Admittedly I’ve been very heavy on the science and philosophy in my last couple posts, so I’d like to bring this one all the way back to square one.

Addressing wants and needs.

Bottom line: Many of us workout, slave away in the gym, watch (stress over) what we eat, read about nutrition, read about training…because we want to look better.

And we have some pretty visual goals when it comes to what “look better” really means.

It doesn’t matter if you are a man or a woman…at some point you’ve said to yourself “I want a 6 pack”

A 6 pack may not mean your are healthy, or even in shape..but the visual effect is striking!

So here is the no nonsense truth about getting a 6 pack:

You already have one.

No kidding. It’s there..it’s just being blurred out by a layer of body fat.

So the solution should be obvious – remove the fat, reveal the abs (that are already there under the fat).

You DO NOT need a ab exercise routine to make this happen. In fact, largely, they are a waste of your time.

You need to eat less to GET the abs, and you need to learn to enjoy eating less to KEEP the abs.

Abs are all diet, and overall activity level.

So here’s my solution: If you want abs eat less. If you want abs even quicker, eat less move more. If you want to keep you abs, then learn to ENJOY eating less.

(Easy to write, a little more difficult to put into practice, but it CAN be done.)

My experience has been this – Before Eat Stop Eat I dreamed of ‘cutting down for summer’ and ‘getting shredded’. I chased ABS with diets and ‘bumping up the cardio’.

After Eat Stop Eat, well, they’re just …there. Sometimes they are blurrier than other times, but they are always..well…visible.

Don’t make it harder than it needs to be.

BP

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I never really liked English class when I was in High School. As a Science/Art geek, I was just never into fiction.

Even now, I’m a pure non-fiction type of guy…(Unless we’re talking about the diet books I have to review for this blog, they’re almost all fiction )

So when I was in high school and found out I needed an extra English class to graduate, I took creative writing.

So you can blame my High School Creative writing Teacher for this post…

Scientific Research can best be described as measuring your shadow.

With some very simple tools (a measuring tape and a friend to do the measuring) you can get a very accurate measurement of the length of your shadow.

And this measurement will be correct, however it will only be correct within the confines of it’s context.

In other words, the measurement will be correct for that specific time, in that specific location…and only to you.

It won’t be correct 3 hours later, or on an angled surface. And it certainly won’t be the exact same length if it’s someone else’s shadow and that person happens to be a foot taller than you.

What I’m trying to say is that it’s all relative.

And this is exactly what scientific research is…relative.

When it comes to research done on people, it’s relative to the people in the study (their age, sex, race, training status, disease state, even mood state), relative to the measuring technique (these evolve and change all the time), relative to the specific time and place the measurements were taken (subjects in a weight loss study 30 years ago may have approached the study differently then the subjects in a study going on right now).

To take one piece of research and try to say that it’s “true” in all cases and all circumstances for all time will always be false.

The bottom line and the reason for this post – The findings of scientific research will always be relative.

This is why any new health blurb that starts with “research proves X” is almost always wrong in some situations. It’s just like saying “Your shadow is 5 feet long”.

Just something to remember the next time your skimming the fitness magazines while waiting in line at the grocery store checkout.

BP

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Last Thursday’s blog post on ‘The Zen of Nutrition‘ is probably the best example of my current views on Health and Nutrition.

And, after reading through the comments I see that a lot of people feel the same as I do.

we’ve had ENOUGH. (Why do we try to make it so hard?)

It’s time to de-clutter our minds and simplify our approach.

There is ZERO relationship between how many fitness guru emails we receive each day, how many fitness books we read, how many health forums we visit, and how much weight we lose or how healthy we feel.

Or as Terri put it

“I own about 200 diet/nutrition books, and seriously, for what? What has worked for me and always has worked for me, is cutting down on calories.”

And Todd hit the nail on the head he he said:

“Over complicating is a major source of waste, anxiety, and confusion.”

Stressing over what we eat, how we workout, what to do to lose weight..all the confusion and frustration, it has to go away.

and “Chains” has the perfect solution….We all need to De-clutter.

