Fat Loss via Better Science and Simplicity
It is possible to lose 20 lbs. of bodyfat in 30 days by optimizing any of three factors: exercise, diet, or drug/supplement regimen. I’ve seen the elite implementation of all three in working with professional athletes. In this post, we’ll explore what I refer to as the “slow-carb diet”.
In the last six weeks, I have cut from about 180 lbs. to 165 lbs., while adding about 10 lbs. of muscle, which means I’ve lost about 25 lbs. of fat. This is the only diet besides the rather extreme Cyclical Ketogenic Diet (CKD) that has produced veins across my abdomen, which is the last place I lose fat (damn you, Scandinavian genetics). Here are the four simple rules I followed…
Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates
Avoid any carbohydrate that is — or can be — white. The following foods are thus prohibited, except for within 1.5 hours of finishing a resistance-training workout of at least 20 minutes in length: bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, pasta, and fried food with breading. If you avoid eating anything white, you’ll be safe.
Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again
The most successful dieters, regardless of whether their goal is muscle gain or fat loss, eat the same few meals over and over again. Mix and match, constructing each meal with one from each of the three following groups:
Proteins:
Egg whites with one whole egg for flavor
Chicken breast or thigh
Grass-fed organic beef
Pork
Legumes:
Lentils
Black beans
Pinto beans
Vegetables:
Spinach
Asparagus
Peas
Mixed vegetables
Eat as much as you like of the above food items. Just remember: keep it simple. Pick three or four meals and repeat them. Almost all restaurants can give you a salad or vegetables in place of french fries or potatoes. Surprisingly, I have found Mexican food, swapping out rice for vegetables, to be one of the cuisines most conducive to the “slow carb” diet.
Most people who go on “low” carbohydrate diets complain of low energy and quit, not because such diets can’t work, but because they consume insufficient calories. A 1/2 cup of rice is 300 calories, whereas a 1/2 cup of spinach is 15 calories! Vegetables are not calorically dense, so it is critical that you add legumes for caloric load.
Some athletes eat 6-8x per day to break up caloric load and avoid fat gain. I think this is ridiculously inconvenient. I eat 4x per day:
10am – breakfast
1pm – lunch
5pm – smaller second lunch
7:30-9pm – sports training
10pm – dinner
12am – glass of wine and Discovery Channel before bed
Here are some of my meals that recur again and again:
Scrambled Eggology pourable egg whites with one whole egg, black beans, and microwaved mixed vegetables
Grass-fed organic beef, pinto beans, mixed vegetables, and extra guacamole (Mexican restaurant)
Grass-fed organic beef (from Trader Joe’s), lentils, and mixed vegetables
Rule #3: Don’t drink calories
Drink massive quantities of water and as much unsweetened iced tea, tea, diet sodas, coffee (without white cream), or other no-calorie/low-calorie beverages as you like. Do not drink milk, normal soft drinks, or fruit juice. I’m a wine fanatic and have at least one glass of wine each evening, which I believe actually aids sports recovery and fat-loss. Recent research into resveratrol supports this.
Rule #4: Take one day off per week
I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia.
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If you enjoyed this post, check out my latest book, The 4-Hour Body, #1 New York Times and #1 Amazon bestseller. You will learn: the finer details of the Slow Carb Diet (outlined in the above post), how I gained 34 pounds of muscle in 28 days, how to produce 15-minute female orgasms, and more.
You can also get the Expanded and Updated 4-Hour Workweek, which includes more than 50 new case studies of luxury lifestyle design, business building, reducing hours 80%+, and world travel.
Related and Recommended Posts:
Tim Ferriss interviewed by Derek Sivers
Tim Ferriss articles on Huffington Post
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That's how we're gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you're rude, we'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
Hey there Tim or anyone willing to answer. I have been following this DIET for 5 days to the T. Today is saturday morning and I have a few un answered questions.Can I realy eat ANYTHING I want? And can I realy eat as much of this Junk food as I want? Tim stated he makes himselfe sick of the food for the next week.So to me that sounds like he doesnt just eat one bowl of ice cream or just one snickers.Please help me. All I realy want to do is go party with my friends and drink beers and eat pizza.Is that ok as long as its only on my cheat day? Thanks please help….
Great post Tim. I thik your information will help a lot of people.
Jason
Tim, Is butter okay, cheese and nuts okay?
I know we are supposed to have a glass or two of wine a day…what about champagne…is that ok?
@Ashley – I’m sure it’s fine. Some people think champers has similar qualities to red wine, it’s all about moderation though.
http://www.magazine.ayurvediccure.com/how-good-is-champagne/
Hi Tim!
First of all, thanks for the article and the tips 🙂
Well, I’m not overweight, but I would like to lose about 4 kilograms and get back to my “perfect” weight. The point is that I’m a vegetarian and I don’t eat breakfast (I’m not hungry in the morning). How do I lose this weight? And how long it might take?
If it helps, I can tell you that I’m addicted to bread 😉 and if it’s not a whole wheat bun, I don’t touch it at all… but if IT IS a whole wheat bun, I can’t stop eating it!!!
Beside that, I should also stop eating sweets, but it’s going to be easier. My main question is: If I cut out the bread, would I lose weight? And yeah… can you please help me with making a diet menu, which doesn’t include breakfast and eggs, chicken, meat and fish (vegetarian)?
Thank you! Hodayah (you can call me Heidi)
A friend of mine and I did a detox from GNC about 5 or 6 months ago, and we each lost 10 lbs in the week we were on it. We followed the food plan which wasn’t entirely bad and had an extreme amount of energy and we also walked often. One of the things we ate A LOT of was 6″ sub on wheat of chicken breast with whatever veggies, a little salt and pepper, and vinegar and oil… no problems. Then we got busy with our own schedules and we no longer walk but we always watch what we eat however being that we are both Italian we LOVE our pastas….. she is still losing but is at that prolonged stand still. I on the other hand gained the 10 lbs + another 5 lbs back ugh…. I am definitely willing to try your recommendations my goal is 25 lbs at least so I can fit into my clothes again, it’s depressing when you get older how much your metabolism does slow down. Here is a kind of list of what we ate on our detox…. let me know what should be deturred from….
