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There is a ton of information about weight loss
on the internet,
and most of it is wrong...."
" unless
people become educated consumers, they will never know the difference
and will be among the ignorant masses who get suckered into throwing
their money at useless supplements."
- Will
Brink
The Will Brink Interview
An interview
with Will Brink on losing weight, his e-book
"Diet
Supplements Revealed", and fitness.
By Doug
Chandler MS.
Will Brink
has been a well known fixture in a wide range of publications and the
media, ranging from his columns in MuscleMag International to his
articles in The Townsend Letter For Doctors and many in between.
He has done
many interviews in news papers, radio, and TV, and is often invited to
speak at conventions and various health and fitness related symposiums
around the country and abroad.
He also runs
the highly popular web site, BrinkZone.com.
We briefly
caught up with him to ask him few pertinent questions about diet,
nutrition, fitness, his book "Diet Supplements Revealed". If there is
one thing Will Brink is well known for, is he does not pull punches or
beat around the bush. He tells it like it is, which is much as anything,
is his trademark to those who know him.
Let's get to
it!
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Will Brink solves
the diet supplement puzzle...
"Finally there is
a reliable and independant voice giving the real low down on products where
previously the only available information was the marketing speel.
This book has
saved me a ton of cash that I was spending on useless supplements! Thanks
Will."
- Tom Glass,
Amsterdam, Holland.
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DC:
How long
have you been involved in the bodybuilding, health, and fitness
industry?
WB:
For over a decade. I'm getting old!
DC:
How did
you break into this industry?
WB:
People kept telling me I should write articles for the magazines. I was
a private trainer in the Boston area and had a good reputation for
getting bodybuilders into shape. I used to do some local seminars and
people kept telling me I should send in some articles to the
bodybuilding magazines.
They felt I
had a lot of knowledge I should share with people, so on a whim I sent
in an article. After that, companies started contacting me to do
consulting work and so on. One thing just seemed to build on the other.
The rest as they say, is history.
DC:
How
important is the consumption and proper balance of omega fatty acids for
losing weight and general health?
WB: In
my view, extremely important, if not essential. It's a topic I have been
writing about and talking about for a long time. I wrote the first
article on flax oil and other lipids for fat loss in the bodybuilding
mags way back when. I don't think a person can optimize fat loss or
health without the proper use of EFAs, in particular, Omega-3 EFAs.
"There is
a ton of information about weight loss
on the
internet, and most of it is wrong."
- Will
Brink
DC:
In your
experience what has been the most effective nutritional method to losing
bodyfat?
WB:
Higher protein, moderate fat of the right types in the right ratios, and
moderate-low carbs based on the amount of lean body mass the person
carries combined with smart weight training and aerobics.
The use of
certain supplements can also greatly enhance the fat loss process in may
ways, such as increasing metabolism or blunting hunger, but most of the
products sold for that purpose are over hyped or just plain worthless.
It's about
making smart choices as an educated consumer not jumping on the
bandwagon for every new supplement that wants people to believe it will
change their life over night.
DC:
You have
an e-book on the topic of fat loss supplements and diet. What is it
about and who is it for and who is it not for?
WB:
The book is designed to explain once and for the facts (i.e., what is
it, what does it do, what does the research say, what does the real
world say, dose, warnings, etc) about the weight loss nutrients already
available, not necessarily to uncover new and novel compounds never seen
before.
It does not
cover sub-Q yohimbine injections of forskolin enemas for example.
My feeling is
that the vast majority of people out there, say better than 90%, buying
supplements still don't have a clue as to what works and what does not
work regarding the diet supplements that already exist.
If they did,
there would not be so many bottles of junk sold now would there?
Compared to
the general public, bodybuilding types are a particularly well informed
group, but the rest of the world is not. The news groups and my email
box, are still filled with questions about pyruvate, chitosan, DHEA, and
other products, so I know confusion is still rampant.
I felt those
people could really benefit from an easy to read concise look at what is
on the shelves already from someone they can trust to get the straight
scoop.
There is a
ton of information about weight loss on the internet, and most of it is
wrong.
I do feel
even most well informed people will still learn a few tricks they didn't
know, but the fact is, it's not a book written for the "hard core"
bodybuilding crowd per se. I am not looking for people to buy it and be
unhappy, though I think most people will be pleased with the
information.
It's also not
a diet book per se but it does contain a diet and exercise plans. It's a
look at weight loss nutrients combined with an easy to follow "Ten Tip
Guide to Fat Loss" and people should realize that also.
So, for well
informed bodybuilder types who really know their stuff, this may not be
the book for them. For the other 95% plus people in the world who are
constantly bombarded with BS about these nutrients, this book will clear
it all up for them. Spam off.
"I find it
most rewarding when an average person has turned their life around with
information I gave them via my articles or my books."
-Will
Brink
DC:
You
recently updated the book. Do you cover things like andro products and
creatine?
WB:
No, there would be no reason to cover such supplements in a diet related
book as they are not diet or weight loss supplements. If I was going to
write a book on bodybuilding supplements for gaining muscle and
strength, I would cover things like andro and creatine, but this book is
on supplements intended to lose fat.
What I
updated the book with was new chapters, new research on other nutrients
where there was any to be had, and new information and charts on topics
such as the GI (glycemic index) and its role of losing weight and
staying healthy, as well as other new sections.
