How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise

Hi Tim,

Interesting article (and book). Curious, I see no “fish” in the protiens. Any particular reason?

Thanks for your time (apologies if this was addressed in one of the thousands of previous questions).

I have been watching my carbs since Dec 29,2010,I have since lost 40 LBS,,.,.,.I’m kind of in a slump now and would love advice on other things I can do,.,.,.,.,.

Ok let me say Tim is right! I work at panera bread and we have a lot of things you could screw up by eating, however we have black beans and apples both full of fiber which helps rid you of excess waste. and both are very low in calorie and black bean soup will fill you up because soups are very filling. I also do about an hour of lifting each day and thirty minutes of cardio and I’ve lost 80 lbs so far, even though it took about a year because I didn’t exercise every day like I should have. Currently 5’11 and 185, but aiming for 160 more and more each day :). Exercise is the best thing you can do to lose weight, secondly changing your diet helps I remember back when I would eat like 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day and exercise like 2-3 hours to burn it off and I lost weight like that, now I just tone down the calorie intake to around 1,200 to 1,500 per day and exercise a lot less. A good friend of mine went from 240 or so down to 150 by running about 3 miles a day, and I will say at first exercise was a pain but after you force yourself to do it everyday for a few weeks it becomes easier. I really do suggest lifting though, it boosts that resting metabolism, I remember reading somewhere that every pound of muscle takes 35-50 calories to sustain per day. So not only do you look tone but you’re burning away calories when you do nothing!

But for those who can’t manage to exercise an hour or so each day I’d suggest just changing your diet. Tim’s layout looks really good.

I’m skeptic about that “dieters gone wild” day. 3,500 calories burnt = 1 pound of fat loss. So say you just diet and you’re cutting out 500 calories per day over 7 days that’s 3,500. But on that last day you eat like crazy and consume like 2,500 to 3,500, you’re putting like a half a pound to a pound back on?

The bottom line is if you want to lose weight you have to take it serious, I had the hardest time sticking to diets and sticking to exercise. But once I pretty much pushed myself into obsession it worked, I count every calorie I eat now.

Let me also say if you do go onto a diet and you’re used to eating like 2,500 calories a day and then you go to a diet like the above you’re going to be hungry so get some diet sodas or even better the fruit punch mix from like Walmart which is 0 calories, and just keep drinking until the hunger goes away. I don’t recommend this but for a long time I’d eat like 18 pizza rolls a day, and I seen 20 pounds dropping off in like a week and a half.

Whatever you drop your caloric intake to keep in mind you gotta continue eating like this, if you pick the calories back up after you lose the weight you want you’re just going to put it back on.

So to sum it up what my methods are:

– Fiber & protein are your best friends.

– Exercise! 20-30 minutes of cardio at least every day.

– Men 1,500 to 2,000 calories a day, and women need less so 1,000 to 1,500.

– Sugar & carbs(breads, rice, etc) are your enemies, never never take these substances. Even if you “need” some carbs and sugars, just don’t.

– Sleep, 8-10 hours a day, we need sleep it makes the body function correctly. When you sleep metabolism drops like 15% or something so never eat close to bed. Just like Tim said.

– Sure you can do those waste cleansing things, Walmart sells them. Not sure if that makes you look slimmer but the scales will say you are..

– If you’re going to do weight lifting be sure you alternate the muscles you’re working, so you give them time to rest. Like say Monday you do shoulders, biceps, triceps. Tuesday you’d want to do chest and back. If you’re going to weight lift might as well cardio 20-30 minutes every day as well.

Good luck to you all and wish me good luck as well.

Thanks for this layout Tim.

This is for all readers who joined up just recently and don’t feel like reading the 3000+ comments.. This is what Tim has added so far in the comments on the subject apart from the post itself. Please read it, so you don’t have to ask the same questions again.

Tim, if I’m ruining the next book by this, feel free to take it away. Otherwise: way to go:) looking forward to the new book.

Isabelle

—–

On breakfast:

“My breakfast is the egg, black bean, and vegetable combo. I actually prefer lentils over black beans.

Breakfast is usually the hardest meal for most to modify, as we’re a country of toast and cereal-eating junkies. Moving to slow carbs and protein requires a more lunch-like meal for breakfast. This is easier when you realize that breakfast can be a smaller meal, particularly when followed by a lunch 3-5 hours later. Try it for 5 days and you’ll see the difference. Not only will the increased protein intake in your first meal decrease water retention, it will also increase resting metabolism about 20% if your breakfast calories are at least 30% protein.”

On other sorts of protein:

“Turkey (or ostrich, if you can find it) is a great alternative. For those adventurous souls looking for lower-fat and high-protein red meat besides beef, I also recommend bison (American buffalo).”

