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, jonathan Ressler.

Speaker 2: 1:13

Welcome back to Shut Up and Choose the podcast that cuts through the noise and the nonsense and all the bullshit that those internet gurus and Instagram influencers are spewing your way. I'm here to hopefully help you cut through that noise and find out what weight loss and sustainable weight loss is really like. I'm your host, jonathan Ressler, and today is a really exciting day for me. I'm reintroducing myself because this is actually the one-year anniversary. I've been podcasting now for one year and this is the one-year anniversary to the day of when I put on my first podcast. I thought a good idea might be to reintroduce myself. So if you're new here, welcome. If you've been rocking with me since the start, well, damn, hey, look at us now. Look at all we've accomplished. So on the very first episode of this podcast, I introduced myself by telling you how I lost 125 pounds naturally, no surgery, no shots, no magic pills, no crazy cult diets, just small, smart choices stacked up day after day. And that first year I was riding high, finally taking control of my life. I talked about my journey, my struggles, the mindset shift that changed everything and, honestly, I was pretty proud of myself man I still am. But now it's two years. In two years since I started this journey, because I started the podcast a year into my journey after I lost that 125 pounds. Now I'm up to a little bit over 140 pounds. But anyway, it's two years in and I'm not just the guy who lost a ton of weight anymore, I'm the guy who kept it off, and that's really kind of an exciting thing. So in the past year of keeping it off and maintaining, I've learned even more. I've stayed consistent, I've evolved, I've challenged myself in new ways, and not just physically but mentally. I've continued to live that lifestyle that I built for myself, without backsliding and I'm not saying I haven't put on a few pounds and taken them off I certainly have but without completely backside, basically without starting over and without falling for the same old diet traps. I've gone deeper into what real sustainable change looks like and I proved to myself and hopefully to you, that this isn't a phase. This is who I am now, and if I can do it, so can you. So today I want to reintroduce myself, not because I'm someone new, but because I've grown, I've changed, I've made progress, and I'm here to share exactly what I learned in year two what worked, what didn't, what I know now that I didn't know then, so let's kind of dive in.

Speaker 2: 3:46

So I started, maxed out, bullshitting myself. I didn't just wake up one day weighing 411 pounds. I got there one bite, one excuse and one bad choice at a time over a lot of years. I was never a skinny guy. I was always overweight from the time I was a little kid. It took me a lot of years to get up to that 411 pound mark and I guess it took me 59 years. So 59, yeah, 59 years.

Speaker 2: 4:15

So I avoided mirrors. I wore oversized shirts, pretend I wasn't gaining weight and to hide how big I was. And I convinced myself I was big, but not that big and I was still healthy. But the truth, I was killing myself slowly with every choice I made, and I knew it. Physically I was exhausted. Walking any distance and when I say distance I'm talking 100 yards was a chore. I avoided stairs like the plague, flying on an airplane, fucking humiliating. My joints hurt, my energy was shot. But worse than the physical pain was the mental weight of carrying around a body that I couldn't stand. I didn't want to go out, I didn't want to be seen, I didn't want to see friends and I definitely didn't want to deal with the shame that came with knowing that I completely let myself go. Like I said, I was a big guy my whole life, but this is the fattest I was. I can't even explain how I looked.

Speaker 2: 5:10

So at that point I had done all the diets keto, intermittent, fasting, whole30, shakes, points, juice cleanser, you name it. I tried it and sure, I would definitely lose weight for a while, but I always gained it back every fucking time. Why? Because the plans, the meal plans, were unsustainable, because I wasn't changing how I thought about food. I was just forcing myself through this restriction until I just couldn't do it anymore. The second I messed up, I was back to binge eating and blaming myself anymore. The second I messed up, I was back to binge eating and blaming myself. The real problem wasn't the food, it was me, my mindset, my habits and my lack of accountability.

