The System Is Rigged Against You (And How to Fight Back)

I had a guy a few years ago who worked all the time.

Forties. Desk job. In meetings constantly. Sometimes for hours at a time.

Commuting an hour each way. Couldn’t lose weight. Dealing with lower back pain that wouldn’t quit.

“I don’t understand,” he told me. “I’m doing everything right.”

Here’s what his “everything right” looked like:

Wake up at 6 AM. Drive 45 minutes through traffic. Sit at a desk for 8-10 hours. Most of it in back-to-back meetings where he literally couldn’t get up.

Grab lunch from whatever was nearby. Usually fast food or a chain restaurant. That’s all there was.

Drive 45 minutes home. Collapse on the couch. Maybe walk the dog for 10 minutes before bed.

Daily step count? Under 2,000.

Total time actually moving his body? Fifteen minutes. Tops.

“How can I be this exhausted when I barely move?” he asked.

That’s the thing.

He was exhausted because he barely moved.

And it wasn’t his fault.

This Is Going to Sound Like a Conspiracy Theory

I know how this sounds.

I’ve been reading too much about the Epstein files. I’ve gone full tinfoil hat. Next I’m going to tell you the moon landing was fake and birds aren’t real.

But hear me out. There’s actual evidence for this. (Just like Epstein)

Our society is designed to make you sick.

Not by accident. Not because everyone’s lazy or lacks willpower.

By design.

Because sick people are profitable.

The Food Industry Wants You to Eat More

Ultra-processed foods now make up 60% of the calories in the American diet.

Chips. Soda. Frozen meals. Fast food. Packaged snacks.

All of it engineered to be “hyperpalatable.” That’s a fancy way of saying “designed to make you want more.”

You can’t eat just one because they’re designed so you can’t eat just one.

And when public health experts try to do something about it?

The food industry spends millions lobbying against them.

Since 2009, food and beverage companies have spent over $175 million lobbying Congress.

They’ve successfully blocked:

• Sugar taxes
• Advertising restrictions for kids
• Front-of-pack nutrition labeling

When the government tried to establish voluntary nutritional standards for food marketed to children? The industry spent millions lobbying against it. The proposal was gutted.

This isn’t me being paranoid. This is documented.

Marion Nestle, a nutrition professor at NYU, put it simply:

“The whole purpose of a food company is to get people to eat more of its products.”

Not healthier products.

More products.

Your Neighborhood Was Built to Keep You Sitting

You live in the suburbs between Providence and Boston?

Your entire environment was designed to make you dependent on your car.

After World War II, the US invested heavily in highways and suburban sprawl. Zoning laws separated everything. Single-family homes with big yards spread over huge areas.

This wasn’t an accident. It was shaped by lobbying from the automotive and oil industries.

The Highway Trust Fund, established in 1956, reinvested gasoline taxes back into car infrastructure. Not public transit. Cars.

Streetcar systems that used to connect cities? Demolished. Many with direct help from car companies.

Now? Forty-five percent of Americans have zero access to public transit.

You want to walk to the grocery store? Too bad.

It’s a 10-minute drive through a highway interchange. No sidewalks. No bike lanes. Just cars.

Meanwhile, people in Finland and Norway maintain similar step counts year-round despite brutal weather. Their infrastructure supports walking and public transit.

Americans sit. Because that’s what the infrastructure requires.

This isn’t about personal choice. It’s about what choices are even available to you.

Nobody Profits From You Being Healthy

Here’s the pattern: there’s no money in prevention.

Think about how insurance works. You pay premiums whether you’re sick or not. But insurance companies make more money when you don’t actually use healthcare services.

So what do they do?

Deny claims. Require pre-authorization. Create networks that limit where you can go. Charge massive deductibles that keep you from seeking care until things are really bad.

And when things are really bad? That’s when treatment gets expensive.

Chronic disease management. Medications you’ll take for life. Procedures that could’ve been prevented.

Insurance companies profit by collecting premiums and denying care. Healthcare systems profit by treating sick people, not keeping healthy people healthy.

A healthy person? One checkup per year. Maybe some bloodwork.

But someone with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, chronic pain? Ongoing revenue. Regular visits. Medications. Tests. Procedures.

