Back in the winter of 2009, having nothing better to do than pick the worst time of year to get lean (not many people see your six pack when it’s 15 degrees outside), I took it upon myself to do a little experiment which I appropriately called Tony Gets Sexified.
I’m not going to go into the details here, but little did I know at the time I had inadvertently used a form of intermittent fasting (IF) to help expedite the fat loss process.
You see, at several points throughout the week I’d have “windows” where I’d eat very little which, from a hormonal standpoint, allowed my body to become a fat burning ass kicking machine.
I’d train. Hate life. Fuel my body. And then repeat the process, giving myself a “cheat” meal on the weekends.
My cheat meal, contrary to most who dream of endless mountains of ice-cream and all-you-can-eat pizza buffets, consisted of 2 lbs of BBQ steak tips, with homemade sweet potato fries and a shit ton of broccoli. Exciting, I know.
Anyways, it worked. I took my body fat from a fairly consistent 10% year round, to 7-8% in a matter of six weeks, which ain’t too shabby given my starting point.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m NOT an expert on intermittent fasting. The fact that I wasn’t even aware that I had done a pseudo IF experiment on myself back in day should make that abundantly clear.
Still, in the few years since, IF has grown by leaps and bounds in terms of its popularity, and with that in mind, you’d be hard pressed to peruse any fitness blog or website and not see it mentioned in some fashion.
Which is why, today, I’m pleased to introduce John Romaniello’s latest product Fat Loss Forever.
Roman – as he’s more appropriately referred to – has gone out of his way to provide an outstanding product that not only educates, but entertains as well. It edutains!
When was the last time you were told breakfast was NOT the most important meal of the day?
Yeah, that one hurt me too. I heart breakfast. But when you think about it: our ancestors had to chase down, wrestle, kill, butcher, and cook various small (and large) animals. They didn’t eat breakfast everyday, and they turned out alright.
Moreover, what’s the deal with ALWAYS being told that you HAVE to eat 5-6 meals per day in order to keep your metabolism up?
Guess what: doing so may be making you fatter.
Fat Loss Forever goes against conventional wisdom, and helps introduce the concept of intermittent fasting in way that’s easy to understand and easy to implement. But be forewarned: IT IS NOT easy.
You’ll have to do some work along the way.
With that said, Roman was kind enough to answer a few questions I sent his way, so feel free to read the interview below which sheds some light on this very popular topic.
Enjoy!
*** Oh, and since I know a fair share of you won’t make it all the way to the end, on top of the already stellar bonuses that Roman is offering, anyone who purchases Fat Loss Forever from this site and sends a copy of their receipt to my email address – [email protected] – I’ll send you a TG written, Roman approved, FLF strength-based program that will increase your overall level of badassery by at least 156%.
On to the interview!
TG: Roman you’re an NYC native, and I currently live in Boston (and yes, am completely immersed in the sports scene here). The Giants just beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl (again…FML). This is your chance to gloat. 100 words or less. Go.
John Romaniello: Ha! No gloating here—was actually rooting for the Pats. As a Jets fan, that’s heretical…but honestly, the last thing I wanted to deal with was Giants fans with an inflated Big Brother complex.
On to next year!
TG: My apologies. I just assumed everyone in NYC was a Giants fan. Lets get down to business: If there was ever an app listing what’s “trending” in the fitness industry, intermittent fasting (IF) would be right up there along with LOLz Bosu Ball Fails
Note to Reader: LOLz BOSU Ball Fails doesn’t exist, but it should.
1. Can you provide a Cliff Notes version explaining the premise behind IF?
and
2. Why do you feel it’s gained so much popularity in such a short amount of time?
Roman: It certainly does seem to be trending.
The premise is simple: IF is essentially alternating structured, pre-determined periods of “not-eating” with periods where you’re allowed to eat.
There are a lot of different styles of IF, the differences between each essentially being the length of the feeding and fasting periods.
IF has a number of benefits, ranging from practical (caloric restriction becomes easy when you are only allowed to eat for a few hours each day) to more physiological (hormonal benefits, including increased secretion of GH).
Each “type” of fasting will allow for each of these, some more than others—but all of them work.
As to why it’s popular recently, that’s simple: once I started talking about it, it became cool 😉
Okay, that’s not true…I can’t back that up.
The real reason it’s reached a tipping point as a result of a few factors: the first is that the research just kept backing it up; that’s a big thing.
More than anything else, it’s really that the “fasting guys” caught the attention of the rest of the industry, and finally forced us to see the truth.
A good example is Brad Pilon, who has been preaching the benefits of fasting for many years.
More recently, Martin Berkhan has been the head of the movement—his clients get incredible results, and Martin isn’t exactly what you’d call a quiet guy; he’s very vocal about his opinions and that he believes his way is the best.
Guys like these catch the attention of magazines with big numbers of followers, and then it just cascades. We owe those dudes a lot.
