"FAT: A DOCUMENTARY is probably the most important film ever made about human nutrition and should be required watching for all doctors, dietitians, diabetics, and anyone who struggles with their health or weight."

~ Coach Becker

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

(5 out of 5 stars)

Finally!!!

Before you read my review of the film, I wanted to share my backstory to give you a bit of context.

After being overweight my entire life no matter what diet or fitness routine I tried... I started my low carb journey in December of 2010 after I read "Four Hour Body" by Tim Ferris.

I lost 70 pounds within the first year and managed to keep most of the weight off for the next couple of years!

In 2013, old habits started creeping back in.

After a failed business venture, a break up, a long distance relationship, and a move to the Midwest... by April of 2015 I realized I had gained half the weight back. 😢😡

I was pretty bummed and disappointed in myself, but my first daughter was due a month later so I committed to getting back on track and losing weight once and for all.

That's when I found the ketogenic diet through a book called "Eat Bacon, Don't Jog" by Grant Petersen.

Those 35 pounds that I had regained over the past year were gone in a matter of 6 weeks!

Then over the next year or so... I went on to lose another 30 pounds for a total of 100 pounds of body fat lost from my highest point!

Also during that time I really became interested in health and nutrition... after all... I became a first time dad at 41 years old and I want to be around to watch my daughter grow up (I now have two little girls).

At first... all I cared about was losing weight because I hated being fat.

I'll admit, when I first went low carb back in 2010, I was a little worried in the back of my mind that all the fat I was eating may not be healthy for me long term, but I didn't care because I looked and felt better than ever.

But now that I was a dad... my health, and the health of my family is of the utmost importance.

The more books and articles I read, videos I watched on YouTube, podcasts I listened to, and research I did... the more convinced I became that traditional dieting advice is keeping us fat and sick and the low carb lifestyle is absolutely the healthiest way of eating there is.

Not only did I lose 100 pounds and 10 inches off my waist...

• I no longer have high blood pressure
• I am no longer pre-diabetic
• My HDL cholesterol more than doubled
• My triglycerides were cut in half
• I have endless energy
• My digestive issues completely cleared up
• I sleep like a rock
• My man-boobs have been replaced by pecs and I am by far in the best shape of my life at 45 years old.

Many of my friends in the photo community were blown away with my transformation and started asking for advice... so I started a little side hustle coaching people on how to adopt a low carb lifestyle to lose weight and improve their health.

I also got certified through the Primal Health Coach Institute and learned so much of the science behind how the human body functions and it confirmed everything I had been reading on my own.

Here's the thing though... even though I made this incredible transformation with my weight and my health improved considerably... friends, family members, and even strangers would make comments like "saturated fat isn't good for you" and "you're gonna die of a heart attack".

All of a sudden they became nutrition expert and were concerned about my health?!?!

No one seemed to care when I was crushing Pop Tarts, pizza, and fast food on the regular, but God forbid I put some grass fed butter on my grass fed steak!

That's why this review is titled "Finally", because now I can simply tell people to watch this film and they'll get the gist of what I have been learning about health and nutrition for the past 4 years.

If they get nothing else out of watching the film... hopefully they'll realize there is no reason to fear saturated fat and cholesterol.

On to the review...

About the film:

You know how when you are really looking forward to a film long in advance of it's release... and then when you finally see it... you end up feeling disappointed?

Well that IS NOT the case with this movie!

I first heard of this film over a year ago from the Fitness Confidential podcast hosted by Vinnie Tortorich.

Vinnie is a personal trainer and fitness expert turned podcaster and he is famous for his "No Sugar, No Grains" (#NSNG) approach to diet.

He regularly interviews doctors, nutrition experts, scientists, and journalist on his podcast and there is a wealth of information if you listen to the archives.

Unfortunately not everyone has hours upon hours of time to listen to each and every episode, so he had the idea to make a movie that would sum it all up in a nice 90-minute documentary.

He crowdfunded the film on Indiegogo and took no money from corporate sponsors so that no one can accuse him of being biased or influenced by industry.

In Summary:

This films starts out interviewing an dad who's one year old son had a severe case of epilepsy and suffered regular seizures on a daily basis.

