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A
This is the Jocko Underground podcast number 180, sitting here with Echo Charles. We've got a bunch of questions from you all and we will try and answer those questions, give you some guidance, give you some courses of actions to follow, and that's where we go. Get into it.
B
First question. I want to start by thanking you for your positive influence in order of importance. I'm a father, long term partner, and a site supervisor in a bio gas plant. I've recently started using Tirzepatide, a weight loss drug. As I'm. I am classed as obese and have failed time and time again at losing weight. I'm struggling with the feeling that I'm cheating, that I should have just persisted, I should have kept persisting and that I could have lost weight naturally as I have in the past. I live regularly but have always struggled to control my eating habits. However, since starting, I've lost 12 pounds. I have more energy to help out my partner at home. I'm less distracted at work and, and I no longer focus on dieting. And I'm about to restart Muay Thai and Jiu Jitsu training. Hell yeah. Hell yeah. What are your thoughts on this? Did I make the right decision to kickstart a positive movement or did I take the path of least resistance?
A
Um, you know, well, first of all, like, being obese is a medical problem, like, and it causes all kinds of other medical problems and it'd be great if you could have done it without the drug. But you, I'm assuming you've tried everything and you've still failed. You might have some kind of metabolic conditioning condition, right? You might have some kind of thyroid things, some kind of slow meta, like, I don't know. I don't know. But you know, depending on how old you are, how actually obese you are and what other medical conditions you might have. Dude, this, this might be a very good call at this juncture. I know in the past people would get medical surgeries to lose weight. This seems like a much safer option than, than getting a surgery. And you know, you got to figure people are having some real issues if they got to have a, like a surgery, you know, cut open your stomach and go in there and you know, do medical procedures inside your body with infat. Like there's all kinds of risk there. But people do it and have done it because they had such a hard time losing weight. So it seems like, you know, you've exhausted other attempts to do this naturally and I would rather have you like losing the weight. Getting some help medically than have you continue down a path of, you know, being obese and all the other medical problems that that causes. I would say let's focus on making sure we get our health back in check. Let's have a plan of like, okay, at this point, we're going to get off the drug. I don't know much about these drugs. I know that they're kind of all the. All the rage right now, you know, in the. In the world for people trying to lose weight. I don't know if they're addictive, you know, or if. If, you know, is it one of those situations where when you come off the drug now you put all the weight back on type thing? You're nodding your head, Echo. Is that the case?
B
Yes.
A
Oh, really?
B
Yeah.
A
Okay. So we got to be careful that, you know, maybe that's where you have to kick your discipline in, and you. You get a little jump start with the drug, but then, you know, let's try one. Get off that drug, and hopefully you can get a pathway to the future when you don't need it anymore. And remember, I'm not a doctor. I'm not even a. You know, I'm not. I don't have any medical experience other than combat trauma.
B
Sure.
A
But I do know people that have struggled immensely with weight loss. And like I said, I'd rather have you get down, like, to fighting weight and have the opportunity to stay there, then to spend the rest of your life in an unhealthy situation, which is going to have all kinds of compounding problems across the board. So I don't think you're cheating. I think you're. You got to do something right now to get your. Get it squared away. So that's kind of where I'm at.
B
Yeah, I think you're right. And, you know, as far as cheating goes, it's not cheating. The only time you cheat is if you're A, competing with someone, and B, there's rules to it, and when you break the rules, you're cheating. That's kind of it. Real simply.
A
But there you go, Echo, with the simplicity.
B
Yeah, I think in regards to this. Yeah, yeah, for sure. You know, and I get it. You know, we. I think a lot of us, from time to time, we put in kind of these rules in our head, like, you know, or these. At least these virtues in a way where it's like, no, no, no. I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I'm not gonna use some drugs to help this or whatever, you know, like, you can make those rules for yourself, and I understand that or whatever, but I think whatever. What you said is more important where if it's like, hey, if this is helping you in a way that you were failing, then, hey, man, and you got, of course, got to measure the downside. All this other stuff I. The thyroid thing and the genetics, like, like this ailment. You know, a lot of times people who are obese, they'll say like, oh, I have thyroid thing, or I have a whatever, when they don't really have it, or they don't.