Speaker 2: 5:54

So I want to just tell you about the moment that changed everything for me, and it's all about a pink gorilla. I know that sounds crazy, but on April 24th 2023, my 59th birthday, that's when everything shifted. My friend Vicky said she wanted to do something stupid for my birthday. I was in Florida, she was in New Jersey. So she wanted to do something stupid, something that I guess made me laugh because I was not in a great state of mind. I'd just gotten out of the hospital for weight-related issues. Well, whatever, you can read that story in my book. But the next day, while I was sitting in my office on my birthday, a full-grown guy in a pink gorilla suit walked in singing a birthday song to me. It was crazy, it was funny and it was kind of strangely touching.

Speaker 2: 6:37

But then came the moment, the time that I had to take a photo. I had to send Vicky a picture to say thank you, and that's when the panic hit. The gorilla smelled like death. I can't even describe what the gorilla smelled like, but that's a whole other story. But, more importantly, I saw myself in that photo and I couldn't unsee it. I was bloated, I was maxed out. I looked like someone put an air hose up my ass and hit, inflate. I was unrecognizable to myself. Like someone took that air hose, like I said, and inflated me up to almost like cartoon size. I looked like Jabba the Hutt. I can't even describe what I looked like. And I didn't just look overweight, I looked sick and I was sick. But I looked sick and for the first time in a long time I just couldn't deny it anymore.

Speaker 2: 7:23

I tried my best to edit myself out of the photo as much as I could before sending it to her. It wasn't even close. I had to be in the photo. And that photo fucking haunted me. It snapped me out of denial and into a harsh reality check. I guess alcoholics say they hit bottom or people hit bottom. I had hit rock bottom and from that moment forward I knew something had to change. Not a crash diet, not another starting Monday, something real and something permanent. So I chose weight loss surgery.

Speaker 2: 7:55

The moment I saw that photo I started researching bariatric surgery. Maybe this was finally the way, because maybe I just had to let him cut out a chunk of my stomach and be done with it. I found this clinic in Mexico. It was like medical vacation, I think it was called. I was ready to sign up, I even scheduled the date, but deep down something felt I don't know off. I felt like cheating. And I'm not saying that bariatric surgery is cheating. It's necessary for some people, but for me I knew I had what it took to actually do it myself. I just I was looking for a shortcut that would let me lose weight without ever having to face the real reasons that I gained the weight in the first place.

Speaker 2: 8:35

Then I started thinking what if it didn't work? What if I gained the weight back anyway? I've read stories of tons of people who've done bariatric surgery, and they figure out how to eat enough ice cream to put on weight. So was I really ready to trade my freedom for a medical procedure because I didn't trust myself to do it the right way? So that night, after I started thinking all that, I made a deal with myself. I had 30 days before the surgery. I would try and I mean really try to do this on my own. They suggest that you start eating less before the surgery because you're going to eat a lot less after the surgery.

Speaker 2: 9:07

So I said I'm going to try to do this on my own. No gimmicks, no restrictions, just being honest about what I ate, why I ate it and what I could change. And I started making better choices, not perfect ones, but better choices. Small, smart choices, just better ones. I didn't go all in on some fucking crazy diet plan. I just started choosing differently, one decision at a time, and I can tell you I was into it, I was ready to do it and it didn't happen overnight. I didn't wake up the next morning 10 pounds lighter. I did wake up like three or four pounds lighter. I was shocked.

Speaker 2: 9:42

But after a few days of really mindfully eating, so thinking about what I was putting in my mouth, it all started to click for me. I wasn't eating out of boredom or stress nearly as much, and I was paying attention. I was drinking water. I was moving a little bit more. I really couldn't walk, but I just forced myself. Literally, I was taking 931 steps on average a day, and that's barely getting out of bed. But I was trying to push that number up. But slowly but surely, the weight actually started to come off.

Speaker 2: 10:14

Every pound that I lost wasn't just physical, it was emotional. It was, I guess, for me, a layer of shame and guilt and powerlessness that was being stripped away. I couldn't do anything. I was so big I realized I didn't need a coach. I didn't need a fancy app. I didn't need to spend thousands of dollars on shots or pills. What I needed to do was stop fucking lying to myself, to basically to shut up and choose, and that became my mantra. Every time I wanted to make an excuse or delay a decision, I reminded myself shut up and choose. And I kept choosing every single day. So by the time I got around to writing my book Shut Up and Choose, I had already lost 125 pounds.

