The Nutrition Help Blog - Food, Fasting and Health

How Much Protein Should You Eat Per Day?

2011-07-26T18:38:00.001-04:00

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A really entertaining post if I do say so myself ;)

Hot Body Alert! - Venus Index Transformation Photos

2011-04-27T10:42:00.001-04:00

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Hot Body Alert! - Venus Index Transformation Photos

Woman Sues Nutella

2011-02-14T12:24:00.001-05:00

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Losing 100 pounds Versus losing 10 pounds

2011-02-01T12:33:00.001-05:00

Question:

Hi Brad,

I don't know if you respond to emails or not, but I am wondering if your Eat Stop Eat plan is also effective for someone who wants to lose 100 pounds?

Thanks!

Answer:

Despite what some marketing will tell you, the very first step in losing weight is the same regardless of the amount of fat you need to lose. It's the same physiological process whether you are tying to lose 100 pounds or the mythical 'last 10 pounds'.

The key is to take that first step. So yes I believe Eat Stop Eat would be effective.

The Anything Goes Diet

2011-01-18T22:09:00.001-05:00

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John Barban's new book "The Anything Goes Diet" is finally finished, and..it's AWESOME.

I'm really impressed with how well this book turned out.

It's practical, and doable without being overly sciencey or complicated.

In short, it's the perfect compliment to Eat Stop Eat.

Check it out by clicking the picture above or go to:

www.JohnsNewDiet.com

Do you have to eat clean to get lean?

2010-12-12T14:20:00.001-05:00

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For some people, spending 4 months eating nothing but egg whites, chicken breasts and broccoli is easy. For the rest of us it's good to know that you don't HAVE to go to such extremes to get lean.

As John Barban illustrates in this post...a donut a day can still be fit into a lifestyle that gets you lean.

mindlessness and overconsumption

2010-11-26T20:46:00.001-05:00

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6 Tips for Building a Sexy Female Body » Blog » Roman Fitness Systems

2010-11-10T15:25:00.001-05:00

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Focus: My new book on simplicity in the age of distractions | zen habits

2010-10-25T12:38:00.001-04:00

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Focus - It's a free e-book from ZenHabits Author Leo Babauta.

Since almost everyone who reads this blog with any regularity could probably benefit from a break from reading about health and nutrition (myself included) I'm recommending you pick this up and give it a read.

The Paleo Diet: Fad, Religion, or Solution? | Leigh Peele

2010-10-22T19:42:00.001-04:00

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In-Your-Face Fitness: Jillian Michaels' kettle bell DVD sounds a thud - latimes.com

2010-10-11T19:04:00.001-04:00

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This one line reminds me a bit of the Coca-Cola "Vitamin Water Defense" of (paraphrasing) "no intelligent person would think this drink is good for you".

By making the claim that Jillian is 'an actress playing a fitness trainer '(a claim made by the author, NOT Jillian) it does really remove any accountability and responsibility away from Jillian...

Perhaps this is the direction this industry is headed in...after all, have we ever really seen any accountability from diet gurus?

Steroids - With and Without

2010-10-06T14:22:00.001-04:00

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How to get Perfect Abs

2010-09-28T16:45:00.001-04:00

Some of the biggest things holding you back in your weight loss efforts and your dream of perfect abs are not named 'Protein','Fat' or 'Carbs'.

It's probably not even 'Calories'.

(...well actually it is Calories, but it's just a tiny bit more complex then that.)

No, today I'm talking about two non-calorie things.

Self-Confidence and Perfection.

So let's clear this up right away.

It is a misconception that you have to be 'special' to be successful at weight loss.

This misconception stems from the fact that we like to think that the people giving us diet advice are somehow 'perfect'.

Living perfect lives, with the perfect bodies with the perfect jobs etc.

This creates a situation where it becomes difficult to have confidence in ourselves because we simply do not measure up to these seemingly perfect people.

However, Nobody is perfect.

So here's the truth...

That diet guru with the awesome abs that everyone thinks eats 'perfectly'...He's a chocolate FEIND.

The 600 pound bench presser who constantly gives advice on training..He's had three shoulder surgeries and bone spurs removed from his elbows...as a direct result of his benching.

