Shedding Weights Inside and Out By

Introduction: What’s the Secret? I have lost and gained weight my entire life, always promising myself that this time, I would keep it off; but I never did until now. Since 2014 I have lost 113 Lbs., and trimmed 17 inches from my waist. I am also maintaining my weight and I am in the best shape of my life! What’s the difference now? Well, that’s my story that I am delighted to share with you. People ask me all the time, “What’s your secret?” They often looking for a quick fix and really are wondering, Will this diet work for me too? I get it! You say, “How do you know that?” Because I used to ask people the same question for years with the same goal of quick answers, fast acting and long lasting relief. I too was looking for the magic pill, powder, potion and powerful antidote to being fat. “What’s your secret” is probably the daunting question you’re asking and why you have picked up this book. If you are like me, we have grown weary over the years of losing and gaining weight and frankly we want help. We sometimes feel inadequate because we don’t believe we have the special knowledge or secret answer and we look for it like buried treasure. When we see someone having success with maintained weight loss, we have a tendency to compare their current success with our current failure. So we want what “they have” and what we don’t have. Usually we are looking for the bite size answer. I totally resonate with this. However, simple, quick, bite size answers do not represent reality and to be honest there are no quick and easy answers to weight loss or keeping it off. I would be cautions of anyone who says there is. At this time you may be thinking to yourself, “This is odd. He is trying to offer me something and says up front it isn’t quick and easy.” This is odd sounding because we have become so accustom to quick and easy schemes. I am being honest and transparent with you; there are no easy answers in life. There is a slick sales person on every corner, including the super market aisle and an array of advertisements; they all promise quick and easy results. Yes, this is what gets our attention! But, how has that worked for you so far? It hasn’t worked well for you, has it? I will say upfront; I offer no pills, potions or powders and THERE IS NO SALES PITCH AT THE END. How many times have you read a headline or social media feed to come to the end of the article for the big sales pitch? Yes, you and I know this racket. There is a call to action in this book; if there wasn’t one I would only be offering you theory. But, theory needs application that actually works and brings real transformation. The opportunities that I present throughout this book help people change lives. I do this without gimmicks! If this sounds like another empty promise and too good to be true, I understand why you might think so. This is not a joke or gimmick! In the second section of this book I will lay out a plan but it is unlike anything you have seen and certainly not what you are used to! While I do not offer bite size answers, I will give you better and real answers. I do not provide simple answers but in the end truly satisfying answers. For my fellow quick fixers and diet seekers, I am sorry to disappoint. What you may have wanted to find in this book is not here. BUT, (don’t close the book), what I am delighted to be able to give you is what has worked for me and others. Instead of offering quick fixes, I offer you, the road less traveled, the road most resisted. I offer you real answers! This short work could be a life changer for you. I know that what I am writing changed my life; I lived it and as a result of it, I have designed this practice. This is my testimony and I have full confidence that it can be yours too. Chapter 2: Shedding Weight Meant Shedding the Stupid Suit: A conversation with myself! All my life I believed that I was stupid and I believed that everyone around me knew that I was stupid. This unfounded belief became my negative internal stressor that weighed me down and kept me fat. When this lie was lifted, I, in turn, experienced a profound internal change followed by a tremendous and lasting external weight loss. I had come to realize that my External Weight was, for me, my Stupid Suit and I determined that I no longer needed to wear it, because I was not and I am not stupid. You see, the vision I had of myself was of being “stupid.” I also envisioned that stupid can’t have an attractive package or body. So, while I wanted to shed the stubborn fat that I had lost and gained all my life, I had something much deeper and much more stubborn. The deep seated emotional and spiritual baggage was a cancerous pit that lived within me and defined me. For me, being stupid was equated with being fat. That’s what I always heard; you’re “fat and stupid.” The bullies and “kids-being-kid’s” painful words stuck deep and long. If you think about it, it makes sense. Have you ever heard or even thought of the joining words like “fat and pretty” or “fat and smart” or “thin and stupid?” NOPE! Such words don’t belong together. There are core feelings and emotions tied to the words, “fat” and “stupid.” For me, they went hand in hand. In my psyche and in my body, they became inseparable. My deep mentality was, “If I am stupid, I might as well be fat!” This is why I put on weight year after year, season after season. In my mind I thought I was “fat and stupid” and over the years my body caught up. Throughout my life the core belief that I was stupid grew and so did my body. Each season of life this belief took root more deeply, and then as life went on, I believed it was being confirmed, and I created a lifestyle of eating that became all consuming. Not only is this how I gained weight steadily over the years, but this is also exactly how I eventually lost weight and am keeping it off! When I realized I was not stupid, it only made sense to lose weight and keep it off! It only made sense to shed the stupid suit. My conclusion was, “if I no longer believe that I am stupid, I do not need to look stupid.” I was ready to lose my “Stupid Suit.” This was a powerful awakening that shook me to the core. I will never forget the place and moment in time when that occurred for me and I had that a life altering conversation with myself, literally.