The 4-Hour Body / Slow-Carb Diet

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

Stephanie,

Thanks for the reply. I've tried stevia in the past, but I don't want to use it in my coffee I'm really trying to avoid all artificial sweeteners, and I believe Ferris even said on his blog that stevia should be avoided. I doubt it's hurting you, but the truth is - I don't really want my coffee sweet. I like it creamy, but I don't really desire to add any sweetener. Even if Ferris said sugar was okay, I wouldn't use it.

A cup of almond milk seems like a lot. The amount of half and half you're using would be just about right for me, but I don't even want 35 calories, nor do I want the dairy. I've only been "on coffee" for three days, and I'm actually doing fine with it black. I don't love it, but it's tolerable and does the job.. If I can actually develop a taste for black coffee, that really would be ideal.

hey mcferg - i read in a ferriss blog post that his editor missed that correction, it was supposed to say a TEASPOON.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2011/01/21/housecleaning-and-clarifications-blog-content-4hb-corrections-competition-winners-slow-carb-mistakes-and-more/

That makes sense, though - to me, that tastes like WAY too much. I think about 1/4 teaspoon would be better. Anyway - I've come to the conclusion that 1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk does just fine - and it's only 10 calories. I don't think it contains anything that violates the SCD either. I did by some sugar free french vanilla non-dairy creamer today. 1 tblspoon has 20 calories. I was reading the ingredients...and other than "trace amounts" of corn syrup solids, it seemed to be fine (the rest is primarily water and oil). However, I missed the giant "sweetened with splenda" tag on the front. It's particularly odd, because, there is no splenda (aka sucralose) in the ingredient list at all. Anyway - much of my motivation to switch to coffee was to avoid the artificial sweeteners I was getting in soda, so I'm not using it. Other people around here will, so it won't go to waste.

hm, i think i also read somewhere that full fat cream is ok in coffee as it has less lactose? will have to look that up for you. i'm switching to black for now. i figure if i am super strict the first week and have good results, i can add things back in later to see if they have an effect.

What he says was that if you MUST have something in your coffee - use cream. The problem is that cream has 50 calories per tablespoon...BUT, IMO, you can get away with much less cream in your coffee than you can of other things. I'm going with black, though, too. And you know what they say...once you go... err... nevermind.

going out to dinner with a friend tonight. cheat day is not until tomorrow. i'll be ok if i just have meat and vegs, right? you don't HAVE to have legumes at every meal? not sure where we are going will have beans!

happy cheat day saturday people! oh man am i looking forward to beer!

Way to go, Shannon...

My cheat days have been Sundays, and I have been considering switching them to Saturdays now that football season is over. However, I have a gig tonight, which makes me NOT want to make today my cheat day, because a) I hate playing shows where I feel all bloated and b) I like to have a few beers on my cheat day, but I don't really like to have beer when I'm performing. I'll have a glass of wine or two, but I find that beer causes me to have to burp at inopportune moments. So, I may just keep it Sunday for another week or two. Or I may just not cheat this weekend. Honestly, I don't really feel like cheating.

As for the weight loss, though...I, too, am down 2 lbs (so far) this week after no movement on the scale the last 2 weeks. I've also lost another 1/4" off of my waist, and my body fat is down from the range that shows as 21.8% on the accumeasure chart to 20.6%.

I did make a few significant changes. I know that Ferris recommends changing one thing at a time so you can see what the effect of that one thing might do, but I just felt that some of these had to be made now. The changes were:

1. I eliminated artificial sweeteners. I did this more because I was drinking a lot of diet soda (~60oz / day). I'm not sure how I feel about its effect on weight loss, but I know that drinking soda just isn't healthy regardless, so I cut it out. The result of this is that I'm drinking even more water. I started having a cup of coffee in the morning and unsweetened iced tea in the afternoon.

