The 4-Hour Body / Slow-Carb Diet

I'm struggling a bit like you, Marchenland! I changed my protein setting in my diary to read 30% protein daily. After an hour workout, that means 121 grams of protein! Yikes!

I had my cheat day.....AND it was not a bad cheat! BUT, I was up 3 lbs. afterwards (which is normal) and now, 48+ hours later I'm still up 2 lbs.! SO, I'm resetting my ticker to give myself some incentive to get back on track. I am also going to try a "cheat meal" this week, instead of a whole day. Gotta find what works best here without gaining! (I wouldn't mind so much if the few pounds had come off in 48 hours like the book says it will!)

That all having been said, I do love having the option to cheat once/week! I love that I can look at a treat and say, "Not today! But I can have than on Saturday!" It's a very freeing feeling.....

I have increased my protein consumption today, too. I am not sure that I've been getting enough protein. I am eating more than I was before I started the 4HB diet, but not sure that I'm really eating enough. Today, on the increased protein, I am not at all hungry and have no cravings to snack (like the book says).

Glad it's going well for all of you, too! Have a great day!

Sporty, I think that if there's a major flaw in the research, it's that TF is a young man who was already in excellent shape, and I am not sure how many of his 200 subjects were middle-aged women. I suspect we might have some hormonal differences that may create some limit on the diet for us. I see a lot of red flags. For example, he cautions us to not eat soy because of the estrogen. Well, yes, Tim, but some of us have a lot of that in our systems! What do we do about THAT?

So I suspect your 2 lbs could be related to that. Maybe not. Keep us posted.

I'm adding some sugar-free non-creamy Asian salad dressing to my salad today, to see if they can up my calories a little. I've also ordered some macadamia nut oil. (Amazon has some on sale. I wanted a local provider, but the local place that sells it only sells it for cosmetic uises, and it's not certied for human consumption. Meh.)

I'm curious about your 1-hour workout. The book suggests that overdoing the workout is just as bad as not doing it. What are you doing? Have you tried any of the workouts he prescribes?

Well, corn is an "avoid" food except in small quantities like is salsa, so I assume popcorn would be best avoided as well.

Marchenland, I noticed that you didn't include many legumes in your meals during the day. The two main reasons that TF recommends them as a staple are the fiber and caloric density. He points out several times throughout the book that without the legumes, this diet would not work as intended. I have made them my main, with protein and veggies as sides, more or less.

I do workout for an hour a day using Jillian Michaels' DVDs (some are strickly cardio, and some are strength training). This is where I disagree with Ferriss. Exercise is used for more than just weight loss. It is also a great mood enhancer, stress reliever, and pick-me-up. It tones our muscles, burns some fat, and gets the blood flowing. I'm not sure how it could possibly hurt.....Although, I do think that I go over the MED (minimum effective dose), as Ferriss discusses. That is not so much a diet disturbance, as a "waste" (he says). I like to think of the extra time that I spend (over and above the necessary) as a help to myself emotionally and psychologically.

Now, today, after eating just over 1200 calories (which I never meet) and eating 100 grams of protein, my weight is up another 0.2 lbs. How frustrating! Not only did I NOT lose 2 of the pounds from my binge day, but now, my scale's just going the wrong direction! UGH!

So, I am ditching "cheat day" and opting for a "cheat meal." I am not ready to give up just yet. One thing that we haven't discussed is simply how the diet makes us feel. Eating all of this protein really helps me to feel stronger and have more energy, especially during my work out. I feel like I could just push on forever! I never felt that way working out before I focused on proteins. So, as long as it's making me feel stronger, I suppose I should keep trying! I have 10 lbs. that I want to lose. I am in a healthy weight and BMI range, so this is the hardest 10 lbs. to go.

Has anyone else had trouble after cheat day? Or weight gain on this diet?

bump

Hi,

It sounds very similar to the Diet Solution programme that's out there too. Same kind of principles etc. Has anyone tried it?

Hummus is allowed, but it's a domino food according to Ferriss. Eat it in moderation and not all the time.

Im scared for my first cheat day> i dont want to gain a ton of weight and be totally shocked and then stop the diet lol. I have considered trying just a cheat meal, or perhaps two. But im not sure, In the book hes saying he eats ice cream and pizza and all tht crazy stuff

That's what I did last week. I ate a slow-carb breakfast, then followed the rules in "Damage Control" for lunch to dinner. I didn't eat after 8 pm (I go to bed at 11) and things worked out great. I didn't go way overboard like he does in the book, but eating the things you used to in moderation shouldn't be too big a deal, scale-wise.

marchenland - Avacados or guacamole would help with calories without adding protein.

