The 4-Hour Body / Slow-Carb Diet

My hubby lost 10 pounds on this diet, and I lost 4. We took this week off, but are going to go back on it on Monday. It's easy as long as you don't get bored, can hold out for your cheat day, and can limit the cheat day to one day and go back strict the following day. It's a bit more of a challenge for me because I don't eat meat, but luckily I love beans and veggies! Plus I modified a bit (allowed yogurt and better n' peanut butter and my probiotic chocolate Attune bar). Hubby went strict. I needed the extra calories.

My hubby lost 10 pounds on this diet, and I lost 4. We took this week off, but are going to go back on it on Monday. It's easy as long as you don't get bored, can hold out for your cheat day, and can limit the cheat day to one day and go back strict the following day. It's a bit more of a challenge for me because I don't eat meat, but luckily I love beans and veggies! Plus I modified a bit (allowed yogurt and better n' peanut butter and my probiotic chocolate Attune bar). Hubby went strict. I needed the extra calories.

I'm not finding much information on yogurt in the book.....Is yogurt not allowed? I know he says no dairy....but yogurt is a staple in my diet. I am sticking with the Greek yogurt, which is higher in protein. And I only eat the plain, which has little sugar/carbs. Any thoughts, Lucy?

So after more reading...I think the plain, non-sweetened yogurt is okay on this diet, because it is a "fermented" food which will increase the good bacteria in the stomach.

Thanks all! I agree it sounds like a common sense approach to me and I believe in the idea of slow-carbs. Too many carbs make me tired, but you need some for energy and to help burn fat and protein. I too thouhht yogurt would be OK because of the good bacteria; same with low fat cottage cheese which he does mention his mom and dad both eat.

I'm starting fresh on Monday and will eat the Slow-carb way through Saturday which will be my "cheat" day. weekends are always hard for me anyway, and Saturday is the toughest.

I'll let you know how it works for me!

Saturday will be my first cheat day, too......Today was my first day sticking to the diet, as I ate mashed potatoes last night for dinner. I'm going to eat some Greek yogurt each day as my fermented food/bacteria supply.

My new favorite dish: Black beans with chunks of roasted turkey (1/2 breast meat and 1/2 dark meat)! YUM!

This is my first week on the Slow-Carb Diet also. I decided to use some Greek yogurt even though it says not to. While my protein intake is still off the charts for every day, I have been able to keep everything under control, particularly sugar. There was no way I could only drink 16 oz of diet soda, so I simply have given soda up completely.

The hard part is the no white flour. I didn't think I had a problem with this, but suddenly I crave donuts. I don't even eat donuts usually but now I want one. But not a problem, I am keeping track of my cravings and tomorrow is an all you can eat day. So far so good, down about 11 pounds in 4 and a half days and not too hungry.

I still have a lot of the book to read, still need to purchase some supplements, and going to get a hand held fat analyzer. I know I can do this!!

The only mention of yogurt in the 4 Hour Body text is on page 111.

"Unsweetened plain yogurt and fremented kombucha tea are two additional choices. Fermented foods contain high levels of healthy bacteria and should be viewed as a mandatory piece of your dietary puzzle." (Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour Body)

This quote is from the section titled "Go Fermented." It's clear that he encourages the inclusion of yogurt in this diet. And, in my opinion, Greek yogurt with it's higher protein level and low sugar content (esp. in the plain variety) is a great option.

That section also mentions cheese, which he explicitly eliminates in other portions of the book. I think you're taking it out of context. That section isn't about the slow-carb diet, it's about another doctor's studies of disease-free cultures and the benefits of fermented foods in disease prevention. This is why he includes sauerkraut and kimchee on the diet.

He does say on page 91, "I would avoid most milk products. Cottage cheese is an exception."

The only mention of yogurt in the 4 Hour Body text is on page 111.

"Unsweetened plain yogurt and fremented kombucha tea are two additional choices. Fermented foods contain high levels of healthy bacteria and should be viewed as a mandatory piece of your dietary puzzle." (Timothy Ferriss, The 4-Hour Body)

This quote is from the section titled "Go Fermented." It's clear that he encourages the inclusion of yogurt in this diet. And, in my opinion, Greek yogurt with it's higher protein level and low sugar content (esp. in the plain variety) is a great option.