2. I didn't have any protein shakes or bars. Part of this was because I wanted to avoid the artificial sweeteners, but the other reason was that I just wanted to get back to a more "pure" SCD plan. As a result, I found myself eating larger breakfasts that were of the true SCD variety as soon as I could after waking. I started eating before I left for work instead of in the car or when I got there (which forced me to eat as soon as I could get it ready in the morning).

3. The only exercise I've done starting Monday involved two armed kettlebell swings (more on that in a second). Up until now, I was doing 3 days per week of weights and 3-4 days of running. This week, I did a kettlebell workout Monday through Friday, and will probably do it again today and tomorrow.

When I look at these changes, it's easy for me to envision how they each played a part in the weight loss. It's also easy for me to imagine that these had NO effect, and that, after 2 weeks of no weigh loss, I was simply "due", but here's the beauty of it: it doesn't matter. The elimination of soda / artificial sweeteners is a healthy change. Eating a balanced breakfast made with "real food" is a healthy change. I think my workouts before were healthy, but I've been a running nut for the last 3-4 years, and I think altering my workout may be healthy. I honestly cannot believe how great I have felt this week. My energy level is very high. I actually think I'm requiring less sleep, because I found myself waking up earlier on my own everyday, yet not feeling tired throughout the day.

All of that said - if I had to guess which change had the most profound effect, it would be the exercise. This is my 8th week on this diet, and the only other time I had a weight loss this great was the one week I was sick and didn't exercise at all. I just think the stuff I was doing before was not necessarily conducive to weight loss. I loved running, and will continue to do that 1-2 times per week, at least, in addition to the kettlebell workout, but I hated the weights anyway.

So, as for the workout... I want to draw attention to the article that chrisdavey posted earlier on this forum:

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/the_metabolic_swing

This is the best instructional that I've seen for developing proper form. I used this in combination with some youtube instructions to learn the swing. I think I've got decent form. It is a technical move, and I think it takes time, but I'm not experiencing any back soreness, and I feel like I'm working the things that should be worked.

Anyway - for those interested...this is the workout I'm doing. It's based on the "best workout" on page 2 of the article mentioned above, with a few more details:

5 swings followed by 10 second rest
10 swings followed by 10 second rest
15 swings followed by 10 second rest
15 swings followed by 10 second rest
10 swings followed by 10 second rest
5 swings followed by 30 second rest
Repeat the above 5 times, then:
30 swings followed by 30 second rest
25 swings followed by 25 second rest
20 swings followed by 20 second rest
15 swings followed by 15 second rest
10 swings followed by 10 second rest
5 swings

Reading this - it seems like nothing - like a very short workout, and it is. I just count off the seconds (so they're not exact), but the whole thing takes 22 or 23 minutes. It goes by super fast. I always feel like I've worked out, but it literally feels like a 10 minute workout in terms how long it seems. Interestingly enough - the weight workout I was doing before (Power 90 Sculpt) was about 28 minutes including over 5 minutes of stretching at the beginning. I stretch prior to this workout as well, which makes it almost the same length, but I find I don't dread doing it like I did the P90.

OK...I know this was a long post, but I'm still new to drinking coffee, ahahhaahhaha!
Have a great weekend!

Thanks Mcferg for posting that link to the kettleball info. I'm getting ready to do my kettle ball workout now!. I bought a 25 lb kettle ball and boy is it heavy. If I could do 75 reps that may be a miracle at this point. I would love to get higher!

I'm assuming by your weight goals that you're female. 25 lbs could be a lot to start out with, and it's better to use too little than too much. I use a 35 lb kettlebell, and that's just the right amount for me for the workout above. I also can just do 75-80 swings straight with it, so use that information to factor what you might be able to do.

Well...I didn't end up cheating yesterday after all...and I lost another lb. Crazy, right? Down 3 lbs this week. Unbelievable.

That's great!!! Are you going to cheat today?


I'm up a pound from yesterday. Kinda felt like my cheat day was a bit of a waste. After filling up on cookies all afternoon DH didn't want to go out to dinner so I ended up making some mac n cheese for something to eat at about 9pm.

