The 4-Hour Body / Slow-Carb Diet

odd day today. Usually I gain 3-5 lbs after my cheat day (Pre cheat weight 211 lbs) but this time I gained .2 lbs the day after not much. But today 48 hours later I'm at 213 which is 2 lbs. Hmm. I got back right on the diet Sunday (the day after cheat day) and also didn't feel I ate a whole lot too. Just amazing how much your body weight fluctuates.

Shannon I don't think I could have resisted those IHOP pancakes, great job. My fav pancakes are the ones at Perkins.

2 whole wheat pancakes.

for cheat day?!? blech!!! I have no idea why you didn't gain a pound... not sure how I feel about taking cold showers on a regular basis, so I'm not sure what one will do for you every once in a while.

I appreciate the responses to my unique situation - my traveling is ALL car. I spend 7 hours in the car usually in one or two days, between the drives I'm on campus trying to fit in all my grad meetings and the class I teach in one day or so. It's a long day where I have to keep my energy up and be smart in front of important people - so I always end up needing to eat more than a snack or I start flagging - I cap it off teaching a 3 hour upper level class that ends at 9. And I am determined to teach well. Then I usually drive home - and sometimes then I get food just to have something to do to stay awake.

My office there has a sad mini-fridge that doesn't stay that cold, nowhere to even eat out except limited fast food options (chik fil a but they only offer the fries and sandwiches, etc.... I wonder if I can find a campus shop with salads that's a little farther away though... I'll look into that this week).

If I stay overnight, it's on a friend's couch and by the time I leave I'm exhausted from not sleeping much. Ahh, the life of a grad student. They never have the room for me to bring my own food, hah, I tried. I do love my friends, it's much less stressful if more tiring when I stay overnight.

I could start packing an ice chest or something nuts (that's part of the problem - my food gets nasty from the car+warm office by the time I eat it). I think my currently semi-ridiculous level of stress (just 4 months to go, i think i can, i think i can) and need to save my pennies make me very reluctant to buy an ice chest, buy ice every week, etc. etc. Plus I just know the minute my schedule got tight, which it does often, I wouldn't do it.

That's the real trick, the schedule stuff. That's what pushes me to the places I do run in and out of, usually convenience stores, there aren't even many drive-thru's on my 3 hour commute each way. So I usually only grab something when I get gas, and I'm stressed about the drive, my schedule, etc. and it ends up being my 'cheat' foods that I gravitate to. I always tell myself I'll eat when I get home, and I end up starving to the point I can't wait the hours I have to drive.

Hmmm. I could pre-prep driving breakfast the night before. Then, if I start keeping nuts in the car, that will keep me through that part of it without wanting the junk. Then ... I'll look this trip for FF places close to my route that have salads and see if there's another on campus option I'm just not aware of because grad students only seem to learn their building..... (leaving campus once I'm there is not going to happen - I never end up having time). Maybe Wendy's chili would be close enough (I'm sure it has added sugar, but on that day I burn double the calories I do on other days) to SC I could allow it.... That might just turn that day around from being an unsatisfying day that I feel ruins my diet every week to something I feel in control of again!

mcferg, thank you so much for how thought out that response was!

That's part of the problem - I've been running so crazy and I'm not even very familiar with fast food menus to know where to go for what. I always get beef jerky for road trips, that almost made me hit myself on the head. And I think sunflower seeds would be a good rotatable option. That makes 3 EASY happy car options that can get warm with no ill side effects. Nice. I'm going to go to the store and make a car snack box tomorrow I think. Grabbing it on my way out of the house would be very convenient.

I've never eaten at Taco Bell that I can remember - but now I'll know they have a good option for me. And I know there's one in the city I teach in I could drop by on my way to campus to grab something for the evening. Eating that in the car might be a bit dangerous.

I just found a store that isn't too far away that sells quality protein bars last week - I got a couple to test. So add that in on my marathon day as I like to call it - and overall I should come out still able to function at decent capacity and not need to buy an ice chest or something which I just know I'd PLAN to use and get frustrated over. I already feel like a pack mule every time I have to do my traveling day. I might even come out ready to rock on Thursday. Looks like I'm getting back on the SCD train - I had gotten very discouraged by ruining it four weeks in a row and just gone back to adding in carbs and going low-cal.

