Is being Fat Your Choice? - Article Review
HERES THE YT LINK IN CASE: https://youtu.be/LdyddKGnSrA
USA Today published an article that went viral.
Basically saying it’s not your fault you’re overweight or obese and you don’t have control.
Being fat is not your fault and you can’t fix it
“Americans don’t choose to be fat… it’s a system they don’t control”
In this video I’ll walk you thru why they say that, why people can believe this, and how you can change your mind from ‘It’s this persons or this reasons fault and I’ll never fix it’ To ‘who cares who’s fault it is and it’s my responsibility to change.’
This woman named Barbara weighed 337 lbs.
For decades she tried every diet - spoiler they were fad diets
She got gastric bypass surgery and lost 200 lbs
over the next 8 years she re-gained 70 lbs
13 of the 14 biggest loser contestants in 2009 regained all the weight they lost
Yeah I could have guessed this would happen, I’m not against surgery but the doctors should make a strong strong point to the patient that this won’t stick without additional work on daily and weekly nutrition and exercise habits.
The contestants on the biggest loser should have been notified that unsustainable actions leads to results they wont be able to maintain.
“They agree people need to take responsibility for eating as well as they can, for staying fit, for sleeping enough. But simply promoting individual change won’t end the obesity epidemic - just as it hasn’t for decades.”
You could learn how to start losing weight and creating a sustainable weight loss plan in minutes.
How to lose 15 lbs of fat sustainably is one of my best videos to learn how to do that.
They are thousands of other videos posted weekly and daily.
Maybe in the past all you had was a shitty instagram influencer and people magazine.
But now you have me and other online coaches like me posting videos backed by science on how to achieve sustainable weight loss.
The fault may haven’t been you back then…
But now… if you wan’t to change and are not making efforts thru hiring outside help or researching it is your fault
because fault does not equal responsibility.
If you open your door one day and find a baby, it’s not your fault it’s there.
YET it is your responsibility to care for it or bring it to someplace that can.
“There’s a lot of misconception among patients that they can somehow ‘behavior’ their way out of this- for the vast majority trying to will your way to thinness is just a prescription for misery.”
We’ve all heard this advice before right
You just need to put your head down and grind
Discipline.
Watch david goggins yell at you on youtube
In reality tho your current life and body is the direct product of your habits and The ONLY way to achieving anything as remarkable as a body transformation is thru voluntary discomfort.
heres what i mean…
Tracking your calories and protein isn’t fun and it’s really tedious at the start - until you start seeing results
Going to the gym isn’t for everyone and it’s hard to do
Walking for 20-60 mins a day becuase you have a sedentary job isn’t the best
Having to say no to yourself more than usual with your nutrition is hard but it makes for a better and more free life - discipline isn’t a restrictive prison it’s really the path to freedom because being in full control of yourself is freedom
Willingly suffering thru the start will make it worth it and it’s the only way over the learning curve
It’s not bad to use will power and discipline to build and strengthen sustainable healthy habits
however I agree if you follow fad diets or extreme work out routines you aren’t going to be able to will power thru that
“there’s so much suffering associated with weight that is just so unnecessary”
absolutely agree and one of the biggest I see with my online fat loss clients is the fear of the scale, of weighing yourself daily
people expect to lose .5 to 1 lb a DAY when in reality they’d remove the emotion and anxiety from the daily weigh in took the average of your weight each week and compared those week to week, that’s #1 more accurate & #2 better for your mental health
0 reason not to do it that way, and all my clients love it
“she blamed herself for not being able to reach her goals”
I don’t believe it’s the obese persons fault for becoming obese especially if it happened when you still lived with your parent or parents
And especially remembering people were getting weight loss advice from PEOPLE magazine - horrible
But I do believe it’s critical you blame yourself going forward if you want to change and don’t make efforts in doing so.
“We tell them to eat less…”
no you tell them that, I tell them to eat more volume for less calories
like instead of using 80% lean meats, use 93 or 97%
instead of using the full calorie dressing on that salad - use the lower cal alternative
instead of buying full fat products - buy fat reduced or fat free
“and exercise more…”
absolutely…
the majority of us are sedentary
if you’re not than i’m stoked for you but if you are then walk daily aiming for 7-12k steps a day
if you don’t already, weight train 3-4 times a week
The article goes on to describe how calorie restriciton leads to a lower metabolism while not mentioning the same thing happens when you eat in a calorie surplus trying to gain weight - this is a normal and HEALTHY process called metabolic adaptation, it’s not stagnant and your actual metabolism doesn’t slow down til about 65.
Also the majority of the metabolic adaptation will occur from your body changing its NEAT
This is stuff like tapping your feet and fidgeting
One way to help this during and after fat loss is by daily walks aiming for 7-12k steps a day
she said she can throw away cake after a few bites… “Now I’m that person, not because I somehow have the willpower, but because I don’t really want it.”
This is such a huge point
I cant have the cake
vs
I dont want the cake
replace cake with pizza or anything else that tempts you during a fat loss phase or just in general
When you want to achieve a body transformation you need to always make this distinction clear in your head
if you want the cake but it won’t fit for your calorie goals that day, you can either say I dont want the cake, or I want the can’t but I don’t wanna break the promise I made to myself to hit my calories so I acutally don’t want the cake.
Never say “I can’t have x food” because that’s not true #1 and #2 it’s again taking the power of choice away from you which is important for good self belief and efficacy.
MY THOUGHTS- “Americans don’t choose to be fat… it’s a system they don’t control”
You don’t need to control the system, it’s always going to be designed to have you consume more.
You DO NEED to control yourself.
This may be a systemic issue but we are not policy makers so this is a personal problem that requires personal responsibility.
No shame involved.
I do not believe becoming overweight or obese is your fault but I fully believe, and for your sake I hope you believe this too, that it is your responsibility going forward.
Staying fat or unhappy with your body composition IS a choice.
And if theres one amazing thing from this article it’s that…
The help is there all you need to do is ask me or other online or in person coaches for help and it’s our job to help you
If you don’t want/need personalized help the information is out there, that’s why I post so much free info
Also, like Barbara you might have thyroid or hormone issues, get that worked out with your doctor and medicate the issue if necessary BUT…
You MUST change your behavior and habits, what are the habits and behaviors of the person you want to become?
if you don’t know DM me and others like me to ask them their habits that help them stay fit
If you’re unhappy with your body composition and want to change I support you fully and I would never shame you so…
dont give up…
the only way you can fail at a body transformation is to throw in the towel
if you never give up you will never ultimately fail
I believe in you and I’m always here to help
Thank you for reading or watching!
I hope this has helped you and if it has…
Please let me know via email! tedgormanpt@gmail.com
Also, if you have any questions about what we talked about today…
Email me, I’d love to answer your questions and give you some advice 🤝
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Talk soon,
-Ted :)