The Hollywood celebrity touting his super dedicated workout program he used to get in shape for "Kiss of Death 32"...He forgot to tell you he's on various anabolic steroids.

The Paleo Princess who thinks that HFCS is made directly form the essence of the devil...She secretly loves the occasional Coca Cola when at the movies.

The shredded diet guru...who is actually about 60 pounds overweight (the pictures you see on-line are from 2001)

The dozen or so magazine covers you see every month...They are a result of photoshop mastery.

The point is:

No one is perfect, so don't freak out when you discover that you're not perfect either.

The idea of having shredded abs 24/7 without even flexing is just as foreign to the professional fitness model as it is to you.

We need to realize that the illusion of perfection is really, really hurting us and our abilities to reach our goals..or even define them.

So here are some givens:

You are going to have off days of dieting.

You weight loss is going to plateau, or even go up occasionally.

You are going to love the way you look some days, and be less then impressed on other days...and you don't probably look any different on either day.

This doesn't make you a failure, it makes you human...keep at it.

You are going to break a fast early, eat more than you want to, miss a workout, eat a 'bad' food.

The idea of eating perfectly for 4 months worth of hardcore deiting is just plain silly, even for the most dedicated fitness proffesional.

So if you slip, don't worry about it, just keep moving towards your goals.

Remember: No one is perfect.

This makes it a little easier to ramp up the self-confidence.

It's an even playing feild.

Realizing this is a giant step into becoming awesome. Because once you realize that no one is perfect, then you have ZERO reason not to be self-confident.

We're all flawed in our own special way, which of course means we can all be awesome if we choose to be.

As a note...this post was highly influenced by this blog post --> http://bit.ly/b9DzcI

Abbott Recalls Certain Similac® Brand Powder Infant Formulas

2010-09-26T20:49:00.001-04:00

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Eat Stop Eat Expanded Edition Review | Intermittent fasting diet for fat loss, muscle gain and health

2010-09-23T12:01:00.001-04:00

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What the Heck is Inflammation? Why Should You Care? | Fitness Black Book

2010-09-22T12:48:00.001-04:00

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BMJ calcium-heart study not valid for dietary calcium, Marigot

2010-09-21T12:16:00.001-04:00

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Social Diet Hack

2010-09-02T19:04:00.001-04:00

I’d like to let you in on one of my all time favorite ‘diet hacks’

No, it’s not fasting (that’s not really a ‘Diet hack’ – it’s more of a lifestyle)

Actually, it’s scotch.

Yep, good ol’ Scottish Whiskey (Irish is pretty darn good too, but I digress)

So you’re probably wondering how a ounce of the good stuff (neat of course) can be a diet hack?

Simple..

It’ll save you calories…. lots of them.

An ounce of scotch has about 70 Calories. That’s less than a glass of wine (120 ish) and a bottle of beer (140 ish)…but that’s not the ‘Hack’.

The “Hack” is in the social graces of Scotch.

Let’s say you go out for drinks with your friends…guys order beer, the girls order wine and you order a scotch.

Right away, you’ll probably get some looks… mostly because people have this weird idea that an ounce of Scotch has a TON more alcohol in it then a bottle of beer or a glass of wine (which is false, they are all equal).

And this is where the ‘hack’ comes in.

You can ‘nurse’ a glass of scotch for an hour and no one will say anything.

(I’ve never been in the situation where I’ve been nursing a scotch and someone has asked me if I was ‘on a diet’)

In a social setting, for some reason Scotch trumps people’s crazy need to push you to keep up with them when they drink.

So your friends can be 3 beers into the night, or a half bottle of wine..and you can still be nursing your first ounce of alcohol, and no one will say anything.

In a hypothetical situation where you’ve had two ounces of scotch, while your buddy has had 6 beers, you’ve saved yourself well over 500 calories…and a whole bunch of bloating and probably a really crappy morning..

Bottom line – Obviously you could just have a water, but with this diet hack you get to enjoy a Scotch, nice and slow…the way you should enjoy it (Without ice of course)…you drink about 70 Calories while your friends drink hundreds of calories in their beer, wine and assorted mix drinks (Oh and you still get the anti-inflammatory actions of alcohol too, just without any of the extra calories).

