Have you seen this new Flat Belly Diet by Prevention Magazine? It’s all the rage. Once again, a new breakthrough diet is taking the online and offline world by storm. Somebody is making a freaking mint by doing what works.
Selling YOU another freaking diet!
Does it work?
I’m sure it does. I’ve never done a bodybuilding nutrition plan or a workout program that didn’t work for some time. But like anything else, we return to what we know and what we’re comfortable with in the end. Diets don’t work long term.
See that 91% success rate?
That will be the FAILURE rate long term. If you are going to claim a 91% success rate please provide 2 things:
- a full list of everybody who you tracked
- how long they did this
Typical Advertising Methods Used:
Lose 15 lbs in 32 days
Sounds amazing. But 15 lbs of what? Fat/Water/Muscle? Can you even make that claim to the general population? I too would like to lose fat but according to my last stats, I’ve only got 30 lbs to lose and that includes essential fat.
No Exercise Required
Great. Another plan preaching that you too can lose all this nasty blubber without exercising. Does this country need any more excuses to sit around doing nothing? Look…
I’m sure it’s legit. You can lose weight strictly thru diet alone. But it’s NOT the right thing to do for your long-term health. But it’s a selling point. In my opinion it’s irresponsible to sell books this way but it works. And people make money.
I’d be far richer myself if I’d just follow what all these plans do… sell what works and keep the yapper closed about the truths that people simply don’t want to hear. It’s a flaw. I kinda want to do the right thing.
Targets Unhealthy Belly Fat First
How so? Your body burns fat from all over. You can’t spot reduce. How people store fat is slightly different from person to person. Women tend to store it differently then men. But I guess if you are selling a diet book called the Flat Belly Diet, you better target the belly fat first right? Who gives a crap about proving that you just need to say it. Nobody can prove you wrong.
Lose Up to 7 1/2 lbs and 5 3/4 inches in just 96 hours
Need I say more? A specific number given to the general population without any facts. If you lose 7 1/2 lbs in just 4 days, you have to ask yourself, what the hell are you losing? If it’s water, big deal. If it’s muscle, I feel sorry for you.
Did I buy this book before I opened my mouth?
No I did not. I can already tell from the marketing pitches, the website design and the fact they used “As seen on Rachel Ray” which means it might have been used to prop up a table leg.. but hey.. it was seen on the show… that it’s just another diet book aimed at overweight Americans.
Will it work?
For some yes. Please comment on a diet that hasn’t worked for some time. They’re people still doing Atkin’s for years. There’s always exceptions to the rule and if you like just eating right and never moving, maybe this book is for you. But it won’t be any different from the 12 or so you’ve already got.
Why do people buy this stuff?
Because it’s new. It’s not what they are doing today and it gives them hope. It’s the same reason people have 20 books on making money and fail to save for their futures. Buying another diet book won’t do a thing for you if you don’t follow thru and make a commitment to sticking with it.
Should you buy this book?
Nope. Stay away from diets. They do work in the short term. You’d be better off joining a Fat Loss Support Community and asking questions and getting educated before purchasing yet another book aimed at mainstream America.
Not available anywhere else
Except Amazon.com for $17. That beats the 4 installments at $7.99 from the site itself! If you feel compelled to order it, then at least save yourself a few bucks.
Flat Belly Diet
Resource I Strongly Recommend:
Red Flag – How to Spot Bogus Weight Loss Claims
Fat Loss Support Community
Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle
Of course, I’d love to hear what youv’e got to say.
People need to understand this diet works but you STILL need to workout lol, its not some magic gut reducer itself. Another good site with info to Check Out Flatdiet.com
“nasty blubber” ? Nice comment. Way to make people feel even a tiny bit OK with themselves.
I have always had an issue with people who, when you say “I feel great. I just started a new diet and have lost 5 lbs.” the response is almost always “Well, that’s probably only water weight.”
THANKS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT!!! Dumb Ass. I don’t know about you “professionals” but my scale at home doesn’t separate fat from water from anything else. When I get on the scale and it gives me a number guess what? THAT IS WHAT I WEIGH. It can be made up of whatever the hell it wants to be made up from…I DON’T CARE. Normal people think that weight is weight and if I lose 5lbs I REALLY DON”T CARE WHAT IT WAS MADE FROM!!! 5lbs gone is 5 lbs gone. Stop trying to make people feel as if their efforts are somehow not good enough because they “ONLY LOST WATER WEIGHT”
A more supportive response would be “Great! Congratulations! Keep up the great work” Keep the negative responses, designed to only keep fat people fat and feeling bad about themselves, TO YOURSELF!!
If this “diet” helps even one person then it was worth it….don’t you think?
So you are ridiculous as well as unmotivational?
I clearly was talking about water vs. fat loss and you come up with a childish response like cutting off a limb? I certainly hope you aren’t a trainer because with idiotic comments like that your clients will probably be leaving you in droves.
What I said was why bring people down for trying? If it takes a 5lb loss of water to motivate someone why would ANYONE want to point out that their efforts and results were somehow less than great!
How about telling people that they are doing a great job and providing motivation to continue rather than telling them that what they have worked for is just going to come back and they have wasted their time.
Your thought process sounds like it is coming from a person who has never had a weight problem and so you don’t understand the insane amount of negative thoughts that are constantly in a persons head. I was over 250lbs at one time. Pretty FAT for a 5’6″ woman. I tried everything and whenever I had a small success inevitably there would be that person…such as yourself, that would say something like “It’s just water” or “You’ve got a lot more to go” or something thoughtless and belittling like that. All it does, for many people, is put the seed of doubt in a persons mind. For a person who isn’t strong willed that might be all it takes to send them back to the Twinkies. You think “hey, they are right. It’s just water and I have so much to lose I don’t think I can do it.” Where if they heard “great job” or “Keep up the good work” it might help push the self destructive thought out and help them to keep going.
