’ve been struggling to lose weight and to get in the best shape of your life, then please allow me to introduce you to a different way to start.

It’s completely FREE, I promise! 

No upsells. 

No ‘gimme your email address and then I’ll send you a free guide.’

No stupid marketing tricks.

No B.S. 

Click below, and let’s get started! (The Weirdo Way!)

You Keep Starting In The Wrong Effing Spot!
Ripped Taylor

How To Use Taylor Swift’s ‘Success Mindset’ To Lose Weight & Get In Great Shape.

0


Earlier today I read a random article about Taylor Swift making history at the Grammy’s with her album ‘Midnights.’

Cool!

But what does that have to do with weight loss and fitness, and more importantly, how does it help us lose weight and get in the best shape of our lives?

It doesn’t, and that’s why we’re gonna talk about her acceptance speech instead.

So check this out…

Taylor Swift is on stage, all dolled up, holding a freaking Grammy in her hands. Adrenaline is pumping through her veins. She’s looking at thousands of star struck spectators. She’s living this incredible moment most humans only dream about. (A moment she undoubtedly once dreamed about). And after she has achieved this unbelievable, record breaking achievement, she says this: 


It’s a seemingly innocent statement, but in this one simple paragraph is the entire operating manual for success — not just relating to music, but to obtaining any meaningful goal.

Let’s break this down, because it’s so profound.

The award is the work. 


For Taylor Swift, her everyday achievement is the true award, and the Grammy’s, the fame, the money, the adoration, all those things are simply derivatives of her everyday achievements. 

Okay…

Cool…

But again, what does this have to do with weight loss and fitness, and more importantly, how does it help us lose weight and get in the best shape of our lives?

To best explain, I’d like to share this photo with you.

I’ve shown a version of this photo several times before, but for those not aware this now hangs in my kitchen.

It is scotch taped straight to the cabinets.

Fancy, I know! 

Anyway, the point is this: For me, this is my Grammy award.

My happiness comes from completing these daily tasks. Every. Single. Day.

It’s in knowing that I did not give up. 

My happiness is when I finish a workout, or go another day without drinking a calorie soda, or go another day walking on the treadmill. 

My happiness is in keeping these streaks alive.  

It’s being able to erase and replace and add a checkmark to this tacky little streak counter that hangs in my kitchen.

It’s knowing that ninety-nine percent of the world will never stick to anything for this long.

It’s knowing that I’m doing something different. Something meaningful. It’s knowing that I chose to be different. That I have not quit. That I have not given up on my goals.   

So for me, my award is the daily work, and losing forty pounds, and gaining muscle, and fitting comfortably into my clothes, and having more energy, more self-confidence, a low body-fat, having people treat me differently…all these things — they are just derivatives of my everyday achievements. 

But Now Let’s Jump Back To Taylor




Notice Taylor Swift says she feels this supreme happiness when she finished a song. And when she has cracked the code to a bridge that she loves. 

She is saying that she feels this happiness after the song is finished and after the code is cracked.

She doesn’t say she is happy during the struggle of creating the song or when trying to crack the code. 

She doesn’t say she never gets frustrated.

She doesn’t say things never get hard.

I’m sure there are times she bangs her head on the wall trying to figure out a lyric or a sound or how to structure certain parts of a song.

I’m sure there are times she would rather lie in bed and watch YouTube rather than slogging through a song that is stubborn to come together.

I’m sure there are times when she has a headache or is depressed or is straight up feeling blah and she would rather stay home rather than jumping on a stage in Tokyo.

Why am I sure of these things?

Because she is human, and this is real life.

But the fact is: She keeps going. Every. Single. Day. 

And she does this because she has a work process and the process is something she has committed to and this commitment is important to her. 

Let me wrap this up with a quick personal story.

The Not-So-Famous Flu Workout


You’ve probably watched or heard about Michael Jordan’s famous flu game during the 1997 NBA finals.

Legendary.

For sure.

But not many of you (meaning no one) have ever heard of the famous flu workout that took place in my garage a few months ago. 

It started on Christmas evening at my house where I began to  feel a bit off. Not necessarily ill, but fatigued, tired, sluggish. All I wanted to do was crash. 

So I went to bed early, even by my standards. (I have to work at four AM so I’m normally in bed rather early anyway.)

When I woke, it felt as though barrels of thick sludge had been pumped inside my body. Moving was laborious. My muscles, bones, joints — everything ached. My brain was foggy. A killer headache was crushing my thoughts. Snot leaked from my sinuses. It felt like someone had sandpapered my throat. 

But because I’m an idiot, I decided to shrug on my uniform and try going to work.

Bad idea. 

About halfway there and I came to my senses. This was stupid. Work could do without me for a day. Going would be absolute torture, for me, and for my coworkers. So I called my boss and took a sick day. 

When I got back home, I slept solidly for four hours, then woke and came downstairs. Still feeling like death, I saw my streak counter taped there to the cabinets. It was waving and taunting and giggling as I shoved three Tylenol PM’s down my throat. Streaks end, I thought, already starting to head back upstairs.

