I’ve posted before about Josh Bezoni’s 7 Day Belly Blast Diet program. Josh is relaunching the program on October 4 and I just got my hands on a review copy of the program. I did not get the updated version (it’s not currently available), I was given a copy of the original program, so that’s what I have to review. With that said, here’s what I have to say about the program:

*It appears this review got a little long…so if you’re not interested in reading the entire thing, my overall verdict is that it’s not worth buying. If you’re looking for a long term, sustainable guide to proper nutrition that will show you how to lose 3-10lbs in the first week (the same as 7DBBD, just more realistic with the claims), watch this video.

This program will work, and you will lose fat by following it – but there are better options out there. And I know I could make a ton of money by promoting it and saying it’s great, but I just can’t, because it’s not. So I’ll sacrifice my commissions and my relationships to tell you the truth, that I just can’t recommend this program even though it works.

**If that’s made you decide not to read my almost 3,500 word review, at least read the bold part of my section below where I review the fast abs manual – you can get something free by just leaving a comment below (use the find/search function in your browser search for “comment” to find it easily).

7 Day Belly Blast Diet Manual

I went reviewed this guide last (went through all the smaller ones first), and then realized after writing out the rest of the mini-reviews that all those bonus reports…are actually included in the main manual. I guess Josh is relying on the fact that almost no one actually reads through the entire thing? But it covers stuff that the “bonuses” don’t, so I’ll talk about those sections.

Josh shares some good advice – on mindset, confidence boosting, etc. It’s a very important part of getting in shape, so it’s good that he covers it. Along with that he shares a number of his success stories to motivate, inspire & encourage you.

And then it gets into the stuff I’m not so fond of. First come the conspiracies. Everyone is out to get you, and everyone wants to make you fat. And once they’ve made you fat, they want to keep you fat so you’ll keep buying stuff to get thin.

Everyone is working together – all making each other rich while making you fat and miserable. At least, that’s what Josh wants you to think. You see, by making everyone else out to get you, he’s the hero – the good guy. And hopefully that will make you look up to him, become a fan of his, and buy everything he recommends.

Good marketing – but it’s crap. The big food companies aren’t out to get you – they’re out for money. And guess what? The general population buys junk food and things that are unhealthy for short term enjoyment.

They’re not trying to make you fat – they’re just trying to make money. And the problem is, we as a culture like to spend money on garbage, so they provide garbage for us to buy. The “toxic chemicals” & “obesity additives” they lace our food with – is what we like eat. It’s not a conspiracy, it’s bad judgement on the part of the consumer.

And speaking of obesity additives, Josh is pretty big on those. They’re the big problem with our food. According to Josh, there are “obesity additives” in a lot of our food and they’re addictive, so we’re addicted to these obesity additives and it’s all the fault of the big companies that are getting rich off our struggles! NOT.

Look, our culture is big on sugary items. It’s what we grow up eating, it’s what we enjoy, and so it’s what sells. In Mexico they make candy with chili pepper in it. In Mexico people like spice. So what is in all the Mexican food? Spice.

Is that a conspiracy? No, it’s a culture. It’s not anybody’s fault but your own. So get it out of your head that everyone’s out to get you. Josh devotes a lot of time to proving the conspiracy that doesn’t exist, so that entire section gets a big thumbs down from me.

The “Commandments” are basic nutrition inf covered in every good nutrition guide. All except #6, which is my biggest complaint about the entire program – calorie confusion.

The entire program is based around calorie confusion. Calorie confusion is changing up how many calories you consume every week, before your body “figures out” what’s going on. In essence, you confuse your body by changing up how much you eat every week.

WHAT? First of all, you can’t confuse your body – it doesn’t have a brain. Second of all, why is this the first time I’ve heard of this? If this is the secret, then how come I eat healthy, I don’t keep track of my calories at all and I’m in great shape?

How come billions of people have been healthy and fit without changing how much they eat every week?