In settings like weddings, or awkward family reunions, this could save you hundreds of unneeded calories, while still allowing you to be ’social’.

Again, The obvious ultimate hack is water, but if you’re going to drink, you may as well drink the good stuff (just remember to drink it slow).

Drink Stop Drink

PS- No this is not an excuse to allow alcohol when you are fasting!

No Nonsense 6 pack abs

2009-09-01T13:28:00.002-04:00

Just a quick note today.

If you're interested in the truth about 6 pack abs, then you may like this post.

Basically, I tell you about my experience with getting a 6 pack.

No Nonsense 6 pack abs

BP

MEGA-Simplify your meal plans

2009-07-08T14:16:00.000-04:00

This question kept me up late last night:

Why don’t you make shopping lists for people instead of meal plans? let people make what they want, when they want it. when the food is out, you’re done eating until the next shopping list is published.

Really, its a very good idea.

A predetermined weekly shopping list that contains a set number of calories, fruits and vegetables provides an incredible amount of flexibility while at the same time helping people ‘target’ a certain calorie intake.

Basically, take a weekly calorie goal, and eat it through out the week in any manner you like. Once meal per day, three meals per day, 32 meals per day….what ever suits you best. BUT, when the food runs out..the food runs out.

This would be a great way to learn what a certain calorie intake ‘feels’ like.

The simplicity and logic makes this an intriguing idea.

I checked with John Barban and his meal plans do indeed include a weekly shopping list. So if you are interested in meal plans, but crave diet-flexibility the same way I do, then this approach (as suggested by Travis) may be something you want to experiment with.

PS - If you want to check out johns plans visit www.qualitymealplans.com

PPS - Obviously there are certain limitations to this plan, like if you shop for a family of four, but if you can manage it, it might be worth the experiment.

Fat Loss Meal Plans

2009-07-01T12:13:00.002-04:00

NEWS FLASH: Over the next couple days your email in-box is going to be FLOODED by people promoting Meal Plans.

My guess is your going to get a MINIMUM of 5 emails over the next week.

You’re going to here all kinds of stories of why you absolutely MUST get a meal plan.

And, surprisingly (under the correct circumstances) even I am going to be one of those people!

Here’s the deal:

I’m not just blindly promoting some random product - I am promoting it for a specific purpose AND
for a specific reason.

That reason is I lost a HUGE debate with Eat Stop Eat science editor John Barban.

This debate led to John creating meal plans.

It was about 2 months ago, we were sitting in Williams Coffee Pub in Burlington Ontario, I was having a cappuccino and John was having a black coffee (he was fasting).

Out of the blue, John drops this line on me

John: “You know, you basically turn your back on people who don’t want to fast”

Obviously, my first thought was a good right hook…but seeing as John outweighs me by about 25 pounds, I decided that might not be the brightest idea.

Brad: “What are you talking about?” (this was my substitute for the right hook)

John: “Well for people who don’t want to fast, you simply tell them to eat responsibly”

Brad: “Exactly”

John: “Well, for people who have been completely confused by the obsessive compulsive advice from diet books and diet gurus…no one has a clue what eating responsibly means anymore”

Now, this made me really angry. I go to great lengths in this blog trying to explain what ‘eating responsibly’ means…but in reality, I could see John’s point.

Brad: “Well, what would you suggest?”

John: “Meal plans”

This is where I almost walked out of the coffee shop.

Brad: “F&*ck Off” (I’ll be honest, this was the most intelligent thing that I could get out of my mouth at this point)

Brad: “No. No way. Meal plans are a perfect example of OCE, they force people into a style of eating because of some BS pseudoscience rational of why people MUST eat one way…I don’t care what you say, meal plans ARE NOT the answer”

John: “Well, what if they were just simple plans that are made up of whole foods and mixed meals and some cooking instructions, no science story, just meals at various calorie levels.”

Brad: “nope, still way to restrictive, I want people to be flexible with their diets..that’s the whole point of Eat Stop Eat”

John: “Brad, some people need some form of schedule in their lives, especially when they are attempting to diet. You have to admit, even people following Eat Stop Eat sometimes ask for help trying to figure out WHAT to eat when they ARE eating.”

