The 4-Hour Body / Slow-Carb Diet

mcferg

Mcferg, I haven't been doing PAGG, but I have been doing Psyllium husk tablets and a probiotic a couple times a day, just before a meal. I understand the psyllium acts as a catalyst to coagulate with fat entering the body and moves it through. I think it helps, and I'm afraid to try PAGG, because I don't sleep well as it is, and I imagine this may make it worse. Did you buy the PAGG separately or at one of those newly created stores that have come into existence since the book's release?? I am interested to know about how you feel on it.

I bought the PAGG from one of the stores (http://paggstack.com). FWIW, it has no ill-effects on my ability to get to sleep or stay asleep. I believe the green tea extract it contains is decaffeinated. Hard to say if it's working or not, particularly as I haven't been that consistent with its use. I'm going to start setting alarms on my phone.

My weight loss has stalled. I finally shed all my cheat day weight on Saturday morning (my cheat day is Sunday), and today, my weight is the same. I cannot complain too much, though, as my waist is a full 1/2 inch smaller than the first measurement 2 weeks ago. So, in the last 2 weeks, I only lost 1/2 lb, but lost 1/2 inch off my waist. Interesting.

Also of interest is that over the last 2 weeks, I've definitely relied more on protein supplements (shakes, bars) than I have before. They are all low sugar / low carb, but they do contain sucralose - something Ferris warns against.

circadianswing

wow, at 4:30am after cheat day, back up 7lbs. (I went extreme overload cheat day) I'm not going to complain, cause I weighed myself later in the day and half that already came off. 2 separate cardio workouts in morning and evening, hope to be back down to Friday's weight by mid week. The craziest thing about this weekend was how bad I felt eating what would be a normal meal. Chicken Salad sandwich on Rye, and a bite of my wife's Reuben corn beef, and I was in a food coma for a while. I'm getting used to the amazing energy I'm getting on this diet, and I now see that those destructive foods can really slow you down. Mcferg, I think I may order those supplements. Do you notice the garlic aroma ex foliating from your skin? My wife will kill me if I stink of garlic

Christin09

OK so I am down 5.5 lbs and today is my FIRST Cheat day... I am very nervous! I actually do not want to cheat! But I know its for the better if I do. So other than the citrus drink and the exercises before the bad meals is there anything you guys would recommend after doing this for a while? I do not plan on going over the top but since it is Valentines day I will probably be having chocolate and other candies... Oh and I plan on having sushi for dinner

mcferg

Well, I had planned a more moderate cheat day yesterday, but ended up going kind of overboard, again, which is disappointing after a week of no weight loss. However, I'm only up 3.5 lbs, which is better than my past few, so I'm hoping things will get rolling this week. I'm going to try to extend my runs a little this week, and see how that goes. On the one hand, there was no movement on my morning-of-cheat-day-weight, but my morning-after-cheat-day-weight is down 2 lbs, so the range in which I'm currently existing is moving. My body fat measurement kit is supposed to arrive today. I have no idea what to expect. I'm relatively slim right now, but I feel like most of my body is pretty soft.

UPDATE: the kit came today...it relies on only 1 caliper measurement, which probably means it's not terribly accurate, but at least will give me some indication if I'm headed in the right direction or not. Since it's a near-the belly measurement (the place where I carry pretty much all of my fat), I would think the measurement I'm getting here is, if anything, high, but who knows. Anyway - I'm at 21.8% which is somewhere north of the "ideal" range for men (shocker!), but not really too bad, I guess. The kit came with a pretty nice tape measure, which is weird, because it doesn't factor that into the body fat calculation at all. It locks into place, though, which makes it a lot easier to read. My waist is down a full inch from when I started measuring a couple of weeks ago.

