8.14.2011

The 4 Hour Body Lifestyle

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I have been following the 4 Hour Body dietary recommendations for about a month now.

I've lost 10 pounds.

It's basically a modified Paleolithic diet.

I say modified, because it includes a lot of legumes, which strictly speaking, would not have been a major staple of the hunter-gatherer diet during the millions of years of Homo sapiens evolution.

The 4 Hour Body, by Tim Ferriss, is worth checking out at the library. He has done the nutritional research and it's at least 80% accurate on most points.

But the most important point is, does it work?

Like I said, I have been following it faithfully for month and I am 10 pounds lighter as of today. It's the most success I have had on any diet I have tried, including Atkins. Of course, the $500 wager from my mom to lose 25 pounds by Labor Day is a major incentive...

The diet itself is rather boring and repetitive. Ferriss' regimen is to follow the diet for six days of the week and then have a FREE DAY, always the same day of the week, where you can eat anything you want in whatever quantities you want.

Arguably, this is how humans ate in nature during most of human evolution. They would forage for vegetation and periodically take down wild game, on which they would gorge themselves (with no luxuries like refrigeration, the meat would not keep long).

But on a practical level, the FREE DAY helps to break up the monotony and serves as a kind of motivator in a strange way. The interesting thing is that I consistently have my greatest weight loss the day after my free day, which seems counter-intuitive.

The diet emphasized slow carbs, principally beans, and lean proteins. Beans are kind of the key because they are high in protein and low glycemic index carbs. Nutrient dense, low carb vegetables are also allowed ad libitum (Latin for unlimited amounts). Lean meats are also OK.

Protein consumption is encouraged within one hour of waking. This is supposed to kick start the metabolism and improve calorie burning during the day. I am not entirely clear on the biological basis for this, but I do notice that if I eat a breakfast high in protein, I don't get hungry again until well into the afternoon.

Anyway, it seems to be going well.

8.03.2011

Sweet Italian Temptation, 4 Hour Body, and the Power of a Friendly Competition

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I can't lie to you. It was extremely hard to resist the free lasagna and pizza offered for lunch at work today.

But not hard enough, because I did resist it, in no small part because of the $500 wager I have with my mom to lose 25 pounds by Labor Day following the 4 HOUR BODY slow carb diet.

Since I have lost 8 pounds already on the plan, I have momentum and I know it works. That's a potent reason not to break the rules, with hard cash on the line.

The diet eliminates fast carbs but allows unlimited vegetables, legumes, and lean meats (slow carbs and protein). It also allows one free day every week when you can eat whatever you like and as much as you like. My free day is Saturday.

Not today. Sadly.

http://wholefoodvitamins.wordpress.com

8.01.2011

4 Hour Body Slow Carb Diet - Week 3

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The 4 Hour Body slow carb diet is still working for me.

I started this about two (2) weeks ago or so and, entering week 3, I am down from a starting weight of 225 to 217, as of this morning (Monday).

This was amazing to me, given that my free day was on Saturday, and included both pizza and ice cream (with M&Ms!). On Sunday, I adhered to the diet strictly, and found that I wasn't very hungry most of the day. I had beans and eggs for breakfast on Sunday, and a salad with beans for lunch. But after that I wasn't hungry for the rest of the day, and but for a handful of almonds, while driving back from the cottage, I did not eat again.

So far so good.

As I have said before, I am not trying to do anything different as far as physical activity, while I do this diet. It's a controlled experiment. I do whatever activity I would normally do. I don't want to confound it by changing two variables, only one.

This weekend did include a couple of decent walks, some wind surfing, and some leisure swimming. But overall it was nothing out of the ordinary.

I feel great too.

Time.