I want to share a personal story outlining how I have lost 27 pounds so far in my weight loss journey. I achieved this without feeling particularly motivated to exercise, or change routines I enjoyed such as going out to eat. I am someone who likes to develop systems to improve my life and I have one I’d like to share related to losing weight. While considering strategies to help me shed pounds, I asked myself this question: What if focusing on just one or two key factors could simplify the journey to achieving my weight loss goals? I will share the approach I have used to lose 27 pounds (and counting) by concentrating on two key factors.

Before you dismiss this article, let me share a brief story that relates to my experience.

There is a guy named Kevin Maginnis that made headlines in 2023 for losing over 58 pounds by eating only McDonald’s food. His weight loss journey garnered national media attention, even landing articles in publications like People Magazine and an appearance on the Today show. Why did his story make headlines? He lost a staggering amount of weight while eating fast food.

Kevin’s story resonates with me and it is not just because he lost weight while still enjoying fast food. It is because if you closely examine the details of his plan, there are similarities to how I have successfully lost weight. I have been using what I call a reductionist strategy, which is exactly what Kevin did. He did not completely overhaul his diet, swear off entire food groups, eat nothing but tree leaves, or follow three hundred seventeen strict rules. He made a plan that was as simple as possible, with as few elements as necessary. There were no complicated multi-part steps, no fads, and no popular diet plans.

His secret? Portion control: calories in versus calories out. This is something that I have been practicing, along with adding one other major component to my plan.

Overview

While developing my plan, I decided to choose a set of foundational guidelines that I would use as a filter for my food choices, portion sizes, and more. I decided to make two factors my guiding principles.

1. Reduce portion sizes.

2. Remove one food ingredient.

My plan wasn’t as extreme as Kevin’s, who ate only fast food. I used my guidelines to help me make informed choices about what to eat.

I will share more later in this post about what I did and am doing regarding portion sizes and the ingredient I eliminated. First, I want to explain my thought process that went into creating my plan.

Why This Works

I want to share why this kind of plan works. I drew from what I learned from various disciplines, including psychology, philosophy, nutrition, and behavioral science. Here’s how my two-component plan set me up to succeed:

- Simplifying choices: Weight loss diets often fail because they are too complicated, involving strict calorie counting, complex meal prep, and more. This leads to frustration and eventual abandonment of the plan. I broke down a complex system (my overall diet) into simpler, more manageable components.

- Focus on Key Factors: By choosing two key factors, I reduced complexity and made it easier to manage my plan and make healthier choices. I didn’t change my entire diet; I concentrated on portion sizes and the elimination of one ingredient. I mentioned earlier that I employed what I call a reductionist strategy. When faced with fewer variables, it can be easier to stick to a plan and see results.

- Behavioral Change: This aligns with choosing specific factors to target. Instead of trying to change everything at once, I selected components that helped address specific behaviors related to weight management. I knew that going “cold-turkey” with anything does not work. Abruptly, immediately ceasing a habit or behavior without gradual reduction does not work.

Going back to Kevin for a moment, he lost weight while eating junk food. This led me to consider that eating only healthy food may not be the critical piece of the puzzle for achieving weight loss. The man ate hamburgers and fries and still lost weight.

I learned that the critical key to losing weight is taking in fewer calories than you burn. Energy (calories) in versus energy (calories) out.

If you do not believe me, let me refer to someone much smarter and more educated on this subject than I am. Dr. Layne Norton, a PhD nutrition scientist, wrote a book titled Fat Loss Forever. He states:

“What ultimately determines weight loss is how much energy you consume versus how much energy you expend.”

He also writes:

“It is impossible to gain weight in a caloric deficit.”

I chose to include portion control as part of my plan because of what I learned from various sources about maintaining a caloric deficit.

Regarding the second element of my plan, eliminating a specific food ingredient was a choice I made to help me lose weight and eat healthier. I knew that completely overhauling my diet wouldn’t work, and I wanted to maintain enjoyable routines like eating out.