Circadianswing - I don't believe I smell of garlic, and I've repeatedly asked my wife if she's noticed and neither of us do. I posted on the 4HBtalk boards asking this first, and was assured they were odorless.

sbracken

Hi everyone! Feeling not much better this morning, the cold has settled nicely into my chest and I'm hacking up a lung all day long now. It's giving my abs quite the workout.... I was off plan all weekend because I just didn't have the energy to make myself food, and DH is a disaster in the kitchen. I was down 1.2lbs on Saturday morning from last week!!! Love that!!! And I had pizza Friday night. This weekend was a disaster, but I'm only up 2 lbs, so that should come back off in no time. As long as I keep up some energy to make dinner.

circadianswing, I've been taking the PAGG and don't notice any garlic scent. I don't take the green tea before bed and haven't noticed anything different with my sleep patterns.

mcferg, have you thought of jumping over to the "last mile" program? Maybe try it for a week or two to shake things up a bit?

mcferg

mcferg, have you thought of jumping over to the "last mile" program? Maybe try it for a week or two to shake things up a bit?

Yeah, I have thought about it. I need re-read that chapter. I was hoping to not have to do it. I don't know why, especially considering I don't even remember what it said. The thing is - I really like eating the way I'm eating, and it's very easy to do. It's cheap, satisfying and makes me feel great. So much so, that I'm not even discouraged by the lack of weight loss. So, I'm a little leery of making significant changes right away. I can stay at the weight I am for a couple of weeks without losing motivation. So I may start looking at those "last mile" things, the truth is, if I could even sustain 0.5 lb week (or maybe every other week), I'd be content to continue as I am.

Then again, I could always try the stuff for a week and see what happens...I'll look over that chapter tonight...

mcferg

Upon reviewing "The Last Mile", I've determined I'm just not ready for that. Eating basically 8 oz of protein every 3 hours seems like a lot of work and discipline. Maybe I'll get to the point where I feel differently, but I just don't see myself being "so close" that I could sustain that long enough to get to where he considers to be "the goal" (< 10% bodyfat).

Also, if you go by the last mile being for the last 5-10 lbs - I'm not there yet, anyway. My pre-cheat day weight was 183.5. My estimated bodyfat is 21.8%. That's 40lbs of fat. At 10% bodyfat the weight of my bodyfat would be at most 18 lbs (that would mean I would turn ALL of the difference in fat into muscle without losing any actual weight, which seems unlikely). Anyway, what this all means to me is that I have about 22 lbs of fat to lose, one way or the other. Which means, I have to lose 12 lbs of fat before I should really consider the "last mile".

That said, I'm still considering it for a day or two, just to see if it stimulates anything, but that's at least a week or 2 off...things are so hectic around my house the next couple of weeks that I really don't want to make any changes right now. I'm comfortable and eating healthy, and I know I can keep this up through the craziness.

All of this has me thinking, though...I only have 8.5 lbs to goal, but I'm starting to realize that losing 8.5 lbs alone is not going to get me looking how I actually want to look. Even if I lose 8.5 lbs of pure fat, my bodyfat would still be 18%, which isn't horrible, but I'm not sure if that should be the goal. I think that's why I'm starting to focus on other measurements.

bahmur14

mcferg just looking at the post and you can keep hard boiled eggs on your counter for about 5 days at room temp. FYI

I finished my 30 days and got down about 5 pounds, thats good and I'm not complaining but i can seem to lose anymore. I havent lost very many inches either. I did work out the entire time I did the diet so maybe that inhibited my weightloss by adding muscle? I have been off the diet for a week now and suprisingly I am craving beans!? I am amazed at how much better I felt on it and how much energy I had. I think I will definetly be changing my eating habits. I havent even been craving sugars or carbohydrates. the thing I am bugged about though is not only did I only lose 5 pounds, I didnt realy lose inches, and I follwed it pretty much to a T. even on my cheat days i didnt eat sugars. Has anyone done the last mile part? it seems like its a lot more structured/time consuming. I'm curious to see if anyone has seen results from it. I would like to lose about 10 more lbs. but I dont want to stop exercising to do so.

devuchka

OK so I am down 5.5 lbs and today is my FIRST Cheat day... I am very nervous! I actually do not want to cheat! But I know its for the better if I do. So other than the citrus drink and the exercises before the bad meals is there anything you guys would recommend after doing this for a while? I do not plan on going over the top but since it is Valentines day I will probably be having chocolate and other candies... Oh and I plan on having sushi for dinner

congrats Christin09!