Speaker 2: 10:59

Naturally, no surgery, no shots, no bullshit, just accountability, mindset and consistent, doable effort. And that first year taught me more than any diet plan ever had. I learned things like motivation is garbage. You don't always feel motivated, you just do it anyway. I learned that small changes matter. One better choice at a time adds up to a huge transformation. You're not going to do it all at once. Small changes really matter. The third thing I learned is mindset is everything. If you don't fix your thinking, no amount of meal plans will help you. No diet will help you. No shots will help you. It'll help you short term, but no amount of bullshit will help you. Mindset is everything.

Speaker 2: 11:48

I learned that food isn't good or bad. All food fits or at least it fit into my diet. It's how much and how often you eat that matter. I told you I fed myself. I ate bad things. People quote unquote call bad like donuts. But food itself isn't good or bad, it's how you eat it and, like I just said, you can feed your soul. You can eat those little treats and still lose weight. Deprive myself of all the things I love would ultimately lead to failure, but joy leads to sustainability.

Speaker 2: 12:16

And the biggest thing that I learned was you don't need to be perfect. You really don't. If you eat 80% of the time, if you eat well, you're going to be just fine, you're going to lose plenty of weight, so you just need to show up consistently. I realized that the problem was never the food. It was my thinking. It was my avoidance, my refusal to own my choices. I always said well, you know I can't make good bullshit. It was the refusal to own my choices. And the moment I stopped outsourcing my responsibility to diets, to influences, to coaches, to miracle solutions, and I took it back, everything changes. So I just want to. I'm giving you a lot of information here and this is going to be a long podcast, but I think it's worth it because again, I want to reintroduce myself to the world here.

Speaker 2: 13:03

I started writing my book in month 11 of my journey and I finished it in two weeks and published it two weeks later. I didn't write the book Shut Up and Choose, because I wanted to be a guru. I'm not a fitness influencer, I'm not a doctor or a trainer. I'm just a regular guy like you who figured out what works and what doesn't. I wrote the book because I know how hopeless it feels to be stuck. I know what it's like to feel like this time won't be any different, and I know how powerful it is when you finally realize you don't need a new diet. You need to stop bullshitting yourself. My readers agreed. I sold thousands of copies and we're still selling strong. We became an Amazon bestseller and I get emails every week from people telling me how I've changed their lives. That is by far the biggest benefit and reward of writing this book. To know that I'm helping other people get out of this hole, get out of this trap of yo-yo dieting, is just so gratifying.

Speaker 2: 14:02

The first year of this journey wasn't about becoming someone else. It was about becoming me again, becoming me. I wasn't trying to be someone. I just wanted to find myself, the version of myself that I always wanted to be Not perfect, not shredded, just healthy, confident and finally in control. And the best part, that was just the beginning. So when I talk about this podcast.

Speaker 2: 14:26

I do this podcast for one reason and it's to cut through the bullshit and tell the truth about weight loss, even when it's uncomfortable Well, it's never really uncomfortable, but especially when it's uncomfortable for other people. Every week I show up, not as a guru, not as a trainer, but as someone who's actually been through it. I know what it's like to feel stuck, defeated and lied to by an industry built on keeping you dependent. Like I said, I've done over 100 diets. I paid my fair share into the diet industry and guess what? After all that, I was still 411 fucking pounds.

Speaker 2: 15:01

The diet and influencer world is a scam, plain and simple. They'll sell you fake perfection, unrealistic bodies and overpriced programs. Because you ever figure this out for yourself, you stop needing them and they can't have that. This podcast is hopefully exposes that and it's also a way of staying accountable to myself and hopefully helping you see what I've come to believe deep in my bones. No one is coming to save you Not your coach, not your calorie tracking app, not that shredded fitness model selling you fat burners. The only person you can truly depend on in this journey is you. That's why every episode tackles some lie, some excuse or some mental roadblock that's holding people back.

