Weight Loss and Happiness

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"

This quote is used so often in the weight loss industry it has almost become cliche (plus I find it very confusing), so here is one that I find much more valuable.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

This quote is from Albert Einstein, and I think it can be used to describe our current obesity crisis very nicely.

To put it bluntly, if we try to use the nutrition and diet recommendations that caused our obesity problems as a way to FIX our obesity problems, we're doomed for failure.

If you are happy with your current routine and you are happy with the way it makes you look and feel then you do not need to change your program. IT IS WORKING.

However, if you find your current weight loss routine, boring, monotonous, hard, restricting, or ineffective then stop spinning your wheels and find a new routine, because the one you are following right now is NOT WORKING.

If you want a change of pace, and a routine and way of life that is unlike any other weight loss routine then maybe it's time you gave Eat Stop Eat a try.

BP

How to measure weight loss

If you are on a diet, it's the trend, not the number, that counts.

Here is a quick and easy tip on how to measure weight loss without losing your mind.

BP

Obesity Drugs

It's funny how sometimes slight exaggerations can create stories that justify extreme measures.

Take for instance the idea that:

Your weight is something that is closely regulated by your body and that in cases of obesity this regulation maintains weight at a high than normal level.

On the surface this tends to make sense. And, the truth is, while fundamentally flawed, if someone were to say this to me at a party, I would probably just let it slide.

And if I did 'let it slide' then the next statement could very easily be:

The process of weight loss activates mechanisms in our bodies that are designed to return a person to their pre-weight loss weight.

And after this giant leap of faith we could quickly end up moving to the conclusion that:

And because of this, life-long drug therapy is justified for those with significant weight problems.

I hope you see the trend here.

If left unchecked there are people who will tell you that weight loss is impossible and that it involves EXTREMELY complex mechanisms that you or I couldn't POSSIBLY comprehend.

They will do their best to make you feel hopeless, then, they will offer you a multi-billion dollar solution in the form of "life-long" therapy with weight loss drugs.

Now, here is the real kicker...

Right now pharmaceutical companies are working very hard to create drugs that can mimic..you guessed it..the metabolism that occurs when a person is fasting.

That's right - they are looking for a pill that can reduce insulin, increase growth hormone, grehlin and FGF-21, and increase the sensitivity of the enzymes responsible for releasing fat from your body fat stores.

We are led to believe that we couldn't possibly lose weight without their help.

But the truth is, we really don't need any help at all.

As I have said before...Since the day we were born, our bodies have known EXACTLY how to burn body fat.

It's true. Unless you have some ultra-rare metabolic disease, your body is already AMAZING at burning body fat...you just have to give it the opportunity.

If you give your body the opportunity, it will do exactly what it is built to do.

So do yourself a favor, find the easiest possible way to eat a little less than you need to (I recommend Eat Stop Eat), then step back and watch your body do its job.

You have better things to do with your time than to listen to people who try to sell you Life Long drug therapy as a way to 'cure' weight loss.

Fat loss can be incredibly simple, if you let it be.

BP

If Eat Stop Eat was the Batman...

...what would be the joker?

Have you ever noticed how every famous super hero has an equally famous super-villain?

Batman has the Joker

He-man has Skeletor

Superman has Lex Luthor

Every hero has his or her villain, and in comics and make-believe land, the villain is always the exact antithesis of the hero.

So why the sudden hero/villain revelation? Well I finally had the pleasure of finally seeing the latest Batman movie. It was as good as everyone says it is, and Heath Ledger was an amazing Joker. In fact, I would say that he was one of the best villains ever in a
movie.

I'd put him right up there with Darth Vader.

But this post isn't about villains, rather it's about the idea of an antithesis - A direct opposite.

And in this example...Eat Stop Eat is the good guy. After all it is an incredibly easy way to lose weight, this we know. But, what would it's antithesis be?

What would be the Joker to Eat Stop Eat's Batman?

In Eat Stop Eat I recommend a form of flexible intermittent fasting where you eat normally on the days you are eating, and you include a 24 hour fast once or twice a week. This very simple style of eating has helped thousands of people lose weight.