Brad: “OK , that’s true, but still….I can’t condone eating according to a meal plan for the rest of your life, that’s just…torture”

John: “OK, so what if it wasn’t a ‘rest of your life thing’, what if it was meant as a guide to follow for 12 weeks to get back on track with your eating style’

Brad: “12 week meal plans?”

John: “Yes, 12 week meal plans. The exact same type of meal plans that are used successfully in hospital settings…you have to admit, they have an excellent track record for effectiveness”

Brad: “OK, under those circumstances yes. But to be a respectable idea it would have to have ZERO pseudo science, no magic hormone manipulation stories, and it would be perfectly blunt that is ONLY a 12 week plan to be used to learn how to eat a certain amount of calories in a day?”

John: “yes”

Brad: “Fine…actually, yes…that would be something I could stand behind…I still prefer people be flexble with their eating habits, but for those people who REALLY want some sort of structure to work with this could be useful…but only if you make sure it’s done properly…you can market the hell out of it, but make sure the product is just as good as you say it is”

That is pretty much how the conversation went…I’m sure I missed some random thoughts and a ton of tangents (and I’ve edited out a bit of swearing), but that is basically it.

It was a debate, and a debate I lost. John had a valid point, a valid problem and a valid solution to that problem.

Therefore I can support this product because in my own way I was involved in its creation and because John gave me his word that it wouldn’t have any crazy pseudoscience or any misleading marketing.

(Obviously there was going to be marketing, I just didn’t want it to be misleading - all diets work if they create a calorie restriction; it’s the people who make up false reasons WHY their diets work that infuriate me!)

Now, I wasn’t involved in the design of the plans or any of the marketing (John teamed up with a guy named Pat McGuire and a guy named Vince Delmonte for this project), but I trust John enough to believe he’s done a good job following through on his idea.

So if you want to check out the meal plans the John helped develop then visit www.qualitymealplans.com

Again, I encourage you to be flexible with your eating, however If you are having a hard time figuring out how much to eat, or have been so confused by diet books and diet advice that you would like a simple 12-week refresher on what to eat, then again these plans may be helpful.

I’m not saying they are magic by any means, but they could be a valuable tool in your weight loss tool box.

www.qualitymealplans.com

Good Foods, Bad Foods

2009-06-09T15:35:00.001-04:00

The following Post is a Guest Post from John Barban - Scientific editor of Eat Stop Eat and author of The Adonis Effect. (Please direct all comments towards John)

***

Good Foods, Bad Foods

I was recently reading some comments about ESE and some other diets and people seem to keep using the words “Good foods” and “Bad foods” .

I think this is a dangerous distinction to be making because it presents the potential for us to label almost anything good or bad depending on our focus and opens the slippery slope towards full blown Obsessive Compulsive Eating.

Let’s look at a mythical example of a ‘good food’ and a ‘bad’ food.

Our mythical “Good’ food = Orange Juice

Our mythical “Bad” food = Cake

If you label orange juice a “good food” you might want to consider all of the following points:

1) Do all brands of orange juice get this distinction?

2) Would the nutritional label of your ‘good’ orange juice have to fit into a certain parameter of sugar, salt, calories, additives etc, per serving? (you could simply adjust the serving size to make it fit, half cup vs full cup)

3) What about the source of oranges used and whether or not they are genetically modified

4) Pesticide use on the oranges used to make your juice

5) Artificial flavors and colors?

6) Political implications of where the oranges came from; was any farmer or region exploited in order to get these oranges into the juice you are drinking, were they paid a fair price, were there government subsidies etc.

7) Environmental impact and fuel usage of transporting the oranges and manufacturing the juice and the container that ended up on the store shelf in your town

…and on and on and on…you could take this more in the political direction, or more environmental, or more biological and the specific effects the juice has on your body (this last one is what I am assuming most people mean when they say ‘good’ or ‘bad’ food).

My mythical ‘bad’ food =A slice of Cake

If you label cake as ‘bad’ food you might want to consider all of the following points:

1) Is store bought pre made cake the same as home made cake even if it contains the same amount of fat, sugar, salt etc?

2) is it only bad because of the amount of calories or fat or sugar it contains? (is one bite just as bad as a whole slice)

3) Does the frequency that you eat the cake make a difference for how ‘bad’ it is. Ie: only once every couple months at a celebration is ok, but once a day is bad?