Random:

1. Canned foods are absolutely fine. No problem. All of my vegetables are either frozen (80%) or canned (20%). I’m a huge fan of canned tuna in water mixed with lentils and chopped onions. If you’re trying to gain muscular weight, just add durum-based macaroni to that and you’ll be set.

2. The pizza is from Pizza My Heart, based here in Nor-Cal (http://www.pizzamyheart.com/). It’s wonderful. Most small independent pizzerias should be able to help you customize a pizza, and you can always have chicken strips at home that you add on top for the finishing touch. Frozen chicken breasts from Safeway can be microwaved and cut in a matter of a few minutes.

3. Meth is bad, unless you want to look like 80s Axle Rose or Kate Moss.

4. Whole grain is not recommended on this diet, due to high caloric content and generally high glycemic index. I challenge you to find one that is not “enriched” (it is bleached, then vitamins, etc. are added back in) or that doesn’t contain high fructose corn syrup in its first five ingredients (the ingredients of the “ingredients” listing on all food products are listed in descending order of quantity). It is tempting but not good for fat loss. True whole-grain bread is better than white bread and actually tastes pretty rough, but if you’re serious about fat-loss, I discourage consuming it. Saturdays allow you to go nuts, so be strict otherwise.

5. Eating the same meals over and over again is boring, yes. I will generally eat the same 3-5 meals every day for 1-2 weeks and then rotate to a new 3-5 meals that comply with my diet plan. It is not practical to have consistency and variety at the same time, so I rotate in this fashion to prevent feeling like a POW. That said, being in incredible shape usually justifies having good but familiar food from Sun-Fri. Saturday is no-holds-barred.

Tortillas are not ideal, as they’re still calorically dense without much added nutritional value, but if you must have some carbs, corn is typically the least damaging.

Salsa is outstanding, especially chunky medium spice salsa with corn, beans, etc. I can’t stand egg whites by themselves, as it’s too boring even for me, but if you just add a few spoons of salsa on top, it’s a delicious little meal (just don’t put the salsa and lentils in the same bowl, as the mix is disgusting).

For books, I recommend “The Glucose Revolution” (http://www.amazon.com/Glucose-Revolution-Authoritative-Index-Groundbreaking/dp/1569246602/ref=sr_1_15/103-9756133-3205402?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176358832&sr=1-15) and “Protein Power” (http://www.amazon.com/Protein-Power-High-Protein-Low-Carbohydrate-Health/dp/0553380788/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/103-9756133-3205402?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1176358929&sr=1-1) for some good basics on low-GI eating and how protein affects hormone levels and metabolism.

Last but not least, lacto-ovo is fine. Meat isn’t necessary, but it does make the job easier. Egg and beans will be sufficient to lose weight, but if you’re sticking to the “lacto” portion, I would also include 1% milk in combination with the eggs. Casein protein and calcium will aid in fat-loss; just don’t exceed one glass per meal, as the lactose will spill over to bodyfat past a certain point.

On using supplements to lose it:

“Supplements can be used for this, even if your diet and exercise is mediocre. That said, the regimen of supplements that would accomplish this would make your liver and kidneys most unhappy, as both will be affected, and the liver will be filtering most of them from your blood.”

“I could recommend several hard-core thermogenics like ephedrine hydrochloride, but the trade-off in liver and kidney damage (not to mention things that few people realize, like sinuses) isn’t worth it.

I approach the problem differently. Rather than focusing on speeding up the metabolism via adrenal hormones (adrenaline, norepinephrine, etc.), I prefer to increase insulin sensitivity. Most people get fat via a moderate “Syndrome X” of resistance to insulin, which is a storage hormone. Just google “syndrome X” and “insulin sensitivity” for more. Before bed, I take:

200mcg (that’s micrograms, not milligrams) of chromium polynicotinate (not “picolinate”), which is niacin-bound GTF chromium; this can be found under the brand name “ChromeMate”

500mg of slow-release niacin (nicotinic acid) under the brand name “Slo-Niacin”

23mg of policosanol (I use Nature’s Life brand)

1-2 glasses of red or white wine: I believe these have fat-loss properties, plus they taste great 😉 Look at the research on resveratrol and other wine compounds.

This cocktail not only aids in fat-loss, in my experience, but it lowered my total cholesterol from 222 to 147 in four weeks (!). If that is your goal, I’d also add an organic orange just prior to bed”

More random:

“1. I use vinegar on salads, cinnamon, and even lemon in drinks to lower collective meal GI. Smart lad, you are.

