November 20, 2024 • 31 mins
Discover the secret to turning weight loss into a marathon you can enjoy rather than a sprint that burns you out. On Shut Up and Choose, Jonathan Ressler shares his personal journey from the pitfalls of extreme dieting to a balanced, sustainable approach to health. A life-changing moment in April 2023 led Jonathan to rethink his strategy, and now he’s offering practical tips to help you navigate the holiday season without the stress of restrictive diets.
Learn how small, manageable lifestyle changes can lead to lasting weight loss. Jonathan candidly reflects on his past experiences with intense dieting and exercise, where the temporary results were overshadowed by frustration and weight regain. By embracing small choices like increasing water intake and prioritizing sleep, and by maintaining a balanced diet, you can avoid deprivation and binging while achieving long-term well-being.
Jonathan also highlights the power of finding joy in the process of building healthier habits. From exploring new foods to engaging in activities that make you genuinely happy, the journey toward overall well-being is filled with unexpected benefits like improved sleep and increased confidence. Listen in for an empowering discussion on consistency, self-compassion, and the celebration of non-scale victories, as Jonathan invites you to maintain a positive mindset and enjoy the journey to a healthier lifestyle.
Stop Dieting. Start Choosing.
I’m Jonathan Ressler, Transformation Guide and author of Shut Up and Choose. I lost 140 pounds and built a movement the diet industry hopes you never find. No starvation. No obsession. No gym marathons. Real transformation starts when you stop outsourcing discipline and start leading yourself.
The truth is simple: weight loss isn’t about willpower—it’s about integrity. Every time you keep a promise to yourself, you rebuild confidence. Every smart choice strengthens self-trust. That’s the foundation of lasting change. My mission is to help busy, high-performing people take back control of their health, energy, and mindset—without diets, shots, or shame.
Each episode of the Shut Up and Choose Podcast cuts through the noise with real talk, proven strategies, and small, smart steps that actually last. No gimmicks. No hype. Just truth that works in real life.
Get free weekly tips at JonathanRessler.com/weekly-tips.
Click here for my Choice-Weight Analysis
Grab my book Shut Up and Choose on Amazon.
Follow me on Instagram @JonathanResslerFatLoss.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Announcer (00:02):
If you're a whiny snowflake that can't handle the
truth, is offended by the wordfuck and about 37 uses of it in
different forms gets ass hurt.
When you hear someone speak theabsolute, real and raw truth,
you should leave Like right now.
This is Shut Up and Choose, thepodcast where we cut through
(00:25):
the shit and get real aboutweight loss, life and everything
in between.
We get into the nitty gritty ofmaking small, smart choices
that add up to big results.
From what's on your plate tohow you approach life's
challenges.
We'll explore how the simpleact of choosing differently can
transform your health, yourmindset and your entire freaking
(00:48):
life.
So if you're ready to cutthrough the bullshit and start
making some real changes, thenbuckle up and shut up, because
we're about to choose our way toa healthier, happier life.
This is Shut Up and Choose.
Let's do this Now.
Your host, jonathan Ressler.
Jonathan Ressler (01:15):
Welcome back to Shut Up and Choose the
podcast that cuts the noise andnonsense and all the
misinformation that the dietindustry is spitting out at you
every day.
You read it on social media,you see it everywhere else.
The truth is it's all amisinformation of the diet
industry is spitting out at youevery day.
You read it on social media,you see it everywhere else.
The truth is it's all a bunchof crap.
You know how to lose weight andhere we are, just a week away
from Thanksgiving.
We're entering into thatdreaded holiday season for
(01:36):
people that are trying to loseweight because the food choices
are incredible.
Sometimes you just really needto go back to basics to figure
things out and understand howyou're going to fall back on the
fundamentals to make it througha tough time.
I know that sounds crazy, butthe holiday season is a tough
time and if you're trying tolose weight, you know damn well
that it is.
So I really started thinkingabout it and I came up, I guess,
(01:59):
the 10 lessons that I learnedabout weight loss and how it
went from restriction tobalance.
So when I started all this?
Well, I started out a long timeago and I went on every diet
under the sun.
As you know, I've been on over100 diets.
I thought that success wouldcome from pushing harder,
cutting out more stuff from mydiet and really sticking to
(02:20):
those extreme rules and thosecrazy regimens.
And cut this out, don't eatthat.
Do this.
But after years of trial anderror and frustration and,
honestly, fear for my life, inApril of 2023, when I was laying
in the hospital ready to die, Ilearned that the secret to
long-lasting health requires amindset shift and a balanced
(02:41):
approach.
In my book, shut Up and Choose,I dive into the lessons in
detail, but here I'm going tojust share the top 10 that I
believe turn weight loss from aseries of grueling sprints into
a marathon that I'm able toenjoy.
I actually enjoy my weight lossjourney.
So the lessons that I'm goingto share with you changed
everything for me.
They're just a mix of smallsteps and mindset tweaks and
(03:06):
adjustments that allowed me toactually lose the weight and
keep it off and enjoy lifewithout the baggage of all that
restrictive dieting, withoutbeing worried all the time can I
eat this?
It's just, it's craziness outthere.
So each one of these lessonsincludes a little tip to help
you start applying the ideasright now in your own life, and
(03:27):
I know, if you've listened to mypodcast, you've heard me say a
lot of these things before.
But I think this is like theback to fundamentals episode of
the podcast to really give youthe nuts and bolts and tell you
what worked for me and I knowwill work for you.
So, number one you've heard mesay this a thousand times but
it's small, consistent choicesoutperform big temporary
(03:50):
changes.
So the reality of small choicesare the key In the world of
weight loss.
Those big, flashy changes thatseem exciting.
That I've done over a hundredtimes.
But the truth is you burn outfast doing those things.
That I've done over a hundredtimes, but the truth is you burn
out fast doing those thingsEvery time I started a new diet,
(04:11):
a fad diet, even the moderateexercise that I tried.
I dive in into these withintense effort.
Okay, intense dieting, cuttingout food groups and exercise to
exhaustion.
Well, I never really exercisedto exhaustion, but exercise to
the point where you hated it allin the hope that you would see
some quick results.
And you do.
I mean, I'll admit it, I lostweight quickly.
But every time I went off thosestrict routines, those crazy
(04:33):
diets, the weight would comeright back.
Not only would it come back,but it would come back with even
more.
That constant cycle of extremedieting followed by regaining
the weight back back.
It left me feeling worse thanwhen I started and, honestly, it
was really frustrating.
You know, I said when I waslaying in that hospital bed
ready to die.
I said there's just no way thatI can do that again.
(04:54):
I just don't have it in me.
I can't do another diet, I havetoo much weight to lose and I
don't know.
I just started doing this thingthat I call live, life, love
food, lose weight.
And the truth that I learned isthis Small, consistent choices
outperform drastic changes everytime.
The key to real lasting healthisn't in some grand gesture, in
(05:16):
some crazy diet, but it's in thesmall daily things that you do,
those small smart choices everyday that honestly feel
effortless.
I mean, it could be as simpleas maybe you're drinking more
water, you're eating morebalanced meal.
I eat the most unbalanced foodin the world.
When I started thinking aboutwhat I was putting in my mouth,
it made a difference.
You know, I did not exercise Idon't know for the first 10
(05:39):
months, but now I do every day,or I walk, I should say so.
Things like taking a walk andgetting enough sleep, that was a
really big one for me.
