Cortisol, Belly Fat, and the Missing Piece of Weight Loss

In this episode of Talking With Jose Podcast, we confront a topic most men avoid talking about: the connection between obesity and mental health.

This isn’t about diet culture.
This isn’t about shame.
This is about pain, silence, anxiety, and the internal battles men fight every day.

Obesity is often treated as a physical issue — eat better, move more — but no one talks about the mental weight, the emotional exhaustion, the depression, and the fear that comes with it.

If you’re a man who feels stuck…
If you feel judged instead of supported…
If you’re tired of pretending you’re strong when you’re barely holding it together…

This conversation is for you.

I’m not here to judge you.
I’m here to walk with you.

👉 If this episode resonates with you, subscribe, like, and share it with a man who needs to hear this today.

📩 Want to work with me? Reach out — you don’t have to do this alone.

Chapters:
00:00 – Why no one talks about this
02:30 – Obesity beyond food
06:10 – Anxiety, darkness, and silence
10:45 – The first step toward purpose

#ObesityAndMentalHealth #MensMentalHealth #MentalHealthPodcast #TalkingWithJose #MaleVulnerability #MenSufferingInSilence #AnxietyInMen #DepressionInMen #ObesityStigma #SelfWorth #HealingJourney #MasculinityAndEmotions #FitnessAndMentalHealth #MotivationForMen #PurposeInLife

Transcript

0:00

What’s up, everyone? A big round of applause to all of you for joining us again for another episode I hope you've got a good idea of what we're doing here Welcome back to the show we’re fired up today so stay with me because we're about to get real You know today's topic is really important because I'm not really here to teach you anything specific I mean, you might learn something but I'm not going to demonstrate anything As the banner says today I'm here to talk to you honestly man to man And for the women listening tell your husband to check this out because this one's for them This is a little tough for me because I ’ m going to get a bit vulnerable and talk about myself But I figure if I want to help and build a community the most logical thing is for me to start as a member of it I want to let you know that, yes there will be moments when you feel lost There will be times when we have to open up and learn And I think that's the focus here That's why I'm doing this even when other things distract me Finally, I feel like I'm getting the gears turning to make things happen I was thinking about what to write what to say I don't have a script just a few points I just need to talk to you I think what I've been through in the last three years and especially the last two weeks can be applied here I just came from a men's retreat at our church where I was so blessed I came to understand grace to understand love even in pain and that the bigger picture is so much greater It was amazing I grew so much there But right before that something happened that made me think about all the times I felt confused or lost as a man tired of trying I’m not a perfectionist but for those who are you know that cycle of trying to do everything perfectly and getting nowhere Over these last few years I've been growing spiritually emotionally, and physically I’ve been trying to be a better husband the kind God wants me to be, a good father and trying to advance my projects while helping others and taking care of myself And I want to do all of that to stand firm in my faith But there are times you just don’t get it right If I told you I'm on top of my game one hundred percent of the time I’d be lying It's not always like that During one of those times I started questioning if I was doing things right Maybe my vision of the results I wanted was distorted I'm this age and I feel like I should be somewhere else I was just tired I didn't understand myself I was studying, acquiring knowledge putting it into practice but I still felt like I wasn’t where I was supposed to be I earned like five or six certifications in a two-year period including personal training which was to learn how to exercise and help others nutrition and a couple in IT I was even navigating the world of cybersecurity and got certified in that too And still, nothing Sometimes I'd stop praying or going to church other times, my faith was rock-solid But I felt this heavy weight this drowning in silence A silence I chose because I didn't want to ask for help I thought I could do it all alone And you, my brother who's listening maybe you're going through something similar Maybe you have family issues and don't know who to turn to You're dying inside and that silence is crushing you I might be someone who can listen and help We're not psychologists but we can refer you to one if you need it The most important thing is for you to know that I ’ m in the same boat with you I had to do some serious self-reflection I realized that during my childhood I was raised to believe that complaining showed weakness Especially for a man crying was a sign of weakness You couldn't show your opponent any vulnerability So, I learned to do everything on my own But when I tried to push past my own limits that's when the emotional and mental fatigue hit I was physically drained How can you push forward when your mind is fighting against you? That’s when it’s time to ask for help to say, I need support Look, maybe you don't know me but I understand Send me a DM on Instagram or any platform Tell me what's up and we can figure out how to help you The other things like nutrition and fitness will fall into place later Right now I want you to understand, men that you don't have to feel less macho than anyone else If you need to cry, cry I've learned to cry and sometimes you just have to let it out If you have to do it in private, do it But don't hold it in Let your ego go That’s what I wanted to share Just last weekend my wonderful wife and as they say a wise woman builds her house gave me a wake-up call We were in the car and I was talking about my projects my plans and she just looked at me and said You're an intelligent man You've spent two or three years studying for this and you're doing nothing At that moment, my ego flared up but I've been practicing emotional intelligence so I let her finish She told me to make a decision focus, and go all in That was the spark I needed I see her passion for her own business and it inspires me That night, I recorded my first episode edited it, and posted it by 4 AM I decided to focus on this because it has a purpose to help you, my brother To create a community where we can mentor each other and discover our purpose I want to talk about mental health emotions, purpose, faith and leadership, all without masks We're going to talk openly backed by science I don’t want you to feel alone I felt lost and God used my wife to guide me She knows how to push my buttons to get me down but she also knows which ones to press to propel me forward Because we're a team and we want to see each other succeed It’s not easy but when you decide to become a true partnership everything changes So, you are not alone I ’ m inviting you to subscribe to the channel and hit the notification bell to get all the content I ’ ll be creating for you And leave a comment below You don't have to explain anything Just write, I'm here That's enough to take the first step And write to me on my social media I really want to thank you for listening You are not alone See you later