Let’s talk about one of the cornerstones of my success so far: skillfulness. For me, skillfulness has meant being able to do a lot of things for myself that I might not have been able to do if I didn’t know how. A few skills in particular have made a huge difference.
Skill #1: Cooking
The first skill, and I think it’s critical to the weight loss journey, more so than almost anything else, is the ability to cook. If I had to eat nothing but prefabricated food, or depend on ordering food online and having it delivered every week, I don’t think I would have been as successful.
Being able to look in my refrigerator and turn what’s there into meals that are actually tasty matters. I’m a good cook, I enjoy cooking, and the food I make doesn’t leave me feeling like I’m denying myself. That’s a big deal. Self-control is awesome, but in my experience, a lot of the will to keep going comes from not feeling denied all the time.
I was already a cook before I started this journey. Now I just cook very different food that’s much healthier for me.
Skill #2: Research
The second skill is research: finding information in every direction I can. People will tell you a lot of things, and you have to be able to verify what’s true and what’s not. Then you have to decide for yourself which information you’re going to apply to your own life.
Since I got out of the hospital, I’ve done hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of research, learning as much as I can about a huge variety of health-related topics.
Skill #3: Building Tools and Systems
The third thing that’s made a major difference is building tools and systems. I’m not always inclined to be super well organized, but I’ve definitely depended on being organized. Systems let me stay on task with all my health stuff while keeping the rest of my life reasonably intact and recognizable.
For me, that includes apps I’ve built. I made myself a custom alarm app, for example. There are other good apps out there for daily routines, but I enjoy having something very bare-bones and very clean. So I used AI to build myself a handful of tools, and I’ll talk about most of them here.
Free Tools for Anyone Who Wants Them
I’m going to offer these tools online to anyone who wants them. They’ll be Android only, because I don’t do iOS development and I don’t have an iPhone. If anyone wants to recreate them for iPhone, go for it.
I don’t intend to sell these tools or profit from them, beyond the benefit I’m already getting, which is my health. They should work on a reasonably modern Android phone or tablet, as long as you can sideload apps. You can do whatever you want with them, including decompiling and recompiling them or turning them into something else. Honestly, I built them with AI, so I didn’t have to work that hard to get them done.
That’s part of my point: my technical skills have translated really well into what I need for this journey, from building tools and systems to doing research and even finding recipes.
Recipes, Tools and Your Suggestions
Many of the recipes I’ve found and really like will be on the website, so check them out. I’ll also be talking about the tools I use. Some I built myself, and many I bought.
I’m hoping to build a community here. If you have suggestions for tools that you think would help, let me know. If they’re reasonably affordable, I’ll get them, test them out, and give everyone my opinion. And if you’d like to share a testimonial, send me a video and I’ll put it on the site. I’m not looking to be the only face here. I’m just not that pretty.
Everyone Needs a Toolbox
When I talk about skillfulness, the main thing to remember is that everyone needs a toolbox. Your toolbox and mine may not look the same. But learning to build your tools, figuring out where to find good information, and deciding what to keep in your fridge and pantry to set yourself up for success all go together. It’s really a combination of skillfulness and organization.
Let’s Build This Together
If you need help or support with any of this, email me at jason@iusedtobebigger.com and I’ll be more than happy to talk through whatever I can. I’m also happy to send you any of the tools I use that might help you. Look around the website, too: a lot of the resources I use and have created will be available here.
Thanks for reading. I really appreciate everyone who’s paying attention to this, and I hope it’s helping you on your own journey. Subscribe on YouTube, follow along on Instagram and Facebook, and tell me in the comments: what skill has helped you the most?
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