Four Hour Body Diet
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After hitting 76kg, and my shirts getting pretty tight around the middle, I looked at different diet plans, and decided to try this one by Tim Ferris
I read The Four Hour Body book cover to cover - it contains a variety of different topics:
Subtracting Fat
Adding Muscle
Improving Sex
Perfecting sleep
Reversing Injuries
Running Faster and Farther
Getting StrongerMy initial focus was on the subtracting fat - I wanted to get my body fat down to a reasonable level before trying to add muscle.
The diet basically consists of the following rules
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#1: Avoid “white” starchy carbohydrates (or those that can be white). This means all bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and grains. If you have to ask, don’t eat it.
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#2: Eat the same few meals over and over again, especially for breakfast and lunch. You already do this; you’re just picking new default meals.
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#3: Don’t drink calories.
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#4: Don’t eat fruit. (Fructose –> glycerol phosphate –> more bodyfat, more or less.) Avocado and tomatoes are excepted.
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#5: Take one day off per week and go nuts.
I'm really stoked with the results. I was aiming to lose 6kg, but I hit that mark, loosened up the diet restrictions a bit, and the weight is still dropping off.
I start at 76.8, and 8 weeks later I have lost just under 9kg, weighing in this morning at 67.9.
Because of travelling for work, I haven't been able to weigh myself every day, but the loss has been pretty consistent
I'm 54 now, and I think this is the lightest I have been since I was in my 20's. I've also lost 10cm from around my belly, which has solved that tight shirt problem.
Now to start slowly easing into weight training, and to begin swimming some laps at the local pool. I hope I am still reasonably buoyant after losing that fat
The one cheat day per week is pretty good - it normally sees a spike in weight, but that disappears after a couple of days, and it kickstarts the body back into fat burning mode again
@stockcar86 How do you find the hunger with this?
I am low carbing / no alcohol at the moment but I am seriously hungry in the evenings.
It does work though as I've dropped 2.5kg since 31st August (most of that probably water retention from alcohol if I'm honest with myself).
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I think the key to a lot of this stuff is finding out what works for “you”. I intermittent fast and to be honest it’s pretty bloody decent. 96-97kg ( but wearing size 32 jeans ) seems a good weight for me to be walking around at and I don’t fuck around with lots of long boring cardio. Short, sharp and intense stuff does the trick for me. The guys who work for the same company I do were astonished at how much food and piss I put away during our conference but I made sure I did my cardio and stuck to the “fasting” that does the trick.
Breakfast ? Geez even the word says it all, unless you’re planning on running a marathon you don’t need to start a day with a massive feed of sugary nutri grain and whatever else. Wait til lunchtime after you’ve moved around a bit and have a feed then.
@MajorRage if you’re missing alcohol perhaps get rid of something else ? Sugar in the coffee, bread etc ?
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@stockcar86 How do you find the hunger with this?
I am low carbing / no alcohol at the moment but I am seriously hungry in the evenings.
It does work though as I've dropped 2.5kg since 31st August (most of that probably water retention from alcohol if I'm honest with myself).
@majorrage said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@stockcar86 How do you find the hunger with this?
I am low carbing / no alcohol at the moment but I am seriously hungry in the evenings.
It does work though as I've dropped 2.5kg since 31st August (most of that probably water retention from alcohol if I'm honest with myself).
@MajorRage I was fine with the hunger. I generally tried to have slow carbs (legumes) with lunch and dinner, and that helps those cravings. Also if I did get hungry, I'd have a huge spoonful of that Fix and Fogg Protein Peanut butter, and drink more water. It was hard initally (particularly at breakfast) but ensuring you have 30g of protein at each meal worked pretty well for me.
I found it difficult to drink enough water, but changed to drinking carbonated with a little lemon juice in it (1tsp per litre). Soda Sparkle has a great little carbonation unit, and they send you boxes of the CO2 cartridges through the mail at a pretty decent price.
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@majorrage said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@stockcar86 How do you find the hunger with this?
I am low carbing / no alcohol at the moment but I am seriously hungry in the evenings.
It does work though as I've dropped 2.5kg since 31st August (most of that probably water retention from alcohol if I'm honest with myself).
