What's the Secret?

What’s the Secret?

I think the most common question I get from people who haven’t seen me in a while is: What’s the secret? How did you do it?

A little background.  I’m a 40-something cardiologist. Which means, for the majority of my life, I spent hours reading, studying, and memorizing things. Most of this took place while sitting on my backside, generally eating or drinking something of poor nutritional value. Sure, I could blame my parents, my awful genetics, and some great TV shows, but like all things, the real blame was with me.  I weighed an awful lot. Not quite a metric ton, but more than my 5’10” frame could handle. I looked terrible, felt terrible, and had no street cred when I told my patients to lose weight.

Then I decided I’d had enough of that life. I got my act together, and I lost the weight and the body fat and started eating well and working out. Of course, people noticed. Thus, the question – what’s the secret?

My first instinct was to chuckle and say, “There is no secret. It’s just hard work. I’m eating better, less carbs, and exercising. Anybody can do it.”  But the truth was, people weren’t doing it. Why?

 Because, after all, there is a secret. It just took me a long time to figure out what it was.

Losing weight is hard. Sometimes it’s really hard. But, it’s achievable. There are plenty of examples. But you need some ingredients to cook up a successful weight loss dish:

1. An eating plan. This is, far and away, the most important aspect of weight loss. You cannot out-exercise a bad diet.  Doing 30 straight minutes of burpees will ultimately fail to a box of chocolate cupcakes. Because long after the caloric burn and EPOC from the burpees have faded, you’ll still be chowing down.  Is there a perfect, one-size fits all plan? Well, maybe or maybe not. But there’s probably a plan that fits you very nicely. It takes some focus and consistency to figure it out. For me, it was Protein Power by the Drs. Eades. It’s a carbohydrate restricted diet which is very easy to follow. I also recommend The South Beach Diet. Both are effective, safe, and livable.

2. An exercise plan. Is exercise necessary to lose weight? Nope. Is it necessary to look skinny in clothes? Nope. Is it necessary to look great in a bathing suit or naked? Absolutely. Plus it just makes you feel good. And, if you just did P90X Plyo X, you’re far less likely to eat that jelly doughnut and waste your efforts.

But neither of these are a big secret, are they? No, here’s the secret. You need to know your WHY.

Your what? No, your WHY. 

Your WHY is your reason, your motivation for doing this. It is the emotional connection you have to your journey. It’s that little piece that finishes the puzzle. It’s what makes you get up at 11pm because you fell asleep and forgot to workout 2 days in a row. It helps you walk past the fresh baked cookies.  And the deeper your emotional connection to your WHY, the stronger your motivation will be.

For me, it started out as pure vanity. I wanted to look better. I couldn’t stand looking at my big gut anymore. I wanted nice clothes. I didn’t want to be embarrassed at gatherings. I didn’t want to feel guilty about what I ate hours after I ate it. I wanted to be free.  Eventually it became about being strong and healthy for my kids. But it’s still very much about vanity.

You want the secret? Figure out WHY you’re losing weight. Meditate on it. Dream about it. CONNECT to it. Then get a plan together. You’ll be on your way. I'd be happy to help you get your plan together.