Plan In Practice

I promised earlier that I would get into the specific details of what I am doing and how I am following the two principles I chose: Elimination of one ingredient and portion control. I did this while figuring out ways to be the least disruptive as possible with my current habits. For example, I mentioned that I did not want to give up going out to eat. I have a habit of eating lunch at various restaurants during my work week. I wanted to figure out, how can I still visit restaurants I like and lose weight while doing it?

Eliminated Ingredient

What ingredient did I decide to eliminate from my diet? Wheat. Why? I chose wheat because it is found in so much junk food. Pizza, hamburger buns, hotdog buns, fried chicken, the list seems endless.

By choosing to eliminate ONE ingredient that is everywhere in food, my downstream choices about what to eat and where to eat have flowed from that principle.

If a restaurant has fried chicken, I will order grilled chicken instead. I began ordering meat from the menu that isn’t served in sandwich form at a BBQ joint I often visit. I have basically stopped going to almost every fast food restaurant because of my decision to eliminate wheat.

It has been eye-opening to learn how much food in America contains wheat. It’s seemingly in everything. Even ice cream has wheat in it if it contains certain ingredients like cookie pieces or certain additives.

Portion Control

Portion control is another key component of my two-part plan. One tactic I use is to eat half of what I’m served. Portions in restaurants in America are typically huge, often enough for multiple people. I also employ substitutions to reduce the number of calories I am consuming while making healthier food choices. For example, I will choose green beans instead of fries as a side.

Here’s a more comprehensive example of how I go about choosing food to eat.

There is an Asian restaurant I frequent for lunch during workdays. It serves a mix of Thai, Vietnamese, and other dishes from Southeast Asia. This is a local gem, a quality sit-down restaurant. The owner partners with local farms and health food stores. It is not your typical fast-food Chinese takeout joint.

The portions they serve at this restaurant are very generous, enough for 2-3 people. Following my principle of portion control, I started eating half of my order and taking the rest to go. In conjunction with my other key factor of no wheat, I stopped ordering menu items like Thai fried chicken.

This example illustrates that I did not completely overhaul my daily routine or stop going to favorite restaurants, like the Asian place I mentioned. I still visit, and filter my food choices through the two principles I chose. I select a menu item without wheat and eat half of it.

I also apply my criteria at the grocery store. While walking the aisles, I use my chosen ingredient as a filter to eliminate what I put in my shopping cart. There are entire aisles I skip, such as the frozen food section, except for frozen vegetables.

Additional Choices Within My Framework

While my weight loss plan primarily relies on the two key factors of portion control and eliminating one specific ingredient, I do want to be upfront with you that I make additional choices that support my overall goals. However, it is important to emphasize that these choices are not arbitrary; they are always filtered through the lens of my two guiding principles.

For instance, I might choose to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into my meals, but I do so with the understanding that I still need to manage portion sizes. Those fruits and vegetables might also act as substitutes to food that contains wheat. I focus on filling my plate with nutrient-dense foods that align with my goal of maintaining a caloric deficit. This approach allows me to enjoy a variety of foods without straying from my core principles.

I also consider the quality of the foods I consume. While I may occasionally indulge in a treat, I ensure that it fits within my overall strategy of portion control and ingredient elimination. This means that if I decide to have dessert, I will opt for a smaller portion and choose something that does not contain wheat.

By keeping my plan centered on these two key factors, I avoid the overwhelm that often comes with trying to follow a long list of rules or restrictions. This simplicity not only makes it easier to stick to my plan but also allows me to enjoy the process of making healthier choices without feeling deprived.

Feedback Loop

I want to emphasize the importance of a feedback loop as part of my plan in practice. A feedback loop is crucial to reaching goals such as losing weight. While I cannot avoid tracking my progress, I do limit the complexity of how I approach it. I do not count calories. At least not in the sense that I track that I am consuming, say, 2100 calories each day.

I believe counting calories adds unnecessary complexity and can make it more frustrating to stick with my plan. Instead, I take a more strategic, high-level, approach to tracking, focusing on whether my weight trend is down, flat, or up.

