Harry is struggling to lose weight. He just hit a wall and his weight won’t budge.
What’s causing him so much anxiety is that he still has over 30 pounds of fat to lose.
He tells me he’s on Weight Watchers and exercises 5x per week. The last time he lost weight, he was unable to get below 200 pounds. So he gave up.
Then his weight ballooned back up to 230 pounds.
After reading my article “How To Break A Weight Loss Plateau“, he reached out to get my opinion.
Here’s what I told him:
“Hey Harry, thanks for your message. The road to success is NEVER a straight line. You will experience set backs. This is inevitable. How you handle these set backs will determine your fate. Do they strengthen your resolve, or make you “throw in the towel”? Ultimately, you must embrace the sacrifice, embrace the discomfort, know that every day you are becoming a better man. That’s what this is all about – becoming a better man, a more determined, confident version of yourself. Eventually your body will reflect your inner determination.”
Harry responded that he is determined to persevere.
95% of getting the body you want is mindset. It’s not diet, exercise, or even sleep.
When you have the right mindset, with a total commitment to your goals, your vision manifests itself into reality.
Quitting simply is not an option.
I recommended to Harry that instead of following Weight Watchers, he shift to the BuiltLean® Eating Plan instead, because it’s easier to follow, more precise, and it’s easier to make small changes.
I can’t emphasize enough that mindset is everything when it comes to body transformation.
The truth is, you can accomplish ANYTHING you want to with the right mindset.
Embrace the sacrifice. Embrace the discomfort. Anything you want will be yours.
Mindset it is! However in my experience, which was one of surgery, exercise and mindset went hand in hand. 4 months ago I had right knee replacement surgery (I’m 61) and during the following weeks, my knee just to did want to bend nearly as much as it should have. The surgeon said if it did not respond appropriately within a specified timeframe he would have to perform manual manipulation, meaning he would force the knee to bend completely while I’m under aesthetic during an overnight hospital stay. I thought that is not going to happen, so I pushed myself at the gym with more strengthening exercises and exercise bike riding. Result? The knee came good and no manual manipulation required. Even the physiotherapist played only a small part. I know this did involve diet, but I just wanted to emphasise the importance of mindset and exercise as one that can involve any scenario.
Thanks for the comment Victor! Happy to hear you are doing better.
Great advice. Keep up the motivation and support.
Thanks, Tom. I feel very passionate about helping men reclaim their health & vitality, so sometime I can get a bit intense 🙂 But ultimately, I really do believe we all have huge potential.
Marc – you are so right. Starting and staying on the journey toward a healthy lifestyle starts between the ears. Thank you for this website.
Thanks for the comment, Hilario. I meet with so many men who want to improve their bodies. It’s pretty obvious who will and who won’t right off the bat. It’s attitude / mindset.
One thing which so many people seem to forget is that it’s so much more than the number on the scale – it’s your body composition too!
I’ve gained a couple of kilos in the last year, but my body fat and measurements have decreased through better nutrition and incorporating more weight/resistance training, specially as I can’t do as much HIIT while I recover from a pulmonary embolism.
For me, I find that measurements are a much better indicator than my body weight. You hear the term “skinny-fat” a lot, and when I was doing only cardio, this definitely applied to me.
Body measurements are definitely important. Thanks for leaving a comment, Gin
I agree, It’s all about mindset. I learned that the hard way. Right now I’m in the process of losing weight to get to my “healthy” BMI. I’ve lost close to 70lbs, and have around 50 to go. Before I use to cheat on my diet, then feel bad about it and throw in the towel, and start eating junk food like pizza and Chinese food. But one thing I’ve learned, and tell myself, is that it is better to maintain weight than gain, and it 10x better to lose weight, than gain or maintain (when your trying to lose weight). Thanks for all your tips Mark. I wish I’d found this site earlier.
Thanks for leaving a comment, Rembert! Congrats on your success, keep it up
I am interested in your program but do not have access to a pull up bar, is there another alternative for this piece of equipment?
Hey Staci – yes, you can do db rows, or if you have access to a gym, you can do body rows using the smith machine or a TRX. We do have a number of customers who complete the program without using a pull up bar. The idea is to do a pulling motion. While a vertical pulling motion is ideal, it’s not 100% necessary.
Hey Marc, Out of curiosity , Do you drink sodas? if so, how often? I think one of the obstacles that I have faced to lose fat is my excessive soda consumption. Do you do intermittent fasting or you eat several meals per day? ceers and keep up the great work!
Hey Cesar, thanks for your question! I never drink sodas. Ever. I drink water only, or tea. No coffee, mostly because I don’t like the taste and I don’t like the idea of using a stimulant (i.e. caffeine). Occasionally some wine or beer. In terms of eating, I eat a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and typically 1 snack a day. Everything is structured so I don’t have to constantly worry about what I eat. It’s basically the same Eating Plan that’s in my Transformation Program.