I wonder if your ever going to run out of ideas as to how to say the same thing over and over again???
This was a comment that was left on my blog over the weekend.
It didn’t make me mad, because quite frankly..it’s a fair statement. My message is a simple one: Eat Less, workout, don’t stress as much. Yet here’s the deal…Here’s the reason why I have to repeat myself. You don’t need anyone’s permission to eat less. YOU need to give YOURSELF permission to eat less and not stress about it.
That’s where I come in.
We’ve been brainwashed into thinking that eating a little less is bad for us. We’ve also been given hundreds if not thousands of rules that “We must follow” This Brainwashing and these rules…they create guilt and self-doubt every time we try to lose weight. Which is why there are millions of people who want to lose weight, but ‘don’t know how’ …or, who are simply afraid to eat less.
So that’s why my message is repeated.
To be successful at losing weight, you need to be able to eat less, guilt free. There are probably thousands of people who kinda, sorta want to try Eat Stop Eat. But they are worried about their muscle and their metabolism. “What if they get hungry, What if they get tired, what about starvation mode etc?”
In other words, they haven’t given themselves permission to believe that losing weight can be simple. And even if they try Eat Stop Eat, it’s not going to work nearly as well without that permission. Eat Stop Eat is NOT going to work if you are stressing out EVERY TIME you fast. (I can only imagine that those 24 hours must be almost unbearable if you think your actually doing something wrong or bad.)
So it’s a simple message, but it needs to be tackled in a hundred different ways. Everyday People think up 100 new ways of making you think you are doing things wrong in your life. My job is to remind you that Losing weight can be simple and almost mindless..if you let it.
BP
Tags: Fasting, lose weight, Weight loss
I just saw a website (www.ourcivilisation.com/fat) stressing that carbs are the problem and that I am supposed to eat as much fat and protein as I can. This makes no sense: eat more to weigh less. This site wants me to feel good that can eat loads of calories and still lose weight. What a joke.
I think you nailed it on the head when you said that people (including me) are simply afraid to eat less food. What you said makes the most basic and simple common sense.
By the way, what is your height and weight? I think you are roughly the same height as me (5’10″) and probably weigh in the 170′s. Am I right? Thanks!
Yep, 5’10, weight is low 170′s fasted (173-174) and mid 170s non (176-177)
Yes, it is a fair statement but I don’t think people should be complaining. I like the fact that you and John Barban seem to be the only ones willing to admit that the solution is simple. It doesn’t make for a lot of material which is probably a disadvantage to you.
Also, going by the previous comment, some people still haven’t heard it enough times to start believing it. Anyone who doesn’t want to hear the same things being said in different ways could always just unsubscribe to the blog.
I don’t agree with all of your philosophy, but I don’t think there is anything wrong with saying similar things over and over.
If something is works, don’t fix it. In essence you are a “coach.” Coaches in most sports have their athletes running essentially the same drills over and over throughout their entire career. The way to get good at basketball remains pretty much the same over time. The same is true with losing weight.
Brad you are in a tough spot, and yes at some point you are bound to get criticized by a few. I have been kicked out bodybuilding boards because i explain my theory on ketosis and why you don’t need a post workout drink of 100g of dextrose to recuperate after your workout. The guy that kicked me out was against low carb diets believed that you need to ingest 250g of protein per day if you weight 200 pounds and he is 56 years old, imagine if he drops by on your blog, he will hung you down LOL.
I truly believe that you are doing a great job, for my personal point of view before i stumble on your website, decided to buy ESE and How much protein you really need, i had huge stomach upset, my liver enzymes came back to high, producing lots of bile, and i was always hungry and craving sugary foods.
People need to learn about ESE because its far more then a diet to lose weight, it has some very strong health benefits attached to it, and theses benefits must be known has well.
I am no longer a slave to food, yes it did take time for me before starting to lose weight and keep it off, but from person to person that is normal, we are all different.
As for training well i feel i get better results going for forms and lifting a weight that will make me fail at 12 reps, its easier on my joints and back as well, but as long as its working like you said.
For the negative comments i would not give them to much thoughts they are very few of them anyways and not worth to get all upset about. You are going a great job and your blog is free, what the hell is there to complain, if they don’t like reading your stuff then they just don’t have to come back on here right.
Keep up your good work Brad you rock and i am sure that by the end of summer my back pain will be better and thanks to your ESE i will have finally build the type of body i want.
I read this blog for about 4 months and saw intermittent fasting (as well as your specific name/research) discussed on other blogs for more than a year before I came around to actually trying ESE. It’s not a complicated message but it runs counter to a lot of accepted wisdom, so it’s only natural that it would require a lot of repeating.
I certainly admit to not agreeing with everything. But, many times when I think to say “but”, I remember that they are not saying one thing is not true, only that it isn’t true as far as weight loss is concerned. Many times, people confuse things that are extraneous to losing weight with actually losing weight. “Health” v “Weight-Loss” v “Maintenance” are different things. There is overlap, of course. But when you speak to only weight loss, many things just become extraneous.
I also started to read this blog 4 months ago. I was angry because i could not to see my six pack although i was trying very hard. I also could not get muscles so quickly as promised by all programs i did. Trust me i did a lot of programs and i progressed a lot by that little fat was with me and i was not gaining 10-20 muscles as promised. Everything was progressing slow. (now i know this is how it goes) I was getting frustrated trying to find the solutions. I wrote email to Brad about whom i found out from Craigs Ballentines email. Brad responded nicely and explained what was going on. It made me happy and i started to believe that muscles do not come fast and that i did not need that much food. Last week i joined Adonis Index to further explore my findings. I also read adonis blog, I love the content. I love Brad and John for honesty and the true about muscles building. As they stated many times, it takes time and requires a lot of work, and again you don’t need 300 grams of protein to progress. Just work hard and it will come to you.
