The 4-Hour Body / Slow-Carb Diet

funny you ask why i even drink coffee... good question...haha. probably for the caffeine content! and i don't really enjoy tea all that
so tomorrow, my omelette for breakfast, homemade hummus w/ bell peppers and sugarsnap peas to dip in it for a snack, and a yummy leafy salad w/ alfalfa sprouts and salmon for lunch. no legumes in my breakfast but that might be because i cannot fathom adding legumes to my omelette. that's why i will make up for it later w/ the hummus. then for dinner it will probably be the leftover minestrone soup and maybe some edamame for "dessert"

how does all that sound? it's definitely a lot more food prep than i am used to, but i really want to get rid of these final lbs or inches, or whatever they turn out to be.

It sounds pretty good. Personally, I love refried beans with eggs, so I never skip them in the morning. As for the amount of food prep...this can be an issue for me. If you're spending too much time prepping food, eventually, you'll get tired of doing it. I think that's why Ferris preaches eating the same few meals over and over. You can choose easy to prepare meals, and you can get a system down to save time. It makes the eating boring - but like he says - the diet isn't supposed to be fun; it's supposed to be effective. However, I'm the kind of person that could eat the same thing 15 times in a week. My wife would never go for that. So, if you demand variety, I understand, but if you have meals that are too much work, eventually, that can come back to bite you.

Sorry, I meant the other issue with beans, i've heard the body adapts. Beans 3x a day doesn become a "social issue"??

No issues here. The only thing that really gives me any issues is if I try to eat too many raw veggies.

Any thoughts on pork rinds?

I love pork rinds. Since they are technically "pork" which is allowed, they may be okay. I would stay away from BBQ flavor as they likely contain sugar though. Keep in mind, though, that they are high in calories but present very little, if any nutritional value. Being chip-like, they also could be a "domino food". I think if I were going to indulge in pork rinds, I'd put them in the same category as wine (at best)...not everyday, and in very limited quantities.

I am having the hardest time processing all the protein. I know this is tmi, but I have had the worst consipation.

Maybe increase your legume intake? The fiber in beans should help this issue. More veggies too, perhaps.

wish i could find something to fix my sweet craving though.

I'm not sure if I've said this before. I probably have. I have a habit of repeating myself. Maybe it bears repeating. I dunno:

The best way to fix your sweet craving is to avoid sweets altogether. Over time you'll think about them less and less. Of course, everyone is different. Also, keep a list of sweets you want to eat. Write them down, then eat them on cheat day, to excess if you think it will help you stay off of them the rest of the week.

mcferg, i think you've said that. i am just stubborn. i only think about them at night, and it's tough when everyone else in the house is getting something tasty. that's why i am planning to have edamame for dessert tonight...lol

Yeah... don't mean to be a broken record. And you may actually do better having a little here and there. I tend to be either 0 or 110 in all aspects of my life...I'm either "all in" or completely out. Sometimes that works (like when I focus on fitness, etc), and sometimes that works against me, too!

What you gotta do is just tell the rest of your house to suck it up and cool it with the sweets! If momma ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy! Not only will that get them (the sweets) out of your face, but you'll have the rest of your family to commiserate with about not being allowed to have them.

what about bacon?

Thats fine.

Mcferg, may I ask are there any slow carb rules you aren't following or have trouble following consistently?

When it comes to beverages, I'm not to the letter. I drink way more than the allotted diet cola he recommends, and I don't always adhere to the 2-glass max on wine (I occasionally have 3)...of course sometimes I don't have any as well, and my average is probably less than 2, but still.

The artificial sweetener thing...I dunno. I know he says that it prohibits fat loss, but there's no explanation. I will attempt to cut them out if things stall.

Other than that - so far, no other issues.

mcferg: so from what I can gather the only way you might have hit the 20 lbs in a month thing claimed in Tims book was by either:

a) having much more weight to loose to start with OR
b) skipping the most appealing part of the slow carb diet - the cheat day.

