Self Evident Truths
Some people still do not believe me when I tell them that exercise is not a requirement for achieving weight loss success, even though I have been saying the same thing for years.
My friends and family all like to remind me that I am not a dietitian.
Fitness professionals with many abbreviated, self-important capital letters after their names on their business cards all like to say that I am wrong because they depend on the fitness industry for their livelihood.
Fat people like Dr. Phil (of Oprah fame) like to write weight loss books and give diet advice even though it is obvious that they are hiding their own obesity problem behind baggy three-piece suits when their pictures are taken for their book covers. What is even more amazing is that the public actually craves advice from these peddlers of misinformation.
I have made a habit of only taking advice from people who have obviously achieved the kind of success I am seeking in any area of life. It seems ridiculous to me to blindly accept weight loss advice from someone who quite frankly is in serious danger of wearing out their elbow joint by bringing their hand to their mouth too often.
Advice about weight loss and any other area of life should only be gleaned from reliable sources. A reliable source can be defined as someone who has achieved success in the area of question. People all over the world try to emulate Warren Buffet’s investment strategy because he is arguably the world’s most successful investor, having achieved wild success in that area. If Mr. Buffet was a bum on the street with holes in his shoes, he would rightly lose some credibility when giving advice on financial matters.
Though I believe this approach to be applicable and beneficial in all areas of life, one has to allow for relative situations. For example, if you weigh 600 lbs, it may be wise to accept weight loss advice from someone who used to weigh 600 lbs and now only weighs 300 lbs. On the other hand, if you weigh 200 lbs and your target weight is 160 lbs, the advice of the 300 lb person loses all credibility in your quest for weight loss success. This is not to say that they will not eventually weigh less, but in order to maximize your chances of success, you need to speak with someone who has achieved results identical to those you want to achieve and then duplicate whatever they did to reach their goal.
In order to reach your weight loss goal, the only thing you have to do is change your diet. All the weight loss success in the world can be yours for the taking if you will only learn how to make better food choices and select better portion sizes for your meals. Diet has a very large effect on weight loss while exercise has a negligible effect.
Some of my critics argue that exercise has many other health benefits like keeping your heart and circulatory system healthy, building strong bones and relieving stress. I answer these critics by stating that if your diet is right, your heart will already be healthy, your circulatory system will be free from blockages, your bones will be getting all the required nutrients to keep them strong and you won’t be stressed out about having to get to the gym or feeling guilty about what you just ate.
If you still need convincing that exercise is not necessary for weight loss, then check out what Dr Martin W. Russell (a medical doctor turned counselor) has to say about this topic in his blog post Exercise For Weight Loss. Despite my obvious success in the weight loss arena and demonstrated ability to coach others to success, I am met with constant opposition when stating that exercise is not necessary for weight loss and I hope this serves to validate my opinion on the subject.
Going against the grain
Many people falsely believe that exercise is necessary for weight loss because of the subliminal mental shift that occurs when one conscientiously adheres to a regimented exercise program. The source of weight loss success for those who frequent the local gym and for those who avoid it remains the same.
The act of forcing yourself to make a habit of going to the gym every day builds a form of self-control that can then be used in order to take personal responsibility for what goes into your mouth each day. In fact, the very first issue to be addressed by any personal trainer after they have designed an exercise program to help you achieve your goals is a proper diet.
Talk to any person you know who has achieved remarkable weight loss success and try to find one who will tell you that they ate 6000 calories worth of McDonald’s food every day on the way to reaching their target weight. You will not find this person because they do not exist. Every subject of every weight loss success story you will ever hear made radical changes to their diet in order to be triumphant in their battle with fat.
Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 – 1860), a German philosopher said the following:
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.
Within this fabulous quote lies the power you need to join me and Dr Martin W. Russell in going against the grain of the health and wellness industry. I can tell you from personal experience that it will not be easy. Ever since I wrote and first started distributing my quick weight loss ebook, I have been ridiculed. If you express the sentiments I have expressed in this article to your friends, family and known health professionals, you will also be ridiculed.
In addition to ridicule, whenever anyone has stepped out of the crowd in all of history in order to present a new idea, they have experienced violent opposition. This opposition always comes from those people who currently derive their money and power from the status quo. People do not like to surrender their money or their power and will violently oppose anything that threatens their way of life. This violent opposition is only finally overcome once enough people step away from the crowd and a new idea is accepted as being self-evident. Note that this pattern remains constant regardless of whether or not the new idea or new way of thinking is actually right.
There exists today, a widespread and growing belief that homosexuality is a genetic condition which exists from birth and cannot be changed. Oddly enough, only a few decades ago, homosexuals experienced ridicule and violent opposition here in North America. We are now reaching the stage where the belief that homosexuality is a genetic condition is being accepted as self-evident, even though this conclusion is quite clearly wrong.
Homosexuality is a learned behaviour. It was never part of God’s plan and people have been dishonoring their God and their bodies for centuries by participating in a practice which God clearly condemns as abominable. Unfortunately, enough people have started expressing the belief that homosexuality is a natural condition that the public has grown apathetic and accepting of this behaviour. It is self-evident that this way of life is unnatural, yet governments continue to grant people who openly choose to follow this lifestyle special privileges and protections under their laws.
I dare say that if we defined homosexual behaviour with clinical terms such as defining the female branch as women who lick other women’s crotches and the male behaviour as men who suck other men’s penises rather than using “nice” terms like gay and gay pride to describe their chosen lifestyle, the public would not capitulate quite so easily. There might still be some ridicule and violent opposition to this particular behaviour. Notwithstanding, I would still help a homosexual person to lose weight, because like God, I hate sin, not sinners.
Numerous times in history, new ideas have brought ridicule and violent opposition to those who have presented them. A number of visionaries have not even lived to see their ideas and work vindicated. One great example from history is Galileo Galilei, the Tuscan (Italian) physicist, mathematician, astronomer and philosopher who was forced to recant his heliocentrism (the theory that the Sun is at the center of the solar system) and spent the last years of his life under house arrest on orders of the Roman Inquisition. It would be fair to say that Galileo encountered ridicule and violent opposition to his theories which today are accepted as self-evident. It is sad to acknowledge that he did not live to see his theories gain acceptance in the eyes of the public that once condemned his works.
Perhaps the best historical example of all is the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He came here as God in the flesh to let us know His Father’s will, only to encounter ridicule and violent opposition which ultimately led to his death. I thank God that the Lord Jesus Christ will live to see his truths accepted when He returns at the time of the end. Though He suffered for His words while here on earth, everyone will eventually see His truths as self-evident and embrace His light.
It is the emergence of new ideas and new technologies that bring self-evident truths to light. Death row convicts are pardoned after years of wrongful incarceration thanks to the advent of DNA testing. Every major invention and new idea of the twentieth century including DNA testing has gone through the three stages of truth to some degree. The electric light, telephone and television were all mocked by those who made a profit from technologies that these new ideas would make obsolete, yet today their use spans the globe.
If it must be up to me to reveal a truth as self-evident, then I will boldly face whatever ridicule and opposition come my way and shout the truth from the rooftops. Homosexuality is an abomination before God. Jesus Christ is Lord and those of us who believe on Him and do our best to live our lives as He commands will spend eternity with Him in paradise. Exercise is not necessary for weight loss. No man can make me recant any of these statements as I know them to be self-evident truths and will stand by my words to the end.
I am sure my email in-box will be filled with flames after writing this post, but that is a chance I am willing to take. After reading this post, you may try to ridicule me and you may violently oppose what I have said, but time will tell who is right or wrong and I hope I live to see the self-evident light of truth in your eyes.
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