Oatmeal (plain- no sugar, no butter, cooked with milk)
Egg whites fried in pam lite spray instead of butter
Chicken salad- chopped onions & celery, little salt, pepper, celery salt, onion powder, little lite mayo, olive oil
Flavored Triskits & Wheat Thins to snack
A LOT of fruit (cantelope, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, raspberries)
A LOT of veggies UNCOOKED no dipping sauce (scallions, tomatoes, celery, broccoli, carrots, cucumbers)
Salad with any veggie with vinegar, oil, & nature’s season’s seasoning (only romaine lettuce head lettuce has no nutrients)
A LOT of chicken breast
At least 2 64oz sized mugs of water plus 1 liter sized diet lipton tea a day
It’s detailed, but from everything we did that my memory serves me this was it. Please let me know what is permissible or not permissible on your plan…. I love my fruit, I can give up the white carbs, what do you think from my list? Thanks, Melissa
I have gone from 297, down to 281.4, all within 5 days! It’s not a lie and I am not stretching the truth one bit! When I finish a one month trial of the life style I will let everyone know of my final results.
Hi Mindy! I have been reading this blog tonite and came across the diet by accident, we have almost the same stats… I am 135 pounds, 5’2 and have 2 little ones too, my boy is turning 2 in 2 weeks and my little girl is 3 and half…. would love if you keep me posted on your progress… do you exercise at all? and how do you make the beans taste better? I am thinking of starting this week…. your results are inspiring:)
Hey, did anyone loss weight from this diet and manage to keep it off? I was thinking about starting it but I’d like to know if you have to keep the diet to keep the weight off.
@Josh Watson…Good job on following the diet. Keep it up! The diet does say you can eat whatever you want. But I believe what you want sounds better because when I go all out I feel really sick after which isn’t worth it and all that hard work all week then eating all those calories at one time. Common sense tells me that can’t be good. So I think some beers, and pizza is perfect! I believe in one cheat meal. Not a cheat day. From my experience with cheat days its easier to give up on the diet because the next day you crave all the junk again.. I have been following this diet for 1 ½ months and I look a lot better and thinner. I don’t know how much ive lost because a few times I got a little side tracked and cheated for than I should so I chose to go for two months without weighing myself. But I have had a lot of comments on how I look a lot skinnier. I started out around 134 lbs.
@bryna Cheese and butter are not okay both have a lot of fat and salt…maybe a little butter….and a little parmagan cheese but I would avoid them when starting out… and almonds are great.
@heidi To follow this diet you have to change your thinking and your eating habits or its not going to work for you or you may have to find another way to loose weight… It doesn’t matter if your not hungry in the morning. Eat something small to start your metabolism. Like 2 egg whites and one egg with some refried beans and spinach. If you stick to the diet you can see results in as little as one week. You can’t eat any bread on this diet…only on your cheat day..so save it for then…just by cutting out bread you will loose some weight…being a vegetarian this diet may be difficult but possible. Good luck.
@2babies mix some salsa in your beans and mix the different type of beans…add your beans in a spinach chicken salad.
@mimi I have lost a lot I know and people are noticing. Started 134.…my body looks a lot smaller and I feel lighter. Been on it for 1.5 months will weigh in about 2 weeks.
Hope everyone’s doin well! To have the body you want for life you have to change your thinking and your diet! Not just for a few weeks or a month but always try to eat a clean diet for health and to look good.
@heidi..actually i think the only time you can have bread on the diet is after a workout…i think Tim’s pizza(without cheese) is after his workout…correct me if im wrong someone. i choose not to eat any bread though.
To Anyone,
I;m a 51 year old woman, 5 kids 6 grandkids. I honestly need some help.. Diets has never worked for me. Since I had surgery 3 years ago I haven’t been able toget back down to 135 lbs,,, I’d like to get there before Feb 14, I engaged to a actor we’re planing on marring then in Denmark. I’m @ 160 now. PLEASEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, Send any advice
@ Deb I have been eating the same meals everyday which include eggs (like he says), black beans, field beans, broccoli, salad, along with some hot sauce and Italian dressing. I am wondering what kind of meals you put together, any suggestions are appreciated!
@Ciara M – Yes the answer is simple, follow Tim’s plan….
thanks Deb:)
so i have a couple questions guys, Just wondering, do you eat exactly what Tim shows in those pictures? do you deviate? my husband and I are worried about eating the same 3 meals over and over again… also, do you have a post workout meal that is a pizza? what is ok for post workout? thank you
@2babies – You can certainly make things more interesting, add spices, make chilli, stew, stir frys to keep things different.
Tim’s point is that if you eat simple plain food your body won’t crave much as it will just see food as fuel.
Anyway there are loads of recipes that you can adapt. Just exclude things that aren’t part of the plan. The one below is good, I’m eating it now.
My favorite thing to eat is turkey chili I make a big pot and it last for days
1lb lean ground turkey( rinse with water after cooking doesn’t take away flavor but takes away fat)
1 big can of beans
1 big can of tomatos
2 zuccini chopped
1 onion chopped
4 celery spears chopped
1 cup carrots chopped
1-2 big peppers chopped I use red
2 cups chopped mushrooms
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon cumin
Hey there DEB or TIM. FIrst off Thanks a bunch DEB for answering my question.By the way.If thats you in your pic….YOU DO LOOK GOOD! FOR SURE. Anyways. lol..I would like to know some more things.When Im shopping for my health foods Is this strickly a LOW CARB OR NO WHITE CARB DIET. Becuase I see alot of foods that have no carbs that I would like to add to my menu.Like some cheese has no Carbs.Provel has no carbs.Porvelone has no carbs.Turkey meat no carbs.Tuna.Bison.pork.salmon and talipia.Are all those things ok to eat? Can I widen my varity by searching for foods with zero carbs? not entirely a diffrent menu but things to add to this like some zero carb cheese in my eggwhites? Do you follow? Anyways.Thanks.I realy apprecitate it! Mabey if possible you could e-mail me directly? At j a r y w a t s o n @ a o l . c o m thanks
can d junk day be any day, as in does it have to be Saturday Sunday Monday etc each week or can it be Sunday one week, Wednesday the next, you know, that kind of thing
Here is my first week update.
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Starting Weight: 297.8
Current Weight: 277.5
Goal Weight: 196.0
Days on current lifestyle: 7
I started losing weight in a rapid speed, which is great, but it made me a little nervous. So Monday I went to the Doc. I was able to get some test done and I was a-ok! She is still monitoring me around the clock just for safety reasons.
She says the reason I have seen such a drop is because of cutting all the carbohydrates cold turkey (she est. I have lost over 15 pounds of pure body fat). I have not eaten a any fries, chips, potatoes, or anything white. I also cut-out every single soft drink, all I am drinking are un-sweet tea and water.
Furthermore I have seen not only the difference physically, but I am eating much less, all within a weeks time. I have never been able to lose weight. I have had such a struggle, but this, this is working!!!!
Thank you Tim. You’ve changed my life!
Hi! I’m 11 years old and would LOVE to go on this diet. it sounds practical and easy. Are you saying that i should do yoga at 730 or 9pm? Because that sounds okay to me! Iv written down all the foods i *SHOULD NOT HAVE* and the foods i *SHOULD HAVE*. So i think Ill be good on my diet. I’m just really un happy with my body and doing this diet might make me feel better about myself. Thanks!
