Big FAT Lies

A Shocking Expose of the 12 Biggest
Scams, Cover-ups, Lies, Myths and
Deceptions In The Diet and Weight Loss
Industries!


By Tom Venuto, Author of
Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle (BFFM)

Copyright 2003, Fitness Renaissance, LLC
All Rights Reserved

 

Fat Loss Lie #4:


Meal replacement products, powders and diet
shakes help you "burn" fat.

 

Supplement companies would like you to believe that meal replacement
products (MRP's), powdered mixes and shakes have some sort of
"magical" fat-reducing or muscle-building properties. The truth is that
they’re nothing more than "powdered food" (or “liquid food”).

The primary benefit of these products is convenience.

It's a challenge to eat frequently and to get enough high quality protein from
whole foods, so quality MRP's are great when you're in a hurry and you
don't have time to eat food, but they’re not better than food, no matter what
any supplement "guru" says.

Owners of supplement companies will say that MRP's are the greatest thing
since electricity. That shouldn't come as any surprise; sales of these
products run in the tens of millions of dollars each year.

With the one possible exception of post-workout nutrition during mass-
building programs, eating real food is better than drinking shakes. The
human gastrointestinal system has evolved to efficiently digest whole food,
not powders or pills. The process of digesting solid food every three hours
actually increases your metabolic rate. This is known as the "thermic effect
of food." Powders fail to take advantage of this metabolic boost.


“Food is the cornerstone of nutrition. If you don’t eat the proper
foods - lean proteins, starchy carbs, and fibrous carbs - nothing
else matters. No supplement can ever provide you with all the
benefits that food supplies. We were built to process foods -
proteins, carbohydrates and fats - not powdered or liquid
supplements alone. If you want to make the best possible
progress with your physique, I suggest that you forget the hype
surrounding all supplement diets or meal replacement programs
and get back to basics. And that means food."

- John Parillo, Author of High Performance Bodybuilding

I suggest you follow Mr. Parillo's advice: Whenever you have a choice, and
whenever time permits, you should always choose whole foods over
powders and drinks.