Right - I honestly think losing 20 lbs is a little extreme...that would have put me at 170 lbs (@6'3"), but, regardless of that - anyone losing the "final 20" they have to lose in a month (without lipo or something) seems impossible. However, I wouldn't skip the cheat day under any circumstances. I personally think shaking things up once per week is good for your metabolism. I think maybe a modified or more-healthy cheat day might quicken weight loss, but that would also lessen the other benefit - the fact that being able to eat whatever you want guilt-free one day per week makes it easy to stick to things the rest of the time.

I am starting to wonder if the whole thing in the book about the slow carb diet making "veins" pop out on Tims abs, was probably because of something else he was playing with, such as some risky thermogenic he doesn't recommend in his book or on cheat days him following that crazy exercise + PAGG + cinammon + lemon juice thing he talks about in one of the chapters. Either that or he sleeps in a bath tub of ice or something ....

Sure. Or he just made up the 20lb thing in 1 month to sell books. Here's the thing - if there was a silver bullet for weight loss...it wouldn't be a secret for long, whether it was safe or not.

Sure. Or he just made up the 20lb thing in 1 month to sell books. Here's the thing - if there was a silver bullet for weight loss...it wouldn't be a secret for long, whether it was safe or not.

The appendix in the back of the book shows some stats about different peoples reported outcomes. I think that is where the claim of 20 lbs in a month comes from.

Thursday-Finally lost the weight from my Saturday binge day. Down 4.5 lbs from when I weighed myself after binge day. I am down .5 lbs from my start weight. I am just happy to see some movement in the right direction, even if it is .5 lbs. I completed concentrated on drinking water-I can get to 6-7 glasses a day (that's a lot of water!) I realize now, I was no where near that a week ago. Also, I re-read some parts of the book and today I had 30 grams of protein upon waking (within 30 minutes)--which is about 10 grams up from what I normally do. I am really hoping these small changes will do the trick.. Keep ya posted.

Thursday-Finally lost the weight from my Saturday binge day. Down 4.5 lbs from when I weighed myself after binge day. I am down .5 lbs from my start weight. I am just happy to see some movement in the right direction, even if it is .5 lbs. I completed concentrated on drinking water-I can get to 6-7 glasses a day (that's a lot of water!) I realize now, I was no where near that a week ago. Also, I re-read some parts of the book and today I had 30 grams of protein upon waking (within 30 minutes)--which is about 10 grams up from what I normally do. I am really hoping these small changes will do the trick.. Keep ya posted.

My binge day is Sunday...and today (Thursday) my most recent binge weight is gone (plus 0.5 lb, just like you). What's weird is that this was the least I've gained on binge day (~1.5 lbs), and it took me longer to lose it then some other times. Of course, Ferris says to binge on Saturday and not worry about the scale until Wednesday, so, I'm right on schedule. Also, for the record, every week the day I finally got rid of the binge weight, I overshot it by at least 0.5 lb. That's nice. It's great to have that sort of scale-reinforcement to motivate me during the home stretch of the week.

Anyone have any good 4HB on-the-go type breakfasts? When I'm home I do the eggs/veggies thing, but on work days I don't have the time to make it and then sit down and eat it. And I don't think waiting until I get to work it the best option either. I was thinking of boiling up some eggs this weekend and having those that I could stuff down while I'm getting ready....at least there's no prep involved. But any suggestions are welcomed.

This diet doesn't really lend itself well to eating on the go, particularly if that means eating in the car. I do the hard boiled egg thing, and I also prepare my breakfast the night before in containers so I can heat it and eat it when I get to work. I'm not sure how you could get legumes in while eating in the car. I have taken hardboiled eggs and some lunchmeat in the car, though, but even that's a little messy. I think if you have to eat in the car, probably what you're doing (protein shake) might be best.

Shifting gears...