A
I didn't know that. Yeah, that was a thing.
B
It's pretty rare, but it, it does happen. But it's not good practice to say, oh, it's probably my thyroid or whatever if you didn't go medically test that and get it professionally diagnosed. Because a lot of times, mentally it can serve as like this kind of excuse, you know, which is the core of all of this weight loss stuff. It's like he says, struggled to control my eating habits. That was his, his words. It's. It's a behavioral problem. Like, that's what it. Like, you know, when the decision comes time to make that decision, he behaves the incorrect way. Time, time, time again, you know, consistently over time. So these drugs, from what I understand, just had a fresh conversation about these drugs many, many times. But the first one was with Dr. Luke and he was like, hey, they are working. They're straight up working. And Michael was part of this conversation. It was actually very funny. I'm going to use his words. But anyway, so Dr. Luke's like, yeah, they working. They're working to basically to control your behavior with food. And it's starting to come out with other stuff as well. Now when you get off of them, your behavior goes and normalizes back to like what it was. But the drugs are, are helping in that way. There are side effects.
A
So what did Miha say?
B
Okay. And he put it perfectly, by the way. So he was like, he was more talking. Mia was more referring to, you know how, like sensitivity issues, right? Like body positivity and you know how you like, you can't tell an obese person you need to just eat less. Right? Because it's like it's not PC or whatever, right. So instead there's Mihana. He's like, yeah, it's funny how before we couldn't just say to obese people, eat less. You can't say that. Now we say, lift up your shirt, pull out one of your fat rolls, stick this drug in there and. And then eat less. See what I'm saying? Yeah, but we can say that because literally, that's what the drugs do. They make you not want to eat as much. You know what I'm saying? They. They modify your behavior to, you know, to eat less and then subsequently lose weight. And then the good news about any kind of behavior modification, it leads to other good behavior modifications. So, like, my sister is one of these. She lost, like, 90 pounds or something like this just because one behavior kind of led to this kind of progress. You know how progress, like, elicits dopamine where you want, like, more. You know, you want to. So she would. She. They got a dog. She started walking the dog for, like, 45 minutes, right? You got to walk the dog and just leave it inside. So that's all she did and just walk this dog. After a few weeks, her clothes just are looser. So she's like, oh, let me weigh myself. I feel like I'm kind of skinnier for no apparent reason. Just because she got this new dog and she has to walk it. Boom. She's down, like, however much pounds, right? However many pounds. And she's like, oh, my gosh. I'm kind of on a roll here, and I didn't even know it. So let me start paying more attention to what I. You know, see how many more pounds I can lose. See how it just leads to one, you know? So that's the benefit of any triggering thing that modifies your behavior, whether it be some drug or otherwise. Yeah, see, I'm saying, because really, at the end of the day, it's what you do. It doesn't matter. Like. Like the chemical stuff or whatever. Your behavior is going to control all that part of it. How your body. How do you. How your physiology responds to it. You see what I'm saying? So if you can modify your behavior in the correct way, right? You're gonna. You can do it. So, hey, man, take the drug as long as you can, deal with the side effects. And you understand, just like I said, if you get off of it, just, hey, pay attention to that kind of stuff. You know, if you want this thing to keep going, you got to pay attention to that and stuff. You know, I think that's a lot of times the. The issue is we don't pay attention to this kind of stuff. We just kind of like, oh, I feel in the mood for this. I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do it. You see, I'm saying, no good.
A
No good. All right, well, get on it and modify your behaviors and make sure you track them so that when. So that is a little excerpt of what we are doing on the Jocko Underground podcast. So if you want to continue to listen, go to jockounderground.com and subscribe. And we're doing this. We're doing this to mitigate our reliance on external platforms so we are not subject to their control. And we are doing this so that we can support the Jocko podcast, which will remain as is free for all as long as we can keep it that way. But we are doing this so we don't have to be under the control of sponsors. And we're doing it so we can give you more control, more interaction, more direct connections, better communications with us. And to do that, we are, we're building a website right now where we'll be able to utilize to strengthen this legion of troopers that are in the game with us. So thank you. It's Jocko underground.com it costs $8.18 a month. And if you can't afford to support us, we can still support you. Just email assistance@jockounderground.com and we'll get you taken care of. Until then, we will see you mobilized Underground.
