nyone checked out "Girth Control" by Alan Aragon?

[Envy]

Anyone checked out "Girth Control" by Alan Aragon?

For anyone not familiar, Alan Aragon was one of the much revered sports nutrition authorities on this board who, believe it or not actually posted occasionally. He was notorious for having the science to back up his opinions.

He, like Lyle McDonald and John Berardi, seemed to fall out of favor a bit since the great paleo uprising. But I've veered from the path a while now, and need to get back into gear, and as always what was old is new, and what works works. I've been bitten by the bug again, gotten pretty into strength/power lifting, but that's only 1/3 of the equation.

I was thinking of buying Precision Nutrition, but it's a decent chunk of change, while Alan's book is half the price. So anybody have this? Any good? Contents? Basics of Alan's ideas on diet? Any names you want to call Alan? I'm a carp on a boat, gasping. Gimme a few splashes here.

Or in parlance, "Lay it on me, bro."

 

[KILL KILL]

haven't read it but Aragon is awesome.

 

[BoxingFan123]

Yeah Aragon and McDonald are great in terms of nutrition. I think Lyle had some things about post workout fat intake that I didn't agree with but he's still the man

 

[ronin0352]

Haven't read the book, but I do subscribe to AARR. Alan is a badass.

 

[Envy]

Hmmm. May just have to buy this and be the first to review it. Damn you Alan Aragon, making me pay for your fancy cars, your big bank account, your celebrity friends, your Victoria Silvestedt, playmate of the year...fuck!

By the way, the missing "A" in the title was totally on purpose. Too many friggin A's in Alan Aragon anyway.

 

[XTrainer]

If Berardi is your first choice, you shouldn't settle for something else...seems to me like Berardi puts out plenty of free content. Do you find it lacking something?

 

[Steakeater**]

I heard the book basically teaches you how to interpret diet research, dieting philosphies, tis etc. Not really a diet book

Most people recommend subscribing the AARR though over the book

 

[Envy]

If Berardi is your first choice, you shouldn't settle for something else...seems to me like Berardi puts out plenty of free content. Do you find it lacking something?

Berardi isn't my first choice, just one of the first names that came to mind, along with Aragon and Lyle. Frankly, I'd grab both if I had the cash, and RFL too. But I don't.

 

[gabelh]

Berardi isn't my first choice, just one of the first names that came to mind, along with Aragon and Lyle. Frankly, I'd grab both if I had the cash, and RFL too. But I don't.

Anything by Alan or Lyle is pretty much solid gold. They are both so much more knowledgeable than, well, anyone else in the nutrition industry. My only complaint with Lyle is that he doesn't like questions and seems to take them as he's immediately being criticized. That probably has a lot to do with people that don't know their ass from their elbow trying to refute his points, but I digress.

I will say this of Berardi; He has gotten better with his information because of Alan and Lyle. They were the ones that destroyed the idea of carb/fat separation being necessary, viable or even logical and he was, at one time, one of that school of thoughts' greatest proponents. His heart is in the right place and he has dedicated himself for more solid research over anecdotal evidence and because of that, he's going to have worthwhile stuff to say on the subject.

Based on writing style, raw approachability in discussion and information, Alan is probably the best dude going out there for giving you the quick and dirty facts efficiently. Depending on your goals, RFL is serious business if you can handle the diet regimen. I recently dropped 22lbs. in 26 days and that was after dropping another 11 (which I've largely attributed to water/glycogen) in the first 9 days. It gets work done and quickly.

 

[XTrainer]

I am wondering, though, what do these any of these guys' products have that cannot be had for free? What little material I have actually paid for, I have been disappointed with, and only become more disappointed with it as time has gone on.

If having the information well-organized and compiled is important to you, paying for this stuff may be the way to go...otherwise, I doubt there is much content that isn't already out there.

But maybe I'm wrong.

 

[gabelh]

I am wondering, though, what do these any of these guys' products have that cannot be had for free? What little material I have actually paid for, I have been disappointed with, and only become more disappointed with it as time has gone on.

If having the information well-organized and compiled is important to you, paying for this stuff may be the way to go...otherwise, I doubt there is much content that isn't already out there.

But maybe I'm wrong.