I am not perfect in terms of following my plan. For example, there have been times I have eaten a whole meal I ordered at a restaurant instead of taking half to go, followed by an ice cream binge. However, I monitor my trends and make adjustments as needed. If my choices lead to an increase in weight, I reassess and modify my decisions accordingly.

Challenges

Going on ice cream binges is not the only challenge I face. I want to share a selection of challenges I have faced during my weight-loss journey. This hasn’t been easy. My goal in addition to weight loss has been to make this effort less difficult, avoid unnecessary complexity, rules, and so forth.

I have encountered frustrations, such as my weight trending flat or even starting to increase. I discovered that the human body’s metabolism changes and becomes more efficient as you lose weight. This means that, in an effort to avoid starvation, your body recognizes that you are eating less food and adjusts by becoming more efficient with how much energy it burns. By the way, how and what the body does to fight against weight loss could be a whole article in itself.

By eliminating wheat, I am not consuming bread, even whole wheat bread. If it contains wheat, it does not go on my plate. I mentioned earlier that I have discovered how much food has wheat in it, even items you might not initially consider. I have not and am not on a gluten-free diet; my strategy is to screen out at least most of the “big ticket” items. I have not eaten pizza in months, for example.

I still want to include grains in my diet, but I have had to work around my “no wheat” rule. I have found it very eye-opening that nearly every rye bread on the shelves at my local stores are not pure rye; they are mixed with wheat. What I have been going with is rye crispbread I order online. This has been helping me keep grains as part of my diet.

Conclusion

I wrote this post to share how I systematized my weight loss journey. I read somewhere that goals tell you where you want to go while a system is what gets you there. Wanting to lose weight is a goal. My plan serves as an example of a system that I (and you!) can implement daily to help achieve that weight-loss goal.

I understand that food, the habits surrounding it, and the process of losing weight can be highly personalized, and what works for me may not work for everyone. Keeping plans as simple as possible can be used as a principle, along with the approach of making gradual changes. I began with dropping specific items like fast food, and today I’m making even healthier choices like eating more fruits and vegetables and consuming less sugar. I hope what I’ve shared offers some inspiration for any goals you may have related to this subject.

Did you know that around half of employees feel like ineffective communication negatively impacts their productivity? It's easy to imagine that poor communication may lead to problems like misunderstandings, lack of clarity, and feeling unsupported. Consider a scenario where you're juggling multiple projects and perhaps feel overwhelmed and unsure of where to focus your efforts. Your boss may not realize this unless you provide an update or express your concerns. How can you professionally break down communication barriers and effectively share your workload and support needs? In this post, I'll introduce a four-part communication template that you can proactively implement today to enhance communication with your manager. You can use it for situations like weekly reports, or perhaps as an agenda during your one-on-one meeting.

Benefits

Some benefits of the template I'm going to share include:

• Proactive Communication - Take the initiative to keep your boss informed, ensuring they are aware of your progress and challenges.

• Recognition of Contributions - Highlight your achievements to bring attention to your hard work.

• Enhanced Clarity - A structured template helps you organize your message, making it easier to communicate your workload and progress.

• Increased Support - Clearly articulating your needs informs management what you need assistance with.

Template

Here is the template:

Team contributions:

• Assisted with Task One

• Supported Task Two

• Collaborated on Project XYZ

• Helped with Project ZYA

Current Projects:

• * Project 1: In-progress

  • Brief update on progress

• Project 2: In-progress

  • Key updates or challenges

• Project 3: Completed

  • General status with relevant summary

Workload for Next Week:

• Task 1: Due by X Time on Monday

• Task 2: Details, deadline

• Project 1: Ongoing

• Project 2 - Ongoing

• Project 3 - You get the idea...

• Routine Work - Brief mention of any relevant details.

Support Needed:

• Do we have someone that can help me with XYZ project/task?

• Am I the primary contact for ABC project? [Person’s name] in other department is asking for help with this. If I am the primary assistant, can we discuss prioritization?

• I need to discuss [Subject] due to [reasons]. I've de-prioritized this in favor of higher-priority projects.

• I would like to clarify requirements regarding [Project].

