Fat and Finances - Two things we don't talk about
- Whole Happy Health
- 7 hours ago
- 6 min read
Hi Team! Summer is on the way! How exciting is it? I have a few days off this week and the DIY has built up since Christmas! Last summer I took a short wood working course, so time to put the skills to the test! A couple of weeks, I started a plumbing course and I'm really surprised how much I have learned in 2 weeks and how much I am enjoying it! I think out of all the trades skills, this is the one for me!
I was always told when I was younger to learn a trade by family members, but school and teachers always pushed "Computers are the future" I do wish I had listened to family and learned sooner in how to do the basics to maintain and fix things in the house!
But being older, I do wonder if it's the enjoyment of learning is something to think about.
I then received this email from legendary strength coach Dan John as part of his mailing list talking about 2 things we don't talk about fat loss and finances. "Don’t Get Fat, Don’t Get Debt
There are two pieces of advice teenagers hate and adults wish they had followed: don’t get fat and don’t get debt. Both are simple, both are obvious, and both are brutally hard to clean up later.
The issue in both cases is the same. We train ourselves to chase easy dopamine. Junk food, easy credit, impulse spending, scrolling, comparing. Over time, the wrong things become the "hits" we crave. The shift is to flip that system so that saving money, walking, and eating like an adult become the rewards. That takes intention, and it starts with honesty.
If you find yourself upside down financially, the first step is simple and uncomfortable. Here you are. You cannot read a map unless you know where you are standing.
Most people delay this moment. They know they need to change, but the fear of looking at the numbers keeps them stuck. The accounts go unopened. The bills pile up. The comfort zone becomes a trap that no longer feels comfortable. At some point, the cost of not changing has to become greater than the cost of changing. If it does not happen naturally, you have to force it. Think through the worst case. That kind of clarity wakes people up.
Then you look the beast in the face. You list your assets and your liabilities. You stop blaming the economy, your job, your upbringing, or bad luck. You start from where you are and you take responsibility.
Before you touch the numbers, there is another layer that matters. The emotional audit. In our weekly Financial Intenional Community, Danielle made this point clearly: you have to understand your relationship with pleasure and pain. What are you rewarding? What are you avoiding? Many people spend money to avoid discomfort and then spend more money to deal with the consequences. If you do not address that loop, no spreadsheet will save you.
Once you are ready to be honest, you begin the audit. How much money is coming in, and how much is going out? What accounts do you have, and what tools are you using? You identify your fixed costs first, the things you must pay to live. Not the things you want, not the things you can justify, but the true needs.
From there, you start recapturing and reallocating. Where is your money actually going? What expenses add value, and which ones simply drain you? Anything that costs money and does not add value needs to be questioned, and most of it needs to go. This includes the quiet leaks, such as insurance policies, subscriptions, and small recurring charges that add up over time.
You then compare your fixed costs to your income. If ninety percent of your income is already spoken for, you are going to be tight. There is little room to save or invest. Something has to change. Ideally, you increase income and decrease expenses, but even moving one lever matters. Action beats analysis here.
This is where values come into play. Many financial decisions get framed as good or bad, right or wrong, but that misses the point. The real question is whether your spending aligns with the life you are trying to build. If you do not know your values, someone else will decide them for you. Social media, advertising, and the people around you will fill in the blanks.
You are also influenced by your circle. You tend to drift toward the habits and expectations of the people closest to you. That includes how they spend, save, and think about money. Choose that circle carefully.
At some point, you have to stop the bleeding. That means no more new debt, no more pretending, and no more drift. You stabilize before you grow.
From there, the basic structure is simple and time tested. Build an emergency fund first. Then get out of debt. Then begin building your dream or fortune fund. After that comes real independence, what some call "f--- you money," the ability to make decisions without fear. The final stage is using your resources to make a difference beyond yourself.
This is not about building a wall to hide behind. It is about building a moat that protects you. Your emergency fund should be large enough that you do not have to reach for credit or liquidate investments every time life throws you a curveball. You are building armor.
Savings represent future independence. At first, that means survival independence. How long can you cover your fixed costs without new income? The initial goal is three months, then six, then a year. Over time, you extend that runway.
Spending, on the other hand, is a values decision. If you do not know what is enough for you, you will always feel behind. One useful tool is to create bumpers, ranges that define where you are comfortable. This could be a bodyweight range, a spending range, or an income range. You are looking for trends, not perfection.
At the foundation of all of this is one rule. You have to know your numbers. You need to understand your assets, your debts, and the difference between what helps you move forward and what holds you back.
Ideally, as you progress, you move through levels of independence. Early on, someone else may be covering your fixed costs, and you are earning small amounts on the side. Then your income matches your expenses. After that, your income begins to exceed your costs, giving you breathing room. Eventually, your income can cover your fixed costs for months at a time, and later for years. Each step gives you more options.
This process mirrors physical training. You can control your physique, but only if you accept where you are and do the work consistently. You define your standards for how you want to look, live, travel, and spend your time. You build from there.
There are a few traps to avoid. One is boredom. As Rick Bojak pointed out, you cannot be bored if you want to maintain a system. He poked me on the chest after explaining the Veer Offense: "You. You can’t get bored." Bored people drift back to old habits. Another is constant distraction, the "what about this" mindset that keeps you from staying on track. Then there are the Groundhog Day cycles, where you keep having the same conversation with yourself and never change your behavior.
Saving money today is not about deprivation. It is about future safety and future options. It is about giving your future self the ability to say yes or no without fear.
The sequence remains the same. Emergency fund. Debt free. Dream fund. Independence. Contribution. Know your numbers, then act.
And one final point that people often miss. Before you build anything, you need the right tools. Just like a good training program begins by asking what equipment you have, your financial plan has to start with your reality. Your income, your skills, your opportunities, your constraints. Start there. Then build.
That is how you go from reacting to life to directing it."
What are your workouts?
I am just finishing off the 2nd month of the programme chiselled armour I created last year. I had put on some extra weight, so this month while being strict with working out 3 days a week, I adjusted my calories and hooray! Things are moving, and I'm back to where I feel comfotable and back to feeling full of energy again.
It's amazing, how easy it is those calories can creep in and you end up eating 8 biscuits instead of 2.
Sometimes you just sit down and look at yourself and figure out what is going on.
The Saturday Morning bootcamp is back in full swing! So if you want to burn fat, tone your muscles, get the heart beating and sweat dripping come and join the team on Saturday Mornings - 8am - Charlbury Community Centre.
What are you listening to?
I listened to Josh Ross' album and what a great summer vibe album
Here is "Hate the way you look"
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