Speaker 1: 0:02

If you're a whiny snowflake that can't handle the truth, is offended by the word fuck and about 37 uses of it in different forms gets ass hurt. When you hear someone speak the absolute, real and raw truth, you should leave Like right now. This is Shut Up and Choose, the podcast where we cut through the shit and get real about weight loss, life and everything in between. We get into the nitty gritty of making small, smart choices that add up to big results. From what's on your plate to how you approach life's challenges. We'll explore how the simple act of choosing differently can transform your health, your mindset and your entire freaking life. So if you're ready to cut through the bullshit and start making some real changes, then buckle up and shut up, because we're about to choose our way to a healthier, happier life. This is Shut Up and Choose. Let's do this Now. Your host.

Speaker 2: 1:10

Jonathan Ressler. Hey, welcome back to Shut Up and Choose, the podcast that cuts the noise of fat diets, quick fixes and unrealistic weight loss promises. I'm your host, jonathan Ressler, and I'm here to share the brutally honest truth about achieving a sustainable weight loss. As you know, I've lost now over 140 pounds without resorting to any extreme diets or crazy exercise regimens. I just discovered the key to success lies in making small, mindful choices and embracing a balanced lifestyle, and it's all about balance. So join me today, because I'm going to give you the brutally honest truth, and today is going to be especially brutally honest and extra sarcastic and a healthy dose of sarcasm to help you take control of your health and transform your life. So let's get started right now.

Speaker 2: 1:55

So today I'm going to talk about what I talked about last week, which is calorie deficit. I'm shocked at some of the emails I got, with people asking me how to get into a calorie deficit. What do I mean by calorie deficit? I don't know. I just can't imagine that people don't know what that is. But then I started to think about it and the truth is, I didn't really figure out what a calorie deficit was until I was 59 years old, until I started this thing, so I guess, yeah, we all know it by just. It just makes common sense, but we don't really think about it and we don't really do it. So this is going to be about a calorie deficit, and so I want all you kids to gather around because I have some really big news. I discovered the next miracle weight loss breakthrough. That's right. It's healthier than any of those so-called supplements, safer than all the miracle drugs and way easier than the fad diets, ridiculous workout regimens that make you feel like you're training for the Olympics when you just want to fit into your jeans. There's no shortage of idiots and morons on Instagram and all the social media telling you you know you followed my plan and it's, I mean, what a crock of shit. So listen, so if you're ready for this, this is big. This is groundbreaking, earth shattering. It's life-altering. It's a solution. It's something that no one's been talking about, except literally every expert who's ever existed. So give me a little drum roll. It's called the calorie deficit. Yep, the answer to your weight loss problem has been right under your nose. Possibly hiding behind that last slice.

Speaker 2: 3:21

I'm making fun and I'm being sarcastic and I'm being silly, but the truth is, I didn't. I always knew what to do, but I never really knew what to do. You know what I mean. I didn't really think it through, so I know what you're thinking right now. A calabry, what? Well, buckle up, because we're going to take a very sarcastic journey into the one and only way to actually lose weight.

Speaker 2: 3:45

And the funny thing is it's a method that's been around since the dawn of humanity. I mean, here's a spoiler. It's so simple it's almost annoying. I'm pissed off that no one actually just used these words, and it really made me understand what a calorie deficit is.

Speaker 2: 4:01

So wait, I guess you're probably asking yourself why haven't you heard this magical calorie deficit before? Well, the truth is you have. You just didn't want to listen. I didn't want to listen, but I get it. Why would you, when the weight loss industry is out here telling you that you can drop 20 pounds in two weeks by drinking some miracle detox tea that tastes like dog shit? I mean, who needs something as boring as and obvious as, a calorie deficit? That's old news, right? There's no flashy packaging, no celebrity endorsements and no exotic ingredients harvested by monks on a mountaintop Bottom line. Calorie deficit is boring as shit, but despite all those fat diets and weight loss drugs and endless supplements lining the shelves, the only real way to lose weight is a calorie deficit. It always has been and it always will be.

