From my Black Casebook:
I need to start this review by being fully transparent. Michael Roussell, PhD is my friend. I get to call him Mike. We’ve been friends for 10 years since we both spoke at the JP Fitness Summit and sat next to each other at lunch. I made sure that my lunch that day was Mike Roussell approved. He wasn’t Dr. Mike at that time but rather PhD candidate at Penn State who had somehow found a way to buy a fixer-upper house with his wife and support himself as he climbed his personal academic ladder. He knows how to embrace the struggle. I love that about him.
He’s also deadlifted 500 pounds (the most genuine photo of pure joy I’ve ever seen) and has a genetic predisposition for extremely large calf muscles (yes, I’m jealous).
My favorite little known fact about Dr. Mike is that he quit medical school… because he was bored.
No, seriously.
But I’m so glad he did. I think the path he chose has made him so much more although I think he’d probably be just as impactful as a famous physician. (I know his Mom was proud when he became Dr. Michael Roussell even though he’s “not the real kind of doctor that helps people.” [inside joke… sorry])
While I joke with Mike a great deal, truth be told, he’s made a huge impact on so many people long before The MetaShred Diet was a reality. The depth of his understanding of metabolism and the impact of nutrition make him an in-demand, go-to professional in addressing clients’ needs who suffer from any number of metabolic disorders and diseases. It’s this understanding that we, the reasonably healthy, benefit from when it comes to applying the principles of The MetaShred Diet.
Okay. ‘Nuff said. Here’s My Incredibly Biased Review of The MetaShred Diet by Michael Roussell, PhD
I hate diet books.
Most play you by magnifying some small element of nutrition that gets blown out of proportion. You end up a limited concept that is temporarily executable but ultimately unsustainable.
The MetaShred Diet does not read like a diet book. Sure it has meal planning, recipes, and organization concepts that you should expect, and that I’ll get to in minute, but the tone reads like you’re having a deep conversation with a trusted friend who understands you better than you understand yourself.
Dr. Mike is a nutrition guy, but what separates him from all the others is that he understands what drives our behavior.
He understands why we make the choices that we do.
He understands what factors can influence making better choices to support out desired outcome.
He understands how a few small changes can result in bigger, positive changes in your life (not just your body fat).
He understands that it’s the process that makes the difference not the details (he takes care of the details for you by the way).
The first sections of The MetaShred Diet may be my favorite, and it will change how you look at all nutrition information from the day you read it onward.
Dr. Mike is the master of debunking.
All the things you thought were true or absolute are not so.
Here’s my favorite statement from page 16… “There is zero scientific data available to qualify that any rate of fat loss is unhealthy… There is no such thing as a rate of weight loss that is unhealthy or dangerous.”
In other words, you can lose more than the often recommended “don’t lose more than 1-2 pounds a week.” A lot more actually.
Don’t worry. He explains why.
I can also speak from experience that this is a true statement having been on the precursor to The MetaShred Diet myself.
Thought you understood the concept of Calories in vs. Calories out? Think again. The next time one of your friends comes at you with this one you’ll be loaded for bear with a hefty dose of reality. It’s not that simple.
What to know what the real impact of meal frequency, carbohydrates, hormones, stress, sleep, and daily routine have on your fat loss? It’s all in there in an easy to understand format. The science is deep but the language straight forward.
Bonded by the Brain
I think one of the things that bonds Dr. Mike and I is that we both appreciate the impact of the brain on how we function, make decisions, and make changes. One of our favorite books is Your brain at Work by David Rock. In it, Rock explains the concept of decision fatigue which explains how every decision you make draws on your energy reserves. Something as simple as deciding what clothes to wear or which way to drive to work takes energy that you may need for some other task.
Consider how this concept influences your decisions about your eating plan. Especially later in the day when you’re already tired and somewhat low in energy. If you don’t have enough energy to defend yourself against bad eating choices, what do you do?
You have to have contingencies.
When Bill Walsh was coach of the San Francisco 49er’s, he revolutionized professional football by literally having a script of contingency plans for every imaginable situation. Not just what play to run inside the 20-yard line, but what to do if it rains or what call to make with four seconds left with the ball on your own 45. He literally planned for every scenario before the game even took place.
The power in such a strategy eliminates indecision and the failure associated with bad choices. Dr. Mike knows that we all face times where things don’t go perfectly. We need contingencies just like Bill Walsh anticipated. Dr. Mike provides has you covered in cases of “emergency” as well.
I’ve used these contingency plans myself with great success.
Last year Dr. Mike helped me go from a soft and somewhat muscular 206 pounds down to a lean and ripped 169 pounds for my 50th birthday (and a Men’s Health Magazine photo shoot). Smack dab in the middle of my program, I had an 11-day trip to China for speaking engagements.
Talk about needing a strategy.
I needed strategies for eating at restaurants in a foreign country, how to fill the gaps in nutrition, and how to get enough rest to keep me burning fat in a stressful situation.
Done. See chapter 9.
Don’t Think… Execute
How do you make behavior change easy?
Inform yourself and then execute. Minimize decision making. Remember it drains energy and makes behavior change harder.
I’ve never read a “diet” book that made the process of fat loss easier.
When I went through my personal physical transformation with Dr. Mike, he sent me exactly what I was to do each day. This included daily meal structure, how to monitor meal size, and then he sent some of the most delicious recipes I could imagine.
Did you know that Dr. Mike is an amazing chef? Me neither. He didn’t just make up the recipes like a lot of other books do. He measured, experimented, and cooked them all himself.
Favorite meal: Superfood Parfait on page 155.
It’s like loaded ice cream. A close second is the Denver Scramble on page 182.
Favorite snack: Chocolate-Cherry Indulgence on page 176.
I call it… Heaven.
So he put the whole thing in The MetaShred Diet. Structure, planning, and execution.
All the details are covered. No thinking required.
Epilogue
Yes, I am biased.
I am biased because Dr. Mike is my friend.
I am biased because I’ve had first-hand experience on the program and continue to use the principles and the structure it provides with ongoing success.
Of course, I think you should buy this book. That’s why I’m writing this.
You’ll find that the concepts will spill over to every aspect of your life. I sleep better, I am better organized and more productive, AND I wear smaller clothes than I used to.
Inform yourself and act.
You can get The MetaShred Diet straight from the publisher HERE!