Interestingly, it is the EXACT ANTITHESIS of Eat Stop Eat that probably made many of these people overweight to begin with.

Think about what the antithesis of flexible intermittent fasting would be ==> Eat normally for most of the week but then once or twice a week, over-eat by a fair amount.

As an example, a person would eat normally for almost the whole week, except on Monday during an unexpected lunch meeting there would be an additional 1,500 calories from a soup and sandwich combo maybe a glass of wine or a beer with the meal, and a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant for dessert.

This small overshoot doesn't seem like much...and for the rest of the week this person would eat very well, but then on Saturday there would be an extra 2,500 Calories from 3 slices of pizza, 2 beers and some nachos.

But other than these two dietary indiscretions, eating would be normal.

This is the EXACT OPPOSITE of Eat Stop Eat, and it is how most people who are overweight eat.

Most people who are overweight actually eat very well MOST OF THE TIME. The only difference is a one or two minor slips ups per week.

Overeating once or twice per week can have absolutely devastating weight gain effects. Fasting once or twice per week can have absolutely remarkable weight loss effects.

Eat Stop Eat is the easiest way to make this dramatic transition from weight gain to weight loss, and oddly enough it is the EXACT OPPOSITE of how most people eat.

If you don't like the way you look, perhaps it's time you tried a completely opposite approach.

BP

The Eat Stop Eat Advanced Audio Files

Here's a sneak peak at the content in the Eat Stop Eat Advanced Audio files...

You can get the complete Eat Stop Eat Advanced package at www.EatStopEat.com

BP

Exercises to Burn Fat

Yesterday was Canada day, a national holiday in Canada celebrated by BBQs, backyard parties and fireworks.

I love Canada day. I even went as far as to turn my Blackberry OFF for the day (which is a HUGE accomplishment for me!)

Even though I was able to turn off my Blackberry, I wasn't able to let go of my most valuable sidekick...my notepad.

Yep, I keep a notepad on me at all times (Moleskin is my brand of choice).

Call me old fashioned, but when ideas spring into my head, nothing makes them more real, more concrete than actually writing them down (typing them out just doesn't do it).

(A perfect combination for a great summer's day)

I took an hour during the day when my little girl was playing in the pool with her grandparents to go through my notebook and read through many of the old notes I have written down this year.

One particular note that stuck out to me was from a lecture I attended for physicians that was headlined by Dr. Stuart Philips from McMaster University.

Amongst my notes I found the following quote scribbled down:

"It is remarkably hard to increase exercise and decrease body weight."

which when translated to normal non-PhD talk means:

"It is really hard to lose weight by simply increasing the amount of exercise that you do."

How true.

Believe it or not, most research trials examining the weight loss caused by very low calories diets, found that adding exercise did little to increase weight loss.

The diets seemed to do all the work.

Take for instance the research conducted by Donnelly et al. that was published in 1991.

69 obese women were put on an extreme 520 Calorie per diet.

These women were then divided into 4 groups

Group 1 did not exercise
Group 2 did endurance exercise for 60 minutes 4 days per week.
Group 3 did strength training 4 days per week
Group 4 did strength training AND endurance exercises 4 days per week

At the end of the 90 days research trial all 4 groups lost a mind blowing amount of bodyweight, averaging over 40 pounds of weight loss!

(Once again proving that anyone who says “It is impossible to lose weight by dramatically reducing your calories.” has absolutely NO IDEA what they are talking about!)

The interesting finding was that there were no differences between the four groups in terms of the amount of weight or body fat that was lost.

This is despite the massive amounts of exercising that group 4 was doing every single week!

This conclusion has been found over and over again in published research.

Donnelly et al. did a second trial that was published in 1993 showing that weight training could increase muscle size while women followed an 800 calorie per day diet, but it could not increase weight or fat loss.

Similar results were found by Kraemer in 1997, Bryner in 1999 and Janssen in 2002, just to name few examples.