Speaker 2: 15:48

My goal isn't to give you another plan. It's to get you in the right frame of mind to finally take control. This is about personal accountability, simple truth and learning how to shut up and choose. But today I want to talk about year two, because losing weight is one thing, keeping it off that's the real game, and now that I'm two years into this journey, I've learned some things. Actually, I've learned a lot of things. So today I want to share 10 of the biggest lessons that I've picked up over the last year. And they're not from a coach, they're not from a plan. They come from living this every single day, and that's more credible than any fucking influencer or any guy that's shown you his ripped fucking abs. That motherfucker never had to lose a pound. Okay, so let's get into it. Number one is you can maintain success without obsessing.

Speaker 2: 16:47

In year one, for me, everything felt new. The weight was coming off fast, the winds were big and the momentum kept me moving forward. There was some motivation, adrenaline and that intoxicating feeling of progress. But let's be honest, that first year is still part of the honeymoon phase. I was laser focused, pretty obsessed, hopefully in a good way and everything revolved around change. That's fine when you're in transformation mode, but what happens after the transformation?

Speaker 2: 17:18

Year two for me was the real test. I had to prove to myself that I could live a normal, balanced life and still stay on track. I wasn't losing big chunks of weight anymore like I was in year one. I wasn't celebrating weekly scale victories, I was just pretty much maintaining and, like I said, sometimes I put on a little weight and then I would take it off and that kind of not having those big scale victories. It required a shift, not an effort but mindset. So I really I stopped tracking everybody Not that I ever tracked everybody, but I was a little less mindful and I'm not saying I'm so much more mindful than I was in year one but I stopped logging every step, or really, actually I really started logging every step. I shouldn't say I stopped, I really started logging every step. But I stopped thinking about it. I just went out and started walking because it felt good and I really stopped micromanaging my food. I didn't fall apart, I didn't slide back, I stayed consistent because those habits that I built, they were already there. I taught myself how to eat like a normal person how to recognize hunger, how to stop when I was full and how to live without treating food like a reward or a punishment. And that paid off.

Speaker 2: 18:27

This was the year I realized that sustainable weight loss didn't mean obsessing forever. You can't live in food jail and expect to thrive, but if you build real habits, things that make sense, things that feel good, you don't need to white knuckle your way through every meal, you just fucking live. You make better choices. Most of the time, you move your body because it feels good, you stay honest with yourself and, most importantly, you trust that you're no longer the person who needs saving. You've already saved yourself. So that was a huge lesson for me. The second lesson was mindset is by far your biggest tool, but it's also your biggest threat. So if there's one thing that I learned in year two, it's that your mindset doesn't fix itself just because you lost the weight. Sure, you feel a hell of a lot better, you move a lot better, but your mindset is not fixed.

Speaker 2: 19:22

The way you think the stories you tell yourself, little lies and justifications they don't vanish when the scale starts moving in your favor. In fact, they get sneakier. In year one, I was hyper aware of my thoughts. I was fired up, focused and constantly reminding myself why I started. But in year two life got a little more normal. The urgency faded a little more normal. The urgency faded a little bit and that's when the old thinking started trying to creep back in hey, you've earned this. You can have a little bit more, you can eat a little bit more. And, like I said, there were times when I put on weight, weeks when I put on weight. One little treat's not going to kill me. Right, you worked hard. Relax. Right, you worked hard, relax.

Speaker 2: 19:58

If any of that sounds familiar, that's not hunger talking, that's old programming. And if you're not careful it'll start running the show again. And for me I had to be careful. I let myself go a couple of times, eat more than I should have, let that old mental program creep back in. But I recognize it. I realize that mindset is a muscle and if you don't keep working it it weakens. The same mental habits that helped me lose the weight needed to be retrained.

Speaker 2: 20:24

In year two, I kept catching myself in those thoughts and replacing them with better ones. I kept telling myself the truth, even when it was uncomfortable, and, more than anything, I stopped pretending that weight loss is just physical. It's not, it's fucking mental warfare. And if you're not paying attention to your thoughts, you're not in control. Your old habits are. So the third thing that I learned was you don't need permission, you need ownership.

