The 4-Hour Body / Slow-Carb Diet

Looks like the mid-week huge weight loss was some kinda strange fluke. As of today I'm down 1lb from last week and 2.5 inches. I'm more inpressed with the inches lost than the change in the scale! I'm doing my cheat day tomorrow, but figure I'll still weight in today to keep a regular weekly check-in day. I didn't do any workout except the squats/presses/pulls this week either. So, had I kept with my EA Sports or hit the gym a few times I'm sure these numbers would be higher.

FYI on the PAGG....take it right before eating or within the first few bites. I took it this morning when I was going to start cooking my eggs. Then remembered DH wanted bacon this morning, so I started that in the oven and held off on making my eggs until the bacon was done so I could have a piece with my eggs. Well, about 10 mins later I felt very queasy and 5 mins after that it all came right back up. After I felt fine and ate breakfast like normal. So, from now on I'll be taking it with my first bite of food.

cutmd, get the book! There is alot more information in it than you'll be able to gather from the blog or forums. Post workout carbs are only ok if you're below a certain bodyfat %. I'd have to look up what those numbers are. Otherwise non-slow carbs aren't allowed, except on your free day. I'm only tracking calories to ensure I get enough everyday, and to make sure I don't go too high. And just out of curosity on my cheat days.

devuchka, how many times a day are you eating? If you spaced your meals closer together, ate less at each meal, and ate more times in a day would that help? What about adding in more filling veggies? Enjoy your cheat day! I need to read the chapter on minimizing damage before tomorrow to get a better idea of what I should be doing.

Think I failed at cheat day. Had my old regular foods for breaky and lunch and then majority of cal intake from alcohol (mates engagement party). Down about 1/2-1lb from water weight and that is with drinking a lot of water during the night also.

Not sure if strict SCD is for me or if I will just use some of the principles and modify as I don't have much fat to lose.

hi @sbracken et. al! nice to meet you!

so on my first cheat day i did more of a cheat meal. but i sure had enuf (1/2 pizza & 2 martinis). ended up with a migraine ugh, so i didn't eat dinner except for a slimfast peanut butter crunch bar (taste just like heath bars!)

this morning so happy to be back to 4HB food! had 2 boiled eggs for the first time, 1/2 avacado, cashews, some protein drink, etc.

i noticed yesterday when i ate a whole bowl of cheerios that my energy jumped up to uncomfortable levels. it stayed way too high all day, leaving me with general anxiety. i hadn't noticed in the past that my too-high energy levels were related to food. i thought they were fibromyalgia side effects (which i have). today we will see how my energy is with the slow-carb food.

i also purchased a kettle bell. saw a 10 lb one at marshalls for $10 so i am using that every so often. it makes me feel really good. something about the swinging that other weight motions don't have. it's nice to at least have the #1 tool that tim recommends in-house so i can use it when i want a little kick.

@ sbracken, i am not sure i could eat more frequently. it's a little hard to change schedule b/c i work in an office, and people tend to eat lunch at noon etc. but i will consider it. i also boo hoo hoo, really don't like veggies. i am a fruit girl. so i am trying to get used to it.

i just came off a year of eating a lot of raw/organic food, where i gained 10lbs. i sure miss the kick that fresh fruit gives, it makes you feel great. but seems to be some correlation, for me anyway, between weight gain & eating lots of raw food. maybe the "lots" was the problem, because i was getting a lot of protein from nuts.

i may buy macadamia nut oil soon, i was looking at that. also want to try some ghee. so will try to slowly introduce new stuff into my diet to help stave off the boredom...

Today's cheat day!!! Sat down to a nice helping of french toast for breakfast.....yum-o!! But I did get a protein shake in first along with 2 glasses of water and AGG first thing this morning. Along with the squats/presses/pulls. DH caught me in the kitchen doing the squats and thought I was nuts! Not sure what the rest of the day will be like, but I'm thinking there will be chocolate chip cookies, nachos, and Sailor Jerry involved at one point.

mcferg, congrats on getting the last of that weight off! I've been weighting daily, but only inputting it on cheat day for an "official" weight in. But I can't help but being curious about the "gain" from cheat days and how long it takes to come off.

I plan on using slow carb principles of eating combined with leangains/intermittent fasting. My only issue is I fall short on protein, and I can't just use powders for the difference!

why not? Sorry if I missed it earlier.

lean meats, eggs, cottage cheese are my regulars and I aim for 1g per lb bodyweight and usually make it.