I'm really excited actually, thanks for the support, it's just what I needed!

Has anyone here used the Athletic Greens that T. Ferriss recommends?

I wanted to get them, but they're really expensive. Also, I'm actually having no trouble getting plenty of actual greens. The whole website really turned me off. To even get the price, you have to fill out your contact info...THEN, after you do that, if you don't order, they continue to harass you via email about having not ordered. The whole thing smacks of snake oil to me.

I could be wrong - and they may have a great product, but the way they're selling it was such a turnoff. BTW, there are other "greens" out there that are sold through a number of different chains and such (Vibrant Greens, etc). I haven't compared their ingredients (if that's even possible), but I see no reason Athletic Greens should have a corner on the market.

yes been using PAGG for a week and a half now. I am trying to gain weight with minimal bodyfat increase. I can't say for sure yet but I have increased my cals 500/day on avg. and I am still maintaining weight (or even losing a bit) so far. Not saying it's all PAGG related but that is pretty much the only other change I have made that I can think of.

I'm using the PAGG. Because of the 2 months for the price of 3, I have a 3 month supply. I have only taken it 4 times once - I keep forgetting. I really don't get the sense that it's doing anything, but how are you to know? So - I'll take it until it's gone, then probably be done with it.

I'm happy to say that it's Wednesday, and my Sunday cheat weight is gone. The last 3 weeks, it's taken until Saturday or the following Sunday to get it off. I'm hoping this means that I will actually see a loss this week - seems like I should. What's interesting is that I haven't exercised at all the last 2 days except for maybe 50 kettlebell swings per day. Coincidence? I dunno. I hate the fact that I'm starting to feel motivated NOT to exercise.

Happy Wednesday!!!!!! My cheat day weight is also gone as of this morning. Yippie!!!! I'm hoping for a nice big number this week come Saturday morning.

Great! Must be something in the water...
I must say, though - I'm not really concerned about lbs so much anymore, and I can honestly say that this is the first time I've ever felt that way in my life. My waist is down about 1 1/4" since I started doing this, and my body fat measurement this morning was also down a "notch" on my caliper...which is actually 2mm. Interesting. Maybe exercise is the enemy? I think I'm going to table my strength workout for exercises Ferris recommends (kettlebell, etc, etc) indefinitely. I will continue to run my *kitten* off, though - I've had a cold this week, which is why I haven't done that, but I intend to get back on the road no later than tomorrow.

My biggest change this week is the elimination of diet soda. I didn't stop drinking it because of the artificial sweeteners and the alleged impact on weight loss/gain Ferris suggests. I just don't think it's healthy. I've been getting too much caffeine, and too many chemicals. I really want to ween myself off of caffeine altogether, but for now, I'm drinking unsweetened tea (iced and hot), which does the trick. I don't LOVE it, though, like I do soda, so I'm less inclined to overdo it.

Hey All! I also lost my cheat weight today, Wednesday!! I am still up .5lbs from two weeks ago, but I am solidly down to pre-cheat weight from last week. I am stoked. Boy, am I sore in my upper back from that kettleball! But that must mean it is doing something. Thanks for the tip Circadian, I don't want to hurt myself. It's weird, the first two days after my binge day, Saturday, I was not hungry really, and forced myself to get my calories. Yesterday, I ate about 1600 cals including some peanut butter at about 9pm. Then I lost like 1.6 lbs when I weighed myself in the morning. I've been reading about calorie cycling or zigzagging. I know we are not supposed to be counting calories, but it's hard not to on MFP, when it's right there in front of you. I'm wondering if I might try to do some cycling a bit. I don't know, because I know that is what our cheat day is meant to do--shake the body up a bit and throw off the metabolism so we continue to burn. Any thoughts?

I ordered some calipers and a fat monitor for $27 on amazon. I know those fat monitors arent very accurate, but I still want to see. I will combine the calipers with it.

Happy Wednesday. Stephanie

re KB's: read this
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_metabolic_swing

Brilliant! The whole gas/brakes analogy really helped clear that up for me, and I now see how beneficial it is to keep your knees bent and use the abs as "brakes", as opposed to just allowing your hips to completely straighten. Thanks for posting!