@MajorRage I was fine with the hunger. I generally tried to have slow carbs (legumes) with lunch and dinner, and that helps those cravings. Also if I did get hungry, I'd have a huge spoonful of that Fix and Fogg Protein Peanut butter, and drink more water. It was hard initally (particularly at breakfast) but ensuring you have 30g of protein at each meal worked pretty well for me.
I found it difficult to drink enough water, but changed to drinking carbonated with a little lemon juice in it (1tsp per litre). Soda Sparkle has a great little carbonation unit, and they send you boxes of the CO2 cartridges through the mail at a pretty decent price.
@stockcar86 I have a prolific lime tree, so put a couple of thick slices of lemon in my water.
I have counted calories on and off for a while, but Dr says I need to lose at least 5kgs (and said pretty much what you did in your post above about what to avoid) and get my cholesterol down, and been counting them again, in deficit last 3 days, but I did struggle last night (but was rest day form the gym, so didnt have the activity to offset and allow me to eat a bit more and stay in deficit)
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@stockcar86 I have a prolific lime tree, so put a couple of thick slices of lemon in my water.
I have counted calories on and off for a while, but Dr says I need to lose at least 5kgs (and said pretty much what you did in your post above about what to avoid) and get my cholesterol down, and been counting them again, in deficit last 3 days, but I did struggle last night (but was rest day form the gym, so didnt have the activity to offset and allow me to eat a bit more and stay in deficit)
@taniwharugby said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@stockcar86 I have a prolific lime tree, so put a couple of thick slices of lemon in my water.
I have counted calories on and off for a while, but Dr says I need to lose at least 5kgs (and said pretty much what you did in your post above about what to avoid) and get my cholesterol down, and been counting them again, in deficit last 3 days, but I did struggle last night (but was rest day form the gym, so didnt have the activity to offset and allow me to eat a bit more and stay in deficit)
But what do you use the limes for?
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@taniwharugby said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@stockcar86 I have a prolific lime tree, so put a couple of thick slices of lemon in my water.
I have counted calories on and off for a while, but Dr says I need to lose at least 5kgs (and said pretty much what you did in your post above about what to avoid) and get my cholesterol down, and been counting them again, in deficit last 3 days, but I did struggle last night (but was rest day form the gym, so didnt have the activity to offset and allow me to eat a bit more and stay in deficit)
But what do you use the limes for?
@crucial juice them, use them for cooking...when I'm inclined, put 'em in my 'ronas!
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@majorrage said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@stockcar86 How do you find the hunger with this?
I am low carbing / no alcohol at the moment but I am seriously hungry in the evenings.
It does work though as I've dropped 2.5kg since 31st August (most of that probably water retention from alcohol if I'm honest with myself).
@MajorRage I was fine with the hunger. I generally tried to have slow carbs (legumes) with lunch and dinner, and that helps those cravings. Also if I did get hungry, I'd have a huge spoonful of that Fix and Fogg Protein Peanut butter, and drink more water. It was hard initally (particularly at breakfast) but ensuring you have 30g of protein at each meal worked pretty well for me.
I found it difficult to drink enough water, but changed to drinking carbonated with a little lemon juice in it (1tsp per litre). Soda Sparkle has a great little carbonation unit, and they send you boxes of the CO2 cartridges through the mail at a pretty decent price.
@stockcar86 just checked the specs on our pot of standard sanitarium peanut butter and it has just as much protein as fix and fogg claim to have
It's pretty much empty now thanks to your musings tho
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@stockcar86 just checked the specs on our pot of standard sanitarium peanut butter and it has just as much protein as fix and fogg claim to have
It's pretty much empty now thanks to your musings tho
@delicatessen said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@stockcar86 just checked the specs on our pot of standard sanitarium peanut butter and it has just as much protein as fix and fogg claim to have
It's pretty much empty now thanks to your musings tho
mine has no salt or sugar though...
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@delicatessen said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@stockcar86 just checked the specs on our pot of standard sanitarium peanut butter and it has just as much protein as fix and fogg claim to have
It's pretty much empty now thanks to your musings tho
mine has no salt or sugar though...
@stockcar86 said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@delicatessen said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@stockcar86 just checked the specs on our pot of standard sanitarium peanut butter and it has just as much protein as fix and fogg claim to have
It's pretty much empty now thanks to your musings tho
mine has no salt or sugar though...
