Iguana's... Home of the Burritozilla right here in San Jose, California.

As the days are counting away from the recent 2008 Nathan's hot dog contest, my closer friends and I started talking about competitive eating evens sanctioned by the I.F.O.C.E./Major League Eating versus eating challenges around the country. Now, we found that not many events are held near San Jose or even Northern California alone, so we start pondering about challenges instead. With the rising costs of gas per gallon, not everyone having a reliable source of transportation, or even a good source of income (broke college students!) our travels are limited. Collectively we all have been fans of competitive eating, this unique spectacle, for roughly over 2 years now. My friend J was happy to compete in the Stockton Asparagus festival this year against many of the elite eaters as a sort of last minute entry into the contest. After that, we had talking back and forth about training for mass consumptions of food (as amateurs), whether it be for another eating competition or challenge itself. Quite a few of us are from San Jose and have eaten at La Victoria aka La Vic's (home of the famed orange sauce) and Iguana's (home of the Burritozilla, 5 lbs. worth of 'ish!). Yes, the infamous Burritozilla, where I believe Mr. Joey Chestnut himself got his competitive eating start (it was either that or the lobster contest in I think Reno?).

Now, my friends and I know that the average stomach can't quite possibly consume that gigantic burrito on an everyday basis, so we thought as a fun little friendly thing that we would try eating this Burritozilla. I, myself, can barely finish a 2 1/2 pound burrito, let alone double that size! We've debated back and forth how we would "train" for this attempt, and at no point do we recommend that people try this at home without realizing the possible short term risks involved (reversal of fortunes, altered metabolisms and diets, etc) I know the record overall is under 5 minutes, and I began to wonder, what's the female record and have there been many girls/women that have attempted it? I haven't quite looked into it yet, and I am back and forth on whether or not to try it. I know my friend J will be attempting the Burritozilla sometime in late August and if i choose to participate it'll be at the same time as well. Well, if any one of us decide to "train" for the Burritozilla, it'll kind of be like an experiment (only leading up to the day we actually eat it) and we would return to our normal diets right after. We'll probably do a mini-report on what it's like to prepare ourselves (or just my friend himself) in expanding stomach capacity and whatever other elements are involved. 'Til then yardbarkers!

This video that was launched by Gersh Kuntzman 1 day after I had posted why Nathan's 2008 Hot Dog contest was NOT necessary! After the buzzer, Kobayashi still putting hot dogs in his mouth (when he wasn't supposed to), and you can see Kuntzman pointing it out. This is further proof what I had clearly pointed out in the photos I had provided that Joey should've rightfully won in regulation time. Well, good thing is, he won the 5 hot dog eat off like I knew he would :) .

Although it's been only a few days since the annual Nathan's 4th of July hotdog contest, I thought I would write something about it. Once I got back home to San Jose the night of contest, I began to wonder... should there have been a tiebreaker (with the 5 dog eat off) with Takeru Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut? Within the first 2 hours of my shift at work Sunday morning, I was approached by my coworkers and managers who knew I would closely follow the contest (and competitive eating itself), they asked for my opinon; was it really that close of a tie? So, I started doing research and video recaps from ESPN, youtube, and etc.

Now, in my opinion, there should have been no 5 dog eat off whatsoever, because based on the stills I have captured from various videos available online, it shows that Kobayashi still had about 1/4 to 1/2 a hot dog and bun left in his hand (outside of his mouth) after the buzzer. If you compare the two screen captures I will provide in just a second, Joey morely had his hand flat against his mouth, while Kobayashi looked like he was still bunching it both in and out of his mouth. However, since it was apparently ruled a "tie" after both Kobayashi and Joey had consumed 59 hot dog and buns each, the 5 dog eat off was done. In the end, Joey won and is now a 2x Nathan's champ. He, at least I think, proved naysayers from the 2007 contest that he backed up with another win this year. Of course there will still be diehard Kobayashi fans that still think he won the 2008 contest...

SO, my illustrations below prove my point. I was already disappointed that Kobayashi was allowed to compete at the Nathan's finals without going into a qualifier event (like all other competitors other than Joey, the reigning Nathan's champ), but having him go against Joey to try to win back his 6x title before being beaten did bring excitement to Nathan's and another Koby vs. Joey vs. everyone else matchup. OOO! One more thing, since we don't see Kobayashi competing in that many competitive eating contests since said jaw injury... shouldn't his IFOCE rankings be moved down? Yea, he did bring competitive eating into another spotlight, but should he still be at #3? I think he should move down (not sure to which spot) while some of the other eaters should be shifted up: Juliet Lee and Tim Janus.

Big thumbs up for all the competitors in the finals! It was truely an exciting event to watch, both pre show and the main event!

I haven't figured out how to post multiple photos within one article, so you will see in succession of 2 comments for this article.

The 1st photo:

**The red circles both over Kobayashi's and Joey's mouth. Now if you look at it closely, Joey's hand is more flat on his mouth (and doesn't look like there is any debris leftover after the buzzer), while Kobayashi's hand is more bunched over his mouth (you can kind of see that there is still hot dog debris left)

Satay, otak, curry puffs and burgers... based on first qualifier event

Burgers!? Seems fairly easy, and they list the qualifier contestants eating Carl's Jr. Burgers, something that is easily eaten and very adaptable to stomachs here in America. There's an advantage right there, who doesn't love a good burger?