The truth is that if you have your diet in order and are following a diet program that allows you to decrease your caloric intake it will cause you to lose weight.

Adding 'calorie burning exercises' does not seem to increase this weight loss, but adding strength training can preserve or even help increase the size of your muscles while you are dieting.

So if you are one of those people who spends countless hours in the gym, pushing themselves as hard as they can but are not seeing results, maybe its time to change your approach.

Eat for fat loss, workout to preserve (or even increase) the size of your muscles.

You can easily accomplish this by following the Eat Stop Eat lifestyle of Flexible Intermittent Fasting and strength training.

If you spend your energy in the right places, weight loss can be easy.

BP

PS- While all of these research papers used extremely low calorie diets and showed impressive weight loss, you absolutely do not need to be this restrictive.

I would never recommend this type of low calorie diet, especially since simply fasting once or twice a week can cause great fat loss, while still allowing you to live a normal live and enjoying great tasting food.

After all, a great diet is all about quality of life while dieting ;)

Eat Stop Eat Review by Emily

I'm out in Regina Saskatchewan right now, dealing with a little bit of jet lag, a sick wife and a very confused little baby (she's an all star traveler, but nap times are all messed up).

Mommy and baby have finally fallen a sleep, so I have managed to steal two minutes to check emails.

It's going to be a very busy day, so instead of a blog post from me, here is a really good review of Eat Stop Eat written by Emily, The winner of the first every Turbulence Training Transformation Contest.

You can read her review by visiting here ==> Emily's Eat Stop Eat Review

I'm off to find hot water for the baby bottles!

BP

Seth Godin vs. Eat Stop Eat

I woke up this morning to an email in-box that was full of emails about marketing guru Seth Godin's recent blog post titled "The (stupid) Diet".

In case you missed in, here is what Seth had to say:

My friend Chris told me about a diet he used to use to lose weight. He would eat what he wanted five days a week and fast two days a week.

No, that doesn't work.

The parallel to marketing seems pretty obvious, doesn't it?

Now I am pretty sure that Seth isn't talking about Eat Stop Eat. Especially since "Eat what you want five days a week and fast for two" would be an absolutely horrible description of the philosophy of Eat Stop Eat. (I would much prefer "Eat sensibly and responsibly while enjoying the foods you Eat. Follow a resistance training program and once or twice a week take a 24 hour break from eating").

Even if Seth was talking about Eat Stop Eat, he most likely has not read the book, and is simply basing his comments on the typical assumptions about the idea of fasting for weight loss.

I find this to be the one thing that every Eat Stop Eat naysayer has in common - They haven't read the book. Once they've read Eat Stop Eat, they almost always take a much more open minded approach to the philosophy behind Eat Stop Eat.

Don't worry about the naysayers. They are typically just scared by the idea of fasting and haven't actually read the research behind it.

BP

PS- If you would like to learn more about the benefits of fasting and the Eat Stop Eat philosophy of fasting for weight loss, please CLICK HERE.

How to lose weight properly

I've had my eyes re-opened the last couple days.

Somehow, I've had my own little personal epiphany regarding weight loss. Or, more correctly, I've had my own little epiphany regarding selling weight loss.

This is my ah-ha moment.

When I left the supplement industry it was because I wanted a change. I wanted out. After answering this mornings emails about Eat Stop Eat I suddenly realized, I'm right back into it.

Most of the emails I received this morning were actually not about Eat Stop Eat. They were about other people's diet programs. It seems that there are a lot of people who have been scared and pressured into eating in a certain way, or following a certain program.

This is something that really bothers me, and I think it signifies a lack of credibility and respectability (and is part of the cause of OCE) - If your nutrition/weight loss program is as good as you say it is you should not have to scare people into making a purchase.

Tell me how many times have you seen these scare tactics:

Eat multiple times per day or something very bad will happen to you (Metabolism goes down, insulin sensitivity goes wonky..)

Don't eat too few calories or something very bad will happen to you ((Metabolism goes down, insulin sensitivity goes wonky..)

