It’s the unknown that kills a good diet plan.

The little treats here or there that can derail months of work.

And the underestimations of calories in a food, well…that’s just UNBELIEVABLY AGGRAVATING!

Over the summer we had a Baskin Robbins move into our neighborhood.

As a treat, my family would go once a week for ice-cream. Sometimes twice a week of the grandparents were around.

I’m a chocolate mint kinda guy, so I normally get the chocolate mint ice-cream in a waffle cone – about 500 calories…but occasionally, I’d order the chocolate milk shake.

I figured, “It’s a treat, besides it’s probably about 750 calories, I can handle that”

You can imagine how mad I was when I saw this:

1300 Calories!

Almost Double what I thought.

Brutal.

Luckily, I wasn’t trying to lose weight this summer, so it wasn’t a giant deal, but this is where the “I didn’t change a thing, but gained weight” stories come from – forgetting or underestimating the calorie content of foods.

Eating responsibly means being aware.

You can still have chocolate milk shakes from Baskin Robbins if you are trying to lose weight, you just need to be aware that the darn thing has 1300 Calories.

Being aware – it’s the key to weight loss.

BP

PS – The secret to losing weight while still occasionally having a large chocolate milkshake? Share it with a friend!

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The truth is, I’m having a crazy  busy day…funny how Monday’s are like that.

But, I really wanted to write a post about diet books today, and I had a point that I REALLY wanted to share with you, but I simply did not have  enough time to write a nice wordy post…so I quickly jotted some notes down and realized that they had almost formed some sort of really poor  haiku.

…so smiled and had some fun with it.

I hope you like it.

The thing with Diet Books -

They all have to have a catch

This part is what sells.

Eat less and move more

The truth with no hook, no catch.

No secret science.

Hormones and Enzymes

Make for great diet book titles

but the truth remains -

Eat less and move more.

BP

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Here’s a great question:

…Also, aside from fasting, what is your next most recommended weight loss regimen? I really need to lose 10 lbs but no way can I fast.

Now, obviously I could be “that guy” and get on my soap box and start lecturing on the benefits of fasting, however since I’m not a one trick pony, I think it would be fun to investigate this question a little further.

Of course, to do this, we have to start with fasting.

So what is fasting?

Really, fasting is nothing more than a food custom or ritual that allows you to eat less.

Forget all the metabolism and hormonal benefits, because none of it matters if you aren’t fasting. So the benefit of fasting is how easily the RITUAL or CUSTOM of flexible intermittent fasting fits into your life.

In fact, the REAL “secret” to the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle is eating less while enjoying the foods you eat – Fasting is just the easiest means to get there.

So if you don’t want to fast then you simply need to find other rituals or customs that fit into your life and allow you eat less.

I talk about this extensively in “The Ten Day Diet Solution” and some interviews I did with Craig Ballantyne for his TTmembers.com site.

Here are some of my favorite ‘diet’ rituals:

• No eating in the car – Cuts down on a lot of mindless eating for the commuters (and keeps your car clean).

• No eating after a certain time of night – Cuts down on mindless snacking in front of the TV and sets practical limits.

And here is one of my all time favorites – at night, clean your kitchen.

Once you are done cleaning your kitchen is officially ‘closed’. The benefit of this is

A) no night time eating and

B) You wake up to a nice clean kitchen the next morning (I find the cleaner the kitchen the better you eat – not sure why).

The bottom line is that weight loss is all about eating less. Sustainable weight loss is all about eating less while enjoying the foods you eat.

Rather then follow a super regimented diet program, look for simple, easy customs that you can implement into your life that help you eat less without compromising your lifestyle.

I think the ‘on/off’ switch mentality of fasting is the ultimate way to do this, but if you aren’t into fasting, then look for other, just as easy alternatives.

BP

PS – Here’s one more Eat Stop Eat Q n’ A for you:

Question:

Hi Brad–I bought your ebook Eat Stop Eat and aced the first fast. #2 fast is today–I’m going for every 5 days but if something comes up it seems like it’ll be easy to adjust. It’s also pretty easy to do this around my shift work.

