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, jonathan Ressler.

Welcome back to Shut Up and Choose the podcast where we cut the noise and the nonsense of the diet industry and all those online gurus that throw it at you. I'm your host, jonathan Ressler, and I'm going to give you a little dose of sarcasm today, a little dose of reality, a little bit more sarcasm and all kinds of good stuff like that Remember, don't eat meat, or do eat meat or eggs are going to kill you, or eggs are great for you.

There's so much noise out there. It's ridiculous and, as we know, it's January and everybody's back making their New Year's resolutions, talking about all the things they're going to do. How New Year knew me. All that same old nonsense. But before I get into that, let me tell you. First I have to apologize. This is my first podcast of 2025. Unfortunately, I didn't record last week because my 89-year-old mother fell down and broke her hip and her shoulder, so I was kind of distracted dealing with all that. But hey, I'm here, I'm back. It's 2025.

And it's January and it's the same old story every year in January right, this month rolls around. Gyms fill up with people eager to tackle their New Year's resolutions. The first few weeks are filled with enthusiasm, all that great new gear that you buy and a ton of optimistic plans that are going to finally get you in shape and finally get you to lose that weight. And, by the way, before I decided I fucking hate the gym, I made those same resolutions and went into the gym all excited. This year is going to be different and it never is. You know that. Then comes Quitter's Day. Quitter's Day is the second Friday in January. I did it this year. It's going to be different, and it never is. You know that. Then comes Quitter's Day. Quitter's Day is the second Friday in January. It's when 80% of people abandon their resolutions. That's not something that I just made up. That's a fact. You can go out there and Google it Did. Gym crowds thin out after the second week of January. Your motivation wanes and the same patterns of frustration and guilt and all those bad habits just creep right back in. If that sounds familiar, believe me, you're not alone. The problem isn't just the gym or even your resolution. The problem is trying to fix the external habits without addressing the internal mindset that drives your choices. The truth is, lasting change doesn't start with a membership card or a diet plan. It starts with how you think. So today I want to explore why mindset is the foundation of successful weight loss and sustainable weight loss. It's the psychology behind why resolutions fail and how to avoid becoming a quitter's day statistic. This year, see, I didn't make any resolutions, so quitter's day doesn't really affect me. But, like I said, the second Friday in January is known as Quitter's Day and it's become a reminder of how fleeting your motivation can actually be. Despite everyone's best intentions I mean myself included most people quit their resolutions within two weeks. And why does that happen? I think the first reason is because people set these unrealistic expectations. So everybody, myself included but this year I didn't make any resolutions. So I'm not included. This year, but every other year your resolutions are overly ambitious, like committing to go to the gym every day or cutting out all sugar and carbs overnight, and those extreme changes are not only difficult to sustain, but they're ridiculous and they're impossible when life gets busy or the novelty of doing those things wears off. And the second part of that is a total lack of preparation for these big changes that you're about to make. So signing up for a gym feels like action, right, like I've got to take action. This year I'm going to join the gym, but without a clear plan, that action quickly fizzles out and you don't go to the gym anymore. A lot of people show up to the gym without knowing what exercises to do Again, myself included. I'm just not a gym guy. I had to go to the gym and do certain exercises when I was playing football, but after that I don't know the exercises to do and most people don't know how to structure a routine or how to even make the habit stick. And the third and probably most important piece is you're ignoring the mindset piece when you make that resolution right. So most resolutions focus on what you'll do Exercise more, eat healthier, move more but it doesn't focus on the why you've struggled in the past and how to overcome those obstacles. So without addressing the underlying habits and the emotional triggers and limiting beliefs, the new routine is destined to fail to stick. It's not going to work out. The lesson here is quitter's day isn't just a cautionary tale. It's an opportunity to learn. If 80% of people fail within two weeks, that means success lies in avoiding the common pitfalls that derail really most of the resolutions. And the first thing you have to do is start with your mindset. Your habits and your actions stem from how you think. Joining a gym or starting a diet a traditional diet or a fad diet won't work if your mindset isn't ready to support those changes and you need to focus on small, sustainable