for my cheat day i tend to eat the way i normally would before i started the SCD, on a day when i considered it was allowed to eat lots (i.e. i was out with friends, on a trip, celebrating, etc.) so i just go back to pre-4HB menu while very happy...

as to my personal progress, i have only lost a couple lbs on the SCD...but i've gone down 2 belt notches in 2 weeks. i'm all about recomposition, so i don't really care about the weight, as long as i'm looking sexier every day!

sbracken, get well soon! that sucks.

also, to the point of plateauing - i have lost 20 lbs a couple times by eating less/better food, and by walking. the walking is what does it each time. so if i ever plateau, i just walk more. or walk every day, 30-45 minutes. walking is amazing. it is relaxing, and the weight just melts off without you really noticing it...

Christin09

Ok so post cheat day weight.... only up 1.1 lbs! I didn't cheat too bad because I wasn't craving anything but I made sure that I ate plenty of things that were higher in calories... probably only had 3000 calories... hope that was enough to confuse my body!

mcferg

Nie work, Christin. I've found that the weeks where my cheat day weight gain was under 3 lbs were my best, weightloss-wise. For me, this was, again,not one of those weeks, but I was only 3.5 lbs, so I'm moving in the right direction...

I want to talk for a minute about body fat %...

As I mentioned before, I got a caliper and I measured my body fat (the area an inch off the hip bone), and used the chart which estimated my body fat % at 21.8%. I figured, well, that's only 1 measurement, so I found a method that combines 4 measurements, and got my wife to do it, and the result was 21.5.%. Well, considering I can do the one measurement myself, I think I'll just use that to track progress, but, here's the thing...

The whole caliper thing is based on the fact/assumption that most body fat is subcutaneous body fat (i.e. just under the skin). But here's the thing - I feel like the thickness of the flab that I grab is always the same. Right now, I'm under 185 lbs, but that area doesn't feel much different (when pinching) than when I'm , say 210. Don't get me wrong - I'm definitely smaller around, as evidenced by waist measurements and just observation, but I feel like the fat "stuck to my skin" doesn't really change much. I dunno. We'll see...this is the first time I've attempted to track or even measure it.

So, from bodyfat, to bodybuilding...

I went back and re-read the "Freak to Geek" chapter. I dunno. I'm not buying it. 4 hours of lifting for that result with no steroids? Arnold Schwarzenegger once said that if you can gain 5 lbs of muscle in a *year* without steroids, then you're a human anomaly. Yet, Ferris gains 34 lbs of muscle in 28 days. Sorry, but I'm not buying it. I know he took a bunch of supplements that were maybe not available in Ah-nold's day, but still. FWIW, I'm not looking to bulk up. I actually think the "before" photos in freak-to-geek are more in line with how I would like to look. Also - where'd all the body hair go? That's gotta be good a half a pound or so, right there?

Anyway - I have no intention of practicing that stuff in that chapter. I have ordered a kettlebell, though, and I'm going to start shifting my resistance workouts to some of those recommended in other chapters. I also want to get the half-ball thing so I can do that super..situp... I was doing an ab workout on resistance days, but discontinued it when I had soreness in my tailbone.

chrisdavey

I've been using accumeasure calipers for ages now. I don't worry about the % just the mm. MM don't lie IMO.

Re Geek to Freak: I believe there would have been a lot of muscle memory in those cases, it's just not going to happen in the majority of cases. Occrams protocol is just Max OT training which was popularised by Mike Menzter in the 70's or so. Google that if you want. But if you want to get better body composition, I would be looking at starting strength by Mark Rippetoe. IMO Max OT is for those who are passed beginner level (140kg squat, 180kg deadlift and 100kg bench). The other issue with Max OT is that very few beginners know what true failure is. And you generally need a training partner to be able to perform negative reps.

KB's are awesome all rounders though. Just ask my hammies/glutes from the tabata I did with 32kg on Monday :P Ouch!

mcferg

I've been using accumeasure calipers for ages now. I don't worry about the % just the mm. MM don't lie IMO.