2. I never said you need to limit veggies to those I listed, but I’ve found that the more variety you try and build in, the less you stick to your diet. My diet is not designed to be fun — it’s designed to be effective. Those four are the four I’ve found to be most tolerable when eating again and again. Feel free to substitute whichever you want, but some legumes are a good ideas for sufficient calories.

3. On MY diet (this is not to say it’s for everyone), brown rice is not OK unless within an hour after exercise. Too calorically dense and still normally high GI. Some will disagree, but here’s the thing. I’m not trying to get to 12% bodyfat (bf), I’m trying to get to 5-6%. This is HARD and requires that I be more strict that the average person.

4. This diet is great for gaining muscle. Just up volume and ensure you get a good amount of low-GI starches (organic whole-grain brown rice or quinoa; the latter is my favorite) after training sessions. Macaroni mixed with tuna is also a great bulking meal.

5. None of the supplements I recommended generally cause anxiety or insomnia. None are stimulants.

6. Fruit, and fructose, are not good for fat-loss diets — period. Fructose is easily converted into fat after it spills over from the liver. I eat one organic orange before sleep to increase HDL cholesterol, but this is not for fat loss.

7. Cheese (ideally low-fat), nuts, and occassional fried food (ideally without a ton of breading) are fine on this diet. Notice that all are protein-rich and low GI.”

“1. I didn’t address the emotional eating concerns b/c I was just trying to explain my diet, not prescribe one to others. That said, they’re important, and I found Dr. Phil’s book (“Weight-loss Solution”?) to address this surprisingly well.

2. Grass-fed, in addition to those reasons, has higher nutrient content, such as CLA (conjugated linoleic acid):

http://www.americangrassfedbeef.com/grass-fed-natural-beef.asp

3. I eat like this all the time and have for 7 years. If you don’t want to binge, there is no need to be, but I find that everyone does if they don’t cheat on their meal plans. I just preschedule it to limit the damage.”

On post-workout pizza/eliminating white carbs:

“Pizza is post-workout, and there are no recommended calories for the day. If you eliminate the white carbs, it’s very, very hard to gain fat eating excess lean protein or vegetables. Near impossible.”

More random:

“I find garbanzo beans to be too calorically dense, so I avoid them. Think of them as rice. A few here and there in a mixed bean salad is fine, but otherwise not suggested. Light toppings like low-sodium soy sauce or salsa”

Q: One question-even thought carbs are prohibited, is it only sweets that you can eat on your ‘dieters gone wild’ day? Or can you indulge on white CARBS on that day as well?

Tims answer: “Indulge in whatever you like 🙂 ”

“Edamame is just soy bean, and it’s ideal for this diet” (on substituting pinto/black beans with other beans)

Someone wants to use spices, “such as garlic and onion powder and even salt”. Tim: “All of those are just fine.”

“Wine coolers have high sugar content and would not be a good substitute for normal red wine”

For hypogycemic people:

“Anyone who is hypoglycemic, or otherwise has a medical condition (particular type-1 diabetes), should consult with their doctor before taking any supplements like alpha-lipoic acid that increase insulin sensitivity. Most of them can be used safely with supervision, but the dosages will affect blood glucose and insulin levels.”

On sauces that are “allowed”:

“I typically use either thick salsa (often has beans, corn, etc.) or “Montreal steak rub/seasoning”. In moderation — a thin coat and not dripping off — BBQ sauce will do minimal damage. I am a sucker for the occasional baby back ribs 🙂 ”

On “free day”:

“Yes, you can eat anything you want — in any quantity — on Saturdays. I tend to go nuts every 1 of 4 weeks and eat so much I get nearly sick, which makes me moderate the other 3. I love Snickers, TimTams, bear claws (and all pastries), and ice cream.”

More random:

“1) First and foremost, there are some amazing success stories above, but if you are “just” losing 2-3 lbs. of fat per week, that is still more than most physiology textbooks will say is possilbe! So be pleased with your results and stay the course.

2) I do not recommend fruits for this diet. Fructose is processed uniquely in the body and interferes with fat loss. An orange in the morning won’t totally ruin the program, but juice is not recommended. Too easy to get added preservatives, sweeteners, and other nonsense; and too easy to drink calories.

3) Spices, herbs, salsa, and other flavoring without added sugar is fine. If you’re eating spicy Indian food, just remember that white rice is a no-no.”

“By the way — yes — I make an exception for holidays (one day each) for Thanksgiving, X-mas, etc. Just tone down that week’s Saturday (or other designated free day), exercise a bit more, and you’ll be fine.