I was sleeping three or fourhours a night.
When I started getting moresleep.
That really jump-started or itreally put it into high gear.
So these little things likedrinking water, getting sleep,
moving a little more, they mightnot seem like much when you
(06:01):
look at them individually as anaction, but over time they add
up to huge results.
It makes making these small,sustainable, little changes,
these small smart choices everyday.
That builds habits that areeasier to maintain for the long
term.
So here's my, I guess, tip foryou.
(06:21):
Here's a lack of a better terma way to jumpstart it.
So choose one or two smallhabits to start.
For example, maybe get rid ofyour soda or whatever sugar
drink you're drinking, or addjust an extra serving of veggies
to your lunch.
Start out really small and,once these habits feel natural,
stack on new ones.
(06:41):
This way you can buildsustainable changes that don't
overwhelm you.
I started out just by thinkingabout what I was going to eat
and making sure that it was inline with my why, which was, at
that time, I wanted to live, butthe reality is there's small,
smart choices that actuallyresults that you're trying to
achieve.
So number two is a balanceddiet beats restriction.
(07:06):
Every time I don't have to tellyou that restriction sucks.
I mean, obviously you knowthat.
But early on in my firsthundred diets, I thought the
only way to lose weight wasthrough restriction.
I tried everything cut outcarbs, don't eat dairy, cut out
sugar entirely, and they all,like I said, they all worked.
They all worked at first, butthey were impossible to stick
with long-term.
(07:26):
I found myself I would binge onthe quote-unquote forbidden
foods because my body and mindfelt deprived.
When you restrict entire foodgroups or even certain things,
it doesn't take long for thecravings to feel unbearable and
it leads to that cycle ofbinging and guilt.
I'm a tremendous binger.
I would binge on things and Iwould feel guilty, and then I
(07:48):
would go back and then I'd getto the oh fuck it.
Point where I'd be like, well,I did that.
Now this is over.
This diet is over.
So what I learned is that abalanced diet, one that includes
everything, all the foodgroups, everything that you
wanna eat donuts, I don't carewhat it is in moderation, of
course, but a diet, a routinethat includes every food group
actually works better than rigidrestrictions.
(08:10):
A balanced approach allows youto eat a variety of foods and it
gives you the essentialnutrients, which I didn't really
give a shit about but now I do.
But it gives you the essentialnutrients for physical health
and mental well-being Carbsprovide energy, fats support
hormone health.
Proteins help build muscle andkeep you full.
I mean you need all of thatfood.
(08:30):
So when all food groups areincluded, there's less
deprivation and moresatisfaction, which naturally
curbs your cravings and keepsyou satiated.
I always tell people you knowwhat to do.
I mean this is not rockingscience.
You don't need anybody else totell you what to do this I would
say.
The tip here is use a plate forbalanced meals.
(08:52):
So fill half your plate andagain, this is something you
know but fill half your platewith veggies, a quarter with
some kind of lean protein andthe other quarter with whole
grains of starches.
I mean you can eat steak,potatoes and a salad.
That's not restricted, unless,of course, you don't like meat
and whatever.
You can figure out what to puton there.
But keeping your meals balancedgets rid of the stress of
(09:14):
calculating every macro or everycalorie.
You know how to do this thing.
It's simple, all right.
So number three is mindset iseverything.
The one of the biggesttakeaways of this thing that I'm
doing is my weight loss journeytaught me that health isn't
just about what you eat or howmuch you exercise because I
didn't exercise at all it'sabout your mindset.
(09:37):
When I approach weight lossfrom a place of self-criticism,
I'd punish myself for every timeI made a mistake, every slip
up, I'd stress over a poundgained and then, ultimately,
that would lead me to burn outand quit Whatever you want to
call it.
It would lead me to burn outand quit Whatever you want to
call it.
It would lead me to stop doingthis routine, this restrictive
diet that I was doing.
A negative mindset is whatleads to yo-yo dieting,
(09:59):
emotional eating and even asense of failure.
Anytime things didn't goperfectly and nobody's perfect.
It's never going to goperfectly.
So mindset is the foundationfor everything Building a
positive relationship with food,letting go of the guilt and
seeing setbacks, seeing thoselittle slip-ups as part of the
journey rather than as failures.
(10:20):
It's just again so obvious.
I always shock myself howobvious this was.
But when you look at all thatstuff and you look at the
mistakes that you make asfailures.
It creates that place in yourhead that supports long-term
success.
All right, I blew it today, butI can make a better next meal.
So, with the right mindset,challenges become learning
experiences and those smallvictories become sources of
(10:43):
motivation.
They're what help you remainconsistent.
So shifting to a growth focusedmindset changed my relationship
with food completely.
It turned it into a positiveand empowering aspect of my
life.
I used to stress about food allthe time because I had the
wrong mindset.
Food was the enemy.
So I didn't do this.
(11:03):
But I think a lot of people dobenefit from this.
And if you just write down yourprogress every week write down
what you did well, anychallenges that you faced and
what you learned that reflectionhelps to reinforce a positive
mindset and gives you a way totrack growth beyond the scale.
For me, honestly, I took a lotof pictures of just my face,
(11:24):
because my face was so humongousand every week or two I would
take a picture of my face andlook at it, and that helped me.
That was the tracking mechanismthat I use.
I looked at what I looked like,what my face looked like,
because when I started Icouldn't believe what it looked
like.
It looked like a pie crust.
It was so round and humongous.
It looked like a pizza piecrust, to be honest.
(11:45):
And that was my trackingmechanism.
Of course, I weighed myselfevery day.
I weighed myself multiple timesa day, as I've said.
You can read that in my book.
But for me it was the non-scalevictory that got my mindset
into the right place.
It got my head thinking right.
So that brings me actually tonumber four, and that's listen
(12:06):
to your body, not just thescale.
The scale, of course, is a wayto track progress.
We're all going to do it, butit's only one part of the story.
The scale, of course, is a wayto track progress.
We're all going to do it, butit's only one part of the story.
Early on, I was fixated on thenumber and I'd get discouraged
if the scale didn't show what Iwanted, even if I was feeling
stronger and more energetic.
Every diet I did in thetraditional diet world, the fad
(12:27):
diet world yes, I would loseweight quickly, but then it
would, sooner or later, wouldslow down, like it will even on
this.
But I figured out this timearound on my 101st diet,
although I take that back.
It's not a diet, it's just away of eating.
But anyway, listening to mybody became a game changer.
Our bodies give us feedbackthrough our energy levels, mood,
(12:50):
sleep quality and, honestly,how our clothes fit.
Once my clothes started to geta little bit looser, I was
wearing a 5X t-shirt and theywere still a little tight.
So once they started to fit me,wow, that was just incredible
for me.
So those indicators are just asimportant, if maybe even not
more important, than the numberon the scale even not more
(13:13):
important than the number on thescale.
I also found out that weight canfluctuate based on so many
factors, not the least of whichis how much water you're
drinking and if you're gainingmuscle and even stress.
So, by paying attention to mybody's signals and what my face
looked like, not so much a scaleand again, I told you I obsess
over the scale, but I waslooking for those non-scale
victories so I started makingchoices that supported my
overall well-being, not just myweight.
(13:34):
When I prioritize how I feltover what I weighed, my choices
naturally aligned with my why.
Because I was making choicesand doing things based not just
on the number on the scale, buton the way that I was feeling.