TG: Indeed – while they’re not necessarily the pioneers, those two have definitely brought the concept of IF to the forefront.
That said, I know some people reading right now may be under the impression that IF is too radical and that it couldn’t possibly fit into their current lifestyle. What would you say to them? What are the benefits? Negatives? Will it increase their general level of awesomeness?
Roman: I would just say to try it. Read the research. Give it a shot. You really don’t have anything to lose, other than whatever emotional attachment to your particular set of beliefs you have.
The benefits are clear: hormonal optimization, increased satiety. More than that, you will start to see the difference between “head hunger” and “body hunger” – that is, you’ll realize when you’re actually hungry and stop snacking out of boredom.
The drawbacks are that you might try something new. This scares the shit out of some people.
Another drawback is that you might be uncomfortable for a little while. Yup. Fasting has the potential to be mildly uncomfortable. This is different from sprinting, deadlifting, squatting, and dieting in general, all of which are incredibly pleasant, right?
TG: Very true. It’s very similar to a phrase I like to throw out there when people question doing something different to they’re unfamiliar with:
If you continue doing what you’ve always done, you’ll continue getting what you’ve always gotten.
Pigging back on the question above, can you explain what IF isn’t? Meaning, people are going to see the word “fast” and automatically assume that it’s a starvation method. Could you elucidate on this fallacy, as well as any other common misconceptions that you’ve come across?
Roman: Ah, that’s a good one. Mainly, fasting isn’t starving, because, at the end of the day, you’re still going to get roughly the same number of calories you would on any fat loss plan – just all at once.
Let’s say you maintain at 2400 calories, and you’re dieting; maybe you want to take in 1900 calories per day.
In a traditional dieting model, you might have six meals, each with about 320 calories. You might be hungry after each one.
With IF, you’ll have three meals, each with ~630 calories. You’ll be fuller, longer, and possibly eat less.
You’re eating the same amount of food, just in less time—the extended fasting period giving you more time to be active and productive, as well as the hormonal benefits.
TG: Well that makes a whole lotta sense. Sweet!
So, now that you’ve thrown yourself onto the IF train, what makes Fat Loss Forever different from the various predecessors?
Note: I only ask this because you know you’re going to get some a-hole who’s a Berkhan or Pilon fanboy (and rightfully so) getting his panties all up in a bunch
Roman: Haha, well, far be it from me to deny the right of a fanboy to hate me for impugning the honor of his guru =)
Here’s the deal: again, all credit to Pilon and Berkhan. I’m fans of their stuff. Which is the lead-in to this answer:
My stuff isn’t radically “different” from their stuff because it’s inspired by their stuff—HOWEVER…
It’s different BECAUSE of that as well.
My program takes a look at all of the best and most effective forms of fasting around, and, after much experimentation, creates a synthesis of all of these things. It takes the best and makes them better.
FLF is the Frankenstein’s monster of fasting—it’s made up of the parts of other programs, and, in the end, is something that is both exceptionally effective and unique to me.
It’s a lot of fun, and Pilon is promoting, so I’d say we’re pretty solid in that regard.
TG: I’d say so! Lastly, how “adaptable” is it? For example, there are people on this site who spend a large portion of their day staring at a computer screen and are lucky to get three hours per week to train. On the flip side, you have those, like me, who are on their feet for a large portion of the day, coaching. How easily can IF, and specifically, FLF, be implemented?
Roman: That’s that best part—all forms of IF are highly adjustable. FLF is even MORE so. All you need to do is NOT EAT…then eat.
The program works well for guys like us, who make our own schedules—but also for people whose time is less their own. We’ve had firefighters and nurses who work 36-hour shifts have success, as well as entrepreneurs and other trainers.
It’s the most moldable nutritional protocol around; certainly moreseo than those that make you eat every few hours.
Plus, you get a cheat day…so right there, you know it’s awesome.
TG: Okay I lied, one last question: How is training “adjusted” when following the FLF protocol? I know many reading may balk at the idea of training on an empty stomach, or with very little calories in the tank.
Roman: This is pretty individual. Personally, I like to train in a fasted state. But—and you’ve known this about me for years—that’s because training with a full tummy makes me get all…pukey.
I have trained truly empty, though; as in, haven’t eaten for 50 hours.
Anyway, this isn’t about me, it’s about other people—and my clients are mixed. Some love the fasted training. Some find that some BCAAs are enough to give them the energy and have a great training session.
Others seem unwilling to break away from old ideas and just have a snack before training. And that’s fine.
As long as you follow the bigger rules, eating 30 minutes before your workout won’t derail you =)
TG: Thanks Roman! Jets suck!
And there you have it folks. For more information, and to save $50 off the regular price (not to mention having access to a bunch of sweet bonuses), I highly encourage you to check out Fat Loss Forever HERE.
And remember, if you send your receipt to my email address (see above), I’ll send your my special 2-day per week strength-based program that I wrote specifically for this program!!