Alright, cheat day...

It's very interesting. I'm actually starting to feel like a "normal" human being and not a garbage disposal (more on that in a minute). My cheat day went like this:

Breakfast: 6 oz grilled chicken, 1/2 cup black beans, sliced tomato (~350 calories)
Lunch: 2 Del Taco tacos. The regular, crunchy kind. They're 130 calories each, if that matters.
Dinner: Sandwich (2 slices whole what bread, 4 oz grilled chicken breast, 2 oz cheddar cheese...490 calories), 1 (measured) serving of potato chips (140 calories).
Other: 5 light beers (~500 calories total)

It was a busy day, but I really haven't wanted to eat more. I'm sitting here at 1740 calories on cheat day. It's nice. I think I may have a small glass of port and some ice cream before bed. That will be about 350 more calories. Don't think i want much more than that...and a ~2100 calorie cheat day would still be a bit above my normal day, I guess.

As for exercise...I have a 75 rep kettleball set that goes like this
5 swings, rest 10 seconds
10 swings, rest 10 seconds
15 sings, rest 10 seconds...repeat 3x
10 swings rest 10 seconds
5 swings

I did this 6 times throughout the day. I also took AGG before my breakfast and my dinner. I'll take PAGG before bed.

So - as for the whole feeling "normal" thing....(btw - the following has nothing to do with 4HB or SCD, but I wanted to post it here since this is where my peeps is):

Who's to say what's normal? There's a lot of talk about eating disorders and all that. I would be the last one to trivialize *serious* eating disorders (my younger sister has battled anorexia most of her adult life), but I would contend that anyone who has ever put themselves on a "diet" has an eating disorder. After all - chronic overeating is an eating disorder, and, if we didn't overeat, why would need to lose weight, right?

It's VERY easy for me to relate to anyone who has emotional issues that manifest themselves with problems food. I'm one of those people. My wife is one of those people. What I can't figure out is WHY I can't go sit on a couch and talk to someone about it. I mean...I could...but at what cost? It's not like insurance pays for that stuff. Meanwhile, I drive to work on a highway littered with billboards advertising the lap band with taglines like "all insurance accepted". So - you'll pay for me to go under the knife, if I'm heavy enough, but you won't pay for me to see a shrink to address the psychological issues I have with food?!

A year ago, I was at the doctor for a physical. I had been quite a bit heavier the last time I'd seen him, and had managed to lose a chunk of the weight prior to the appointment. In fact, I'm sure that's one of the reasons why I made the appointment I'd been putting off for a few years - I was finally comfortable enough to go. He said to me, "You know - your obesity is in remission. It's not 'gone'. I want you to think of obesity as a disease...like cancer. If you had cancer that was in remission, you wouldn't suddenly stop treating it. You wouldn't suddenly stop doing the things that caused it to recede, right?" He then told me that he wanted me to start seeing a nutritionist on a regular basis. Now, I know a fair bit about nutrition. My other sister (non-anorexic), who is also one of my best friends, is a registered dietician. I've read every "diet" book on the planet. I read nutrition facts on the internet for entertainment. I'm sure many of you are the same way. However, my doctor said - I'm sure you know what you're supposed to do, but I want you do this for accountability.

Well, I looked into it. My insurance would only cover it if I were diabetic. The cost was prohibitive. End of story.

I don't know what my point is here. I could go on a rant about the conspiracy between healthcare givers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and insurance companies, but, well...I dunno.

So - as for the whole feeling "normal" thing....(btw - the following has nothing to do with 4HB or SCD, but I wanted to post it here since this is where my peeps is):

Who's to say what's normal? There's a lot of talk about eating disorders and all that. I would be the last one to trivialize *serious* eating disorders (my younger sister has battled anorexia most of her adult life), but I would contend that anyone who has ever put themselves on a "diet" has an eating disorder. After all - chronic overeating is an eating disorder, and, if we didn't overeat, why would need to lose weight, right?