An update – my hubby and I’ve been doing this for about 3 months now, and he has dropped 6 pants sizes and I’m down to a sz 4! In fact, I’m a little bummed that a Fall skirt I just bought 3 weeks ago doesn’t fit and I haven’t even had a chance to wear it. All that to say this diet works like magic, IF you follow it exactly. I’m still surprised at all the people who want to eat nuts, dairy, fruit, rice… all kinds of things that, yes, are healthy, but are forbidden if you are going to follow this diet to a T.
We obeyed Tim’s rule of making 3 or 4 meals and just rotating them over and over. Boring, but it works, and through trial and error we found some bean/protein/veggie combos that we really enjoy. For everyone wanting easy and tasty recipes, here’s some of ours in rotation. I hope this helps!
EASY MEAL IDEAS
1. Chicken breast pounded flat, and then stuffed with *anything*. Think spinache and tomatoes, or a piece of ham (no sugar, maple or maltodextrin!) laid on it, lots of broccoli or asparagus, lemon pepper, roll it up and seal it with a toothpick, oven bake @400 for 30 mins. Serve with pinto beans cooked with green peppers and onions.
2. Black bean salad consisting of black beans, diced chicken breast, tomato, cilantro, onion, chile powder, cumin, and avocado.
3. Chili – made easy by using 3 cans chili beans, 2 cans chili diced tomatoes, can of green chilis, ground lean turkey, and peppers, garlic and onions.
4. Fresh salad with spring greens, broccoli, chives, leftover diced chicken, FULLY rinsed kidney beans, and *Marzetti Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette”, which contains no sugar or maltodextrin.
5. Egg white omelette, with tomatoes, onions, peppers, spinache, ham bits (no sugar, maple or maltodextrin), served with side of black beans.
6. Pork loin marinated overnight in red wine, balsamic vinegar, rosemary, garlic, baked in 350* oven with lots of zucchini and yellow squash for aprox 30-40 mins, served with side of pinto.
We have eaten these 6 meals, or a variation on them, over and over for 3 months, and on splurge days we devour Krispy Kremes, Taco Bell, pasta, ribs smothered in bbq on the grill, chocolate cake, cinnamon rolls… all kinds of crap, and we are losing fat like mad.
Follow what Tim says, and only what Tim says, and you WILL lose weight!
And remember, Mrs. Dash is your friend. 🙂 It easily takes the place of salt or lemon juice.
@ Eric! I try to have with this diet and make the best of it. I have taken a week off with the eggs and beans for breakfast and replaced with oatmeal for one week cuz i got to the points where i was getting sick after i ate it im going back on the eggs and beans for breakfast next week. I think sometimes its ok to take a little break to keep from going insane…and i strongly believe ONE CHEAT MEAL! NOT A WHOLE CHEAT DAY!
Some combination meals I have put together are as follows:
breaded chicken breast, split pea soup 1/2 cup and a bowl of mixed veggies.
Grilled salmon w seasonings, extra veggies.
spinach salad leaves with chicken, salmon, imitation crab cut up, beans, olives, sprinkle parmajan cheese, and a little sundried tomato dressing.
snack: almonds and v8 low sodium juice.
supreme omlet. 3 egg whites one egg. mushrooms, spinach, olives, salsa, a little parmajan cheese sprinkled.
buy huge packet chicken…marinade w different seasonings and bake….
you can mix beans with salsa.
I stick with chicken or fish. I don’t eat any red meat but maybe once a week.
Salmon is so awesome if you buy it fresh wild caught!
@eric looks like the post above has some great suggestions!
I eat alot of salmon and fish!
spinach salad w salmon, chicken or imitation crab, sprinkle parmajan cheese, beans and a little sun dried tomato vinigrete.
I took this week off of eggs and beans for breakfast and replaced w oatmeal. i need the break! ill be going back on next week!
Im a strongly believe in ONE CHEAT MEAL NOT A CHEAT DAY per week! You will reach your goals much quicker! I promise!
Stay away from any thing salty as you will appear thicker and I only drink distilled water!
This sounds very interesting, I’m definitely going to do this diet.
Over the last year, I’ve gained about 30lbs of fat. I was in great shape but I just went through depression, and I still currently am going through it. I’m just tired of feeling like this, especially since the extra 30lbs completely shot my self esteem. So now I’m serious and going to do this strictly and right.
I’m currently 16, 5’10” and about 175lbs. I just recently starting taking multivitamins and GNC Amplified Muscle Igniter 4X. It’s supposed to give me more energy and help burn more calories during exercise.
I’m trying to lose about 15-25lbs in 1 month.
I’m currently playing tennis everyday for about 1-2hours, running/walking 40 mins every other day, and lifting weights every other day. The GNC Amp musc igniter really gives me energy to do these exercises and I am sweating ALOT more during the exercises.
I have some questions though, are the legumes necessary? Could I do without them?
Are the cheat days really helping? I mean if I take that one day to eat all the junk I want, won’t it be gaining back everything I’ve lost? If I eliminate the cheat day, and stick with your meals, would I see quicker results?
Can I expect to reach my goal doing this diet with my workouts and supplements?
I feel that if I can reach this goal, I can start feeling more confident again, and possibly be happy and out of this depression.
Hey there.I have a important question.If I leave out some of the things tim says to eay.Lets say I only eat the meat and veggies Minus the beans.Will that slow my weight loss down? I mean I am not replacing the beans with anything Just dont like beans?Or vise versa.Beans and no veggies.Or neither just the meat and tons of water? Please help.
@ Josh Watson
Sure you can leave out the beans but you will be taking very very little calories and feel like absolute garbage. If this appeals to you then YES i would not eat the beans.
If you read the article he says to eat the beans because you will have to have a calorie load. Eatin 800 calories a day will make you lose weight, feel and look like crap as well.
I don’t think anyone should eat lower then 1200 calories a day and that’s if you are not doing a thing, i mean nothing!
I still can’t figure out why people don’t like beans. Get the ones from the can, even though there is a little salt in them BIG DEAL, they taste ten times better and you will so full that you will not eat massive amounts of food.
If it were not for the beans I would not be able to stick to this diet! They are great!!!!
Buy those in the can or the dry ones, I like the navy and pinto beans the very best, but also use the black, red, and kidney ones too.
I am pleased with this diet, even if I’m not 100% on it each and every meal!
Just try what Tim says!