Eat lots of protein or something very bad will happen to you (get fat, lose muscle, lose muscle and get fat)

Don't eat carbs or something very bad will happen to you (get fat, become diabetic..)

Eat carbs or something very bad will happen to you (performance will suffer, you'll become mentally slow, you will stop losing fat)

The list goes on an on...

The interesting thing is, there is nothing 'wrong' with some of these ideas and I have no problems with other authors promoting their products. As I've said before Eat Stop Eat is not the only way to lose weight. Any diet that reduces calorie intake will help you lose weight. The easier and more logical the program, the better your results will be. The problem I do have is with these ideas is the way they are pushed on you.

Instead of promoting the benefits of their diet program, many people are trying to scare you by telling you the horrible consequences of NOT following their diet.

This is scaremongering. When you see this be very weary.

There are a lot of good program out there. Look for the ones have logical explanations of their benefits and be very weary of the ones who use poorly explained "scare" tactics as their only explanations behind the value of their products.

The proper way to lose weight is by following a nutrition and exercise program that you are confident in because it was well explained and makes logical sense. The wrong way to lose weight is by follow a nutrition and exercise program because the author has convinced you that it is the ONLY way to lose weight, and if you don't follow it then bad things will happen to you.

BP

PS- In once sentence, the benefits of Eat Stop Eat is that is is incredibly easy to follow, very flexible and perfectly effective.

Tips to prevent holiday weight gain

Here's a great post from Adam Steer's Blog about Fasting and
holiday eating that I thought you might like to read. This past
weekend I took almost the exact same approach as Adam.

Nothing better than flipping the switch to "OFF" for a bit. Kind of
like an eating "re-boot". Especially since for me, holiday eating
can have an effect that last for days!

You can read Adam's post here ==> http://tinyurl.com/2hdrjh

BP


PS- Here's a a great email about Eat Stop Eat that I want to share
with you.


--email start---

Hi Brad

Your book was a breath of fresh air. I am 48 years old and have
been weight training for about 4 years now, trying to eat a good
diet (six meals a day) and not daring to miss a meal in case I lose
muscle. I have not been able to lose that last bit of fat.

I have been using the fasting principles twice a week for the last
month with great results - fat loss and no muscle loss. It's such
a great way to eat.

Thanks,

Maxine Morris
United Kingdom

--end email--


Learn more about using intermittent fasting to lose fat.

Losing weight with Intermittent Fasting

For a great success story that has a cameo appearance by non-other than Eat Stop Eat, check out Richard Nikoley's latest blog post here:

Success with Intermittent Fasting

I think Richard's story fits perfectly with the Eat Stop Eat phiolosophy of flexible periods of intermittent fasting combined with a time-efficient weight training program.

BP

PS - Here's some great feedback I received over Email from Sue Grady
in Pennsylvania

"I love your book, EAT STOP EAT. great information, thank you for finally telling the truth! I just finished my first fast, and you are right. i actually felt *fantastic* without food in my system."

Eat Stop Eat - Europe's Best Kept Secret?

Back when I first started writing Eat Stop Eat, I was very careful not to mistakenly put any exaggerations into my writing. Exaggerating is a simple mistake to make, especially when you are very passionate about what you are writing.

The one I was very careful to avoid was the "Fasting is so effective that it is used by millions of people in Europe", or "Fasting is so effective it is used with great success in European medical practice". Truthfully, I've read things like this on the internet, but was never able to find any true substantiation.

For those of you who remember what the bodybuilding industry was like back in the late 90's you will know exactly where I am coming from.

In the late 90's every single "new" supplement was "Europe's best kept secret", and was "So effective it is being used with great success by European Doctors".

The funny thing is, I have just learned that with fasting, this might actually be true. I received a very interesting email from a friend who lives in France who has also authored a book on the topic of fasting.

I have always been very curious as to how Europe views the concept of fasting for weight loss. In our conversation I learned that fasting is actually quite popular in many European countries.