And they do.

All of them do.

Eventually, they will come to an end. 

And if having the black plague is not an acceptable reason to skip a day then I don’t know what is.  

   Taylor Swift is long past making music for money. She doesn’t need the fame. She’s won multiple awards many times over. 

But here’s the thing, when I developed my fitness plan, my process, I developed it to withstand my worst days, not my normal days, and certainly not my best days. 

If you notice my janky streak counter, it only says ‘## of days working out with weights.’

That’s it. 

And it’s like that intentionally. 

So I went back upstairs and pulled my sneakers on. I put my workout shorts on.  

And I came back downstairs to earn my fucking Grammy. 

Am I going to lie and say I put on a Jordan worth performance. 

I did not. 

All I did was what I normally do as my warm up for that day, and all this entailed was doing two pullups, waiting one minute, doing three pullups, waiting one minute, doing five pullups, waiting one minute, and then doing one pullup while wearing leg weights. 

And then I went back upstairs and I went to bed for about ten hours. 

But I won. 

And to this day, if you were to ask me to tell you of my proudest workout ever, that would be right there in the top three. 

Because any normal person would have done nothing. They would have believed in their excuses. 

At this point, she’s simple trying to make the absolute best music that she can possibly create. She’s trying to entertain to the best of her ability. She’s trying to put on the best concerts that you’ll ever witness.

She’s trying to do the best that she can.

She’s competing solely with herself. 

Not necissarily the doing of the thing, but it’s the having done the thing. It’s the accomplishment. And you do this by making the process bearable enjoyable if possible and bearable if not. 

you must make your process the award. 

you have to make it 

Because she’s human. and trying to live up to thousands of people’s expectations  but she shows up consistently and little by little, piece by piece the song begins to build.

And it builds the same exact way muscle builds — note by note, line by line, day by day, with simple easy actions done consistently over a long period of time.

Taylor Swift is great because she has been doing the same thing consistently for a long, long time. For years and years and years now.  

And this is the same winning principle that applies to fitness and weight loss. 

Like Taylor Swift, you have to discover a process that you can stick to and it’s more important than all the other things that most people get fixated worrying about. 

All the mind chatter like: should you do CrossFit, keto, paleo, HITT training, refeed days, fasting, carb cycling, and blah, blah, blah, blah…

Who cares. 

Just choose something that moves the needle, no matter how slight it may seem, and then stick with it for the long term. Make ‘your thing’ something that you can do everyday. Make it something you do not completely hate.

And then do it every single day for the next ten years.

Yes I’m serious. 

Because once you become committed to doing that, then your process will begin to become your reward.

And at that point, you become unstoppable!

But today, right now…start.

Commit. 

Decide to be different.

Please shoot me a line at [email protected] if you have any questions or comments about either this article, or about how to implement this habit into your fitness routine and life.

Lose weight eating stouffers lasagna

This Is How I Lost 35 Pounds Eating Stouffers Lasagna!

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Lose weight eating stouffers lasagna

Hey…

In honor of this article, guess what I’m having for lunch today!

You guessed it… 

I’m having Stouffer’s microwave lasagna. 

And you know what else…

Tomorrow morning I’ll weigh the same as I did this morning.

I won’t gain one single pound.

This evening I’ll have a half-pound cheeseburger with fries for dinner.

And in case you’re wondering, when I hit the scale tomorrow morning I still won’t weigh any more than I did this morning. 

A candy bar, some chocolate covered raisins, a brownie, and some buttered popcorn will be my snacks today.

And I still won’t gain any additional weight.

Right now you may be thinking, ‘Uh huh. Keep eating like that and tell me how your pants fit in three months.’

You may be thinking I have some special genetics, or that I’m a high metabolism twenty year old. (I wish.) 

You may be thinking it’s not possible to eat lasagna, then snack on popcorn and chocolate, then have a cheeseburger and fries for dinner, and still gain absolutely zero weight.

But the truth is that you can. 

It is one hundred percent possible!

You can eat the foods you love and still get in the best shape of your life.  

Don’t believe me?

I’m living proof. 

Here’s a before and after pic of me, myself, and not Irene.

The picture on the left is when I was first beginning this fitness journey and the one on the right is a picture of me from a few weeks ago. 

FitnessForWeirdos - My Before and after photos.
This Is How I Lost 35 Pounds Eating Stouffers Lasagna!
Weirdo me, after I lost weight and got in the best shape of my life.

Trust me, I am no where close to being a twenty-year-old spring chicken. 

I was 43 when I first started this fitness journey; I am 44 now. 

And I promise you, I have no super high metabolism.

What I do have is a method that has helped me lose over 35 pounds of fat, gain a significant amount of muscle, and get in the absolute best shape of my life — all while eating foods that I actually enjoy.

But my journey is definitely not all cupcakes and sprinkles. 

It took me years of searching, testing, failing before I figured out how to eat the foods I love and still get in the best shape of my life.

After this article I hope you choose to do the same!

Let’s get to it. 

Are you losing weight today, gaining weight today, or staying the same weight today? 