Conclusion

Effective communication is essential for success in the workplace. By implementing the suggested four-part communication template, you can enhance clarity, foster collaboration, align on objectives, and receive support. You can use this, for example, in your weekly reports and/or one-on-one meetings.

Plans are worthless, but planning is everything. — Dwight D. Eisenhower

What is my exit plan if everything goes south?

Obviously the goal of any investment is to make a profit. Allocating capital somewhere can be considered a move of optimism: You like the investment and want to see it succeed. Yet, I don't believe many investors put a lot of thought into the other side of the equation: What if things don't go well? A wise investor should have a comprehensive plan that includes both an entry and an exit strategy.

You see it all the time in the financial markets: A negative event occurs, panic ensues, and a selloff happens, causing a significant drop in value. I firmly believe people panic because they don't have a plan for how to handle adverse events.

Examples of a good plan include determining your holding period, employing stop-losses if necessary, and listing any other triggers for exiting an investment.

How easy is it to withdraw your money?

Banks offer bonuses to entice you to open an account with them. Brokerages facilitate money transfers and allow you to buy stocks with a few clicks. Annuities promise a guaranteed return over the long-term. Businesses make it easy to deposit your money with them. How easy is it to get your money back out?

Before making a deposit, find out what provisions there are to return your capital. Can you initiate a transfer any time? Is there some catch that involves you needing to give advanced notice? Is there a lock-in period, which is common for investments like certificates of deposit?

What do those offering an investment have to gain?

Get into the habit of questioning the motives of those who either directly sell or promote investments. For example, YouTube videos may have clickbait titles such as, "In X number of days, it falls apart", or "This is the date when the economy will crash". Look in the video description and don't be surprised if you find affiliate links to products such as gold. Those who stand to profit from gold often use scare tactics to draw you in and encourage you to buy what they're selling.

Another example is workers in the financial industry who profit off of commissions. Financial advisors who are compensated with a percentage cut or similar structure may have a conflict of interest. They may try to sell you on investing in something that nets them a higher commission rather than what is genuinely best for you. Fee-only advisors are a better option because you pay them a set amount and that helps with getting objective advice.

What red flags may be present?

The forms and tactics scammers utilize can be seemingly endless. Get into the habit of watching out for red flags and educating yourself on what those are. Here is a small selection of red flags to illustrate:

- Promises of guaranteed returns. Any investment carries risk, so when someone offers you a no- or low-risk investment, watch out.

- Be cautious of high-pressure sales tactics. Urgency is a method used to get people to make a decision before they're ready and properly informed.

- The old adage 'too good to be true' is a good principle to keep in mind. If your gut tells you something smells fishy, it may very well be a scam.

There are plenty more red flags to consider, such as lack of transparency, shady history, affinity fraud (targeting specific communities), and more.

Conclusion

These questions provide a framework, along with actionable advice, for assessing risk and recovery when evaluating investments. This is by no means an exhaustive list, nor the only considerations to keep in mind. Always remain vigilant and continue to educate yourself to protect your financial well-being.

Strategic Layer

“I have two kinds of problems: the urgent and the important. The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower

The system starts off at the strategic level by implementing a tool called the Eisenhower Matrix. This matrix is a productivity and time-management tool that helps prioritize tasks into four quadrants based on their urgency and importance. Credited to the 34th President, it was popularized by Stephen Covey in his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

Action item: List every assignment, exam, reading, and whatever else that is on your task list. Sort them into the four quadrants shown below.

Infographic from Columbia University. Source

Tactical Layer

"Compound interest is not just a mathematical concept, it's a life principle. Consistent, focused, goal-driven small steps frequently and predictably unlock astounding outcomes." — John C. Maxwell

The next layer in the system moves to tactics. We're going to apply the principle of compounding and combine it with setting up a schedule. This layer sets a predictable rhythm, helping build momentum. Doing regular, consistent work will allow your results to compound.

Action item: Take your prioritized task list and plug each item into a weekly calendar. You can break down tasks into multiple days. For example, if you need to study for a test on Friday, you should schedule time every day leading up to Friday to prepare.

