1. Anything Goes Diet
The Anything Goes Diet is a weight loss program by John Barban, a nutrition specialist and
researcher with experience as a personal
trainer and a sports trainer.
The Anything Goes Diet, as its name
implies, is a program which offers you a
lot more freedom than other diet plans do.
John Barban takes a non-restrictive
approach to weight loss. Basically, on this
diet plan you can really eat anything you
want. However, you need to be smart
about it in order to actually lose weight.
Barban takes a critical look at diet plans
and finds that most of them are either based on inaccurate assumptions or are just not enjoyable
enough to be used to long.
For instance, Barban talks about how many experts recommend cutting out certain foods based
on flimsy research and assumptions. He also talks about how calorie counting, which a lot of
experts recommend, actually leads you to make grave miscalculations and how most people
vastly underestimate the amount of calories they consume.
Therefore, a more fluid and free diet plan is in order. This is what the Anything Goes Diet is
supposed to be. The goal is to get you to a place where you’re in total control of your diet, that it
fits in to your lifestyle, that you enjoy the food you eat, and that you can lose weight and keep if
off for years to come.
A Freedom based diet plan
The no such thing as a “bad” food in the Anything Goes Diet.
Anything Goes Diet is based on the simple fact that to lose weight you need to create a calorie
deficit, nothing more and nothing less. Weight loss is dependent on calories. You need to burn
more than you put in. So, nearly all foods can be a part of your diet. There is
You just to remember that some foods contain more calories than others, so if you eat them you
will need to “cut back” on other foods. However, it is your choice to make.
The Freedom of being able to eat what you want is one of the major advantages of this diet plan.
You can indulge yourself by eating those “sinful” foods as long as your overall calorie intake is low
enough to create a deficit. If you’ve ever been on a diet plan that told you “eat this but don’t
eat that”, you will find this weight loss approach refreshing and fun. It also certainly works.
However, it does require you to be in control of what you eat, to make sure that your more high
calorie food choices don’t ruin your calorie deficit. Fortunately, John Barban provides a variety of
helpful tips and techniques to make it easy to get a calorie deficit, even while eating high calorie
2. foods.
With easy to apply guidelines and a lot of common sense, the Anything Goes Diet shows how it’s
possible to lose weight without going crazy, without depriving yourself silly, without starving
yourself, and while enjoying good food.
Exercise is Important but Not the Key
Barban has a unique way of looking at the role of diet and exercise. He says that your diet should
be how you lose weight, while your exercise routine should be used to tone and build your
muscles and improve your cardiovascular health. The extra calories you burn during your
workouts should be considered a “bonus”.
This is a great way to avoid overcompensation (eating too much after working out) as your mind
is geared toward losing weight by how you eat alone. In addition, he shows how most people
overestimate how many calories they burn during their workouts, so if you’re depending on
exercise to make you lose weight, you may be in for a rude awakening.
Common Sense in the Anything Goes Diet
Reading the Anything Goes Diet is like taking a deep breath. In a world where a lot of weight loss
products are sold as “the only thing that works”, John Barban claims that a lot of things work. You
just need to use common sense and follow a routine that will include a constant calorie deficit.
You don’t need to eat special foods or to avoid them, you don’t need to do any special exercises,
and you don’t need to spend a fortune on equipment. Just eat sensibly and you will lose weight.
Here are some of the things John Barban recommends doing in the Anything Goes Diet:
1. Plan your diet week by week – A lot of people try to make every day perfect. This simply
doesn’t work. There are events, trips, parties, and so on. There will be days in which y ou won’t
have a calorie deficit. Don’t worry. Plan a weekly deficit and you will be fine.
2. Don’t count calories – Most likely, you’ll get it wrong. Calorie counting is inaccurate at best. It
requires weighing food, a lot of effort and you will still get it wrong (though often at no fault of
yours). It’s much better to “guess” your calories and always assume that you’re consuming more
than you think.
3. How to avoid weight loss sabotage – We’re surrounded by things and people who make it very
difficult to lose weight. Barban has some excellent tips on how to NOT let this happen to you.
4. How some fat is actually good for you and why you should worry very little about eating foods
with fat, in general.
5. Why there is really no such thing as a “bad” food and how this makes losing weight much
easier.
What You get with the Anything Goes Diet
1. A recipe guide with a variety of recipes to make it easy to cook delicious meals and dishes
which make it simple to have a calorie deficit.
2. A social eating guide – Going out to eat or eating at parties can ruin your diet. This guide helps
3. you to enjoy socializing without paying the price.
3. Success tracking journal – A resource which you can use to track your results and effort.
4. Thinking Thin manual – A guide to help you get the right mindset for weight loss and clear
away your mental obstacles.
5. The main Anything Goes Diet manual to give you the guidelines of the program and show you
how to lose weight without going crazy.
What I Like Less About This Plan
1. There is little reference to healthy foods. The basic concept is to get you a calorie deficit.
2. There is no exercise manual. I understand that weight loss should come from eating, but a
more detailed exercise manual would have been nice. John Barban is also the author of the
Venus Index, which is a workout program (which I recommend) so you can use the two together.
In Conclusion
The Anything Goes Diet by John Barban is a program that makes weight loss relaxing. You do n’t
need to go crazy over anything. You just need a little common sense, self-control, and to follow
the guidelines in the program. I have no doubt that you can lose weight with this plan. I do
recommend to exercise regularly with it.