Speaker 2: 21:14

So one of the biggest mindset shifts I made in year two was realizing I don't need anybody else's permission to take care of myself, and I don't need anybody else to tell me to take care of myself, because it doesn't work. I don't need a coach to validate my food choices. I didn't need a meal plan to tell me when to eat. I don't need some ripped jerk-off influencer shouting macros at me through the phone, because deep down, I already know what to do, and you do too. We all do. Eat mostly real food. Move your body. Don't eat like a fucking idiot. We pretend we need a new meal plan or some secret system, but what we really need is to stop bullshitting ourselves and take responsibility.

Speaker 2: 21:58

In year one I had moments where I looked outward, where I looked for somebody else. What's the best way to do this? Should I be doing KIO? Should I track everybody? And sure, those questions are normal in the beginning, but in year two I finally realized. The question isn't what's the best plan. The question is am I going to own my choices today or not? Period today or not? Period that shift from constantly seeking to finally choosing changed everything. I didn't need a new strategy. I needed to stop outsourcing my responsibility. No one was going to swoop in and fix my life. No one was coming to save me. And that's not defeatist, it's empowering, because once you take full ownership, you realize the only person who can truly change your life is you. And let me tell you that owning your own shit is a superpower. Once you do that, no one can take it away from you. You're not dependent, you're not confused, you're just in charge. Huge lesson for me. The fourth lesson I learned is food is not the enemy, but neither is joy. Right. This was a big one for me in year two, realizing that food isn't the enemy and neither is enjoying it.

Speaker 2: 23:08

For so long I believed that if I wanted to be healthy, I had to eat like a robot, that I had to strip every ounce of joy from my meals and live on fucking grilled chicken and sadness. But let me tell you something that's not living, that's punishment disguised as discipline. In year one, I learned how to lose weight In year two. I learned how to keep it off without being miserable, and that meant giving myself permission to eat foods. I actually enjoy Pizza, donuts you always hear me talk about donuts, burgers and the stuff that diet culture says is going to ruin you. But here's the key I don't binge on that shit. I don't eat it because I'm sad or I'm stressed, and I don't use them to numb out or distract myself. I enjoy them mindfully, without guilt, and then I move on.

Speaker 2: 23:54

Joy doesn't have to be the price you pay for being healthy. In fact, if your plan doesn't make room for joy, it's not a plan you'll stick with. I stopped seeing food as good and bad and started seeing for what it really is fuel, but also pleasure, connection and celebration. It can't just be fuel for you. It has to give you pleasure, help you connect with people and eat it when you're celebrating. Look, a salad's not going to fix your life and a fucking donut won't ruin it. What matters is how you think about it. What matters is how you respond after Health and happiness can exist in the same meal, and when they do. That's where the real freedom starts.

Speaker 2: 24:37

Number five, big one for me, I'm not afraid of gaining the weight back because I don't think like that guy anymore. People ask me sometimes aren't you scared you'll gain all the weight back? And honestly, no, I'm not. Not because I think I'm immune or special or above slipping up. I'm definitely not. I'm. I'm more human. Well, I guess I'm. I'm a human being. But the reason I'm not afraid is simple. I don't think like that 411-pound guy anymore, that old version of me, the one that avoided mirrors and dodged pictures and got winded walking up a flight of stairs. He's gone, not just physically but mentally. That guy made excuses, that guy justified every bad habit and that guy felt hopeless and stuck and told himself that change was for other people, not him. But that's not how I think anymore. I don't eat like him, I don't act like him. I don't lie to myself like he did.

Speaker 2: 25:32

I've done the hard work, not just to lose the weight but to shift the way I see myself and my choices. That's what people don't talk about enough your internal work, the internal work that you have to do. You can change your body. Sure, it's easy, well, easy. No, fuck that. It's easy to lose weight. But if you don't change the way you think you'll always go back to who you were, and I'm never going back to that guy. Year two showed me that I built something that lasts not just a smaller body but a stronger mindset, and that's why I'm not afraid of going back, because I've grown that old identity. I've replaced it with someone who shows up, who takes ownership and who doesn't let setbacks turn into fucking spirals. So no, I'm not scared, because I'm not that guy anymore.