Most doctors genuinely want to help. But the system they work in doesn’t reward prevention. It rewards intervention.

The Fitness Industry Isn’t Much Better

The supplement industry is worth billions.

Protein powder? Actually useful if you struggle to hit protein goals.

Everything else? Mostly expensive pee.

Fat burners that don’t burn fat. Pre-workouts that are just overpriced caffeine. Recovery supplements that do nothing sleep wouldn’t do better. Testosterone boosters that don’t boost testosterone.

The industry funds studies showing their products work. Conveniently ignores studies showing they don’t. Markets to your insecurities.

Can’t lose weight? Must need this thermogenic blend.

Can’t build muscle? Must need this proprietary formula.

Tired all the time? Must need this overpriced multivitamin.

Or maybe you’re just not walking enough. Not eating enough protein. Not sleeping enough.

But you can’t patent walking. Can’t charge a subscription for sleep.

And we’re not even taught the basics.

Think about school. Math. History. English. Maybe some science.

But cooking? Managing stress? Strength training? Maintaining your own body?

Nothing.

Because self-sufficient people don’t buy as much stuff.

What My Clients Actually Deal With

The woman who came to me right out of college.

Near retirement now. Wrist pain. Some arthritis. Loved her routine.

She thought she was eating healthy. All those recipes from Pinterest with “clean” ingredients.

Avocado toast for breakfast. Peanut butter protein balls for snacks. Salads with nuts and cheese and dressing.

All technically healthy ingredients.

Also hundreds of calories more than she realized.

She wasn’t getting nearly enough steps. Under 3,000 most days.

Sitting at work all day. Sitting at home all night.

“I don’t understand why I can’t lose this last 15 pounds,” she said. “I’m doing everything right.”

We tracked her food for two weeks. Just to see what was actually happening.

Turns out:

Avocado is 250 calories. Peanut butter is not a protein source. It’s mostly fat. Those “healthy” salad dressings were 200+ calories per serving.

And she was using three servings without realizing it.

Her maintenance calories were around 1,800. She was eating 2,200-2,400 daily and couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t losing weight.

We got her over 7,000 steps consistently. Started measuring portions. Swapped out some of the calorie-dense stuff for actual protein sources.

Lost the 15 pounds in four months.

Also got stronger. Realized she’d been sandbagging on her lifts because she didn’t know what “hard” actually felt like.

She had all the information. Healthy recipes. Gym membership. The best intentions.

But nobody had taught her the actual skills.

How much food she actually needed. What hard training felt like. How to build habits that fit her life.

The guy with the desk job? Same thing.

We didn’t give him more time. We worked with the time he had.

Two 30-minute sessions per week. That’s it.

No five-day programs. No hour-long workouts he’d never stick to.

Five-minute walks between meetings. Called them “bathroom breaks” so nobody questioned it.

Tracked his food for a few weeks until he understood portion sizes. Then he was on his own.

Six months later:

Down 20 pounds. Back pain mostly gone. Energy levels way up.

Could actually think clearly in afternoon meetings instead of fighting to stay awake.

He plateaued for a bit. We dialed things in.

The habits stuck because they fit his actual life.

Not some fantasy life where he has unlimited time, perfect food access, and zero stress.

His actual life.

Meetings all day. Long commute. Limited options.

You Have to Actively Fight the System

The default path is designed to create the average American.

Obesity rates went from 30.5% in 1999-2000 to 42.4% in 2017-2018.

Severe obesity went from 4.7% to 9.2%.

That’s what “just doing what everyone else does” gets you.

If you only stay active when conditions are perfect, you’ll spend most of your life sedentary.

Can’t walk when it’s cold? There goes winter.

Can’t walk when it’s hot? Bye summer.

Can’t walk when it rains? So long, spring.

If you only eat what’s convenient, you’ll eat ultra-processed garbage designed to make you overeat.

If you wait until you “have time” to strength train, you’ll never start.

The easy path is set up to fail.

You have to do things differently.

What Actually Works (AKA How to Rebel)

You don’t need to overhaul your entire life.

You need to stop accepting the defaults.

Movement: Refuse to Sit

That’s what they want. You sitting. Comfortable. Sedentary.

Get to 7,000+ steps daily by any means necessary.

