REFUEL Press Kit

REFUEL is a 24 day eating plan specifically engineered for the male brain and body designed to boost testosterone levels, help men shed fat, pump up strength and stamina and improve sexual performance.

• Men die 5.2 years earlier than women. They get diabetes at BMI of 31 vs 33. They get 3x the heart attacks and fatal cardiac events before the age of 64.
• They have 4x the suicide rate of women. Over a quarter of men have a major psychiatric event in their lives, but less than a quarter of women.
• 50% of men will get cancer, but only 33% of women.
• 23% of men don’t see the doctor in a year, versus just 12% of women.
• Social norms pressure women to be thin. But the current obesity epidemic is really an epidemic in men.: 27.5% were obese in 1999, but 35% are now; in women, it has been 35% for the last 15 years.
• Men’s tolerance for ignoring high blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol is very high–much higher than that of women.

• Men (age range 34-64, average BMI 32.4 (range 26.6- 46.4 kg/m2) participated in a 24 day online, gender-specific eating plan.
• Videotaped instruction was posted online with sample recipes, meals and blog posts. Men took pre/post questionnaires and sent photos of their pre/post scale readings online.
• Average weight loss was 10.9 pounds (range 4-20.5 pounds) and 5% of body weight (range 1.8-9.9%); average waist loss was 3.3 inches (range 1-5 inches).
• 62% of men lost over 10 pounds. Both perceived muscle mass and sleep quality improved in 75% of men; energy level increased in 67%; morning erection frequency and erectile ability increased in 57% and 56% respectively.
• Men with testosterone levels predicted to be very low reported fewer than average pushups and burpees before the plan, and lost less weight than men with testosterone levels predicted to be low or normal.
• We conclude that this 24 day facilitates rapid visceral fat loss, improves sleep, sexual capacity and strength in overweight and obese men.

As presented at Stanford University Medicine X, Palo Alto, CA.

Three ways

• it is designed for men, although when women do it with men, men succeed even more
• it has been beta tested and presented at Stanford and SXSW, with remarkable test results (data)
• it is part time: 2 days per week of 50g of carbs per day; 3 liters citrus water daily; and 5 minutes each of resistance and aerobic HIIT, plus sleep and stress tactics, and you’re done.

The food and recipes are restaurant-quality, with no added sugar and gluten free, have the vitamins and minerals men need.  I offer meals that men love in ways they understand (Best Breakfast to Eat in Front of Your Monitor, for example). The truth is that a deck of cards sized piece of chicken doesn’t work for everyone, and men need meals they like, are satisfying and help them look and feel better.

Foods that are starchy and sugary make overweight men hungrier: REFUEL helps you choose food that is not. It helps you swear off sugar sweetened beverages and food that you can crush or crumple…which has been overprocessed and is putting the pounds on you.

1. I will not eat foods I can crumple or crush.
2. I will eat primarily undisguised lean protein and strong vegetables
3. I will eat only small amounts of grains,starches,sweets,dried fruits, and full-fat dairy, and I will tart up my carbs
4. I will use a 6-inch plate for meals at home.
5. I will drink 3 liters of filtered (when possible) water with citrus juice daily.

The program is a lifestyle reboot, not a diet.  The exercise is high intensity interval training, starting with just 5 minutes a day and your body. The sleep program lets you get more and better sleep, and make testosterone at night.  And the mindset component allows you to fight the fat and cravings for junk food that chronic stress brings.

It does provide 15 essential, quick, easy, no-nonsense, no-added sugar, satisfying recipes in 30 minutes or less, plus:

• 40 off the shelf snacks that take 10 minutes each–or less–to prepare
• A Table of 12 Easiest Steps (e.g., Eat Breakfast with Eggs; and Plan Your Splurge Meal Date and Time)
• The Menu Decoder with the REFUEL Top 10 Strategies for Restaurant Survival (#8: Pour coffee or salt on the food still in front of you if you don’t want to be tempted to continue to eat it. Or box it.).  Whether you eat out or at home.

You can burn calories while exercising, but you’d have to spend 8 hours on the treadmill, running at 3.5 miles per hour , up a 15 degree incline, to burn off the calories in one “Bloomin™ Onion”.  And even if you burn off the calories, you do not reverse the aging of the arteries and immune system the aging starches and trans fats inside that appetizer.

I say try the 3 day jumpstart and look at the Table of Easiest Steps.. You can do anything for 3 days. If you don’t feel lighter, more energetic, recharged and better after 3 days, fine.  But if you do, then try the whole 24: it’s designed to be drop dead easy.

