Book ReviewContent-A presentation of the galeniko diet, including ancillary chapters on PEDs, the general fatsoness of society, how to maintain on the diet, attacks on various filts (personal trainers, "natural" athletes like Snortin Nortin, so-called gurus, etc.), a bit of content for women, and a couple of other miscellaneous topics.
Pros[1] Galeniko grammar: This booklet is a case study in serving word salad, at times appearing to be a random concatenation of the sorts of bizarre grammatical constructions and recherché expressions found only in galeniko's unique interlanguage. It is rather entertaining: Bodybuilding mag readers are “gulibel”; GH won't make “vicne” goodrum into a monster; mouthwash (recommended as a distraction from one's hunger) is mysteriously called “mouthwater”; at least one chapter is called a 'hapter,' and a whole hapter is dedicated to differentiating “apetite” from hunger (oh, and “brokli” and “choken” are ok on the diet, apparently).
[2] The booklet is chalk full of getbigger-specific references that should be entertaining to any regular member.
[3] The diet is probably pretty effective, but maybe I'll give it a go and update the review based on my results rather than accept the word of the author.
Cons[1] Absolutely horrendous organization: the 'diet itself' chapter is prefaced by an extended talk on steroids, which, one might think, would have been in the 'steroids' chapter; the actual diet isn't even specified until p42; ch12 consists of an attack on a variety of broscientific absurdities, yet this is already done in ch2 – the latter should be a part of the former; galeniko might as well have used dice to determine paragraph location
[2] Too much fluff: this is ostensibly a vehicle for presenting the diet, but ends up being a personal diary of (not particularly interesting) opinions on all manner of utter shit that isn't pertinent to what people are buying the book for. This product should be 30 pages, max. It's like when an 18 year old writes their first term paper at university and feels like they have to include literally every personal opinion that comes to mind, except in this case there wasn't a professor to come down hard on the lowly student.
[3] There is a flat-out contradiction which needs resolving: on p37 the guest contributor claims that one should not get desperately hungry before having another meal; the prescription is to “kill” one's hunger (via consuming something) “the minute” it starts. Meanwhile, on p42 galeniko says that one must fight through initial hunger pangs (called “bangs” in galeniko grammar), because it's after this is done that one enters the “twilight zone” (maximum fat burning and euphoric feelings).
Either one should “kill” the hunger “the minute” it starts, or one should endure through the hunger “bang,” doing whatever it takes to “overcome this initial hunger sensation” (without eating). Which is it?
[4] [1]-[3] evince the need for an editor. This doesn't mean suppressing the galeniko grammar; rather, it means organizing it so that it is more effective (non-random randomness vs. random randomness).
[5] The price is absurd, and not much but fluff has been added from the
perfectly free presentation of the diet here on the forum
[6] Ironmeister isn't given credit for the shops that are used in the booklet
Stuff I'm Unsure Of[1] DNP use is attacked (those willing to use it are labeled “nutcases”). [p5] This is an opinion steeped in the current broscientific consensus on this substance, despite its efficacy and safeness having been established scientifically and broscientifically in the field.
[2] Gal and the guest contributor claim to be “close to competition level bodyfat year round,” [p8] a claim whose evidentiary basis apparently consists solely of obsessive mulling in front of mirrors (true and proper bf% tests verifying this claim would lend a lot of credibility to this claim, and by extension the diet).
[3] A personal attack against Lyle Mcdonald is mounted [ch6], yet as far as I can tell the galeniko diet is a rehashed version of Lyle's “Rapid Fat Loss” diet (
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/the-rapid-fat-loss-handbook ). So, that diet has either been repackaged for this book, or otherwise Lyle stumbled upon the same principles years before galeniko. In neither instance does it make sense to attack the guy (his appearance is literally irrelevant as far as the veracity of his advice goes).
[4] Galeniko claims that one should come off all PEDs before the starting the diet if one is over 10% bf. The justification for this claim is never explicitly stated; if the diet enhances nutrient partition (or 'utilization' or some such) and PEDs preserve muscle, what would be the problem in staying on a moderate dose and jumping on the diet? How would going in cold turkey (hormonally speaking) help anything?
Overall Rating6/10, with room for upward mobility in future iterations
The book is a seeming rehash — consciously or not — of Lyle's diet with an alternative, albeit entertaining, means of expression (the galeniko grammar). Other than that, it is chalk full of the same sort of broscience it attacks (though maybe this broscience is ultimately correct) and contains too much irrelevant fluff that any sane editor would delete (I can say with confidence that nobody on Earth cares about the guest author's folk biological theories on how chins attract women and the like), and the diet is already available for free on the boards.
Unsolicited Advises[1] Get an editor.
[2] Lower the absurd price; this is just an intuition, but a price tag of $5.99-6.99 will probably go a long way in getting price elasticity where it needs to be.
[3] This is the galeniko diet, and the guest contributor adds maybe 5% of the total words written. The diet is as such mislabeled; rebrand it appropriately.
