I am constantly referring people to Lyle’s books. From Rapid Fat Loss, to Flexible Dieting to getting in contest ready shape, he is an absolute authority on the science of fat loss, muscle gain, etc. I’ve put all of his books together in one easy to find place right here. He also has a free forum you can join to get more information from people using his products, seeking advice and wisdom and chat with the man yourself.
His forum is at: forums.lylemcdonald.com
Here is his full store: Lyle’s Store
The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook
The world’s only sane crash diet. Details when and why it is appropriate.
About the book
The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook offers a scientifically based approach to quick weight and fat loss. Recognizing that people need or simply want to lose weight and fat rapidly, I set out to develop the safest, most effective way of accomplishing that goal.
I based the program around the idea of creating a diet that would provide the fewest calories possible while still providing all of the essential nutrients required by the body: protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. This provides simply the safest and sanest way to lose fat quickly without sacrificing health (or muscle mass).
Every aspect about how to set up the diet is laid out in a step by step form and the diet is based around whole foods that can be found at any market. With purchase of the book, you’ll also receive instructions for how to access an online calculator that will set up the diet and provide food recommendations.
As well, the diet also incorporates concepts I’ve discussed on this site: free meals, refeeds and full diet breaks to help with both adherence and the body’s tendency to fight back when dieting. Guidelines are provided for when to take them, how to use them, etc.
In addition, guidelines for moving back to maintenance, as well as for using the program to transition into a more moderate fat loss diet are provided in detail.
Specific training guidelines are also provided in order to provide the best results with the least time investment. Massive amounts of exercise aren’t needed; quite in fact, too much exercise while on the rapid fat loss program can hinder results. Quite in fact, for the extremely overweight, no exercise is actually required to reap the benefits of the program.
The book provides specific recommendations (for everyone from beginners to advanced trainees) for both resistance training and aerobic activity in terms of how often and how much will provide the best results.
As well, realizing that most people can’t or won’t join a gym, I developed a small home-exercise handbook outlining a basic routine that can be followed with no or minimal equipment. This is included with your purchase as a digital download.
A Guide to Flexible Dieting
This is my go-to book with clients, especially those wondering how to “diet” without “dieting”. It’s about learning how to eat less, manipulate your calorie intake the most effective way without eliminating food groups, buying goofy supplements or anything else “fad-ish”.
About the book
I based the program around the idea of creating a diet that would provide the fewest calories possible while still providing all of the essential nutrients required by the body: protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. This provides simply the safest and sanest way to lose fat quickly without sacrificing health (or muscle mass).
Every aspect about how to set up the diet is laid out in a step by step form and the diet is based around whole foods that can be found at any market. With purchase of the book, you’ll also receive instructions for how to access an online calculator that will set up the diet and provide food recommendations.
As well, the diet also incorporates concepts I’ve discussed on this site: free meals, refeeds and full diet breaks to help with both adherence and the body’s tendency to fight back when dieting. Guidelines are provided for when to take them, how to use them, etc. In addition, guidelines for moving back to maintenance, as well as for using the program to transition into a more moderate fat loss diet are provided in detail.
Specific training guidelines are also provided in order to provide the best results with the least time investment. Massive amounts of exercise aren’t needed; quite in fact, too much exercise while on the rapid fat loss program can hinder results. Quite in fact, for the extremely overweight, no exercise is actually required to reap the benefits of the program.
The book provides specific recommendations (for everyone from beginners to advanced trainees) for both resistance training and aerobic activity in terms of how often and how much will provide the best results.
Applied Nutrition for Mixed Sports
If, like me, you enjoy several different types of activity with completely different nutritional needs ( for me it’s weight lifting and cycling) then this book will help you put together a solid nutrition plan to meet both needs.
About the book / DVD
Please note: The DVDs have no regional encoding and should play on any DVD player or computer with DVD capabilities.
The Protein Book
How much protein do you really need? This is a question that gets bantered back and forth by fitness professionals and the answer is “it depends”. This book will answer all those questions definitively for you.
About the book
The Stubborn Fat Solution
We all have stubborn fat, the last layer of protective padding and if you are trying to get lean for competition, photo shoots, etc. this will help you out.
About the book
While the protocols are primarily training based, the impact of diet on stubborn fat loss is also discussed and information on how best to incorporate the four protocols into your current training and diet program are examined. And while none are required, several beneficial supplements are also discussed.
Please note: Like The Ultimate Diet 2.0, The Stubborn Fat Solution is aimed at lean dieters trying to achieve extreme levels of leanness. Until men are 10-12% body fat and females are ~15-17% body fat, the information in this book is not necessary (although it will still be informative).
The Ketogenic Diet
Are you into low-carb? This is for you:
About the book
Covering every topic in extreme detail, The Ketogenic Diet addresses everything from the basic physiology of how the body adapts to a low-carbohydrate intake, the details of human fuel utilization, the impact of low-carbohydrate diets on body composition and many, many more.