steps. So instead of trying to overhaul your entire life in one go like, okay, it's January 1st, I'm changing my life, focus on making one or two manageable changes, for example, like commit to walking 15 minutes a day, or eat vegetables with every meal, or go out for a walk every day. So just make them small and manageable and prepare for the changes. Changes because life is going to throw curveballs it always does. I don't know anybody that doesn't have curveballs in their life, so that could be a stressful day. Cravings, which everybody has, or, if you're a gym person, missed workouts. Acknowledge those realities first and plan how you're going to respond. So, when it comes to weight loss, most people focus on the mechanics of calories in, calories out, workouts and probably even meal planning. Most diets are all about the meal plan, but the truth is your mind drives every decision you make, from what you eat to whether you stick to a new habit. So let's explore three key psychological factors that help shape your success. So let's talk about the first one. The first one and this is the one everyone hates me for it's taking responsibility for where you are. Look, I always say it and people get pissed at me you're fat because you choose to be fat. That's I get it. It's a tough pill to swallow, but it's essential. Where you are today is a result of your choices period. There's no other way. And I'm not only talking about weight loss, I'm talking about financially, emotionally, and where you are today is a direct result of your choices. And I'm not telling you that. It's not about guilt or shame, it's about empowerment. Actually, when you acknowledge that your actions got you here, you also acknowledge that your actions can change your future. And it's hard because it's uncomfortable to confront these past mistakes, these bad choices, or admit where you fell short. I get it. And blaming external factors like, I don't know, your genetics or your parents were fat or you have a slow metabolism. That's all bullshit, but it definitely feels easier. But the truth is, taking responsibility puts you in the driver's seat. It's powerful. You can't control everything, we all know that but you definitely can control your choices moving forward. So the first step in this whole thing is you have to take responsibility for your actions. You're fat because you chose to be fat and you continue to choose to be fat. Here's your chance to make better choices. The second piece is you have to break free from the emotional eating part of this thing. I don't care who you are and what you say. The reality is most people do a fair amount of emotional eating and food. People just naturally use food as a coping mechanism. Eating and food people just naturally use food as a coping mechanism, whether it's stress or boredom, loneliness, sadness that all triggers cravings for comfort food and that leads you to the cycle of emotional eating and then guilt. And the challenge here is emotional eating doesn't just stem from hunger. So just restricting your food or starting a diet won't address the underlying issue. You have to address the underlying issue. So the solution here is identify your emotional triggers. Are you eating because you're stressed or bored or sad? There's a million reasons why you might be emotionally eating. But you have to figure that out and try to find some non-food related ways to cope with those emotions. If you're a journaler, write in your journaler. For me it's I go out and I take a walk and just clear my head, or you could even just call a friend. There's ways we all eat emotionally. It's just a fact. You have to figure out what those triggers are and how to get around them. The third thing is for me, this was a big one. You have to change your inner voice around them. The third thing is for me, this was a big one. You have to change your inner voice. So the way you talk to yourself, like that negative self-talk, like I'm lazy, or I've tried everything, I can't lose weight or I'll lose weight or I can't do this or whatever it is you say to yourself. At that point you're thinking why even try? I know I can't do it, and that erodes your confidence and your motivation. To get this done, you have to change that inner voice. So a critical inner voice keeps you stuck in your old patterns by reinforcing limiting beliefs right, oh, I can't lose weight, I've tried everything, I can't do another, whatever it is, that's all shit that holds you back. So what you have to do is replace those negative thoughts with empowering ones. I know it sounds easy, but for example, you could say, instead of saying I've been on 100 diets before, say I learned what doesn't work and I'm trying again For me, I'm telling you I had been on at least 100 diets and I succeeded on them, but ultimately I failed on every single one of them, and getting on this journey that I'm on now definitely took some positive thoughts in my inner voice. So instead of saying I can't stick to anything, saying I'm building consistency one day at a time, one choice at a time. This is not going to happen for you overnight. This is a journey, it takes time and it may even be a lifetime journey. The reality