Quick question: let’s say I’m sitting on my couch watching Sports Center, and I’m munching on a salad and an avocado and I’m washing it all down with a great big glass of ice water — will I lose weight, gain weight, or stay the same weight when I hop on the scale tomorrow morning?

I’m guessing most people would think I’d lose weight eating a salad and an avocado.

Maybe a few would make an argument that I’d gain or stay the same weight.

But here’s the God-to-honest truth:

You don’t know.

You can’t.

Not with any certainty. 

And the first reason you can’t realistically know the answer to this is because you don’t know how many calories I burn per day, and the second reason is because you don’t know how many calories I’m actually putting inside my body. 

Sure, you’d know I was eating a salad.

And an avocado.

But here’s the thing:

You can still get fat eating salads and avocados and eggs and all the foods that we’ve always been told are ‘healthy.’ 

Now I’m not saying you should no longer eat salads or avocados or eggs or any of the foods we’ve always been told are healthy.

What I am saying is that in order to lose weight and get in great shape, we have to know which foods and how much of these foods we can actually eat before the balloon we call our bellies starts to expand.

Why?

Imagine this: you’re at a pizza restaurant with friends and you’re at that point where you’re thinking, ‘Hmmm, should I have one more slice?’

In today’s fairy tale you look down at your arm and there’s a handy dandy nifty little fuel gauge build right there into your body. Pretty neat, I know! Even better, it shows that your tank is only half full which means you’re good to eat another slice. You greedily grab another piece of Meat Lover’s Supreme and savor this cheesy gooey meaty delight, swallowing every last morsel. Then you look at your nifty fuel gauge again.

You’re three quarters full now.

Yessss! This means you can eat even more. So a few chicken wings go down your throat, two mozzarella sticks, a fudge brownie, and…yep…that did it. Your tank is now completely full. Blaaannkkhhhh Blaaannkkhhhh Blaaannkkhhh – that’s the overflow alarm going off. Even if you tried grubbing on one more tiny little loose piece of pepperoni then your throat would not allow it into your stomach. 

You’d have to wait until some calories were burned and then there’d be more room in your tank. So you wait, and you walk; and your heart is beating (which burns calories), and your brain is thinking (which also burns calories), and your lungs are working, and so are your muscles, and all the while you are burning calories and before long it’s time to fill up again. This time maybe with the sweet nectar of Stouffer’s lasagna!

Lose Weight With Stouffers Lasagna

In all honesty, the above scenario would be a great way to live because we’d never have to worry about overeating or being overweight, but unfortunately we live in the real world and in the real world we don’t have a handy dandy nifty little fuel gauge built right there on our body. 

Here in the real world most of us are completely clueless as to how much fuel we are putting inside our bodies at all.

People guesstimate.

Or… to put it more accurately, normal people guesstimate.  

And 99.999999 percent of normal people are absolutely terrible at this.

But these normal people, which is the vast majority of the world, will justify their terribleness by blabbering on and on about how healthy they are eating. I’m eating fruits, they’ll say. Or, almonds. Or you’ll hear all about how yogurt is extremely healthy. As are lentils and lean meats and salads and oats.  

And then they’ll eat and eat and eat these things, and have a large M&M Blizzard as a reward for dessert. And why not, they’ve earned it. I mean they’ve been eating healthy, right?

Riiiiiiggggghhhht???

These same normal people will say, “I’m doing the Keto diet.” Or, “I’m doing Paleo.” Or avocados have healthy fats. Or eggs have a lot of protein. 

And that’s great!

Because all those things are good and true. 

But here’s another truth: you can still get fat on Keto and on Paleo and by eating avocados and eggs and any other foods out there. 

You will get fat if you eat more calories than your body can burn. 

The diet doesn’t matter. Nor does the food type. Nor does the time of day you eat.

What matters is this:

If you eat more calories than your body can burn, you will gain weight.

Period.

It’s that simple.

If you enjoy the Keto diet, then awesome. Keep doing the Keto diet, but to lose weight you must ensure that you are not eating more calories than your body can burn while on the keto diet. 

Same with Paleo. 

And Adkins.

Same with any other diet or eating preference. 

The rules of all these different diets (like Keto or Paleo) are in place to encourage you to eat lower calorie foods so that you do not eat more than your body can burn. 

Normal people have a hard time swallowing this. They think there is a magic in the Paleo diet. A magic in Keto, but there is no magic.

There is only math. 

And the math looks like this:

If you eat 2,200 calories today but your body burns only 2,000 calories, then you will gain weight.

That extra 200 calories has to go somewhere.

And it goes into thunder thighs, love handles, and chubby chins. 

However, if you eat 1,800 calories today and your body burns 2,000 calories, then you will lose weight. 

Because your body needs those 2,000 calories for fuel, so if you’re not giving it all 2,000 when you eat, then it will steal what it needs from the thunder thighs, the love handles, and the chubby chin.  

That’s it.

That’s how fat loss works. 

So now that we know that eating more than our bodies can burn is what causes us to gain weight, the two key questions for weight loss become:

1.) How many calories does my body burn everyday? 
2.) How many calories can I eat everyday to guarantee weight loss? 