Please note: this book does not include information on the ketogenic diet for adolescent epilepsy (the topic is discussed briefly). I highly suggest The Ketogenic Diet: A Treatment for Epilepsy, 3rd Edition (Paperback) by Freeman, Freeman and Kelly (link will take you to Amazon.com page).
The Ultimate Diet 2.0 (UD 2.)
Advanced Cyclical Dieting for Super-Leanness.
About the book
Please note: the UD2 is an advanced diet for advanced dieters and is only for those seeking very low levels of body fat. A male should be at 12-15% body fat or lower and females at 21-24% body fat or lower prior to considering the UD2. As well trainees must have at least 6 months of consistent training in the weight room under their belt before they even consider the UD2.
Bromocriptine
An old drug with new uses
About the book
Bromocriptine is a dopamine agonist drug (meaning that it acts like dopamine in the brain) that has been used for over three decades for the treatment of a number of conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, acromegaly (the disease Andre “The Giant” had), and overproduction of the hormone prolactin. You may be wondering what this has to do with the topic of body composition.
As I discuss in many of my articles and other books, the body regulates factors such as body weight, composition and appetite through a variety of hormones such as insulin and leptin. It turns out that those hormones exert at least part of their effect through dopamine levels in the brain. When people diet, dopamine levels drop in the brain and this is responsible for many of the effects (such as lowered metabolic rate, increased hunger, etc.) that occur.
My book Bromocriptine starts by outlining the systems that regulate body weight and fat levels before explaining how the drug bromocriptine can “trick” the body into thinking that it’s not dieting so that metabolic rate doesn’t slow, hunger is decreased, etc. Side effects, dosing and everything else related to the drug and how it can be used for various purposes related to body composition are outlined in detail in the book.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Defining the Problem
Chapter 2: How your Body Knows
Chapter 3: Leptin Resistance
Chapter 4: Bromocriptine
Chapter 5: What Bromocriptine Does
Chapter 6: How Bromocriptine Works
Chapter 7: Using Bromocriptine, Part 1
Chapter 8: Side-effects and Risks
Chapter 9: Using Bromocriptine, Part 2
Chapter 10: Miscellaneous Miscellany
Appendix 1: The FDA and Bromocriptine
Frequently Asked Questions
References Cited
The Women’s Book Vol 1
A Guide to Nutrition, Fat Loss, and Muscle Gain
About the book
The Women’s Book Volume 1 is the first book to comprehensively examine women’s unique physiology as it pertains to diet, nutrition and fat loss. It examine the baseline physiological differences between women and men (for whom most advice has traditionally been geared) along with all aspects of basic nutrition, sports nutrition, fat loss and muscle gain.
This will allow women to truly optimize all aspects of their nutrition for optimal health and results . The impact of the menstrual cycle, hormonal birth control, PCOS, menstrual cycle dysfunction and the changes that occur at menopause are all addressed.
Please Note: Ten percent from every sale will be donated to The Women’s Sports Foundation, a 501c3 charity founded by Billie Jean King dedicated to creating leaders by ensuring all girls access to sports.
In addition to all this, you’ll see that on his page he gives a $10 discount for buying 2 or more books. The first two books I ever bought from him were “The Rapid Fat Loss Solution” and “The Guide to Flexible Dieting” and I use them to this day in reference for myself and my clients. I cannot recommend his products highly enough.
About the Book
A Guide to Flexible Dieting
This is my go-to book with clients, especially those wondering how to “diet” without “dieting”. It’s about learning how to eat less, manipulate your calorie intake the most effective way without eliminating food groups, buying goofy supplements or anything else “fad-ish”.
About the Book
The Rapid Fat Loss Handbook offers a scientifically based approach to quick weight and fat loss. Recognizing that people need or simply want to lose weight and fat rapidly, I set out to develop the safest, most effective way of accomplishing that goal.
I based the program around the idea of creating a diet that would provide the fewest calories possible while still providing all of the essential nutrients required by the body: protein, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. This provides simply the safest and sanest way to lose fat quickly without sacrificing health (or muscle mass).
Every aspect about how to set up the diet is laid out in a step by step form and the diet is based around whole foods that can be found at any market. With purchase of the book, you’ll also receive instructions for how to access an online calculator that will set up the diet and provide food recommendations.
As well, the diet also incorporates concepts I’ve discussed on this site: free meals, refeeds and full diet breaks to help with both adherence and the body’s tendency to fight back when dieting. Guidelines are provided for when to take them, how to use them, etc.
In addition, guidelines for moving back to maintenance, as well as for using the program to transition into a more moderate fat loss diet are provided in detail.