Speaker 2: 4:49

And if you don't believe me, let's break it down. We're going to talk about a whole bunch of stuff and diets and why they don't work, and what they're really doing is putting you into a calorie deficit. So I'm going to talk to you like you're a fucking idiot, because I was an idiot and maybe you are too, even if you don't want to admit it. So here's where I'm going to blow your mind with the world's most basic biology lesson. A calorie deficit happens when you consume fewer calories than your body burns. That's it. No magic powder, no fancy supplements, no vibrating ab belts, those fat things you know that you see on late night commercials. When your body doesn't have enough calories to maintain its current weight, it's forced to dip into its energy reserves, and that's also known as your body fat, and it does that to keep going. And that's when now wait for it you lose weight, you lose fat. It's crazy, right? I know it's so irritatingly simple and straightforward that most people don't believe. That's it.

Speaker 2: 5:48

Why haven't I been doing this my whole life. I mean shit. I know I asked myself that for the last year. Why wasn't I doing this my whole life? The truth is probably because I was too busy chasing after the next quick fix. So if you're doing the same thing, if you're on some fad diet or some crazy workout regimen or some whatever some the latest and greatest fucking fad, don't feel bad. We've all been there. I know I was there for a really really long time.

Speaker 2: 6:15

So if we talk about the weight loss trends and the diets and the pills and the shots that you've been sucked into over the years, I know I did them all. I did every diet on the sun, so you know what I'm talking about. I'm talking about keto, intermittent fasting and juice cleanses, atkins, south Beach, paleo, raw food, caveman cabbage soup diet. I mean, the list goes on and on and on. There's a new one every day and everyone claims to be the answer to your weight loss prayers, but guess what? They all do the exact same thing they get you into a calorie deficit.

Speaker 2: 6:44

So let me just break it down and give you some examples. Keto yes, you're cutting out carbs, but you're also cutting out a ton of calories. That's why it works. And it only works for a while, but it works. The reason it works is because you're eating less. That's it right. So you're in a calorie deficit, intermittent fasting all you're doing there is just shrinking your eating window, which makes it harder to consume a ton of calories. Now, don't challenge me. I could eat 10,000 calories in an hour if you do, but the reality is it makes it harder to eat because you're eating for less time. So congratulations, when you do that, you're in a calorie deficit.

Speaker 2: 7:20

Juice cleanses you know, I love my juice cleanse, but drinking nothing to but kale and beet juice and all that kind of shit for any period of time here's a shocker You're in a calorie deficit. How about the cabbage soup diet? I love talking about that one, because the stench from that is just soul crushing. But if you eat nothing but soup for a week or a month or however long, guess what You're not eating nearly as many calories. What a surprise. You're in a calorie deficit. So you see the trend as many calories. What a surprise. You're in a calorie deficit. So you see the trend.

Speaker 2: 7:57

All of these diets are just elaborate ways to make you eat fewer calories, but instead of admitting that. They throw in some bullshit, science, pseudoscience, some crap at you, telling you that carbs are evil or eating nothing between 8 pm and noon is how cavemen did it. Or that your metabolism is being reset Bullshit. No, it's not. You're eating less calories. None of that matters. All that bullshit. They talk about the caveman diet. It doesn't matter if you're not in a calorie deficit. That's the bottom line. It's so simple. It pisses me off that it took me so long to realize it, but that's where we are. If you're not in a calorie deficit, you're not going to lose weight. Period, end of sentence. There's no other way to lose weight.

Speaker 2: 8:37

And let's not forget about those miracle supplements. You know the ones that promise you you're going to burn fat while you sleep, which you do but it's not them. Or the ones that claim they'll speed up your metabolism so much that you can eat cheeseburgers all day and still lose weight. It's like a fucking dream, right? I mean, I tell you you can eat cheeseburgers. I tell you you can eat what you want, but you can't eat them all day and you can't eat them all night. It's about moderation and small, smart choices, but I hate to break it to you. None of that shit works. My shit works, but the supplements and the pills? The only thing supplements are doing is draining your bank account while you continue to wonder why you're not losing weight. You're not losing weight because that shit doesn't work.