Speaker 2: 26:21

Lesson number six was that desire always wins. If year one was about a momentum, year two was about maintenance, and that's where desire really took center stage, my desire to live a long life and be healthy. The hype was gone. I wasn't waking up every day to a new milestone or dropping pounds every week. The before and after photos, shit, shit. I already put them up, they were already posted, the compliments slowed down and, honestly, the novelty wore off. And that's where most people quit. That's where I always used to quit After I lose the weight. Well, you know, I'm done and I start to go back to my old self. So that's where most people quit, because the fireworks stop and the grind begins.

Speaker 2: 27:03

But here's what I learned in year two Desire always wins when you know why you want to lose the weight and I mean really know why nothing can stop you. And if you want to learn about your why and my why, it's all in my book. But my why was, honestly, to be alive. That's a pretty fucking strong why. So motivation, eh, motivation is bullshit, it's flaky, it's emotional, it shows up when it wants and disappears.

Speaker 2: 27:29

The second life gets inconvenient. But desire, desire is a choice and it's not exciting, but it's dependable. It's doing what you said you'd do long ago. After the mood you made, that promise is gone. So there are plenty of days I didn't feel like walking, plenty of days I didn't want to make the better food choice. But I did it anyway, not perfectly, not obsessively, just consistently, because I knew it was on the line and, more importantly, I knew who I didn't want to become.

Speaker 2: 28:00

Again, year two taught me that long-term success isn't built on big wins or viral moments. I mean, sure, they're nice, but it's built on boring, predictable, unsexy desire and I hate this word. But discipline, the stuff that no one wants to talk about because it doesn't sell programs and doesn't get likes. But that's what separates the people who maintain their progress from the ones who start over every January. You know all the people that their New Year's resolutions yeah, I'm going to join the gym and get fit that's bullshit. You don't need to be fired up, you just need to keep showing up because, at the end of the day, desire is so much greater than motivation, always Okay. So the seventh lesson is that I can enjoy life and stay healthy at the same time. Wow, that's a pretty crazy thought.

Speaker 2: 28:54

Year two proved something to me, and it was something big. You don't have to put your life on hold to stay healthy. You don't need to cancel vacations or skip birthdays or turn down dinner with friends just because you're trying to lose weight or keep it off. That all-or-nothing mindset that we've been sold it's bullshit. I went on trips. I ate out, ate birthday cake more than once, and guess what? I didn't spiral. I didn't go off the rails or wake up 10 pounds heavier. I didn't blow it or start over on Monday. Why? Because I've learned how to navigate real life, not hide from it.

Speaker 2: 29:27

That was a turning point for me in year two. I stopped trying to protect my progress by isolating myself from, I guess, normal experiences. Instead, I just started trusting myself to make better choices wherever I am, whether I'm at home or at a restaurant or on a beach somewhere. It's not about perfection. It's about being present and being mindful. I learned that health and happiness are not opposites. You can enjoy your life and stay on track at the same time. You can eat well most of the time, move your body fairly, consistency and still leave room for fun. In fact, that's exactly what makes this lifestyle sustainable. In fact, that's exactly what makes this lifestyle sustainable, because the truth is, you don't win big at this game by being perfect. You win by learning how to live a normal, joyful, flexible life without losing yourself in the process. That's what I did in year two, and it made everything easier.

Speaker 2: 30:25

The next lesson, lesson number eight, is accountability is a lifestyle. That's something I didn't expect when I started this podcast how much it would hold me accountable. Sure, I wanted to help other people. I wanted to share what I learned and expose the nonsense of the weight loss world, but what I didn't realize at the beginning was just how much I needed to do this podcast too. This podcast is not just for you, it's for me. Saying it out loud keeps me honest. It reminds me of what matters. It forces me to stay aligned with the person I've worked so fucking hard to become.