These were (and still are) the fundamental questions I had to answer before I structured an eating plan that would both guarantee I would lose weight and allow me to maintain my sanity. 

Both are important!

So the first thing I did to ensure I could eat the foods I love (Hello Lasagna!) while still getting in great shape was to figure out how much I could realistically eat without getting fatter.

Basically, when was my tank full?

There’s a couple different ways to figure out the answer to this simple question, but keep in mind, you only need one to figure it out. 

Normal people will research method after method and decide they need to do the most difficult one, which they’ll then determine they can’t do right now and because they can’t do it right now they’ll justify that as a reason to not do anything right now and then they will eat half a Domino’s pizza and blame their ever increasing weight gain on their terribly slow metabolism.

This is not a joke. It’s not me trying to be funny. 

I honestly used to do things like this. It happens.

But that doesn’t mean it has to happen to you.

With that said, the simplest and easiest way to figure out how many calories you can eat per day without getting fatter is to use one of the hundreds of online calorie calculators.

Are some of these online calorie calculators better than others?

Of course.

Is this method one hundred percent accurate?

Absolutely not.

But here’s the thing, nothing is going to be one hundred percent accurate in this regard. The amount of calories you burn today will be different than the amount of calories you burned yesterday. And they’ll be different than the amount you burn tomorrow.

If you sneeze tomorrow and didn’t sneeze today, then you’ll burn additional calories tomorrow because your body had to exert energy while sneezing. If you took a few stairs yesterday, or walked one more step than you did the previous day, or lifted an Amazon package, or any of a hundred things that change from day to day, then the calories that you burn would change in proportion to those different levels of activity. 

So don’t worry about obtaining one hundred percent accuracy in regards to daily expenditure of your calories burned. Don’t let something that mundane prevent you from beginning. You only need to worry about getting yourself a baseline that is fairly accurate.  

Here is the calorie calculator I used when I started my journey.

If your goal is to get in shape but you didn’t plug your info into the above calorie calculator and calculate how many calories you can eat to reach your goal, then go back up there and do it. Otherwise, why read any further. 

I used to read and read and read and read, always learning but never doing. And that’s why it took me 44 years to reach my goal of getting in great shape and having a body that I like, rather than a body I hate.

Don’t make that mistake.

It sucks being out of shape and not liking yourself and not liking how you look. 

Trust me, I know. So choose to be different.

Choose to not be normal. 

Because normal is not what you want to aspire to be, it’s what you want to get away from.

Normal is the majority. And the majority of people will do nothing and then get nothing and then make excuses as to why they are getting nothing.

So be different.

And start.

And then be really different. And continue: day after day after day, rain or shine, on both the rare days when you actually feel like doing it, and especially on all the days when you don’t.    

Anyhow, enough ranting. Plug your info into the calculator. It won’t hurt, I promise!

Moving on…

Once you’ve submitted your info into the calculator, you’ll see some numbers pop up. The two that will safely help you drop pounds are TDEE and RMR.

Let’s break those down.

TDEE stands for ‘Total Daily Energy Expenditure.’ This is the amount of energy (how many calories) your body expends each day. Essentially, this is your fuel gauge. 

If you eat more calories than your TDEE, you will gain weight. If you eat less calories than your TDEE, you will lose weight.

It is honestly that simple. 

Right now you may be wondering: ‘Well if it’s really that simple then why is everyone not doing this?’  

And it’s because the hard part is not in knowing, it’s in doing – consistently.

But don’t worry, we’ll get to how to conquer consistent action later, but right now let’s roll through the other parameter that will help shrink your pant size: RMR.

RMR is your ‘Resting Metabolic Rate.’ This is the number of calories your body burns while you’re at rest. Otherwise known as your ‘keep me alive calories.’ These are the required calories your body needs to keep your heart beating, and your brain functioning, and your lungs inhaling/exhaling.

RMR has nothing to do with the calories you expend when you tug the sweatband on and beat feet on the treadmill. These RMR calories are being burned day and night, asleep or awake, twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week, all the freaking time. 

So why is RMR important and why should you care about it?

Again, these are the calories needed to keep you alive and healthy. If you consistently eat a lower calorie amount than your body needs to function, then your body will cease to function. 

So if your body needs a minimum of 1,200 calories per day to ensure your vital organs are able to function and you instead consistently eat 1,000 calories per day, then your body will not have enough energy to keep you alive and healthy. 

Your body won’t have the fuel it needs to keep your heart beating and your brain functioning and your lungs breathing. 

Don’t let this freak you out too much though, because this process of self destruction would take weeks, months, years. If you fast for a day or two every now and again, then good on you. But in general, it’s a good idea to consistently give your body at least the minimum fuel it requires everyday.  

My Real World Numbers. 

Now that we know a quick and easy method to determine the amount of calories needed to guarantee weight loss, let’s jump into a real world example of how this all comes together.

Here’s what my own personal TDEE and RMR looked like when I began:

I’m 5′ 7″ and was 43 years old and weighed 177.2 pounds.