Re Geek to Freak: I believe there would have been a lot of muscle memory in those cases, it's just not going to happen in the majority of cases. Occrams protocol is just Max OT training which was popularised by Mike Menzter in the 70's or so. Google that if you want. But if you want to get better body composition, I would be looking at starting strength by Mark Rippetoe. IMO Max OT is for those who are passed beginner level (140kg squat, 180kg deadlift and 100kg bench). The other issue with Max OT is that very few beginners know what true failure is. And you generally need a training partner to be able to perform negative reps.

KB's are awesome all rounders though. Just ask my hammies/glutes from the tabata I did with 32kg on Monday :P Ouch!

Thanks Chris - great info. I'm looking forward to the KB. My glutes can use it. I suffer from a complete and total lack of posterior, regardless of my weight (as I get larger, it might be a bit wider, but equally flat). I'm not looking to go all J-Lo up in here, but I wouldn't mind rounding things out a bit.

As I said - I'm not really worried about the bulk side of things, anyway - my whole point was just that I didn't buy it.

circadianswing

3 of 10 personal training sessions tonight. I gave the trainer the book to read last week, and he ripped through 200 pages of it, wanted to keep it another week (I miss my book!). He doesn't normally use kettlebells, but we did a dead lift squat using them tonight. Just did it with 12kg/25lb bell, but a few sets of 20 reps will get you, especially concentrating on form. Never did them before, but Mcferg, I think you're going to really enjoy it... although that seems like quite a heavy object to have shipped.

Way to go Devuchka, the reduction of the belt notches is also something that I just happened to notice as well this week. I am truly sorry i didn't take a tape measure to my waist when I started.
Regarding a hard boiled egg at room temp. on an earlier post I saw... something about 5 days. I found a few responses online, but here was the consensus I saw, and it seems common sense.
"SAFETY NOTE: It is not safe to leave hard boiled eggs (including those in their shells) out at room temperature for long. If they have been taken to a picnic, or served on a buffet, keep them cool while they are being served, and discard the leftovers."
Alberta Egg Producers website also states hard boiled eggs should always be in the refrigerator and only up to a week. http://eggs.ab.ca/recipes-tips/handling-storage

chrisdavey

I've been using accumeasure calipers for ages now. I don't worry about the % just the mm. MM don't lie IMO.

Re Geek to Freak: I believe there would have been a lot of muscle memory in those cases, it's just not going to happen in the majority of cases. Occrams protocol is just Max OT training which was popularised by Mike Menzter in the 70's or so. Google that if you want. But if you want to get better body composition, I would be looking at starting strength by Mark Rippetoe. IMO Max OT is for those who are passed beginner level (140kg squat, 180kg deadlift and 100kg bench). The other issue with Max OT is that very few beginners know what true failure is. And you generally need a training partner to be able to perform negative reps.

KB's are awesome all rounders though. Just ask my hammies/glutes from the tabata I did with 32kg on Monday :P Ouch!

Thanks Chris - great info. I'm looking forward to the KB. My glutes can use it. I suffer from a complete and total lack of posterior, regardless of my weight (as I get larger, it might be a bit wider, but equally flat). I'm not looking to go all J-Lo up in here, but I wouldn't mind rounding things out a bit.

As I said - I'm not really worried about the bulk side of things, anyway - my whole point was just that I didn't buy it.

KB workouts will be great for your goals then I wouldn't limit it to 2 per week like the book says though. I do either them or steady state elliptical most mornings.

circadianswing: KB's are awesome for Ukranian deadlifts which are the ones while standing on boxes. I have a monster 64kg (130lb) KB I use for the them. KILLER! :P

devuchka

Way to go Devuchka, the reduction of the belt notches is also something that I just happened to notice as well this week.

thanks circadian, i am super happy. today i looked like i am getting back to a bikini-tummy, and i can't even tell you how many years it has been since i looked this way. in what, 2 weeks? also, in the past i had to be hungry ALL the time to have a flattish tummy, and exercising religiously for 45 minutes every day. now i am eating an extra lunch & the exercise is supplemental. can't say how happy i am to have found this life plan.