One day for Thanksgiving shouldn’t turn into 4 if you can avoid it! Go nuts, but keep it limited to 24 hours per week, if possible”

“if you have to choose between hard alcohol or beer, the former generally has fewer calories. It can be dangerous if you try and match drink for drink with beer drinkers (don’t do that), but I generally stick with gin or vodka and club soda on the rocks. It’s a matter of learning the caloric content and avoiding sugars like maltose (in beer). I don’t drink beer, but there could be some light beers worth exploring, though I still suspect a small amount of clear harder alcohol will have less of a negative impact on waistline.

All the best and drink responsibly!”

“Canned beans and vegetables are absolutely fine. Just look at the ingredients and try to avoid added sweeteners like sugar, cane juice, maltodextrin, fructose (especially high-fructose corn syrup), etc”

To someone who’s feeling ill:

“If you continue to feel ill, I would return to your other diet. There is a chance that you aren’t consuming enough calories, in which case I would add more lean proteins (meat, fish, etc.) and lentils if you can. Mung beans are too light calorically — go for a legume with more density.”

“Yes, kidney beans or any type of beans will do. Just avoid added fat (frying, etc.) and sugars (fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, etc.).”

“Heinz isn’t good for you. Try plain tomato sauces, salsas, or mustards with no sweeteners added. If you can’t have a meal without Heinz, you are no doubt consuming a lot of essentially empty calories that do nothing but add inches to your waistline. Test out some alternatives and you’ll be surprised how tasty they are and how quickly you lose weight.

Corollary to the “don’t drink calories” rule: don’t consume a lot of condiments with added sweeteners.”

“Sardines are fine, both in tomato sauce (no added sugar/sweeteners) or olive oil. Just realize that olive oil is about 120 calories per tablespoon, so tomato sauce might be better for pure fat-loss.”

“Baked beans and boiled eggs are perfectly fine substitutes”

“A little maltodextrin is fine. The reason I suggest avoiding it in general is that it is included in foods marketed as “sugar-free”, when it’s actually converted to blood glucose faster than table sugar. It’s hidden in a ton of foods that are sold as healthful. In minute quantities, it’s no problem, but if you are unaware of it, the caloric and insulin impact can be large.”

“Protein before bed can be as simple as a tablespoon or almond butter, or a shake (in which case, I suggest casein, available at any GNC). Most often I’ll just have a small snack — 200-300 calories — of leftovers like some Thai food a la chicken basil with no rice”

“Yogurt is fine as long as it is plain and low-fat. Yogurt is often just chock full of added sweeteners, which are no good. Plain should have no more than 12 grams of carbs per 8 grams of protein.”

“I don’t suggest you drink “sports drinks” like Propel, as they tend to have a good dose of added sweeteners and sugars”

“I generally discourage more than 1-2 pieces of fruit per day, preferably an orange in the morning or a little bit of berries. No time to explain, but best to minimize fructose (fruit sugar). All spices and herbs are fine.”

“Eat until you are full and no more, following the listed foods and no others. Limit salt/sodium intake if you want to accelerate weight loss. If you do these things, the program will not fail you. Stick with it.”

“Snap peas, celery and carrots are fine unlimited, though too many carrots can cause quite a nasty stomach upset.”

“Prawns/shrimp are fine in moderation (1-2 nights per week), but their cholesterol content is off the charts, so be forewarned if you’re on statins or similar medications. I also ate escargo/snails and all manner of other proteins. Nearly all lean protein is fine — I just tend to avoid too much tuna and large oceanic fish due to mercury and other heavy metals.”

“Chickpeas are very dense in calories and easy to overconsume. I’d hold off if you can.”

To someone who’s “going to the gym 5x/week, 2 hours on the treadmill plus an one hour spin class 2x/week”, not overeats but gains weight after initially losing weight:

“I suspect you are overtraining and actually losing muscle, given your

description. This will lower your basal metabolic rate and then cause you stall with fat loss. Try the diet with no more than 2-3 short weight training workouts per week and remember to track bodyfat % and not just weight”

“Low-fat cottage cheese is fine, but I suggest including some other lean protein sources as listed.”

To someone who after five days on the diet feels pain in the legs and restlessness in them:

“Please see your doctor! That is very unusual and could be any number of things, but none of which should relate specifically to this diet.”

To someone who eats just one or two meals per day:

“If you’re not hungry and continuing to lose bodyfat, one meal per day is fine. I might add in a casein protein shake or two, just to get minimum protein intake up to at least 80 grams or so per 24 hours.”

“If you are looking to add mass and maintain bodyfat, oatmeal (non-instant) in the morning is permissible and even helpful, but I wouldn’t consume sweet potatoes and oatmeal past 2pm or so. If you’re sole objective is gaining muscle, adding both is fine.”

“If you consume the juice within 30 minutes post-workout (or during), I don’t expect this would be an issue.”

