10 Reasons You’re Still Fat, Even After Reading This Website!

(Part two of a two-part series)  By Eugene Thong, CSCS

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So, you guys still with us after last week’s scathing part one?  Well, thanks for checking in for part two – the kinder, gentler reasons you’re still not at the body of your dreams.  Let’s refresh your memory after a long week:

 

“I’m doing everything you guys are telling me to.  I’m following all of the information in the articles, newsletters, and Black Book of Secrets, so how come I’m not losing weight?”

 

6.  “Wading In”

Every year, on the first day of summer, you see the great unwashed masses flock to the beach and take to the water (slowly, that is).  Being that the water ‘round these parts (Northeast) doesn’t quite suck up the thermal energy from the sun until late August, most folks are hesitant to run full force into what can be 50 degree water, lest they turn into icicles upon contact. 

 

So, you see people testing the waters – they’ll put their toes in, then run away.  Later, they’ll stand in the tide for about 20 minutes waiting for their feet to acclimate to the freezing water.  Still later, they’re up to their knees.  And so on and so forth, until, lo and behold, 5 hours later, they’re finally in the ocean. 

 

You often see the same dynamic with people on a weight-loss program.  They start by walking a little to up their exercise.  Then, they’ll cut out all sugary drinks.  Then, after that, they’ll eliminate processed junk like cookies and Twinkies.  Still later, they start jogging a couple of times a week.  Months later, perhaps they’ve purchased a set of weights and started cutting out starchy carbs from their diet.  And so on and so forth…

 

What these people mistakenly assume is that the “pain” of the shock is the same whether you choose to wade in or dive in.  You still have to cross the exact same threshold of discomfort; you can choose to do it all at once or drag it out into little bits over extended time, but eventually you’ll get to the same point.

 

Dead wrong.  Fat loss doesn’t work this way.  If you try to do it little by little, it will never get done.  You are almost guaranteed to fail.  Why?

 

Because achieving success on a weight loss program is not like slowly wading into the ocean.  It is like bailing out a sinking ship.

 

If your ship springs a leak, and you’re lackadaisical about bailing your boat out, what happens?  You sink – fast, and this is exactly what happens to people who try to break into a weight loss program bit by bit. 

 

There’s so much inertia stacked against you (discouraging “friends”, emotionally-charged food relationships, initial difficulty and discomfort of exercise, general apathy about your appearance, etc.) that your chances of slipping back into your old fat-forming habits are imminent. 

 

Let’s face it – losing fat is a major hurdle.  You need to set yourself up for success by making major changes, so major that you get tangible results in a short span of time, because if you do see results, you’ll be inspired to “keep at it.”

 

In our experience, clients who’ve completely overhauled their lifestyles and jumped into fat loss whole-hog always experience greater, more long-lasting results than clients who try to change a little bit at a time.

 

7. Dieting To Lose Weight

This point is the partner of a previous point I made last week, that only exercising to lose weight is akin to spinning your wheels.  Only dieting to lose fat is even worse. 

 

As Mike discussed in this article, dieting without exercise (and specifically, strength training) only serves to set up the cycle of yo-yo dieting – you lose weight in the short term, only to gain it back and then some!  And each time you do this, it creates a bigger effect, until you’re completely frustrated and farther from your goals than ever.

 

Is proper application of sound nutritional principles absolutely vital to fat loss?  YES.  But can diet alone get you to your goals – and keep you there?  N – O – no.

 

8. Inconsistent Application

To revisit a point from last week, a terrible program consistently executed will get you better results than an ideal program poorly executed.  When talking real-world fat loss, consistent action beats all. 

 

Let me define a little more clearly what consistency means.  Consistency is not “consistently working out every two weeks.”  Consistency is not “eating a salad for lunch everyday.” 

 

Consistency is taking the correct actions every single solitary time you’re presented with the opportunity to do them.  That means it’s not enough to eat properly at breakfast and lunch – dinner counts too, as well as any meals or snacks in-between.  That means you need to give it your all in the weight room each and every time you pick up a dumbbell or barbell.  That means that weekends are not your “off days.”