Speaker 2: 9:14

But you want to know why the fat burning pills seem to work for some people? Because there are some people that they seem to work for, because, alongside with taking those pills, they're following a low calorie diet, a calorie deficit. For those who are still not keeping up with me, it's not the pill, it's the fact that they're finally eating less. Most of those supplements are just caffeine and like a little sprinkle of some kind of natural herb shit. That gives you a temporary boost in energy. It might suppress your appetite for an hour or two and it definitely makes you jittery enough to think that something's happening. But really, the only thing melting away is your common sense when you're spending 50 or 100 bucks or even 1200 bucks on something that's less effective than drinking a cup of black coffee and eating less food. It's just, it's crazy.

Speaker 2: 9:59

And of course we know the hottest thing on the market right now is the weight loss drugs. You've seen all the commercials you've heard your friends are talking about. You know people who are on them and they tell you, with just one little shot every week, your fat will magically disappear. But what's really happening there? Bottom line is these drugs either suppress your appetite or block your body's ability to absorb certain calories like fat, so in other words, they force you to eat fewer calories.

Speaker 2: 10:26

Are you starting to see the pattern yet? So sure you could take that shot and trick your body into a calorie deficit, but wouldn't it just be easier and a hell of a lot cheaper to eat less food in the first place? You don't need a fancy drug to tell you how to do what you already know how to do. And of course, with the weight loss drugs, let's not forget about the side effects. If you take those drugs, you might experience nausea, diarrhea or other fun gastrointestinal adventures. I mean, I kind of like that stuff sometimes, but anyway, maybe that's too much information, but that really sounds like fun right? All this just to do with. Your body already knows how to do naturally, which is burn fat when it runs out of excess calories. So it comes down to being in a calorie deficit.

Speaker 2: 11:13

I was, I would say, on at least 100 different fad diets and I can tell you these are the real kind of heavy hitters in the weight loss world. Names alone should make you, like fucking your head explode, like the grapefruit detox and the master cleanse the carnivore diet. I hear so many the master cleanse the carnivore diet. I hear so many people talking about the fucking carnivore diet. And don't get me wrong, I love that diet, I think it's great, but at the end of the day, you know it's really just about a calorie. How about the 30 day banana diet? All of these diets, every one of them and I bought into it every time. They claim to be the secret to weight loss, but you know what they all have in common. Claim to be the secret to weight loss, but you know what they all have in common they're just tricking you into a calorie deficit by making you eat strange and really unsustainable foods that you'll eventually want to chuck out the window. Let's just look at a couple of them. Let's look at the grapefruit diet. Yeah, I mean, eating nothing but grapefruit for every meal is a sustainable way to live your life, right. Sure, you'll lose weight because you're not eating enough to sustain yourself, but the minute you stop, the pounds come back on fast and furious. You can't. That's unsustainable. You're eating less calories so you're going to lose weight, but you can't do that for the rest of your life. You know, I love the cabbage soup diet, because who doesn't want to eat bland cabbage? For a week straight and you'll definitely lose weight and probably some of your friends and your social life because of the stench. But the only reason that you're losing weight is because you're starving yourself on a few hundred calories a day. I'm all about a calorie deficit, but not a few hundred. At 411 pounds, I needed to eat a couple thousand calories to be in a deficit. We, we talked about it. It's basically your weight times 10. So 411 pounds. I really would eat 4,100 calories just to maintain my slim trim 411 pounds. So if I was eating 2,000, I was in a massive deficit. If I was eating like 300, 400, I couldn't fucking sustain life.

Speaker 2: 13:06

Anyway, the carnivore diet, paleo yeah, I loved it, but just meat all the time, every day. Sure, who doesn't love it? But just meat all the time every day. Sure, who doesn't love a good steak? But after a while your digestive system might rebel and the novelty of eating a ribeye for breakfast wears off quickly, plus cutting out entire food groups. You know how I feel about that.

