I want to tell you my own personal story here.

Look at “Old Jon” on the right, and “New Jon” on the left.

​What’s the difference between “Old Jon” and “New Jon”? (Besides the obvious physical change)

Well, what did “Old Jon” do, to get so heavy in the first place?

Well, when he got injured … he ate a dutch chocolate bundt cake (the whole thing … sitting alone in his basement suite while binge-watching Netflix)

Got a new job … ate an entire large pizza from Little Caesars (in the parking lot, so no one would see it)

The scale went down 3lbs … Ate a 50 pack of Timbits, shovelling them down while driving home.  (For non-Canadians, Timbits are the bite-sized doughtnut “holes” from iconic coffee and doughnut chain, Tim Horton’s)

Anxious? … Better eat
Stressed? … Better eat
Feel Sad? … Better eat
Feel Happy? … Better Eat

What’s the connection?

None of my reasons for eating were physical hunger.

They were ALL “above the neck” feelings.

I knew I was overweight.  I wanted to punch people who said “Hey big guy” … (instead I smiled, while hurting on the inside).

“Ah, just eat less, and get more exercise … it’s easy”

Ok, now, I want to spinning roundhouse kick you in the face, Captain Obvious.

If it was easy … I would’ve done it already.

The last thing an overweight person needs … is to be reminded.  Snarky comments don’t create solutions.  They create more emotions … and guess what emotions lead to?

Yet, I was dieting all the time.  Paleo, Keto, I was even raw vegan for a while.  Constantly trying to lose weight.

I tried some pretty extreme diets, but I could only starve myself for so long before committing homicide on an extra large pizza.  I thought that somehow losing weight meant needing EXTREME Willpower, and pretty much starving myself miserable.

You know the equation: [cut out this food group] + [only eat/drink this super thing] = magic weight loss

Yeah, so riddle me this?

How fun does it sound to say “I’ll never eat carbs again“?

Or, “I’ve stopped eating all [insert some food]”

Does it sound enjoyable?  Healthy?  Sustainable?

HECK NO!

My wife of 15 years will tell you just how miserable I was, all those years I was trying to diet.  I could NEVER just enjoy food.

Every diet I tried, I would just eventually gain all the weight back (and usually some more) whenever I stopped whatever extreme diet I was trying.

I was the CLASSIC Yo Yo dieter.  My weight loss graph looks like an extreme roller coaster ride.

I would go through the same process, over and over and over again.  Do extreme diet > Lose some weight > stop extreme diet because I couldn’t handle it > revert to my old ways and gain it all back again > Hate myself and feel like a failure > Do some other extreme diet … and start the cycle all over again.

So, what about “NEW JON”?  What magic happened that allowed me to lose weight and keep it off?

Well, it clearly wasn’t a crazy restrictive diet, because I proved how disastrous that was.  No, I used the same principles that I teach my clients now, in Lifestyle-180.

There’s absolutely zero need to be miserable.  What would you rather? Skinny, starving and miserable?  Or Fit, healthy and happy?

Note: Many overweight people tell me “I did diet (insert extreme diet) and it worked!”

It doesn’t work unless you’re able to keep the weight loss permanently.

Let’s take a look at NEW JON’s habits (which now feel effortless), and what I know and understand about permanent weight loss:

NEW JON:

  • Understands the difference between physical and emotional hunger.
  • Understands how to incorporate my favorite foods into my diet, GUILT FREE. (Never indulging isn’t sustainable.)
  • My everyday diet consists of food I truly enjoy, so I’m easily able to stick with the plan.
  • Understands that 80% of weight loss is about diet, BUT, it’s not just about what I eat, but why and how I eat.

Old Jon was waking up at 5am, double-scooping pre-workout and slaving away for 2 hours in the gym 6 days a week because he thought that was the key to weight loss. Oof! This is why you see people working their butts off in the gym month after month — even with a trainer (!) — without looking any different. It’s what you do between exercise, a.k.a. your diet, that matters most.

I now have other ways to treat myself besides food.

I have tactics and strategies to feel in control whenever I’m around lots of tempting food.

And because of this … I am now keeping the weight off effortlessly.

What’s the difference maker?

It’s my RELATIONSHIP with food and exercise that is entirely different.

Different Habits.  Different Behaviors.  Different Mindset.

And this is what I teach clients. And this is why I’m still healthy and keeping the weight off without diets.

Lifestyle-180 is a long-term permanent solution, not just a short term band-aid.

Here’s the problem with most diets:
Most people go on a “food diet” – the only thing they change is the food they eat. If the only thing you’re changing is the food you’re eating, you’re not going to change for the long term.

It’s critical that you change your relationship with food. It’s critical that you change the way you think and react to food. It’s critical that you learn the right mindset along with developing the habits and behaviors necessary to lose weight and keep it off.

Otherwise, you force yourself to eat well for as long as you can … until you eventually lose all motivation, and revert back to your old ways.

Most diets rely solely on willpower. Like motivation, willpower isn’t sustainable. It doesn’t last. This is why most diets get more difficult as time goes on.

When you learn what I did, and my clients do … willpower isn’t necessary. “Trying harder” isn’t either. (It REALLY irritates me when people say, “Just try harder!”)

This is exactly why in Lifestyle-180 it feels easier and easier for all of clients as time goes on.

They’re no longer relying on willpower because they have a completely different mindset along with habits and behaviors.