I dunno, I guess I'd rather get it from real food, plus I'm gluten intolerant, which cross reacts with dairy intolerance, so I'd need a casein free powder. I just noticed that jay robb's powder is casein and gluten free, maybe I'll try it
My typical day is like this with slow carb (the beans help)
I eat two eggs and beans for breakfast - 18g
Lunch at best some tuna on salad, beans 26g
Dinner 6 oz of meat and beans 36g

That gives me 90g on my best day, I'm usually closer to 60 or so. How do you do it? I eat meat till I'm sick and still end up behind.

Well, I'm up 1.5 lbs, but I'm sure it's all water weight! I had Red Robin for dinner and those fries and seasoning are pure sodium! And I didn't get all my water in either......just a bad day all around at my house.

Back to plan today. Need to hit the grocery store and maybe the gym tonight after work.

Cheat day...yesterday...

Morning weight: 183.5 lbs
Bedtime weight: 202 lbs

Whoa. I ate bad yesterday, but I probably had about 10 beers throughout the day, and I'm guessing about 2 gallons of water, not to mention maybe 2 diet sodas. Crazy.

This morning I was 188.5...semi-typical cheat day weight gain of 5 lbs. Suffice it to say I was up quite a bit throughout the night!

Christin09, Welcome!

I think you can definitely start the diet just by reading the "Slo Carb Diet" section, which is pretty small. There's some other good information here and there, particularly regarding exercise and such, but all you really need to know for the "diet" is in a few pages. In fact, part of me thinks it's a good way to go - just focus on the basic diet first, and introduce other things as you go....

mcferg, sounds like you had a great superbowl partayyy!

re: this diet, i gotta say, i am so surprised that beans/legumes make me feel so good. i grew up vegetarian so you'd think i woulda known this, but there is something about them that is so satisfying, but not heavy!

anyone here have a good snack idea? i am having a hard time getting home to get dinner after work. but i hate to snack. i also grew up with a no food between meals rule, so it's mentally hard. also i gained so much weight last year snacking on nuts that i'm not sure what is a good tide-me-over snack. i used to use glucose tabs to tide me over, then switched to dried cherries. now with the SCD, i am wondering what is a good idea. sbracken, you have any wisdom?

i also found that eating out can be fun. i cheat a little when out, but we'll see how that goes. (get the broccoli & cheese sauce side with the cheese sauce.) i know myself though, i won't stick to something tooo restrictive for long. but if i don't get results, then i will go strict on the plan. anyhow, i went to legal sea foods & got a side of cole slaw & broccoli & a glass of red wine. cheap meal & super satisfying!

happy eats everyone!

Hi Everyone,

I've been reading the posts on this topic for a while, as I've been trying to get as much community information as I can to help me along with this diet. I bought the book on a whim in late December, and decided to give it a few months right after New years. I've been pretty good, but I've "stretched" the cheat day a couple weeks (started Friday night). Other than that, it's been no dairy, no white carbs, and avoidance of processed/hcfs/fruit, etc. I saw Ferris (the author) on Dr. Oz a couple weeks ago, and it was great to see some validation of his methods. I don't think i'm doing the "ice" thing anytime soon, nor am I ready to step up to PAGG just yet. I have willed myself out of bed and actually made egg omelette w/ chicken and beans within a 1/2 hour... no easy task... my hat is off to anyone who does that daily.

I'm a huge eater on most days, and it's been really interesting to see the scale go in the right direction, even after scarfing down 8 pieces of El Pollo Loco chicken the other day (no skin of course).

I got down 12lbs pretty quick, but I feel I've plateau'd a bit. I do compliment the diet with 30 min daily of easy/moderate exercise bike, and weekly 2 hour basketball game.

Good luck to everyone, and appreciate all the insightful knowledge and updates on everyone's progress. If I can be of any help or anyone has any questions about my regiment, feel free to ask.

I think the great thing about this book is the author's approach to experimentation. If you want yogurt, then have yogurt, track it, see if you can determine if it affected you and learn from it.

I will be implementing the AGG and PAGG supplements in the next week, but one step at a time. I also like snacking on cinnamon covered almonds to keep my glucose levels steady throughout the day. I don't consider this a diet anymore, just a good healthy way to live the rest of my life.

I think I typically take in at least 5000 calories on my day off but any additional weight taken on is gone within 48 hours.