“What is the GM diet? General Motors? 🙂 I don’t suggest eating them these days. But seriously, apples will not be negatively caloric, at least with my understanding of digestion and thermodynamics. Granted, I’m no physicist, but genetically-modified (also GM) apples can top 100 calories and have greater fructose content that much of the naturally-occurring fruit our paleolithic ancestors would have had access to.”

Someone has low energy-level and feels warm:

“I’ve been doing some additional research, and — as per previous commenters — I suggest you might want to look at supplementing 200-400mg of both potassium and magnesium per day. Start with 99mg (the usual tablet size) of potassium per day and 200mg of magnesium before bed. Of course, discuss this with your doctor, especially if you are taking blood-pressure lowering medication.

That said, I suspect increasing your electrolyte levels a bit should help.”

“keep Garbanzo beans out of the diet, for sure.”

“Normal egg whites or egg beaters are both fine. I tend to add in one whole egg for taste.”

“Broccoli is great. Eat all you want”

“If you eat almonds/nuts, eat no more than 10 or so a day. It’s easy to pack on a few thousand calories without thinking. Second, I’d avoid aspartame (Nutrasweet) if you want to lose fat, but some sweetening is OK”

“1) I would try cutting out the diet soda. Aspartame (Nutrasweet) can negatively affect fat-loss.

2) Women tend to gain water weight just before their periods or during the two weeks preceding menstruation (if on birth control). Follow the diet and you will lose fat. Don’t let short-term water fluctuation discourage you.”

“The black bean asparagus salad is 100% OK — looks good!”

To someone who starves herself and then eats a lot (according to the diet) and not loses much weight:

“1) Eat within 30 minutes or so.

2) Get at substantial portion of protein at each meal. You’re consuming too little protein for this to work”

“An orange after a workout won’t hurt you, and tilapia (I assume the fish) is fine”

“1/2 cup of cottage cheese (low-fat) is fine.”

“Perhaps you are snacking on high-calorie foods like nuts? The most common explanation for not losing fat on this diet: snacking on handfuls of nuts or dried fruits. Several hundred calories per “snack”.”

“Don’t worry about calories. Counting calories usually backfires and causes people to regain weight. Just follow the directions in the post — make sure to get at least 20-30 grams of protein per meal — and you’ll be fine. It will control your insulin levels and you won’t get as hungry.”

“Grilled chicken is fine, as are pinto beans”

“For the record and all similar questions: for maximum fat loss, do not eat any fruits. Period”

“Salmon is delicious and totally fine :)”

First Q on eating hummus, then if “cheat day” should be included in first week:

“1. Keep it to a minimum. It’s easily abused.

2. Yes, assuming you do 6 days strict beforehand.”

“1. Don’t snack. Eat more at each meal.

2. Tomatoes are totally fine. Just ensure no added sugars.”

“I’d suggest cutting out dairy entirely, except for cheat day. That is my approach. Please also realize that the total pound per week loss will naturally slow, but this shouldn’t frustrate you. The lower your bodyfat %, the more meaningful each pound lost is (a higher % of your total bodyfat).”

“Exercise is not necessary for this diet to work. If you eat banned foods, do not expect exercise to undo the damage. It probably won’t. The post is titled how it is for good reason.”

For someone who gets red and warm because of Niacin:

“I’d just drop the Niacin. It really has more of an effect on cholesterol, so you’ll be OK without it.”

“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.”

“I’d just use olive oil for anything not high heat and grapeseed oil or PAM otherwise. There are fancier options, but those are the easy answers.”

“Ignore the people who say it’s just water weight. They are wrong. Trust the several hundred people in the comments who’ve lost 20+ lbs. That’s not just water.”

To someone who has stopped losing weight:

“Ensure you are drinking more water than you think necessary, and ensure you eat at least 30 grams of protein within an hour of waking.”

On eating carbs after martial arts instead of resistance training:

“Less ideal but, in general, a small amount — less than 50g — is fine”

To someone who doesn’t feel well (weak, metal taste in mouth, head ache)

“This is not a normal response. I’d suggest seeing your doctor to check on blood pressure and fasting glucose, among other things.”

On that Slow-Niacin contains hydrogenated oil:

“Gross. It’s been a while since I used it. Nice catch. Hope someone has another suggestion. Worst case, try the non-timed release with food to avoid the niacin flush.”

Ed C,

Here’s an outline for my free days:

Breakfast: A 2 egg omelet with cheese and a few veggies, some pancakes or french toast, hash-browns, and some pastry.

Lunch: Either some pasta or a sandwich

And for the rest of the day, I finish up a large pizza.