Why? Because calorie confusion doesn’t work – it doesn’t exist. You know why this program works? Because of solid basic nutritional principles. Plenty of other programs teach you how to eat right, and as long as you’re eating good food and getting a fair amount of exercise, you’ll lose weight. You don’t need to confuse your body. In fact, that’s harder because it requires you to keep track of your calories, which I never recommend unless you’re a professional bodybuilder, model or some profession where you need to go all out. There’s just no need to add that extra stress.

Now will the program work? Yes. Yes it will. But it’s a flawed method that actually makes zero sense – it’s just a ploy to get you to buy his nutrition guide over someone else’s.

7 Day Belly Blast Diet Quick Start Guide

Josh Bezoni’s stuff reminds me a lot of Joel Marion. I think Joel worked with Josh and and their products have been structured very similarly, including their graphics. They both overhype things, make insignificant things sound exciting (until you find out what they actually are), and both take an approach to fitness and health that I don’t appreciate.

The first thing mentioned in the fast start guide is…supplements. They make it seem like the most important thing for you to do is order your supplements, because those are really gonna make or break the program.

That’s just stupid. You don’t need supplements, and if the program requires them to get the results promised, that’s called deceit and hype. It doesn’t matter if you explain it away by saying that your supplements replace groceries because you eat less so it’s actually cheaper (not by my math), you don’t need supplements and when someone tells me they’re vital to the program it makes me all the more likely to not buy the supplements.

At least Josh isn’t as pushy about supplements as Joel, but I still don’t like how often they seem to show up. I prefer the way Tom Venuto approaches supplements – they’re after you’ve already got a solid program. They come at the end, after you understand everything else.

The rest of the guide is a good summary of the program. I don’t agree with one major part of the program, but that’s covered above.

7 Day Belly Blast Success Tracker

I think Josh did a great job with this. It’s not the average “here’s a sheet where you can fill out what you did each day” and some tips on making before and after pictures. Sure, that’s included, but the success tracker is 240 pages long – I expected 15.

He’s got tips on success, inspirational stories of other people that succeeded, etc. I think this stuff is important. Personally I would prefer all the extra info in a separate guide, but I think for some people (I’m “wired” a lot different than most people) the way he’s structured it could really help them succeed.

And you don’t have to be overwhelmed by the size because it’s only a little bit for each day – it’s not meant to be read through all in one sitting. It’s setup so as you go through your transformation, you get advice specifically for that point in your journey.

I give Josh an A+ on the success tracker.

37 Foods that Kill Belly Fat

The first section discusses beverages – pretty much saying all the common stuff is horrendous for your body…which is pretty much true. He goes on to recommend expensive low sugar health drinks (typical) and tea. I find it interesting that his main focus in his drink choices is sugar. It’s all about how much sugar it has in it – but not all sugar is created equal, and just because it doesn’t have much sugar doesn’t mean it fights belly fat.

The next section is breads, where he bashes all bread with hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup. Nothing new, we hear it every day. For his bread recommendations he basically says “look for 100% whole gran”. Revolutionary (sarcasm).

Cereals are the same deal as breads. Sugary cereal bad, whole grain cereal good.

For condiments again he targets those with high fructose corn syrup and MSG. Of course the recommended ones are the organic and all natural condiments. Still nothing you haven’t heard before.

When he gets into dairy he may mention things you haven’t heard of – like switching to almond milk. But other than that, it’s the same basic guidelines…go organic and natural, avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup.

Then we get into snacks. Of course Doritos, chocolate bars, etc. are bad for us (we all already know that) and nuts & all natural/organic foods are good for us.

What’s interesting about this is that most people are somewhat allergic to nuts. Even if you don’t have serious allergy you’re probably slightly allergic to nuts because all nuts contain small amounts of mold. So although nuts may not make you fat, they don’t necessarily make you feel as good as you could. If you currently eat a lot of nuts, try cutting them out of your diet and see if it makes it a difference in how you feel.

If you feel the same, then keep eating nuts. If you feel better without nuts, you may want to consider whether or not it’s worth eating them.