But no…you would be the type to just tell them “Hey, you would lose the weight faster if you just cut off a leg.” That’s there I say “You are a DUMB ASS” and should not be allowed anywhere near anyone who it trying their hardest to do something that it probaly the hardest thing they have ever had to do.
By the way…staying away from people like you is what allowed me to lose 100+lbs and keep it off for 20 years. Am I patting myself on the back? YOU BET YOUR ASS I AM. GOOD JOB ME!! and GOOD JOB to anyone else who is trying to do one of the most difficult things EVER!!
My acheivement would not have been possible had I listened to people when they belittled my efforts. That is the only reason I responded with my numbers.
The point is that if it takes a loss, regardless of if it is fat or water, to inspire a person to keep with whatever program they have chosen then no one should say anything to lessen their effort.
Water is weight. If I get on my scale it doesn’t tell me I weigh so much in water and so much in fat. It just gives me a number and a person who is trying to lose weight is happy to see that number go down…regardless of if it is a water loss or a fat loss.
Marc,
Don’t bother with PAC – it’s obviously she’s just pissed off with your advice. I teach fitness classes to supplement my income and everything you’re saying is true. I tell my students to throw away their scales and to by how their clothes are fitting (inches – not pounds!!!). Muscle weighs more than fat. PAC just sounds so miserable, I wouldn’t waste my time with her. She’s putting words in your mouth and not making much sense at all.
I have a lot of women that take my classes who have lost 50, 60 and even over 100 pounds. They know it takes a combination of cardio and weight training — AND modifying their eating habits (NO DIETS). They don’t have the slightest chip on their shoulder like PAC does.
Great advice!!! (You’ve probably saved a lot of people 17 bucks!!)
Bella
Marc,
Just curious – what carbs to you “endorse” or consider safe to include in a daily menu. I get asked daily.
Bella
Pac,
Thanks for the comment. Hey, if you don’t care what it is you lost.. water, fat, muscle… here’s a tip.
Cut off your leg, stop eating, don’t eat. You’ll lose tons of weight.
You are making a HUGE mistakes by not caring what it is you just lost. That’s a very common mistake people who want to lose weight make and it’s why they are frustrated for years. Because they keep losing more muscle over time and adding a bit more fat. In the end, they are worse off than if they just stayed where they were and kept the muscle.
Again, the improper way to measure success if not tightly coupled with a frame of reference such as body fat.
If you were my client, I would never let you get so far as to be so uneducated to allow yourself to only think in numbers (as in a smaller number this week compared to last week). You’d know better and when you did lose 5 lbs AND most of that was fat and not muscle… I’d be your BIGGEST fan.
If you just lost 5 lbs and your body fat is the same. Should I send you a congratulations card?
Let me try just for you….
Congratulations of losing “weight.” Maybe it was all muscle but hey.. Good job. Keep up the great work.
I’m not here to make you feel all good about yourself for doing the wrong thing. Go find a feel-good blog that tells you it’s all okay and every crappy, half-assed diet that gives you a 2% loss in overall body weight regardless of what it is…
There’s many out there. Keep on Stumbling…
“By the way…staying away from people like you is what allowed me to lose 100+lbs and keep it off for 20 years”
Now that… is something to be proud of as long-term weight loss and that much weight defies the statistics.
That’s information I do believe is helpful and can provide encouragement. I wish you had posted those numbers at the very beginning because in your case, as an individual, congratulations are in order.
“My achievement would not have been possible had I listened to people when they belittled my efforts”
I wholeheartedly agree.. which is why I will continue to blog and educate no matter how ridiculous or unmotivational I may be.
I still stand by my comments that FAT LOSS is what you want, not weight loss.
By measuring your body fat, you take the guesswork out of your health and fitness plan and you get an accurate picture of what’s really happening in your body as a result of your diet and exercise program.
@Bella- Broccoli, asparagus, kale, spinach, potatoes, yams, sweet potatoes and salad fixings (lettuce, peppers, cucumbers, hickima, etc), brown rice, whole oats (not the quick kind) cream of wheat, 100% whole grain breads which can include bagels.
I don’t go by the glycemic index. Rather the overall nutritional value of said carbs and their application to the activity at the time.
Post-workout, I’d encourage more simple carbs for fast energy replenishment.
There are carb sensitive individuals. If that’s determined, then adjustments to the portions is necessary for them or lower carbs. The general rules won’t apply. Only thru experimentation can the right macro-nutrient ratios be determined.
Oh deary deary me PAC, while you state losing weight was only possible by not listening to people like marc here, youve forgotten how many people have lost weight because of listening to him, and gained tonnes of muscle by listening to him.
Marc never has massive money deals to buy products and booklets that will make you ronnie coleman in 6 minutes.
Everything i have ever read by him or something he supports and agrees with shows time is key to goals, and losing a lot of weight or putting on a lot of muscle is always going to take a long time.
I hope you did lose 100lbs, and indeed, congratulations, however its an anonymous online battle, any old rubbish can be made up, like i said the 100lbs loss is a great achievement if it is indeed true.
If however youre suggesting you lost 100lbs while following fad diets….eh…I think that requires picture proof lol.
I agree that diet is exremely important to lose fat. They say ” Abs are made in the kitchen”. But strength trianing is a must to build muscle and keep the fat off on a permanent basis. After all, we are 80 % our diet and only 20% exercise