WHAT’S MOST SECRET

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BACKSTORY…

It’s no secret that for years… each and every day, millions of people of all shapes, sizes, genders, and ages reluctantly step on a common bathroom scale.

Fingers crossed that whatever they’ve done, or haven’t done from yesterday, the weekend, or even the week before tips their scale in their favor.And no surprise eventually “The Tale Of Their Scale” derails their best efforts to reach an almost always elusive weight-loss or weight-maintenance goal.
And even if they reach their goal, studies show that 99% of the people that do reach their goal will most likely gain back all that they lost, and unfortunately gain back even more from where they started.

Yes, there’s a major movement that says we shouldn’t diet, that diets are bad for us and we shouldn’t be defined by our shape and size. That you can be heathy at any size.Well that may be true for some people, and it might not be true for others. They’ll always be multitudes of camps either “way or weigh” about all things eating and exercise, and a thousand other things related to our shape, size and weight (a.k.a. body composition).
I’m not interested shaming, judging, or guilting anyone into making any change to their bodies because that’s a very personal choice.

I am interested in creating a conversation within a community of people who do want to make a change in their shape, size, and weight (a.k.a. body composition) that’s healthier, sustainable, and believe it or not, even enjoyable. Too many people start out on a plan be it eating or exercise with the best of intentions.Fingers-crossed, white knuckling each day, each meal, each temptation, suffering in silence about their desires and frustrations to more often than not eventually shame themselves into going silent and hiding because they feel that they’ve failed once again.But there is another “way and weigh" to learn how you can once and for all walk away from your past challenges and frustrations around your shape, size, and weight (a.k.a. body composition) by learning …

"what's most secret, IS what's most common" for all of us!

There is another “way and weigh”  

One of my favorite quotes is

“what's most secret is most common.” 

So, to get this blog started I want to share a secret with you… 

It's not a big secret, but it's something I've been working on for the past few years and is called …

Going Beyond the Scale

Okay, about 11 years ago, at nine o'clock on a Monday evening was the anniversary of The Biggest Loser finale for season 11, which was the longest season in NBC Biggest Loser history. And as I get close to our Biggest Loser finale anniversary every year, I always try to think about something new to mark that very special time in my life, and in my family's life. Well, this time I’m putting a GREAT BIG FAT STAKE IN THE GROUND around the 11th anniversary of Season 11 as I’m FINALLY, READY, WILLING and ABLE to write a book that’s been percolating in my head in various bits and pieces over the years that’s all about helping people get free from the “Tale Of Their Scale!”

But as Ron Popeil would say… “but wait, there’s more!”

 The book I’m writing isn’t just about what I learned during my 8 months on The Biggest Loser, it’s so much more than that. It’s going to be a book about “The Tale Of My Scale” waaaaaaaay before I ever got on the show, and all of the amazing things I’ve learned and shared with people 11+ years post show. But most of all it’s going to be a book for any and all that have been mentally and physically challenged with their feelings about their shape, size, and weight to create a whole new more empowered view of how they see and think about their shape, size, and weight. I also look at this book as more of a beginning of a story than an ending of a story for all who read it. Why… because in sharing my story and what I’ve been able to live into over the years, and by helping others create and navigate a whole new mindset around their size, shape, and weight, I want to offer the same sustainable lifestyle change to more people.

Hey, I’m talking to you too 

I also intend to do a deep dive into the difference in what I do with people which is navigating vs. coaching and how that will benefit you on your wellbeing journey too. Coaching isn’t bad, it’s just that I’ve found that the distinctions of having people create and navigate their vision and desired results creates a much more sustainable pathway for what people say they want, and most important, what they’re actually willing to do. I want this book to help people get really clear and honest with themselves about whatever mental and physical size, shape, and weight they are continuing to carry with them each and every day. To move beyond their years of secret-shame and blame with whatever their past, present, and future “Tale Of Their Scale” may be. Over the years I've had a very eclectic and interesting professional career but sharing what’s in this book will be a big foundational platform for my life’s work as I know what’s in it can be such a mental, physical, and wellbeing game-changer for people. The working title for the book is “Going Beyond The Scale” and I’m pretty sure that’ll be the title. But no matter what the title ends up being I’ll be sharing the book as it evolves @ www.goingbeyondthescale.com

 And as you can see in this pic I literally keep the books progress top-of-mind as I had the URL embroidered on a on a hat so I could wear it as a daily mental reminder. So…

Today I'm officially, actually starting to write the book with this first blog post. Yes, I have lots of thoughts and notes that I've been drafting over the years in various digital files and journals. And recently I’ve discovered a very interesting way to write a book which has become the inspiration and catalyst that really got me in gear and going, and it’s how I’m going to write and share this book until it’s complete and published. As you’ll soon see the book doesn’t have to be written in a straight line, so here’s how it’s going to go…