“You know what I did immediately after reading this quote… I started unsubscribing from all the people I used to grab some nutrition and fitness information from.”

After reading Chains comment, I immediately did the same. I “Unsubscribed” from 11 different health and fitness newsletters.

Why?

Because I don’t need them to lose weight. And if they are full of nutrition and fitness rhetoric and ‘eat this, not that’ lists and rules I need to follow, then all they are doing is contributing to my mind-clutter.

And besides. If I want their advice, I’ll go visit their blogs.

At least this way I have a choice of when and where I read there information, instead of reading 11 different and conflicting messages EVERY SINGLE MORNING!

Now, I have kept a couple newsletter subscriptions. One because he emails about his workouts, and well… I find this interesting. And another because I find him entertaining and witty, and some mornings I NEED entertaining and witty.

But the rest of them, they’re gone.

As Pilbara commented:

‘As a wise man said to me `you are not responsible for the thoughts that come into your mind – but you are responsible for those you chose to act upon’

Well, It’s time to start taking control of the thoughts that come into your head. And really, I’m not cutting back on true nutrition info, I’m just cutting back on my daily dose of health and fitness sales-pitch.

Look at the emails you receive every week (INCLUDING The ones from me). Keep the ones that are positive, encouraging and entertaining. Get rid of the rest.

BP

PS- I’m thinking of following Terri’s advice and taking my de-clutter one step further:

I just packed up about 100 of my diet books and am donating them to my library.

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I’ve been reading the book “The Tao of Physics” by Fritjof Capra.

I’m about halfway through and had planned on working my way through a big chunk the second half last night.

But, right when I started reading I came across the following quote:

“Before you study Zen, mountains are mountains and rivers are rivers; while you are studying zen, mountains are no longer mountains and rivers are no longer rivers; but once you have had enlightenment, mountains are once again mountains and rivers again rivers.”

This quote stopped me dead in my tracks.

It was unbelievably eye opening because it perfectly parallels my experience with nutrition. With a couple small changes I could sum up my entire journey in health and nutrition with one (rather long) sentence.

“Before you study Nutrition, food is food and drink is drink; while you are studying nutrition, food is no longer food and drink is no longer drink; but once you have had enlightenment, food is once again food and drink is again drink.”

Back when I was a kid, food was food and drink was drink.

Then as I started studying Nutrition, food and drink became these complex chemical compositions that had these wondrous effects in the human body. Food and Drink were now macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients and polyphenols and volatile fatty acids, carbs, fats, essential fats, and on and on…

The more I learned the less the words food and drink meant to me, to the point where they were virtually meaning less. There was no such thing as food or drink. It was only protein, fat and carbs.

Now, after years of studying nutrition and learning I’ve realized that most of that ’stuff’ …that ‘knowledge’…it’s almost completely useless.

It’s health and fitness mind-clutter.

And, it destroyed my relationship with food.

So now, food is food once again and drink is drink.

It does not have magical properties. It is simply there to

A) fuel my body when I need it

and

B) to be enjoyed

This realization has helped me break free of Obsessive Compulsive Eating and has made losing weight and maintaining a body I am proud of to be easier than I ever thought possible.

So this is what I hope you learn when you read Eat Stop Eat. Food is Food and Drink is Drink.

If you want to lose weight then Eat Less. If you want a stress free life then learn to enjoy food again.

It can be this easy if you let it be.

It’s amazing where you can find inspiration (I mean really…a book on Physics?)

I’ll leave you with what I believe to be the best long lasting health advice I can give. It has nothing to do with carbs, protein, fats, calorie cycling, hormones or anything of that nature.

It is simply..

Eat when you are hungry. Sleep when you are tired.

BP

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The Following is a Guest Post by: Nia Shanks of TheFatSolutions.com.

I’m going to share a great concept with you: lose weight without dieting and without exercising. Just keep reading, because it will all make sense in a couple of minutes.

