The Romano Factor

My assignment for this issue was to discuss the most extreme/
stupid/dangerous fat-loss strategies I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately, I’d
have the Devil’s own job of containing such material to 100 magazines,
let alone just one issue. I’ve seen and heard of a lot of crazy things.
And, while I’ll get to some of those in a minute, I do think it’s germane
to the issue to discuss why otherwise- sane people would do some of
the things they do to get ripped. The basis for any diet is to shed as much body fat as humanly possible while retaining as much muscle mass as inhumanly possible. Unfortunately, humans are designed to
shed muscle while preserving body fat. Any attempt to shed fat and
preserve muscle is accomplished by fooling Mother Nature, and, as
we all know, it’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. And therein lies the
 devil in the details of contest dieting. It is the root of some very bizarre
behavior and the acceptance of life-or-death situations into which
otherwise-cautious individuals willingly put themselves. In any other pursuit, this would be considered mad. Getting the body to burn fat
 and preserve muscle mass has some pretty well defined and accepted
routes to success, and each year, thousands of competitors around
 the world prove it.

It is when those accepted means are not used or are
used incorrectly or ineffi ciently (i.e., you cheated) that the extreme, stupid, and dangerous are called upon: crazy diuretic cocktails, amphetamines, sitting in a sauna wrapped in plastic, spitting out all your saliva, days without drinking water, eating only protein powder (dry of course), soaking in ice water, four-hour cardio sessions, and the list goes on. So, as available space requires that I choose, I would have to say that the most extreme, stupid, and dangerous fat-loss strategy I’ve ever heard of is the concomitant use of GHB, ecstasy, and DNP. This is nuts not only because misuse of any of these components can be fatal but also because the process is being managed by people literally out of their minds! 

GHB—gamma-hydroxybutyric acid—is known to elevate human growth hormone. One study found that it doubled GH secretion in normal young males. It’s also great for putting you to sleep. Higher doses of GHB cause unconsciousness, making it one of the top three tools in the date rapist’s arsenal. Additionally, an overdose is fatal. GHB’s sleepinducing effects are necessary to calm the jaw-grinding effect of the ecstasy. MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxy-Nmethylamphetamine) or “ecstasy” is used by some as a diet drug—not only for its metabolic rise (increased body temperature) attributed to its amphetamine component but also
because of its diuretic effect. Continuous activity (e.g., dancing
in a club) without suffi cient hydration can cause body temperature to rise, sometimes to dangerous— even fatal—levels. Excessive perspiration while on ecstasy can remove fatal amounts of water from the body.

The stimulatory and euphoric qualities of the ecstasy make it a little difficult to manage. The nail in this proverbial coffin, DNP (dinitrophenol), is actually not a drug at all. It is a harsh industrial chemical used to make dyes and pigments. Its chemical structure is very similar to nitroglycerin (the explosive). In 1931, a Stanford
University study concluded DNP’s effects on shedding body fat, and it
became a popular diet pill. Five or six years later, it was taken off the
market because so many people died from taking it. DNP works by inhibiting the conversion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to energy, expelling the excess energy as heat. It’s basically like poking a hole in a gas tank. Instead of having calories to burn for energy, the calories leak out as heat—so much so that you can cook your insides and die. This insane modality has resulted in some astonishing physiques with very little in the form of dieting and cardio. It’s also created more than just a few funerals I had to attend.

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