I have a bag of snickers minis that I much on all day.

2-3 bottles of Sweet Leaf tea (one per meal basically). Not really a cheat drink, but it’s the only drink I can find easily that doesn’t have HFC (if someone has other recommendations, please let me know).

Some milk and cookies at a random time.

I really feel like to explode by the end of the day.

The next day, I’m usually up 6-7lbs. That’s always gone in around 3 days.

As the diet has progressed, it’s become harder and harder to complete my cheat-day course. I get full a lot quicker (which is a good thing). But it has been working great (I’ll post my 3 month update in a couple days).

Ed, I lost 10 pounds in 6 weeks, it wasn’t exactly the loss I anticipated, but since I can’t work out due to injury I’m ok with it. Also, I’ve noticed a lot of people who’ve started were significantly overweight. I’m 5’9″ and started at 162lbs. I’m 152lbs right now and am within my healthy weight for my height. Pre-injury when I ran I was a good 135/140, so hopefully I kick this plateau and lost 10 more pounds.

My friend made a comment that, when healthy, there is a weight people won’t drop below…if I’m eating healthy and not working out maybe that is 150 for me and I probably won’t lose anymore weight? Any thoughts on that? And when I work out and eat healthy that weight is 140? I don’t know, maybe i’m in denial.

@Ed C – I don’t eat small meals. I eat three chicken breasts with jalapenos probably twice a day, or a full pound of lean meat chili with onions and veggies like mushrooms in one day on my diet days.

I also eat low fat cheese, legumes (recently), and oats/skim milk.

On my cheat day – I probably have 2 fast food meals (my weakness – each a large fry, 10peice nuggets, and a spicy chicken sandwich) multiple bowls of lucky charms, a chocolate bar, and maybe a full medium pizza hut pizza if I can afford it or chinese tapped off with mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Maybe the cheat day is my downfall – but i’m a 22 year girl who eats like a horse. I’m just happy I’m in my healthy range and have stuck with it and hopefully this plateau will end!

Tim – I have issues with cramps in my legs, etc, after a workout, or a particularly physical day. Can you recommend anything from the suppliment aisle to me?

Thanks 🙂

maltodextrin, i am thinking of taking this only after my workouts and on this diet is it ok to take it after my weight lifting with protein as a white carb?

Kate,

Cutting the oats, skim milk, and cheese might yield better results for you; take a calcium supplement if you are worried about nutrients.

Also, 10 lbs. in 6 weeks is nothing to frown about. While it doesn’t live up to the blog’s title (which the general consensus seems to say is a wee-bit of a stretch) it is still very good weight loss.

And one other thing:

To me it looks sort of like you aren’t eating enough calories. Depending on how large those chicken breasts are, you might be under 1,000 per day. This is too low. Your body will try to become much more efficient in its calorie budget, thus causing your weight loss to slow down. The cheat days are designed to counteract this, but sometimes it may not be enough. During this diet, I had hit a plateau for a couple of weeks – and I think this may have been a key factor. Try eating more if what you are doing doesn’t seem to be working – and try to eat more legumes.

@John

Thanks for the input. What do you think is a good breakfast then? I have three meals a day and when I work I’m constantly moving around. I don’t exercise much, although obviously I should more, I consider it at least a small amount of aerobic in nature. Thanks again.

@John,

Sounds good. I’m used to drinking coffee with creme and sugar in the morning. Is that off limits now?

@Trent

Yeah, you will want to cut the creme and sugar

@Paul

When using a protein powder, my preference is to put it in skim milk rather than water after a work out. If it’s a ready-made shake, then I’d suggest some fruit (white carbs + nutrients & antioxidants); strawberries maybe?

I think the oats, or any other white carb for that matter would be okay too – just don’t over do it; Tim suggests 50g or less of carbohydrate post work out.

Good luck

So I have eaten like this for 8 weeks now, monitored my weight closely, and have lost 20 lbs total. I have some thoughts and insights relating to the cheat days, water weight, and net weight loss which I think some of you will find helpful.

If you take a look at this blog – you will be able to count out many, many posts about people complaining of gains anywhere from 4 to 8, to even 10 lbs, I believe, the day after a cheat day. This is obviously not a real “gain” of weight – it is just water. I do however think that this number on the scale after a cheat day, which none of us like to see, says something about our actual net weight loss, but I will get to that later.

So first off, what happens on a cheat day? For me and most people, we go out and eat the thing we haven’t been eating all week – white carbs. While we might not be making ourselves sick like Tim mentions, we are probably eating a good deal more calories than normal – and we are probably eating many more carbohydrates than normal.