Specific training guidelines are also provided in order to provide the best results with the least time investment. Massive amounts of exercise aren’t needed; quite in fact, too much exercise while on the rapid fat loss program can hinder results. Quite in fact, for the extremely overweight, no exercise is actually required to reap the benefits of the program.
The book provides specific recommendations (for everyone from beginners to advanced trainees) for both resistance training and aerobic activity in terms of how often and how much will provide the best results.
As well, realizing that most people can’t or won’t join a gym, I developed a small home-exercise handbook outlining a basic routine that can be followed with no or minimal equipment. This is included with your purchase as a digital download.
Applied Nutrition for Mixed Sports
If, like me, you enjoy several different types of activity with completely different nutritional needs ( for me it’s weight lifting and cycling) then this book will help you put together a solid nutrition plan to meet both needs.
About the Book/DVD
Applied Nutrition for Mixed Sports examines the topic of nutrition for what are referred to as mixed sports. This includes almost all team sports along with many individual sports such as boxing, mixed martial arts and some track and field events.
Basically any sport that has requirements for both endurance and strength/power is considered a mixed sport. Because of the often odd nature of performance requirements, optimizing nutrition for these sports often presents problems that aren’t seen in either the pure strength/power or pure endurance sports.
The book, as well as the accompanying 2 DVD set, approaches the problem in an applied fashion building up the topic of nutrition from the ground up to present a comprehensive examination of how mixed sports athletes can optimize their nutrition.
This product started life as a seminar I did in Vancouver at Simon Fraser University in 2009 for their football and soccer teams on applied sports nutrition. But rather than just slap the DVD together with the handouts and slides, I decided to write a complete stand alone book (derived primarily from the handouts). Of course, the original DVD seminar is included along with the Powerpoint slides and the full package includes everything shown below.
Please note: The DVDs have no regional encoding and should play on any DVD player or computer with DVD capabilities.
The Protein Book
How much protein do you really need? This is a question that gets bantered back and forth by fitness professionals and the answer is “it depends”. This book will answer all those questions definitively for you.
About the Book
The Protein Book is a comprehensive look at the issue of protein intake for both strength/power and endurance athletes. Coaches looking for the latest scientific developments in terms of optimizing protein nutrition for their athletes as well as athletes looking for answers to their questions will find them all covered in complete detail.
Questions about protein such as: How much protein do athletes need?What’s the best protein? and When should protein be consumed around training for optimal results?†and many others are asked continuously by both athletes and coaches looking to optimize their sports nutrition.
As with most topics pertaining to sports nutrition, the answers to the above questions are context dependent. The type of sport, the goals of the athlete, the specifics of the situation all determine how much protein is required, what protein might be optimal, etc. No single recommendation can possibly be appropriate for all athletes under all situations.
With over 200 pages and over 500 scientific references, no questions about optimal protein intake for athletes remain unanswered.
The Stubborn Fat Solution
We all have stubborn fat, the last layer of protective padding and if you are trying to get lean for competition, photo shoots, etc. this will help you out.
About the Book
The problem of stubborn body fat (typically the abdominals/low back for men and hips and thighs for women) is one that lean dieters have been trying to deal with for decades. Various simple explanations (typically involving estrogen) have been offered but the results from these simple approaches have been, at best, poor. This is a place where simple is simply wrong.
As it turns out, stubborn fat is stubborn for a number of inter-related physiological reasons, all of which conspire to make its elimination difficult (and for some, seemingly impossible). The Stubborn Fat Solution is the first book to scientifically examine the causes of stubborn body fat in extreme detail. From receptor type and number, blood flow, the propensity to both store and release fat, the physiology of stubborn fat is dissected in detail. The role of hormones and diet is also discussed.
Of course, all of the physiological verbiage is useless without solutions and The Stubborn Fat Solution provides those as well. The book describes four specific protocols aimed at optimally mobilizing and burning off stubborn fat.
While the protocols are primarily training based, the impact of diet on stubborn fat loss is also discussed and information on how best to incorporate the four protocols into your current training and diet program are examined. And while none are required, several beneficial supplements are also discussed.
Please note: Like The Ultimate Diet 2.0, The Stubborn Fat Solution is aimed at lean dieters trying to achieve extreme levels of leanness. Until men are 10-12% body fat and females are ~15-17% body fat, the information in this book is not necessary (although it will still be informative).
The Ketogenic Diet
Are you into low-carb? This is for you:
About the Book
Very low-carbohydrate (aka ketogenic) diets such as The Atkins Diet, Protein Power and The South Beach Diet have come and gone repeatedly over the years and there is currently great research and real-world interest in their effects. Unfortunately, altogether too much misinformation exists regarding them.
Folks who are pro-low-carbohydrate diets tend to present them as the quick and easy solution to everything including obesity. Easy weight loss without hunger or calorie counting is promised but never seems to pan out as well as we might hope.
