Fraud Alert - BodyRx & Dr. A. Scott Connelly BodyRx nearly killed me, Dr. Scottt Connelly phoney military claims, Dr. A. Scott Connelly fired from Hoag Hospital for medical malpractice, Dr. A. Scottt Connelly sued for fraud, Internet

The writer of the previous Fraud Alert has done a great disservice to Dr. Connelly, for a number of reasons.  I will try to explain why, point by point, and will respond to any responders who think I don't know what I'm talking about by filing future rebuttals in greater detail.

First of all, "the diet" did NOT nearly kill you, but your misunderstanding of it and your taking things out of context nearly did (kill you).  In the book BodyRX Dr. Connelly never suggests that you should ingest "unlimited calories," which I suspect you did, increasing your dress size--he mentions, contrary to most popular diet books and regimens, that calories and the boring, meticulous counting of them do NOT matter as much as eating the proper amounts of his recommended nutritionally rich food choices only until hunger is satisfied--not until your stomach is ready to burst.  There's no need to be hungry if you use a little discipline in giving your body the types of calories it needs, but not to excess!

This way you can be assured that during your time of following Dr. Connelly's regimen of diet and proposed exercise/resistance training your body is getting sufficient caloric intake and especially adequate protein for your muscles to utilize in increasing the size or density of the intensely worked muscle groups, without taking in an excess of unhealthy fats and fat calories as well as an excess of sugars and other unhealthy refined carbohydrates--instead replacing these last two with healthy fiber-rich salads, vegetables, some whole grains or even psyllium husk powder to boost the fiber content of your overall diet. Always try to substitute COMPLEX carbs in moderation in place of REFINED carbs as much as humanly possible.  You misread his book if you assumed otherwise.

I disagree, the book is NOT poorly written--although your Fraud Alert is. Sorry, but I don't blame Dr. Connelly for mentioning your spelling and grammar.  On the contrary, I found BodyRX to be EXTREMELY readable, easy to follow, with both food recommendations and exercise regimens spelled out very plainly in layman's terms.  I say this because I have read various bodybuilding magazines and publications over a period of many, many years, and what Dr. Connelly has done--which I have not seen ANYBODY ELSE do, in any other book or publication--is to do a fantastic job of summarizing and distilling the accumulated knowledge of the last 50 or more years of musclebuilding/bodybuilding techniques as well as the most advantageous nutritional recommendations from people like Arnold Schwarzenneger, Joe Weider, Frank Zane, Bob Kennedy and many other "bonified" experts in the health industry still successfully publishing today. 

The problem too often today is that people who want to improve their physique, whether male or female, and who want to eat a healthier diet are overwhelmed with faulty information from all sides--including a well-meaning family doctor such as yours, AND including well-meaning chubby, pink-faced registered dieticians newly graduated from college who know nothing about nutrition except the conventional dietary wisdom which has brought us the disastrous "Food Pyramid" in various forms (such as LOW FAT/HIGH CARB), all of them horribly mistaken and now have been PROVEN by reputable doctors like Arthur Agatston (the South Beach Diet) to have been a deplorable health experiment on the American public which has resulted in an epidemic of obesity and diabetes today, and NONE of which improve or maintain health, as Dr. Connelly's book and its principles certainly will.

I say this because his book and his health regimen have helped me IMMENSELY to bring my dietary cravings under control, to lose all unnecessary weight without using a bathroom scale (which he advises against) and to build plenty of muscle in the process. I am a 60 year old male, keep my weight between 190 and 200 pounds, am 6'2" tall and am strong and healthy enough to work 8-10 hours every day as a carpenter in 5000 ft altitude.  Dr. Connelly's approach, unlike many diet books of years past, is to as rapidly as possible increase the body's LBM, lean body mass, to the person's desired point where the body's own muscle tissue will burn calories 24 hours a day, thus allowing you to more easily MAINTAIN your weight loss one it is attained--not like Oprah's diet of the month club where you AND SHE yo-yo endlessly and unhealthfully up and down ad infinitum. 

Before I forget, for your information, a practicing anesthesiologist such as Dr. Connelly is a medical doctor, and IS A SCIENTIST.  Also, the FTC would probably go after Arnold Schwarzenneger himself if Arnold were to publish a book too closely hinting that he was a qualified bodybuilding "nutritionist."  But I don't think too many people (including the pudgy people at the FTC) doubt his unparalleled expertise in advising ANYONE on how best to eat and which supplements to take, and how much protein, fat, carbs, etc., when trying to achieve any of the goals he himself achieved when he was younger?  I would never judge Dr. Connelly on the basis of what the FTC says.  He knows what he's talking about in regards to bodybuilding, exercise physiology and sports nutrition.

One more thing, about some of the MET-RX products.  There's nothing wrong with aspartame (GRAS), or a trace amount of hydrogenated oil in the mechanical processing of a food product or supplement.  Sometimes it's necessary but not unhealthful in such small quantities.  As to the HFCS high fructose corn syrup, that's unfortunate, and has actually prevented me from purchasing some MET-RX protein bars and powders--but Dr. Connelly himself advises AGAINST the use of such protein bars when you are on any kind of weight loss program because it's counterproductive.  When I read the labels and noticed the sugar content, I put his own Met-Rx products right back on the shelf, and correctly assumed that these products were designed for extremely active teenagers and twenty-somethings who are out there participating in extreme sports of all types and who are not trying to reduce their fat stores, but just trying to keep their carb intake at a certain level for better performance.  That was probably another mistake you made because I suspect you didn't read and comprehend the book or its contents!

Well, I'd better close here.  I've gone on long enough, and will be glad to answer the original report writer as well as anyone else wanting more information about these issues and how they have benefitted my health personally.  In summary, I'm simply trying to point out that Dr. A. Scott Connelly has given to us the American public a tremendously powerful tool that can be used by people from all backgrounds and age groups to effectively lower their weight to a more medically acceptable standard, thereby living longer, healthier, more productive and more satisfying lives.

I HIGHLY ENDORSE this book, BodyRx, and its author, Dr. A. Scott Connelly!