Leona
aFTER READING ABOUT HALF OF THE POSTS ON THIS NEVER ENDING CHAIN I THOUGHT I WOULD SHARE WITH YOU MY CURRENT SITUATION IN HOPES THAT SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE SOME FEEDBACK OR INPUT. I AM CURRENTLY 205 AND I WANT TO GET DOWN TO A LEAN 180. I HAVE BEEN A SOLID 205 IN THE PAST BUT I STOPPED WORKING OUT AND GOT VERY SOFT. I STARTED THE MASTER CLEANSE TWO DAYS AGO AND I AM PLANNING ON DOING IT FOR TEN DAYS TO KICKSTART MY NEW REGIME AND START CLEAN SO TO SPEAK. I WAS THINKING ABOUT GOING STRAIGHT INTO A LOW NO CARB DIET AFTER THE FAST AND BEGIN DOING 20MINUTES OF CARDIO DAILY. i THINK I SHOULD STILL HAVE A DESCENT AMOUNT OF MUSCLE UNDER ALL OF MY PADDING AND I AM THINKING IT WOULD BE BEST TO CUT FIRST AND THEN START PUTTING LEAN MUSCLE ON IF NEED BE. THOUGHTS?
I’ve been having success with this diet over the past couple of weeks. I previously lost just under 100 pounds by calorie counting for a year, and then plateaued. Shortly after my weight stabilized I was involved in a motorcycle accident giving me knee problems and requiring shoulder surgery. This caused me to gain back about 12 pounds of bodyfat. So far in the past two weeks I’ve lost about 5 of those 12 pounds.
My one question is, when on this diet, do you still indulge in 70%+ dark chocolate chips throughout the day for their Theobromine? I’ve been a Yerba Mate drinker for years, and after reading your “The Creative Elixir” post I’ve been thinking about adding dark chocolate into the mix. Would allowing myself 20grams or so throughout the day significantly impact this diet? It seems they qualify as low-Gi, and would constitute about 100 calories per day if I weighed them out ahead of time.
Also, after doing some research, I’ve found Chana Dal Beans as a good alternative for those asking about Garbanzo Beans and Chickpeas. They have a very low GI rating. They can be high in calorie though.
@ itzjoker –
Glad you’re starting this! I’m sure you’ll see a difference in just a couple weeks. I can’t begin to describe what a help this diet has been for getting me out of my moody blues over my weight. I think it’s the planning and control over my meals/preparation which helps a lot.
YES – you need a splurge day. Not a splurge “meal”, not a splurge cookie, not 15 days in a row on beans/veggies/meat. If you read all of Tim’s posts, you will see he emphasizes over and over a FULL day of eating all the junk you want, once a week. You are supposed to spike your carbs and starches like mad and produce a lot of insulin. In the long run this actually helps you with fat loss. I don’t know how it works… all the details… but I trust that Tim has done his homework and I have followed it exactly. By skipping the splurge days you will wind up more depressed, weak and moody – and, while you may lose more weight in the short run, over time you will not lose as much and you will put it on much faster when you go off the diet.
Thanks Kristal for the response =]
Also, doesn’t beans have alot of carbs that we are trying to avoid? Unless they are some kind of good carbs?
Another question, do you guys rinse the beans from the sauce? I’m not sure what I can do with the beans since eating them plain sucks.
Sorry but I have another question xD
I’m taking these GNC Amplified Muscle Igniter 4X pills
They’re supposed to help give me energy, exercise longer, and burn more fat.
But a serving has 400mg of Caffeine, will the caffeine affect this diet? Will it help me lose more weight or will it slow it down?
It all starts with the beer.
I am the heavist I’ve ever been in my life and get discuranged when I dont see results quickly. As of now, I am 5″2 and at 220 lbs which is out of hand. Although, I’m going to give this a shot and see what happens.Currently, I’m going to school for criminal justice and need to get in shape for FBI training as quickly as possible. So lots of cardio and hopefully the success of this diet will help. I’ll get back in a week to give the results if any…..
Hello everyone!
This is the end of my 30 days and I wanted to give you an update.
Starting weight 140
Ending weight 126.2
Total loss 13.8
Im totally happy with the outcome. People are noticing and my clothes are loose and I can wear my last summers clothes!
Im going to do another 30 days cause I would like to get down to 115.
Good luck to everyone!! I recommend this diet completely. Its the only one Ive tried that I feel like im not really on a diet.
I am going to do something different this time around though. My “Saturday” this last 30 days I had been going hog wild eating in excess of the tings I craved most. I can see now that I need to change that up as there was a weight gain that took half a week to loose again. And I believe is why I was not closer to the 20 pound goal.
So as more of a public note to myself I’d say still eat your meals in moderation 3-4 meals, whatever they be. And don’t pig out on the sweets, eat a serving or 2.
Good luck!
~Mindy
Oh I forgot to add I drink TONS of water. I’m never without my water bottle.
~Mindy
[…] heavily processed food that has a high glycemic index (GI). Foods that have a high GI contribute to weight gain, diabetes, and other health […]
I’m on this diet for almost a month now,
I lost 20 pounds! in 25 days!
Haha, still got a lot to lose.
By the way, I’m 13. and this works great!
Hi, everyone.
@itzJoker, you don’t have to rinse the beans. Just make sure there isn’t any added sugar. Beans have carbs, but they are slow carbs. Those are the carbs you do want. Have some fajitas and guacamole with your beans, minus the tortillas. Search for some low cal, low carb recipes. There’s a ton of them on the internet.
It’s been a couple of weeks since I last posted, so I’ll fill you in on my progress.
Week 4 – Lost 2 pounds
Week 5 – Lost 0 pounds (Losing in inches)
Start Weight – 231
Current Weight – 219 (Total of 12 pounds and nearly 9 inches lost)
I’m getting closer and closer to my first goal of 199. 🙂
Even though I have only lost 2 pounds in 2 weeks, I’m not disappointed one bit. I started an exercise and weight lifting regimen and my body is quickly transforming. I know I have gained muscle. I am more motivated than ever due to my clothes practically falling off my body. (Seriously. 12 pounds really changed the look of my body.) There’s a big difference between a pound of fat and a pound of muscle. It’s that “jelly” that I’m losing. I am finally able to wear clothes that I haven’t been able to wear for years is fitting like a glove.
My body has finally grown accustomed to my cheat days. I don’t gain a thing. I eat what I want, but I don’t stuff myself. Moderation is key. That way you can have all your favorites without suffering the consequences.
Keep up the hard work, you guys. You’re doing great. We’ll meet our goals together. 🙂
Hi Everybody Stopping By to Say Hi
Hope Everyone Else Is Doing Great With
The Diet As For Me Honesty I Really Haven’t
Been On Task But Did Manage To Lose Another
-4Lbs This Month That Is Better Than Nothing
What I Have Been Doing This Month Is A Lot Of Exercise
So, I Do Feel That Even Though The Lbs. Have Not Dropped
So Fast I Do Feel I Have Gained Some Muscle & Been
Losing Inches My Clothes Fit Loose. Anyways Take Care
My Next Update Will Be September 30,2009
Love You Guys Keep Up The Good Work!!!!!!