is you have to change that inner voice. Now let me give you 10 mindset shifts to build better eating habits. So, once you started working on your mindset, the next step, once you get rid of those negative thoughts and you think you're motivated, you think you're ready to go, then the next step is to align your thoughts with actionable habits. So let me give you 10 mindset shifts that are going to help you to build better eating habits. So number one is view food as fuel, not comfort. Food is really meant to nourish your body and give you energy, not to fix your emotions. Again, I'm guilty of doing that for 59 years. But if you sit down and think about it, food is nourishment. So you have to ask yourself am I eating? Because, remember, I say, every time you open your mouth, stop and think and say is this in line with my why? But every time you open your mouth, think am I eating the fuel in my body, am I hungry or just some numb feeling? If it's the numb feeling, if it's because you're bored or you're sad or you're lonely, just stop and think about another way to cope with that feeling, because food is not the way, especially if you're trying to lose weight and get healthy. Number two is you have to and I say this all the time again, you have to celebrate small wins. So every positive choice matters, no matter how small. And that sounds crazy, I get it, but the reality is every good choice you make. Think about hey, you know what, I could have eaten this, but I ate that. Or I could have done this, but I did that. Celebrate those small wins, because this is not something, like I said, that happens overnight and it's something that builds in momentum. It's like compound interest in a bank account. One small choice builds on another small choice builds on another small choice and before you know it, you're really on the way. Focus on your daily wins, like drinking water instead of soda. That's a big one. Or actually, to me, a bigger one is drinking water. Or drinking black coffee instead of one of those morning milkshakes. Like a mocha frappuccino skinny None of it's skinny and none of it's good for you. So maybe it's as small as just switching your morning coffee instead of whatever those things are called. There's so many different names. But instead of a mocha frappuccino with milk and whipped cream and all, just have a black coffee and put some stevia in it if you're craving the sweetness. And also remember this one fact that I made up. So it may not be a fact, but the reality is the longer your Starbucks order, the bigger asshole you are. So make it simple Black coffee with Stevia, please. So the next one. I feel guilty even saying this after the dinner that I just ate, but you have to practice portion control. Vicki just made some kind of beef stew over rice and I did not practice portion control. I can tell you that I'm a little bit nauseous right now, but the truth is you have to practice portion control. And, by the way, I ate more than I would have liked to and I don't feel bad about it at all because I feel no guilt. It's just not a smart choice. But you know what the next choice I make will be a smart one. But anyway, you don't have to eliminate your favorite foods. You can eat anything you want. You just have to enjoy them in moderation. A really smart way to actually practice portion control is you can use smaller plates, which I have done many, many, many, many times, because your mind definitely gets fooled and thinks that even if you're using a small plate, it feels like the plate is full and you eat less. I didn't do that tonight. Like I said, I'm a little bit nauseous. You can measure your portions, which I really don't do. I don't weigh or do anything. You know what to eat. So if you're like you really want to get technical, sure, measure your portions. If you're like you really want to get technical, sure, measure your portions. But most importantly, you have to eat mindfully. That means thinking about everything you're eating, how much you're eating and why you're eating it. So you really have to think before you open your mouth. All right, the next one I work on this every single day and I still definitely cannot get it right, but sometimes I get it right and sometimes I actually don't. But the next one is slow down when you're eating. I eat fast, I've always eaten fast. This is growing up in a house with two other brothers and a father. We all ate and if you didn't eat quickly, you didn't eat, and I need to get past that. So I'm working on that every single day. So, eating quickly. When you eat too fast, you don't really hear the cues, you don't feel the cues, you don't know that you're full. It definitely leads to overeating because your brain doesn't really have time to register the fullness. And what I should do and I do it sometimes, every now and again, and I need to do it more is put your fork down between bites and chew everything thoroughly, two things that I really don't do. I literally have to mindfully think about putting my fork or my spoon down and I have to think to myself chew more, and that helps you to savor every bite and it really keeps you from overeating. The next thing you can do is plan ahead. I'm not a big