Slim Is Simple

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On any given day when I wake up and turn on my laptop to check my email, what I see on my screen can run the gamut:

Ranging from emails by people asking me any number of fitness and health questions; editors reaching out wondering 1) if I’d be interested in contributing to their magazine/website, or what’s usually the case 2) asking whether or not I’m going to make their deadline (haven’t missed one yet); distance coaching clients writing to say how much of an a-hole I am for programming eight sets of squats on a Monday; annoying SEO representatives asking me if I’m interested in their services; and, of course, emails from the even more annoying Saudi Princes willing to hand over a small fortune purely out of the kindness of their heart……

…….if I’m willing to provide my credit card number.

And, admittedly, I also get a fair share of people who contact me asking me to pimp their new ebook or product (even though I’ve never heard of them or know them for a hole in the wall).

Needless to say I get a lot of mail that goes directly into my spam folder or I just delete altogether. And then I move on with my life.

Last week I received an email through my website that, upon initial viewing, felt a little suspect:

Hi Tony Gentilcore – I hope your 2013 is off to a great start!

We start this year fortunate enough to have received VC funding to start up a non-profit nutrition educational organization we’re calling Slim is Simple. SIS is working to provide compelling multimedia resources—free of charge—that the educational and health communities can leverage to help share the simple science you and I know can help so many people live so much better. We’re working to get this “curriculum” into schools, churches, and etc.

Wanted to give you a quick sneak peak of our first full-length animated educational piece at (see below) with the hopes that we can collaborate on giving this non-profit educational effort the legs it needs to make a difference in the mainstream. The official launch of SIS is Tuesday.

I’m not going to lie – once I read that initial paragraph the theme music from Jaws was running on repeat in my head.

Da-DUM.  Da-DUM. Da-DUM…….

I had never heard of Jonathan Bailor, much less read anything he’s written. But I saw in his byline that he has a book titled The Calorie Myth coming out through Harper Collins in 2014, and too, I’d like to think that I’m not that much of a jerk where I can’t give a few minutes of my time to check out a video.

I mean, I’m all about simplifying things – especially when it comes to nutrition. Given most people equate nutrition to rocket science, or quantum physics, or, if you’re me circa 1995, trying to unclasp your first bra (how the hell does this thing work!!!!!), anything that provides information which helps people sift through the BS and make things easier is cool in my book.

So, long story short I was intrigued and took the bait.

And you know what:  it was really, really good. It’s twelve minutes that’s definitely worth your time.

Slim is Simple

I know there will be some detractors out there who will nitpick a few things and most likely provide some long-winded diatribe on why Jonathan’s approach contains faulty logic, and that’s cool – you can go about hating your life.  And no one will probably listen to you anyways.

I can nitpick as well, but all told, I feel the overall message is awesome, and feel it’s something that’s going to be very beneficial to the general public and (hopefully) sway the tide towards a more sensible weight control approach.

I don’t know about you, but I’m so tired of people reading US Magazine, thinking that starving themselves – and being afraid of eating an apple because it contains carbs (but not think twice about crushing a double latte) – and then gaining their nutritional advice from Paris Hilton is a smart approach.

Likewise, I don’t necessarily feel that people have to be “slim” in order to be healthy or be comfortable with their bodies (not that that was what Jonathan was insinuating in the first place).  But I do feel we’ve done an awesome job of overcomplicating things, and many people out there have gotten to the point where they have no idea what to eat!  Which is absurd.

To that end, anything I can point in YOUR direction that leads YOU to common sense advice is a-okay with me.

So watch the video above and let me know what you think!

For more information on Jonathan and his initiative, check out the Slim is Simple website HERE, as well as his personal website HERE.

Did what you just read make your day? Ruin it? Either way, you should share it with your friends and/or comment below.

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Plus, get a copy of Tony’s Pick Things Up, a quick-tip guide to everything deadlift-related. See his butt? Yeah. It’s good. You should probably listen to him if you have any hope of getting a butt that good.

I don’t share email information. Ever. Because I’m not a jerk.

Comments for This Entry

  • Browndog

    Nothing here that I already didn't know, though I don't think I'm the target audience..nor is anyone who reads your blog. Also, the narrator is a little to fervent for my liking. By the end of the video I was ready for him to...shaddup already.

    February 6, 2013 at 12:13 pm | Reply to this comment

  • FreakSammy

    It's a bit on the long side, but the "stay on the perimeter of your grocer" advice is really good, simple advice.

