This article isn’t for the faint of heart.

It will trigger you and challenge everything you thought you knew about losing weight and getting in shape. Apologies in advance to anyone this may offend. But science is science, and numbers don’t lie.

Will the following information you read keep you from achieving your weight loss goals?

Maybe. That depends on you.

Can you be open to hearing new information and applying it consistently? If so, then you have a shot.

Let’s explore the five harsh truths about weight loss you must know to achieve–and maintain–your weight loss goals.

1. Fat Doesn’t Go Away

“Burn fat fast!”

“Melt the fat off your stomach!”

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but it’s a lie.

According to new research from Yale, new fat cells are created quickly, and dieting can’t eliminate them.

Once fat cells form, they might shrink during weight loss, but they don’t disappear.

That’s some bad news for the multi-billion dollar supplement industry claiming to burn off your fat.

Reading this may surprise you. It certainly surprised me to read the study.

If this is true, it naturally begs the question: How come some people go from obese to cut abs, ripped to the bone without an ounce of fat on them?

That’s where muscle-building comes into play. You can build enough muscle to overshadow the fat you have. And although it may “seem” like these people have no fat, they do. It shrunk to a microscopic size.

But those pesky fat cells are still there.

2. Your Diet Won’t Work

Fifty million people in the United States will go on a diet this year.

Guess how many of them will fail to keep the weight off?

Forty million.

You read that correctly–80% of people fail on diets, according to research from the National Weight Control Registry.

That is a staggering amount.

I hate to burst your bubble, but the numbers are heavily stacked against you. If you go on a diet, you will see results and maybe even hit your goal. But then, what’ll happen? You’ll become a statistic of failure and gain all the weight back. Possibly even more.

You need to stop thinking of your “diet” and start making serious lifestyle changes.

Cut the crap foods, the excessive partying, and putting the “dumb” in random with your food choices and routine.

3. You Need to Kill Off Who You Are

If you’re overweight and out of shape right now, this version of you needs to go. Mentally and emotionally.

Your mindset and state of being are that of someone who’s out of shape. So you–this current version–will not achieve your goal. If this current version of you could do so, you’d be in shape already.

If you want lasting change, then you need to change.

That includes your environment.

The people around you influence your choices more than you know.

Consider how often you have the opportunity to eat—with friends, at parties, at family get-togethers, at work—we continually have high-calorie food at our fingertips.

Most people’s environments are set up so they have to drive everywhere they go, and they spend their free time “relaxing” on the couch in front of the TV or using a computer. Even blue light from our devices messes with our hormones and triggers food cravings and intake.

You have two options: Throw your hands up in defeat and accept a lifetime of too much body fat and poor health, or take your life into your own hands and actively take control of your environment.

4. Your Metabolism Slows Down

Most people need to correct the concept of metabolism.

They think smaller people have faster metabolisms. And that larger people have slower metabolisms.

It’s actually the opposite.

The larger you are, the more calories your body burns. The smaller you are, the fewer calories your body burns and the fewer calories you need to consume.

It’s why larger people can lose more weight faster than smaller people. Because it’s relative to their larger body mass, they burn more calories just having to maintain it and move around.

Once you lose weight, you can’t expect to consume and burn the same amount of energy carrying a 150-pound body around as you did at 200 pounds.

Smaller people in height, weight, and structure simply require fewer calories for their demands.

This phenomenon is exactly why hitting your weight loss goals gets harder as you get closer to your goal.

You’d think, “I have five more pounds to lose to hit my goal weight. This’ll be easy.”

No, it’ll be the hardest part of your journey because your metabolism has slowed way the heck down.

5. You Can’t Do It Alone

You take your car to the mechanic.

You take your taxes to the accountant.

You go to the dentist to take care of your teeth.

But when it comes to losing weight and improving your health and fitness, you try to do it all on your own instead of hiring a professional.

Why?

Arnold Schwarzenegger had Franco Columbo and Frank Zane in his corner to help him get in peak condition (two Mr. Olympia winners).

But you? Oh no. You’ve got this all on your own, champ.

Yeah…Okay…

Hiring a fitness professional comes with expert knowledge and the secret of success — accountability.

Research has shown that accountability with someone you’ve committed to increases your chances of achieving your goals to 95%! Meanwhile, consciously deciding you’ll do it only gives you a 25% chance of success.

Where would you place your bet?

Exactly. Hire a trainer. Get a nutritionist. Get your damn ego out of the equation and take the 95% chance of success by hiring help.

The BMM Takeaway

Achieving any goal will take time and will always take longer than you think.

Instead of focusing on “when” you’ll hit your weight loss target, switch your focus to what’s in your control: your habits.

If there’s anything that will determine your weight loss success (and keeping the weight off for good), it’s your habits.

Don’t expect a drastic change overnight. New habits take time to form.

A 2009 study on habit creation found that habits developed in 18 to 254 days; participants reported taking an average of about 66 days to incorporate one of three new daily activities reliably.

66 days is over two months of conscious, daily work. So, patience is required.

Remember, weight loss and maintenance is a marathon, not a sprint.

Go one day at a time, and don’t quit.