Speaker 2: 31:01

When I talk about consistency, about making smart choices, when I talk about consistency, about making smart choices, about not falling for influencer bullshit, I'm not preaching. I'm reminding myself of the same thing at that time and every single week. I don't need a coach yelling macros at me. I don't need a calorie tracker to hold my hand. I need to keep showing up for myself and for you, because accountability isn't something you do once in a while when you feel off track. It's a lifestyle. It's how you stay in the game. The more real I am about this process, the ups and the downs, the days I nail it and the days I don't, the more grounded I stay. That's the magic of accountability. It doesn't just keep you from slipping. It keeps you engaged, present and focused on what matters most. And I will tell you, sometimes eating a donut or eating a birthday cake matters the most. Enjoying that celebration matters the most.

Speaker 2: 31:57

So if you're out there trying to do this alone, don't Find a way to stay accountable. Whether it's a podcast, a journal, a friend, they're just looking at yourself in the mirror and being brutally honest. Because when you stay honest with yourself. You stay in control, and right now I am completely in control of my journey Number nine. I don't need to be shredded to be powerful. So look, let's get something straight. I didn't do all this to get six-pack abs. I will never have six-pack abs. I'm not trying to look like some 25-year-old fitness influencer who spends his life in the gym, eats plain chicken out of fucking Tupperware and has professional lighting in every room of his house. That's not my life and, more importantly, that's not my goal. What I'm chasing and what I've built is something way more valuable Energy, confidence and a life that actually feels good to live. I want to wake up and feel strong. I want to walk into a room and not feel like I need to hide. I want to move through my day without joint pain, exhaustion or embarrassment. Do you know how embarrassing it is not to want to sit on a chair because you're afraid it won't hold your weight? Do you know how embarrassing it is to be afraid or to know that you need a seatbelt extender on an airplane? So I want to be able to walk through life without embarrassment. You know what? That's exactly what I've achieved.

Speaker 2: 33:23

Year two showed me you don't have to be shredded to be powerful. You don't need 8% body fat to feel proud of yourself. I've said this a hundred times by the National Health Organization or whatever. I'm still obese. I don't give a shit. I'm not obese in my head. Yes, my body fat may be too high my body mass index but fuck that man. I feel great. I feel the best I've ever felt. I'm 140-some-odd pounds lighter.

Speaker 2: 33:49

Confidence for me and confidence for you. It doesn't come from reflection. It comes from your actions. It comes from knowing you're doing the work, you're showing up for yourself and you're living life on your own terms. And let's be honest, people who obsess over being lean and ripped year round, most of them are fucking miserable. Or they're on something or they're lying. That's just not my lane. That's not my scene. My lane is real life, fitness, sustainable health, functional strength and self-respect. That's what I care about. So, no, I'm not shredded and I don't need to be. I feel strong, I feel in control and I feel like myself again. That's power and that's the win.

Speaker 2: 34:37

And lesson number 10 is helping others helps me to stay focused. When I started this journey, it was about survival. Honestly, I was ready to die. I just came out of the hospital. I was 411 pounds. I was on eight different medications to keep my body going. I needed to save my own life period.

Speaker 2: 34:56

But something changed along the way and as I began to share my story, people started reaching out A DM here, an email there. Hey, your podcast helped me get off the couch. Today I finally stopped beating myself up because of what you said. Last week I saw myself in your story and that's when it hit me. This isn't just about me anymore. Every time someone tells me this podcast helped them, even in a small way, it reminds me why I keep showing up, because truthfully, helping others helps me to stay focused. It helps me to stay grounded. It forces me to stay honest. It's easy to fall into old patterns when no one's watching, but when I know someone's out there listening, when I know you're out there listening to what I say, someone counting on a little bit of honesty, a little clarity, a little reminder to keep choosing better, that keeps me sharp.