Quick question though—Is it okay to chew gum while fasting on Eat Stop Eat? My wife was scolded for chewing gum once by an anesthesiologist before her procedure. She was told chewing gum ‘tricks’ the body into thinking it’s going to eat…

Thanks Jim.

My Answer:

Hi Jim,

I’m glad your are finding your fasts easy. Regarding gum, I’d say this is more a matter of personal preference. If one or two pieces helps you make it through your fasts then I see no problems with it. However, if the gum makes your fasts MORE difficult, then avoid it. Realistically, it’s very hard to “tick” your body – it’s pretty darn smart.

BP

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You know what is really, really disturbing?

The fact that for many men it is a mental block that is probably preventing them from getting really, really lean.

In fact, sometimes a mental block can be a bigger culprit then either their diet or exercise program for preventing guys from getting lean.

Here’s a perfect example.

I use to see this in bodybuilders all the time:  They would spend an entire year (maybe more) ‘bulking’ enjoying the feeling of hitting milestone weights like, 200, 225, 250, even 275 pounds…every time a bodybuilder hit one of these weights it was a giant feeling of achievement.

But, when it came competition time these same bodybuilders could never get truly shredded because they had a mental block that would keep them from getting below 200 pounds..Even if they weren’t competition ready, they simply could not get passed the mental block of dropping into the 190’s especially after being so large beforehand.

In other words, they would rather LOSE THEIR COMPETITION then drop below 200 pounds!

I was thinking about this other day when it suddenly hit me…this doesn’t just effect bodybuilders…it effects a lot of men.

It even effects me too.

If I want to get leaner than I am now, I’d have to drop below 170.

Honestly, this is a fact that I’ve never really considered.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am extremely happy with my weight (175ish) and my  body composition. But the fact remains, If I did want to get leaner, I would also have to get lighter.

I know my lean body mass is between 150-155. I also know that I’m an experienced lifter in my thirties who has been seriously lifting weights for more than 15 years. My bench, squat and dead lift are not going to increase by more then ten to fifteen pounds in the next year.

I’ve also tracked my weight for years…so I know (obviously) I’m way leaner in the 170’s then I was in the 180’s and 190’s (again obvious, but needed to be stated).

This means that my Lean Body Mass is A) not going to change quickly and  B) Will most likely never to go outside of this 5 pound range.

So based on these facts if for some reason I wanted to drop into TRUE single digits for my percent body fat (7 or 8%), I’d have to weight between 165 and 170 pounds.

(The whole ‘gain 20 pounds of muscle and lost 20 pounds of fat at the same time’ thing only really happens when you are young (17 to 25), just started training, or are on steroids)

The bottom line is that weight can be a GIANT mental hurdle for guys who want to get lean. We’re often misled by the padded stats of professional athletes and celebrities, and have a very strong aversion to being “too light”.

If you want to get truly lean, then you may benefit from ignoring the scale and just go by your body measurements and how you look in the mirror.

BP

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Here’s a great question that’s applicable to a lot of the personal trainers / diet coaches, (and oddly enough) naturopaths that I speak with…

Hi Brad,

I am a trainer and have for all my years endorsed the 5-6 meals a day to speed up the metabolism to all of my clients and people who ask me how to trim down.

Now that I am suggesting your approach they seem to be a bit apprehensive about it and ask why I have changed my opinion.

I advise them that this is only one approach and they should do what best suits their needs, lifestyle and mentality to food.

You obviously would have encountered many of these same questions. Did you ever train or advise people using the 5-6 meals per day and how did you overcome (persuade) them to give Eat Stop eat a go?

Keep up the great work!

Here is my answer:

Hi N,

I used to eat 5 or 6 meals per day. In fact, I used this system with success to get in shape for a body building show.

It is important to let your clients know that using this style of eating is not wrong per se. It is possible to get lean eating this way.

