The Cheat to Lose Diet
An Interview with Joel Marion
by Eric Cressey

Back in the spring of 2001, I got an email from some guy named Joel
Marion. At the time, I was a whopping 19 years old, and he and I had a
few mutual friends who thought it would be a good idea for the two of
us to get in touch. Apparently, we were both up-and-comers in
this "biz" as evidenced by the fact that we spent a lot more time
lifting weights, posting on training/nutrition forums, and reading
everything in sight than all our peers, who were busy boozing
themselves into oblivion. It was somewhat of an ordinary
introduction email, but the signature line was what got my attention
(and not for the reason you might think):
Joel Marion
2001 Body-for-Life Grand Champion, Ages 18-25 People
outside of this business would've been very impressed by this accolade,
as it's a pretty coveted title. Personally, I took it to mean, "Here's
some lazy slob who decided to actually move and not eat crap for twelve
weeks, all while practicing his Photoshop and posing skills." Cynical, I know. But
over the months that followed, I came to realize that Joel was anything
but an "ordinary guy" — and certainly not a lazy slob. He quickly
became a friend and respected colleague with whom I'd exchange ideas
daily. In
the years that followed, I watched as Joel developed into an expert who
tirelessly researched and experimented with various theories in hopes
of turning "good" into "optimal." There's no better example of this
than his dedication to developing the system that's now being
introduced in his book, The Cheat to Lose Diet.
Eric Cressey: First, let's give those reading a little background about the book, who you're working with, who's publishing it, etc. Joel Marion: The
book is being published in hard cover by Crown Publishers, a division
of Random House, Inc. My editorial team has worked with the likes of South Beach, Atkins, Body-for-Life for Women, Jillian Michaels (trainer, NBC's Biggest Loser), and Jorge Cruise (3-Hour Diet), so I've got some big names to follow.
We've also just launched the online companion (www.CheatToLoseDiet.com) to the book. So, it's a pretty exciting time! EC: Sounds like we might be seeing you on TV sometime soon.
JM:
Well, if things take off like we hope, you might end up seeing a lot
more of me than you'd like! We already have a twenty-city national
radio tour planned, along with plenty of print media, and the folks at
Waterfront do a nice job of swarming the Web, so you'll definitely be
hearing the Cheat to Lose brand making some noise out there. EC: So with a title like The Cheat to Lose Diet
and the company of books and authors you just mentioned, is it safe to
say that you're really focusing on the mainstream public as your target
audience? JM: Yes
and no. I mean, we're certainly marketing to the broadest possible
audience, as the concept of cheating to lose fat faster appeals to just
about anyone and everyone, and it'd be stupid to leave any group out.
Not to mention the message of this book is my passion, and having spent
the last five years of my life researching and developing the Cheat to
Lose program, naturally I want to share it with as many people as
possible.
But that doesn't mean that I
dumbed things down and oversimplified to appeal to the lowest common
denominator. In fact, my goal was just the opposite — to write a book
that flies in the face of all the nonsense out there and give Americans
a diet-related book that's good for something other than decoration or
an oversized coaster for a change.
The book
really is for everyone. And moreover, the program is one that's going
to help you achieve the fastest fat loss no matter who you are.
T-Nation readers will love the science (over 300 referenced studies)
and all the new, cutting-edge information presented, but even more the
results and just how enjoyable the program is. I've had hundreds of
T-Nationers utilize the program in the few test runs that we did, and
some of the most "hardcore" bodybuilders and powerlifters in the group
swear by it.
At the same time, it's written and
set up in a way that anyone can understand and implement, so you could
do it with your wife or girlfriend or even buy a copy for your parents.
I've had a lot of guys who could never get their wives into the whole
fitness/healthy lifestyle use the book as a way to draw them in, and
because of the concept, they bite. EC: Before we talk more about the program, fill us in on the other T-Nation contributor involved with this project. JM: Absolutely. If you're a John Berardi or Gourmet Nutrition fan, then you're in for a treat, because in the book are 75 all-new recipes contributed by Dr. Berardi.