You really aren't wrong. The information, for the most part, IS out there and available for free if you're willing to do the research. When I bought Lyle's book for RFL, it was just nice to have it compiled in one place so I could basically dial in to the specifics of the "do"s and "don't"s but it's not magic. Hell, so much of it is just sacking up and doing what it takes for folks that are trying to lose weight. I've literally loaned the book to 4 people, each of them returns it after 1 or 2 days and says, "That's impossible! I can't eat like that, it's just too hard", so even for a lot of people that have the data, it isn't going to amount to a hill of beans for them if they aren't open to drastic change.

 

[Envy]

Beraedi, for instance puts out free content, such as the 7 habits, then every diet he designs, such as Dave Tate's or the Grappler's Guide sample diets violate half the rules.

Alan Aragon talks about carbophobia, and how ridiculous it is, then posts articles on his blog that seemingly show superiority of low carb diets in reducing fat mass. Que?

And Lyle, well Lyle's Lyle. I feel like if I raised my hand in a class he taught, he'd death-glare me into slowly lowering it.

 

[Monger]

Alan Aragon talks about carbophobia, and how ridiculous it is, then posts articles on his blog that seemingly show superiority of low carb diets in reducing fat mass. Que?

I think you are mistaken on this, Envy.

 

[gabelh]

Very mistaken. I spend tons of time going through Alan's blog info and he's always been of the opinion that low carb diets work... sometimes... because they help some people reduce their overall food intake. At the end of the day, he's not espousing low carb dieting but I can tell you that when it comes to losing weight quickly, draining your glycogen supply and not regularly eating foods that contribute to it's re-occurrence does help you get to the fat losing part of dieting. That's where the wisdom of low carb dieting comes into play.

You can also just as reliably lose weight based on cals in vs. cals out, but as you replace glycogen by eating starches that create the bi-product, you are continuously fighting that balance while trying to burn fat, also. Time and time again, Alan's the guy saying, "Quit worrying about carbs" and that's because in the long run, for folks already fit or folks that handle moderation well, it's all going to net the same result. However, if you like pigging out on pasta or french fries before bed and you start following a low-carb diet to lose weight and you adhere to it... odds are you just started consuming fewer calories.

As for Lyle, the man is consistent, possibly a genius and maybe a little narcissistic but then, when you've been preaching grass roots nutrition for years based on research and everyone wants to argue you with you based on bro science, you probably get downright pissy after awhile.

 

[cheath]

Damn, this AARR is the bees-knees! Now I could stop trolling PubMed every few weeks to see what's relevant, and just use him as a meta-journal! Yay for you Alan! (If you ever need a grad student to exploit in your work for only minimal returns and recognition...I'm your man!)

 

[anaconda]

Damn, this AARR is the bees-knees! Now I could stop trolling PubMed every few weeks to see what's relevant, and just use him as a meta-journal! Yay for you Alan! (If you ever need a grad student to exploit in your work for only minimal returns and recognition...I'm your man!)

haha, bee's knees....thats hilarous

 

[KILL KILL]

I made a thread about alan's research review a few months ago. It's expensive but seems well worth it. The man is a true research nerd.

 

[Envy]

I think you are mistaken on this, Envy.

You're right. I misinterpreted info (as did a few scientists) in 2 of the articles. No suprise, I'm a lit major.

One was the effects of essentially a PSMF rather than simply a low-carb diet, and the other was a low carb group vs. a control group. The scientists conclusion was that low crab eight loss had no effect on other hormones, but helped via insulin pathway and was superior for fat loss and muscle gain. I think that's pretty hard to say since the control just continued with their regular diets. That's a lot of fucking variables.

 

[oyaji poi]

I made a thread about alan's research review a few months ago. It's expensive but seems well worth it. The man is a true research nerd.

i don't believe it is that expensive. imagine if you bought one container of something from Biotest, and spent $60 on it. Reading AARR for 6 months would cost the same, and you would probably come to the conclusion that paying $60 for a supplement is rather ridiculous. It's win-win.

Or, to use another example, I bought two beers tonight. $10 right there. In my life I think knowledge about nutrition will help more than those two beers.

 

[cheath]

I'd definitely say it's a good investment if you really like to keep up with research. If I were studying this in grad school, I'd be subscribing for sure.

I wonder if Alan has published in peer-reviewed journals??? I did a quick plug in PubMed and didn't see A Aragon's that looked like him. Too bad, I know I've read enough from those journals to know he certainly could get in there if he wanted to.