I Promise To Post My Weight 2day
June 30, 2009 ……….202 lbs.
July 31, 2009 ……….197 lbs
August 31, 2009……..193 lbs.
Im on the diet, but i was wondering about the go crazy saturday. How is your days Tim? im like going nuts because im really hungry and i just ennjoy it. Or do you watch out for the calories on this day?
[…] to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days…Without Dieting” last fall. See original article here. I did not really believe that it could be done, not by me anyway. I put it to the test, and […]
Are we allowed to eat mushrooms on this diet? They are a vegetable but they are also white
@Eric Sounds amazing man, keep it going.
I’ve lost about 12 lbs so far… I feel healthier every day! Does anybody know if we can eat apples?
@ Miguel, I dont think so because of the sugar and whatnot. Tim said no fruits.
@Ashley I dont see why not, mushrooms arent like rice, bread, pasta, which is what they consider to be white? mushrooms dont have carbs like them. I’m not pretty sure cuz I just started learning about this.
So far about 3 days on this diet and I feel great, I’ve lost about 2lbs so far in just 2 days! Exercise really helps big time! I think it could be possible for me to lose 7lbs a week.
@Miguel No fruit except for cheat days. If you need vitamins, take a supplement.
Well, I have been on this diet for 6 weeks now. I have lost 12 pounds and my husband has lost 20! I am ok with that because I know that men lose faster than women. I still feel great (except for my fall allergies kicking in!). I love you Tim! You have changed my life.
Hi Tim,
Could you advise the many vegetarians out there, like myself, to follow your 30 day diet? can you give us a reversion of your diet, but including proteins for veggies?
look forward to your comments,
ta
I just started week #3 on this diet and I’ve lost 14 pounds. What I really like is that I’m not hungry at all. I’ve come to appreciate the little rewards too, such as the one Diet Dr. Pepper I have daily. My cheat day is Sunday and I go pig out at Jason’s Deli salad bar and eat a few nutty buddies. This is the best diet I’ve ever tried and I’ve got 2 people starting it at work. They were on P90X and not getting much result.
Thanks Tim. I’ve gone from 237 to 224 in two weeks. I’m excited and I’m striving for 220 by this weekend. This is the lowest I’ve weighed in over 5 years. I feel better than I have in years and I have plenty of energy.
Here’s one thing that I did have a problem with. I bought the 500mg slow Niacin pills and took one two days ago. About two hours later, my ears and neck turned red and got really hot. In about 30 seconds I was coverd from the neck down in hives. Obviously I had some sort of reaction to the Niacin so I’m thinking I will cut the pills in half and try that. ~250mg at night only along with the ChromeMate. And the wine is a nice touch. It makes me feel normal and like I’m not really on a diet.
Also, here’s something I’ve done to spruce it up a little. I take half a can of Black Beans (the NO SALT ADDED kind from Target) and half a can of the Tyson canned chick chunks (Target) and mix it together and microwave it for 1 minute. Then I put in 2 tablespoons of Pace Medium Chunky Salsa. It’s REALLY good (I actually crave it now…). I eat that along with either half a can of peas, green beans, or mixed veggies for one meal. It’s plenty of food and fills me up. I eat that for breakfast, I eat a salad for lunch, and then that same meal again for dinner. That’s plenty for me!
Great Diet man!!
Hi Tony,
Nice job! I’d just drop the Niacin. It really has more of an effect on cholesterol, so you’ll be OK without it.
Keep up the great work, all,
Tim
Dear TIM and EVERYONE,
Man, i was doing great with this diet until my cheat day came. For some reason, after the cheat day i felt hungry all the time. It was so hard keeping up. But i’m trying this again.
But i need your guys’ help If anyone can answer this question it will help alot.
I am about to start school in a couple of weeks. A am going to be a sophomore in highschool.
Anyways, i would like to continue with my diet when i start school again, but i know it’s going to be hard. I would like to know what i can eat during lunch; I don’t want to be taking my usual lunch which is chicken, black beans, and vegetables because it would be a hassle. I would really appreciate it if you guys can think of any maybe lighter and easier to make lunches for school. I just don’t want to be carrying around a big tray with food around campus. So i would like to know if any of you know of any alternative meals that i would take for lunch.
Some of my friends have told me that i could make a peanut butter and banana sandwich with whole grain bread because all these ingredients are high protein, and the banana is a starchy carbohydrate, not a white one. However, i’m still a little hesitant on this idea because i can’t consume bread or fruit. So i really need your help.
PLEASE HELP ME! (:
Thank you everyone in advance
Week 2
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Starting Weight: 297.8
Current Weight: 275.3
Goal Weight: 196.0
Height: 6.3
Days on current lifestyle: 14
It was kinda sad going from losing 20 pounds to only going down 2, but I am ok, and live to fight another day. I am still very excited about this lifestyle change and I hope it continues!
No Apples Miguel!!!!!! No Fruits @ All
Again!!!! Everyones body is different! I have been experienced in fitness and nutrition for 14 years and have used my self to experiement on what works for me! And One cheat meal is sufficiant enough to do the job of carb loading and produce enough insulin! Learn your own body people! You are not made exactly the same as the person next to you! If you wanna do a full cheat day..power to ya! But in the past 14 yrs its never worked for me. and by doing one cheat meal it has created wonders! 🙂
Other than that! The results im getting are amazing and the compliments keep coming! I still havnt weighed myself but today a body builder friend of mine came up to me and told me out of all the people he has seen in the last year my body has made the most changes where everyone else looks the exact same from the year before! This diet works people!
If everyone here chipped in 1 dollar, we could pay to have someone consolidate these 9000 comments into a usable guide/faq!
Who’s coming with me!
I think a cheat meal a day is a horrible idea. That’s asking to fall off the wagon! NO NO NO!!! Follow the diet to a T and DON’T add anything that’s not on the list. Do this and you WILL succeed! 🙂
Andrea,
I started this diet while I was in school. Im a single mother of two small children and currently am attending college classes for 6 hours during the day. I wanted to let you know what I do for lunch as Its difficult to find time for me as well.
I bake several chicken breasts a couple times a week. That seems to do the trick for making my lunch meals quick to put together. I either grab a handful of spinach, toss on my meat and beans in a little container or I put in my meat, mixed veggies and beans. it takes like 2 minutes and its easy to heat up, not the salad of course. Add some salsa or dressing and Im good to go. I grab my fork and water and Im out the door. I dont need anything large to carry it around so its not an inconvienence. Just need a spill proof container.
