Mind Over Mirror: How to Lose Weight 🍔🍟

"Genetics loads the gun, and environment pulls the trigger."  — Stephan Guyenet

I looked in the mirror one morning and decided… I am no longer a fat person. On that day, in that moment, I became a thin person. I just needed to lose some weight. Subtle but powerful paradigm shift. 💥 20 pounds melted off over the next few months. And that was after I had already lost the extra 50 pounds you see above to get back down to my “normal” weight. This article explains how you can attract a healthier future for yourself like I did. And this book, The Hungry Brain, explains how to outsmart the evolutionary instincts that make us overeat.

Losing Weight Is Not Natural

Skiing wasn't natural for me either. I was not a fan for my first 2 years. 🙃 But one day I decided to figure it out. I went out by myself. All day. Probably fell 100 times, but by the end of the day, I knew how to ski. Now, I’m pretty good at it. If you decide to lose weight, you're going to fall down at first. But it gets easier.

When you fall down. Get back up!

Like a thermostat, your body will defend your “normal” weight. To lose weight, you MUST change your “thermostat”. This takes time. That’s why quick loss fad diets fail. Follow whatever weight loss guru you like best. Keto, vegan, carnivore, etc… they all work. 🥩🌱 I also recommend a simple plan below, but every BODY is different. Find the approach that works for YOUR body.

What Gets Measured Gets Managed. Weigh yourself every day. Daily fluctuations don’t count. Most of that is water weight. Track your WEEKLY AVERAGE for at least 4 weeks. If you’re not losing around 1% of your body weight each week, follow a different guru. 🧙‍♂️

👉 Don’t drink your calories.
Replace soda, juice, and milk with water, coffee, or tea.
Anything without calories.

👉 Don’t eat from a bag, box, or drive-thru window.
Replace factory food with real food.

👉 Don’t snack. Hide treats and trigger foods. Better yet, don’t bring them home.
Replace snacks and grazing with 2 to 4 larger meals per day.

More “eating episodes” give you more opportunities to overeat. To feel full longer between meals, eat larger meals with more protein, fat, and fiber (non-starchy veggies) and drink more water between meals. Odds are you’re dehydrated, not hungry. Most of us who are reading this have rarely (if ever) really been hungry.

Oh yeah, and don’t eat a half gallon of ice cream (smothered in Hershey’s syrup) every 2 days like I did. That’s not a Healthy Choice. 🤣 By the way, that's my older daughter at the top and my younger daughter helping me eat the ice cream.

The Goal is to Lose FAT... Not Weight

You've now seen me at my heaviest (above). I've also weighed 80 pounds less than that. I was skinny, but I had no energy to do anything. Whitewater rafting with my friends for a few hours left me exhausted on the sofa for a week. Adding back muscle (ie, gaining weight) since then has made all the difference in the quality of my life! 💪

Odds are you want your clothes to fit better. Suppose you could (most of us can) replace 10 pounds of bodyfat with 10 pounds of muscle. Pound for pound, fat is larger than muscle. 36% larger! So, your total weight wouldn't change, but your waistline would shrink by more than an inch. That's already reason enough, but it gets better.

MUSCLE BURNS FAT! 🔥 Muscle burns 3 times as many calories as fat. Even while you're sleeping! So, it's a virtuous upward cycle that makes your life easier as you continue your weight loss journey.

If you’re over age 30, you will never have more muscle than you do today unless you do something to stop the loss. Muscle loss increases your risk of…

✈︎ Weight gain
✈︎ Insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes
✈︎ Reduced mobility and quality of life

👉 Eat enough protein. No judgement here, but the fact is that it's hard for vegans to get enough protein without eating too many calories. Fermented soy products (eg, tofu, tempeh) are your best bet if you don't eat animal products. I minimize my saturated fat for other reasons, so I get a lot of my protein from fish and whey protein.

👉 Lift heavy things at least once a week. Twice is better. Focus on BIG muscles like legs and back. I don't want you to hurt yourself, so pay a personal trainer for ONE month to learn proper technique. Longer if you need equipment, coaching, or accountability.

Don't Count Calories

Portion control is one of the most effective levers you can pull to lose weight. But counting calories is directional at best. And it gets tedious. I know. I counted every calorie I put in my mouth for 2 years. So, don't waste your time. Instead of counting calories, use your hand. It's always with you and it can guide your decisions just as well. And it's just as accurate.

Do NOT starve yourself. Your body will hang on to your body fat if it thinks you might starve. It will even burn your muscle to preserve its fat stores, so it becomes a vicious downward cycle. Our bodies were designed for a world where calories are hard to find. That world no longer exists. 

Print the image below and keep it on your refrigerator

Be nice to yourself. Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. 🏃
Strive to lose 1% of your body weight each week. Be patient! 

👉 I was a triple-certified health coach before getting back to business.

Keep Striving ✈️