4) Environmental impact and fuel usage of transporting all the ingredients to the store then ending up in a mixing bowl on your counter then the oven then on your plate.

5) If it were the only piece of food you ate today would it still be ‘bad’

6) If you are in good health, happy with your weight and have no measurable ‘health’ issues before and after you eat the cake is it still ‘bad’

…and on and on and on…

It is my contention that there is no such thing as good and bad foods, there is only this…

The food you choose to eat, and the impact this food has directly on your body (both physiologically and emotionally) and the environment impact if purchasing that particular food item.

When you look at it this way food choices become much more personal than general lists of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ and you can start to become a much more responsible, eater, shopper, consumer, citizen, parent, spouse, person.

John

(please feel free to leave a comment, however, if you want to talk to me directly, feel fee to email me at john (at) adoniseffect.com)

How to lose baby fat

2009-06-08T10:03:00.004-04:00

Here's a great email from a women who used Eat Stop Eat to help her get rid of her post-pregnancy baby fat.

She combined Eat Stop Eat with a solid workout plan and responsible eating, and deserves an amazing amount of credit for her hard work.

A great 'real life' success story ==> lose Baby Fat

BP

A bone to pick with Brad Pilon

2009-06-05T10:38:00.004-04:00

NOTE: This is a Guest Post by John Barban, Science Editor of Eat Stop Eat and the Nutrition Help Blog.

As you know Brad does a wonderful job simplifying the concept of diet and weight loss to a point that is straight forward, easy to understand and frankly very difficult to argue with. But I have a bone to pick with Brad.

I feel like he stops short and doesn’t quite take it as far as it can go.

I think there is one more step Brad could take explaining how weight loss and diet really work. And so far this is most effective and simple way I can explain this (although it does seem to make some people uncomfortable)…so here goes.

Take 5 minutes at some point today (preferably alone) to take all of your clothes off and go stand in front of a full body mirror and then say this one simple statement out loud while you are looking at yourself in the mirror:

“The amount and kind of food I eat, and the amount of exercise and activity I do, make me look like this”

If by the end of this statement you are feeling pretty good about yourself and like what you see in the mirror then that is great. Give yourself a pat on the back even.

If on the other hand you see a few spots where you would like to see some improvement (specifically losing some fat, or maybe even building up a few muscles) then you only have two courses of action…and those are…

Eat slightly less calories (on average) than you are currently eating…to lose fat

Do more targeted weight training than you are currently doing…to build muscle

It really is this simple.

How you arrive at a calorie deficit is up to you. I personally choose Eat Stop Eat because A) I spent almost two full years editing the darn thing and B) it really is hands down the simplest way to eat less calories long term without going nuts about it.

And weight training is absolutely essential to building and maintaining firm and youthful like muscle long into your life.

This might be a bit harsh, but it’s really what we’re all dealing with. The way our bodies currently look and our ability to change and manipulate it with diet and exercise.

I have found Eat Stop Eat to be the only truly effective long term solution for lasting fat loss/weight loss. And as always weight training will be a staple in my weekly routine for the rest of my life.

Weight loss nutrition and exercise should never be more confusing or consuming that these two simple steps.

People like Brad have taken the burden upon themselves to sort through all of the nutrition and diet industry media hype and rhetoric as well as rooting through all of the dry and tedious research.

Once this information has all been analyzed and broken down we realize that our multiple ways to 'eat for weight loss' yet they all revolve around eating less (and hopefully weight training more).

When you simplify this down to it's core the result is the beautifully simple nutrition and lifestyle of Eat Stop Eat.

Eat Stop Eat in Scientific American

2008-12-30T21:48:00.003-05:00

Here an Interesting take on the research behind Intermittent fasting and longevity from Scientific American's Podcast "60-Second Science".

You can listen to the podcast here:

http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=fasting-may-equal-calorie-restricte-08-12-26

BP

PS- I just put the finishing touches on my presentations for my 1 day seminar coming up on January 17th. All I can say is that I've even surprised myself with how many nutrition myths I manage to tackle in this presentation!

It's going to be an amazing day, and there are still a couple seats left so make sure you sign up soon ==>

http://www.ttmembers.com/products/item14.cfm