    February 6, 2013 at 2:45 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Grace

    Thank you for sharing this! I think this is an important and necessary message that EVERYONE needs to hear and understand. I am someone who has recently lost over 90 pounds this past year and I did it by changing what and how I ate in a way that mimics what they talk about in this video (oh, yeah. . . . and lifting heavy things). It has not only changed my life but also my understanding of how the body works!! It makes me insane when people ask me how I did it and I tell them that I eat as much as I want of very high quality food that includes veggies, low-sugar fruit, grass-fed beef, fish, about a dozen eggs a week, nuts and build muscle by strength training and they look at me like I am the crazy one as they go running off to yet another spinning class. It is clearly so ingrained in everyones psyche that eating LESS and doing more CARDIO is how the body will lose fat. THIS is the message that needs to replace the current dogma!

    February 6, 2013 at 10:10 pm | Reply to this comment

    • Antihero1z

      Nope. This isn't a "diet" at all. This is simply pointing out what we, as humans, should be eating if we wish to maintain a slim body. This is what people hundreds of thousands of years ago were eating, so how is it a "diet"?

      April 22, 2013 at 3:49 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Brian St. Pierre

    Tony it was great until about the seven minute mark, and then we get the low carb bs about starches and fruits. I would not call eating in that way simple and sustainable. You want single ingredient items? How about apples, pears, bananas, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans and more that are all not allowed on this plan. Ridiculous. There is such a thing as the Satiety Index, and potatoes have the highest score. Humans have consumed starches and grains for over 100,000 years. Maybe we have only farmed them for 10,000, but we have consumed them for far longer. Domestic cows have only been around for around 10,000 years too. Should we not eat them? Overall it was good, it emphasized real food. That is never a bad thing. It emphasized keeping it simple, also awesome. It also discouraged lots of other healthy real food for no other reason than because they don't fit neatly into a preconceived paradigm. It was a good idea with a mostly good message that went a little off track. And you know I don't hate my life :).

    February 8, 2013 at 2:55 pm | Reply to this comment

    • TonyGentilcore

      I "get it" Brian. And I think in his defense, the whole concept wasn't geared towards people who know better (us). LIke I said in my post, there ARE things I could nit pick about......but I felt the overall tone/message was pretty on-point considering the other garbage out there.

      February 8, 2013 at 6:46 pm | Reply to this comment

    • Antihero1z

      The point is that most starchy foods are high in simple carbohydrates, which the human body easily turns into fat. If you're goal is to get slim, you should avoid eating things like grains, potatoes, etc.

      April 22, 2013 at 3:41 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Angelo Todaro

    The idea that they are promoting the programs as simple is what I disagree with. Slim is simple for some but not so much for others. Slim is simple for my friend who eats pasta and pizza for every meal except the meals that he subs for an entire box of Yodels all while holding single digit body fat for the last 30 years. Nature hooked him up as far as bodyfat is concerned. It's not so simple for the guy who looks like he's pregnant with quadruplets waiting in line in front of me at the 7-11 who has 3 different highly sugared beverages that he's going to use to wash down the 2 massive bags of chips he's also getting. Oh, Reese's are on sale, so he's getting 2 of those too. Slim is simple for the MMA athlete who trains balls to the wall day after day while keeping a strict whole foods diet. If he doesn't make weight, he doesn't get paid, that's simple. It's not so simple for the extremely overweight lady whose workout consists of curls with 2 lb weights and a slow 45 min walk on the treadmill. Try and convince her that lifting heavier weights will help her lose body fat and she won't "bulk up". Or that protien shakes are not just for the musçle heads. The reason obesity was scarce in 1950 is because laundry was done by hand and people walked a lot more. Mountain Dew didn't exist and all beef was grass fed. You want to make slim simple? Invent a time machine. Go back to 1950

    February 9, 2013 at 11:55 am | Reply to this comment

    • TonyGentilcore

      Great points Angelo, and I think it's too "simplistic" to just point the finger at what we eat. What's more, it's definitely more of a BEHAVIORAL component than most give it. People know that crushing McDonald's four times per week isn't healthy. It's WHY they're crushing McDonald's that often that's the real issue. Or, at least plays a large role. But too, I do think that it comes down to food choices and making more of an effort to chose less processed foods.

      February 9, 2013 at 2:04 pm | Reply to this comment

      • Antihero1z

        I completely agree, Tony. The major reason why people are eating healthy is convenience. Its quicker and easier to hit up a drive-thru or throw a "boxed meal" in the oven than it is to chop of some veggies for a salad, throw some meat on the grill, etc. Society has become extremely lazy when it comes to food choices/meal preparations.

        April 22, 2013 at 3:47 pm | Reply to this comment

    • Antihero1z

      No, the reason why obesity was scarce back then is because fast food joints were few and far between, processed foods were virtually non-existent, etc. People ate healthy foods - it had nothing to do with walking and doing laundry by hand. If you eat the right foods, you can sit on your ass all day and you will not become obese - your body naturally burns good calories without any extra effort.

      April 22, 2013 at 3:44 pm | Reply to this comment

  • Angela Hatch

    Worth the 12 minutes... thanks for sharing.

    February 11, 2013 at 4:14 pm | Reply to this comment

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