Anyway I hope this helps. I made it work because its important to me and I didnt want to get off track. When the weight starts falling off and people start noticing, you’ll be glad you stuck to it during the day. Im on my second chunck of 30 days and have lost 15 pounds so far from my 1st 30 days.
Also my cheat “day” was difficult for me as well. I decided to do 1 cheat meal and eat a few treats and snacks instead of pigging out the entire day. It was discouraging spending the next 3 days after satruday trying to loose the water retention I had.
Good luck to you!
~Mindy
I would ship in a dollar.
@ Joe
Tim’s actually making them into a book. 🙂 If you follow his blog he’s talked about the book he’s working on now being about diet and excercise – basically this thread expanded and also his thread about bulking up. Can’t wait for it to come out!
Started this diet last week and lost 8lbs, but seem to be stuck right now. I got busy and down to one or two meals a day and stopped my veggies. Will crank it back up next week.
About Tim’s book he needs to get with pritiBrownEyes to get her recipies in his book or she needs to write her own cookbook for sure!!
Tim!!!!!???? I Want To Know Are Yams Allowed In This Diet?????
*******************************************************************
*** Tim!!!???? Are Yams Allowed In This Diet??? ***
*** Does Anybody Know????? Don’t Ask Me Why ***
*** I Need To Have Yams In This Diet (Lol) ***
******************************************************************
Please can someone tell me where to find this blog you mentioned, I’m not that good at finding stuff at times!
Another question is what is “amp”?
Thanks for all your help and also to the nice person that mentioned black beans and Tyson canned chunk chicken, will look for this in the grocery store, sounds very good and so easy too!
Tim –
Along with the non-readers/nonsense, there are quite a few good questions posted in response to this blog post, and you have responded to them, however one has to read all 2K plus comments to get your clarifications – such as yes olive oil ,salt, vinegar, yes edamame, yes salsa, niacin flush issues, yes chick peas and no garbanzo beans (which by the way are the same thing!) etc. etc. Can I gather them all and send them to you so you can add a section to the blog post to clarify the most frequently asked valid questions for first time readers?
Thanks and regards,
Erica Martell
HI Erica,
Thanks for the comment. I will be including all the answers and details in my new book, which I am working on now 🙂
All the best,
Tim
@Tonyc cheat meal a day? Where did that come from? Its one cheat meal for the whole week.
@mireya007 i wouldn’t recommend yams because they have alot sugar in them. I would stick to veggies that are not sweet. Tomatos are my only acception as they are in salsa and are a natural detox however they are a fruit so you have to be careful.
HELP! my cheat day was already this week and tonight is my daughters birthday. Yummy whipped cream frosting cake, chocholate cake , cookiesn cream ice cream! Pizza! lasana! garlic bread! lots of candy and popcorn! holy hell lol what am i going to do?
Also after next week im doing a week long detox to get my body rid of the fake sugars from splenda and anything else then after im going to finaly weigh myself and gonna continue with this life long diet!
I think a detox every 3 months does wonders for your body! And taking a break from my weight training, and cardio routine and doing just Yoga that whole week! Im so excited! Why I get excited about these things? No idea. lol. Im a health fanatic i suppose.
hi
this susan charmer, i have been reading on this topic and it gives me relief to be able to say that i have achieved my goal of getting a flat belly and losing body fat. i now jog around the estate regularly, pushing myself higher and higher.
i thin this is a good website in losing body mass and would recommend to everyone.
with best wishes
you know you love me
xoxo
gossip girl
Roasted Chipotle Salsa from Target is GREAT too
Tim,
I would like to volunteer to go through these postings and remove the duplicate questions (is fruit OK?, can I have fruit?, is fruit cool?, man it’d be great if fruit were allowed!? :P) I have ready virtually all of the 2500ish questions/comments/concerns, and there are many things that are repeated and some things have a response from one poster saying “yes thats OK” and then someone else says “no thats not OK.”
Perhaps we could do a weekly email to you or someone you approve to approve these recipies/ingrediants/quick questions? We could just lay them on really fast and could utilize a simple y/n response for each one. This would help out tremendously and then we could have a very smooth blog.
MindyMomOf2,
Thank you soo much.
You gave a great idea, i shall make a chicken bean salad.
Haha. I hope everything goes great for you (:
And yes i think i am going to just do one cheat meal, not pig out the whole day.
The last time i did that, it was a great dissapointment to weigh myself and see how much damage that one day made.
I have been craving Carl’s Jr. for like 2 weeks. I think that’s what my cheat meal is going to be (:
I hope i can lose more though.
I am currently 155 and am 5 foot 4, my mom says that am fine the way i am, but honestly feel huge
What do you think? Please be honest, i won’t get hurt.
Hi Tim,
I am starting this meal plan tomorrow and I was wondering how you prepare your beans and lentils. Up until now, I have been a rice,pasta, and potatoes person, and I have never done anything with different dried beans. Any recipes and different seasoning ideas you or anyone has would be great.
I am glad to see so many people have seen results from this meal plan and I’m looking for to starting. Thanks for posting it.
Wow. That makes me feel a whole lot better.
I have been trying to do a diet that is quite a bit different than this, but that last part about “taking a day off” and eating whatever I want makes me feel loads better. I just got done eating three slices of pizza and three reeses cups and i feel hoorrible! I feel like I stuffed myself with artery-clogging junk that will make me gain ten pounds over night. (haha)
My problem is that I can’t get as much excercise as I probably need. Which leads me to my qquestion: I have probably not been doing the best thing lately. I have been having grapes for breakfast and a bottle of water at about 6:45, and a boca (veggie) burger in a flour tortilla with pretzels for lunch at about 11:30 (that is actually extremely healthy compared to the other options offered by my school), and then fish, veggies, or fruits after I get home at about 2:30 and again at about 4:30. I don’t believe it is the healthiest thing I could be doing, but could anyone PLEASE give me advice on how to actually start losing weight again?
I’m not extremely over weight, I’m just trying to flatten my stomach (which has always been quite large) and lose my excess fat.
Thanks in advance if anyone does respond!
Best wishes!
-Missy
What do you guys think about this?
[link removed per comment rules]
Tim, if at all possible, i’d really like to hear your opinion. Thank you.
Hi Sam,
I appreciate the video, but not the linking in comment text. My response: factory farming sucks, which is why I get my food from elsewhere whenever possible. The bottom line: to eat meat, animals have to die, and I’m actually fine with that. Unnecessary brutality I’m not OK with.