planner, but I do find that unplanned meals definitely lead to poor choices. When I say I don't plan, I think about what I'm going to eat during the day, perhaps, and what I want to eat for dinner. But if it's just you're going by the seat of your pants and you're on the fly, that definitely leads to poor choices. So if you're a meal prepper, go ahead and prep your meals. I don't believe in meal prepping, but I also don't think that it's a terrible thing. If you like to prep your meals, go ahead and prep your meals for the week, or I do like to keep healthy snacks around to avoid me going to eat convenience food, to eat McDonald's, to get some shit. That's really bad for you. So, yes, if you're a meal prepper, if you love doing that, by all means prep your meals. Regardless of whether you prep or you don't, make sure you're eating the right things and, by the way, the right things are with the food that you like. Don't let anybody tell you that quinoa and kale and salad, that's all you can eat, because that's fucking bullshit. You can eat steak and eggs and, yes, you can even eat ice cream and cake, whatever it is you want to eat. As long as you listen to the point two above this, which was eat in moderation, don't eat too much. You can eat all the things that you like to eat, just make sure that you don't eat too much of it. So the next one I do this all the time, this is an important one is embrace progress over perfection. Right, one off meal in a day isn't going to ruin your progress. Like I just told you, I just ate like a fucking animal for dinner. I'm full, I'm borderline nauseous, but I know that's not going to kill my entire journey, everything that I've worked on for the last year and a half. I know it was a bad choice and I'm good with that, because every now and then you got to feed your soul. But so just remember that you have to embrace progress over perfection, and when you focus on that consistency and not perfection, it allows you to not only acknowledge your slip-ups but actually keep moving forward, and moving forward with some motion. If you just eat on a diet, if you just eat your whatever diet you're on, you're on the paleo and you never eat a potato and you never eat bread and you never eat a carb, sooner or later you're going to slip up. Sooner or later you're going to fuck up. Sooner or later you're going to crave it. So don't worry about that. Focus on consistency and not perfection. The next one is you have to learn how to say no, and this is a tough one, because social pressure can definitely derail your goals if you let it. If everyone says, come on, we'll go out for ice cream, come on, let's go have a few beers, it's easy to fall. Say yeah, why not? And it's okay again to do that sometimes. Don't fall prey to the social pressure. I guess sometimes you just have to politely decline food or drink that doesn't align with your goals. It doesn't make you a bad person for saying you know what I really don't want to go out for ice cream right now. And you know what, if I come, I know I'm probably going to eat it, so I'm going to stay home or whatever it is. Whatever the thing, no, I really don't want. I don't want to drink right now. Yeah, just do that. Just literally learn to say no. It's a tough thing for people to do, it was a tough thing for me to do, but it's something that you really need to do. And when we're talking about water, the next one is drink more water. I don't know how to stress this any more than I stress it pretty much in every single episode of my podcast. You have to drink more water for a lot of reasons. The first reason is that thirst is often mistaken for hunger. A lot of times, when you think you're hungry, you're really just thirsty. I read some stat that, like 80% of the world and I'm not talking about other developed nations 80% of the United States walks around in a constant state of dehydration. So force yourself to drink water. I drink at least a gallon of water every day. I spend a lot of time in the bathroom, although less time. The more time that goes by, the longer I drink that much more the less time I spend in the bathroom. But the reality is, the more water you drink, the healthier you're going to be. So one easy thing that I definitely do and I found that it's actually even better for your body to do this is start every day with a glass of water and try to drink. I used to get up and the first thing I would do is get something to eat and then I would drink some coffee, and I found out that if you start your day like, your brain wakes up dehydrated. So if you start your day with a drink of water, with a big glass of water and when I say big glass I mean like 16 ounces of water and then wait I don't know 15, 20 minutes and have your meal or have your coffee or do whatever, you'll be amazed at how much better you feel for the entire day. So again, I'm going to stress again drink more water. You can't drink too much water. I know there's assholes out there that tell you you're going to get water toxicity. If you get water toxicity, it would be a I don't know how much water you would have to drink. Don't know how much water you would have to drink. You'd have to probably drink like 10 gallons of water