As for my goal weight: at one point I had read an internet article about fitness, and the guy in the article was also 5’7″. But unlike me, he was ripped at 160 pounds with something like 10 percent body fat. 

The picture of that guy became a baseline dream of what I believed to be possible. It was what I wanted to look like. 

He was 5’7″.

I am 5’7″.

In hopes of having a body like that guy, my goal weight became 160 pounds, but no way I ever thought I could get and maintain 10 percent body fat. Which is funny because today I weigh 140 and my body fat is 5.7 percent. 

I say this to let you know that you can obtain and surpass your wildest goals. You may not fully believe that right now, and that’s okay. But you need to believe that you can do something easy for a long time. Because that is truly, honestly the key to fitness. That is the secret of it all. It’s what makes a weirdo a Weirdo. Just start and then stick with it consistently. Every single day. Click here to read more about how to create and stick to your streaks. 

Anyway… for my activity level I put ‘Moderately Active’ because I was beginning to workout at the time. I was walking. I would get out and about. My day job does require me to kinda sorta sometimes do something that halfway resembles moving around. 

After I entered all that info into the above calorie calculator I got a TDEE of 2,488. 

This means if I ate more than 2,488 calories during the day, I would get fatter. Simple as that.  

My RMR was 1,659. 

So if I consistently ate less than 1,659 calories per day, then I would be begging for health concerns. And these potential health concerns would be caused by my body having too little fuel. My body would not have enough fuel to provide me with the resources needed to properly function.

Armed with my TDEE and RMR, I knew my calorie range fell somewhere between 1,659 – 2,488.

If I ate anywhere between those calorie limits I would lose weight. 

At this point, most people (me included) would jump at the lowest number (the RMR) and say, “Okay I’m gonna eat the least amount of calories possible because I need to lose (10) (20) (30) (40) pounds like yesterday.”

I did this and it is a mistake. You’ll most likely fail. It will put you in a place I call ‘The Fat Boy Rollercoaster,’ and ladies, don’t worry, this ride does not discriminate. There is most definitely a line for ‘The Fat Girl Rollercoaster’ as well.

Welcome to the FatBoy Rollercoaster

If you’re unfamiliar, this is how the ‘The Fat Boy Rollercoaster’ works:

You get all amped up to lose weight. There’s fire in your belly and motivation in your veins. You can eat healthy, you know you can. “Bring it!” you whisper scream at yourself in the mirror.

And then you suffer through low calorie meals that you don’t much like. Day after day you do this. And you begin to lose weight.

Yahhhh!!! 

And you reach your goal!!!

Whoo Hoo!!!!

I did it, you think. I really, really did it. 

And because you did it, you reached your goal, then you stop eating the things you don’t very much like to eat. 

You go back to being a normal person.

Eating with your friends. Eating with your family.

And that means you start eating just like your friends. And just like your family.

And then the rollercoaster of weight begins to go back up. Click. Click. Click. Click. Click. And your pants suddenly don’t fit anymore. Your chubby thighs are back. And then you’re exactly where you started, ashamed and completely disgusted with yourself all over again. 

I’ve been on this ride so many times I should be a manager at Fatboy Amusement Park.  

If you’ve ever experienced this, you know how frustrating and disheartening it can be. 

It will literally steal your hope. Leaving you to wonder if long term fitness is ever really possible for you. 

It is.

Possible for you.

You just have to stay off the Fatboy Rollercoaster. 

Here’s what worked for me…

The ‘Fat Boy Rollercoaster’ Survival Guide

Okay, so how do you avoid looping around on Fatboy Rollercoaster for all eternity?

The answer:

You don’t get on Fatboy Rollercoaster in the first place.

Yes, I’m serious.

Let me explain…

This depressing cycle of eating ‘healthy,’ then reaching our goal, then getting fat all over again is caused when we go on a restrictive diet that we don’t enjoy and then we come off the diet and start eating to our heart’s content again. 

You may be thinking, ‘Yep, knew it, the problem is the diet.’

And in a sense, you’re right, because if you could find a diet that you didn’t hate, one that you instead actually enjoyed, then you would be able to stick with that enjoyable diet forever and ever and everything would be summertime happiness in this place I call lasagna and cheeseburger heaven.

So… yes, there is some validity to this notion that everything is the ‘diets’ fault.  

But here’s the weird thing, that devil diet that didn’t work for you…the one you tried and hated…the one that seemed impossible to stick with…the one that gave you stomach problems and headaches and made you feel blah.

That same diet worked for some people. 

It is still working for some people. 

And the reason this diet (that you hated) is working so well for these other people is because it is not a diet for them. 

You hated it.

But they enjoy it. 

To you, it’s a diet, it’s temporary until you reach your goal, it’s a struggle, it’s about using sheer willpower to eat a certain way. 

To them, it’s how they like to eat. It’s permanent. It’s not called a diet, it’s only called lunch. Or dinner. Or my usual snack.

Dieting isn’t dieting if it’s permanent and if it’s how you like to eat all the time. 

So the real problem is not necessarily ‘The Diet’ but rather it is ‘Dieting’ in general.

