It has been close to a week since I started posting pictures of my one year journey that I called Fat to Fit.  In the last week I decided to lose the scale, eat until I was full and focus more on my new lifestyle.  Armed with the knowledge I have things just are a whole lot easier.  I can not recall if someone asked me this or whether or not it is just a recurring theme in my head but the question is simple, if I could do it all over again what would I do differently? For the purpose of my answer I am going to assume that I know all that I know now because anyone asking the question can clearly read this blog and know the three things I consider important eating a mostly anti-inflammatory diet (90% of the deal folks, ask any personal trainer), crossfitting (not for everyone but there are certain rules of activity you should always include) and intermittent fasting.

The answer is simple, I would take my time and do things a whole lot slower.  

As someone who felt the mental and physical pain of being heavy I know what it’s like to want to see what the other side is like.  So I completely get that but in the end when I look at my body now as opposed to the way I used to feel about myself it is not dramatically different.  What has changed however is that I am content because I am armed with knowledge of what works for me whereas before I was baffled.

Why Weight Watchers, Slimfast, P90x2 and many other things miss the point

People want a boxed system, they want to look at a picture and say “I would like to look like that” (or at least some approximation) as someone who actually looks like that now I can say that the quickest path to that point is to own your health (do people really think Jillian Michaels eats all that processed low calorie stuff she hawks, I assure it would be rare at best).  Sure it takes some initiative to pull out your credit card and order that nutri-system box but once those boxes stop coming all of your bad habits are still there.  The same could be said for hiring a personal trainer, sure having some guy blow smoke up your ass for $80 an hour is helpful but that gets expensive.  The fitness world preys on people’s insecurities and sells you on a concept that is part motivational speech nonsense, part low calorie low nutrient nonsense but mostly what you are being sold is a lie.  Remember processed boxed crap is what got you here in the first place so more processed box crap is not the answer.

On a typical day I eat full fat nutrient dense foods for volume.  I eat until I am full because the foods I eat are good for me and add to my goals without detracting.  Occasionally I enjoy all of the things everyone else enjoys, actually from what I can tell I do it more often than most people.  People much larger than I am are astounded at the amounts of food I have to eat.

The amount of pain you are in is directly equal to how much you will pay 

Actually it might be more.  So here is the question you need to ask everyone before you start whatever journey they think is worth $xxxx.00.  What is the end game? I get this is where I am going to start (I am looking at you boot camps) but if the end game has me on a treadmill for 1 hour a day 5 days a week all alone do not sign up for that plan.  Similarly if whatever boxed plan that is nutrient deficient and will be a battle of your will to the end does not answer “you will be eating a lot more lean meats, fruits and veggies” it is a fucking scam! There is just no other way to say that.  The answer is not a short cut, the answer is changing your life completely, which probably seems like a lot of work but as someone that is on the other side now I can tell it is surprisingly worth it for more than one reason.  I am not just thinner, I have better skin, I am less emotional, I handle stress better, my sex life is phenomenal and my confidence is centered in something very real.  That is what’s on the other side assuming you resolve yourself to a slower more deliberate approach and fewer shortcuts.