This diet, though not considered a “low carb diet”, is most likely a low carb diet in perspective for most of you. What do I mean by this? I would venture to guess that most of you (myself included) used to eat a diet in which 50% or more of your daily calories came from carbohydrates. If you were consuming 2500-3000 cals per day (I use this figure because the vast majority of us are here because we were overweight to begin with) with 50% from carbs, that means you were eating about 310-375g of carbohydrates per day.

Now I consider what my diet currently looks like. On a normal day, I probably eat 3-4 cups of black beans (this seems to be even more than most of you are reporting on the blog). What’s the carb-count for all of these beans? At 50g per cup, we are looking at about 150-200g of carbohydrates. The beans are my chief source of carbs, and while I do eat some mixed vegetables they don’t amount to too many more additional carbs.

So now we have 310-375g of carbs daily pre-diet versus about 150-200g of carbs (which is likely the high end) while on the diet. So what is the consequence of dramatically cutting your carbo*hydrates* (50%)? Well your body is going to start giving up some water. This is the reason for why we have people reporting huge weight losses of 8 lbs in their first week. While it’s not to say that they aren’t experiencing some good fat loss, their macro nutrient profiles are changing dramatically and they are losing some water weight.

Back to the cheat days. Does it not stand to reason that by dramatically increasing your carbohydrate intake on a cheat day (by about 100% in my estimates) that you would gain some water weight? Of course it does. This is why we have people gaining the aforementioned amounts of weight overnight. They aren’t eating a few burgers and ice cream cones and gaining several pounds of fat! It’s just water!

There are a couple points I think you can infer by understanding this concept:

A. You are not undoing a week’s worth of dieting from a cheat day and should not panic when you see the scale

B. Your actual fat loss probably more closely resembles the difference between your starting weight and your weight following a cheat day

C. Weight loss slowing down after the initial week or two on this diet does not always indicate a plateau. It is more likely to mean that you have lost most of the water weight you are going to lose and are now settling in to just fat loss (and more realistic weight loss) – a pound, or a couple of pounds per week.

Remember that “water weight” is not a bad word. I’m not accusing Tim’s diet of only making you lose a bunch of water – I am merely stating it as an inevitable consequence of eating this way. So once again, don’t get discouraged when the scale slows down a bit after the first weeks – stick with the plan; it works. My weight loss and the weight loss of many others can attest to that.

So I think I have assessed that fairly accurately – I hope it helps some of you understand what is going on with your bodies!

Good luck everyone!

John

omg for 6 weeks i have limit my carbs to only 50 carbs! whoa i have been doing this all wrong,

so basically your saying i can eat as much of it as i want what about meat and eggs etc can i eat as much of them as i want ? as well,

i always was strict on calories,

also ok if i burned 500 calories and only ate 2000 in a day i could eat another 1000 to gain nice weight

ok if you could give me a clear understanding like a range between calories to aim for and one other thing a calorie limit after my workout?

i am looking for all muscle building so if you could help with that ,

i seriously only ever want 50 carbs all together,

so your saying tommorrow i can haowerade after my workout with shake or porridge ? and not worry about gaining fat?

John you dont know how much your helping me here

, i am gonna start this

but do i have to worry about calories ? as well if cutting, if i eat clean its all good, lol

please write back

what best option after my workout? like carb wise i really am parnod lol, special any crap i put in me could i compesite for like a can of red kidney beand with protein or baked beans like that? or banana ?

wb looking for health i just cant put powerade or somehting white in my body to parnoid

, i want insurance it will be fine,

so if you could

wiret excactly how many calories on cut and bulk with calorie between meals and after workout will be great,

dam i cant belive i was doing htis wron wb please asap your words are opening more freedom

also fats after a workout?

basically i am asking you to lay it out and i will try it , i dont mind compsating for pasta but to tasty and i would alkways go for the 500 calorie one and 40 carb one, i am only a beginner pt here and nutritonlist but more advice to help me be great,

John man your great if i could rep you or even recommend you to others i would

also atm i am pretty toned up like? but i think cause of staying 50 carbs al together i have lost muscle in process strength still there can fit in to my very small shirt now and belt had to put three exctra notches in but i am looking for to keep that and put on some lean ass muscle,

i bought the book lean and hard by Mackie shilstone and was thinking folowing his diet but didnt like the whole idea of porrdge in morning nd all, i want my goal to get to 6 percent body fat, basically lean muscle and outstanding tone,

sorry if i am going on a bit but you really are helping me man with my progress, i always seem to go one way or the other but never get the results i want!

I was wondering if Fish ok also, im not really a pork and beef person i eat fish and chicken……What can I eat with the tuna i used to eat crackers or bread but since there is no carbs what would be the best subsitute? I really want to lose 20 pounds by May 1st. I have fat under like in my arm pit area will this also decrease that as well???