i noticed yesterday i am already starting to lose taste for the things i used to be addicted to. like milk. and bread. as soon as some of this stuff hits my tummy, it now goes WHAT? a little bit. i just feel better with these foods that don't make me bulk up like a michelin-mama as soon as i eat them.

i also got through valentine's day just fine, since my boy took me to a seafood place & i had fish & veggies. mmmmm.

for the girls on this board, i got the girlie kettlebell, 10 lbs, as i mentioned before. i haven't noticed results from it yet, as i can't use it much due to injuries in my arms (those damn years of violin playing) but it makes me feel SOOO good. something about the swing motion that makes my body go AHHHH, which is nothing i felt before with weights.

marchenland

for the girls on this board, i got the girlie kettlebell, 10 lbs, as i mentioned before.

Hmm. Could I be causing my plateau because I'm doing ~30lbs on my (fake) kettleball? I'm doing the swings 3 times a week, plus the traverse things and the glute lifts, and adding the cat-pukes and situps twice a week. I only go up maybe 1lb after Saturday's reset day and it's gone by Monday. I'm also taking a multi-vitamin pack plus the basic supplements suggested in the book (not PAGG, the other stuff - potassium, fish oil, etc.) I'm not scared of "bulking up" but I'm pretty strong as it is and if I'm just trading fat for muscle straight across, I'd prefer to lose some weight instead, at least right now.

I'm getting to the point of quitting; there's no point in hating my lunches and denying myself fruit if I'm not accomplishing anything at all. This is week 6 for us, and I'm not seeing ANY changes since week 2. Nothing fits differently. No movement on measurements. The improved energy and so on is nice, but with the frustration, it's not worth it.

Ferris said to mention 2 days worth of food when asking for help, so:

Breakfast every day within 30 minutes of waking: 1.5 whole eggs, 1 egg white, a large handful of spinach, 2 strips of lean bacon, ~7oz beans.
Snack: 10oz coffee or black tea black or with 1tbls cream
Lunch every week day: 1/2 c homemade white beans, 1.5c frozen vegetables, 7 oz of canned salmon or 6 oz of canned chicken
Dinner (Sunday): ~7oz fava beans, 2 small chicken breasts rolled with spinach, ~2/3c roasted broccoli, brussels sprouts, and mushrooms
Dinner (Monday): ~7oz black beans, 1 cod portion cooked with fresh lemon juice, large portion of brussels sprouts, 1/2 avocado
Dinner (Tuesday): ~7 oz pinto beans with 1 strip bacon, ~6oz steak, 1/2 artichoke, 1/2 avocado, 2 glasses red wine
8-9 c water daily

That's pretty much the same every week day. Sundays are a little more free form - same breakfast and similar dinner, but maybe a Chipotle lunch or a lunch similar to dinner, or I might miss lunch if I sleep in late.

mcferg

KB workouts will be great for your goals then I wouldn't limit it to 2 per week like the book says though. I do either them or steady state elliptical most mornings.

I've been doing the original Power 90 "sculpt" video 3 times per week. It's a fast-paced "circuit" that uses dumbells. It lasts about 30 minutes. I had been doing the Power 90 Ab routine afterward, but, after some tailbone discomfort, discontinued it. My plan is to do the kettlebell work after the P90 in place of the abs.

devuchka

Hmm. Could I be causing my plateau because I'm doing ~30lbs on my (fake) kettleball? I'm doing the swings 3 times a week, plus the traverse things and the glute lifts, and adding the cat-pukes and situps twice a week. I only go up maybe 1lb after Saturday's reset day and it's gone by Monday. I'm also taking a multi-vitamin pack plus the basic supplements suggested in the book (not PAGG, the other stuff - potassium, fish oil, etc.) I'm not scared of "bulking up" but I'm pretty strong as it is and if I'm just trading fat for muscle straight across, I'd prefer to lose some weight instead, at least right now.

sorry to hear you are frustrated.

have you tried cardio? i used to date a ski-racer fitness trainer who wanted me to have a J-Lo butt. squats sure worked for that, but i bulked up like a tank. i hated the way i looked on high weights, low reps. i shifted to cardio every day of the week but one, and i drop inches consistently. i love the curvy look cardio makes, while i don't so much like the bulk of weights.