Host: Jocko Willink & Echo Charles
Date: September 1, 2025
In this episode, Jocko Willink and Echo Charles address a listener’s question about the use of Tirzepatide, a popular weight-loss drug. The discussion explores the feelings of guilt or "cheating" associated with taking medical intervention for weight loss, examining the relationship between discipline, behavioral change, the role of medical assistance, and what truly constitutes "cheating" in the pursuit of better health.
[00:14-01:18]
[01:18-03:59]
Medical Problem: Jocko emphasizes that obesity is inherently a medical issue:
"Being obese is a medical problem ... it causes all kinds of other medical problems and it'd be great if you could have done it without the drug. But you, I'm assuming you've tried everything and you've still failed." (Jocko, 01:18)
Medical vs. Surgical Risk: Turning to medication is viewed as less extreme—and likely safer—than invasive surgical options:
"This seems like a much safer option than getting a surgery... people do it and have done it because they had such a hard time losing weight." (Jocko, 01:51)
Making a Plan: Jocko stresses the importance of using medication as a tool, not a crutch:
"Let's have a plan of like, okay, at this point, we're going to get off the drug... and hopefully you can get a pathway to the future when you don't need it anymore." (Jocko, 03:28)
No Cheating Here:
"I'd rather have you like losing the weight, getting some help medically than have you continue down a path of, you know, being obese and all the other medical problems..." (Jocko, 03:28)
"I don't think you're cheating... You got to do something right now to get it squared away." (Jocko, 03:59)
[04:25-05:25]
Cheating Defined:
"The only time you cheat is if you're A, competing with someone, and B, there's rules to it, and when you break the rules, you're cheating." (Echo, 04:25)
Self-Imposed Rules:
Echo acknowledges the internal conflict many feel about "not using drugs" to assist, but points out it's often a self-imposed virtue, not a real ethical violation.
[05:27-06:45]
Behavior is Core: Echo reiterates the listener’s own admission:
"Struggled to control my eating habits. That was his, his words. It's. It's a behavioral problem... when the decision comes time, he behaves the incorrect way... So these drugs... control your behavior with food." (Echo, 05:27)
Medical Excuses:
"It's not good practice to say, 'oh, it's probably my thyroid,' if you didn't go medically test that and get it professionally diagnosed... mentally it can serve as this excuse." (Echo, 05:27)
[06:45-09:18]
Quote from Miha (via Echo):
"It's funny how before we couldn't just say to obese people, 'eat less.' ... Now we say, lift up your shirt, pull out one of your fat rolls, stick this drug in there and... then eat less." (Echo quoting Miha, 06:47)
Behavioral Chain Reaction:
Echo shares his sister's experience (not using drugs, but similar idea) highlighting how one small change can trigger a positive chain of behaviors—weight leads to walking, walking to more weight loss, which motivates further healthy choices.
Behavior > Chemistry:
"Really, at the end of the day, it's what you do. Your behavior is going to control all that part of it. How your body... responds to it." (Echo, 08:29)
Sustainability Warning:
"If you get off of it, just, hey, pay attention to that kind of stuff. You know, if you want this thing to keep going, you got to pay attention to that..." (Echo, 08:55)
Jocko:
"I don't think you're cheating. I think you're... you got to do something right now to get your... get it squared away." (03:59)
Echo:
"The only time you cheat is if you're A, competing with someone, and B, there's rules to it..." (04:25)
"Behavior is going to control all that part of it..." (08:29)
Echo quoting Miha:
"It's funny how before we couldn't just say to obese people, 'eat less.'... Now we say, lift up your shirt ... stick this drug in there and... then eat less." (06:47)
This episode offers sobering, supportive advice for anyone wrestling with weight loss and the morality of using medical aids—focusing on real success anchored in behavior and consistent effort.