Back to the guide. Sweeteners come up next. This one’s obvious. Artificial sweeteners = basic, “natural” sweeteners = good. He lists some of the ones that are good, though he doesn’t mention Stevia, which is the sweetener recommended by most fitness professionals.

Then he’s got his miscellaneous section which is basically the common sense you’ve already learned.

Essentially this guide can be summed up with “If it says organic, it’s good. If it’s got high fructose corn syrup, MSG, hydrogenated oils or sugar it’s bad”. I don’t necessarily agree with that, but this post is already getting to be lengthy so I don’t have space to argue here.

7 Day Belly Blast Diet Pre-Program Checklist

The checklist consists of two pages of you must buy these snacks and supplements to get fast results (aka make me some more money before you start the program) and a two page grocery list filled with things I’ve never purchased.

If you’re going to follow the program, the grocery list is useful – but don’t EVER feel like you need supplements to get great results (or fast results). Yes, they can help – but they’re not as magical as they’re made out to be.

Weight Loss Supplement Review

I almost laughed reading this pdf. Almost. Then I almost cried because people probably actually fall for it. This 15 page “review” guide is more look “weight loss supplement hype”. There’s a lot of “your cells are dying, the air you breath is toxic, your food is killing you – so you need 8 supplements or you’re gonna DIE!”

It’s a lot of doom and gloom about how bad everything is so you gotta have supplements to have a healthy body. He basically says they’re essential – and they’re not. I don’t use supplements. I only use supplements to test them out, usually to review them because a company asked me to. Guess what? I’m healthy, fit, strong, feel great and almost never get sick.

My impression from this pdf is that it was not written to help you achieve your goals or get a better body…it was written to sell “specially formulated, superior” supplements.

Then he has some wonderful (not) tips that I guess are supposed to help you get better results. The last supplement he recommends is cinnamon, which – by the way – is not a supplement, it’s a SPICE to be added to your food. But that’s besides the point. After he recommends cinnamon, has a tip.

WARNING: ANGRY RANT IMMINENT

Wait – so you’re saying that if I fill my house with sugary breakfast cereals and my kids don’t choose healthier options, the obvious solution is to add cinnamon to the cereal?

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! Whatever happened to parenting? You know that thing where you raise your kids, make some decisions for them while they’re growing up and learning what’s best for them?

There are a number of things you could do before adding cinnamon to sugary cereal. First being to maybe not buy the cereal in the first place? Or God forbid we actually deny our kids something that’s bad for them and only allow them to have sugary cereal once in a while.

Saying that your kids won’t opt for the healthier options is like saying that the kids make all the decisions in the house. What on earth is happening to America that we even think like that? You have control over yourself, and if you’re a parent, it’s your job to raise your kids – and that includes making some decisions for them and NOT giving them everything they want.

If you listen to everything in this pdf you’ll probably start thinking “Oh it’s ok if I eat sugary cereal, I’ll just add cinnamon. Plus if I drink three or four cups of green tea every day I won’t get fat because one of the antioxidants in green tea was shown to prevent obesity in animals. Then if I take another 5 supplements I’ll be invincible and can do whatever I want!”

That’s the impression I get from Josh’s supplement “review” guide. Sorry if it sounds harsh – I’m sure I could make more sales (= more money) by saying it’s the best guide ever and saying everything about 7BBD is great, but to be honest I’m not here to make friends. I actually want to help you, and this pdf will not help you.

Inspirational Success Video

Review coming soon…

7 Deadly Sins of Diet Scams

These scams are really things that in your heart you already know. If it’s too good to be true – especially in regards to fitness – it almost guaranteed is (and if it isn’t, the person that made it will probably become one of the richest, most famous people in the world). Those ab gadgets, belts, etc. are useless and the science backing them is twisted and flawed. Miracle solutions don’t exist, and restrictive solutions don’t work long term (and often don’t even work short term).

