Why Am I Not Losing Weight? It's Not Willpower

If you're trying to lose weight and the scale isn't doing what you want it to do, and you don't even understand why, this is for you. Here's what I think is going on: you have a knowledge gap.

It's way easier to say “I'm just trying to white-knuckle it” than to say “I don't know this yet.” I get it. I always identified with the smart people, until I realized there are real benefits in admitting what you don't know. Now I'm both: the smartest and the dumbest in the room. Works for me.

I've never seen willpower walking around. Knowledge, you can actually go and get.

A knowledge gap, not willpower

If you knew what I know, you would just lose the weight. That's why I call it a knowledge problem. If I could hand you my brain and my mindset, you'd hit your goal with no doubt in your mind.

And a knowledge gap is so much easier to fix. How are we supposed to fix willpower? Have you ever seen it? Sometimes it's a gap in what you know. Sometimes it's just putting your focus back on what actually matters, and leaving everything else to the side. Who cares about the rest? I don't have time for it.

The myths that keep you stuck

There are a lot of myths out there that keep people stuck. The people with an easy head start don't always tell you about it, and the people who found the easy way don't always share it. The lies keep working because people choose to believe them, give their power away to them, and then wonder why nothing is working.

So let's talk about the solutions.

What actually moves the needle

No single plan or strategy is the be-all and end-all. A bicep curl is a bicep curl. There's nothing secret about how a muscle grows. What actually moves the needle is the principles behind it. It's the mindset behind it. It's the energy you bring. It's your beliefs.

If you believe the gym is boring, monotonous and something you're sick of, why would you go? That's not how I feel about it. I've been going to the gym for over 10 years, and every day I walk in, I'm excited to be there.

Bored? Get out of your loop

I've been to probably a hundred gyms. I used to travel for work every week, a different city each time, across Canada and into the States. Every new gym was fun. So if you've been going to the same gym for twenty years, no wonder it feels boring. Change something.

Go to another gym. Get a day pass. You don't have to commit. I bet there are a handful of gyms near you that you've never walked into. People are so scared to be uncomfortable, to mess up, to look silly, that they never try anything new. That's the boring way to live.

I'm a mover and a shaker. When I'm stuck in the same loop, I feel caged, and the people around me feel it too. Getting out of the loop isn't selfish. It makes everything better, for you and for everyone around you.

Principles stay the same

Here's the gift of changing your environment: you start to see what changes and what doesn't. The things that stay the same are the principles. West Coast, East Coast, any city, any country, the principles are the same. The more you change the things that don't matter, the clearer it gets which things always do.

That's when you notice the sweeping statements. Someone tells you everyone who's fit is mean, or everyone feels a certain way. The more of those general “truths” you believe, the less you can see what's actually in front of you.

Not every opinion is equal

I used to do door-to-door sales. One person would open the door and tell me nobody would ever want to do business with my company. Three doors down, someone else would say, “I've been hoping you'd come by.” The first person didn't know anything about the neighbour four doors down. So many true things exist side by side.

Not all knowledge is equal, and not every opinion deserves the same weight. Sort what you hear into two piles: principles and noise. Then keep coming back and correcting yourself. I catch myself doing it too. I'm not saying I've got it all figured out. I'm saying that direction is a good step.

A training program is more personal than a pair of pants.

Why a template plan won't fit you

This is why a template program doesn't work for most people. It's a sweeping statement about you. It misses all the truths about your body.

It's like ordering pants in a random size and having them shipped to your door. Maybe they fit. Maybe you love the colour. Maybe they'd fit your dog better. And a training program is more personal than a pair of pants. With pants, you try them on and send them back. With the wrong program, you could spend eight weeks doing movements that aren't right for your body, and that can create muscle imbalances. We don't do that here.

Knowledge, not willpower

So if you're not seeing results, it's not a willpower problem, and it doesn't mean you're not smart. It means the approach you're trying probably isn't the wisest one for you. A plan that took more truths about you into account would be more accurate, and you wouldn't have to force your way through it. It's like squeezing into toddler pants as a grown adult. Maybe just get something in your size.

When it's physical, the answer is obvious. These problems are invisible, so we need the picture to see them. Once you see it, you can choose the better thing, because you're attached to the outcome, not to being right.

If you're willing to say, “I don't think I know what I'm doing yet. I want to stop guessing. Other people have done this before me, I don't need to reinvent the wheel,” then you're exactly who I'm looking for. Time is the one thing you can't make back. Get the knowledge, skip the years of guessing, and live better sooner, and for longer.