That section also mentions cheese, which he explicitly eliminates in other portions of the book. I think you're taking it out of context. That section isn't about the slow-carb diet, it's about another doctor's studies of disease-free cultures and the benefits of fermented foods in disease prevention. This is why he includes sauerkraut and kimchee on the diet.

He does say on page 91, "I would avoid most milk products. Cottage cheese is an exception."

I disagree.....

In that particular section, ("Go Fermented") he is referring to Dr. Weston Price's studies and findings. Ferriss states, "He found that one common element [of near-disease-free indigenous communities] was fermented foods, which were consumed daily."
The next sentence, he lists some of the fermented foods that were included in the diets of these cultures, such as cheese, kefir, sauerkraut, etc.

THEN, the next sentence is the one that I quoted, where Ferriss says that plain unsweetened yogurt and fermented kombucha tea are two other choices. He DOES NOT say that they were other choices in Dr. Price's study, but rather they are two other choices of fermented foods.

Ferriss wrote this section of the book, so it is not the work of Dr. Price, but a reference to Price's studies. Anything that Ferriss has included in the 4-Hour Body text should be considered when doing "The 4-Hour Body diet".....He would not have included this reference to yogurt as an alternative fermented food if it were not allowed on the diet. That is obvious.

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.

Folks, again, if what you're doing is working, I wouldn't encourage you to change, but Ferris is pretty clear about eliminating dairy that is not cottage cheese.

On page 82 of the book, Ferris explains that dairy products are problematic, because, although they have a low glycemic index, they have a high insulinemic response. I'm not going to type the whole passage here - but you can look it up. He even goes so far as to say the amount of milk used for coffee is too much (if you must have something - use cream, etc..).

As I'm sure you know - same goes for fruit - he's pretty clear about that one. Again, if what you're doing is working, great. You may be able to get away without going "whole-hog" into this program. For me, though, if I start to make small concessions (even for things that are generalized as being healthy such as yogurt or fruit), that opens the door to start making larger concessions. For me, at least, it's a slippery slope.

Remember, that Ferris continually reminds us in the book that this diet is designed to be effective, not fun, or necessarily interesting. He never explicitly states this, but I feel like one of the reasons this diet may work is, because it encourage you to eat the same few meals over and over again, eventually (if you follow that advice), you will stop overeating, BECAUSE the meals are boriing...you get to a point where they satisfy your hunger needs, but don't trigger you to overeat...after all - why stuff yourself now when you're going to be eating the same thing again in 4 hours?

For me, being able to focus on the 1 cheat day is huge. Anything I crave during the week, I can make a note of, and save it for Sunday (which is my cheat day at least through football season).

I wanted to make one final point about Agave nectar. I love agave nectar, and, having been on many brief stints of South-Beachy-type diets in the past, I've had my share of it. I wouldn't even consider making a margarita without it, but that's neither here nor there. One of the reasons it's use is encouraged on such diets is because it has a lower glycemic index than other sweeteners, while still being natural (and tasting great, IMO).

I had heard somewhere recently (I can't remember where), that the glycemic claims were exaggerated, and that it had been renounced by some of the lists or orgs that promoted its use initially. My hearing of this was purely conversational, and I haven't had time to do any research myself, as I'm not using Agave as part of the slow-carb program, but if you consume it regularly under the assumption that it's better for you from whatever dietary perspective you choose, it may be worth checking out.

Okay.....On page 91, in the same section as the dairy is listed, he talks about soy....

"....I discourage consuming any refined soy products, including all soy milk and isolated soy protein supplements."

I am not a big soy eater, so I am not focusing on those parts of the book quite so much.

I agree with you, mcferg, that if the diet is working that's great! BUT, on pages 82 and 83 Ferriss does not say "no dairy." He does state "Removing even a little dairy can dramatically accelerate fat-loss...." and "If you must, use cream (not milk)...."

This diet is a great way to remind ourselves that food is our fuel.

Okay.....On page 91, in the same section as the dairy is listed, he talks about soy....