I decided to start measuring my waist. I doubt I'll measure it every week, but I wanted to establish a baseline for when the weight loss slows down or stops. I didn't measure it when I started, but I measured it today and it's 36 3/4". This really highlights what clothing companies are doing w/ vanity sizing. Most of my pants have an alleged 34" waist, and most of them are loose enough right now that I have to wear a belt. I even have 1 pair of 32" jeans that I can wear (though, they're a little snug). It seems a little crazy that my waist is nearly 37", yet 34" pants are loose, but I guess that's how it goes. I've gauged my weight by the size pants I've worn for years, and I don't think this has changed much in the last 20 years or so. I hate to think how big my waist actually was at one point when I was wearing 38" pants and they were getting tight round the waist.

Anyway - I think my goal for my waist is to actually get down to 34". I'm not sure what this means in terms of what size pants I'll be wearing, but I guess I'd be happy just to see some movement there.

Shifting gears again...

Is anyone else taking the PAGG? I was hesitant, but I found a place that's selling it in a single pill and offered what was (I guess) a decent deal. I've really not been much of a supplement guy (other than my daily multivitamin), but I figured I'd give this a go. My biggest fear is smelling like garlic, but we'll see...

OMG.....today is my first weigh-in. And get this.....I'm down a pound!!!!! Amazing! Not to mention my muffin top was non-existant yesterday in my skinny jeans.

I am super excited for my cheat day today!!! There are cookies and donuts in my kitchen calling my name.


mcferg, I'm starting to realize that. I think I'll stick with the protein shake on days I'm rushed to get out the door and not sweat it. I'll also go find one that's low in sugar to grab and go. And if I plateau that will be the first thing I'll experiment with changing. But I figure being perfect for 20 out of 24 meals (I eat 4 times a day) is better than nothing.

I also started taking measurements this morning for another gauge, since I think my measurements are going to change more than my weight will.

I've never been ahuge supplements taker. I always foget! But I was thinking of adding in this stack. And see where it takes me. Of course DH and I are also trying to get pregnant, so the supplements will be taken out if that ever happens. I have PCOS so it's more than a little tricky to get pregnant.

congrats! that's great!!!!

i weighed in today to and am happy with my results. I've been measuring for a couple weeks now and am definitely seeing some downward movement, although my weight hasn't really budged....

Yay for cheat day! Although I'm not sure I remember how to cheat anymore....lol.... but i'm going to try. eating slow carb is really starting to become a lifestyle. it's hard when the family is eating rice or pita bread with dinner, but i just give myself an extra serving of veggies to dip in my hummus

The longer I'm off sugar the better I feel. And I'm allergic to gluten. So there aren't many good choices for cheating. However, I did eat 1000 calories worth of peanuts!!!! It kinda freaked me out. I burned 500 cals today but was thinking of returning to the gym tonight, at least for a walk. I guess I'm not handling the cheat concept well cause I'm getting nervous everything will be derailed...

High GI Carbs are good in certain situations: when you first wake up, before working out and after working out. However, with those three situations taken out of the equation, this seems like a solid diet plan.

Few queries:

In that blog post he said guys more than 12% BF have no carbs post workout. I haven't been tested with a bodpod or anything but I believe I am about 10% at the moment so not sure on postworkout carbs. (currently have fruit or dextrose and aim for .5g per lb of body weight)

Also, if carbs are allowed post workout then would skim milk be ok here? I currently mix 1 cup skim milk with 1 cup water as I can't stomach it with just water.

Postworkout at 10% BF, oats ok?

I don't have much of a sweet tooth but for a long time I have been having 2/3 cup of low fat cottage cheese and 1 tbsn natural peanut butter as a night time snack. By my understanding, CC is ok and peanuts are ok as long as not turning into a domino food. correct?

McFerg: can you link to this all in one PAGG?

Is anyone doing the morning pre breakfast workout he recommends? KB swings and glute activation.

Oh and I've been loving the cold showers! It is Summer here though, don't know if I could do it in Winter. Might even save some cash on the water bill haha.