Five Reasons You Shouldn't Listen To Us

(And one why maybe you should)

We've been doing this for a few months now and the response has been really humbling and enriching for us both. But recently it occurred to me: "why are you listening to us at all?". Well - I'm a big believer in "buyer beware," so I figured, in the spirit of total transparency, I'd give you all the chance to turn tail and run.

So (deep breath) here goes nothing.

1. We're not doctors, nutritionists, or professional trainers

Michelle and I have no particular qualifications to dispense advice on the subjects of health, nutrition, or fitness. We're veterans, world travelers, expert planners, and experienced leaders. But not health professionals. Health professionals, through decades of modern medical science will tell you all about "heart healthy diets" and being active 20-30 minutes a day, three times a week. They went to school for years to build a vast arsenal of health knowledge. And, clearly, it is working. The obesity epidemic is on the decline; the science is settled and incontrovertible, and can be applied with predictable results for nearly any healthy human.

2. We don't subscribe to mainstream diet and exercise recommendations

Dr Oz knows precisely zip! about achieving body recomposition in a person. There, I said it. It feels so good to get that off my chest. We don't count calories. We eat whole eggs, bacon, and steak with relish. We put full fat dressing on our (sizable) salad, and don't skimp on the cheese either. Nothing in our house is "low fat" or "lite", and a cheeseburger (without the bun) is not considered a cheat meal in this house.

Nothing in our nutrition or training regime is branded, trademarked, or published. We don't own a single diet book or workout video.

We don't do three days of cardio a week. We don't jog or cycle or hop on an elliptical machine at all. In fact, you know what? I have absolutely no idea how many calories we burned in today's workout, last week, or last month. I'm like a kid running around with scissors.

My God, people, we don't even own a scale!

3. We haven't achieved all of our health and fitness goals

Nope. Not there yet. Call me fickle, but when we started, I just wanted to be able to achieve the "not a wimp" goal of benching my body weight. Then, I hoped to see 200 someday. Now, I'm hunting for 225 (there's just something about piling on 45 pound plates). And Michelle has more than doubled her starting weight on the bench press. In fact, most weeks, her stats for total pounds lifted beat mine. (Seriously, she's a machine!)

We can't make up our minds what we want. Have more energy? Feel good in our clothes? Feel good out of our clothes? Lose weight, gain weight? Swing on a trapeze? Seriously - no focus whatsoever. Progress makes us giddy. Every day and every milestone open up a new vista of potential. Why on earth would we declare "mission accomplished"?

4. Nothing we write is new knowledge

There are probably thousands of blog and reference sites out there. Between Michelle and I, we probably subscribe to forty of them. We haven't conducted any controlled studies. We haven't conducted caloric analysis of the kumquat versus the mango. We certainly don't have the chops of Mark Rippetoe, et al. All we have done is read, researched, filtered, and applied everything we could to try and produce the results we were looking for.

Virtually everything you read on these pages can be found, backed up, validated (and in many cases refuted) elsewhere on the 'net. Albeit without the unique charm of our delivery.

5. We aren't promising you results

Any reputable service gives you some kind of guarantee, right? What kind of "bait and switch" operation are we running here?

The simple fact is that the human condition, physical, emotional, and psychological, is a complicated one. Everyone is different. I do believe that we represent what the "average" person can accomplish, but I don't know what will work for you personally to achieve your goals. But, if like so many of us, you've tried other approaches without success, what do you have to lose?

But...!

After forty years of being unsuccessful in applying mainstream thinking of diet and exercise, we decided to yield to Einstein's definition of insanity and to try something different. And it worked! And, even more bizarre, we're having fun doing it. I swear, I would have laughed out loud a year ago if anyone had described either one of us as a "gym rat".

Since starting in July 2012, we have each lost pounds, cut our body fat by 65%, gained muscle mass, gained strength, gotten faster, and look and feel better than any point in our lives. The results are undeniable.

We don't have anything to gain by doing this. We aren't selling anything and most of you will never meet us in person. But this is important. People are unhappy and unhealthy. And the vast majority of standard guidance out there isn't getting them anywhere.

We are passionate about getting the word out, especially to those of our generation, that you can actually be in control of your body and uncover possibilities you only dreamed of before. It's simple. It's not easy, but it is simple. (Props to Fito Derrick for that last little gem).  Just start!

So, if you haven't given up hope on us yet after baring our souls here, let us know.  Tell us what kinds of posts you want to see in the future.  And please, if you know someone who might be ready to make a change, share our message with them.