In the email he stated that "In Germany, two million people do a week of fasting every year". He also shared that "In Russia, fasting is a recognized medical treatment, and the most popular Russian book on fasting sold 30 million copies in ten years (Goldanie by Malachov)."

I'm not sure if this is a practice of prolonged fasting, or if it is more of an Eat Stop Eat style of intermittent fasting. (I am going to try to get my hands on a translated copy of these books to learn more). Whatever the case may be, I found all of this information very interesting.

There is even a French Federation of Fasting and Walking, which I am eager to learn more about. I really like the simplicity of this concept...I can just imagine the slogan "Have you put on some weight lately? Well stop eating so much and go for a walk!"

Add in a weight training session or two and you've got my endorsement!

BP

Does Cutting Calories Work?

I am beginning to hate shoveling. We are preparing for another 10-12 inches of snow tonight, and I still haven't completely shoveled the last big dump of snow that hit us on Friday. I think it's time to move somewhere warm. I'm thinking Gainesville!

I've been trying to answer all the comments that have appeared on my last post, and I've noticed a number of them are referring back to Gary Taubes. Many people have mistakenly taken the main point of his book "Good Calories, Bad Calories" to be that cutting calories wont help you lose weight.

Instead of getting involved in a big scientific debate over this, I'm going to use the scientific method with this one.

I'm a giant fan of Karl Popper, in my opinion he is one the greatest contributors to the scientific method. It was Popper who suggested that nothing in science could be proven correct, it could only be proven incorrect. And that these constant attempts at proving theories incorrect is what moves our knowledge forward.

So, for the theory that caloric restriction does not work for weight loss, and that the only way to reduce weight is by decreasing the intake of carbohydrates, regardless of calories, I would suggest that extreme results that occur with both laparoscopic band surgery and gastric bypass surgery are evidence that reducing the amount of calories the body can absorb results in substantial, measurable weight loss. These finding are repeatable and reproducible.

(An extreme example, but it does prove a point)

Because of the strength of these finding we can say that with surgical interventions that result in the bodies inability to absorb calories from food their is a rapid reduction in total body weight.

Because of this, we can say that the statement that reducing calories does not cause weight loss is invalid. Irrespective of the percentage of carbohydrate intake, the simple act of reducing calories will reduce bodyweight.

BP

Brad's Predictions for 2008

Alright, I know I'm a little late on this one, but here it goes...these are my predictions for the health and fitness industry in 2008.

1)Eat Stop Eat will be the next Atkins Diet

This prediction may sound a little conceited, but the idea of using short periods of fasting for weight loss is definitely catching on. And it shares a number of similarities with the Atkins Diet - it is incredibly effective and it is controversial because it flies in the face of some of our current nutrition fads, just as the Atkins Diet did. The only difference is, Eat Stop Eat is flexible and easy, so for this reason it may become quite as popular as Atkins (for some reason, people love complexity).

(The next big thing?)

2)People you trust are going to start pushing supplements on you

eTrainers and other on-line fitness experts who used to "rage against the supplement industry" will soon start pushing you on supplements as they begin to realize what the supplement industry has known for a longtime - the reoccurring income these products can generate is a quick and easy way to make a lot of money.

(These guys are Different...this stuff is great)

3) We will start to realize that our obsessive compulsive relationship with food is slowly ruining our lives.

Eat six times a day. Only eat protein with fat. Eat low glycemic. Eat to "fuel the machine". I think this year people will finally start to realize that the obsession with trying to figure out what and how to eat to lose weight has left us as a group of neurotic eaters who are more confused and frightened of food than we ever were before.

(I don't care how much it weighs, I'm eating the whole apple!)

4) Everyone will be taking pictures of their food and blogging it.

I think it may have been either Art Devany or Dr. Eades who started this trend, and they both did it with good intentions. It started off as a way of showing people that eating lower carb foods can still involve very appealing looking foods. In 2008 this idea will be bastardized and turned into a competition of "look how healthy I eat" between health and fitness bloggers.

(I'd post a pic of what I ate today, but I was fasting)

BP

Fasting for Weight Loss and its Effect on Blood Sugar

In the last couple days I've received a number of emails and posts about using short periods of fasting for weight loss and its effect on blood sugar.