Speaker 2: 13:23

But the bottom line is, on the carnivore, paleo, you're just in a calorie deficit. So in all these diets, the only thing happening is you're eating fewer calories than before. It's not the grapefruit, the cabbage or the meat-only lifestyle that's doing it. The fact that you restricted yourself so much that your calorie intake plummets. Congratulations, you're in a calorie deficit. The thing is, you could have done it without all the weird diets in the first place. The bottom line is your body already knows how to lose weight. Yep, that's what I said. Your body came pre-programmed with all the necessary software to drop the pounds.

Speaker 2: 13:59

When you're in a calorie deficit, this is literally how human beings have survived for millennia. There were no keto diets in the Stone Age, no juice cleanses in the Renaissance and no fat-burning supplements during the Industrial Revolution. People didn't have time to count carbs when they were busy hunting for dinner or avoiding the plague. You know what I mean. This is just because we have more free time on our hands. They come up with these crazy fucking diets.

Speaker 2: 14:25

The concept of a calorie deficit is baked into our biology Bottom line. When food was scarce humans survived by burning their stored fat as energy. When food was plentiful, we stored some for later. That's it. It's the most basic survival mechanism there is, and it's still the same today.

Speaker 2: 14:44

But somewhere along the way, we decided to complicate things. Instead of listening to our bodies, we look for these external solutions, these quick fixes. We want to that quick fix, that magic pill, the easy way out. But here's the thing there is no easy way out. The only way out, and the only way it's always been, is a calorie deficit. So I don't know what else to tell you on that.

Speaker 2: 15:08

This is the part where I get brutally honest. You don't need another diet. You don't need a pill. You don't need a supplement. You don't know what else to tell you on that. This is the part where I get brutally honest. You don't need another diet. You don't need a pill. You don't need a supplement. You don't need a shot that claims to burn fat while you sit on the couch eating ice cream. That doesn't fucking happen. You already know what you need to do, and I'm not advocating counting calories to get into a calorie deficit, because I think counting calories is for fucking jerk-offs. Okay, fucking jerk offs. Okay, you know what to eat. You know that eating oatmeal for breakfast is better than eating fucking Captain Crunch. You don't have to have a master's degree to know that. You know what to eat. And, like I said, don't count calories. Don't make yourself crazy tracking all the calories we talked about that last week. It's almost impossible anyway. You just need to make better, small, smart choices.

Speaker 2: 15:48

So every time you say I've tried everything and nothing worse, what really mean is I've tried a bunch of quick fixes that avoid the one thing I know I need to do, which is eat fewer calories. Everybody knows it. I was guilty of it. I knew I needed to eat fewer calories, but yeah, I would. I have a salad with a fucking gallon of dressing on and all kinds of crazy shit. So stop making the excuses. If you're not losing, it's because you're not in a calorie deficit. It's plain and simple. There's no mystery. There is no my body's different or I have this special. No bullshit. This is basic biology. So here's the truth. Your body knows what to do. It's programmed to burn fat when it doesn't have enough calories. The problem is, most people don't like the idea of eating less or making small, smart choices. They want the results without the work, but that's just not how it works.

Speaker 2: 16:40

So I talked about this a little bit last week in the podcast, but I guess I need to talk about it again, because how do you get into a calorie deficit? I don't know that when I started this thing, I was thinking of a calorie deficit, but I was definitely thinking about what I was putting in my mouth and thinking is this really in line with my why? Is eating this ice cream going to help me get to where I want to be? And when the answer was no, I didn't eat that and I ate something that I just inherently knew. I didn't need to go look at a book or look at some fucking app to know that eating fruit was better for me than eating ice cream. So how do you do it? How do you embrace the simple, boring truth of weight loss and weight loss is fucking boring.

Speaker 2: 17:19

I said it's an ugly, twisty, windy road, but here's some tips that can actually help you get into a calorie deficit without making it any more complicated than it needs to be. You don't need to cut out fucking food groups and you don't need to do all kinds of crazy shit. Here's one Eat less food. I know that's fucking shocking, but the easiest way to get into a calorie deficit is to eat less than you normally do. And I'm not telling you don't eat. I'm not Fuck that, but don't have the second one.

