Men's Health Killing Fat: Use the Science of Thermodynamics to Blast Belly Bloat, Destroy Flab, and Stoke Your Metabolism

by Ellington Darden

Renowned fitness and health researcher Ellington Darden teaches you how to burn fat and keep it off using the science of thermodynamics.Exercise researcher and author Ellington Darden has studied exercise and fat loss for more than 40 years. His most recent program combines his previous findings on fat loss and muscle gain with new research on the principles of thermodynamics and heat transfer for a 6- or 12-week plan that will eliminate belly bloat, destroy flab, and stoke metabolism. Integrating his many years of research, the program has had more than 1,137 participants who shed an average of 29.5 pounds of fat and lost 6 inches off their waist or belly.        The program consists of four main components—a descending-calorie eating plan; strength-training workouts; superhydration of the body; and rest, inactivity, and rejuvenating sleep. Men’s Health Killing Fat takes you, step-by-step, through Darden’s super-effective strategy. Interspersed with success stories and before-and-after photos of previous participants, Killing Fat will teach you a revolutionary new way to lose weight and keep it off.

Genres: Health, Self Help, Nonfiction, Fitness

320 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 29, 2019

Reviews

[B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update: despite having previously given this book 3 stars for below reason, I got fed up enough to actually give it a ago....I haven’t even really tried incorporating the workout but a few times, I’ve cheated big time at least once a weekend(and at the Kentucky derby for 4 days) and in one month if still lost a total of 9 real lbs, not water weight-my body composition is different, my clothes look and fit differently, people are commenting on weight loss. I can’t really give any hype to the “cold dip” theory, though I have been doing it, but I would say that the step down approach to calorie deficit is a big winner...now, I have never tried the cold dip practice until now, so maybe that is actually helping me despite all my cheat days. I’ve tried just about every diet there is...on this one, just for shits and giggles, I eat whatever I want, as long as it fits in the caloric window-carbs, protein, fat, etc Nothing is off limits-essentially I prefer to intermittent fast until lunch or later so I can really feast in the afternoon. This isn’t recommended by author but it works for me and keeps me happy.

If you have been struggling with weight or hit a plateau, give this book a shot. I’m glad I did.



Don’t think there is really anything new here. To give you a short summary it’s this:

1. Drink a gallon of water daily
2. Start at 1600 cals a day for 2 weeks, then 1500 for 2, then 1400 for 2. Calories are spaced out over 6 daily meals and snacks.
3. 50 percent of cals come from carbs
4. Do negative reps mixed with positive/negative reps for weight lifting
5. Get lots of sleep including naps if possible
6. Take cold showers, cold baths, ice your neck to mobilize brown fat stores/turn white fat beige

That’s pretty much it. These things are based upon Thermodynamics. I probably cannot start the program for a few weeks due to work, but will let you know if it works for me.

[Tim McCarthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed the book. Good mix of science, frameworks for thinking about fat loss, and practical tools. I'm actively employing the eating, exercise and rest guidelines.

Update: after 10 weeks of using the techniques outlined in this book, along with a hand calorie counting app, I've lost ten lbs total and shed 2 inches on my waist line.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reread October 2023 Review:

So it's been ~3 years since my original read-through of Killing Fat and there is certainly a reason why I am revisiting this content.

As author Dr. Darden has said via is conferences/YouTube videos... it is the 'American Way' to slinky when it comes to fat loss and weight maintenance. People get motivated, lose the weight, then mostly likely overtime it will creep back on.

I would argue that in my case I have sustained more than I've gained... sustained being a kinder and friendlier way to reframe the word: Plateaued.

I've been sitting at the same weight for at least 18-24 months without much significant change. Whether I try a new diet, increase my cardio, increase my lifting, lower calories, you name it... it appears that I am stuck and just cannot get over this hump.

Killing Fat.... here we go again.

Without recapping every detail below, please take a moment to check out my 2020 review, with its 2021 update.

To do a super quick run-down of what Killing Fat is:

- Low Calorie without any specific restrictions (for example carbs are totally fine)

- 3 small meals (400-600 cal) and 2 snacks (~100-200 cal) is the goal

- Weightlifting involves extreme focusing on Negatives, literally doing 30 second slow and controlled downward movements aka moving ~1 inch a second until back into the relaxed position. It honestly is a great way to exhaust muscles. Don't know it until you've tried it. He calls it the 30-10-30 method.

- 1 Gallon of Water a day of ice water

- Cold Exposure (cold showers being the most readily available/easiest way to achieve this)

- Take progress pics (which I haven't done yet for this go-round quite yet. Need to soon)

And yeah... that's pretty much it.

The low calorie aspect is the most challenging for me, with everything else being too easy/feels good.

I do a 'buy back' method, which if I lift for an hour or do 40 minutes of Cardio... I allow myself to eat more food that day... versus resting days where I literally just go to work and go to bed... I eat less those days. For example... say I workout for an hour and burn 500 calories. I'll eat some of those +500 calories back, still aiming towards hitting my low calorie goal. On rest days, I would not have the luxury of those "earned" calories.

I whole heartedly understand is going to slow my results. But for me it's worth it. Low calorie every day, especially on days I workout hard... is just quite miserable for me.

One thing a lot of content creators like this don't account for is a Happiness metric. Which I totally understand that could be abused and people being totally content being 'fat, dumb, and happy'. I am confident that my approach creates balance for me, where I know I in my heart I am actively trying to better myself.... yet at the same time not mentally berate and guilt trip myself to the point where I can't eat a plate of my wife's homemade spaghetti for dinner, especially if I worked out that day.