"....I discourage consuming any refined soy products, including all soy milk and isolated soy protein supplements."

DoH!

I was looking for that...it makes me sad. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll have to go dig and see if I can get to the why of it, but it bums me out - those soy products are often convenient. Then again, as much as I like them, I've long suspected they're not particularly healthy, so....

Follow up - in the Meatless Machine chapter, page 523, his concerns with soy products are detailed...it has to do with the alleged estrogenic impact of soy. It sounds like he considers it unhealthy, but I'm not sure if it would have a negative impact on the diet or not...either way, I guess I'll not be eating them.

What I find troublesome here is that, in this chapter, what he identifies as problematic with the soy are the amount of isoflavones in soy...including raw soybeans. In fact, raw soybeans contain more isoflavones than the tofu he addresses in this chapter, yet, soybeans are explicitly listed as a food you can eat, and there's no indication or explanation as to why processed soy may or may not be worse than soybeans themselves.

One thing that I am liking in the diet is that I eat the same few meals over and over and I find that I am thinking about food less. I am not wondering about all of the options for dinner. I am simply fueling my body with these small meals and feeling healthier every day!

Hope it's going well for each of you, too....

Same here. The thing is I actually like grilled meats, beans and vegatables, but I don't LOVE them. I also don't really get tired of eating them. They're always "fine" (at least). If I'm thinking about anything, it's cheat day...but I have a feeling (my first one is tomorrow), that once it gets here, I won't be motivated to go too nuts.

Also - good point re: turkey and seafood. I'm not sure why that would have been omitted. I was operating under the assumption that those were okay (though, I've not eaten either yet), which is just as fallible as the yogurt assumption you're making. It's frustrating. I think if we went over this book with a fine-toothed comb, we might find a number of places where he leaves stuff out of contradicts himself.

One other thing that's troubled me is the notion of fat. It's not really addressed. He seems fine with pretty much any beef or pork. Yet, he consistently makes references to mixing whole eggs with egg substitute or eating turkey bacon. Why? Why would you eat egg substitute vs. whole eggs other than to save fat and/or calories? Same thing with turkey bacon. I don't get it.

I like this post and hear about this diet before but I can't go without fruit and dairy, that being said I have a question. So what happen after you loose all the weight? Can you eat normal stuf including dairy and fruits? Or this is a forever thing?
There is two reason I like this diet: I love beans and eat a lot of beans and the cheat day!

I'll be honest, I didn't read every response. But it sounds like this person is a little off in their theory.

It sounds like they are trying to emulate the low glycemic index diet, which is a very healthy way to live with "slow carbs." It's all about moderation and choosing the right types of food, like whole grains over white, vegetables over fats, etc. These foods give you the most bang for your calorie and they affect your blood sugar slowly so you don't have sugar highs and crashes and eventually you stop craving bad carbs like candy and refined sugar. It is also a lifestyle you can stick to for life without feeling deprived forever (things like low fat ice cream and even pasta are a part of this lifestyle in moderation).

From what I've seen, take the book with a grain of salt. As advice? Certainly. But as gospel? Not so much.

This is a low GI diet....The gist of the slow carb diet is that you will eat these foods that are digested more slowly, and have less of an effect on your blood sugar. I think this is a lifestyle choice, and could be maintained for life. It factors in a lot of long-term issues, like having a cheat day, drinking alcohol, etc.

As far as fats go, they have been given a bad rap! Fat is an essential part of any diet. You need to take in the healthy fats and include them with the protein, fiber, etc. I find this diet a bit "freeing" in that I can have fats.....After years of doing a low-fat diet, it feels so good to eat whole eggs and dark turkey meat! It's delicious and good for me!

I think that we all have to do what works best for us. The 4-Hour Body book has a lot of interesting and amazing material on building your body, burning fat, developing muscle, etc. It's a great resource! Like you've said, we should not take this book OR ANY OTHER BOOK ON DIET AND WEIGHT LOSS as "Gospel"....There is a lot of information out there (and right here on MFP) that is questionable.....We all have to think for ourselves!