No sugar in theirs. I'd rather the extra salt and half (or less) the price.
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After hitting 76kg, and my shirts getting pretty tight around the middle, I looked at different diet plans, and decided to try this one by Tim Ferris
I read The Four Hour Body book cover to cover - it contains a variety of different topics:
Subtracting Fat
Adding Muscle
Improving Sex
Perfecting sleep
Reversing Injuries
Running Faster and Farther
Getting StrongerMy initial focus was on the subtracting fat - I wanted to get my body fat down to a reasonable level before trying to add muscle.
The diet basically consists of the following rules
-
#1: Avoid “white” starchy carbohydrates (or those that can be white). This means all bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and grains. If you have to ask, don’t eat it.
-
#2: Eat the same few meals over and over again, especially for breakfast and lunch. You already do this; you’re just picking new default meals.
-
#3: Don’t drink calories.
-
#4: Don’t eat fruit. (Fructose –> glycerol phosphate –> more bodyfat, more or less.) Avocado and tomatoes are excepted.
-
#5: Take one day off per week and go nuts.
I'm really stoked with the results. I was aiming to lose 6kg, but I hit that mark, loosened up the diet restrictions a bit, and the weight is still dropping off.
I start at 76.8, and 8 weeks later I have lost just under 9kg, weighing in this morning at 67.9.
Because of travelling for work, I haven't been able to weigh myself every day, but the loss has been pretty consistent
I'm 54 now, and I think this is the lightest I have been since I was in my 20's. I've also lost 10cm from around my belly, which has solved that tight shirt problem.
Now to start slowly easing into weight training, and to begin swimming some laps at the local pool. I hope I am still reasonably buoyant after losing that fat
The one cheat day per week is pretty good - it normally sees a spike in weight, but that disappears after a couple of days, and it kickstarts the body back into fat burning mode again
@stockcar86 said in Four Hour Body Diet:
After hitting 76kg, and my shirts getting pretty tight around the middle,
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Book ordered, going to give it a crack.
I don't need to drink everyday, but having the option for a glass of wine most evenings will be the bomb. Don't need to eat the carbs now for the long run fuel either so this could well be something that works for me. Am kind of bored of my diet too so excited about looking for new things to try.
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Book ordered, going to give it a crack.
I don't need to drink everyday, but having the option for a glass of wine most evenings will be the bomb. Don't need to eat the carbs now for the long run fuel either so this could well be something that works for me. Am kind of bored of my diet too so excited about looking for new things to try.
@majorrage Good stuff. Let me know if I can help out with anything
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@majorrage Good stuff. Let me know if I can help out with anything
@stockcar86 said in Four Hour Body Diet:
@majorrage Good stuff. Let me know if I can help out with anything
Only 3 days in and today I feel properly awful. Body is clearly not used to zero carbs at all & I can feel I have withdrawals of something (not because I'm an addict, just googled the way I'm feeling and it's right in line with carb withdrawals). Headaches, constipation, general weakness ... TMI coming up, but it's interesting when I do manage to pass something. Sounds like a brick is hitting the water ...
I quite enjoy the diet honestly, although I struggle to see how it's going to make us reduce our meat intake due to the extra protein. Decided not to drink any wine this week too to kickstart myself into it. Scales already down 1.5kg since Sunday morning, although that's all water obviously. Have only been for one run which went fine (55 mins, 10k) today I'll run again (40 mins 7k) and that will be a test. I suspect I'll really struggle having had no raw carbs since Sunday.
The book have been absolutely compelling reading though. My brain is wired similarly to his, so wanting to really understand how you change your inputs to get your outputs has really appealed to me. I've been looking for years for that long term solution to not only lose weight, but keep it off. So far, I've found this really thought provoking.
First cheat day has already been arranged, although I think mentally I'll find it difficult to fully unload. School fireworks gala followed by pub with friends Saturday evening. Will be odd to know that I can eat / drink whatever I want given I'm in diet mode. The best thing though is that we are having friends over for Sunday roast, and I can participate at 99%. A couple of glasses of red over the afternoon, no roast potatoes and I'm fully inline with the diet. And having had carbs the day before, I should be in a decent position to do a 90 minute run in the morning too.
Mentally, that's great.
