The following post is a rant. It’s meant for those who make excuses or who think they can’t live without bread, pasta, carbs, or sugar. I’m warning you now: I’m not pulling any punches on this one and will likely hurt someone’s feelings.

---

The biggest complaint I hear from people who want to get healthy or lose weight but never get around to it is that while they really want to do it, they just can’t seem to get around not eating sugar, carbs, beans, or grains anymore. They can’t imagine life without their bread or pasta. How can they eat chili without beans? A life without cake?

I get it. I was there. I know the excuses; I used them all. But at some point, the excuses need to end and you need to get serious and stop fooling yourself. Here is where my Marine Corps mindset comes into play. (Remember, I warned you.)

Suck it up, buttercup, and do whatever it takes.

If you want to get healthy and lose weight, there are some things you’re going to have to give up. There’s no way around it. Anything short of 100% effort is setting yourself up for failure. If you’re not going to commit fully, why lie to yourself and everyone else and even try? Why not just forget getting healthy? Go ahead and eat all the foods you want, but make sure your will is written, witnessed, and notarized as proscribed in your state, because if you’re not going to set your mind to it and do everything in your power to succeed, you’re wasting your time and the time of everyone around you and you will likely pay for it with your life.

It’s harsh, cold, and unfortunately, the truth.

I get it; it’s hard. Sugar addiction is powerful. I had it, and I know others who are going through kicking it, and they are having a hard time with. Sometimes, we stumble and fall and eat something bad. That’s not what I’m talking about here. What I’m talking about is people who want to get healthy but won’t do the work. They want to lose weight but are constantly looking for the easy way to do it without giving anything up. Well, guess what? There’s no such thing, and there never will be.

Eating right is the only way to lose weight and be healthy.

You can’t eat all the crap you want and exercise it away. You can get strong, but you won’t get lean and your body will be hurting on the inside. You can’t eat bad foods and expect to eat well for one or two meals a day while ignoring that one meal with all the carbs and sugar.

If this offends you, maybe you really need to take a look at your priorities and decide for yourself if this is something you want. Do you want to take back your health? Do you want to be active and have more energy? Do you miss doing active things with your friends? Do you not want to feel embarrassed when you go outside, to the mall, or to a restaurant? Do you want to travel on a plane without having to ask for the extra belt? Do you want to see your children grow up, or maybe your grandchildren and be able to play with them and pass on the wisdom you learned from your grandparents?

If the answer to any of those questions is yes, then stop fooling yourself, realize that change isn’t easy, and that dedicating yourself to a healthy lifestyle is necessary. The good news is that it doesn’t have to make your life miserable. There are a lot of foods that are good for you that are delicious, and no, I don’t mean kale, baked chicken, and salad. I eat a multitude of amazing and delicious foods that allow me to feel full and are good for my body. For a good set of recipes, I recommend you look at my wife’s blog where she posts the most delicious recipes of foods we’ve personally made and enjoyed. The down side to eating healthy is the preparation time and planning, but that’s it. You don’t need to run 100 miles a week. You don’t need to do videos. You don’t need to pay me or buy pills, vitamins or products. You can do all that stuff if you want to, and some say it may even help them, but I didn’t. I can only speak from my own experience, and my experience has been just eating right.

I don’t want you to hurt inside anymore. I don’t want you to feel embarrassed in your own skin like I used to be. I want you to live the life you want to live, on your own terms, and with delicious and healthy foods. Make the decision to commit to the change in your life. It’s so worth it. I know bread is delicious. Cocaine is amazing to those hooked on it, too. But it doesn’t make it good for us.

I am not using any super powers to succeed at my weight loss, nor am I using any mind control tricks on myself to keep from eating foods that are not Paleo compliant. I use the same tools you have: delayed gratification. Do you have a college degree? A certification? A trade, skill, or career that took more than a few days to earn? Then you know what’s required, and you can do this.

Short-term gratification (eating foods that are bad for your health) versus long-term gratification of living a longer, healthy life at a weight that doesn’t limit you. The choice is up to you. The fee is commitment, some time and effort, and ultimately, giving up some tasty things that do far more harm to you than good. If you want to go for it, do it with all your heart. Anything less is cheating yourself. You owe it to yourself to give it your all.

I am tempted to apologize for the tone of this post, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Some people learn through love while others learn from harsh reality and pain. I said in my very first post on this blog that I won’t sugarcoat any of my advice or my thoughts. While I try to be congenial and tactful, there comes a time when the only way the truth can get through to someone is to be blunt.

If you have questions, need answers, or just someone to bounce some ideas off of, feel free to email or message me. I really want to help. But do yourself a favor, and get your head in the game and really commit to the lifestyle changes necessary to make this work forever. There is no quick fix, and there is no short-term diet that will get you skinny and then keep you that way.

This post is part two. Part one can be found here.