Choose FITness not FATness Today!

Kirkus Reviews:

"An ‘over fifty grandpa’ in his debut health/fitness book shares the diet/workout plan by which he achieved and maintains a 100-pound weight loss.

Though he tried many diets over the years, Wharton committed to serious weight loss after his grandkids remarked that ‘PePas’ was one of those people ‘bigger than they need to be’ and a stranger suggested bypass surgery.

Drawing on his skills as a strategic planner, he tackled how to permanently lose 100 pounds within one year. His resulting plan was to eat and exercise in moderation, using a one-day-at-a-time approach informed by his previous commitment to alcoholism recovery. His diet, as laid out here, is focused not on counting calories but on cutting out sugary ‘crap’ that often masquerades as healthy food. He recommends abstaining from foods on his ‘Red’ list (generally sugary ‘white foods,’ including white breads and corn products), largely eating ‘Green’ foods (most vegetables, lean meats), and showing caution with ‘Yellow’ foods (‘high-fat’ foods and ‘acceptable sweets,’ including cheeses, bacon, dark chocolate, and even wine for those who partake). Lists and sample recipes and menus are provided. In a less prescriptive section on exercise, Wharton also recommends 30 minutes of exercise daily in a manner that makes you break a sweat. ‘If you combine your Red List abstinence with this simple exercise commitment and keep very gradually turning up the heat, your metabolism will be smoking hot (and so will you) before you know it!’ he says, offering his own story as proof Wharton’s self-tested plan is both sound and motivating. He provides an array of solid advice (e.g., check with a doctor before starting any program) as well as relatable, wry commentary about the allure of ‘crap’ foods. His suggestion to ‘Picture all of the processed and white stuff as a Super Big Gulp of Elmer’s Glue’ is a fabulous image to help resist Red food consumption.

An inspiring no-gimmicks approach to lasting weight loss."

Clinical Praise from Dr. Kenneth Brown MD:

"As a Board Certified Gastroenterologist, I see the effects of obesity on a daily basis. Most of my patients ask about how to 'fix' the problem quickly; mainly through surgery. Unfortunately, I have to treat a lot of complications from surgery and many patients don’t have the long standing results they were hoping for. Imagine my surprise when Matt came in for a follow up after a year and at over 50 years old he was almost a hundred pounds lighter! I asked which bariatric surgery he had, and I was blown away by the most practical, healthy, and sustainable answer I have ever heard: 'I just chose to be fit not fat.'

I have read Choose FITness not FATness Today! and was very impressed on several key points. One, was how he maintained a very strict mental attitude toward the whole process. His approach was very humble, analytical and practical. Once his mind was ready, then he implemented the processes to achieving his goal. His diet makes sense and is clinically sound. By not choosing 'crap' his body does not go into a cycle of insulin spiking resulting in growth not loss. Finally, the way that Matt was able to gradually grow into his exercise routine makes the most sense to not get discouraged and to make the weight loss permanent.

This book is practical, motivating, and most important : the healthiest way to lose weight. I’m looking forward to being able to recommend this solution to my overweight patients that are seeking a simple yet attainable solution to their weight loss challenges."

Matt Wharton is the president and founder of one of the nation’s leading technology consulting practices. He’s retained by some of the world’s largest corporations to envision and deploy strategic master plans to fundamentally change how they address their cyber security, physical security and technology needs.

Matt has the unique gift of being able to document visionary strategy along with tactical solutions in a way that is concise, actionable, and compelling. This gift has seen him branded as a “technology thought leader” and he’s been engaged at a senior level by several leading global companies including Microsoft, American Express, Twitter, Salesforce, JP Morgan Chase, Vodafone and McKesson.

After struggling with alcohol abuse since he was a teenager, Matt made a commitment in 1998 to hand over his alcohol problem to God, praying for God to take the affliction from him completely: not to negotiate with it, not to control it, but to remove it. A week later he was sober and has been sober for over seventeen years due to the application of his faith and the twelve-step program.

During those same years, Matt sought a way to apply those daily principles to his obesity—without success. By October 2013, Matt had had enough. He knew that having gastric bypass surgery (like so many other high-profile people) was going to be the only possible solution. Before heading to the doctor’s office, he prayed earnestly that a solution would present itself. It became clear to him that, if he embarked on the right path and committed absolutely to apply a consistent level of intensity and discipline to achieving his goals each and every day, he could finally achieve the results he’d been looking for.

The easy-to-follow regimen revealed in Choose FITness Not FATness Today! is unique in both its simplicity and its combination of two proven and time-tested principles: the one-day-at-a-time commitment to “quitting” a very short list of foods and the application of strategic planning best practices to set goals and track results. Matt has a long-term and proven track record in both these principles.