 

Do you think that your pancreas says to itself, “Now, if it were Tuesday, I’d be pumping a caseload of insulin into the bloodstream right now to assimilate and store those calories from the Coke and popcorn and chocolate, but since it’s Sunday, I’ll just forget about that wonderful fat-storing opportunity.”  Hint – not likely!

 

Consistency does not mean doing the right thing everyday at lunch or dinner.  It means making the best choice every single time.  How did Clarence Bass (Mr. “Ripped” himself) achieve the staggering feat of a 5.5% body fat at age 60?  Easy – he continued doing what he did every single day of his life before he turned 60; he ate and exercised in a manner to achieve ultimate leanness.  Now that’s consistency.

 

 

9. Not Keeping Tabs on Yourself

Okay everyone, repeat after me: “I will write everything down.  I will track my workouts in my workout log.  I will (at least initially) write down every last scrap of food that passes my lips in my food journal.  I will write down my specific goals and refer to them.”

 

Great!  That wasn’t so hard, was it?  Here’s the simple premise behind tracking – “Out of sight; out of mind.”

 

Tracking your progress is instrumental to achieving your goals.  By putting it down on paper, you give your program a life on its own.  No longer is it some amorphous intangible floating around in your brain; it’s a definable metric that can be evaluated. 

 

In other words, you have real, honest feedback as to whether you’re getting somewhere or merely fooling yourself.  You no longer have to rely on if you “feel thinner” or “think your clothes are looser”; you have hard data to substantiate the facts.  You can know you’re making progress.

 

Are your weights getting heavier?

 

Are your measurements this month better than the measurements you took at the beginning of the program?

 

Are you making better food choices this week (based on comparisons with your previous week’s food journal)?

 

Don’t give yourself the “outs.”  Keep tabs on yourself and keep yourself honest.

 

10. Forgetting That You’re a Unique and Special Human Being

Let’s allude to the recipe analogy from last week’s part one again where I compared your fat loss program to a recipe for cake.  I cautioned you that changing the recipe changes the final product (if you substitute silken tofu for cream cheese, well, you’ll get a cake alright, but it sure ain’t going to be cheesecake!). 

 

A good fat loss program is like a recipe in that it is a step-by-step process that, if followed exactly, is guaranteed to cause you to lose fat, because it has already worked for others. 

 

Now, here’s the kicker – whoever said you only have one choice?

 

While it is not okay to make willy-nilly changes in an existing program to suit your likes/dislikes (like eating sweet potatoes during the Induction Phase of Atkins), it is okay (and in fact, we encourage you) to change your routines altogether.

 

We realize that our rapid-fire fat loss techniques are not for everyone.  Not everyone is willing to put in their pound of flesh to make the lifestyle changes required to lose fat using the most efficient methods (a mentor of mine once remarked, “The perfect, most scientifically program is worse than useless if you can’t get a person to follow it.”). 

 

Some people like starchy carbohydrates too much to restrict themselves to the usages that Mike recommends in his article.  Some folks get fits just thinking about lifting weights, no matter how good of an argument we give that weight training is vital for effective fat loss.  That’s okay – there are tons and tons of methods out there that have proven track records and are at least partly science-based. 

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Of course, we can’t help but recommend our own fat loss techniques and strategies for maximum results (a little bias there, we know), but hey, you’ve got to do what “works” for you and your preferences. We only ask that you take this article (both parts) to heart and really, honestly go for it, with whatever program you decide to use.  Avoid those things that most people (innocently) do to sabotage themselves, and give it your 100% dedication, focus, and commitment!

 

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About the Author: Eugene Thong, CSCS, was born a weak, skinny, bespectacled child. Now, thanks to a steady diet of martial arts, scientific inquiry, and heavy compound movements, he's no longer weak.  His scientific bent, Zen-like demeanor, and efficient but intense methods have made him one of New York's most sought-after personal trainers.     When not helping clients cultivate their own inner 6-packs, Eugene can be found arm barring opponents at Renzo Gracie's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Academy or sailing through the air on his snowboard.  Read Eugene's semi-weekly musings on exercise, fitness, and fat loss at his blog Eugene is Mike's co-author of The Black Book of Secrets.  You can purchase it by clicking here.