No Video Friday - Read a book!

Yesterday on T-Nation an interesting article from John Berardi was published. The article was a collection of speculations that John was making about different issues. He quoted some amazing statistics:

58% of the US adult population never reads another book after starting high school (this includes graduates and non-graduates).

33% of US high school graduates never read another book after high school.

42% of US college graduates never read another book after college.

70-80% of US households haven't purchased any books in the last year.

70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.

57% of new books are not read to completion.

Do you fit in these statistics? Growing up I wasn't a huge reader but know I can't find enough time to read all the books I want to read. Jim Rohn always says it isn't the book you read that matters but the book you DIDN'T read.


So on a quest to read more books I've embarked on a speed reading course called "Eye-Q". I do it everyday (or every other day if I forget). In just over a week I have increased my reading speed by 400 words per minute (550 words per minute if I push it but I don't comprehend as well).

Last week I finished 2 books and 2 more books on tape. This week I have pick up a couple more. This is what's currently on my list for the weekend.

Under the Bar
The Magic of Thinking Big
My Unfinished Business

What are you reading this weekend? What is the book that you haven't read that will make a huge difference in your life??

Tags: books, Jim Rohn, Speed Reading, dan kennedy

The Sh*t is about to hit the fan...literally

The FDA has done it! They have approved the over the counter sale of the weight loss pill Xenical. The drug is being sold under the name Alli. Please understand that Alli, Xenical, Orlistat (what ever you want to call it) is NOT the miracle pill.

Do you remember olestra? Companies put it in potato chips for a while because it was a fat that couldn't be absorbed. Products containing olestra become unpopular really quick becasue if you aren't absorbing the fat it still has to go somewhere thus diarrhea became a common symptom of potato chip eaters.

Alli works the same way but instead of eating chips you will take a pill. It will run you about $2 a day. Imagine paying $2 a day for diarrhea?

One study on the 60-milligram dose of orlistat that GlaxoSmithKline plans to make ended with 46 percent of participants losing at least 5 percent of their body weight over six months, compared to 26 percent of those taking a placebo.

So the people using the pill lost 5% of their bodyweight in 6 months. That's terrible. That means if you weight 200lbs you'll lose 10lbs in 6 months! Just commit 12 weeks to Alwyn Cosgrove's Afterburn II and you'll probably lose almost double that! Double the weight loss in half the time. That's what I'm talking about.

I really think this diet pill is going to be a flop. Initially it might be popular but the side effects are just nasty. The fact that it is 1/2 as potent as the prescription version isn't that meaningful because people will just double the dosage when they find that out.

The real answer to weight loss is solid nutrition and weight training. Not a fat blocking pill.

Here's a story on from CNBC

Tags: alli, fda, weight loss pill, weight loss drug, olestra, xenical

Nutrition Tip from Dr. Lonnie Lowery

Here's a great tip that I just read over at T-Nation.com from Dr. Lonnie Lowery. If you are not familiar with Dr. Lowery I recommend that you google him or look up his articles over at T-Nation. He is definitely one of my nutritional mentors.

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Eat or Shrink!

Eat on a schedule regardless of hunger! Simply divide the number of needed daily macronutrients (protein, carbs, fat) by six meals and that's what's needed every two to three hours. Eat them or be a shrunken flabby-man. Period!

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This is a great tip especially when it comes to packing on muscle. If you wait until you are hungry then you have waited too long. Something else that I've started doing this week when I have two lifting sessions in one day is slip on a BCAA or Protein drink throughout the day. This can help boost recovery, protein synthesis, and if you are using protein boost your calories.

Tags: nutrition tip, Lonnie Lowery, muscle growth, testosterone nation, t-nation.com, BCAA

Get Rid of the Negativity

One of my favorite books is Psycho Cybernetics by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. If you haven't read it I highly recommend that you pick a copy up. It has been the secret weapon of thousands of successful people throughout the 20th century (i.e. Vince Lombardi, Jack Nicklaus, etc).

I subscribe to the free Psycho Cybernetics newsletter and it is great. The Psycho Cybernetics foundation is now run by Matt Furey and Matt sends out killer emails several times a week that really make you examine your life and habits to ensure you are functioning at your highest level. Here's a quote from today's email that I wanted to share with you.

"Truth is, if you aren't surrounding yourself with people and information designed to lift you UP - then by law you'll be pulled further down. You must continually feed your mind good thoughts and good ideas. If you don't, you'll end up with a garden full of weeds. "

Are you constantly working to build yourself up?

-Mike

Tags: books, matt furey, self image, psycho-cybernetics