They must say it in different ways because people do not believe it. I tried to explain fasting to my friends many times and the all except one don’t believe it. And i know why, they just love to eat and they wont give it up for nice body. I love the posts and i keep coming everyday. I progress slowly and i understand that is is how it should be.
And what i love the most is the simplicity and lack of BS!!!
I have been trying ESE for a few months. I am 5’11, 140lbs. I am weight training 3 times a week, 1 hour each session, cardio 3-4 times a week, 40min long each session.I am actually trying to gain some muscles while trying to get my abs to show but it seems like my muscles won’t grow because I have been the same weight this whole time. Do you think I am doing anything wrong? OR can I achieve a desirable weight(more muscles) while doing ESE?
What you say and how you say it is so simple and easy that in this day and age people will be suspicious because you don’t try and bamboozle them with a lot of fear and nonsense. I find what you say, everything so far, that you say, to be common sense backed up by good science so thank you very much. I have worked out for forty odd years, run, swum, played rugby, put on muscle, taken it off, dieted etc ad nauseum but your system is easily the best way to lose unwanted fat—guilt free and with many side benefits. I have recommended it to quite a few people but of course it’s up to them to work out the message and apply it.Keep on keeping on Brad, it’s greatly appreciated. j
A bit off-topic but what is your definition of overeating? Is it eating alot in one day or eating alot in one meal? In your “what I eat” articles you show that you never eat alot in one meal (never stuffing yourself). Thanks!
Overeating is chronic…not one day, or one meal.
I’ve killed it over a meal, or even over a day, but if you add it all up over the months, due to fasting and responsible eating on many days, I’m still slightly undereating.
B
Brad,
When you’re a leader people are gonna critiqu you — it comes with the territory. Even the most popular leader can’t win over everyone all the time, nor should they try.
Also how a person deals with honest feedback is important in dealing with stress. Honest feedback should be taken for what it is and considered in light of the whole balanced picutre. Also some people are not as articulate and may mean something else and provide a quick sound-bit for feedback, which is not useful, as a more thought out response like maybe a suggestion about something else to elaborate on.
Cool Brad wrote a post on my comment. I think its great your repeating the message. I certainly won’t get bored of it. If you never kept repeating it I would still be over 200lbs force feeding myself.
Brad I have to add as well that you are doing a great job. But the comment does reveal the problem: your message is so effective and simple that it is impossible to scale a business from it! People are looking to spend money on bizarre new theories, supplements, etc. so they can continue with their mental masturbation instead of just relaxing, taking it easy on the calories and hitting the gym.
I did like the direction you were going with the audio files and the scientific explanations of fasting, etc. Perhaps there is a good niche market there, i.e. lay people who are interested in the science and not looking for another fad diet book.
Brad you are wonderful!! I am in my late 50′s and bought your ESE a year ago and to say its lifechanging is an underestatement. I havent weighed myself but Im down a size and a half. Its going slow- but i actually look forward to the fast days. My husband is on the program w/ me. Prior to ESE he had terrible physical problems 2 strokes – open heart surgery, endocarditis and cellulitis and recurring gout. He is only 50 and some was inherited- heart murmer etc. What i wanted to say is he has NONE of the problems that made us constantly go to the MD. In fact he only went to the MD once in the last year to recertify for his SSA checks. I have never felt better. My teenage daughter is always around reminding me that its not ‘Smash- Fast- Smash’. A fellow came up to me at the gym yesterday and said to the effect thats wasnt it crazy how those people upstairs were wearing out the treadmills? I could only laugh. Nobody wants to hear that word ‘fast’ from me- but those are the days i get the most done. Go figure. I seriously love this program and thank you from the bottom of my heart.
So true, Jake. Mental masturbation is exactly what it is. People enjoy reading, thinking, and talking about weight loss, and we can do that for years without actually losing the weight! I know I did. Other than the concept of creating a calorie deficit, weight loss is about *action.*
Keep that record playing Brad! Its not that you’re a broken record its just that for some reason the best advice seems like the one least likely to be listened to so you have to keep saying it over and over again. The reality is that some people just wanted to act like they want to lose weight. I guess it makes them feel better about themselves. I do eat stop eat and when people see me eating apple pies and donuts and enjoying myself the attribute it to my “super fast metabolism” even when I tell them I fast. Keep up the great work!
-Thomas
Brad,
Don’t listen to the haters! You know what’s crazy? For the last few weeks I’ve been using a phrase called “good brainwashing” to people that I talk to about my lifestyle with Paleo and ESE. And now here you come along and are talking my lingo! I find that your repetition and consistency to be a GREAT thing, especially with such a “controversial” message. You stick by your guns, man, and that speaks volumes.
For myself, I find that my fast days are much easier when I can come to this blog and strengthen my resolve (I’m only a few weeks in, and it’s getting easier and easier after a lifetime of stuffing face).
Keep up the good fight, Brad!
It’s actually a pretty good idea to say the same thing over and over again. False beliefs were anchored in people’s minds by hearing others promote these ideas relentlessly. It makes sense to combat this using the same strategy.
As long as people still think fasting once or twice a week is going to sabotage your fitness efforts instead of making you leaner, it hasn’t been said enough in my opinion. Think of it as cognitive behavioral therapy.