I tell people that by following Eat Stop Eat they can lose weight without dieting. Whenever I use Eat Stop Eat for fat loss, or maintaining my weight, I have never thought of it as dieting. Have you? I mean, you have no true restrictions, and I have never found anything quite as flexible or simple to follow; you just fast for 24 hours, strength train, and eat a variety of foods. It doesn’t get any simpler than that.

Just as you can lose weight without dieting by following Eat Stop Eat, I believe you can lose weight without exercising.

Now I will risk sounding like an infomercial that broadcasts at 3 in the morning for just a second to prove my point.

-How would you like to lose weight without exercising, and even have fun at the same time?

-How would you like to save time and money, but still lose weight and improve your health?

I love the fact that Brad emphasizes strength training while following Eat Stop Eat. After all, if you don’t strength train, you aren’t truly following Eat Stop Eat. However, Brad never said you have to join a gym to strength train.

Some people simply don’t like going to gyms. Others just don’t have the time and/or money to spend on a gym membership. Some gyms have a terrible atmosphere.

I’ll admit, even though I am a powerlifter, I occasionally get tired of going to the gym myself and desire a change of pace—or a new challenge. That is why in a few months after my next competition I am planning on taking a hiatus from the gym all together and taking a different path.

Where am I going with all of this and how can you lose weight without exercising?

Simple: do something you enjoy.

Instead of going to the gym and lifting weights, try something that is more motivating (unless, of course, you love going to the gym). Try doing bodyweight circuits. Increase the number of push-ups, dips, inverted rows, and pull-ups you can do. Learn how to do a perfect single leg squat. Build up your strength to perform a handstand push-up. Teach yourself how to walk several feet on your hands.

There are several other options as well: build your own sandbag, buy a pair of kettlebells, get some blast straps. Throw a jump rope into the mix to improve your conditioning and foot work. Find a hill and run sprints. The gym-less options are limitless!

All of those tools can be used at home.

Hell, you can even get outside and do a great muscle building, fat burning workout at the park. (Click here for a swing set workout video–http://thefatsolutions.com/blog/Bodyweight+Swing+Set+Workout/).

Exercising does not have to be another chore that you dread doing. So many people tell me they don’t go to the gym because they hate it. As a result, they think they are destined to be fat and unhealthy for the rest of their life.

That mindset will get you nowhere, except in an early grave.

The point is to find something you enjoy. Do something that gets you excited about training. If you are doing something you enjoy, then you aren’t exercising. You are having fun—getting strong and lean is just a pleasant side effect.

Think about it: when you were a kid, you would run around, climb trees, fall down, jump, get out of breath, and love every second of it. You weren’t concerned about how many calories you were burning and what percentage was from fat and/or carbohydrates. You were just having fun.

Get out of the “exercise is a chore” mindset: instead of making getting lean and strong a boring, dreadful chore, find a way to make it fun and challenging. There are no rules here: lifting weights at a gym is not the only way to be strong, lean, and healthy. Look back at the examples I gave you and see which ones peak your interest.

If you choose to participate in activities you enjoy, you will be losing weight and getting healthy without exercising. Combine that with Eat Stop Eat, and you will be losing weight without dieting or exercising. What more could you ask for?

Get the No Non-Sense Fat Loss Manual for free, and more fat loss training information from Nia Shanks at http://TheFatSolutions.com.

Nia

*****

Brad’s Comments: Thanks for the post Nia. And it fits very well with the Eat Stop Eat approach. The bottom line is this, exercise is pretty useless for weight loss, but it is an EXCELLENT tool develop strength, build muscle, conditioning and skills. What’s more, while exercise may not help you lose weight, it WILL help you look better and feel better as long as any exercise you choose to do is fun and enjoyable. And, don’t be afraid to mix it up – As Nia put it “The point is to find something you enjoy. Do something that gets you excited about training. If you are doing something you enjoy, then you aren’t exercising. You are having fun—getting strong and lean is just a pleasant side effect.”

So while exercise and some form of resistance training is an essential component of Eat Stop Eat, this doesn’t mean you have to be in the gym every single day, or even at all.

