Review: Dr. Connelly’s Body Rx
With Body Rx, Dr. Scott Connelly enters the weight loss arena with a pretty decent diet offering. Dr. Connelly is the main man behind Met-Rx, a highly successful sport and weight loss supplement company recognized for their quality formulations.
Let me get to fundamentals of the Body Rx diet plan…
1. No calorie counting. Sounds odd, doesn’t it? After all, calorie counting is something you expect to do on any diet. But calorie counting is one of the real drawbacks on any diet-it’s tedious, boring, and downright impractical.
According to Connelly, caloric intake actually has very little to do with weight loss or weight gain. The type of foods you eat, and the metabolic responses they stimulate within the body are the contributing factors (he calls this “nutrient partitioning”).
Connelly’s absolutely right, of course—eating well, eating plenty, and eating often is a surefire way to prime the metabolic furnace. Conversely, restricting calories only serves to slow the metabolic rate as well as threaten lean body mass.
Calorie counting becomes important when your diet is lacking in quality. When a large percentage of your daily calories come from “less than optimal” sources, extra calories WILL be deposited as fat. On Connelly’s Body Rx diet however, it almost impossible to over-consume calories (the bulk of your food intake will come from lean protein, and low G.I., high fiber carbs).
But if you stop in to Burger King to order a “double whopper with cheese” you may be interested to know you are about to consume 1100 + calories!
2. Implement a weight training program: In Body Rx Connelly advises: stay off the treadmill. Again, research bears him out-aerobic activity is a very inefficient method of burning extra calories. Additionally, aerobic activity often sacrifices as much lean tissue as fat, so your metabolic rate drops as you lose a combination of both fat and muscle. Weight training, of course, builds lean muscle, which increases both caloric requirements and the metabolism.
3. Increase protein consumption: In my article on this site, “Much Ado About Protein” I discuss how recent research correlates increased protein intake with weight loss and fat burning. Increased protein intake is a huge part of Body Rx. In fact, lean protein (chicken, turkey, lean beef, whey protein, etc.,etc.,) should comprise a major part of each meal.
And don’t worry; new evidence indicates that increasing protein consumption has no adverse effects on kidney function (International Journal of Obesity and Related Metabolic Disorders, 23(11):1170-7., 1999)
4. Eat well, eat often: Small, balanced meals every 2-3 hours keep blood sugar levels balanced, cravings eliminated, and energy levels on an even keel. 6-7 small meals is a very important part of any successful weight loss plan, and the foundation of Body Rx.
5. Avoid fructose (specifically the high fructose corn syrup used in so many processed foods): According to Connelly, fructose is a metabolic poison, and a “negative partitioning agent”. Again, Connelly is correct—recent research indicates that fructose consumption is indeed a bad idea.
In fact, Arizona State University research headed by Dr. Mike Pagliassotti indicates it is fructose that is the main ingredient behind the problem of insulin resistance. Over-consumption of fructose often leads to obesity and Syndrome X. Symptoms of such include hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease. Fructose use is widespread in the food processing industry—you’ll find 8-10 teaspoons in a can of pop, and plenty even in processed white bread.
Only one problem… why doesn’t a guy who is so dead set against fructose find a suitable sweetening alternative for his own supplement line? Must of this supplements do contain plenty of fructose.
6. Increase fiber content: A dieting no-brainer, fiber increases satiety, lowers blood sugar levels, and may even contribute to colon health and lower cholesterol levels. I’ve written more about fiber here!
Bottom line on Body Rx?
What I like best about Body Rx is its downright simplicity. In my opinion most diets are inherently impractical and complicated, and a far bigger contributor to dieting failure then usually acknowledged. In Body Rx, foods are divided into 3 categories…
- Red: Foods to be avoided (sweets, and fatty foods in general)
- Yellow: Foods to be eaten ONLY in moderation (moderate to high rated GI (glycemic index) carbs for the most part).
- Green: Foods you can eat to your heart’s content (low GI carbs and veggies, lean protein and so on).
So eating is simple on this diet; avoid “red” category foods, eat small, infrequent servings of the “yellow” foods, and “pig out” on the green foods. 🙂
Forget all about calories. Wonderful!
This diet is very easy to follow, and it will work. All in all, well worth trying. You can find Body Rx at Amazon.com!
March 5, 2009
This book was recommended to me by an acquaintance at the gym over a year ago. It has changed how I eat and how I work out.
March 5, 2009
My first comment should have 5 stars, not 1!!!
March 10, 2009
Great Book. No BS. Since Dr Connelly wrote this book after having sold his supplement company there is no hidden motive here.
The chapter on fructose is a must read for everyone, even if that one message gets through a lot of America’s health problems can be prevented.
Great review here.
May 3, 2009
Great book. I followed the body rx eating plan, but did not do the exercise portion at all and lost 30 pounds effortlessly. I never felt hungry. I recommend this book to everyone.
September 7, 2010
Dr. Scott Connelly is a FRAUD. He had a segment on him on Date Line NBC. The FTC sued him and won for putting steriods into MET-Rx.
The National Council Against Consumer Health Fraud has resported him multiple times. The he has been sued for fraud and breach of contract and for fabricating his Stanford and Harvard credentials.
Then this story came out on him today
http://genxxl.com/gossip/dr-scott-connelly-lots-of-claims-no-real-proof/
September 7, 2010
Thanks for sending this in John! Much appreciated!
September 7, 2010
Review: Dr. Connelly’s Body Rx – .
September 7, 2010
Review: Dr. Connelly’s Body Rx – .
September 21, 2010
You should cover the Connelly story. John is right. He has lost his mind and from what I have investigated, is so deep in a fraud and conspiracy to defraud his own company that the wheels have come off the bus. Their is a national story coming out soon.
October 31, 2010
I found this website yesterday and it seems to give a very interesting look at Dr. Scott Connelly and has actual photographs of what he truly looks like.
The website is http://www.ascottconnelly.com
December 30, 2010
I am just like many of you that are looking to improve your body and lead a healthier and fitter life. Already being a fairly active person I wanted to try to switch up my standard regiment to get better results and make it to that next level.
So my search for information began. After reading many articles about different products, fad/Hollywood diets, cleansings and workout programs I felt like I was armed with information and ready to make an informed decision on my new approach. I really felt like all the time I had spent talking to people and doing my homework was really going to pay off. At long last, I was finally ready to take action.
About 3 months ago I started the program that I thought was really going to help me in every aspect of my health and fitness goals. It is called Body Rx and was designed by a man called Dr. Scott Connelly. It’s a six month program and I was definitely willing to dedicate myself to it to reach my goals. Plus,I thought that since he was supposed to be the creator of Met-rx, this should be great plan for me. So much for best laid plans. It’s an absolute travesty.
In 3 months of following this program my body fat has raised to over 20%. I lost my almost beach ready body. Not exactly what I was looking for. To make matters worse my cholesterol has never been so high before. It has completely skyrocketed and my doctor has told me that if i continue with the anti-health plan, I will die fat and young.
March 21, 2011
This is by far the best book on weight loss and weight training that I have ever seen. After following the Body Rx system without the weight training portion I dropped from 287 lbs. to 233 lbs.. I also dropped the fat almost as fast as the weight and my energy levels increased as well and my cholesterol also dropped from 195 to 162. If this plan is followed CORRECTLY (Emma Kagan) there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY that you will gain weight, fat or cholesterol!!! This is the ONLY plan of its kind that actually promotes a lifestyle change. I have recommended this book to many friends and have seen each and everyone of them have the same results. Kudos to Dr. Connelly and his entire team. It is ashame that I can only give it 5 stars.