a day. I promise you you're not going to get water toxicity. Drink more water. Another big one is remove the temptations from your house, from your apartment, from your office, wherever you are. If you know that certain foods trigger overeating, like for me, if I'm eating candy, I can't stop with just a couple pieces, I'm just going to go. I'm going to try to set a record. I try not to keep any candy around. I'm not telling you I don't ever eat candy because I do but try to remove temptations from wherever you are. That means basically creating an environment that supports your goals by stocking your home with healthy options. Right, if you love to crunch on something, I love to crunch on potato chips and tortilla chips and all that shit, I find that carrots, those little baby carrots, the peel baby carrots, they're great, they're crunchy, they taste great and they're a great substitute. Plus, they're healthy as hell. And the last one, the next mindset shift that you must, must make is be kind to yourself okay, mistakes are part of the process. Nobody does it without fucking up. Sometimes it's not possible. If you make a mistake, if you eat too much, if you go out and eat a gallon of ice cream, it's okay, you didn't blow anything, you just made a bad choice. You can start again with the next choice and make the next choice a smart choice. So, I guess, treat yourself with that same kindness that you show a friend who made a mistake. Focus on the bigger picture and then just keep moving forward. You can make any choice you want. As long as you make more good choices than bad choices, I guarantee you that you will succeed. I'm not saying you're going to succeed in two weeks or two months. Well, again, it depends on how much weight you have to lose. But over time, if you make more smart choices than not so smart choices, you will succeed. Okay, so here's a little bonus mindset shift you can make. Don't join the fucking gym this week. Don't Save your money. Save yourself all the disappointment of failure. Joining the gym or starting a new eating regimen without addressing your mindset is like building a house on a shaky foundation. Right, it might hold up for a little while, but eventually it's going to collapse. So there's no reason to join the gym. There's no reason to start some extreme diet, some fad diet, until you have your mindset in the right place. The key to lasting change lies in understanding the psychology, understanding your own psychology, taking responsibility for your current situation and making small, consistent mindset shifts. It's consistency. You have to do it consistently and I didn't say perfectly, I said consistently. So this year, don't let Quitter's Day define you. Instead, focus on sustainable habits and a mindset that supports your long-term success. Remember that meaningful change doesn't come from the gym or a gym membership or a meal plan. It comes from transforming the way that you think. I can't stress this enough that the power to make the change is in your hands. You made the choices that got you to where you are today and that gives you the power to make better choices moving forward. Like I said, the power is in your hands and you should get started right now. All right, so that's my kind of thoughts on the gym and some of the mindset and psychology that goes along with weight loss. If you want to learn more about the way I think, about my journey, about how I lost now over 140 pounds while eating the foods that I loved, didn't set a fucking foot inside the gym. Not one minute did I waste in the gym. Because, again, weight loss is done in the kitchen, right, it's not done in the gym. You can't burn enough calories. You know the old saying you can't out-exercise a bad diet. You can't burn enough calories. You know the old saying you can't out-exercise a bad diet, you can't. It's not possible. So when you get your head right and you start eating right, then maybe join the gym. I probably won't, although lately, honestly, I have been thinking that I would join the gym. But if you want to learn more about how I did all this and how great reviews got all five a couple of four stars, but mostly all five star reviews I get emails every day from people telling me how it's changed their life, how it made losing weight easy. People go nuts when I say it's easy. But fucking, losing weight is easy. It's easy and it's simple If you don't overcomplicate things, if you don't listen to those assholes online telling you don't eat this, don't do that, fuck that. It's easy and it's simple. I also have a video course called Live Life, love Food, lose Weight. You can get that video course learnshutupandchoose. That's learnshutupandchoosecom. It's made up of 23 videos. They're all five minutes or less and they really dive deep into the mindset and all the things that I did and the things that I consistently do along my journey. Again, you can get that at learnshutupandchoose. That kind of brings this podcast to an end for the day. You know what to do. You need to change the way you think if you want sustainable weight loss. So now really, the only thing left to do is shut up and choose.

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.