The doctors prescribed drugs, suggested brain surgery, and basically said there is nothing they could do and the young man would be afflicted with this condition for the duration of his life.

By chance, the dad visited the hospital library and just happened to stumble across the ketogenic diet and how it might help.

Research suggested it "cured" about 1/3 of the patients, helped another third, and it didn't help 1/3 of those who tried it, but the doctors never even brought it up as a possible treatment option?!?!

He took matters into his own hands, put his son on a ketogenic diet, and within 2 days, the seizures stopped! 

The movie then goes on to interview doctors, researchers, journalists, and other experts to explain: 

• How many of the nutritional myths began
• How the science behind the current dietary guidelines is flawed
• How media contributes to the confusion surrounding nutrition
• How the food industry is only interested in selling food and isn't concerned with your health.
• How the medical establishment is set up to to treat sickness with medicine (as opposed to preventing illness with food).

The movie shows how politicians in the late 1970's decided to recommend a low fat diet to prevent heart disease even though the science was far from settled.

It was a great big experiment where the American public were unwitting participants and the experiment has failed. Ever since the US government recommended people cut back on fat and increase their consumption of sugar and grains, the diabetes and obesity rates have skyrocketed in a matter of one generation. 

The movie wraps up going back to dad from the beginning of the film explaining how pissed off he is that none of the doctors he ever went to brought up diet, but instead they just recommended drugs and surgery.

By the way, his kid grew up to lead a normal life and now teaches elementary school.

Key Takeaways:

• There is not a single shred of credible evidence showing that saturated fat or cholesterol causes heart disease. None. Nada. Zilch.
• Cholesterol is essential. If you eat less cholesterol, your body will make more. If you eat more cholesterol, your body will make less.
• LDL cholesterol is not a good marker of a person's risk for heart disease. The ratio between HDL and Triglycerides is a much better predictor.
• The American Heart Association should not be trusted.
• Neither should the American Diabetes Association or the American Cancer Society for that matter.
• There is no such thing as heart healthy whole grains. You can make the argument that whole grains are better for you than refined white flour, just as filter cigarettes are better for you than unfiltered cigarettes, but that doesn't make them good for you.
• Cancer cells feed on sugar.
• The media can't be trusted to tell the truth. All they care about it ratings/traffic and pleasing their advertisers.
• The government policy to recommend a low fat diet was a bad idea... "They couldn't have screwed it up more if they tried" 
• The medical community views you as a customer, not a patient. If you go on a ketogenic diet, you will be worth a lot less to them over the course of your life.
• Most doctors don't have a clue about nutrition and are not taught about it in medical school.
• There will never be a day where the government comes out and admits they were wrong... could you imagine the class action lawsuit that would follow?
• Instead, it's up to you to take matters into your own hands and take responsibility for your own health.

Disclaimer:

Confirmation bias (noun): the tendency to interpret new evidence as confirmation of one's existing beliefs or theories.

I freely admit I suffer from confirmation bias. This movie completely lines up with what I already believe about health and nutrition and that is probably why I think this movie is fantastic and should be watched by everyone.

The information shared in this film also completely contradicts the dietary guidelines given by the US government and the medical establishment, but I think it makes a some pretty solid arguments.

I suggest you at least watch the film with an open mind and consider the possibility that what you think you know about health and nutrition may not be based in solid science.

Funny Thing:

This movie was released 2 weeks ago and already climbed to the top 10 on iTunes (and number 1 in the documentaries category), yet I haven't seen a single media outlet mention it once?

I haven't seen it on the news, no major magazines or newspapers have mentioned or reviewed it... it's like no one wants you to see this film and that should make you wonder?!?!

Big business does not want you to see this film and they certainly don't want you to go low carb.

When you you adopt a low carb lifestyle... you'll end up spending a lot less money on processed food and you end up spending a whole lot less on health care over the course of your life. (Follow the money!)

For years I have known that the conventional wisdom surrounding diet and health is completely backwards and this film does a fantastic job explaining how they got it wrong.

I am very proud to have backed this film and my name even appears in the credits:

This movie was crowdfunded by over 3000 backers whose lives have been transformed once they stopped listening to the traditional dieting advice and embraced fat.