Walk during phone calls. Take stairs even when elevators exist. Park in the back of the lot. Stand in meetings. Walk while watching TV.

Make them think you’re weird. Who cares.

Research on NEAT shows this burns 300-500+ calories daily. More than most workouts. Studies show it impacts mood, pain, disease risk, longevity.

The system built your world to keep you sitting. Don’t let it win.

Strength: Stop Waiting for Permission

Two to four sessions per week. Around 10 sets per muscle group. Close to failure.

That’s it. Studies show this is the sweet spot. Not fancy methods. Not complicated programs.

Basic movements. Progressive overload. Consistently getting stronger.

You don’t need the perfect gym. You don’t need expensive equipment. A few dumbbells work. Bodyweight works. One kettlebell works.

The fitness industry wants you paralyzed by options. Waiting for the perfect program. The perfect coach. The perfect time.

Start now. With what you have. Where you are.

Food: Stop Trusting the Labels

Track what you’re actually eating for two weeks. Not forever. Just two weeks to see reality.

Most people underestimate by 30-40%. “Healthy” foods are calorie bombs. Dressings, oils, nut butters, beverages add up faster than you think.

Get 0.7-1g of protein per pound of bodyweight. Research shows this supports muscle and recovery.

Want to build muscle? Eat more. Want to lose fat? Eat less. Check the scale every couple weeks. Adjust.

The food industry spent millions making sure you can’t understand their labels. Figure it out anyway.

The Mental Shift: Build Antifragile Habits

Stop waiting for perfect conditions.

Can’t walk outside because it’s cold? Walk inside. Get a cheap treadmill. Go to a mall. Find stairs.

Don’t have an hour to train? Do 30 minutes. Twenty minutes. Fifteen.

Can’t afford a gym? Bodyweight exercises. A single kettlebell. YouTube videos.

The fitness industry profits when you think you need perfect conditions. Perfect equipment. Perfect programming.

You don’t.

You need multiple strategies so when one stops working, others take over.

Because life happens. Weather changes. Schedules shift. Stress builds.

If your entire plan depends on everything going right, you’re screwed.

This Isn’t About Perfection

The woman near retirement? She had some all-or-nothing thinking when flare-ups happened.

We worked on that. Progress isn’t linear. Flare-ups happen. That doesn’t mean nothing’s working.

Research on habit formation shows missing one day doesn’t tank results. What matters is getting back on track quickly.

Studies on weight loss maintenance show successful people weren’t perfect. They just recovered faster after disruptions.

The guy with the desk job? He still sits in meetings all day. Still has a long commute. Still deals with limited food options.

But he walks between meetings now. Strength trains twice a week. Understands portion sizes. Knows what he needs.

His life didn’t change.

His approach to his life changed.

You’re Not Crazy, The System Is

Look, I get it. This sounds like I’ve gone full conspiracy theorist.

But here’s the thing about The Matrix: Neo wasn’t crazy for thinking something was wrong. He was right. The system really was designed to keep him compliant.

You’re not failing because you lack willpower.

You’re fighting an environment deliberately built to extract money from you while keeping you dependent.

Ultra-processed foods that make you eat more. Car-dependent infrastructure that keeps you sedentary. Healthcare that treats symptoms instead of causes. A supplement industry selling expensive placebos.

You can accept it and become another statistic.

Or you can take the red pill and fight back.

Not with some massive overhaul. Just with small, consistent choices that go against the defaults.

Walk more. Strength train. Track your food until you understand portions. Don’t wait for perfect conditions.

It’s not glamorous. It’s not Instagram-worthy. It won’t make you rich or famous.

But it works.

And maybe that’s the real conspiracy. The solution is boring and accessible and doesn’t require buying anything.

No wonder nobody talks about it.

What You Can Do This Week

Pick one default and examine it.

Not fix it. Just notice it.

Drive when you could walk? Write it down.

Eat fast food because it’s the only option? Track how often.

Sit for hours without moving? Notice how long.

Awareness first. Then we fix it.

Because you can’t change what you don’t acknowledge.

And the system is counting on you not to acknowledge it.

If you’re tired of fighting the system alone, let’s talk.

I work with people dealing with exactly this. Limited time. Limited options. Ready to stop accepting the defaults.

Grab a time on my calendar here.