In a post to my blog I was told that a couple people who are diabetic have been using short periods of fasting with a lot of success and have actually been able to lower the dosages of their medications.

I also received an email from a personal trainer who wants to use Eat Stop Eat with her clients but is worried about the effects that using short periods of fasting for weight loss would have on blood sugar levels. Mostly, she was concerned about hypoglycemia.

Throughout the 24 hour cycles of eating, digestion, and fasting, the amount of glucose in your blood is generally maintained within a range of 70-140 mg/dL (3.9-7.8 mmol/L) as long as you are healthy.

Hypoglycemia is another way of saying "low blood sugar". While many people claim to suffer from low blood sugar, as little as 5-10% of the population actually have a malfunction in their ability to regulate their blood sugar levels. There is no actual "cut off" value for blood glucose levels that truly defines hypoglycemia for all people and purposes.

Research in healthy adults shows that mental efficiency declines slightly but measurably as blood glucose falls below about 65 mg/dL (3.6 mmol/L). However, the precise level of glucose considered low enough to define hypoglycemia is dependent on the age of the person, the health of the person, the measurement method, and the presence or absence of negative effects.

According to the research on using fasting for weight loss, a 24 hour fast should not place you into a hypoglycemic state, and I have not seen any research that has shown a subject going below 3.6 mmol/L blood sugar during a short term fast. However, I'm the first to admit that there is a difference between research and real life, so I decided to experiment on myself.

I took blood glucose measurements on myself during a 24 hour fast. It's important to note that this investigation only had one subject (me) and that testing hypoglycemia with the finger prick technology is prone to misleadingly low numbers. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but be intrigued with what I may find.

(Good for research, bad for my fingers)

I started my experiment at 1:10 pm with a Bowl of Chili, a whole wheat bun an old fashion dip donut and a large coffee with two cream and one sugar, all courtesy of my friends at Tim Hortons ( ~750 Kcals, 40 g fat, 70 g Carbs, 30 g Protein)


I began measuring at 2:15, exactly 45 minutes after my last sip of coffee. The first numbers are my blood glucose in mmol/L, the number in brackets is my blood glucose levels in mg/Dl.


2:15 PM TUES- 5.9 (106.2)

4:15 PM TUES- 4.8 (86.4)

6:15 PM TUES- 4.4 (79.2)

8:15 PM TUES- 4.3 (77.4)

10:15 PM TUES- 4.6 (82.8)

12:15 AM WED- 4.0 (72) (Bed Time)

3:15 AM WED- 4.4 (79.2)

6:15 AM WED- 4.7 (84.6) (Right after I woke up)

8:15 AM WED- 4.6 (82.8)

9:00 AM WED- 4.4 (79.2) (A little bit of hunger here)

10:15 AM WED- 4.1 (73.8)

12:15 PM WED- 3.9 (70.2)

1:30 PM WED- 3.9 (70.2)


At 1:30 I ate my first post-fast meal, which was supposed to be a small chicken salad, but unfortunately it was a 1,200 Kcal Bomb of a salad from Boston Pizza (1,200 Kcals, 86 g Fat, 45 g Carbs, 62 g Protein)...My mistake, I was at a business meeting, but still, I should have known better.


Twenty minutes after finishing my heart attack of a salad, I started recording again.


2:00 PM WED- 5.9 (106.2) 20 minutes after my last bite

2:20 PM WED- 5.8 (104.4) 4o minutes after my last bite

2:45 PM WED- 4.8 (86.4) 65 minutes after my last bite

4:45 PM WED- 4.4 (79.2)


The interesting things I learnt from this study were that my feelings of hunger were not related to my blood sugar levels, nor was any feeling of light-headedness.


I was also very surprised that despite the massive amounts of sugar, my blood sugar never went above 6, and dropped pretty quickly after my meals. It stayed pretty tightly controlled between 3.9 and 5.9.