It's VERY easy for me to relate to anyone who has emotional issues that manifest themselves with problems food. I'm one of those people. My wife is one of those people. What I can't figure out is WHY I can't go sit on a couch and talk to someone about it. I mean...I could...but at what cost? It's not like insurance pays for that stuff. Meanwhile, I drive to work on a highway littered with billboards advertising the lap band with taglines like "all insurance accepted". So - you'll pay for me to go under the knife, if I'm heavy enough, but you won't pay for me to see a shrink to address the psychological issues I have with food?!

A year ago, I was at the doctor for a physical. I had been quite a bit heavier the last time I'd seen him, and had managed to lose a chunk of the weight prior to the appointment. In fact, I'm sure that's one of the reasons why I made the appointment I'd been putting off for a few years - I was finally comfortable enough to go. He said to me, "You know - your obesity is in remission. It's not 'gone'. I want you to think of obesity as a disease...like cancer. If you had cancer that was in remission, you wouldn't suddenly stop treating it. You wouldn't suddenly stop doing the things that caused it to recede, right?" He then told me that he wanted me to start seeing a nutritionist on a regular basis. Now, I know a fair bit about nutrition. My other sister (non-anorexic), who is also one of my best friends, is a registered dietician. I've read every "diet" book on the planet. I read nutrition facts on the internet for entertainment. I'm sure many of you are the same way. However, my doctor said - I'm sure you know what you're supposed to do, but I want you do this for accountability.

Well, I looked into it. My insurance would only cover it if I were diabetic. The cost was prohibitive. End of story.

I don't know what my point is here. I could go on a rant about the conspiracy between healthcare givers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and insurance companies, but, well...I dunno.

I completely agree with you! It doesn't seem like they are will to fix the underlying problem and they go for the "quick" fix which only ends up costing them more in the long run because of the fact that many people who get surgery to fix their obesity issues end up going back to their old habits (as do many people who "change their lifestyles)

I myself am not aware of any emotional issues I have with food but the problem is I may not have figured them out yet... I have to have issues obviously shown by the fact that I am over weight. I feel an addiction towards food and can't convince myself to quit eating when full a lot of the time. (this diet is actually perfect for this cause I seem to get WAY full way easy) I have said before I have a food addiction and part of the recovery is admitting a problem... but now what?

Mcferg, you articulate some really good points in regards to eating disorder. I never thought I had an issue with food; however, I notice some new behaviors about my eating on this controlled diet. First off, when I have a cheat day, I'm amazed about how much I "feel the need" (as opposed to being hungry) to consume food. I'm not even hungry, but I've got an allotted amount of time to satisfy my mental hunger for all these foods that are off limits for the next week. I will say I have completely indulged myself to the point of not being crazy sick, but definitely to the point where it's not a "normal" day of eating (prior to the diet). I definitely go out of my way to eat some garbage food. What is really strange is how annoyed I am at the fact that I may not be hungry enough to consumer these foods.

What is also strange is that the other 6 days on the program I do no portion control and find myself nicely satiated most of the time. I don't disparage too much about the meal plan, unless I'm eyeing the margarita or tortilla chips at the mexican restaurant. I really do eat until I'm content and it's a very freeing experience to know I'm enjoying the food, I don't go into a food coma, and it's good for me.

Currently, I'm totally hung up with doing a weigh in daily and being competitive with myself to get to a goal; however, I'm really in this for the long haul and hopeful this diet is a lifestyle rather than a program with an end date.

Good stuff, thanks for keeping your "peeps" and the thread going!

These are really good posts. I have actually had some struggles this week with being optimistic about the plan. I am staying fully committed when it comes to the 4HB eating , but I am having some struggles this week staying mentally committed, as I have some questions about how it may affect me in the long run (mentally).