So, again, I didn't.
I'm not a journaler, but I dothings on my phone.
So I bought a scale and I haveno association with this company
(13:55):
from Withings and I kept trackof my weight every day.
Every time I weighed myself, Ikept track and I could see it on
a chart.
But that wasn't like I said.
That wasn't the big one for me.
The big one was for me waslooking at the size of my face,
taking pictures of my face andtracking it over time.
And even when the scale after Iwas doing this, maybe for
(14:15):
three, four or five months, thescale definitely slowed down,
but I started to see my facekept going down.
It kept looking better.
So over time you start to seethose patterns and learn to
trust those things more than youactually trust the scale,
things more than you actuallytrust the scale.
So the next one for me is alsoreally important and this was
(14:40):
not something that I believe youcan do in a restrictive or a
fad diet or some crazy exerciseregimen is you have to enjoy the
process.
That should be anon-negotiable.
Probably one of the biggestlessons I learned is that health
isn't supposed to be apunishment.
I definitely viewed restrictiveeating and exercise as
punishment.
When I first started losing theweight.
I thought that in order tosucceed I had to give up the
foods I love, push myself to thelimit and avoid social
(15:03):
situations that involve food.
You heard me say when I was sofat A it was hard for me to get
to the social situation becauseI couldn't walk, but B I would
avoid them.
So that approach is reallyfucking draining.
And eventually you start toresent the process.
I know I did.
I resented dieting.
I said I was laying theredying.
I was literally dying frombeing too fat and my brain was
(15:25):
telling me I can't do thisagain.
I hate dieting, I can't.
There's just no way I can doit.
And when you dread every aspectof your health journey,
consistency becomes a monumentaltask, if it's even possible at
all.
So enjoying the journey is thekey to making it sustainable.
If you can't enjoy your food,your movement which I now enjoy
(15:47):
immensely or your daily routine,it's going to be impossible to
stick with it.
That's the bottom line.
You can't stick with somethingyou hate doing.
I found a lot of joy indiscovering new foods that I
could eat, choosing activitiesthat I actually like.
Like, I found that I reallylike walking and giving myself
permission to indulgeoccasionally, and in the
beginning, in the first probablythree months, I didn't really
(16:08):
indulge me.
That's because I was truly,truly focused on my why.
But when I never felt like anyfood is off limits, I felt like
I could eat it.
I'm not going to eat it today,but I can eat it anytime I want,
and I think that's a reallyimportant piece of mindset is
that you can eat the food youwant anytime.
Just choose not to eat ittoday, or don't eat it tomorrow,
or do and then don't eat itagain tomorrow.
(16:30):
But the more I did that, themore I gave myself permission to
enjoy myself, the moreenjoyable my routine became.
It's crazy, and it was a loteasier to maintain it.
So when health habits arefulfilling, you're naturally
more inclined to stick with themfor the long haul.
Obviously, that makes a lot ofsense.
So here's my tip for this Findthings that you actually enjoy,
(16:52):
right.
If you love dancing, dance.
If you love walking, walk.
If you love watermelon, eat aton of water.
Whatever it is, it doesn'tmatter.
But when you love what you'redoing, you're more likely to
stick with it for the long term.
That consistency becomes mucheasier.
Now, I kind of touched on thisbefore.
This next one is that progressis not a straight line.
(17:15):
It just isn't.
You go up, you go down, soprogress is not linear.
So you have to stay the course,and I guess it's one of the
toughest lessons to accept isthat progress isn't linear.
Right, I expect the scale ofconsistency to drop and my
strength to continuallyincrease, which it is when I'm
walking, but I would like to bestronger.
I have a lot of health goalsthat I'm working on, but when I
(17:36):
would hit a plateau or Iexperienced some minor setback
in my old, my first 100 diets,I'd get discouraged and I'd feel
like I was doing somethingwrong or that I just completely
failed.
Plateaus or setbacks would makeme question whether, hey, is
this even working?
And remember, it's the small,smart things, the choices that
you make, that you might not seeworking, but those are what
really add up to the bigresults.
(17:57):
So what I learned is thatprogress in health and weight
loss is rarely a straight line.
There's good weeks, there's badweeks, there's tough weeks and
there's even some weeks when youmight put on a couple pounds or
you might feel like shit.
Those ups and downs are normal.
Staying the course, even whenthe progress feels slow, is what
brings you the actual resultsover time.
Progress isn't not alwaysvisible on the outside, but as
(18:22):
long as you stay committed toyour healthy choices and you
know what your why is and you'removing forward, then you're
moving forward.
Here's my tip If you hit aplateau, if you fuck up, change
your focus to the non-scalestuff that's happening.
Like you're sleeping better,and I can tell you.
When I lost weight, wow, did mysleeping become better?
I completely stopped snoring.
I snored like a bear for mywhole life.
(18:42):
I completely stopped snoring.
But you might feel stronger inyour workouts every day.
Even to this day, I can walk alittle bit further.
I couldn't walk a hundred feetwhen I started this thing.
So remind yourself of thosenon-scale victories and because
remind yourself of the benefitsbeyond the weight loss can help
you stay motivated during theslow times.
(19:04):
The next one is that healthyhabits impact a lot more than
just weight.
When I first started focusingon my health on this journey,
weight loss was my primary goal.
There was nothing.
I didn't care about, anythingelse.
I didn't exercise.
It was my primary goal but as Ibuilt healthier habits, I
noticed improvements that hadnothing to do with the scale
(19:24):
Like.
My energy obviously was muchhigher.
My sleep quality got better.
I just talked about the factthat I don't snore anymore and I
was in a better mood.
Those changes that I honestlydidn't expect ended up being
just as rewarding as any weightloss.
The fact that I don't snore, tome is incredible.
The fact that I can walkwherever I want to go and not
have to rest and not be tiredand not have to be nervous oh my
(19:46):
God, is there a place to stopalong the way?
That's huge.
That might be more important tome than the weight loss.
I actually got my life back.
So health is about so much morethan just weight Improved
immunity.
I know I'm feeling better.
I'm off all eight medications.
I was on Better focus, astronger sense of confidence,
even though I was alwaysconfident.
(20:06):
I can say that, but the realityis you feel better when you
look good, right, so those areall just side benefits of
living.
Well, by focusing on thatstuff, I found new motivation to
stay on track, making myjourney feel even more
rewarding.
It's incredible.
Like I said, my primary goal wasweight loss, but these things
became equally, if not more,important when you see health
(20:29):
and your overall well-being as acomprehensive lifestyle choice.
It becomes easier to stayconsistent and actually enjoy
the process.
Again, I didn't write thisdown, but I think it's a good
tip for people who are justtrying to figure it all out
Track those actual improvements,like in sleep quality, in your
(20:50):
energy and in your mood, alongwith your weight loss goals.
I'm not saying only trackthose, but track your non-scale
victories, whatever they may be.
Maybe that your clothing fitsyou better, that you can walk
further, whatever it is.
But if you just do it in themorning and say, hey, how do I
feel this morning, how did Isleep last night, you're going
to notice patterns thatreinforce the idea that health
(21:11):
is more than just the number andthat will give you the strength
to get through the tough times.
So the next one also a big onefor me is you got to stay
flexible, because shit happensright.
In every diet that I was onbefore this, I tried to stick to
a rigid plan, but lifeinevitably throws curveballs
(21:31):
your way.