Snacks.....Edamame is always a good go-to snack for me. I'll cook up a bag at a time and then keep the leftovers in the fridge to heat up when needed. I also keep a container of almonds (roasted with sea salt) in my desk drawer for those days where I just need to calm the stomach grumbling. I'll take out 10 at a time and eat them and that usually does the trick. Otherwise, I'll just refill my water glass and that usually does the trick too. Otherwise I'm not a big "snacker". I usually have a pretty good size salad (romaine and spinach) at lunch so that keeps me pretty full along with whatever protein/legume I have. I've also noticed that by breaking up my lunch into 2 meals (one at about 11:30 and the other around 3) I can cruize thru the day easier. For that 3:00 meal I usually have tuna, chicken and hummus, or something that doesn't require heating and I can eat pretty quick at my desk. Otherwise I hate those "she's eating again....." looks that people around here have.

brentoski, I agree! That is the best thing about this plan....the ability to experiment. I think that makes this plan so much easier to work into your current lifestyle. For instance.....I'm not one to spring out of bed in the morning and whip up some eggs or something. I'm much more the flying-out-the-door, running late, grab-a-protein-shake type person. So, on days I go into the office, I do just that. I just try to get the one that has very low if any sugar.

circadianswing, I agree.....no "ice" here either!!!! The wind chill was 3 below this morning!!!! Although I do turn the heat down to 65 at night, so it's a bit chilly all night long. I don't mind a cold shower in the middle of summer on a scorching hot day, but not when it's 0 outside.

Ok so I am on day one and I am wondering if its possible to eat too many "slow carbs"? I haven't had lunch yet (I had breakfast and a midmorning snack/first lunch) and I have already had a cup of legumes is this too much? I wish I had some numbers that I am suppose to follow, I want to get this right and make it work for me. How much protein? How many slow carbs? How many veggies? Am I making this more complicated than it is?

Yep, too complicated. Protein/Veggie/Legume at every meal. Don't worry about calories. At least 30g protein at breakfast.

I love the program but I struggle with eating so soon after I wake up. I am used to eating mid-morning but after 1 week on the diet the scale is finally starting to go down! I have upped my protein this morning and I am curious to see how my day goes.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! People...diets do NOT work. It is as simple as that. You must change your style of living, and be healthy. Worrying about greek yogurt vs. cottage cheese, or water vs. tea is silly at best. Our bodies are amazing machines, and they don't need gimmicks to make them fluorish. The only 'diet' any of us needs is to eat clean and work hard. That's my book, the Eat Clean - Work Hard 'diet'. That's all there is in my book.

Those basic tenents, with a bit of explanation are all you need. Eat good foods that our bodies can utilize in an amount that balances with our activity. But, that activity has to be there. Covert Bailey was one of the best ever in his book 'fit or fat' concering these topics. Read it.

We all grasp at "plans" that fit, and gimmicks, but can you really expect to eat copious amounts of beans the rest of your life? Seriously - no one in your house can enjoy the after effects of that. Grilled meat diets? C'mon. If you stick with the basics long term, work out, and limit your calories to be less than what you burned and intake quality foods...you will get fit. Please, please, please stop the madness! Low-carb doesn't work long-term...if it did, there'd be about a billion fit people with Atkins shirts on from 15 years ago...but those people are either weight yo-yo's or fat again.

Please, for your sanity and health, stop buying 'diet' books, and use your heads on this one.

This post implies that those of us who have read the 4-hour body are ignorant about nutrition and fitness. You're assuming that anyone who reads a diet book is mindlessly hoping for some "magic bullet" that will make fitness and weight loss easy. That's not the case.

Many people here, myself included, are looking for new information and such that we can use to put together a healthy eating/living system. For me, the idea of eating legumes at every meal is a great idea. I love beans, and, yes, I enjoy eating them 3-4 times per day. I don't eat "copious amounts" of them, and I suffer no ill-effects. The bottom line is that beans provide additional fiber and protein source while also providing healthy carbs, which allow me to fuel my exercise without filling myself up with processed and refined foods. In fact, I'd suggest that the fact that you chose the "beans" aspect of this diet as a failing point indicates that your knowledge of nutrition is suspect.

The bottom line is that everyone's body is different. You clearly have had success with diet and fitness, and also may not have some of the food-related emotional issues others on this board have (though the arrogant and insensitive nature of your post indicates that you have other emotional issues). For many of us, any "book" diet we try gives us another example of how we feel and how our body reacts when we eat a certain way. Over time, we can take the things that make us feel beat and include them in our lifelong healthy eating plan.

Anyway, since you've clearly mastered health and fitness through the sheer strength of your almighty willpower, you might want to check out the Dale Carnegie classic, "How to Win Friends and Influence People", as you've clearly got a ways to go in that department