today i just finished a weight work-out. i do pretty much the same every week & it keeps off the excess poundage while not making me bulk up...

eponai

just got the book today. so, bump!

chrisdavey

marchenland: have you been tracking cals as well? If so, what sort of numbers lately? I would add in some steady state fasted cardio in the am. I would be ditching the situps and cat pukes (as I think there are a heap better core exercises like planks, T-pushups etc) How many KB swings do you do and at that weight? I would be adding a full body resistance workout at least twice a week and just do your KB's at the end of that as a metabolic finisher. FOcus on squats, deadlifts, press and rows. Assistance can be things like chin ups, pullups, dips.

Personally, I think the way the book is written that you can just follow the SCD and do SFA exercise and miraculously lose a heap of weight is a bit optimistic (unless you are obese and have a terrible diet already). For the relatively fit people, you really should be incorporating some strength training and cardio to achieve the body recomposition they are after.

devuchka

so as to the topic of refried beans.

i just decided to add more of those, to see what happens. i already am doing a mostly vegetarian diet, as i grew up that way & lately have gotten a little "enh..." about meat. i love fish though!

i will report that i noticed, they are incredibly filling! so any of you wondering what to eat when you are still hungry, this will shut it down fast. i am currently eating old el paso, with green chilies.

i figured refried beans are probably the last resort & if i hit a plateau, i expect i might want to eat quite a bit of these just to get going again. so i decided to see if i like them - and...si! mi gusto.

oh - and marchanland, i forgot to tell you what cardio i do. it's pretty easy. i have a $99 denise austin step machine that i got years ago, and a mini-trampoline. i mix those up doing 30-45 / day while watching TV at night. they roll away or fold up to store. add girlie kettlebells, a day of walking at the gym, & a weight day at the gym & that completes my current exercise menu. well, that & dragging myself back & forth to work everyday in boston weather...

robertf57

"It is also important here to notice that Ferriss isn't saying "NO DAIRY PRODUCTS" PERIOD! He says on page 91, "....but I would avoid most milk products. Cottage cheese is an exception." He uses two key words here: "most" and "an."

"Most" dairy products should be avoided. If he meant all dairy, he would have said "all milk products." Clearly, he does not mean that all milk products are off limits. The use of the article "an" implies that there are more exceptions than he is listing. Cottage cheese is simply "an" exception, not the only exception.
Edited by Sporty98 on Sat 01/08/11 09:15 AM "


Spoken like a lawyer!

marchenland

marchenland: have you been tracking cals as well? If so, what sort of numbers lately?

Not recently. I tracked them for the first 4 weeks or so, and I'm eating about the same now. They were coming in anywhere from 1100 to 1400. My base is supposed to be ~1620. I was really concerned about not gettin at least 1200, so I added avocado a few days a week to boost it over 1200.

I would add in some steady state fasted cardio in the am. I would be ditching the situps and cat pukes (as I think there are a heap better core exercises like planks, T-pushups etc)

Well, i was trying to follow the book to a T. I don't really have much time to be doing more exercises; I picked this because it is something I can work into my very busy lifestyle.

How many KB swings do you do and at that weight?

I do 50 resp, and I have 25lbs on my pipe bar, which I assume weights 3-5lbs, so I am assuming ~28-30lbs.

I would be adding a full body resistance workout at least twice a week and just do your KB's at the end of that as a metabolic finisher. FOcus on squats, deadlifts, press and rows. Assistance can be things like chin ups, pullups, dips.

Again, I'm not doing that stuff; not only do I not have the time, but as I noted before, when I was ~35, I went to a gym 3-5 times a week, for over an hour each visit, for months, doing about 45 minutes of cardio plus a full weight regimen, alternating between upper and lower body. In the months I went, I did bulk up quite a bit. I also lost not one ounce AND ended up with a rip-roaring case of depression drugs. I cried daily (not something I did even as a teenager) and became suicidal - not because I wasn't losing weight, mind. I can only assume that something in all of that messed up my brain chemistry. I won't go back to that.

chrisdavey

Well I suppose you're options are to stick it out and see if weight loss improves, go back to the old way you were eating (if you wish) or change up the exercise you are doing. That choice is really up to you.