However, I believe it is far too strict for some people, I also think it’s important for people to realize that they don’t HAVE to eat this way to get lean (It’s not the ONLY way).

So eating 5 or 6 meals per day is not wrong, it’s just that for many people Eat Stop Eat is a much easier way to get the same results.

When I explain this to people they seem much more open to the concept.

B

The bottom line is that there are many ways of eating that will help your clients lose weight – You just need to find the easiest way that will allow them to spend more time under-eating vs over-eating.

BP

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Here is a quick reminder for anyone who is trying to lose weight:

Consider the model on the cover of a fitness magazine.

First the model diets for months to prepare for the photoshoot.

After dieting, the model may even dehydrate specifically for the shoot.

(The model will only look good and that lean for a couple of hours on the day the photo shoot).

During the photo shoot oil and makeup is applied to make the model look as perfect as possible.

Different types of oils are used to make muscles look defined, and make up is used to make everything as perfect as possible.

A high priced professional photographer will set up lighting and angles to make the model look as good and lean as possible (lighting makes a WORLD of difference!).

The model may do a pump-up style workout to make certain parts of his or her body look bigger than normal (arms, chest, shoulders..that sort of thing) – I did an example of how much a pump and a tan can effect the way you look..you can check it out HERE.

Sometimes, duct tape is used to ‘hide’ any extra fat (duct tape across the lower back helps pull love handles out of site for a photoshoot)

Clothes are chosen and altered to make the model look as good as possible.

After 2 to 3 hours of shooting (maybe a dozen rolls of film), the photo shoot is over.

The model (who is probably exhausted) goes and eats.

But the magic doesn’t stop here.

The photos are developed/downloaded.

From the two hundred or so photos, 2 or 3 are chosen.

These photos are sent to a artist who does the necessary touch up work with photoshop.

Moles and birthmarks are removed, shoulders made broader, waist made smaller, skin toned smoothed out, smile whitened, hair cropped, definition added and background removed.

Finally the picture is ready to appear on the cover.

Obviously this is not a real representation of how the model truly looks. It is idealized and stylized….In a sense..EVERYTHING was made perfect.

This should NOT be your inspiration for how you want your body to look.

Create realistic expectations based on YOUR body, and NEVER trust pictures in magazines.

BP

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I don’t think I have ever found more compelling evidence of the rampant nutrition confusion that the CNN website.

Specifically in an QnA in their Diet and Health section the following question was asked:

Is it true that when your metabolism slows down (e.g. from exercise, age, etc.), adding calories proportionally will “kick-start” it back to prior fat-burning levels? In my case, my rate slowed from 2,000 to 1,500, and the gym’s nutritionist recommended an increase in calories from 1,600 to 1,900. Thank you.

This question was answered by Dr. Melina Jampolis.

Now don’t I agree with Dr. Jampolis’s answer 100%, (and I REALLY dislike the use of the term ‘metabolism’ in place of metabolic rate), and I suspect that Dr. Jampolis had the same immediate thought that I did – How did a gym measure your metabolic rate??

But, considering she is an MD, and is giving advice on CNN, and has to consider the millions of people that are reading her advice, and the limited amount of information she was given, I think she did very well in giving some sort of action plan.

Her reasoning may have been a bit…much, but the actual suggestions aren’t too crazy.

(Remember, more than likely a junior writer wrote the answer and Dr. Jampolis probably signed off on it)

So this isn’t my example of nutrition confusion.

For that you have to go to the comments section AFTER the article.

It says there are 31 comments, but there have to be over 100.

In the comments people are ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Here are a couple quotes:

interval based weight training burns about 900% more calories than cardio for the same amount of time.

Old-fashioned oatmeal in the morning is a GREAT way to get your metabolism going

Eat as much as you want, but eat a vegan diet (no eggs, dairy, or meat). You CAN’T get fat, it’s impossible, and incredibily healthy

It has been proven than 6 smaller meals is more productive.