You have some unexpected socialevent, you have busy work days
getting together with yourfamily, whatever.
It would all disrupt myschedule and it would leave me
frustrated and I realized.
On this turnaround, I realizedthat flexibility is a critical
part of any sustainablelifestyle.
Real life rarely fits into thosebullshit perfect routines that
(21:53):
you see on Instagram.
That's the reality, unlessyou're a gym rat that lives in a
gym and you live only for yourhealth and you don't have a
family.
You don't have a job yeah, Iguess you could do that but the
reality is life gets in the wayof those fantasy land routines
and programs.
So life always has theseunexpected turns and the only
way to succeed long-term is tolearn how to adapt right.
(22:15):
It's not like you're going tolive a life where it's not going
to happen.
Shit's going to happen.
You have to learn to adapt.
So, instead of feeling guilty ordefeated when things don't go
according to your plan, Ilearned to adjust and find ways
to stay on track.
I built resilience in the faceof the unpredictable shit that
would happen in my life, and itallowed me to keep making those
(22:37):
healthy choices without stress.
Okay, yeah, big fucking deal, Iate a donut or I had some ice
cream.
You know what it happened, forwhatever reason.
I was at an event who knowswhat reason but I did it.
Now I have to adapt and moveon.
So I think a great way to dothat for me it definitely was I
built a set of what I would callgo-to meals or snacks that I
(22:58):
can rely on when I'm on the goand I know my meals make people
shit, but I swear to God, one ofmy meals was a Costco hot dog.
I could eat a Costco hot dogand I know I'm sure people will
tell me how bad it is, but thereality is that got me back on
track.
So that way I could go back toone of my go-to meals and it
(23:35):
would help me get right back ontrack.
You can't tell me there'sanything you can do that a
Costco hot dog can't cure.
So the next one isself-compassion.
Self-compassion is essentialfor lasting change.
I used to be my own worstcritic, especially when it came
to the setbacks.
If I ate too much or atesomething I wasn't supposed to
eat, I beat myself up, which ledme to more bad choices.
(23:59):
Right, the old fuck itmentality.
Yeah well, I ate that, so fuckit.
I'm going to eat this.
I'll start tomorrow.
It's a vicious cycle that keptme from making any kind of
long-term and lasting progress.
So for me, self-compassionbecame a vital part of this
journey and it let me forgivemyself and keep moving forward
without having any of thatguilt.
So I guess learning thatself-compassion knowing that I
(24:22):
can eat what I want to eat anddo what I want to do, and then
just go right back to what I wasdoing before, go right back to
my healthy habits is probablyone of the most transformative
parts of my journey.
I don't care what journeyyou're on.
Mistakes and slips ups,mistakes and slip ups are just
part of any long-term goal, andtreating myself with that
(24:43):
kindness and forgiveness allowedme to bounce back faster.
Instead of feeling guilty, Ilearned to see setbacks as part
of the process.
Recognizing that progressdoesn't require perfection
really has allowed me to buildresilience and confidence along
the way.
It's helped me stay on this forover 19 months and I keep losing
(25:04):
weight.
My weight loss has slowed downtremendously from week one, but
I'm still losing weight and I'mnot going to tell you there
haven't been weeks when I put ona pound or two.
There have been, but I keephitting new lows in terms of the
scale.
I don't really.
I can't remember a week when Ididn't feel better than I did
(25:26):
the week before, and I certainlyfeel better than I felt in
April of 2023 at 411 pounds.
So the tip is here when you havea setback, talk to yourself
like you would talk to a friendor your kid.
Remind yourself that everybodymakes mistakes and focus on
maybe even what you can learnfrom the experience.
Like, hey, I'm in thissituation.
You know what I could have.
(25:46):
Maybe if I ate somethinghealthy before I went, I
wouldn't have eaten as much.
Who knows, you know yourself I.
Maybe if I ate somethinghealthy before I went, I
wouldn't have eaten as much.
Who knows, you know yourself.
I can't tell you how to dothat, I can't tell you what your
trigger is, but practicing thatself-compassion helps you build
that resilience and it reallyhelps you to stay committed.
So number 10, the last one, isconsistency beats intensity.
(26:10):
Every time, I always use thejoke with people I'm built for
comfort, not speed.
I'm never going to be asprinter.
I'll get there, but I'm not andI am.
I'm built for comfort, notspeed.
So in the beginning of my so inthe beginning, let's say, my
first hundred diets, I thought Ihad to go all in to see the
results.
I tried strict diets, cuttingout food groups, calorie
cutting, calorie counting.
I tried strict diets, cuttingout food groups, calorie
(26:31):
cutting, calorie counting, buteach of those approaches led me
to burnout.
I learned that consistency, andnot intensity, drives the
lasting health.
I eat whatever I want, wheneverI want, however I want, with
whoever I want, and I still loseweight because I'm consistent.
So consistency means showing up,even if it's not perfect.
It's about finding a pace thatyou can maintain for the long
(26:52):
haul.
I'm the pace I'm on.
I can do this for the rest ofmy life.
I don't feel like I'm missingout on anything.
So, rather than pushingyourself to unsustainable
limits, find the pace that worksfor you If you exercise and
again, for those of you thathave listened to me, you know
this is crazy, because I didmost of this without exercising,
but now I exercise seven days aweek, six days a week, but
(27:14):
exercising, even moderately,three times a week is better
than going all out for a monthand quitting.
So creating that steady,manageable routine has helped me
to avoid burnout and reallykeep my momentum going.
So here's the tip Commit to arealistic routine that you can
actually maintain for months,not just days, that you can
realistically work out threetimes a week.
(27:36):
Then do that instead of aimingfor seven days a week and
burning out.
Consistency is the real secretto lasting results.
So find a pace that you cankeep up with for the long haul.
So that's it on the 10 lessons.
They transform my approach tohealth.
They turn weight loss from astruggle into a balanced,
fulfilling lifestyle.
They're simple and they're verypowerful, and they bring real
(28:00):
and lasting results.
So every lesson brings a uniquetip.
Whether you're just beginningon your journey, you're looking
to refine your current approach,you can start to implement
these small changes today.
Sustainable health isn't about adestination.
You always hear me say I don'thave an end goal here.
It's about finding a journeythat you can be on, that you're
excited to live every day.
(28:22):
That's what this is all aboutis finding a way that you can
live every day and be happy.
You have to be happy.
Remember my thing is live life,love food, lose weight.
If you don't live your life,you can't lose weight.
Right?
If you don't love food, youcan't lose weight.
You have to live your life andlove the food you're eating and
then you'll lose the weight.
This is simple, easy stuff.
(28:45):
Again, I didn't give youanything here today that is
going to be like whoa, that wasmind-blowing, but it's just
stuff that we tend to forgetwhen we're doing this on our
own.
So that's it on the 10 things,the 10 lessons, the 10 things
that I pulled out of my ownweight loss journey.
For those of you that bought mybook, thank you.
The reviews still selling likewildfire.
(29:07):
The reviews have been great.
I have nothing but gratitudefor everybody that supported me
and and learning as I learned onmy weight loss journey.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
I also have a 23 video videocourse online called live life,
love food, lose weight.
It's very simple to follow.
It's the.
Each video is about fiveminutes.
You can find that atlearnshutupandchoosecom.
(29:30):
That's learnshutupandchoosecom.
It's simple.
I'll give you 100% money backguarantee.
You will lose weight and youwill love your life.