All in all, this experiment showed me that while I am fasting my blood sugar stays within the normal range. I will repeat the experiment during my next fast and study what happens when I workout while fasted.


BP

The 3 Keys of Exercise and How to Lose 200 Pounds

Once a year, NCAA football comes to Canada, and this year, I was there.

My wife and I met some friends in Toronto Ontario to watch Rutgers take on Ball State in the International Bowl. We had a great time watching Ray Rice run for 280 yards and 4 touchdowns.

While not everyone thinks attending a football game is an amazing event, I think everyone will agree that losing 200pounds with Eat Stop Eat definitely classifies as amazing.

3 of the people we were sitting with had been following EatStop Eat since the summer, and these three guys had combined for over 200 pounds worth of weight loss. I barely recognized two of them the change was so dramatic!

When it comes to diets I think that Eat Stop Eat could very well be the easiest path to weight loss. Not the only path, but the easiest and the most flexible.

You can think of diets the same as we do exercise; to make it work you have to adapt it so that it fits into your life. If youdon't then you are setting yourself up for failure.

With exercise there are three 'master components' to your workouts and the adaptations they cause your body to undergo.

These components are - Frequency, Volume, and Stress

You need to hit a minimum amount of all three to get an effect, and this minimum continually increases as your bodyadapts to the workouts. In other words, the bigger and stronger your muscles get, the harder and harder you have towork to make them continue to get stronger.
Thus, the absolute best scenario would be for all three components to be at their maximum. Maximum stress,maximum volume and maximum frequency (and maximum recovery in between workouts).

Multiple training sessions per day (frequency) at a maximalweight (stress), with as much sets and reps as possible while maintaining above the minimum stress level (volume).

You have real responsibilities in life, so this just isn't possible. So you do that best you can with these 3 factors ina method that fits your lifestyle. Whether it's 3 times perweek, 4 times per week, 2 times per day twice a week, you should do what fits into your life style.

The same principle applies to your diet. Ideally you would control every single days worth of nutrition. In fact, ideally you would control every single hour. You would measure exactly how much food you take in (volume) how often youeat (frequency) and what you are eating (stress). But again,this just isn't possible for 99.9% of the population. (elite athletes are an exception)

This is why Eat Stop Eat works so well for weight loss. It is aflexible adaptation to the rules of dieting that actually worksin real life scenarios.

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to find a wayto fit exercise and nutrition into your lifestyle.

BP

PS- For a really good critique of Eat Stop Eat you can readRichard Nikoley's review by going HERE

Are you fasting today?

You'll never guess what happened to me this week.

I was at a lunch meeting, just finishing my coffee when someone came up to my table to tell me that she had just started Eat Stop Eat.

To be honest, it was a little weird to be approached in public, but it was an awesome feeling to be able to actually see her excitement. And, it was an even better feeling knowing that she was going to see results!

My goal is to make the question "Are you fasting today?" as common as "Did you want to go eat?". If this happens, it means people are finally losing weight without the pain of constantly dieting. Without having to cut carbs for months on end, and without the pain of taking a week off of dieting only to watch the pounds practically jump back onto their bodies.

So with New Year's fast approaching, it's time for you to help spread the word. If you have been practising Eat Stop Eat, and have seen great results, it's time to let your friends in on your little secret (it's the holiday season, so don't be greedy and keep it all to yourself!)

This holiday season you can do your part to stop the needless diet suffering that always happens this time of year.

Eat Stop Eat, help spread the word

BP

PS- Haven't read Eat Stop Eat yet? You can check it out byclicking here ==> www.eatstopeat.com



Fasting for weight loss

Cholesterol, Red Yeast Extract and Health

It was about a month ago that I attended a seminar that was covering the health benefits of red yeast extract. During this seminar I heard some pretty convincing evidence supporting the beneficial effects that supplemental red yeast extract has had on cholesterol levels in various clinical trials.

As a scientist, I tried my best to pick apart the research, however that data was fairly convincing. I left the seminar open to the idea that red yeast extract may hold promise for its beneficial effects of lowering cholesterol.