It is important to consume more than 75% of your daily calorie intake before 1pm

Do away with all processed starches including white bread and rice, high fructose corn syrup, and any processed sugar-based food for EVER!

I am an NSCA-CPT. This Dr. is old school way of thinking. Geez.. it amazes me the amount of bad information out there.

Granted there was the occasional post that made sense. But the bottom line is this – in my opinion, this is a perfect example of just how confused we are about nutrition.

And you can’t blame the people posting. Not at all. The vast majority of them have no background in nutrition. They are simply trying to convey what they have been told. It is the people marketing OCE, the magazines and their nutrition tidbits, the websites and their fanatical craze for nutrition information, these are the true culprits.

It is getting to the point where I think the very best thing you could do for your health is to SEVERELY limit your intake of ‘health information’. The less of this garbage your read, the better off you will be.

The marketing of health trends and health food is very similar to the marketing of junk food…they both have the goal of convincing you to CONSUME something.

The more rules, the more magic ingredients, the more foods you should avoid, the less likely the advice will help.

BP

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“Primum non nocere”

Roughly translated in means “Above all, do no harm”

This is the first rule of medicine.

The author was neither Hippocrates nor Galen (it’s probably older than either).

And despite it’s vagueness it remains a strong reminder that every single medical decision carries the potential for harm.

I firmly believe that “Above all, do no harm” should not only be the first rule of medicine, but that it should be the first rule of all health care – including blogging, and anyone who gives any form of health, fitness or nutrition advice.

Unfortunately, I have come to realize that this is where I have failed.

I didn’t fail on purpose. And I didn’t fail by writing or saying anything that was blatantly incorrect or misleading.

I failed through the words I did NOT write.

By being polite, and taking a ‘live and let live’ position on a lot of the things that are being said on line, I spent the better part of 2008 turning a blind eye to a large and growing group of people who were masquerading an obsessive addiction as a virtue.

Sure, I wrote about obsessive compulsive eating…in an informative manner…but I didn’t fight it.

Instead, I watched OCE habits gain a solid footing in what we now call “health”

Before I go any further, let me assure you...I do not think that you should simply eat junk food all day long, or that making responsible food choices is a disease.

When it comes to OCE it is the severity of the obsession that defines it.

From looking through all the news tidbits and emails about “new years resolutions” I think we’ve hit a new low in the definition of “severity”.

So here is what I am going to do about it.

JANUARY 17th, 2009.

Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

I’m doing a one-of-a-kind 1 day presentation with Craig Ballantyne.

I am going to discuss OCE openly and honestly.

I am going to reveal the marketing tactics that promote an obsessive addiction as a virtue. And MOST IMPORTANTLY I am going to prove to you that you can lose weight easily and effectively without resorting to obsessive compulsive eating.

And I am going to prove that you can be healthy, lose body fat and build muscle without having your diet define you as a person.

This will not be a presentation promoting Eat Stop Eat (Only 5 of the 120 slides have the words “Eat Stop Eat’ anywhere on them – and two of these are in the introduction).

This also will not be a presentation full of doom and gloom – That’s just not my style. (Plus, the purpose of the seminar is to help you transform your body).

What it is going to be is a fun, and powerful day, one that I may not be able to replicate ever again,  that will help you to kick start your fat loss for 2009 – without any OCE!

So Book January 17th, as a “Can’t Miss” day on your Calender

Book your seat at => http://www.ttmembers.com/products/item14.cfm

BP

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I always find it confusing when I read things like:

“Protein slows insulin levels, which you want to keep in balance to avoid weight gain.”

I find it confusing for two reasons.

1) I’m really not sure how you can ’slow’ a level

2) I’m really not sure how they define ‘balance’.

Honestly I really dislike vague terms..especially when applied to science.

What I do know is that from the research conducted on sports supplements we know for sure that a protein/carb meal can have just as big an effect on insulin as a carb only meal. And, that as long as you are eating your insulin levels are going to go up and down…

Watch the Video for more details:

BP

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