I am going to start this diet because i was trying low carb and found myself unable to hit my calories and weak after my strength training and cardio. Hopefully the beans will help. I'm also glad to chuck dairy because I noticed it really bloats me. i had a dinner of steak, veggies, and black beans that was very satisfying.

sporty, maybe you have a food intolerance to something you ate. i have one to gluten, which leads to weight gain, acne, fatigue digestive issues, etc, and the bloat takes weeks to go away once I'm exposed. if you have a similar issue, it will take a long time to recover. If i were you, i'd watch whether certain foods make you gain - there is no reason you should gain on 1200 or so calories

WOW! Congratulations! I am still not down my weight from "cheat day"! VERY frustrating! But, I'm really too stubborn to just give up! So, I'm getting tougher! I bought a HRM today to better track my exercise calories (even though Ferriss says I don't need to work out so much!)

I'm with you on the exercise thing. I've built up too much endurance, and I enjoy it too much to let it go. I spent my whole life hating exercise, and I found it a chore to do until about 3 years ago - after the birth of my 3rd son, I found that I needed a few moments of solitude here and there, and that's when I developed a love for running. I never stopped, and I don't want to stop now, for fear of falling back into my own, slothful habits. I don't really care if helps me lose weight or not anymore - I love doing it, and I'd no sooner quit running due to it's lack of effect on weight loss than would I quit playing the guitar. And I think that's Ferris' point - you should consider any exercise above the minimum effective dose recreation. So, if you're doing more, and you enjoy it - awesome.

So, has anyone come up with general things, expecially in ethnic cuisines, that work on the diet? (I'd prefer not chain stores ideas, but general dishes -- "beef fajitas" rather than "Mexichuck's Fabita Bowl" -- so people can apply them even if they don't have a Mexichuck, you know?) Also, any code words that may help, like "remember to ask them to hold the cheese".

I've found that the biggest issue with eating out at non-Mexican restaurants is that legumes are not readily available at a lot of them. Of course, you can get lentils if you go for Indian food, but a lot of Indian food is loaded with fat in the way of ghee (clarified butter) and cream. However, I've found a pretty satisfying Indian meal consisting of a salad, tandoori chicken and either Moong Daal Soup, or some other lentil-based side. As far as other Asian food goes, many varieties of Asian restaurants serve soy beans - so, if you combine those with a dish consisting primarily of meat and vegetables, you should be good to go.

ALSO, does anyone have any recipes to cheer up beans?

One of my favorite ways to get my beans and veggies together is as follows:

Slice a bunch of Brussels sprouts in half, and put them in a single layer in a pan. Drizzle them with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper (I use a fair bit of both). Then, roast them in a 400 degree oven until they're done. I wanna say about 20 minutes, but basically when some of the looser, outer leaves are just starting to show signs of brownness. You can cook longer if you prefer them softer. Then you take those, and mix them white beans, drained and rinsed. You can use whatever ratio you like - I think I use about 1 lb Brussels sprouts per can of beans. The dish seems simple and bland, but the flavors really go together well. You can eat this hot, room temp or cold. I think it's best when it's first made - just above room temp (hot sprouts + room temp beans). I make a big container full and just spoon out with whatever meal I'm eating.

I am going to start this diet because i was trying low carb and found myself unable to hit my calories and weak after my strength training and cardio. Hopefully the beans will help.

That's one of the reasons I chose this as well, and I think the beans do help...some. The thing is that a serving of beans only has ~20g of carbs, 8 of which are dietary fiber. That's not really all that much considering that 1 slice of the wheat bread in my fridge has 18g. Still - it's better than no carbs. I've tried working out while doing low-carb, and it was torture. Also, what I do is I do my longest/most strenuous workouts on my cheat day and the day after. On the cheat day, I do one about an hour after my first indulgence, and I try to make it the type of thing that would fuel a good workout. After the cheat day - first thing in the morning. My workouts the day after my cheat day are always my best (my glycogen stores are fully replenished?), and the ones on my cheat day are better then the others. I do SOMETHING 6 days per week - so that really only leaves 4 more days to muddle through - and they're not that bad. I'm also thinking doing more exercise on and immediately after the cheat day will help mitigate against those indulgences as well.

My cheat day is coming to a close after dinner in 10 minutes. I've had a large cinnamon roll and mousse pie that I bought yesterday at pastry school, orange chicken with lo mein noodles, a Mountain Dew, and now about to enjoy lasagna with french garlic bread. I honestly can't wait to get back to slow-carb tomorrow.

Exactly! And that's the point. Enjoy! I've got 2 more days, and I've got my eyes on a number of things, but I think I'm going to wait until noon to get thing really rolling...lots going on in the morning, so, I figure it's an easy way to delay the damage.

i had my first cheat day today. I don't think I went as crazy as i was supposed to. I ate 1500 cals when i usually eat 1200. and my biggest thing was eating a cannoli. Any thoughts. should i have gone crazier? I don't really feel like eating anymore today though.