Speaker 2: 17:46

I was always of the mindset that if I could have one and I like one, why not get two? That was just the way. I thought Two is definitely better than one. Why have one donut when I can have six? And, speaking of that, put down the candy bar. Okay, that's an easy one. Don't order the large fries. I'm not telling you don't eat fries, get a small fries. You'll go into a calorie deficit. I know that shit sounds radical, but the truth is it just works. I don't know how else to put it.

Speaker 2: 18:14

Second thing you can do is move your body and move it all. I didn't. In my first year of my diet I literally in 2023, I averaged 931 or 932 steps a day. That's literally not getting off my fat ass, barely leaving the house. So it's not that you have to go out and run a marathon or spend hours in the gym. Just move more, right, take a walk, and I guess it was.

Speaker 2: 18:36

I'm not saying I went out for a walk in that first year I didn't, but I was definitely moving more because as I got lighter I could move more. And it doesn't have to be walking or running or anything, or going to the gym and'm dancing around your living room. Stand up every once in a while, get up out of your chair. Moving more just burns more calories, which wait for it helps you create a calorie deficit. I don't know how to make it any simpler. Number the third one for me, and it it wasn't necessarily over the last couple years, but on my journey to becoming a big fat motherfucker. I lived in north carolina for a while and I drank a shitload of this thing called sweet tea, and sweet tea is basically sugar and water with a little bit of tea in it.

Speaker 2: 19:18

So I stopped drinking that and I was, but I was doing okay. But then I definitely drank things like all the sugary iced teas and all that crazy shit and we talked about coffee last week. So stop drinking that sugary lattes, those sugary coffee drinks and the sodas. They're literally adding hundreds of calories to your day, maybe even thousands, depending on what you're drinking. So try to stick to water. I've learned to drink water. I enjoy water probably more than anything else black coffee or even unsweet tea. Your waistline will thank you and it's going to help you get into that calorie deficit.

Speaker 2: 19:50

Now I know a lot of people talk about diet soda and they say, oh, diet soda causes cancer. Don't drink soda myself. I don't drink diet soda myself, but I would defy you to show me any study that definitively says, if you drink a couple, two, three, four diet sodas a day, how it even is marginally close to the line where it would get you sick or cause cancer. You would have to drink cases and cases of diet soda every single day for 20 to 30 years for it to do anything bad to you. So if you need that diet soda, by all means drink it. I would tell you don't drink it. Train yourself to drink water because, again, I know diet soda has no calories. But the more water you drink, the quicker you'll go into a calorie deficit and the more full you'll feel. So all this to say, get your fat ass into a calorie deficit.

Speaker 2: 20:47

The next one is eat real food. You know what I mean, Like shit that doesn't come in a shiny package or with a list of ingredients that you can't pronounce. I'm not saying don't feed your soul every now and then. I'm not saying don't eat some shit here and there, because that's called fucking life. You have to do that. But try to stick to vegetables and fruits and lean proteins and whole grains. They're going to fill you up without adding a ton of unnecessary calories. You could eat a shitload of food that's just not calorie dense and you could be full on very few calories. I guarantee you that if you eat a bag of carrots I don't know 5 or 10, 20, whatever of those little carrots or a bag of chips, you're going to have the same feeling of being satisfied with maybe one, one hundredth of the calories. Ok, so eat real food.

Speaker 2: 21:40

The next one and the last tip I'm going to give you stop fucking believing in magic. If it sounds too good to be true, it is. There's no magic diet, there's no miracle shot and there's no secret supplement that will let you eat all the junk food you want to and still lose weight. You know what you need to do. You're just avoiding it because it's not sexy or exciting. So here's a big spoiler.

Speaker 2: 22:04

Weight loss isn't supposed to be exciting. It's supposed to be simple and effective, and you know that I say eat junk food, eat the shit that you want and you should. That's what the whole living like a normal fucking person and not having a diet take over your life is about. So, yes, you can eat that, but you have to eat it in moderation. You have to think before you put anything and everything in your mouth. I would never tell you don't eat ice cream and don't eat donuts, because that's what normal people do, but just don't eat too many of them. Don't eat them with reckless abandon like I did. That's the bottom line. So look, I get it.