Dieting is temporary and that’s a problem because you need a long term permanent solution to eating how you like to eat while losing and then staying in a weight range that makes you happy.

Knowing that, I chose to eat foods that I like.

The caveat: I had to either find the healthiest versions of those foods that I like, or I had to figure out a way to create the healthiest versions of those foods. 

I would recommend that you do the same. 

But I Don’t Want To Eat The Same Foods Over And Over And Over  And Over… 

via GIPHY

I get it.

For some, this whole idea of finding the foods you like, making them healthier, and then primarily eating only those foods may sound terrible because who wants to eat the same foods over and over and over again all the time.

I felt this same way, but then I realized that I was already eating the same 10-20 meals over and over, each and every day. The bulk of my meals were primarily coming from Papa John’s, or Five Guys, or Taco Bell, and from a handful of other places. 

So I was already eating cheeseburgers, and tacos, and pizza, and lasagna over and over but I was eating the Fatboy versions of those foods.

Which was a big problem.   

To fix this problem I had to figure out how I could make those same meals healthier so the calories could come in lower than my TDEE.

To this day, it’s still primarily cheeseburgers, and tacos, and pizza, and lasagna going into my belly, but it’s now a heathier version. 

So if you are reading this because you are serious about losing weight, then your homework at this point should be to pay attention to what you eat, not to necessarily count the calories, but to get a good idea of what 10-20 meals you are already eating eighty percent of the time. 

Then the goal is to make those same foods healthier, but still scrumptious.   

That is the process I have used to lose forty pounds while eating lasagna, cheeseburgers, steaks, pasta, and several other meals that I love. It’s how I’m still maintaining my weight to this day. 

As an example: I’m having a massive bowl of Chicken & Crawfish Gumbo tomorrow for lunch and then a seventeen ounce steak with rice and sweet peas and ketchup and a coke zero for dinner.

I’m already looking forward to it! 

Yesterday I had a massive serving of Chicken Pot Pie Stew for lunch and then six hefty beef tacos for dinner. Full on with cheese and salsa and seasonings. 

To me these are all great meals and even better, they all fall well under my TDEE so I also get to have my usual snacks of a candy bar, some chocolate raisins, a brownie and then some popcorn.

So that’s pretty much it. 

Now you know exactly how I eat, but let’s go a little deeper and wrap all this up by jumping into the heart of the noodles and cheese where I’ll show you one of my actual meal plans that I used when I was losing weight. 

Let’s Jump Into The Noodles & Cheese

As I mentioned earlier my TDEE was 2,488. So I needed to eat less than 2,488 calories per day to ensure I would lose weight.

I also needed to do this while eating foods that I enjoyed so that I could ensure I would stick to this eating plan for a long, long time. 

Note: When I mention long, long time I’m not referring to a 30 day diet. None of this is a 90 day challenge. Think, ‘decade diet’ if you must think in terms of dieting. 

By now, I’m assuming the secret is out and you know I like lasagna and cheeseburgers. Being that I love them so, I will use those as my examples. 

I log the majority of my meals because I am a true and absolute weirdo, and I’ve been logging them for quite a while. During both the fat times when I was struggling to lose weight and I still log them now.

Anyhow… I just went back and looked at my very rudimentary food journal. November of 2022 is when I really began to start taking weight loss serious.

On November 14th, 2022 this is exactly what I ate for the day:

Breakfast:

  • Body Fortress Protein Shake: 180 Calories/ 40 grams protein

Lunch:

  • Stouffers Meatlovers Lasagna: 820 calories/ 39 grams protein

Dinner:

  • Half Pound 93% Lean Burger: 340 calories/ 46 grams protein
  • 2 Slices Publix Whole Wheat Bread: 120 calories/ 08 grams protein
  • 2 servings Ore-Ida Fries: 180 calories/ 04 grams protein
  • 14g Kraft Mozzarella Cheese: 25 calories/ 04 grams protein
  • 90g Heinz Ketchup: 106 calories/ 00 grams protein

Daily Total: 1,771 Calories/ 148 grams protein

I didn’t eat salad, or fruits, or fish, or avocados. I ate the foods I liked. But I made sure those foods would put my total daily calories at less than my TDEE.

And then I ate in a similar fashion every single day, finding more and more foods that I like to eat and then making them so they are low enough in calories to work with my plan. 

I follow this process religiously.

And that is the other side of the equation. 

Following your process.

Every single day.

No matter what.

Even if people think you are a weirdo.

Because being weird is what you want to be —  being ‘just like everyone else’ is what you want to avoid. 

I hope this helps you better achieve your fitness goals, but please keep in mind that this is what worked for me. And you and I are different people. With different tastes, different likes, different dislikes.

And this is obviously fine. So if you’re grimacing right now and dreading eating this way then don’t do it. Instead, find a method that you enjoy and that you are confident you can consistently stick with for years and years.

There are a million methods out there. You just need to find the one that works perfectly for you. 

I have created a ‘method’ collection, so if you are still searching for your perfect method then these are true and tried, time tested methods that have worked well for others. Steal one that you like and get started!

