The PayToCommit Blog
Weight Loss Strategies That Actually Work
Simple, practical, no-hype advice from 30+ years in health and fitness — plus the one thing most diets are missing: real accountability.
Part I — Before You Try to Lose Weight
Why Most Diets Fail (And What Actually Works)
Knowing what to do isn't enough. You have to actually do it.
Part I — Before You Try to Lose Weight
Commitment Changes Everything
I want you to understand something very simple:
Part I — Before You Try to Lose Weight
Stop Being Judgmental
Making a mistake isn't the problem. Allowing one mistake to become a week, month, or year of mistakes is the problem.
Part II — Understand Why You're Gaining Weight
Body Fat Isn't All the Same
Where your body stores fat matters — and it's the reason your waist can tell you more than the bathroom scale.
Part II — Understand Why You're Gaining Weight
Visceral Fat: The Fat You Really Want to Lose
Now that you understand that body fat isn't all the same, I want to spend some more time talking about the type of fat I especially want you paying…
Part II — Understand Why You're Gaining Weight
Insulin and Insulin Resistance
Before we go any further, I want you to understand insulin because you're going to hear that word throughout this guide.
Part II — Understand Why You're Gaining Weight
Metabolic Syndrome
Now I want to connect several of the things we've already talked about.
Part III — Food
Ultra-Processed Food: Start Here
If you're trying to improve your diet and lose weight, this is one of the first places I want you to start.
Part III — Food
Stop Drinking Your Sugar
This is one of the simplest changes you can make when you're trying to lose weight and clean up your diet:
Part III — Food
Sugar: What You Need to Know
And distinguish naturally occurring sugars from added sugars rather than treating every source identically.
Part III — Food
Carbohydrates Explained
In fact, the material we've already developed specifically says I don't want the lesson to become “carbohydrates are evil.”
Part III — Food
Protein: Build Your Meals Around It
Protein is one of the things I want you thinking about every time you build a meal.
Part III — Food
Dietary Fat: Stop Being Afraid of the Word “Fat”
What the evidence actually says about cardiovascular risk 13. Dietary Fat: Stop Being Afraid of the Word “Fat”
Part III — Food
Vegetable and Seed Oils
What the current evidence has actually established.
Part III — Food
Real Food vs. “Diet Food”
One of the biggest traps people fall into when they start trying to lose weight is believing that anything marketed as:
Part III — Food
Do Calories Matter?
“Weight loss is all about calories. Just eat less and move more.”
Part IV — Fasting
What Happens When You Stop Eating?
When you stop eating, your body doesn't simply run out of energy and shut down.
Part IV — Fasting
Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting doesn't have to be complicated.
Part IV — Fasting
Longer Fasts
Now we need to make an important distinction.
Part IV — Fasting
Ketosis
Ketosis is one of the main ideas behind the Zapp the Fat Diet, so I want you to understand what it actually means instead of simply hearing:
Part IV — Fasting
Autophagy and Mitophagy
Autophagy is one of those words that sounds much more complicated than it needs to be.
Part V — Why Your Body May Be Fighting You
Hunger: Is It Really Hunger?
One of the most useful things you can learn while trying to lose weight is how to answer one simple question:
Part V — Why Your Body May Be Fighting You
Cravings — And Why They Start to Fade
This is another distinction I want you to learn.
Part V — Why Your Body May Be Fighting You
Why Weight Fluctuates 3–5 Pounds
If you're using PayToCommit and putting real money on the line to reach a specific weight by a deadline, there is something extremely important you…
Part V — Why Your Body May Be Fighting You
The Weight-Loss Plateau
There is something you need to understand about losing weight:
Part VI — Thyroid, Hormones & Nutrients
Low Thyroid: The Tests You Need to Understand
If you're struggling to lose weight, feeling unusually tired, cold, constipated, mentally foggy, or experiencing other symptoms that make you wonder…
Part VI — Thyroid, Hormones & Nutrients
Iodine: Essential or Dangerous?
Iodine is one of the most important — and most misunderstood — nutrients in your body.
Part VI — Thyroid, Hormones & Nutrients
The 7 Iodine-Rich Foods
Iodine is an essential mineral — and whenever I can, I'd rather you get it from real food than from a supplement.