Speaker 2: 35:48

I don't come on here pretending to have all the answers. I'm not some perfect coach with a shredded body and a clean, beautiful Instagram aesthetic. If you looked at my Instagram you know I'm just a guy who figured out how to lose 140 pounds and not hate himself in the process, and now I'm doing everything I can to help you do the same, without the bullshit, without the shame, without selling your soul to fucking diet culture. We're in this together. This is not just a feel good line, it's real. We are in this together. My journey helps you and, honestly, your journey helps me. The more I give, the more I stay focused on what actually matters Truth, effort and not giving up.

Speaker 2: 36:33

This has been just the most remarkable two years of my life. Doing this and last year really changed the person that I am. I am a completely different person, which is why I wanted to reintroduce myself in this episode, but it wouldn't be a complete episode, and there's no way that I could talk about this journey, this transformation, without thanking the person who unknowingly lit the fuse, and that is my girlfriend Vicki. She'll never take credit for it. She'll tell you you're the one who did the work, you made the choices, and she's right. I did make the choices, but she gave me the moment that made that choice possible. That pink gorilla on my 59th birthday wasn't just some ridiculous surprise. It was the moment I saw myself, clearly, for the first time in years. It was the slap in the face. I didn't know I needed, it was funny, stupid and I mean totally unexpected, but it broke something open in me, it shook me and that moment led to everything else.

Speaker 2: 37:40

So over the past two years, vicky has shown me love, patience, support and belief, even when I didn't fully believe in myself. She never lectured me, she never judged me, she never told me what to do. She just kept showing up with kindness, honesty and love. Honestly, she made me feel worth saving. While I may have done the work and changed the habits and shown up every day, her love made me want to be better For myself, yes, but also because she believed in a version of me that I hadn't met yet.

Speaker 2: 38:10

So, vicki, you say you didn't do anything, but you did everything, reminded me of who I could be, you got me started and you never let me forget why I started. You didn't just save my life, you gave me a reason to fight for it. Thank you from the deepest place in my heart, thank you, and I love you. So that's it. I mean, yes, year two was different. It was quieter, it was steadier, maybe even harder in some ways, but it proved what I really needed to know that this isn't a phase. This is who I am now, and if I can live this way, so can you. You don't need a perfect plan. You don't need some fucking guru or coach, and you sure as shit don't need anyone's permission, guru or coach, and you sure as shit don't need anyone's permission. You really, really and truly just need to shut up and choose every day. That's it. That's all it takes. You can do this once you accept the responsibility. So I'll tell you. For those of you who are new here, you can buy my book Shut Up and Choose on Amazon. We're an Amazon bestseller, as I told you before. I get emails all the time from people telling me how my book saved their life, and that's the most gratifying part of this entire journey.

Speaker 2: 39:37

I have a video course that really teaches you how to get your head in the game, because this is mental warfare. This is all about the mental. Yeah, physically losing weight is simple, right? Burn more calories than you consume. There's no other way. That's it. Whether you do it through keto, paleo, it doesn't matter. You have to burn more calories than you consume. So I have a 20 plus video course and, by the way, that sounds like a lot of shit, but the truth is you probably watch it in under two hours, but it's a 20 plus video course on how to get into the right mindset. It's called the Effortless Weight Loss Academy because, honestly, weight loss should be effortless. It shouldn't be a struggle. Once you get your head in the game, it becomes easy, and people always go nuts when I say it's easy, but I promise you, when you get your head in the game, it becomes easy. You can get the Effortless Weight Loss Academy at learnshutupandchoosecom. That's learnshutupandchoosecom. So that's it for today.

Speaker 2: 40:35

I'm so excited to be two years into this and be over 140 pounds lighter. It was hard work, but it was easy, if that makes any sense. Once I got my head into the game and I started making the choices and I let myself realize that it's not about perfection. It's about showing up that no one was coming to save me, that I'm the only one that can save myself. It's the greatest transformation I feel, the best I felt in God, 30 plus years. It's just incredible. If I did it, you can do it too. Now the only thing left for you to do is to shut up and choose.

Speaker 1: 41:12

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 jonathan wrestler boca raton. Until next time, shut up and choose.