Whenever I have an idea that I want to explore and potentially share in the book I will first set up my iPhone, laptop, or desktop to capture my thoughts in a video. And the great part about this approach is that you don’t have any writer’s block, you just start talking and little by little the thoughts flow easily. There’s no need for doing anything right, there’s no perfection, no mistakes, no worries that it’s written right. It’s all just an opportunity to let the thoughts evolve. Sometimes when I do this I stay right on track, and sometimes I go off on a tangent. And if some new thought or idea gets revealed and I can expand upon it at that moment, or now I will at least have it marked and recorded to explore at another time. Then I transcribe what I said with a transcription app we like called Otter, https://otter.ai Now, what I will tell you is that when you talk (video or audio) about something, it's not the same as writing that same thought out. Often times it actually comes across poorly said as you lose what’s understand with body language and believe it or not dramatic pauses and the cadence of your speech. But here’s what I found; the transcription becomes a seed for me to continue to explore an idea. And often times it just like gives me an opportunity to really evolve, expand, and deepen an idea that I want to share. So, here's how I see this book being written and published. My intention is to take no longer than a year to actually write the book.

And here’s my process…

I think of something I want to talk about.

I record it.

I edit as necessary and post it as an audio podcast.

I edit as necessary and post it as a YouTube video.

I use the transcription as the bones of content do a blog post.

The podcast, You Tube video and blog post gets published to a special section of www.goingbeyondthescale.com

As the book evolves and continues to take shape.

I have a pretty good idea of what I want to share in the book, and I already know that the ending chapter will be titled “199” but why it’s titled that won’t be revealed before the book is published. Why… well it’s a very special personal chapter that I want to save for a very special “secret” reveal….

This won’t be my first book. “smartphonefit” was published in 2012 after my first TEDx Talk where I shared how I used my smartphone to literally stay connected and accountable after I was sent home on The Biggest Loser because of game play. I was the only contestant to make it back on the show and all the way to the end as one of the coveted Final Four contestants. What I didn’t realize when I published smartphonefit in 2012 was that what I shared would be the blueprint for my continued weight-loss maintenance over the next decade. Successfully maintaining weight-loss over the long haul is very unusual, especially for people who were morbidly obese.

Anyone who has had challenges with their shape, size, and weight knows how to lose weight for a while, but studies show that 98% of the people who lose weight more often than not gain back most of the weight they lost, and for some, they gain back even more. So, with my continued weight-loss maintenance success over the years, coupled with how I’ve helped others use the same tenets I share in smartphonefit to keep the weight off as well, combined with some of the things I will be sharing in Going Beyond The Scale, I’m planning on releasing an expanded smartphonefit book with a new title, and that’ll be my second book.

Not taking anything away from what will be my first two books, I know that book No.3, Going Beyond The Scale will be a powerful catalyst for change thru the robust conversations it will create both in online and in-person communities. Thru what is shared people will have a voice and a safe place to share their challenges and to get the ongoing support for whatever shape, size, weight, and their wellbeing looks like for them, with lots of input about metabolism, body composition and overall well-being from well-respected subject matter experts. Because in the arenas of shape, size, weight, weight maintenance, healthy eating, exercise, mental health, daily stressors, anything that affects us physically and mentally, we have a lot of shared experiences, challenges and “secrets.” And many of us have challenges with all kinds of disruptive eating. Be it emotional eating, secret eating, binge eating, I know them all, for years I was challenged with all three, but no more… That's why I opened this post with the quote “what's most secret is most common” to share how much in common we all have and why it’s so important to  start taking away the power of the secrets that have so much of a hold on all of us. So, I want this book, website, and community to be a safe place where people are connecting, communicating, sharing comfortably with others. All feelings need to be expressed and not repressed which was a big lesson I learned on The Biggest Loser, and it’s something I’m still learning and navigating every day. I'm very positive person, but I’m a much more realistic and truthful person with all of my emotions today than I was before the show. I’ve learned to let go repressing my emotions and medicating them with food. I literally only used to have positive thoughts; it was actually an obsession with me. I didn't like to get in a bad mood, or harbor any negative or cranky thoughts.  But I've come to learn that that repressing my feelings doesn't help me or anybody else either.\ Repression of our emotions and how to overcome that is but one of the major things I’ll be exploring with lots of subject matter experts in the book, in my podcasts, and in the online community as well. I know what I want to share in publishing Going Beyond The Scale that I really think will support people, but I'm also smart enough to know that, if it's going to really help, it's not just going to be my book, my web site, my community, it's going to be everyone's input and contribution, which is why once I get about a 1/4 of a way, maybe 1/2 through the book, I want launch the book on Indiegogo or Kickstarter to start building a community of people that are really interested in commenting and contributing to what is being shared.

So that's it.

There's no secret about this anymore.

This is not going to be something that's most secret.

Until the book is launched on Indiegogo or Kickstarter, if you would like to contribute or just stay in touch email us at iwantin@goingbeyondthescale.com

So there you have it, thank you for reading all the way to the end of this post, and… welcome to my first day of writing!