“Psst! Hey, buddy! Over here. I gotta tip for you in the third. Starduster. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s a sure thing.” 

Uh-huh. Right. Nothing’s a sure thing….except when it is.

I’ve shared with you that for several months I felt very angry that I failed at some things professionally despite doing what I was told would ensure success. Get a degree. Check. Put in more effort than required at work. Check. Well, nothing really ensures success, does it? I’ve spent decades working and doing my very best, believing that professional success and appropriate compensation would follow. Only it didn’t happen that way and I was some seriously ticked off about it.

Yesterday, I was talking to my son and that subject of “if-then” arose – “If I work hard, then I will be rewarded.” We talked about how disappointing it is when you realize that the “then” you want doesn’t necessarily follow every “if.”

Except in MMORPGs, diet and exercise.

If I put in the time and effort on, say, World of Warcraft, my character will level up. It will gain the power I need for it to have to accomplish the goals I have for it….or so I’m told. I don’t know from massive multi-player online role playing games. I don’t have the patience for them; but, given their enormous popularity with a wide range of people, clearly, others do have that patience.

In terms of diet and exercise, the MMORPG king and I discussed the American culture of helplessness and victimhood, and how that shows in our increasing waistlines. “My family are all big-boned.” “It’s my genes. All my family are big; so, I’m going to be big, too.” “I don’t have time to eat healthy. It’s drive-thru or nothing.” “I travel too much and it’s impossible to eat healthy on the road.”

Poppycock.

Unless your family are brontosaurus, you’re not THAT big-boned. Now, okay, so there are some real, physiological reasons for obesity – hypothyroidism for one – that make it extremely difficult for a person to achieve and/or maintain a healthy weight. And, while eating healthfully at restaurants isn’t easy, it is possible. So, that list is total crap. Just garbage lies that we tell ourselves – and I say “ourselves” because I told myself many of those very same lies. And, worse, I believed them!

We are not victims of our genes. We are not helpless against circumstances. We have the power to make the changes….if we want to.

Here’s a sure thing: if we change the food we eat to primarily plant-based foods (limiting refined sugars and with only a small percentage of those foods being from grains) we will achieve and maintain a healthy weight. If we exercise regularly, conscientiously, and correctly, we will see changes in our bodies. Period. Those are truths you can take to the bank.

If I stop ordering burgers and fries and, instead, order salads (and use only the tiniest portion of the dressing) at the drive-thru, I will lose weight. If I go to the gym three to four times a week and I lift weights as guided by a knowledgeable personal trainer, I will see results. My muscles will become more defined. I will become stronger. My body will burn energy more effectively. It will happen.

I hear people say all of the time that they “can’t lose weight.” Pardon me, but at the risk of repeating myself, that’s crap. I’ll buy that they haven’t been able to lose weight before – I’ve been on those same diets; but, I will not accept that they are unable to do it…ever. There’s no cosmic jury that points at us and says, “That one. The one with the red hair and the mole by her lip. Let’s make her fat forever. Let’s make her think that she can lose weight when she really can’t.” (insert maniacal laughter) NO! THAT DOESN’T HAPPEN! I’m the redhead with the mole. I’m living proof.

For far too long, I believed that Fat was my only sure reality. Now, three years and 94 pounds later, I know that my only sure reality is the one I chose. In the world of diet and exercise, IF I eat appropriately and exercise committedly, THEN I will see results.

It’s a sure thing.