Harsh realities to your weight loss worries
Hello, everyone. So it seems like a lot of you like the podcast the other day replying as if Epictetus was replying from two thousand years ago to the students he was giving lectures to. So a bit of a background again, he would give lectures to his students. He was a stoic philosopher, former slave, crippled, left leg was lame, and yeah, was just one of the toughest guys out there and one of the inspirations behind a lot of things that we use today in psychotherapy. So again, a few common concerns and questions that have come in to me.
Speaker 1:I've told Epictetus, hey buddy, what would you say back to this? And this is what he says. So, you know, if it comes across harshly, is what he would have said two thousand years ago. This is not what I'm saying, but I think it's good advice. So the first one, and these are also common stuff I hear guys, it's not just like, picking someone out, there's not like one unique question, it's like this is very common, so that's why it's good.
Speaker 1:I've lost nothing. I think the calories are too high. I have not been motivated to track for the last couple of weeks because the scale is going nowhere. Epic Eaters. You say you have lost nothing, yet you have lost discipline.
Speaker 1:You say the calories are too high but offer no proof only your impatience. You say you are not motivated as if the world must first inspire you before you act. No, You have not been wronged by the scale. You have been betrayed by your own thinking. You expected quick results, and when they did not come, you threw down your tools like a child denied a toy.
Speaker 1:What did you imagine? That nature would bow to your timeline? That the body would change in fear of your frustration? The path is long and only the steady walk it to the end. If you believe the calories are too high, then test it.
Speaker 1:Not with complaint, but with observation, reason, and consistency. But if you simply quit, blame the plan, and sit idle, then know this. It is not the method that has failed you but you. There we are. That was nice and powerful.
Speaker 1:Thanks Epictetus. There was another comment I saw as well in the post like that something along the lines of maybe at one point the barcode was down for like five minutes and someone said that they had gone over the calories that day because the barcode went down for five minutes. It's like, guys, we've got to be better than that. We are not there. Come on.
Speaker 1:We have to be better than that. There's no way that is the reason of going over. If you've gone over, you've gone over. There's no problem. I mean, as you know, if you've been listening to this podcast, there is no judgment here.
Speaker 1:We are meeting you where you're at. We are where we're at. This we change. We're not trying to be this crazy alternate universe type of person that we wish to be. We are starting with who we are.
Speaker 1:We love a few drinks maybe, or we love eating certain foods. We snack late at night, maybe we don't have the best sleep, we don't have the discipline of athletes, you know. We don't train six times a week. But does that mean we can't get better? Does that mean we can't be healthy and happy and have the life we deserve?
Speaker 1:I don't know. I think it's foolish to compare like that. So yeah. Yeah. Let's not blame stuff like that.
Speaker 1:Next one. I've been in the calorie deficit for six months but I've not lost anything. Epic Teters. You say you've been in a calorie deficit for six months, and yet you've lost nothing. Then either you are not in a deficit or your understanding of the deficit is flawed.
Speaker 1:Nature is not mocked. The body obeys laws nor feelings. Would you tell the farmer, I have sown seeds for six months, but nothing has grown, and expect him to believe you if the earth is dry and untiled. No. Either you did not sow what you thought or you did not tend it as needed.
Speaker 1:So to here, if there is no change, examine your actions, not your expectations. Are you tracking truly or just believing? Are you measuring carefully? Are you estimating lazily? Are you acting with precision or hiding behind excuses?
Speaker 1:Nature is faithful. The question is, are you? And the thing is you don't have to be perfect on your tracking, but if you are not losing weight over six months, by definition you have not been in the calorie deficit. The good news is if your weight is maintained, whatever you've been doing for six months is maintenance. So you've got at least a really important data set.
Speaker 1:You've got the data set there. Whatever my lifestyle currently is, it is maintenance right now. That's great because you're not gaining. A lot of most people are slowly gaining over time, half a pound a pound a month. That's how people get to the obese and morbidly obese stages.
Speaker 1:They gain one pound a month and it builds up over time. So if you're maintaining, you're not doing that path, but you're maintaining. Now the lifestyle you've had over the last six months, you've got to be honest with yourself. Do I like this lifestyle I've led? Do I like the social life I have?