I will be starting this March 9th (Lent) and I had a question. What about Almond Milk? I use the unsweetened almond milk with my protein whey shake instead of dairy. Will this be ok?

If you're going to be strict with the plan, then no. Tim refers to almond and soy milks as "sugar milk" at one point. And sugars are what you're trying to avoid. And sugars come in all shapes and sizes.....from the corn syrup we all love to hate to natural sugars in milk and fruit to the high GI carbs in "white" startchy foods.

I will be starting this March 9th (Lent) and I had a question. What about Almond Milk? I use the unsweetened almond milk with my protein whey shake instead of dairy. Will this be ok?

If you're going to be strict with the plan, then no. Tim refers to almond and soy milks as "sugar milk" at one point. And sugars are what you're trying to avoid. And sugars come in all shapes and sizes.....from the corn syrup we all love to hate to natural sugars in milk and fruit to the high GI carbs in "white" startchy foods.

I'm not sure about this one. Shannon. The Almond milk he's referring to contains no sugar. It only has 2g of carbs for 8 oz, and 1g of that is dietary fiber (which we know is good). The vast majority of this Almond milk is water and almonds. It does have "tapioca starch", which sounds like a no-no, but based on the carb count, I suspect the amounts to be trace.

I'd been considering using this with coffee or tea. Since 8oz has only 40 calories, I could have a 1/4 cup for only 10 calories. I suppose it's not really *strict*, but one of the reasons I'm considering it is that I finally ditched the diet cola this week and am looking to coffee or tea in the morning instead.

ok, so i don't know if this is normal, but i started the diet on monday, and i'm down 7.2 lbs, and inch and a quarter on the waist, and a half inch on the hips! holy mackerel!

before scd, i've been counting calories and exercising, eating back half my cals, and totally plateaued for 3 weeks. my diet already consisted of protein and vegs, no potatoes, grain, or bread, but lots of daIry and fruit.

i know its only been a few days but i hope this keeps up!

On the topic of coffee...

I've never been a coffee drinker, but since I've sworn off soda (and am trying to avoid artificial sweeteners), I've started having a cup in the morning for the caffeine. Eventually, I'd like to ween myself off of caffeine altogether, but, for now, a cup of coffee in the morning, and a couple of iced teas throughout the day are what I'm drinking. A couple of observations related to the book and stuff posted here:

As I recall, Tim says something about putting a TABLESPOON of cinnamon in. That's just nuts. I have a 24 oz cup that's filled about 3/4 with coffee today. I put a teaspoon in and that was WAY too much for taste. I think a "sprinkle" of cinnamon is the right amount.

I added 1/4 cup of almond milk to my 18 oz of coffee - unsweetened kind. It has 10 calories (for 1/4 cup) and no sugar. However, it really doesn't do the same job milk or creamer would. Almond milk is, after all, mostly water, and when you mix it with coffee, it just kind of disappears. So, I'm not sure I'll be doing this anymore. Perhaps just a sprinkle of cinnamon, or a couple of drops of vanilla extract.

I do prefer coffee with cream, no doubt, but, as I'm replacing a zero calories beverage (my morning diet cola), I prefer to be at or near zero calories. 1 tablespoon of cream is like 50 calories. In the grand scheme of things, that's not horrendous (if it's only once per day), but I'd rather not "drink my calories"...unless it's wine, of course (mua ha ha).

Mcferg, I am a coffee addict! Or at least I was. I switched to decaf 6 months ago, but I need that morning cup of decaf just because I love the taste. If you can get used to using Stevia powder, it is definitely sweet. I agree with the amount of cinnamon too. I use about a tsp, which i find to be quite a bit. But I do like cinnamon.

I was using about a cup of almond milk, which I had to warm in the microwave, before adding the coffee, otherwise the coffee turned out to be luke warm because of the amount of milk I was using.

I now use 2 tbsp of half and half, which is 35 calories. ( know there is a little milk in it). That seems to be enough to add that creamy taste to the coffee.
Anyways, try Stevia. It's supposedly the best most natural sweetener out there that doesn't alter GI.

Stephanie