(Editors
note: people interested in checking out Will's book and getting a free
sample of the book should follow the link below)
DC:
Some
people might say they can find the same type of information on the
internet for free. Is that true?
WB:
The answer would have to be yes and no. Let's be honest, you can find an
opinion on virtually any topic on the net. If people are buying my book,
it's because they want to know my opinion and experience with these
supplements and diet techniques, which can't be found any other place on
the net.
The vast, and
I do mean vast, majority of information and opinions on these things on
the net is either wrong, or directly intended to sell you a product.
If they want
an unbiased source of easy to read information on weight loss
supplements written by someone who knows the industry from the inside
and has a decade or so of real world experience with these products, my
book will deliver that.
If they just
want a basic opinion from God knows who with God knows what motive, a
simple Yahoo search will accomplish that.
DC:
Are carbs
really as evil as the media makes them out to be?
WB:
The main stream media is very pro carb really, so I don't see them
making that claim. In my personal view, in addition to dealing with
total calories, understanding carbs is essential to losing fat and
keeping muscle, which should always be the goal of a person trying to
lose weight, whether they be a bodybuilder or regular person trying to
get into shape.
" unless
people become educated consumers, they will never know the difference
and will be among the ignorant masses who get suckered into throwing
their money at useless supplements."
- Will
Brink
DC:
I know you
have worked with some of the worlds top athletes and military groups as
well as the general population. Which do you find most satisfying?
WB:
Although working with athletes is interesting, I find it most rewarding
when an average person has turned their life around with information I
gave them via my articles or my books.
I find it far
more personally inspirational to get a letter or an email from some one
who has lost 100lbs or more following my diet advice or what have you
then helping an athlete break some personal goal or record.
I recently
got an email from someone who lost a brother in the 911 attacks as a
fire fighter. He went and became a fire fighter to follow in his
brother's foot steps, and told me the information in the e-book really
helped him with getting in shape to be a fire fighter. That really
inspired me in a far greater way than say some athlete breaking a
record.
"
understanding carbs is essential to losing fat and keeping muscle, which
should always be the goal of a person trying to lose weight, whether
they be a bodybuilder or regular person"
-Will
Brink
DC:
I
loved your e-book Diet Supplements Revealed, so don't take this question
the wrong way. A few people told me they felt the book was on the short
side. Can you comment on that?
WB:
Honestly I think a person might feel that way as an after effect of the
marketing of the more popular diet books. My intent was to write a
concise easy to read guide to weight loss supplements on the market, not
to do War and Piece.
The e-book is
around 200 pages. The assumption-that volume is what dictates quality is
sheer folly. My goal with this e-book was not to pad this product and
make it as long as possible. In fact, my goal was the reverse. I wanted
to put the maximum amount of information possible in the least amount of
words.
If people
take a good look at some of the most popular weight loss books on the
market, they will find the vast majority of them contain very little
actual information and literally hundreds of pages of recipes, pictures,
and other information you could figure out yourself.
I took a
close look at one of the most popular weight loss books that was all the
rage a few years ago, and by my count it had exactly 81 pages of actual
text relating to its promise of "new" information on helping people lose
weight. The rest of the book-another 168 pages-was dedicated to recipes,
worthless charts, pictures, and trying to sell the reader on buying the
authors line of supplements.
Another issue
people have to consider is that they get the updated version of the book
no matter when they purchased it. "Free updates for life", in other
words.
Unlike a hard
copy book, every time I have updated the e-book, everyone who purchased
the earlier version gets the new version, so they never have to say "I
wish I had waited until the new version to buy the book" as they often
do with a hard copy book.
So it does
not matter of they purchased it last year, last week, or buy it
tomorrow, they will have the most recent addition. In my view, that
makes the e-book a bargain.
DC:
OK, last
question Will. If false or misleading advertising is so common in the
magazines, how do they get away with it? Why do the mags print this when
they know it's nonsense?
WB:
The answer that is always there, money. Most of the information you will
find on the 'net or magazines is 'generated' by the actual supplement
companies themselves, that is, by the people who sell the stuff.
They then
have this information issued via certain magazines, web sites and other
publications, PR firms, etc., yet most of it is, to be blunt, pure
bullshit. False or misleading information designed only to sell the
supplements.
For the
magazines, supplement companies are a major source of advertising
revenue. How do I know this? Because I have been both an editor and
writer for most of the top publications in the
health/fitness/bodybuilding arena, have done consulting work for many of
the top supplement companies.
DC:
Are all
supplement companies full of BS?
WB:
No, but unless people become educated consumers, they will never know
the difference and will be among the ignorant masses who get suckered
into throwing their money at useless supplements.
I can tell
you the few supplement companies and supplement company owners that are
honest and want to sell a good product are as frustrated as you are over
the BS that is so common.
DC:
Why?
WB:
Because they get lost in the shuffle and lose out to marketing based
companies who spend all their money on ads versus science and well
thought out formulas.
DC:
Wow, quite
an honest answer Will! Thanks for the great interview.
Enjoy the
information.
Yours in
health,
Will Brink
and Internet Publications
Learn which
supplements burn fat fast and which are no more than pure marketing hype
with Will's ebook "Diet Supplements Revealed" - the most downloaded
ebook of it's type.
::
Internet publications ::
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