Speaker 2: 22:41

Everybody wants a quick fix. We want that magic shot or pill that lets us lose weight without changing anything in our lifestyle, but that's again just not how it works. It just doesn't work that way. You have to change your lifestyle. I'm not saying have it take over your life, but make small, smart choices. Those little things, those little wins that add up every day, because the only way to lose weight is to consume fewer calories than you burn. That's it. No gimmicks, no fads, no supplement, just a simple calorie deficit. That's it. So next time you're thinking about trying the latest fad diet or spending a thousand bucks on some fat burning supplement or crazy ass regimen of shots, remember this. You don't need it. You already have the solution and it's been there all along. It's called a calorie deficit. It's free, it works and your body already knows how to do it. Now stop making excuses and shut up and choose to do what you've always known how to do. This is about choices. The choices you make put you where you are today, and the choices you make, starting now, will put you where you want to be tomorrow. This all comes down to choice and it all comes down to a calorie deficit. So that's it.

Speaker 2: 24:06

I hope I'm clearer on what a calorie deficit is. Like I said, we all know it. We come pre-programmed with that in our head and in our body. Sometimes we just choose to ignore it or sometimes we make believe we don't understand it, but, like I said, at the end of the day, you know eating oatmeal for breakfast is better than eating Captain Crunch. You know that eating grilled chicken is better than eating a double cheeseburger. We all know that you have to make the small, smart choices that allow you to eat all the things that you like to eat. It's pretty simple. I don't want to overcomplicate it. If you don't understand this, you might need to go back to first grade or kindergarten, because it's that fucking simple, All right. So, anyway, if you want to learn more about that, check out my book on Amazon, which is called shut up and choose.

Speaker 2: 24:54

As I said last week, we've reached bestseller status on Amazon, which is pretty cool. I get I don't know two to three reviews a week. I get emails Maybe next week I'll read an email again, or two. It's really exciting to know that my journey A, that what I'm telling people works, actually works, because people have literally had probably I don't know over 100 people tell me that it's the first time that the weight is coming off for them and they're not torturing themselves. They're actually living their lives. So I really think that's important. It's really gratifying to know that that's happening. So everybody, that's important. It's really gratifying to know that that's happening. So everybody that's written me an email or thank you, everybody that's written a review, thank you. I hope that we can help a lot of people get rid of all this crazy shit that they're doing. Just know that your body knows how to do this.

Speaker 2: 25:44

I also want to talk about my online video course that I launched. It's called Live Life, Love Food, Lose Weight. You can learn about that at learnshutupandchoosecom. I have a nine-minute video there that'll tell you all about the program and whatever, and you know what. This is my podcast, so I'm promoting my shit.

Speaker 2: 25:58

If you don't like that, oh well, don't listen. But for those of you that need to listen, and if you take one thing away from this podcast every week, you're doing something great. If you know somebody that needs to lose some weight, tell them to listen to my podcast. It's free, it doesn't cost a dime. I try to give out information that makes sense, that's easy to do and debunks all the bullshit that's out there that you're seeing on pretty much every single media source under the sun. Buy this, do that? No, fuck that. Just get yourself into a calorie deficit. So, at the end of the day, it all comes down to your choices the choices that you make and the choices that you don't make. I'm hoping that you continue or start to, depending on where you are make more small, smart choices, because the choice is yours. So now the only thing left to do is shut up and choose.

Speaker 1: 26:50

You've been listening to shut up and choose. Jonathan's passion is to share his journey of shedding 130 pounds in less than a year without any of the usual gimmicks no diets, no pills. And we'll let you in on a little secret no fucking gym. And guess what? You can do it too. We hope you enjoyed the show. We had a fucking blast. If you did, make sure to like, rate and review. We'll be back soon, but in the meantime, find Jonathan on Instagram at JonathanWrestlerBocaRaton. Until next time, shut up and choose.