Operational Layer

"Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out." — Robert Collier

The operational layer takes us into daily routine. The Pomodoro Technique is a method that can be applied here. This technique helps fight procrastination, distraction, and mental fatigue through manageable time blocks. You complete focused work, like studying, during set intervals. A common interval is 25 minutes of work with 5-minute breaks. Modify to what works best for you.

Action item: While following your previously arranged schedule, break down your activities into intervals using the Pomodoro Technique. Using the study example from previously, you can break down your session into 25-minute blocks with 5-minute breaks built in.

Execution Layer

“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.” ― Zig Ziglar

The execution layer is the step at which we define manageable units of information that fit into a single Pomodoro or even a single 5‑minute micro‑task. Chunks are compact bits of knowledge that we connect together.

Action item: Break down the material you have to work through into smaller chunks and work on each unit until completed. Combine with repetition for things you have to do like studying until you feel like you have mastered the subject.

Putting it all together

Here is a nice table to illustrate how I see the parts of this system when put together:

These techniques may not be new or a surprise to you. What I've done is layer four techniques together, starting with the big-picture view and narrowing down to a moment-by-moment execution level. I hope this has been of value to you and thanks for reading!

I want to share 3 techniques I've developed from lessons learned over the years that have helped me improve my communication in a business setting. These techniques focus on tailoring communication methods, being concise, and making it easy for others to engage.

Find out how people like to communicate.

“Use different messaging for different groups to ensure your communications are relevant.” – Andrea Plos

I found out pretty quickly at a former workplace that text messages to my supervisor seemed to disappear into the void. He was always responsive via phone call and would call versus text me. A team lead for another department I worked closely with was the opposite, preferring text messages versus phone calls. In both cases I wasn't being ignored, it was simply that each individual preferred a different communication method than I was using to reach out to them.

I learned that finding out whether someone prefers text-based communication or verbal interaction goes a long way towards having efficient and effective communication with them. This has really helped me especially with those that I report to, like my manager and those higher up in my chain-of-command.

Technique: Learn the preferred communication method for individuals you work with. Some may prefer text-based methods and others voice communication like phone calls.

Be concise.

"Make sure to communicate your idea quickly and keep it straight to the point." - Paul Bailey

At a former employer, my supervisor's boss sent me out on a field trip one day to fix an issue. I remember this assignment because it was my "skip-level" manager handing me the assignment, and this task had high visibility, including to our client, so he was particularly interested in the outcome.

Once I accomplished the assignment and returned to the office, I was immediately asked how it went. I had the realization that this manager just wanted to hear that the task was done, so he could report that up the chain and move on to other work. I replied that the work was finished successfully, despite being eager to go over all the details involved. He didn't need to nor want to hear the whole story, all the problems I ran into, and how I figured out how to fix the issue.

I've never been accused of being 'short-winded' but I've learned that brevity goes a long way. I've also learned that people don't often have the patience for a long explanation. If you've ever written a massive missive only to find out few if any coworkers read it, I've been there and done that. Maybe you've had people tune out if you give a long verbal briefing about a topic.

Technique: Learn to communicate in a concise manner that gets right to the point.

Learning to be concise has also helped me with getting answers and improved response rates. This leads into my next point.

Make it easy to respond.

Just because something is a priority for me doesn't mean it's at the top of someone else's to-do list. I have faced frustrations with not getting a reply, people being slow to answer if they do answer at all, and so on. People are busy, maybe overwhelmed with their workload, and have different priorities. Coupling brevity with making it easy to respond has greatly improved my business communication as well as helping colleagues get back to me. The less effort someone needs to expend to respond, the more likely that response will happen.

I like to frame my asks in a way in which the recipient simply needs to provide a simple answer, even just a yes or no.

Q. "Can I send you a meeting invitation to talk about 'XYZ' on Wednesday?" A. Yes/no.

Q. "What is the deadline for this project?" A. Friday by close of business.

Technique: Formulate your communication to minimize the effort it takes for others to respond.

To conclude, I want to be the first to tell you that I am not an expert communicator, yet have learned some lessons that I have developed into the techniques that I shared above. I hope this is useful to you as it has been for me.

“To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” - Tony Robbins