You will love the food you'reeating.
You'll be amazed at how easy itis to do.
You're not going to do it untilyou're ready, but when you're
ready, I would tell you to checkthat out.
So that's it for today.
Everybody, if I don't speak toyou, if I don't hear from you
(29:58):
before Thanksgiving, have afantastic Thanksgiving.
Great, happy holidays toeverybody, and I'll leave you
this one tip on how you cansucceed during this crazy
holiday season of food and drinkand festivities.
You know what that way is.
You need to just shut up andchoose.
Announcer (30:13):
You've been listening to Shut Up and Choose.
Jonathan's passion is to sharehis journey of shedding 130
pounds in less than a yearwithout any of the usual
gimmicks no diets, no pills andwe'll let you in on a little
secret no fucking gym, and guesswhat?
Let you in on a little secretno fucking gym, and guess what?
(30:34):
You can do it too.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
We had a fucking blast.
If you did, make sure to like,rate and review.
We'll be back soon, but in themeantime, find Jonathan on
Instagram atJonathanWrestlerBocaRaton.
Until next time, shut up andchoose.
If you're a whiny snowflake that can't handle the
truth, is offended by the wordfuck and about 37 uses of it in
different forms gets ass hurt.
When you hear someone speak theabsolute, real and raw truth,
you should leave Like right now.
This is Shut Up and Choose, thepodcast where we cut through
(00:25):
the shit and get real aboutweight loss, life and everything
in between.
We get into the nitty gritty ofmaking small, smart choices
that add up to big results.
From what's on your plate tohow you approach life's
challenges.
We'll explore how the simpleact of choosing differently can
transform your health, yourmindset and your entire freaking
(00:48):
life.
So if you're ready to cutthrough the bullshit and start
making some real changes, thenbuckle up and shut up, because
we're about to choose our way toa healthier, happier life.
This is Shut Up and Choose.
Let's do this Now.
Your host, jonathan Ressler.
Jonathan Ressler (01:15):
Welcome back to Shut Up and Choose the
podcast that cuts the noise andnonsense and all the
misinformation that the dietindustry is spitting out at you
every day.
You read it on social media,you see it everywhere else.
The truth is it's all amisinformation of the diet
industry is spitting out at youevery day.
You read it on social media,you see it everywhere else.
The truth is it's all a bunchof crap.
You know how to lose weight andhere we are, just a week away
from Thanksgiving.
We're entering into thatdreaded holiday season for
(01:36):
people that are trying to loseweight because the food choices
are incredible.
Sometimes you just really needto go back to basics to figure
things out and understand howyou're going to fall back on the
fundamentals to make it througha tough time.
I know that sounds crazy, butthe holiday season is a tough
time and if you're trying tolose weight, you know damn well
that it is.
So I really started thinkingabout it and I came up, I guess,
(01:59):
the 10 lessons that I learnedabout weight loss and how it
went from restriction tobalance.
So when I started all this?
Well, I started out a long timeago and I went on every diet
under the sun.
As you know, I've been on over100 diets.
I thought that success wouldcome from pushing harder,
cutting out more stuff from mydiet and really sticking to
(02:20):
those extreme rules and thosecrazy regimens.
And cut this out, don't eatthat.
Do this.
But after years of trial anderror and frustration and,
honestly, fear for my life, inApril of 2023, when I was laying
in the hospital ready to die, Ilearned that the secret to
long-lasting health requires amindset shift and a balanced
(02:41):
approach.
In my book, shut Up and Choose,I dive into the lessons in
detail, but here I'm going tojust share the top 10 that I
believe turn weight loss from aseries of grueling sprints into
a marathon that I'm able toenjoy.
I actually enjoy my weight lossjourney.
So the lessons that I'm goingto share with you changed
everything for me.
They're just a mix of smallsteps and mindset tweaks and
(03:06):
adjustments that allowed me toactually lose the weight and
keep it off and enjoy lifewithout the baggage of all that
restrictive dieting, withoutbeing worried all the time can I
eat this?
It's just, it's craziness outthere.
So each one of these lessonsincludes a little tip to help
you start applying the ideasright now in your own life, and
(03:27):
I know, if you've listened to mypodcast, you've heard me say a
lot of these things before.
But I think this is like theback to fundamentals episode of
the podcast to really give youthe nuts and bolts and tell you
what worked for me and I knowwill work for you.
So, number one you've heard mesay this a thousand times but
it's small, consistent choicesoutperform big temporary
(03:50):
changes.
So the reality of small choicesare the key In the world of
weight loss.
Those big, flashy changes thatseem exciting.
That I've done over a hundredtimes.
But the truth is you burn outfast doing those things.
That I've done over a hundredtimes, but the truth is you burn
out fast doing those thingsEvery time I started a new diet,
(04:11):
a fad diet, even the moderateexercise that I tried.
I dive in into these withintense effort.
Okay, intense dieting, cuttingout food groups and exercise to
exhaustion.
Well, I never really exercisedto exhaustion, but exercise to
the point where you hated it allin the hope that you would see
some quick results.
And you do.
I mean, I'll admit it, I lostweight quickly.
But every time I went off thosestrict routines, those crazy
(04:33):
diets, the weight would comeright back.
Not only would it come back,but it would come back with even
more.
That constant cycle of extremedieting followed by regaining
the weight back back.
It left me feeling worse thanwhen I started and, honestly, it
was really frustrating.
You know, I said when I waslaying in that hospital bed
ready to die.
I said there's just no way thatI can do that again.
(04:54):
I just don't have it in me.
I can't do another diet, I havetoo much weight to lose and I
don't know.
I just started doing this thingthat I call live, life, love
food, lose weight.
And the truth that I learned isthis Small, consistent choices
outperform drastic changes everytime.
The key to real lasting healthisn't in some grand gesture, in
(05:16):
some crazy diet, but it's in thesmall daily things that you do,
those small smart choices everyday that honestly feel
effortless.
I mean, it could be as simpleas maybe you're drinking more
water, you're eating morebalanced meal.
I eat the most unbalanced foodin the world.
When I started thinking aboutwhat I was putting in my mouth,
it made a difference.
You know, I did not exercise Idon't know for the first 10
(05:39):
months, but now I do every day,or I walk, I should say so.
Things like taking a walk andgetting enough sleep, that was a
really big one for me.
I was sleeping three or fourhours a night.
When I started getting moresleep.
That really jump-started or itreally put it into high gear.
So these little things likedrinking water, getting sleep,
moving a little more, they mightnot seem like much when you
(06:01):
look at them individually as anaction, but over time they add
up to huge results.
It makes making these small,sustainable, little changes,
these small smart choices everyday.
That builds habits that areeasier to maintain for the long
term.
So here's my, I guess, tip foryou.
(06:21):
Here's a lack of a better terma way to jumpstart it.
So choose one or two smallhabits to start.
For example, maybe get rid ofyour soda or whatever sugar
drink you're drinking, or addjust an extra serving of veggies
to your lunch.
Start out really small and,once these habits feel natural,
stack on new ones.
(06:41):
This way you can buildsustainable changes that don't
overwhelm you.
I started out just by thinkingabout what I was going to eat
and making sure that it was inline with my why, which was, at
that time, I wanted to live, butthe reality is there's small,
smart choices that actuallyresults that you're trying to
achieve.
So number two is a balanceddiet beats restriction.
(07:06):
Every time I don't have to tellyou that restriction sucks.
