Do Fat People Really Eat More?
February 26, 2009 by admin
I can remember at summer camp at Georgetown University (right here in DC) when my “friends” took it upon themselves to inform me that I was the fattest kid at the camp. I protested! I said that this other kid (whose name I forget) was fatter than me and that I was only the 2nd fattest kid at camp. They called that kid over in the locker room, looked at us both and said, “its close, but Josef is definitely the fattest.”
Shit!
That was not exactly my best day at camp.
It always seemed ridiculously unfair that I would get made fun of because I was not some gluttonous monster who went around eating everything in site. I really did eat the same or less vs. my skinny friends.
This is what everyone assumes about us
It turns out that I was right.
“The energy intake of the obese boys was significantly less than that of the non-obese controls. Little difference was noted in the amount of time scheduled for light, moderate, and very active exercise.” (my emphasis) STEFANIK, P.A., et al. Caloric Intake in Relation to Energy Output of Obese and Non-Obese Adolescent Boys. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 7, 55-62, 1959One study does not make anything so. However there are LOTS and LOTS of studies that find the same thing over and over again. Gary Taubes called it “one of the most consistently reproducible findings in obesity research.”
If it was just a matter of eating less no fat child on Earth would remain fat. It’s such a horrible experience that no one would do it voluntarily. The only people that say such absurd nonsense are people who have never experienced it themselves and simply cannot fathom what it is like to live a different kind of body. If you have not been called “blubber thing” at summer camp then you cannot possibly understand. You cannot have any more motivation to eat less and exercise more.
This is like saying that someone would choose to be black in the American South at the turn of the 20th century. Or that someone would choose to be gay.
There is a very good reason why 98% of all people on weight loss programs regain everything they lose within a few years – because they’re relying on the “eat less and exercise more” theory. It really doesn’t seem to work, especially not over the long haul. Of course the people running these kinds of programs blame the participants. The message goes, “98% of you are fat, lazy slobs without an once of self control!”
The opposite idea – that if something fails 98% of the time, maybe it’s a horrible plan – never occurs to any of these so called experts.
What I am NOT Saying
This is not at all to remove personal responsibility from the equation. If you are overweight, then you’ve got to do something about or nothing will change. This is just to point out that the premise upon which ALL of you past failures were based on is utter BS. You’ve got to get a better plan.
Josef Brandenburg is Washington, DC’s #1 fat-loss expert for busy people. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more click here.
Is The Celebrity Fit Club BS?
February 24, 2009 by admin
I’m probably going to get my Blog shut down over this, but I was up doing my market research for my new book (tentatively titled “The Booty You Want”). I’m scoping out the top selling competition on the bookshelves – what’s the hook? What did people like? What would people change?
I ran across the 4 Day Diet by Dr. Ian K. Smith. Then I went to his site and found a page with the results from Season 3 of the Celebrity Fit Club.
#1. Was Young MC (remember “Bust A Move”?) he dropped 38 pounds, but his body-fat % only went down by 8%.
Don't just stand there, bust a move!
Let’s do the math on that:
He started at 278lbs, so he lost 14% of his bodyweight.
So, 43% of what he lost was actually lean body mass (LBM), NOT FAT.
That is damn near half.
He dropped OVER 16lbs of LBM. Your metabolism is largely a function of how much LBM you have. If his metabolism slows down that much what are the odds that Young MC is going to keep that weight off?
Hmmm… Maybe that whole eat less and exercise more thing doesn’t really work all that well for most people?
If I get a 41 year old male client (Young MC was born in May 1967) he’s going to gain muscle while he drops body-fat.
NO, I did not cherry pick my data. Let’s look at all of the 100-Day Results:
#2. Bizarre: no data on body-fat % change
#3. Kelly LeBrock: did improve overall body composition (the ONLY one)
#4. Chastity Bono: 77% of the weight lost was LBM!
#5. Bruce Vilanch: 64% of the weight lost was LBM!
#6. Tempest Bledsoe: 55% of the weight lost was LBM!
#7. Countess Vaughn: just got fatter
Countess’ results beg the question: If you have someone motivated enough to embarrass themselves on National TV, and they GAIN weight on your 100 day program is what you teach of any value whatsoever? Are you just on TV because you are camera friendly and yelling at people makes for TV drama?
ONLY ONE PERSON in SEVEN made any meaningful progress. You can’t get any more motivated than someone being on TV. If motivation isn’t the problem, maybe your program sucks?
If you fall back on the “they didn’t follow through” excuse, then I say again: Maybe its your program that sucks? If people who are being embarrassed on TV can’t follow through on your program, who else will? If a program can’t be followed, then its sucks right?
Don’t even get me started on The Biggest Loser…
Josef Brandenburg is Washington, DC’s #1 fat-loss expert for busy people. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more click here.
Are You Wasting Your Time and Money At The Gym?
February 19, 2009 by admin
This is from a press release I sent out this week about brnad new research (from the March’09 Journal of Exercise Physiology and Physical Fitness).
Joining a gym is one of the first things on people’s minds when fighting the battle of the bulge. Unfortunately a new study reveals that a plain gym membership is actually a waste of time and money for most people.
The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness just published a study looking at the difference in results between supervised and unsupervised exercise. Group 1 met with a trainer twice-a-week in a small group (or semi-private) setting. Group 2 was given basic advice and access to a fully equipped health club.
After 4 months researchers measured the results:
• Group 1: 13.4lbs of fat-loss
• Group 2: 3.7lbs of fat-loss
The supervised group lost 362% MORE fat than the unsupervised group in the exact same amount of time. “It should also be noted that neither group was given any nutrition advice whatsoever. These results only reflect the difference between trying to do it yourself and working with a qualified expert,” says Josef Brandenburg, and award-winning Washington, DC based personal trainer.
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I think that its pretty clear that if you are really serious about making a serious change in your body that you need to hire a coach. I know I did.
Free For You
By the way, I am in the process of massively expanding my cleint base. To speed up that process I have a special offer going on right now – a 7-Day Free Trail. It includes:
- A thorough assessment that includes the Functional Movement Screen $95 value
- A completely customized fitness program $200 value (yes, I charge $200 all day to write programs for people on line right now, so that is a real number)
- Up to two (2) semi-private training session $114 value
Total value $409, but it’s absolutely free while space lasts.
It really is Free and ther are no strings attached whatoever. if you’re interested click here, but space will not last forever.
Josef Brandenburg is Washington, DC‘s #1 fat-loss expert for busy people. He shows normal people with hectic lives and average genetics how to create the bodies they want in the time they actually have. To find out more click here.