Best,
Tim
Two things I think the people advocating the “cheat meal” instead of the “cheat day” are forgetting…
1) If you only do a single meal, you’re not really getting the whole purpose of the cheat day in the first place. The whole point is to be in stark contrast to the previous 6 days so your body doesn’t start getting use to things and stops losing weight. Sure, you might gain back a few pounds after your cheat day, but overall it works out better because you sustain losing weight for weeks and weeks instead of leveling off…
2) The impact of the cheat day lessens over time. When you first start, you might gain 5 pounds back (especially in water retention) over the cheat day. As you continue on the program though, the amount you gain back becomes less and less and the water retention virtually disappears because you’re hydrating yourself correctly during all the other days…
Anyway, I just wanted to point that out. There are more things to consider outside the raw up and down weight changes that result from the cheat day…
I just have a few questions…can I eat mushrooms, corn and cauliflower? I just want to make sure before I start eating them. Also, we are allowed to have cinnamon right? I usually have coffee in the morning and I like to put cinnamon in it.
Wow 1 week and I lost about 5lbs with THREE CHEAT DAYS lol. Of course, I didn’t gain anything those cheat days. I exercise ALOT. I hope it was not just water loss haha.
Hi Tim, great job on this post, it’s much appreciated.
I would like to stick to this plan, there are not many weight lbs I need to lose but the consistency is very important to me.
Following are questions I need whenever you’re available:
1. Do we need to follow this plan for a long-term or has any determined timeframe (If you keep up with it for long time, is it necessary each of us do the same or cut off and go back to normal menus when the goal has been reached ? )
Important to be mentioned:
A very good friend of mine started one self-contrived diet plan and this is what he used for app. 3 months he went to the same eating cycle:
He was using only canned tuna and lots of vegetables throughout the day (Especially tomatoes and cucumbers salad), as for drinks he used to drink only water and water… Neither drink besides natural water without gas.
Result for his 3 months diet is: He lost app. 74 lbs (Sounded uncommon and extraordinarily to me when he quoted that, but that’s the truth I have seen with my own eyes)
My question is, would it be convenient if I replace for instance 2 out of 7 days during the week with the diet my friend used..
Plan he went by is as simple as you cannot find another one, but not as rich as you have described on this post.
Is it harmful and unhealthy to use so few nutrient sorts (Fish, tomatoes & cucumber and water) for months and what would your exceptions be for a person using such plan, I know I am kind of out of post but its related to the diet plan you have posted too.
Thanks for your usual support,
Leon
Great Post. Okay i have to admin I thought this was impossible, so i read the post a few times, made my shopping list and tried it out. I lost 6kg’s in 2 weeks without even trying. I had to actually stop because it was working too well.
I started on 80KG’s and in no time I ended up on 74Kg’s and I have maintained that weight really easily. Okay today I started on the next post “From Geek to Freak: How I Gained 34 lbs. of Muscle in 4 Weeks” – Cant wait to see how this turns out.
Dear Tim, I was one day searching for a diet such as yours.And it seems as though you went out of your way to make peoples lifes better and help them make a big change in not only there eating habits but there way of life.Now you made the decision to make this post about your diet and you also made the decision to let people comment on your diet and ask questions.Now you should have known that this post would come with ALOT of questions.I mean this is the internet that means MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL READ THIS. I find it hard to follow this diet when your comments back to your followers consist of TWO OR THREE words. I mean there are alot of important questions.For example there are vegitarians there are poeple that cant afford certain items,there are people that are allergic to certain things there are people that cant stand certain foods and need some advice on replacement foods ect ect.I mean if you chose to post this you should at least take the time to answer the MORE important questions . Like I see your replys and all they say is ” Ok thanks for the comment” I mean come on tim.People sit up and check there e-mails for your replys and they get on your website millions of times and you never answer the important questions.Anyways thanks for making this diet but its no help when your not helping.thanks alot.
@josh are you serious. Have you seen how many blogs Tim has written? Can you imagine how long it would take to answer everyone’s individual questions?
I think you need to read through other feedback and then make sensible decisions about what you eat based on Tim’s fundamentals.
Tim shared this information for free so I’m not sure why you think he’s obliged to be your nutritional counselor now. Anyway go take a look at all the blogs he’s written and how many questions he gets then consider whether your request is reasonable…
I would say that it isn’t.
Another Tim.
hear hear, another tim – i echo your sentiments.
josh, sit down with a notebook and find the answers yourself. they are ALL there somewhere, you just have to put the time in until tim’s book comes out.
and no more whining. look at your fork. if it’s ok and on the list, open your mouth… if it isn’t, keep your lips tightly shut. simple as that.
cheers, and back to the diet,
laura
Andrea,
I’m also 5’4″ and my goal weight is 120 (5 more pounds to go). I’d like to get down to to 110 actually for my ultimate goal.
Personally I didn’t like how I felt when I was 155. Its important to feel good about yourself. So I do what I need to do, to do just that.
~Mindy
So really an entire cheat day is recommended, I shouldn’t do just a meal? I retain water like a sponge. Each week it is 5 pounds gain. Which was lost after about 3 days. It was just discouraging. I did loose beside the water gain. It was just much slower.
Im sory TIM FERRIS drones. I diddnt mean to hurt your feelings.Im saying.His reply post’s are very short.I just wanted a bit more information.Beisides I was directing my comment towards the REAL TIM.Not some wanna be Tim Ferris and some other loud mouth.Anyways thanks for your pointless feedback as well.
As the great Gordon Ramsey says “Don’t take it personally, just take it seriously!”
Good luck
I eat mushrooms and cauliflower in an Asian Vegetable mix, and I’m still losing weight. Corn and Carrots have way more sugar from what I remember. I still have a frozen bag of mixed vegetables with peas, carrots and corn that I haven’t opened up for this very reason. I’m thinking about donating it to a shelter, cause God knows there are people out there that need it more than I do.
Whoever asked about cooking lentils, here is what I do:
I pour 2 tbsp of Olive Oil into a Saucepan
2 tsp of chopped garlic
I saute the garlic for about a minute or two
I pour two cans of beef broth in and let that boil for awhile
I sprinkle rosemary and Italian seasoning into the broth
Add another cup of water
I rinse the lentils (no need to soak them like other dry beans) and pour them into the broth
I cook them at a medium heat for about 20-30 minutes until they are soft.
I am open to other recipes, because I had a delicious lentil soup, but I’m not that familiar with cooking with curry, for example.
One bag of lentils can last me almost a week, and is really helpful with keeping me full.
@ another Tim
FInally someone figured it out hahah. I’m not sure if some people realize how many posts TIm Ferris has on here, it would take forever to reply to all. Personally i would ask the question just for the people that visit this specific post because it would be hard for Tim Ferris to return to this on a daily basis.
So people that get upset if a question is’nt answered just relax and put yourself in his shoes and see if you can do it.
So… diet is going well, losing weight, very happy.