At the other extreme are the anti-low-carbohydrate folks who tend to present low-carbohydrate diets as nothing short of a nutritional disaster being perpetrated by a bunch of con men.
The truth, of course lies somewhere in the middle. While low-carbohydrate diets aren’t for everyone and have their pros and cons, the research is clear: they have major benefits under certain circumstances and can be as healthy (and sometimes healthier) than standard carbohydrate based dieting.
The Ketogenic Diet is the first and only book to objectively examine in-depth the scientific evidence regarding low-carbohydrate/ketogenic diets. It is meant to be a reference manual for low-carbohydrate diets; it is unlike any other book on low-carbohydrate diets that you have ever read or seen.
Covering every topic in extreme detail, The Ketogenic Diet addresses everything from the basic physiology of how the body adapts to a low-carbohydrate intake, the details of human fuel utilization, the impact of low-carbohydrate diets on body composition and many, many more.
Of course, none of the above is useful without practical application guidelines. Details on how to optimize low-carbohydrate diets for different goals (such as fat loss, bodybuilding and endurance performance) are discussed along with three distinct types of low-carbohydrate diets. In addition, the book includes a complete discussion of resistance, aerobic and anaerobic exercise physiology along with specific training programs for different goals and different levels of trainee
At 325 pages and containing over 600 scientific references, this will be your complete reference for ketogenic diets.
Please note: this book does not include information on the ketogenic diet for adolescent epilepsy (the topic is discussed briefly). I highly suggest The Ketogenic Diet: A Treatment for Epilepsy, 3rd Edition (Paperback) by Freeman, Freeman and Kelly (link will take you to Amazon.com page).
The Ultimate Diet 2.0 (UD 2.)
Advanced Cyclical Dieting for Super-Leanness
About the Book
When trying to diet to extremely low levels of body fat, muscle mass and performance loss, crashing hormones, runaway hunger and others are perennial difficulties that the non-genetic elite (or natural) dieter has to face.
The Ultimate Diet 2.0 (UD2) provides the answer to all of those problems and more. Building on previous cyclical diets such as the original Ultimate Diet by Dan Duchaine and Michael Zumpano, as well as Bodyopus, the UD2 includes a full discussion of the physiological hurdles that dieters must clear to reach their goals of extremely low body fat levels.
Based around cutting edge research into bodyweight regulation, calorie partitioning and more, The Ultimate Diet 2.0 is a coordinated program of training, nutrition and supplements that will let the most genetically average individual sidestep the problems I mentioned above.
Every aspect of the training cycle, what to eat, how to train and what supplements to take are described in detail. As well, modifications to the diet for different goals are described as well. Variations for powerlifters, endurance athletes and those seeking mass gains are detailed as well.
Please note: the UD2 is an advanced diet for advanced dieters and is only for those seeking very low levels of body fat. A male should be at 12-15% body fat or lower and females at 21-24% body fat or lower prior to considering the UD2. As well trainees must have at least 6 months of consistent training in the weight room under their belt before they even consider the UD2.
Bromocriptine
An old drug with new uses
About the Book
Bromocriptine is a dopamine agonist drug (meaning that it acts like dopamine in the brain) that has been used for over three decades for the treatment of a number of conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, acromegaly (the disease Andre “The Giant” had), and overproduction of the hormone prolactin. You may be wondering what this has to do with the topic of body composition.
As I discuss in many of my articles and other books, the body regulates factors such as body weight, composition and appetite through a variety of hormones such as insulin and leptin. It turns out that those hormones exert at least part of their effect through dopamine levels in the brain. When people diet, dopamine levels drop in the brain and this is responsible for many of the effects (such as lowered metabolic rate, increased hunger, etc.) that occur.
My book Bromocriptine starts by outlining the systems that regulate body weight and fat levels before explaining how the drug bromocriptine can “trick” the body into thinking that it’s not dieting so that metabolic rate doesn’t slow, hunger is decreased, etc. Side effects, dosing and everything else related to the drug and how it can be used for various purposes related to body composition are outlined in detail in the book.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Defining the Problem
Chapter 2: How your Body Knows
Chapter 3: Leptin Resistance
Chapter 4: Bromocriptine
Chapter 5: What Bromocriptine Does
Chapter 6: How Bromocriptine Works
Chapter 7: Using Bromocriptine, Part 1
Chapter 8: Side-effects and Risks
Chapter 9: Using Bromocriptine, Part 2
Chapter 10: Miscellaneous Miscellany
Appendix 1: The FDA and Bromocriptine
Frequently Asked Questions
References Cited
In addition to all this, you’ll see that on his page he gives a $10 discount for buying 2 or more books. The first two books I ever bought from him were “The Rapid Fat Loss Solution” and “The Guide to Flexible Dieting” and I use them to this day in reference for myself and my clients. I cannot recommend his products highly enough.