I mean, obviously you knowthat.
But early on in my firsthundred diets, I thought the
only way to lose weight wasthrough restriction.
I tried everything cut outcarbs, don't eat dairy, cut out
sugar entirely, and they all,like I said, they all worked.
They all worked at first, butthey were impossible to stick
with long-term.
(07:26):
I found myself I would binge onthe quote-unquote forbidden
foods because my body and mindfelt deprived.
When you restrict entire foodgroups or even certain things,
it doesn't take long for thecravings to feel unbearable and
it leads to that cycle ofbinging and guilt.
I'm a tremendous binger.
I would binge on things and Iwould feel guilty, and then I
(07:48):
would go back and then I'd getto the oh fuck it.
Point where I'd be like, well,I did that.
Now this is over.
This diet is over.
So what I learned is that abalanced diet, one that includes
everything, all the foodgroups, everything that you
wanna eat donuts, I don't carewhat it is in moderation, of
course, but a diet, a routinethat includes every food group
actually works better than rigidrestrictions.
(08:10):
A balanced approach allows youto eat a variety of foods and it
gives you the essentialnutrients, which I didn't really
give a shit about but now I do.
But it gives you the essentialnutrients for physical health
and mental well-being Carbsprovide energy, fats support
hormone health.
Proteins help build muscle andkeep you full.
I mean you need all of thatfood.
(08:30):
So when all food groups areincluded, there's less
deprivation and moresatisfaction, which naturally
curbs your cravings and keepsyou satiated.
I always tell people you knowwhat to do.
I mean this is not rockingscience.
You don't need anybody else totell you what to do this I would
say.
The tip here is use a plate forbalanced meals.
(08:52):
So fill half your plate andagain, this is something you
know but fill half your platewith veggies, a quarter with
some kind of lean protein andthe other quarter with whole
grains of starches.
I mean you can eat steak,potatoes and a salad.
That's not restricted, unless,of course, you don't like meat
and whatever.
You can figure out what to puton there.
But keeping your meals balancedgets rid of the stress of
(09:14):
calculating every macro or everycalorie.
You know how to do this thing.
It's simple, all right.
So number three is mindset iseverything.
The one of the biggesttakeaways of this thing that I'm
doing is my weight loss journeytaught me that health isn't
just about what you eat or howmuch you exercise because I
didn't exercise at all it'sabout your mindset.
(09:37):
When I approach weight lossfrom a place of self-criticism,
I'd punish myself for every timeI made a mistake, every slip
up, I'd stress over a poundgained and then, ultimately,
that would lead me to burn outand quit Whatever you want to
call it.
It would lead me to burn outand quit Whatever you want to
call it.
It would lead me to stop doingthis routine, this restrictive
diet that I was doing.
A negative mindset is whatleads to yo-yo dieting,
(09:59):
emotional eating and even asense of failure.
Anytime things didn't goperfectly and nobody's perfect.
It's never going to goperfectly.
So mindset is the foundationfor everything Building a
positive relationship with food,letting go of the guilt and
seeing setbacks, seeing thoselittle slip-ups as part of the
journey rather than as failures.
(10:20):
It's just again so obvious.
I always shock myself howobvious this was.
But when you look at all thatstuff and you look at the
mistakes that you make asfailures.
It creates that place in yourhead that supports long-term
success.
All right, I blew it today, butI can make a better next meal.
So, with the right mindset,challenges become learning
experiences and those smallvictories become sources of
(10:43):
motivation.
They're what help you remainconsistent.
So shifting to a growth focusedmindset changed my relationship
with food completely.
It turned it into a positiveand empowering aspect of my
life.
I used to stress about food allthe time because I had the
wrong mindset.
Food was the enemy.
So I didn't do this.
(11:03):
But I think a lot of people dobenefit from this.
And if you just write down yourprogress every week write down
what you did well, anychallenges that you faced and
what you learned that reflectionhelps to reinforce a positive
mindset and gives you a way totrack growth beyond the scale.
For me, honestly, I took a lotof pictures of just my face,
(11:24):
because my face was so humongousand every week or two I would
take a picture of my face andlook at it, and that helped me.
That was the tracking mechanismthat I use.
I looked at what I looked like,what my face looked like,
because when I started Icouldn't believe what it looked
like.
It looked like a pie crust.
It was so round and humongous.
It looked like a pizza piecrust, to be honest.
(11:45):
And that was my trackingmechanism.
Of course, I weighed myselfevery day.
I weighed myself multiple timesa day, as I've said.
You can read that in my book.
But for me it was the non-scalevictory that got my mindset
into the right place.
It got my head thinking right.
So that brings me actually tonumber four, and that's listen
(12:06):
to your body, not just thescale.
The scale, of course, is a wayto track progress.
We're all going to do it, butit's only one part of the story.
The scale, of course, is a wayto track progress.
We're all going to do it, butit's only one part of the story.
Early on, I was fixated on thenumber and I'd get discouraged
if the scale didn't show what Iwanted, even if I was feeling
stronger and more energetic.
Every diet I did in thetraditional diet world, the fad
(12:27):
diet world yes, I would loseweight quickly, but then it
would, sooner or later, wouldslow down, like it will even on
this.
But I figured out this timearound on my 101st diet,
although I take that back.
It's not a diet, it's just away of eating.
But anyway, listening to mybody became a game changer.
Our bodies give us feedbackthrough our energy levels, mood,
(12:50):
sleep quality and, honestly,how our clothes fit.
Once my clothes started to geta little bit looser, I was
wearing a 5X t-shirt and theywere still a little tight.
So once they started to fit me,wow, that was just incredible
for me.
So those indicators are just asimportant, if maybe even not
more important, than the numberon the scale even not more
(13:13):
important than the number on thescale.
I also found out that weight canfluctuate based on so many
factors, not the least of whichis how much water you're
drinking and if you're gainingmuscle and even stress.
So, by paying attention to mybody's signals and what my face
looked like, not so much a scaleand again, I told you I obsess
over the scale, but I waslooking for those non-scale
victories so I started makingchoices that supported my
overall well-being, not just myweight.
(13:34):
When I prioritize how I feltover what I weighed, my choices
naturally aligned with my why.
Because I was making choicesand doing things based not just
on the number on the scale, buton the way that I was feeling.
So, again, I didn't.
I'm not a journaler, but I dothings on my phone.
So I bought a scale and I haveno association with this company
(13:55):
from Withings and I kept trackof my weight every day.
Every time I weighed myself, Ikept track and I could see it on
a chart.
But that wasn't like I said.
That wasn't the big one for me.
The big one was for me waslooking at the size of my face,
taking pictures of my face andtracking it over time.
And even when the scale after Iwas doing this, maybe for
(14:15):
three, four or five months, thescale definitely slowed down,
but I started to see my facekept going down.
It kept looking better.
So over time you start to seethose patterns and learn to
trust those things more than youactually trust the scale,
things more than you actuallytrust the scale.
So the next one for me is alsoreally important and this was
(14:40):
not something that I believe youcan do in a restrictive or a
fad diet or some crazy exerciseregimen is you have to enjoy the
process.
That should be anon-negotiable.
Probably one of the biggestlessons I learned is that health
isn't supposed to be apunishment.
I definitely viewed restrictiveeating and exercise as
punishment.
When I first started losing theweight.
I thought that in order tosucceed I had to give up the
foods I love, push myself to thelimit and avoid social
(15:03):
situations that involve food.