You can find the entire collection here.

Please feel free to email me at the following email address if you have any questions, comments, or advice on how this article could be better: [email protected]. 

Thanks!

Josh

Ninja Cookies

Use This Secret Ninja Tactic To Strengthen Your Self-Discipline

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Ninja Cookies

Hey.

Have you ever caught yourself mindlessly doing some boring chore (that didn’t even really need to be done) just so you could put off the thing you knew you should be doing?

I was a champion at doing this.

One second, I’d be thinking of hitting the gym… a few seconds later I’d find myself doing laundry. Or the dishes. Or yardwork. Or checking emails.

I may have even laid down to watch part of a TV series I’d been neglecting.

So, yea, I had a hard time consistently sticking to a workout program.

I had an even harder time sticking to a healthy eating program.

It’s tough.

Both of them.

But here’s the thing…

You Can Strengthen Your Self-Discipline Muscles.


Yep, you read that right.

Self-discipline is nothing more than an untrained muscle. It’s the scrawny bicep within your brain that has withered away from years of neglect.

But here’s the good news.

You can strengthen your self-discipline. 

Doing this was a complete game changer for me, so if you’re having the same problem sticking to your goals then I think figuring out how to build up your self-discipline will help you as well. 

Let’s jump in…

Here’s The Super Ninja Tactic That Helped Me Strengthen My Self-Discipline


Have you ever heard of Duolingo?

It’s a language learning app. 

A while back I was using the app to learn Spanish, and I got a bit addicted.

For those not familiar with Duolingo, it’s an app you download onto your phone, and it allows you to take quick and simple lessons to learn a new language. 

Each lesson only takes somewhere between two to five minutes. They’re super easy and convenient, but here’s the weird thing…

Whether I wanted it or not, everyday I’d get a strange notification on my phone from Duolingo.

It would look something like this…

Duolingo streak

Every single day Duolingo would send me one of these notifications reminding me of my daily streak for completing a Spanish lesson. 

Now this is going to sound weird and stupid and I understand that it makes no logical sense but there were many days when I’d go completely out of my way to ensure my streak did not end.

If needed, I’d hide from the crowds and hunker down in a bathroom so I could knock out my Duolingo lesson and protect my streak. 

It was weird, for sure. 

Even when I no longer wanted to further my language learning, I still found it difficult to stop.

That’s when I realized that when you have a goal and your goal is based on consistency and not quitting, then a streak grows to strange levels of importance in your brain.

It’s a powerful motivator. 

Here’s how I used the power of streaks to keep me consistent with my weight loss and fitness routine.

First things first, I made the tasks as easy as humanly possible. 


Imagine if I would have first opened the Duolingo app and the first lesson was two hours long and the assignment was to look up fifty Spanish verbs and then use all the verb conjugations in five different sentences for each verb. 

The next day’s lesson was going to be more of the same. 

I’ll tell you now, my streak would have lasted all of five seconds. 

Trying to start like that…with that level of extreme difficulty…

It makes zero logical sense.

No one is going to stick with it. Not for the long term. 

But this is exactly how normal people all over the planet choose to start a fitness and weight loss program.

They want to start as difficult as possible. 

They want to start with HITT training, or with a hard-core super restrictive diet. They want to punish themselves in the gym. They want to walk from the gym hunched over, sweat pouring down their face. They want to brag about how sore their thighs are the next day.

They want to hurt. 

I mean…

What The Hell????

Normal people are nuts.   

But as nutty as they may be, I get why they do this.

Heck, I did it too. For many, many years. 

It’s because normal people worldwide are focusing only on the immediate goal rather than focusing on the process of obtaining the goal. 

They want to do everything now, thinking that by doing so it will get them to their goal quicker. 

But in reality, they are only making things so difficult now that both their brain and their body will not be able to handle the long term process of continuing.  

And to stay fit and in good shape, you have to continue the process.

Today.

And tomorrow.

And the next day.

And the next. 

And the moment your foot comes off the gas and the cookies go back in your mouth, that’s when you’re depressed and buying a bigger pant size again.

That’s when you have to start over.

Normal people do this. 

They’re continuously in a cycle of starting and stopping, of trying this and then trying that, of looking for the newest workout, the newest supplement, the newest diet that will give them their dream body now. 

Unfortunately, they will be going through this cycle forever, always searching until they finally give up and accept their excuses as reality.

Don’t fall into this trap.

Don’t do the normal things that all the normal people are doing. 

Be different. 

The first different thing I did was to start with a task so freaking easy that my mind could not possibly come up with a valid justification for not completing the task.

And trust me, even when the task is ridiculously easy your mind will sometimes still hee and haw. 

And your mind is one savage negotiator. 

It’s like a five year old in a toy store. Nagging and begging and pleading until it eventually gets its way. 

Give your mind two or three weeks of going to the gym and doing those grueling workouts and it will revolt. It will suddenly remind you of how important it is to do the laundry. Or the dishes. Or the yardwork. Or to check the emails.