Satay- chunks/slices of diced sized meat on bamboo skewers, sometimes cooked with various spices over a wood or charcoal fire (can somoene say barbecue time! Perfect for inviting some buddies over and grillin' some meat! ... hmmm, sounds like asian shisk-a-bobs to me, very easy to cook at home when you find various recipes. I've eaten satay at various Asian restaurants, they just have different names, whether it's Malaysian, Vietnamese, Singapore, etc. Really good taste. 9/10

Curry puffs- Small "pie" that consists of curry, chicken, and potatoes in a deep fried pastry shell. Other variations include sweet yams, other meats, even a vegetarian style. The Vietnamese pastry version(s) is called a "banh bao". I haven't had a curry chicken "pie" version yet, but I've had it in soup form. Soup form I would rate a 9/10.

Otak- Fish paste, spices, lemon grass, and coconut milk mashed all together then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed/grilled. I have eaten shrimp/prawn and chicken versions of Otak at home, but more from local sandwich shops and restaurants. I give the shrimp and chicken versions a 7/10. Fish paste!? Haven't tried it yet, so can't really rate the fish paste version.

Fish balls/sotong ball (?) (unlisted)- pulverized fish meat in a ball form. Easily found in Asian supermarkets in the frozen meat section. Meat balls (beef version) are typically found in Vietnamese "pho", but some restaurants give guests the option of fish balls. I prefer the beef balls over the fish balls mainly on texture. I love eating most fish, but when it's all mashed up, it doesn't give off the same taste or feeling in my mouth. Fish balls I give a 6/10.

Working in the restaurant industry for the past... 2 years does inspire me to try the different foods out there, whether it's at the restaurant I work at, or places I've driven by, or heard about from friends, media, etc. I love eating food, so maybe it's time for me to try some things I haven't really eaten yet :) .

As the Annual Nathan's 4th of July Hot Dog Contest draws near, there are tons of articles, interviews, and videos are released. One particular article was "Inside the Belly of Competitive Eating" by Jacob Goldstein. Like any other article I have seen written, a lot of research conducted for these articles were typically done on people with normal appetites. There's always concern about health risks and diseases such as: diabetes, obesity, nausea, vomiting, etc. The research done by Marc Levine had said that the control subject, who was an unamed champion eater, never felt full anymore, and that if he was a representative for the other eaters out there, then there is a possibility the stomach would not return to normal size. I want to say Tim Janus was the one who participated in this study, but I haven't really looked into it.

ANYWAYS, Levine emphasized "that those risks were largely speculative -- but he said they couldn't be ruled out." I would have to agree with Juris "Dr. Bigtime" Shibayama, when it is completely speculative. I had recently written an application paper for my exercise physiology class, and instead of writing about the "negative" views on the world of competitive eating, I had tried to counter all the research and reactions from these "medical experts". Now, if you go to any library database and the world wide web, you will pretty much find that any article on overeating, stuffing your face, eating fast, and etc. that the test subjects were normal people who subjected to eating more than they normally would for a certain period of time (at most a month, from what I had found). While these "normal" subjects proved their speculations, it doesn't prove true for competitive eating. What these doctors don't realize is that in order for someone to continuously be able to eat these vast quantities of food, they have to train the mind, bodies, and stomach to go beyond their normal eating capacities and limits. A lot of people would believe that preparing and participation in competitive eating would make the athlete fat, but they are wrong. Many winners tend to have different body types and have proven that you have to be healthy in order to eat a lot. If people are not careful with their training prior to entering the world of competitive eating, they will possibly experience stress, loss of sleep, obesity, diabetes, stomach ulcers, and whatever illness that can be associated with excessive consumption of food.

What really is difficult is that the world is so influenced that competitive eating is such a bad thing and that all this food can be for third world countries and needy people. Why can't they also see that the International Federation of Competitive Eating/ Major League Eating actually does charity work and donates to various causes in relation to world hunger and food banks? It's such a shame that they refuse to see the positive side that may stem from this unique sport! All the risks are LARGELY SPECULATIVE <--- so until it is actually proven true, I say competitive eating should not be bashed! Why can't the public get off their high horse and stop saying bad things about competitive eating until they have actual facts that can prove supporters, such as myself, wrong!?

A plug to help out IFOCE's Badlands Booker with his upcoming Hungry & Focused Apparel that is set to be released very soon! Originally supposed to be a part of my video update on t shirt concept, but is on its own post...

This was supposed to be posted a few weeks ago, but I've been sooo busy lately... watch the video and you'll see my announcement for the "Chicks Dig Competitive Eaters" / "Chicks Dig A Guy That Can Eat" Shirt... :(

To anyone that actually reads my articles, attached to this post is a photo of a tentative front for my concept. And no, I am not using the phrase you see (in the picture) anymore, but the design is pretty similar to what I had planned. After working a lot of hours on Photoshop and experimenting with a lot of different phrases, I had finally come with something I am fairly happy with. Now, it's just a matter of coming up with the right color combinations in terms of the shirt color and shirt font and font color. I have narrowed down my color combinations to about 3 different ones, and will post them side by side up soon. Below is only 1 of the options.

In all my years as a sport management major, I've learned the best way of marketing any concepts or ideas is through friends, myspace, facebook, any networking sites. And I must emphasize that at least half of the profits that I gain through a limited release/ trial run will be going towards a yet to be determined charity!!!

I have been a big fan of competitive eating for the past 1 1/2 years or so and...

I am excited to announce that the very first t shirt concept, a competitive eating shirt designed (by me!) with input from several, currently ranked competitive eaters and fans alike, is being publicly released within the month, and proceeds will go toward a yet to be determined charity!!! Without giving the idea away, just know that this is something that everyone will have a nice laugh at, but appreciate the work that was put into it! I worked very hard on this "project" for the past several months and hoping when things finally get rollin' it will be a hit! Final sketches are underway, but if anyone has any inquiries or last minute ideas before I go to print, message me ASAP!

-Lily