You heard me say when I was sofat A it was hard for me to get
to the social situation becauseI couldn't walk, but B I would
avoid them.
So that approach is reallyfucking draining.
And eventually you start toresent the process.
I know I did.
I resented dieting.
I said I was laying theredying.
I was literally dying frombeing too fat and my brain was
(15:25):
telling me I can't do thisagain.
I hate dieting, I can't.
There's just no way I can doit.
And when you dread every aspectof your health journey,
consistency becomes a monumentaltask, if it's even possible at
all.
So enjoying the journey is thekey to making it sustainable.
If you can't enjoy your food,your movement which I now enjoy
(15:47):
immensely or your daily routine,it's going to be impossible to
stick with it.
That's the bottom line.
You can't stick with somethingyou hate doing.
I found a lot of joy indiscovering new foods that I
could eat, choosing activitiesthat I actually like.
Like, I found that I reallylike walking and giving myself
permission to indulgeoccasionally, and in the
beginning, in the first probablythree months, I didn't really
(16:08):
indulge me.
That's because I was truly,truly focused on my why.
But when I never felt like anyfood is off limits, I felt like
I could eat it.
I'm not going to eat it today,but I can eat it anytime I want,
and I think that's a reallyimportant piece of mindset is
that you can eat the food youwant anytime.
Just choose not to eat ittoday, or don't eat it tomorrow,
or do and then don't eat itagain tomorrow.
(16:30):
But the more I did that, themore I gave myself permission to
enjoy myself, the moreenjoyable my routine became.
It's crazy, and it was a loteasier to maintain it.
So when health habits arefulfilling, you're naturally
more inclined to stick with themfor the long haul.
Obviously, that makes a lot ofsense.
So here's my tip for this Findthings that you actually enjoy,
(16:52):
right.
If you love dancing, dance.
If you love walking, walk.
If you love watermelon, eat aton of water.
Whatever it is, it doesn'tmatter.
But when you love what you'redoing, you're more likely to
stick with it for the long term.
That consistency becomes mucheasier.
Now, I kind of touched on thisbefore.
This next one is that progressis not a straight line.
(17:15):
It just isn't.
You go up, you go down, soprogress is not linear.
So you have to stay the course,and I guess it's one of the
toughest lessons to accept isthat progress isn't linear.
Right, I expect the scale ofconsistency to drop and my
strength to continuallyincrease, which it is when I'm
walking, but I would like to bestronger.
I have a lot of health goalsthat I'm working on, but when I
(17:36):
would hit a plateau or Iexperienced some minor setback
in my old, my first 100 diets,I'd get discouraged and I'd feel
like I was doing somethingwrong or that I just completely
failed.
Plateaus or setbacks would makeme question whether, hey, is
this even working?
And remember, it's the small,smart things, the choices that
you make, that you might not seeworking, but those are what
really add up to the bigresults.
(17:57):
So what I learned is thatprogress in health and weight
loss is rarely a straight line.
There's good weeks, there's badweeks, there's tough weeks and
there's even some weeks when youmight put on a couple pounds or
you might feel like shit.
Those ups and downs are normal.
Staying the course, even whenthe progress feels slow, is what
brings you the actual resultsover time.
Progress isn't not alwaysvisible on the outside, but as
(18:22):
long as you stay committed toyour healthy choices and you
know what your why is and you'removing forward, then you're
moving forward.
Here's my tip If you hit aplateau, if you fuck up, change
your focus to the non-scalestuff that's happening.
Like you're sleeping better,and I can tell you.
When I lost weight, wow, did mysleeping become better?
I completely stopped snoring.
I snored like a bear for mywhole life.
(18:42):
I completely stopped snoring.
But you might feel stronger inyour workouts every day.
Even to this day, I can walk alittle bit further.
I couldn't walk a hundred feetwhen I started this thing.
So remind yourself of thosenon-scale victories and because
remind yourself of the benefitsbeyond the weight loss can help
you stay motivated during theslow times.
(19:04):
The next one is that healthyhabits impact a lot more than
just weight.
When I first started focusingon my health on this journey,
weight loss was my primary goal.
There was nothing.
I didn't care about, anythingelse.
I didn't exercise.
It was my primary goal but as Ibuilt healthier habits, I
noticed improvements that hadnothing to do with the scale
(19:24):
Like.
My energy obviously was muchhigher.
My sleep quality got better.
I just talked about the factthat I don't snore anymore and I
was in a better mood.
Those changes that I honestlydidn't expect ended up being
just as rewarding as any weightloss.
The fact that I don't snore, tome is incredible.
The fact that I can walkwherever I want to go and not
have to rest and not be tiredand not have to be nervous oh my
(19:46):
God, is there a place to stopalong the way?
That's huge.
That might be more important tome than the weight loss.
I actually got my life back.
So health is about so much morethan just weight Improved
immunity.
I know I'm feeling better.
I'm off all eight medications.
I was on Better focus, astronger sense of confidence,
even though I was alwaysconfident.
(20:06):
I can say that, but the realityis you feel better when you
look good, right, so those areall just side benefits of
living.
Well, by focusing on thatstuff, I found new motivation to
stay on track, making myjourney feel even more
rewarding.
It's incredible.
Like I said, my primary goal wasweight loss, but these things
became equally, if not more,important when you see health
(20:29):
and your overall well-being as acomprehensive lifestyle choice.
It becomes easier to stayconsistent and actually enjoy
the process.
Again, I didn't write thisdown, but I think it's a good
tip for people who are justtrying to figure it all out
Track those actual improvements,like in sleep quality, in your
(20:50):
energy and in your mood, alongwith your weight loss goals.
I'm not saying only trackthose, but track your non-scale
victories, whatever they may be.
Maybe that your clothing fitsyou better, that you can walk
further, whatever it is.
But if you just do it in themorning and say, hey, how do I
feel this morning, how did Isleep last night, you're going
to notice patterns thatreinforce the idea that health
(21:11):
is more than just the number andthat will give you the strength
to get through the tough times.
So the next one also a big onefor me is you got to stay
flexible, because shit happensright.
In every diet that I was onbefore this, I tried to stick to
a rigid plan, but lifeinevitably throws curveballs
(21:31):
your way.
You have some unexpected socialevent, you have busy work days
getting together with yourfamily, whatever.
It would all disrupt myschedule and it would leave me
frustrated and I realized.
On this turnaround, I realizedthat flexibility is a critical
part of any sustainablelifestyle.
Real life rarely fits into thosebullshit perfect routines that
(21:53):
you see on Instagram.
That's the reality, unlessyou're a gym rat that lives in a
gym and you live only for yourhealth and you don't have a
family.
You don't have a job yeah, Iguess you could do that but the
reality is life gets in the wayof those fantasy land routines
and programs.
So life always has theseunexpected turns and the only
way to succeed long-term is tolearn how to adapt right.
(22:15):
It's not like you're going tolive a life where it's not going
to happen.
Shit's going to happen.
You have to learn to adapt.
So, instead of feeling guilty ordefeated when things don't go
according to your plan, Ilearned to adjust and find ways
to stay on track.
I built resilience in the faceof the unpredictable shit that
would happen in my life, and itallowed me to keep making those
(22:37):
healthy choices without stress.
Okay, yeah, big fucking deal, Iate a donut or I had some ice
cream.
You know what it happened, forwhatever reason.