Given
that I'm about as far from creative as it gets in the kitchen, bringing
John in on the project for the recipe design was a no-brainer. And he
delivered, big-time, with an array of mouth-watering recipes. It's like
getting the sequel to Gourmet Nutrition as an added bonus when you pick up the book! EC: Cool. How did you come up with this diet anyway? JM: In
2002, a week full of dietary screw-ups actually got my fat loss wheels
turning after several weeks of sitting in park. It was pretty crazy. I
had two big "cheat" episodes with stuff like pasta, pizza, and ice
cream and ultimately ended up losing more fat and weight that week than
I had in the entire three weeks prior following a ridiculously strict
dietary regimen.
I knew there was
something to it as I'd noticed this before. I'd always lose fat faster
when allowing myself to indulge from time to time. At the time it made
absolutely no sense to me, but I was curious. So I started researching
what goes on in the body when we diet and what happens when we overeat.
That was really how it all began.
From there
it's been a ton of additional research and constant revision of the
program based on working with clients and exploring what happens in the
real world. (My "perfected" approach, which is the program in the book,
really is nothing like what I advocated initially back in '03.) The end
result is an ideal blend of research, theory, and what actually happens
in real life with real people. EC:
Okay, let's get into the actual approach. You talk a lot about the
hormone leptin and its role in dieting and ultimately in making
cheating "work." Tell us about that.
JM:
Leptin can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It's generally the
latter as its position is highly dependent on what you are doing and most people aren't doing the right things when it comes to dieting.
Leptin
Leptin
is the hormone that controls the body's starvation protection
mechanism. When food intake is normal, leptin levels are high,
metabolism is normal, and the body's fat burning potential is also
high. However, go on a diet and leptin levels drop quickly and
dramatically (by around 50% after only one week of energy restriction),
metabolism slows, and the body begins to hold on to fat stores, again
as a starvation protection mechanism.
You see,
our bodies don't know we're trying to "get ripped for summer" or bring
out our dormant six pack; the body just knows we're not eating enough.
With that information, it's going to react unfavorably (from a dieting
and fat loss standpoint, anyway).
In order for
dieting to be successful, we'd need to trick the body into thinking
we're not dieting by somehow keeping leptin levels elevated as we try
to shed unwanted pounds. EC: And I take it that "leptin" supplements aren't available? JM: No, none available, not to mention that it can only be administered by injection and it's very, very expensive.
And
even if you could take a leptin pill, that wouldn't be nearly as fun as
the method I'm about to share with you. While the research has shown
that leptin plummets by 50% or more after only one week of dieting, it
only takes one day of overfeeding or "cheating" to restore leptin to
baseline while dramatically boosting your fat burning potential.
So,
the answer to keeping leptin high is to do the opposite of what
everyone has ever told you, and that's periodically schedule "cheat"
time into your dietary to-do list.
And the best
part is that with this approach we solve the biggest fat loss problem
of all time: the fact that dieting is just so incredibly unrealistic.
Attempting to go weeks and weeks or months without your favorite foods
is a recipe for failure, and that's exactly what 99% of all diets
sooner or later become — failures. People will cheat, and unfortunately it leads to nothing but guilt and throwing in the towel.
Listen,
I know just as well as anybody that dieting flat-out sucks. It's
frustrating, boring, and anything but easy. And it takes its toll on
even the most "hardcore" of us, so it's no wonder why the non-physique
conscious sedentary general public isn't able to stick to a diet for
more than a couple weeks at a time.
But dieting
and fat loss doesn't have to be any of those things. In fact, through
cheating, it's the exact opposite. You never feel guilty or burnt out;
instead, dieting becomes fun and effortless. And in the end, you're
losing fat faster and more consistently, week after week, than you ever
could via restrictive dieting.
Essentially,
you're working with your body, both physiologically and
psychologically, instead of against it, and ultimately, your body and
physique will thank you for it. EC:
Very interesting. So people just eat a large pizza and a bag of
M&Ms and before they know it they'll be in bad-ass shape? It never
quite worked that way for me... JM:
It would be nice, wouldn't it? But no, cheating itself, especially high
frequency cheating (you know, when every day is a cheat day), isn't
what's going to get you into bad-ass shape, but rather the strategic implementation of regular cheating into an ideal diet and exercise program that will, and that's essentially what I outline in the book. EC: Okay, how do you set up the rest of the days around the cheat days?