I do believe the way the book is written that it makes it sound like a miracle weight loss strategy which depending on current weight/fitness level may or may not be the case.

devuchka

Well I suppose you're options are to stick it out and see if weight loss improves, go back to the old way you were eating (if you wish) or change up the exercise you are doing. That choice is really up to you.

there is another option - eat less. period. my stomach always shrinks when i do this, and then i am happy eating less. for the SCD i am doing the plan as if it were a diet, and i am eating only enough not to be hungry. when i get hungry, i just eat another meal of beans or egg salad sandwiches, whatever. when i reach ideal weight, i will stuff myself on probably the same kind of food. but i am treating this as if it were another plan, not the SCD. the benefit about this plan is that it enables you to not be hungry. you can be fully satisfied. case in point - try eating 2 cups of refried beans and see if you can get it down. and anything else besides. i can't even get down 2 cups. this menu is great in that what you eat less of actually causes you to lose weight WHILE feeling full.

let's keep in mind that tim ferriss likely maintains a high metabolism, probably doesn't sit all day long at a job, and has been keeping his body like a machine for years. all these things will cause his food intake to be appropriate for him, while potentially being way too much for a 5'7 girl like me. i gained 5 lbs in less than 8 weeks after taking this job, simply because i was sitting writing, instead of jumping up & down (as a secretary) every five minutes making people photocopies, mailing stuff, etc. your daily grind does impact weight.

i have found every time i have lost weight the elements are the same: eat only so you are not hungry, and keep up the cardio at a very relaxing pace. so that it is enjoyable, not a strenuous "work-out." then add 1 work-out of weight per week (and targeted areas only, i.e. quads, hamstrings, bis, tris, abductor, adductor). any core weight exercises put on weight & bulkage.

sbracken

Hey!!! Haven't popped in for awhile, so I thought I'd drop by for a quick Hi!

I was off plan all weekend, gained 2.5 lbs come monday morning, and today I'm back down to post cheat weight plus another 0.2lbs!!!! Granted this whole cold I've had has kept my appetite down and I'm drinking water like a fish, but I was still shocked to step on the scale to see it read lower today than it did on Saturday!

HItting the grocery store tonight to restock the food in the house. We had to resort to pizza last night since there was no food in the house to cook. It wasn't very good, so I managed to choke down only one slice.....so I still ended up below my daily cal target, so I think that's why it didn't kill me on the scale this morning.

eponai

when i get hungry, i just eat another meal of beans or egg salad sandwiches, whatever.

i'm confused. how are you eating sandwiches if there is no bread allowed on this plan?

devuchka

when i get hungry, i just eat another meal of beans or egg salad sandwiches, whatever.

i'm confused. how are you eating sandwiches if there is no bread allowed on this plan?

i am doing a modified plan...tim references that most people in his book (that were on his blog or whatever) do that. if i don't see at least 1lb/week lost, i will get more strict. but i'm not too concerned...i already lost 20 lbs before in 2004 eating a lot of egg salad sandwiches, so the proof is in the - sandwiches, lol.

i also get sick if i don't eat fruit. his rationale against fruit doesn't take into account that countries like russia store fruit in the cellars all winter long. & they can it. i ate fruit in the winter there, without refrigerators. so i am supplementing with some fresh fruit so my C levels don't fall.

mcferg

i'm confused. how are you eating sandwiches if there is no bread allowed on this plan?

i am doing a modified plan...

I dunno. I'm not saying that your diet is bad or anything (clearly it's not - it's working), but egg salad sandwiches? Maybe it's not this way, but the way you mention them makes it sound like it's a staple of your diet...something to the effect of, "I just grab another egg sandwich", or something similar... I would say that if you're eating bread on a regular basis, and, thus, violating one of the 5 main rules of the slow carb diet on a regular basis...you're not on the slow carb diet.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you should change, and I'm not saying what you're doing is wrong. I'm just saying...you could eat pretty much anything and say you're on a "modified version" of the diet. I eat pizza everyday, but I'm on the slow carb diet...etc...etc...

Just' sayin'...