This morning I read in an issue of Nutrition Outlook Magazine that stated that some red yeast extract products have been pulled from the market because they were adulterated with Lovastatin, a cholesterol lowering drug.

Now, this has me wondering, what kind of red yeast extract was used in the scientific trials? Did they also contain Lovastatin, and can that account for the cholesterol lowering effects that were observed?

While most likely we will never know the answers to this question, and I am sure that not all red yeast extract products have been adulterated, this kind of thing does make me even more hesitant about the efficacy (and safety) of herbal supplements.

This is another reason why I like the simplicity of using exercise combined with caloric restriction or short periods of fasting for weight loss purposes- you are getting the health benefits (including improvements in cholesterol profiles) simply by eating less, so you don't have to worry about what might, or might not be, in your functional food.

In this regard, you can think of eating less as "functional NO food".

BP

Every Other Day Fasting - Why I'm not a Fan

Lately, I've noticed a lot of people are trying out fasting for weight loss. There are lots of different types of fasting methods you can use, from the Eat Stop Eat method of fasting once or twice a week, to a more stict form where you fast every other day.

Personally, I'm not a fan of every other day fasting. I've tried it and found it to be too restricting. One of my stongest beleifs when it comes to nutrition is that any plan you are on must not only be effective, but it also needs to be flexible and easy for it to succeed long term, and with every other day fasting I definetly new I was on a diet.

Now I wont aruge with the fact that you can see some great results with this type of protocol, I just couldn't be on a diet that was that controlled for too long before I'd get tired of it.

That's why I prefer the Eat Stop Eat method, and another method I recently learned about while reading the will work for Abs blog . The method is called "Lean gains" and involves shorter periods of fasting (16 hours). The cool thing is that Martin Berkhan, the author of this method, actually uses it with his clients as a form of fasting to gain muscle!

Its a very interesting concept and one I will have to look into further. I've exchanged some emails with Martin and found him to be very knoweledgable and logical. His site is worth checking out. ==> http://www.leangains.com/

That's all for now,

BP

Are 24 Hour Fasts a Fad?

Well, it finally happened. I knew it would happen sooner or later, so I can't say I'm surprised.

Someone referred to my book Eat Stop Eat as a "fad diet". Now, I know for a fact that this person hasn't actually read my book, so really they were implying that using fasting for weight loss was a "fad diet". In particular, I think what this person was trying to point out was that long term, prolonged fasts aren't ideal for weight loss...which could be the farthest thing from what Eat Stop Eat recommends...but I digress..

This particular person felt the need to point out that "weight control and body composition changes are achieved by healthy nutrition, sensible dieting and an active lifestyle."

hmmm, interesting. Lets take a look at exactly how Eat Stop Eat fits into this description.

Firstly, in the united states, the US Dietary Guidelines describe a "healthy diet" as one that:

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products;
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts;
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars; and
• Stays within daily calorie needs.

You'll notice two things. Right away, the US Dietary Guidelines make no mention of how many times you should eat in a day, nor do they mention anything about the ideal amount of time in between each meal (For my Canadian friends, the Canadian Guidelines for Healthy Eating doesn't mention any form of recommendation for the amount of times in a day you should eat or an ideal amount of time in between each meal either) .

Second, compare the bullets above to the following statement...

"Eat less, but enjoy the foods you eat. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, and lots of herbs and spices. And maybe most importantly, spend less time stressing over the types of food you are eating."

This is my own personal "golden rule of eating" that I share in Eat Stop Eat.

Finally, Eat Stop Eat is not just a specific method of using short term fasting for weight loss. It is a specific method of using resistance exercise AND short term fasting for weight loss.

Thus, by all accounts using brief periods of fasting (especially the Eat Stop Eat method where you still eat everyday) in combination with a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, can be considered within the scope of the US Dietary Guidelines and if followed correctly, an effective tool in a person's on going quest for health nutrition and sensible weight loss.

BP

If you are interested in learning more about using 24 hour fasts for weight loss, then check out my book Eat Stop Eat