Wow, congrats on the success!
I have just read "The 4 hour body " and I highly reccommend this book to anyone interested in improving their health and well- being. Its refreshing to read a book where a lot of info is presented in a really straightforward fashion, unembellished and simply put
I am sure there will be many who don't follow everything in the book, but I have to agree with Sport98, everyone has to find what works for them- I personally believe simple is best, and this programme is VERY simple to follow.
Some may find this plan restrictive, but as Tim Ferriss says in the book, its meant to be effective, not enjoyable. As far as I have read, it ticks a lot of important boxes- eat more veggies, consume less processed 'white' foods , cut back on sugars and high fat foods. He also encourages an increase in exercise, drinking lots of water and also taking supplements to ensure potassium, magnesium and calcium levels don't drop off. He doesn't encourage counting calories per se, but it is simple enough to follow this AND track calories if you wish.

That said, you do have one day a week to enjoy foods that you do not eat during the week, such as sweets, alcohol , pizza, pasta etc. AND I really do enjoy a glass of red, and up to two glasses of red wine are allowed each day :drinker:

It will be interesting to hear from others who have/are following this plan and see thier short and long-term results!

Best of luck to all!

Well, I had my cheat day yesterday...I actually spent most of the day not veering too far off track. I had the recommended high-protein breakfast, and really didn't get down to "business" until around noon. I was watching football, and I drank a bunch of beer. I also had some potato chips and stuff like that. Not a ton of food - but stuff I can't eat during the week. For dinner, I had a hamburger. At no point during the day did I feel stuffed, so, while I knew I was cheating, it was kind of nice not to go too overboard.

Then, after dinner I hate a bunch of pretzel rods and 2 big pieces of ice cream cake. I was laying in bed last night feeling like I would puke if I moved. So, I didn't move. I just went to sleep.

Today - my weight is up 5 lbs, but that's typical for that type of binge. I consumed a lot of fluid. Like I said - lots of beer, plus, when drinking alcohol, I always drink tons of water to mitigate the effects. Couple with that with all the extra sodium, and that's a recipe for water retention.

I actually feel great this morning - the only thing I didn't do was eat right away. I just couldn't. The thought of food just turned me off...so I waited until I was hungry (about 11 am)...had some refried beans, chicken breast and raw spinach. Back in the flow.

The cheat day is really great. It really is. It's probably not that novel of a concept, but I've never been on a diet that allowed it. So, I would end up cheating here and there, and it would ultimately snowball into a string of full-blown binges coupled with an equally large string of guilt. By making the cheat day part of the program, it makes it so easy to stick to things closely during the week. After binging - I won't even think of any kind of cheat food for 2 or 3 days...but the time that's passed, I wouldn't think of cheating, because my allowed guilt-free cheat day is only a couple of days away.

I won't eat so much so late in the day next week, though. That was just uncomfortable.

My partner and I just started this yesterday, so it's too soon to say if it's working. Even though TF says there's no need to track calories on it, I'm still using this site to do that.

My concern is that I'm stuffing myself on high-protein foods, going WAY over the protein recommendations here, and yet I'm having to struggle to break 1000 calories a day on this.

My foods today:
B: 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg scrambled with spinach + 1/2 can lentils with hot sauce (est. 236 calories, 24 grams protein)
L: 1/2 small can of salmon (like a tuna can), 1/2 can of black beans, 2 big handfuls of salad with a few dashes of balsamic vinegar and hot sauce (est 300 calories, 30 grams protein)
~8 oz lean grass-fed top sirloin stir-fried in 1 tablespoon of olive oil with a handful of broccoli, 3 mushrooms, 1/4 a large onion, and a large handful of spinach, with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and some hot sauce (est 500 calories, 57 grams protein even without any beans!!!)

That's a total of less than 1050 calories. I popped a few almonds and a couple of cashews, but that didn't add more than about 70 more calories, and I'm 49 grams over the protein suggested here (I AM taking calcium, as TF suggests, to ward off any calcium depletion from high protein.)

I don't feel hungry at all. I definitely feel "mouth bored" as we call it, and I want a brownie something fierce (and I don't usually like sweets, LOL). But how can I get my calories over 1200 (1600 is my goal) on this diet without killing myself with protein?