I have turned to food to deal with feelings that I didn't want to feel since I was 14 or 15 years old. It became my coping mechanism when I wanted to numb myself. I had a wonderful childhood and have no history of abuse or anything serious like that, but for all my little wounds as a child and through adolescence, I have turned to food to forget any intense feelings. I have recently become aware (with help) that I actually was doing this. It became so ingrained in my behavior that it was on a subconscious level. Anytime I was stressed or anxious, or something went slightly off kilter during my day ( I am a perfectionist and I like routine), I turned to food to make myself feel ok.

I have also realized that I tend to deprive myself of many things in life, and please don't judge me here, as I am trying to be very truthful, but I thought I held myself to a higher standard compared to everyone else I guess. For example, I judged against any unhealthy eating like pizza and icecream. I frowned upon trashy tabloid magazines (because I thought I was above them). And the most important and damaging restriction, I would not expressing my feelings and emotions when I felt them, because, I thought I must take the high road and be better than that. I was raised to be polite and not cause a scene.

All of this came back to bite me in the *kitten*! I ended up binging when I could not restrict any more! I turned to food when I could not deal with my stuffed-away emotions that I never et surface. This happened weekly or 2-3 x a month. I ended up feeling intense guilt afterwards which only made me feel more like a failure.

My parents did not encourage expression of emotions. My mother and father still cannot express emotions like sadness, elation, without having a weird shame associated with it. Arguing is not really acceptable and my dad walks away from any conflict, and I literally mean, he walks out of the room with the slightest emotional discussion. This probably comes from their parents and the generation in which they grew up. That is neither here nor there. It is up to me to end my coping behavior, and I am trying to deal with emotions as they come up, and say what I feel, without always trying to please.

Anyways, I am wondering if my binge day, is helping me or contributing to my past patterns. I have mixed feelings, because it has taking away from the guilt associated with my past binges, and I am not binging for the reasons I once was. But the concept of restriction is still there.
I also think, well, there has to be some restriction-or I cannot lose any weight. I can't go through life indulging in all my desires.

Those are just my thoughts this week. I plan on pushing through, and I made an appointment to talk this through. (which I highly recommend).

Stephanie

@circadianwing:

I know exactly what you mean about feeling frustrated with not being hungry enough to eat all of the stuff you can't eat during the week. It even seems crazier (for lack of a better word) when you consider the NEXT cheat day is only a week away. I feel exactly the same way you do during the week - I don't measure anything, I stick to the plan, and I feel great. I'm not hungry, but I don't ever overeat. Yet, on cheat day, I experience almost a slight sense of panic as it draws to a close. Why? There's not a single non-cheat day that I feel deprived or that I don't actually enjoy the food I'm eating. So, why the panic?

I don't personally think that a "food addiction" can be looked at the same way as other addictions. I know I'm stating the obvious here, but you need food to live, as opposed to something like alcohol which you could certainly do without. I mean, in a sense, everyone has a physical dependence on food, so we could all be considered food addicts. I think that it makes more sense to look at what most consider "food addiction" as an addiction to overeating, because that's really what we're talking about. For many of us, it's not simply food that satisfies the craving...it's overeating. So, if you look at things from that perspective...I'm "falling off the wagon" every Sunday, which means that every Sunday evening, I know it's back to rehab Monday morning.

Of course, this is a bit of hyperbole. I don't actually panic - it's more of a mild anxiety. My point, though, is that those cheat days give you just a little taste of your "past life" with regards to food, which means you have to, on a weekly basis, deal with changing your habits back again. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. In fact, I think it's one reason why this program has real long-term potential, at least for me. After all - we don't all get way overweight because we blow it for one day. It happens because it snowballs, and we do nothing to rectify or undo it. I think that the psychological training that takes place when you have a calculated cheat day then return to healthy eating is valuable. I also think that over time, those anxieties we're having about the cheat day ending or not being able to get all your cheat food in may start to subside somewhat.