This weekend I’m off to Vegas for a trade show. Anyone got any good travel tips for alternatives so that I can maintain the plan whilst on the go?
Obviously I’ll be taking a strategically placed “off day” at some point.
Cheers all.
hey i have my brothers in a month.. i am about 80kg.. how do i lose my weight within a months?????????
FOR ALL THE PEOPLE ASKING IDIOTIC QUESTIONS,
Read the post one more time and then DO IT why ask questions:
Just do the program for god sakes why ask dumbass question constantly?
If you can’t follow it one day then your not going to do just do it the next. You became overweight on your own by following your own rules!
Try tim’s rules because they are simple and work. Honestly if i were the person posting this i would not answer any stupid questions because i would have given you the rules and you either follow them or you don’t it’s up to you not me.
Just try the program don’t think about it. If one day you can’t eat like it your not going ot die so get over it.
Is there anyone else on here with me on this? Or maybe i’m just the only one annoyed by dumb questions.
1.NO WHITE CARBS………………UNLESS AFTER 20 HARD MINUTES OF RESISTANCE TRAINING NOT USELESS CARDIO.
2.EAT PROTIEN, VEGETABLES, BEANS AT EVERY MEAL
3.DON’T DRINK YOUR CALORIES WATER IS GREAT FOR YOU
4.ONE DAY A WEEK EAT WHATEVER YOU WANT AND THE WEIGHT YOU GAIN IS WATER WEIGHT DON’T CRY ABOUT IT.
Hard or Easy? You decide.
I started this program Sunday 08/23/09 weighing 149 lbs. (age 38) and by 09/03/09 I was at 142.5 lbs. But with the Labor Day weekend I did gain 3 lbs back but I’m on the wagon again! I’ve been very impressed with the results and look forward to being under 140 lbs. in a week! I haven’t been in the 130s in over 4 years so I am very very happy! And I’m sharing this website with everyone I know who’s looking to lose weight but are having a hard time doing so. My goal is to reach 127-130 lbs the way I was at 32 yrs old.
All I have to say is THANK YOU!!!! 🙂
[…] And I am going to keep that up these next couple of weeks AND add another change. After reading this article by Tim Ferriss, I’m going to try and avoid ANYTHING white in my diet… i.e. rice, sugar, […]
Ladies I started this “lifestyle” change 2 weeks ago and have lost 12lbs already; I’m shocked really. I follow the food recommendations strictly. Eggs(no yolk) with bean and veggies for breakfast. Boiled egg (no yolk) for snack; lunch salad with chicken, beans and veggies; snack veggies; dinner chicken or fish with beans and veggies.
I’ve done this without excercise; I will incorporate the exercise once I hit a plateau. I can see the changes in my face, waist and tummy. I’ve dropped a complete dress size . Ideally I would like to drop to 2 more dress sizes to be able to fit into my “old skinny clothes”
I’m 40, 5’7 and was 158 now am 146 lbs. We are living in Holland right now and trying to lose the weightinches that I put on since living in this wonderful cafepastrywine society. Labels on foods aren’t as detailed as back in North Amercia but muddling thru.
The first week I just wanted breadspastrieschocolate badly but now that has past. I will doing my first cheat day on the weekend and “hello chocolate with red”.
Would love to see some other ladies posting to find out their progress and eatingexercise tips.
Good Luck Ladies
Hi Tim
What about sweet potatoes? are the “white protein” too? I think their galoceimc index is quite low.
Thanks
Ron
Week 3
Age: 17
Sex: Male
Starting Weight: 297.8
Current Weight: 271.0
Weight Loss: 26.8 pounds!
Goal Weight: 196.0
Height: 6.3
Days on current lifestyle: 21
This past week was uber hard. I got off the program a few times coupled with the fact that last week I only lost one pound, which was uber depressing. I am back on track and doing well!
Thanks Tim!
@mark
I was thinking the same thing reading all this. I figured Tim would have deleted your posting though:)
BTW – I followed this and lost about 20+ lbs. I didn’t follow it exactly as it was hard for me, but after I messed up I got right back on track. I also exercised too. It only took me about 3weeks.
So you are right, if people just follow it exactly change will happen. I have told countless people that want to lose weight about this, as soon as I mention the basics, they don’t want to do it. Not everyone is ready for change.
@Tim – hurry up and come out with your book! I want to know more about the Colorado experiment workout!
Hang in there, Eric Morris!!! You R doing great. All new habits are hard until they become just that….habits. You R young and probably socializing alot. That is difficult but keep your eyes on the prize and it makes it easier …
Mark, U R 100% correct. Couldn’t agree more. As the famous Nike ad said….
I am in the Marine Corps and due to a back injury I am unable to do anything physical. As a result I have put on some weight and getting crap for it. I know you say this diet works but being a single marine i dont get paid enough to go out a buy food which means I am stuck eating at the chow hall which is by no means healthy food not to mention it is only open certain hrs. Any Suggestions on how I might be able to compensate my diet with these limitations?
I’ve been on this diet for a little while….I have lost 8 lbs. I looked thru earlier posts and found reference to the Eads. They have a new book that I JUST received – newly publshed. It lines up with Tim’s ideas here – geared not for the young, which I’m not. The new book is the 6 Week Cure for the Middle-Aged Middle. I’m interested to see if my “tube” fat is actually reduced. I left the flat-tummy crowd so many years ago, I don’t know if it is possible! ;-
By the way, I am a vegan, too. I’ve switched from oils like canola to palm and coconut oils.
Question: Rice is a big concern. I searched for past posts dealing with rice and didn’t find what I wanted. So . . . I don’t eat regular white rice (unless it is forced on me). However, isn’t wild rice ok? Or, brown? I thought that rice and beans make a complete protein. Am I wrong?
Thanks in advance for any advice –
I just wanted to say this is by far the best thing I have come across so far! I love the pure honesty and the fact u broke it down!!! I will be starting this tomorrow! Thanks again!
Crystal
Ok… So I started this today and I must say that this was the hardest day for me… I have done something kinda like this in the past where I tried to give up bread, sugar, and sodas…. I did that for about a week or so and lost weight… not for sure how much… Anyway today was a very hard day I LOVE LOVE LOVE sweets! I have three kids and 1 big kid for a fiance… Needless to say there are lots of snacks and juck food lurking around my home.
Well anyway I guess this will be my new routine for the next month and see how it goes…
I do have a question I am alergic to all fruit and I was wondering if anyone has any helpful hints as to what I can eat that will kill my sweet tooth during the day with out cheating!!!!
Help would be awsome!
Crystal
@jorgeviola
No rice brown/wild/white except on your cheat day or after your workout. I believe Quinoa is OK to use in place of rice though