It will insist that you need to lay down and finish watching the TV series you’ve been neglecting.

It will barter. It will conjole. It will beg.

And that is your brain’s job. To keep you away from the things that will cause you pain and discomfort, and to bring you closer towards the things that will give you pleasure and safety. 

Your brain does not want to start as difficult as possible. 

That is not it’s job. That goes against it’s very nature. 

If you don’t enjoy HITT training, then your brain is going to give you a million different reasons why HITT training should not be done consistently.

If you do not associate a hard-core super restrictive diet as pleasurable, then your brain’s job is to keep you away from doing it.

Your brain doesn’t want to punish itself in the gym. It doesn’t want to walk from the gym hunched over with sweat pouring down its face. Your brain doesn’t want to brag about how sore its thighs are the next day.

Your brain doesn’t want to hurt. 

Consciously, you want these things because you think they will bring you to your goal quicker, but unconsciously your brain does not want to do these things because they are painful and cause discomfort.

And here’s the BIG lesson I learned:

If You Are Always Fighting Against Yourself, Then You Will Never Win.   

So in order to win the war against weight loss you must become an ally with your brain.

In order to do this, it’s imperative that you start your streak with simplicity.

were-going-streaking-will-ferrell

Again, the way I did this was to start with a task that was so freaking easy that my brain could not possibly come up with a valid justification for not completing the task. 

For me it was pushups. 

For you it may be something else. 

I don’t mind doing pushups. 

Sounds weird but I kinda enjoy pushups.

Now I don’t enjoy them to the point where I go out every Saturday night and do pushups at a fancy restaurant and then do more pushups during the preview at the movie theater.

I’m not an idiot about pushups.

I don’t necessarily love doing any exercises, but my goal was to get in the best shape of my life, so I knew I had to do something.  

So I committed to starting with pushups. Because I don’t hate them and I don’t consider them to be complicated or backbreaking.

On the morning of Tuesday, November 08th, 2022, I did 10 pushups, then I waited one minute, did another 10 pushups, waited one minute, then I did 17 more pushups.

And then I went to work. 

The next morning, I did the exact same thing. 10, then 10, then 17 more pushups.

I was not killing myself. It was not punishing. I was not pouring sweat when I left the house. I didn’t go to bed dreading having to do my three sets of pushups the next morning. I wasn’t waking that next morning and thinking of how I should take out the garbage instead of doing my pushups.

It was relatively easy. 

It took all of about four minutes. 

Some days, there was a slight grumble from my brain about not wanting to do this. But it’s easy to silence those thoughts when you can counter with: “It’s literally only three measly sets of pushups that take less than five minutes to complete.” 

Not even my moody brain could muster a winning rebuttal against doing something that was so painless, quick, and easy.  

Today, this morning before I left the house for work, 08NOV2023, I did my three sets of pushups.

I do more now, because I can do more. I’ve gotten stronger. Now it’s 20 pushups, wait one minute, do 20 more pushups, wait one minute, then I do 28 pushups.

I do them regardless of where I’m at. If I’m at home, I do them first thing in the morning. If I’m at a hotel, first thing in the morning. If I’m at a friends, first thing in the morning.

And today is my one year streak.

365 days in a row of doing pushups every single morning. 

Tomorrow I will do them again.

And I will do them the next day, and the next, and the next. 

But the first step is to start. With the easiest task you can possibly think of.

And then track it. Daily. Religiously. And focus only on the doing of that one easy simple thing every single day. 

Your new goal should not be to lose weight.

Or to get ripped.

Or to fit into your old comfy pair of Levies.

Your new goal should be 1,000 days.

1,000 days of doing something every single day that is so freaking easy that your brain will not possibly be able to come up with a valid justification for not completing the task. 

And once you start on that journey…once you begin to build both your streak and your confidence, then you will most likely begin to add other tasks to your streak counter. 

That is what inevitable happened to me.

Here is a look at the super sophisticated system that I use to keep track of my streaks.  

Super Fancy Streak Counter

This Whiteboard poster is literally scotch-taped to the wall in my kitchen.

Is it tacky?

Absolutely.

Am I sometimes embarrassed when people see it?

At first I was…but now I am only proud.

Because it’s my Weirdo Wall. 

It represents my journey.

My victories. 

You will see that over time I also incorporated weight workouts, and cardio, and diet restrictions onto my streak counter. 

As with the pushups, I made the doing of these items as easy as humanly possible. 

I now drink Coke Zero rather than the normal calorie cokes. I walk instead of doing any strenuous cardio. I workout every single day but the workouts are quick and easy. I’m normally in-and-out in 10-30 minutes. 

Normal people can’t understand this. 

To them, it’s all too simple.

Or it’s too easy.

Or the process just takes too dang long.

But to the Weirdos…this is the way.

The way that works.

I hope your own fitness streak begins today.

Because tomorrow is coming quick, and the sooner you start, the sooner you will reach your goals. 

If you have any questions at all, please reach out to me at [email protected]

 I am one hundred percent more than happy to help you reach your goals.  

Good luck on your fitness journey. 

May the weird be with you!

Josh

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