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Brad,

I’m following your recommend information on how much protein to build muscle along with an “intense” enough work out program. It is working well for me, but a couple questions loom in my mind. I’ve read in articles on the internet that a person cannot “absorb” more than 30 grams of protein in one meal. Is this true? If it is true, does this mean if I ate the recommended daily intake of protein to build muscle in one meal, I wouldn’t be meeting your recommended requirement? I don’t consume that much protein in one meal, but I am curious to know if I eat a meal with 40g does the 10 grams go to “waste”?

Thanks, Jeremy

Hi Jeremy,

There is strong scientific evidence showing that you are able to adapt to the amount of protein you ingest. Meaning, as you eat more (or less) protein your digestive system learns to ‘digest and assimilate’ more (or less) protein at a given time or meal.

This means whether it’s over a 24 hour period or in one single meal, you will learn to utilize the amount of protein you provide to your body, as long as this new intake is consistent.

Of course, this also means you will learn to oxidize any surplus protein (basically use any protein you aren’t using for building new tissues as a fuel). All that extra protein isn’t simply turning into tons of new muscle (I wish it was that easy).

BP

PS – If you are interest in a more in depth answer to how much protein you need to build muscle, visit How Much Protein

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Just a quick note today.

I’m currently reading “The Tao of Physics” by Fritjof Capra and thought I share a very interesting visual with you.

To understand the size of an atom consider the following:

If you were to take an orange, and blow it up to the size of the Earth, it’s atoms would be the size of cherries.

To me, this is truly amazing visual that really puts the microcosmic world into perspective.

BP

PS- From physics to philophy, the power of a void or of ‘nothing’ is remarkable. Tying in to nutrition, remember – The best way to accomplish something by doing nothing is by fasting. Simply take a break from eating and burn body fat. Simple.

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I’ve never understood the concept of a 5,000 member inner circle.

It just doesn’t seem that ‘inner circle’ to me.

I’ve also never understood the concept of inner circles that run for an indefinite amount of time either.

Personally I’ve always preferred the grad-school approach.

A small group of people who are extremely interested in a specific topic.

A set time-line to go over as much information as possible.

And, most importantly…open communication.

This is exactly how I will be setting up the Eat Stop Eat Coaching and Tutorship program.

35 people for a 3 month period. 6 Teleseminars each covering a specific topic which we will discuss as a group. These Teleseminars will not be recorded and sold for a profit, rather they will be available for 48 hours, then they disappear.

Personal Emails and Personal Skype calls.

This is the evolution of Eat Stop Eat.

A true inner circle. A coaching and tutorship program set up the exact same way I would set up a graduate level course.

Not some membership forum with an absentee landlord.

No outsourced customer service…I’m not going to pay some personal trainers to answer your emails using my email account.

The Eat Stop Eat Tutorship program will be me, Eat Stop Eat science editor John Barban, and you.

You will get the correct and uncensored answers to your questions, your needs, and your health.  If I step on toes with these answers, so be it. I’m prepared for the industry backlash.

My goal is to help YOU and answer YOUR questions. I do not want to save the fitness industry…frankly, in my opinion…they are on their own.

Have a question? Call me. I know it sounds crazy, and I’m sure the first couple calls will be extremely awkward, but what does that say about the state of this industry?

The bottom line and the point of this email is this – There is an Eat Stop Eat Coaching and Tutorship program. It starts the week of August 10th. There are 8 spots left.

I’m doing everything I can to make sure that this is done properly. EXACTLY the way I would want it set up if I were joining an inner circle.

Oh and I almost forgot, there will be an application process too; I want to know who you are. No more faceless emails, I really want to help, so I need you to give me the tools to do so.

So if you’re serious about taking your knowledge and awareness of fitness, health, and nutrition to another level, and getting the tools to take your health into your own hands, then leave me a message by commenting on this blog and I will contact you directly.

BP

***THIS SESSION IS NOW CLOSED***

(THE NEXT SESSION WILL START IN DECEMBER)

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