Snacking is a Scam...
A preview of a 31 day journey, Stressed Leaders Newsletter Vol. 19
“Are you a toddler?”
Biting words when I shared my struggle with snacking with my guy
Mike has become legendary at helping me be accountable. He’s got me hitting weight lifting marks I’ve never seen before. He’s helped raise my energy levels to new heights. I was recently discussing my heaviest anchor in my journey, my diet. We walked through what I ate throughout the days prior and discussing bite size butterfingers or the world famous Seneca Board of Education Chocolate Chip cookies, he said, “What are you a toddler?” A toddler caves to his desires. A toddler cries for a snack to feel better.
Not a day later I was talking to another great leader
in our weekly talk and he said, “Snacking is for sissies.” These guys are master’s at commitment. Their level of commitment to 100 mile endurance races, strongman competitions, 100K rucks, 2 days of fasting, etc. demonstrates their commitment levels. Coincidentally, I finished a great book and started another, written by Spartan Race and Company founder Joe De Sena. De Sena’s “10 Rules for Resilience” takes the reader on a journey of his company’s fortune and struggles, while also tackling his own method to build resiliency in his family. I love reading books, especially about leadership, or building the most important foundation of America, family development, and drug cartels. Yes, drug cartels; I love reading about any and every one of them.For 18 months, or so, I’ve committed to a strength training journey that is gaining more and more momentum each day. I’ve elevated relationships in our family to new heights, but the snacking continues to sissify me. It is an out, a weakness, an anchor. After that hard talk with Mike and Zach, I realized it’s on me; it’s always been on me.
Snacking is my anchor. It’s a momentum killer. One snack will lead into a bad meal, which used to lead into a bad day, then a bad week, and so on… Snacking is a microcosm of life; how we do the little things is how we do everything. The momentum killer leads to guilt and a feeling of being trapped by bad decisions. It is also enabling, the “I’ll start tomorrow..” or “I’ll regroup tomorrow…” has always been a convenient out. It’s how I allowed myself to stumble into weighing 365+ pounds or made series of decisions that negatively impacted my outlook on things in life, “I’ll start tomorrow," is a horrible “out” that we allow ourselves. Check it out here: I'll Start Tomorrow...
So, when the same day, Petie said, “Are you a man, or a boy…” The planets seemingly aligned in a common message. Enough excuse making, enough allowing this anchor to kill my momentum.
I will commit to not snacking. I will weigh 239 pounds when I enter the Arena on March 22nd for Training Day. Today (2.17.2025), I weigh 257 pounds, still down over 100 pounds, but stuck at a +/- 10 pound range for the last 6 months or so. It certainly is not for a lack of strength training or running, but from a lack of commitment to a diet, where snacking hijacks my momentum. I will drop 18 pounds in 31 days, because for the first time, I will commit to not snacking.
*** So here we are four days in and I’m rocking it. I will re-share this at the end of the journey, weighing 239 pounds before our 1 day Training Camp.
(2.17.25) The Beginning - Tough talk today with Mike Donatelli, “Commit to the Indian!” - Lift - chest & upper body lift; lifting is never the problem. “Snacking is a scam.” Are you a toddler who needs fed? A toddler snacks, grazes… be accountable, write out and plan your meals. If it’s not in the plan, you don’t eat it! Simple, now execute!
“Are you a man or a boy?” You can have the tough conversations at work, but at home, think of this, “…you can’t control your urge to grab a couple of Oreo’s?” Are you committed to doing hard things? We all know it when we see it, from my older die-hard uncle that you revered and respected as a boy. You saw his iron, constantly sharpening his own iron, lifting weights, stringing barb wire fence in his pasture, waking up at 4 AM to get to work, doing chores before and after work, coaching youth wrestling… Did he make mini-compromises? Did he act like a boy, or a man?
Your enemy, in your head, or your friends, will ask you to compromise your level of standard; your lower self will pull you down. You’ve lost 100+ pounds, you have a great career, you’re writing books, you’re elevating your family and self, but you can’t not eat a couple of Oreo’s at 7:30 at night. You did compromise your standards, “are you a boy or a man?”
“It’s not that big of a deal, it’s two Oreo’s…” Quit playing the victim! The most successful leaders all have an anchor, some weak link or two. I know I am not the most patient leader and I know that snacking (a sissy move) is a weakness, but the lack of self-control is something that I do not want to be remembered by.
Is this how you want to be remembered, “I am successful at leading in so many areas, but I could not master myself?” “… a man without self control is like a city without walls.” - Proverbs 25:28
Day 1 - (2.18.25) - Leg Day Lift, followed by post work run; working out is never the problem, but the diet is… Zoom Call grew into group accountability, with group bullying on telegram. I’ve got Dustin, Nick, and Mike talking smack to help me keep accountable, ZERO snacks, protein stacked successfully.
Day 2 - (2.19.25) - Morning Ruck on the treadmill with a lift day, off. I created the “Training Day” group chat for accountability, shi* talking, and bullying me into better choices. I rucked 2.1 miles in the morning, even though my sleep cycle was messed up from driving Cam back and forth to Bettendorf for an indoor tourney into the wee hours of the night, two nights in a row. Youth travel sports, what a racket it has become. I miss the days when it was about the game, about the kids love of the game, not making money by scheduling indoor softball games in February at 11:00 PM at night. I didn’t want to get up to work out this morning, but I’m also not a bitch. Board of Education meeting night tonight, always means a good meal, with these delicious little pieces of heaven; seriously, these cookies are amazing, top 10 All Time best chocolate chip cookie. For the first time in four plus years I did not eat the damn cookie.
Day 3 (2.20.25) - Upper Body Lift, smoked it! Had some issues at work pop up that prompted some rage lifting this afternoon; wish I was able to not let things eat at me in my head, rent free, some times… No snacking, Greek yogurt for breakfast, beef and peppers for lunch, salami and cheese for additional protein, porkchop and beans for dinner, no snacking. Tempting, guy brought me a bite size snickers to tell me, “I’m nuts.” Snickers sitting on my meeting table in my office, will not get eaten by me. It’ll either be there on 3.22 or someone else will eat it at a meeting.
*** So, a little preview of an accountability journey. It’s great to have an online platform to hold myself accountable with a group of guys that’ll keep me honest and focused, but my commitment level is supreme, snacking is a scam and it is for sissies.
I am glad you included a link to this article in your 7/21 post. As a teacher/administrator, everything you post speaks to me, and it is much appreciated!
Snacking is a TRAP! a quick way to end up overweight, we only keep snacks in our house for our toddler. I always think, be a man, drink a coffee and move on.