@stephanie:

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts. I think that your experiences are very similar to mine, and it really helps illustrate that having emotional issues with food doesn't necessarily mean you had a horrible childhood or suffered some catastrophic event. I think the way things went down for you are very similar to what many have experienced. The thing is - when you turn to food here and there, to avoid dealing with feelings...what happens when you enter certain periods of your life when, say, the stress level is elevated? You end up having an extended period of overeating. At least that's true for me.

I also know what you mean about not losing without restricting. Although, at least at this point, I feel like the restricting just occurs naturally if I follow the SCD fairly closely. Maybe the way to play it is to still follow the notion of eating when you're hungry, but eating even smaller meals. You may find that you don't feel hungry even with the smaller meals, and end up eating less. Another option is to fool around with the ratios of the different foods on your plate. I tend to go a little lighter on the legumes and a little heavier on the veggies the first couple of days after cheat day. The result is that my plate looks just as full, but it's fewer calories.

@sbracken:

It's frustrating, isn't it...to spend all week anticipating cheat day, then having it fall short of your expectations? I think if I were in your shoes, I'd just stay on plan Friday, so you can enjoy the full splendor of cheat day on Saturday, unless there's a non-SCD meal at this Mexican restaurant that you love so much it will keep you on track for a full week beyond that. Or at least that's how I would play it.

@VagabondAndrea:

Welcome to the SCD!

I don't actually panic - it's more of a mild anxiety. My point, though, is that those cheat days give you just a little taste of your "past life" with regards to food, which means you have to, on a weekly basis, deal with changing your habits back again. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. In fact, I think it's one reason why this program has real long-term potential, at least for me. After all - we don't all get way overweight because we blow it for one day. It happens because it snowballs, and we do nothing to rectify or undo it. I think that the psychological training that takes place when you have a calculated cheat day then return to healthy eating is valuable. I also think that over time, those anxieties we're having about the cheat day ending or not being able to get all your cheat food in may start to subside somewhat.

agreed Mcferg, a mild anxiety, where I start trying to plan the day before, or just think about meals. It's like having a big event to get dressed for. All week, I have an ordinary rotation of clothing to work in. I don't really care what I throw on, and I'm usually comfortable. But every Saturday is like an Oscar after party, and I have to consider my options... (like Shannon mentioned about the mac n cheese), you get all dressed up and ready, and went to the wrong party, wrong food, wrong atmosphere, and you miss out on a week. I would really like to try to have an unexciting cheat day and perhaps do little more than some cheese and a little dairy, perhaps some bread,

Stephanie, I would hesitate to pin point where all these issues with food are coming from. I wouldn't look to far into my past, as it's most likely a combination of stress, upbringing, habits, and general laziness, etc. I've been watching that A&E show Heavy about the really big people, it's a weekly motivation show for me on Monday nights, and although I'm not even in that ball park, it's a group therapy situation... one where you say, wow, I'm glad I'm not 650lbs, can't walk etc, so I get a little motivation.

I take comfort in the fact that the other 6 days a week have been great, and I have no signs of burning out on this, and it's not work to stay on it.

I'm not ready to claim success by any means, as I'm still not even halfway to my goal. However, I just wanted to post my original pic with an updated pic from tonight, as I definitely see results in my face and neck thinning out.



by the way, posting this pic was harder than it should have been! grrr.

DH and I are huge watchers of the Biggest Loser! I love Jillian and Bob!!!!! But I just get floored everytime I watch the weighins and these people are dropping 20lbs in a week! Nuts!!!! Then I saw the one episode that showed their meal plan for the day (the one off-campus with the new trainers) and they were only eating 1100 cals a day!!!!!!!! No wonder they're able to lose weight like that and then wonder why they have trouble once they get off the ranch and into the real world after the show.

I totally think this plan is sustainable as a "lifestyle". Once I hit my goal I'll probably add in some carbs at dinner so I'm not quite the short order cook at home. But the rest of the day will probably continue to be much the same.