Part VI — Thyroid, Hormones & Nutrients
Vitamin D and Sunlight
Vitamin D is surrounded by hype in both directions. Let's keep it simple: what it's for, where you get it, and why more isn't automatically better.
Part VI — Thyroid, Hormones & Nutrients
Electrolytes: Sodium, Potassium & Magnesium
When people cut carbs and suddenly feel terrible, the culprit usually isn't the diet — it's electrolytes.
Part VII — Movement & Lifestyle
Exercise Is Important — But You Can't Outrun Your Diet
Movement is important. Strength is important. Muscle is important. Your cardiovascular fitness and metabolic health are important.
Part VII — Movement & Lifestyle
Why Muscle Matters During Weight Loss
When most people decide they want to lose weight, they have one goal:
Part VII — Movement & Lifestyle
Sleep and Weight Loss
When people think about losing weight, they usually think about two things: diet and exercise. But there's another part of the equation that is…
Part VII — Movement & Lifestyle
Stress Without the Fluff
You've probably heard this advice before:
Part VII — Movement & Lifestyle
Get Outside
One of the simplest things you can do for your health doesn't require a gym membership, a supplement, or some complicated morning routine:
Part VIII — Measuring Results
The Scale Is Only One Measurement
When you're trying to lose weight, it's easy to become obsessed with one number:
Part VIII — Measuring Results
How to Weigh Yourself Properly
If you're going to use the scale to measure progress, you need to know how to weigh yourself properly. This is especially important with PayToCommit,…
Part VIII — Measuring Results
Blood Tests You Should Understand
You go to the doctor, have blood drawn, and a few days later you receive a report filled with numbers, abbreviations, reference ranges, and flags.
Part IX — The PayToCommit System
Put Something on the Line
Most people already know they should lose weight. They know they should eat better, move more, sleep better, and stop making excuses. The problem…
Part IX — The PayToCommit System
Pick the Right First Goal
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they decide to lose weight is looking at the total amount they eventually want to lose and making that…
Part IX — The PayToCommit System
The 90-Day Commitment
A goal without a deadline is easy to keep moving into the future. You tell yourself you're going to lose weight, but there's always another Monday,…
Part IX — The PayToCommit System
Your 31-Day Food Journal
You can learn a lot about the way you eat simply by writing it down.
Part IX — The PayToCommit System
Your Daily Commitment Checklist
Weight loss doesn't require you to make a thousand perfect decisions every day. It requires you to consistently make enough good decisions to keep…
Part IX — The PayToCommit System
Family Support
Losing weight becomes harder when the people around you don't understand what you're trying to accomplish.
Part IX — The PayToCommit System
What to Do When You Mess Up
At some point during your weight-loss journey, you're probably going to mess up.
Part IX — The PayToCommit System
Maintenance: Losing It Is Only Half the Job
Maybe you lost 5 pounds. Maybe 10. Maybe 15. Maybe you've completed several PayToCommit challenges and lost considerably more over time.
Part X — The Simple Plan
My Advice: Keep It Simple
We've covered a lot throughout this guide. We've talked about food, carbohydrates, protein, fasting, hunger, insulin, exercise, muscle, sleep, stress,…
Part XI — The Zapp the Fat Diet in Practice
What Is the Zapp the Fat Diet?
What Does the Zapp the Fat Diet Consist Of?
Part XI — The Zapp the Fat Diet in Practice
Keto vs. Carnivore: Which Is Right for You?
People love to argue about keto versus carnivore, but the truth is simpler than the internet makes it sound. Both work by getting you off sugar and…
Part XI — The Zapp the Fat Diet in Practice
What I Actually Eat in a Normal Day
People often ask what I personally eat in a normal day on the Zapp the Fat Diet. The answer is actually very simple. I usually eat twice a day, and I…
Part XI — The Zapp the Fat Diet in Practice
OMAD: One Meal a Day for Fat Loss
OMAD stands for One Meal a Day. It's exactly what it sounds like: you eat one satisfying meal in a window each day and fast the rest of the time. For…
Part XI — The Zapp the Fat Diet in Practice
Eating This Way on a Budget
I also budget for my food. Quality meat can cost more than some conventional foods, so I make it something I deliberately plan for instead of treating…