Speaker 1:Do I like that I can eat this month month of food? And if you say, Scott, I know I really like this lifestyle. It it works for me. And you have a good weight, you feel great, you're getting stronger, then why not stay there? If you say to me, Scott, the lifestyle I'm leading now, I enjoy it but I know I can tighten up a few things I don't need such as I do have a few too many drinks sometimes, sometimes I do tend to eat a bit too much, sometimes when I eat out three times a week I'm having a three course meal.
Speaker 1:I know if I had like maybe just a main, maybe that would help or, you know, my steps are low and my, you know, whatever. Like, you need to you need to decide because you have to make lifestyle modifications to get to a certain weight you want. Okay? So you need to either increase your daily activity or reduce your calories in or a bit of both. And a bit of both works best because it's not so noticeable to do.
Speaker 1:But eventually, start thinking, do I have it in me to go a bit more active? I need a bit less. Or do these kind of social events, do these things I have in my life, do I want to give them up or do I want to reduce them or do I like them? That's up to you to decide. The lifestyle you decide to choose will inevitably equal the type of person you're gonna be, you know, like in terms of how your physique looks.
Speaker 1:That's why it's foolish to look at people who are super shredded with abs, who go to the gym every day for two hours and do a lot of cardio, do a lot of steps, and they got their meals prepped for them with a meal prep company, everything like that, and they've gone okay. It's foolish to compare yourself to them and go, I wish I was them. I wanna do where they are. Well, you'd have to do their lifestyle, and I'm pretty confident that most of you wouldn't want to follow that lifestyle. So you're gonna obtain this fake win.
Speaker 1:This ball do you think is gonna make you happy, but it in fact traps you. So be careful. Okay. Last one. Okay.
Speaker 1:I'm a bit frustrated. I did the first week and then only went down half a pound on average. In fact, I weighed myself and it was the highest all week. Halfway through the week, it seemed to steadily increase. While it's only a few ounces, I feel almost like I'm maintaining rather than losing.
Speaker 1:The steps and calories did not change for me. Does it take a couple of weeks for the app to see if it needs to change your targets? I know it's all not to worry about sugar and fat. I definitely incorporate foods I like and also ice cream a little. I don't really worry about it, but I feel like it's contributed to not losing weight.
Speaker 1:Okay. You stepped on the scale and it showed fluctuation. So what? Did you believe your body would change your command like a servant? Did you think seven days would undo yours?
Speaker 1:You say, I feel like I'm maintaining, but what you feel is not always what is. This is why we practice discipline to rise above feelings and look clearly at reality. A few ounces of change in a few days. This is not failure. It is noise.
Speaker 1:If you were a sailor and saw the sea rise and fall, would you declare the ship is sinking? No. You would watch, measure, correct, and carry on. You say you ate ice cream and food you enjoy. Good.
Speaker 1:Then you are learning how to live, not to suffer. Do you think it was the sweetness that harmed you or your suspicion of it? Fat and sugar are not enemies. Ignorance and impatience are. Trust the process, albeit for weeks, not days.
Speaker 1:Measure your actions, not your anxieties. You have not failed, you have begun and that for many is the hardest part. And to be honest that's a perfect way to end this podcast and I hope you take these wise words with you and do live a day of stoic clarity and yeah stoic clarity I suppose. And yeah just just not like this more stuff get you guys, the amount of times that people say they're stressed and over things that shouldn't matter, you don't want to turn on that stress response for things that don't matter. You really, really don't.
Speaker 1:You've to take this seriously now. I mean, it's up to you how you respond. It's a classic stoic phrase. It's nothing it's not events that disturb you. It's your opinion about them that does, and it's very, very true.
Speaker 1:If you observe in the mind, it is always your opinion about something that takes that you go off the hook with. Okay? Someone cuts in front of you. You think, oh, my god. They should have done.
Speaker 1:I go crazy. But someone else would go, of course, someone's cut in front of me. This is the road, and it's full of idiots. I had to expect it. I'm not gonna lose my head and let them into my inner citadel and ruin my mind today, you know?
Speaker 1:Did nothing bad happen, let it crack on. And that's the kind of mindset we need. But anyway, have a good day. Go strong. No Moozy.