• All the recipes taste like restaurant-quality, many are high in protein and all have the vitamins and minerals men need.
• How does Pan-Seared Mahimahi with Red Cabbage, Roast Chicken with Lemon and Garlic Juices and Grilled Sirloin Steak and Asparagus sound? Or Easy Homemade Breakfast Sausage, Central Mexican Chili and  Coconut Rice Pudding with Bourbon and Toasted Pecans
• Every man can learn to blend, simmer, grill, roast, stir-fry: I show you how in the book. And the good news is that you don’t have to eat perfectly to succeed

Yes, it does. Women are the secret weapon men have in doing REFUEL: the best way for men to succeed is to invite a woman to do it with them.

Refuel helps men get their sex drive back, both by naturally raising testosterone levels as belly fat declines, by improving sleep quality, and by looking and feeling better. The average American man has 58 orgasms a year, but having dessert more than once a night is unlikely. Quantity of sex is important for men; quality, for women.   We asked men: 56% had better morning erections and 57% who could improve their sex drive, did, in just 24 days.

If they like, and their doctor recommends it, sure. But for most men, taking testosterone pills usually just puts a Band-aid on the problem, and sometimes upsets female partners. Not a good thing for sex. Or relationships.

We have to help men sleep better, neutralize toxins and get the right type of exercise for their time. All will help, because at all age points, men today have lower average testosterone levels than their predecessors.  Overweight men are nine times more likely to have low testosterone than those who are not overweight. Declining testosterone, increased insulin resistance and weight gain in men are all strongly associated with deposition of visceral (belly) fat. That’s increasingly recognized as a primary factor in the development of many medical problems for men, because visceral fat is, more or less, an estrogen factory, converting testosterone to estrogen.

Here are three:

Eat Crucifers: Cruciferous veggies like Brussels sprouts, watercress, kale, mustard greens, cauliflower, broccoli, and daikon are packed with glucobrassin and other sulfur compounds that convert estrogen to its least estrogenic forms. Steaming is the best way to cook them, or eat them raw.

Add Vitamin D: This vitamin lowers sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG). In one study, men who had D levels under 40, showed a 10% increase in total testosterone following supplementation that raised serum D levels over 50. If men are vitamin D-deficient they will show a testosterone rise after 3,000 units.

Eat More Mono-unsaturated Fats: Avocados, olives & olive oil, nuts and nut oils are extremely healthy, because mono-unsaturated fats help Leydig cells transport cholesterol increase manufacture of testosterone. The leydig cells need adequate circulating unsaturated fats to make testosterone, which is why men on very low fat diets (<30% fat) show lower T levels than those on higher fat diets.

The CYSYP Test: Nothing quite makes the point about visceral fat like having a man look up, then look straight down, and asking, “Can you see your penis?” An answer of “No,” will likely provide way more motivation than a battery of biomarkers and lipid measures.

and

Our lack of vitamin D3: you can make about 2000 units just by letting the sun shine on your arms, legs and face for 12 minutes, without sun block (otherwise, you’ve got to eat cod liver oil by the spoon full…be my guest.). Vitamin D3 helps you absorb calcium, prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, and decreases the risk of colon, prostate and breast cancer.  And 60 percent of us are deficient. Take about 1000 IU every day…max 2000. Try to get to a level of 50.

Make men aware that many forms of plastic contain estrogenic compounds. Whenever possible avoid plastic food containers and bottles, and seek out Phthalate-free and BPA-free containers. Never heat plastics, as heat will cause the release of toxins. That means no microwaving food containers.

Two reasons. 

First, because most diets do not work, and people can’t stay on these diets and do not like them.  They are like prison sentences—no fats, or no protein with carbs etc. People in a prison can’t wait to break out, and then all the weight comes back. 

Second, and more importantly, limit Carbs Twice Weekly: Carving out the carbs forever is not a feasible option for most guys. But the vast majority can handle a major carb-cut every few days. Dr. La Puma recommends that patients commit to eating no more than 50 grams of carbs twice weekly. On other days, they can eat carbs freely (within reason of course). This pattern, which most guys can embrace, simulates the alternating cycles of caloric plenty & poverty that our paleo ancestors faced.

Scientists used to think that was true.  But in the past 25 years or so, that belief has been changing.   Now we know that your food choices help you lose the gut, get strong, build stamina and boost testosterone.

1. Give yourself something to brag about
2. You can be wrong and still be in the game.
3. You’ll win if you don’t quit.

Helping men get healthy is not about having another salad. It’s about getting lean and strong, about building testosterone and not converting it to estrogen, and about not waiting for insurers or the government to catch up.

• 72y/o reached the bottom of the Grand Canyon, >9 miles from the start.
• 54 y/o no longer needed seat belt extenders, and moved the seat forward
• 48 y/o had to take 2 links out of his wristwatch—the tan line caught his eye.
• 39-y/o pulled the airplane tray table down without hitting his stomach.