Today literally being HALLOWEEN as I post this... and I have young children... maybe November 1st (aka tomorrow) would be a good day to really commit to Killing Fat.

I did successfully complete a Day 1 though yesterday. We shall see. I am not a big candy person to be honest, but the stars are quite aligned for the start of a new month and a new program to really hit it hard.

Stay tuned - as I will most likely update this review with my results.



________________

Original December 2020 Review:

Absolutely loved it.

I am going to give a lot of the plan of actions discussed in this book a go, starting on 17 Dec 2020... and see what happens. If I have remarkable results, I will probably come back and give this a +1 and locking it in as a 5/5. But first, I want to give it a test run.

I've been on a big health kick for about 30 days now. Right around the 1st week of Nov 2020, my weight peaked to a point where I decided enough was a enough and its time for a change. In about ~30 days since then, I have lost 13 lbs since my last weigh in. Continuing my motivation towards better health and overall functional performance, picked up Killing Fat to continue my fitness journey.

As much as I want to go into the Killing Fat program, I do think it would be better for an individual to read the book and have that information unfold for them individually, as it would have a much greater impact.

In short, the author provides a very reasonable and doable path towards better health. He provides deep dives on fat, calories, carbohydrates, hydration, weightlifting, sleep, thermogenics, nutrition, so on and so forth.

I will say that I find it very interesting how this book is the 100% polar opposite of Wheat Belly (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...)... which I also sincerely enjoyed as well. I think the big difference between the two is that I am actually going to follow the Killing Fat method, versus Wheat Belly where I was eating plates of spaghetti while reading it, lol.

With that said, you can conclude that Killing Fat is actually pro-carb, which is very different in the current culture of fitness/diet/nutrition. I will leave it at that though without saying anymore and hope that you give this book a go and see it for yourself.

So currently down -13, now that I've started this program I shall see how much more I can lose while at the same time building muscle, improving functional fitness performance (running speed, amount of weight lifted, increased reps, etc.). If you decide to read this book and go on a fitness journey as well, it would be awesome if you replied below with your success! We can build off of our positive energy together.

Let me know!

*** UPDATE 1 March 2021 ***

So I stuck to the Killing Fat methodology (for the most part... I'd say with about 80% consistency, being totally honest) for 6 weeks... the result: I lost ~15 lbs.

I am certainly pleased with the results, but after that I have definitely hit a plateau and at this point do not seem to be making anymore progress. I think at this point I have taken the Killing Fat way as far as it'll go on its own... and now it is up to me to increase intensity in workouts, introduce more fat burning activities like more frequent HIIT, or adding longer endurance based workouts like 60 minute runs.

Again though, the initial 15 lbs lost proves to me that Killing Fat is effective and 'works' in a realistic and practical manner.

Also, as promised... bumped up +1 star, making this a 5/5.

[Tiemu · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book will work for anyone who follows it because it implements the one and only factor that leads to weight loss, which is consuming less calories than you expend.

This should be common sense, but surprisingly many people refuse to accept it because they want something even easier. I've even seen a Mediterranean Diet cookbook which states you'll never need to think of calories again with their book, and then proceeded to say you should dip everything in liberal amounts of olive oil (BTW two tablespoons of olive oil are as fattening as eating a McDonald's cheeseburger).

I didn't follow Ellington Darden's method even though I know it'll work. I've once lost body fat on a very restricted calorie diet, which is exactly what Darden advocates, and I remember how painful my joints and muscles became. Darden says his method is very hard work, and I'd say the only reason it would feel hard is the body going through such shock of massive calorie deficits.

Darden surprsingly doesn't mention protein as being important, which is the one thing all muscle building diets tell you is vital. Instead, half your calories will come from carbs. There are other strategies he advocates like cold baths and exposing your body to colder temperatures often.

This book is linked to Men's Health, which is mostly about muscle building and health. Whereas a standard CICO diet only talks about calories, Darden instructs you to lift weights as well, but in a very different way to others. Whilst it's usual to recommend 2-6 gym sessions a week doing multiple sets of lifts for each muscle, Darden only recommends one set at once a week or even longer. Rather than standard lifts and pulls, he has a 30-10-30 method where at the final rep you lower the weights so slowly it takes 30 seconds to reach the bottom. This is really different to anywhere else.

Maybe it's worth doing if you only have access to equipment once a week and need to lose weight fast. I might give it a go during the holidays when I don't have access to a gym.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the book. I felt that the book was easy to understand and broken into different chapters in which it was easy for me to refer back to some earlier notes.

I do not know if the suggestions in this books will work for me, but the way he explains and describes the plans really give me hope and has spurred me into action... I’ve already bought water bottles, signed up for a gym membership and am already visualizing my super fit body in a few months... ok, ok, I do know that I might not be “Super fit” but as long as I can be in a better shape than I am in now, I will consider it a win.

So, back to the book, he has a lot of unique suggestions and ideas that makes sense and he has quite a bit of statistics and scientific terms to back those theories. His workout plans are quite easy to understand and seems easy to follow.

Overall, I would recommend his book to boost your motivation and get you to take action.

Will update my review in a few months time.

[MamaPapa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too scientific for my liking but still an interesting read for anyone who wants to 100% know why their man boobs are not going away😁😁😁

[David Roesener]

I don’t necessarily feel i can truthfully rate a diet book before i try out the recommendations from the book… most of which are laid out in other reviews of this book