Josh goes into more detail than what I’ve just said, but in reality you already know all that. The problem is that most people are good at convincing themselves that the things they know won’t work will work because that would make life so much easier.

7 Day Belly Blast Fast Abs Manual

When I looked at the guide I was surprised to discover that the “full color photos” are actually black and white. Last time I checked, black and white aren’t colors. Whatever, that’s not really important – it’s just a flat out lie that kind of annoys me.

I also find it interesting that he claims these “new techniques” make getting “those attractive, head-turning six pack abs that you’ve always wanted” a snap, yet if you look at a picture of Josh, you’ll probably notice a distinct lack of head turning six pack abs…

But will this guide get you good abs fast? Let’s just say it’s a very deceptively presented manual. This is not a guide to abs, this is just your average resistance routine. It’s got a chest/arms exercise (chest press), shoulder/arms exercise (seated overhead press), multiple arm exercises (bicep curls, tricep kickbacks, one-arm rows), a few leg/core exercises (lunges, squats), a leg exercise (standing heel raises), and two core exercises (double-leg stretch & bicycle).

Now tell me, how is that going to get you abs fast? That focuses mostly on the rest of your body, with some focus on the abs. It’s a standard resistance training workout. Nothing special, nothing that’s going to get you abs super fast. He has a few fairly basic tips that in my opinion don’t make up for the uselessness of this guide. Even his secret trademarked named intensity technique isn’t anything special. Ya, it’ll make his insanely basic routine more effective, but you can find way better routines to follow than this one that will get you abs way faster. I can give you a program that’ll give you abs faster than this one (while still giving you a good full body workout).

In fact if you’re interested, leave a comment below (use your real email address to submit the comment) and I’ll send you my own program for fast abs for free.

How to Lose 11 in Pounds in 7 Days Audio

Review coming soon…

7 Day Belly Blast Challenge Packet

The challenge packet is pretty self explanatory. If you want to try to compete and win some prizes for getting results with 7DBBD this packet gives you all the information you need know about the challenge, how to enter and a few tips on improving your before & after photos, etc.

Thank Bonuses 1 & 2

These “bonuses” are just affiliate promotions. Free offers that are aimed to get you to buy something, generating an affiliate commission. The first is a book on back pain, claiming to be a 7 day cure, but it actually doesn’t “cure” anything, it just gives you a lot of info on back pain without actually giving you the steps to fix it (you gotta actually buy the solutions).

It’s a solid business model, but the title is quite deceiving. Other than the fact that it’s misleading, I have no problem with it. The book was well written an informative – it just didn’t live up to the title. (If you want a link to it, I can give you a link to get the “bonus” without actually buying the program)

The second bonus is something from Kim Lyons, which is “Free to Preferred Belly Blast Diet Customers” (aka free to anyone, but the offer was customized because he has a big enough client base to make it worth the customization to sound like it’s only for his “preferred” people). I haven’t actually checked out this offer, so I have no comments on it other than I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it from Joel Marion and if I looked around I could probably find it.

Summary

In summation, the core concept of calorie confusion is a load of crap, his nutritional advice is solid, and his bonuses are mostly just sections of the core manual copied and pasted into a new PDF. His emphasis on supplements is slightly obnoxious, but not nearly as bad as other people I’ve seen.

Although the program does work and it does get results, I do not recommend it. There are better programs for the same price or less, that accomplish the same thing and more.

Two of those programs are Combat the Fat and The Diet Solution program.

Combat the Fat is one of the most comprehensive fat burning systems, covering hormones, chemicals, workouts, nutrition, mindset & motivation and more. It is based on the fat burning program of the U.S. Military, and it is my favorite weight loss program (I bought a copy of it for my sister).

The Diet Solution is my favorite guide to nutrition. It’s more in-depth than any other program I’ve seen, and the nutrition advice is thoroughly researched. The emphasis of the program is on nutrition – not on exercise – similar to the 7 Day Belly Blast Diet, though much better in my opinion.

Shawn Horwood