I was at an event who knowswhat reason but I did it.
Now I have to adapt and moveon.
So I think a great way to dothat for me it definitely was I
built a set of what I would callgo-to meals or snacks that I
(22:58):
can rely on when I'm on the goand I know my meals make people
shit, but I swear to God, one ofmy meals was a Costco hot dog.
I could eat a Costco hot dogand I know I'm sure people will
tell me how bad it is, but thereality is that got me back on
track.
So that way I could go back toone of my go-to meals and it
(23:35):
would help me get right back ontrack.
You can't tell me there'sanything you can do that a
Costco hot dog can't cure.
So the next one isself-compassion.
Self-compassion is essentialfor lasting change.
I used to be my own worstcritic, especially when it came
to the setbacks.
If I ate too much or atesomething I wasn't supposed to
eat, I beat myself up, which ledme to more bad choices.
(23:59):
Right, the old fuck itmentality.
Yeah well, I ate that, so fuckit.
I'm going to eat this.
I'll start tomorrow.
It's a vicious cycle that keptme from making any kind of
long-term and lasting progress.
So for me, self-compassionbecame a vital part of this
journey and it let me forgivemyself and keep moving forward
without having any of thatguilt.
So I guess learning thatself-compassion knowing that I
(24:22):
can eat what I want to eat anddo what I want to do, and then
just go right back to what I wasdoing before, go right back to
my healthy habits is probablyone of the most transformative
parts of my journey.
I don't care what journeyyou're on.
Mistakes and slips ups,mistakes and slip ups are just
part of any long-term goal, andtreating myself with that
(24:43):
kindness and forgiveness allowedme to bounce back faster.
Instead of feeling guilty, Ilearned to see setbacks as part
of the process.
Recognizing that progressdoesn't require perfection
really has allowed me to buildresilience and confidence along
the way.
It's helped me stay on this forover 19 months and I keep losing
(25:04):
weight.
My weight loss has slowed downtremendously from week one, but
I'm still losing weight and I'mnot going to tell you there
haven't been weeks when I put ona pound or two.
There have been, but I keephitting new lows in terms of the
scale.
I don't really.
I can't remember a week when Ididn't feel better than I did
(25:26):
the week before, and I certainlyfeel better than I felt in
April of 2023 at 411 pounds.
So the tip is here when you havea setback, talk to yourself
like you would talk to a friendor your kid.
Remind yourself that everybodymakes mistakes and focus on
maybe even what you can learnfrom the experience.
Like, hey, I'm in thissituation.
You know what I could have.
(25:46):
Maybe if I ate somethinghealthy before I went, I
wouldn't have eaten as much.
Who knows, you know yourself I.
Maybe if I ate somethinghealthy before I went, I
wouldn't have eaten as much.
Who knows, you know yourself.
I can't tell you how to dothat, I can't tell you what your
trigger is, but practicing thatself-compassion helps you build
that resilience and it reallyhelps you to stay committed.
So number 10, the last one, isconsistency beats intensity.
(26:10):
Every time, I always use thejoke with people I'm built for
comfort, not speed.
I'm never going to be asprinter.
I'll get there, but I'm not andI am.
I'm built for comfort, notspeed.
So in the beginning of my so inthe beginning, let's say, my
first hundred diets, I thought Ihad to go all in to see the
results.
I tried strict diets, cuttingout food groups, calorie
cutting, calorie counting.
I tried strict diets, cuttingout food groups, calorie
(26:31):
cutting, calorie counting, buteach of those approaches led me
to burnout.
I learned that consistency, andnot intensity, drives the
lasting health.
I eat whatever I want, wheneverI want, however I want, with
whoever I want, and I still loseweight because I'm consistent.
So consistency means showing up,even if it's not perfect.
It's about finding a pace thatyou can maintain for the long
(26:52):
haul.
I'm the pace I'm on.
I can do this for the rest ofmy life.
I don't feel like I'm missingout on anything.
So, rather than pushingyourself to unsustainable
limits, find the pace that worksfor you If you exercise and
again, for those of you thathave listened to me, you know
this is crazy, because I didmost of this without exercising,
but now I exercise seven days aweek, six days a week, but
(27:14):
exercising, even moderately,three times a week is better
than going all out for a monthand quitting.
So creating that steady,manageable routine has helped me
to avoid burnout and reallykeep my momentum going.
So here's the tip Commit to arealistic routine that you can
actually maintain for months,not just days, that you can
realistically work out threetimes a week.
(27:36):
Then do that instead of aimingfor seven days a week and
burning out.
Consistency is the real secretto lasting results.
So find a pace that you cankeep up with for the long haul.
So that's it on the 10 lessons.
They transform my approach tohealth.
They turn weight loss from astruggle into a balanced,
fulfilling lifestyle.
They're simple and they're verypowerful, and they bring real
(28:00):
and lasting results.
So every lesson brings a uniquetip.
Whether you're just beginningon your journey, you're looking
to refine your current approach,you can start to implement
these small changes today.
Sustainable health isn't about adestination.
You always hear me say I don'thave an end goal here.
It's about finding a journeythat you can be on, that you're
excited to live every day.
(28:22):
That's what this is all aboutis finding a way that you can
live every day and be happy.
You have to be happy.
Remember my thing is live life,love food, lose weight.
If you don't live your life,you can't lose weight.
Right?
If you don't love food, youcan't lose weight.
You have to live your life andlove the food you're eating and
then you'll lose the weight.
This is simple, easy stuff.
(28:45):
Again, I didn't give youanything here today that is
going to be like whoa, that wasmind-blowing, but it's just
stuff that we tend to forgetwhen we're doing this on our
own.
So that's it on the 10 things,the 10 lessons, the 10 things
that I pulled out of my ownweight loss journey.
For those of you that bought mybook, thank you.
The reviews still selling likewildfire.
(29:07):
The reviews have been great.
I have nothing but gratitudefor everybody that supported me
and and learning as I learned onmy weight loss journey.
Thank you, I appreciate it.
I also have a 23 video videocourse online called live life,
love food, lose weight.
It's very simple to follow.
It's the.
Each video is about fiveminutes.
You can find that atlearnshutupandchoosecom.
(29:30):
That's learnshutupandchoosecom.
It's simple.
I'll give you 100% money backguarantee.
You will lose weight and youwill love your life.
You will love the food you'reeating.
You'll be amazed at how easy itis to do.
You're not going to do it untilyou're ready, but when you're
ready, I would tell you to checkthat out.
So that's it for today.
Everybody, if I don't speak toyou, if I don't hear from you
(29:58):
before Thanksgiving, have afantastic Thanksgiving.
Great, happy holidays toeverybody, and I'll leave you
this one tip on how you cansucceed during this crazy
holiday season of food and drinkand festivities.
You know what that way is.
You need to just shut up andchoose.
Announcer (30:13):
You've been listening to Shut Up and Choose.
Jonathan's passion is to sharehis journey of shedding 130
pounds in less than a yearwithout any of the usual
gimmicks no diets, no pills andwe'll let you in on a little
secret no fucking gym, and guesswhat?
Let you in on a little secretno fucking gym, and guess what?
(30:34):
You can do it too.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
We had a fucking blast.
If you did, make sure to like,rate and review.
We'll be back soon, but in themeantime, find Jonathan on
Instagram atJonathanWrestlerBocaRaton.
Until next time, shut up andchoose.
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