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Choice Weight Analysis
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Jonathan Ressler | Transformation Guide
Hey, welcome back to Shut Up and Choose, the podcast that cuts through the noise, the nonsense, and all the bullshit the industry throws at you. You know exactly what I’m talking about. Instagram gurus. Internet influencers. People who have never lost real weight in their own lives selling you a bunch of shit.
Bottom line, they’re selling. That’s it. They’re selling you as the customer. We all know that. We’ve talked about it plenty.
Today I want to talk about Thanksgiving because it’s right around the corner. And I want to debunk the myth that Thanksgiving is some kind of minefield.
Let’s be clear from the start. Thanksgiving is not out to ambush you.
The turkey is not your enemy. The stuffing is not forming a militia. The pies are not sitting on the counter whispering plans to take you down.
The only thing in your house on Thanksgiving with any actual power is you.
If that scares you more than the calorie count, good. It means you’re finally paying attention.
People act like the holiday is some unstoppable force dragging them into a food coma against their will. Come on.
Thanksgiving isn’t chasing you. It’s not holding you in a headlock. It’s not forcing you to shovel food into your mouth.
You’re lifting the fork. You’re choosing what goes on the plate.
You run the show. You always have.
You just pretend you don’t because pretending lets you avoid responsibility.
You love to externalize. The food is too good. The family is stressful. The spread is generous.
Funny how everything gets blamed except the one thing making the choices. You.
Pretending the holiday is the villain doesn’t change the truth. You’re calling the plays.
You keep handing power to the day like it’s some all-powerful event.
You say, it’s Thanksgiving, as if those words erase logic.
They don’t.
All they do is give you permission to shut off your brain and blame the aftermath on something else.
You know better. You just don’t act like it.
You run the day. Not the food. Not the family. Not the chaos.
You choose how you want to feel after the meal.
Your choices control the outcome. Not the menu.
The holiday is neutral. You are not.
And that’s the best news you could hear.
Because if Thanksgiving isn’t the problem, then you’re not powerless.
You’re not doomed. You’re not one bite away from disaster.
The question is whether you use control or keep pretending you don’t have it.
Thanksgiving isn’t attacking you. You’re attacking your own progress.
Once you own that, everything changes.
That’s the tone of this episode. Clear. Confident. Honest.
The real trap starts long before the turkey hits the table.
It starts the moment you flip into holiday mode.
You wake up and decide none of your habits count today.
You skip breakfast. Then lunch. You call it strategy.
It’s not strategy. It’s sabotage.
You walk into dinner starving, emotional, and unable to think.
You pile food on your plate without intention. Not because you want it. Because it’s there.
Half of what you take you don’t even enjoy.
You take it out of tradition, obligation, or habit.
Those aren’t choices. They’re reactions.
Then comes stress. Noise. Family chaos.
Food becomes a shield. A distraction.
You blame the day instead of the decisions.
Holiday weight doesn’t come from Thanksgiving dinner.
It comes from unchecked choices before, during, and after the meal.
It comes from abandoning intention.
Stop dieting. Start choosing exists for days like this.
Choosing keeps you awake.
You choose whether you walk in starving.
You choose whether you take food you don’t even want.
You choose whether stress runs your fork.
The trap isn’t the holiday.
The trap is the story you tell yourself about it.
Ownership is the way out.
Choosing works because it fits real life.
Diets fail this week because diets are built for fantasy.
They rely on rigid rules that collapse the moment the room gets loud.
Diets split food into good and bad.
One bite becomes failure. Failure becomes permission to spiral.
Diet thinking is dramatic.
Thanksgiving exposes that.
You’re not a machine. You’re a person.
Emotion rises. Willpower drops.
That’s biology.
Dieting ignores that and shames you for being human.
Choosing does the opposite.
Choosing stays present.
Choosing adapts.
Choosing keeps you calm instead of rigid.
You eat what matters. You leave what doesn’t.
You enjoy the meal without turning it into a crisis.
Guilt disappears when ownership shows up.
Most people don’t overeat from hunger.
They overeat because they feel bad about the first choice.
Choosing kills that spiral.
You don’t need a perfect plan.
You need awareness.
You need presence.
You need ownership.
Start with breakfast. A real one.
Skipping meals doesn’t save calories. It destroys judgment.
Pick foods you actually want.
Stop letting tradition decide for you.
Choose portions intentionally.
Drink water to think clearly.
Walk after the meal. Not as punishment. As reset.
Own every decision.
Ownership kills shame.
Thanksgiving sets the tone for the season.
Start the season choosing and December becomes manageable.
Start it reacting and the season steamrolls you.
December is loud. Messy. Chaotic.
Waiting for calm never works.
Choosing works inside chaos.
You’re one decision away from control.
Not one plan. Not one reset. One decision.
Choosing works when the room is loud.
It works when stress hits mid-meal.
Willpower never carries anyone.
Choice does.
If you want weekly guidance without the noise, get my free weekly tips at jonathanressler.com.
And if you want the full playbook, read my book, Shut Up and Choose.
It’s how I lost 140 pounds without gimmicks.
You’re not powerless.
You’re not trapped.
You’re choosing.
Now enjoy the holiday.
Shut up and choose.