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YOU DON'T WANT MY SHOES!

I spend a lot of time looking into the faces of desperate people as they ask me the same question: "How did you lose 200 pounds?” Over the years it has occurred to me that they are not interested in my answer. What they really want is THE ANSWER, the big answer. They want the secret.  They want a one-stop solution. They want to learn what I did in the hopes that they follow in my footsteps. I don't blame them. I remember being there myself. I remember searching for answers - I wanted the fast track. I wanted this problem over with and done.

The good news is there is an answer - I'm not sure if you can call it a secret really because as it turns out everyone already knows it. The real trick, the real art is making the answer fit in your life. I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that the best way to lose weight, scratch that, the ONLY way to lose weight is to eat less and move more. In fact if I were to tell you that you would probably want your money back for this book.  You would probably say to yourself what the hell do I need this book for? This guy has devoted his life, stolen my precious time, and sacrificed countless trees - to answering a question that has a one sentence answer. A one sentence answer that everyone already knows!  - That sucks!  Ahh! But here's where it gets interesting - and we need to make that one sentence answer fit us. Each one of us is so different and the factors that influence how much we and how much we move are so complex that what you need is a personalized solution. A solution that fits you like a shoe. The reason your past the attempts at dieting have failed is because you were trying to wear someone else's shoes. Have you ever bought shoes from a thrift shop? If you have, you probably got your money's worth. You get a set of shoes that fell apart and probably hurt your feet. If I were to give you my answer, my "secret" as to what I do right now to maintain my weight, it would be like giving you my shoes. The truth is that if I did give you my shoe and probably wouldn't be your size. It would either flop around on your foot and then fall off or you wouldn't even get your foot into the damn thing. Even if it was your size, once I have had my foot in it, you don't want it anyway! Trust me, (and this is supported by anyone who's ever gotten close to my shoes) you do NOT want my shoes! To complicate matters even further the "shoes" I wear today are not the same "shoes" but I wore a year ago. My "shoe needs” are constantly changing - my old shoes wear out and they need repair. Sometimes my shoes need to be maintained. And sometimes they need to be replaced.  (discuss maintenance programs here) Let's face it all of our shoes could use a little polish.