Thank you,

Heather

So it’s been 3 months since I started this diet, and I’m officially done. My goal was 35 pounds, and I’ve lost 36.

My starting weight was 198.5 pounds on November 31st

My weight now 162.5 pounds.

I’m a 6ft 0.5in male. This diet has worked better than I could have possibly expected.

Just an outline of my routine if anyone is interested:

I started out the first month by eating 4 meals every day.

Eggs and mixed vegetables for breakfast

Salmon, mixed vegetables, and black beans (although I sometimes skipped this) for the next 3 meals.

Once I got back to school in January, I really didn’t have time for a consistent breakfast routine, so I just had the 3 meals with salmon.

I drank nothing but water. Lots of it.

I outlined my cheat days a few posts up.

Seriously, thanks Tim. 36 pounds. I completed that new years resolution for once.

@Josette

If it is happening during/after a work out, it could be lactic acid build up. You may be especially prone to this if you have recently become active.

I don’t know of any supplement to help with this, and it would be best to consult a doctor before you try anything.

Good luck!

this is great, i have lost 12 pounds in 2 and a half weeks, very pleased.

but i hit a plateau seem in to stuck around 220 for the last week or so

Starting wieght on (2-15-10) 232 pounds

todays weight 220 lbs

HELP me get over this!

is it Ok to drink Vitamin Water?

and is whole grain bread allowed in this diet?

thanks 🙂

very well then.. :]

thank you, John!

Paul,

Chili is fine the way yours is being prepared.

Hey john thanks

so i could have this like 3 times a day and be fine!

also have to ask are you helping tim with this forum or are you just helping peoples un answered questions? either way you are great

my target eating 2000 calories a day maybe 2500 and burn least 200 to 300 calories 3 days and 500 2 days and finally sat 1000 ( the lower for protein downregulation day)

also i think i am going to bulk just up the food like more steak and lentils and pork, fish ,prawns, tuna and also ate like 500 grams cottage cheese(low fat) at 8 pm at night time is it ok to have steak etc

or is milk with whey ok? or just can of tuna

more help appriectated,

today upped food

morning one egg mixed with whey 200grams haricot beans mixed vegatables,

10:30am : 200 grams chicken some lentils and vegatables

2:00 rump steak mixed vegatables and lentils

3pm gym,

i think its pretty healthy

get home will have two smoked fish can of lentils or if went more calories chick peas and lots of vegatables

then before bed and snacks ham/cottage cheese

i know not a really bulking meal, but i coul have two pork chops(there very big) for dinner to replace fish

@john

tips?

for bulking i am gonna keep to this and starting next

week my supps will be whey,creatine(monoyrtrate)maldoextrin, gutamine, lecuine mostly this will be all took for post workout

at night time some one recommended taking the maldrodetrin at night before bed i disagree?

whats your advice

also do i need to add more to my diet of eating i eat healthy all the time, so if you tell me more lentils and steak etc good for me and chicken 😀

Hey john thanks

so i could have this like 3 times a day and be fine!

also have to ask are you helping tim with this forum or are you just helping peoples un answered questions? either way you are great

my target eating 2000 calories a day maybe 2500 and burn least 200 to 300 calories 3 days and 500 2 days and finally sat 1000 ( the lower for protein downregulation day).

also i think i am going to bulk just up the food like more steak and lentils and pork, fish ,prawns, tuna and also ate like 500 grams cottage cheese(low fat) at 8 pm at night time is it ok to have steak etc

or is milk with whey ok? or just can of tuna

more help appriectated,

today upped food

morning one egg mixed with whey 200grams haricot beans mixed vegatables,

10:30am : 200 grams chicken some lentils and vegatables

2:00 rump steak mixed vegatables and lentils

3pm gym,

i think its pretty healthy

get home will have two smoked fish can of lentils or if went more calories chick peas and lots of vegatables

then before bed and snacks ham/cottage cheese

i know not a really bulking meal, but i coul have two pork chops(there very big) for dinner to replace fish

@john

tips?

for bulking i am gonna keep to this and starting next

week my supps will be whey,creatine(monoyrtrate)maldoextrin, gutamine, lecuine mostly this will be all took for post workout

at night time some one recommended taking the maldrodetrin at night before bed i disagree?

whats your advice

also do i need to add more to my diet of eating i eat healthy all the time, so if you tell me more lentils and steak etc good for me and chicken 😀

Paul,

First of all I’m not affiliated with TIm – I just enjoy reading/posting and trying to be helpful on here.

Secondly, the food choices you are making sound pretty good – though I’m still not totally clear on whether you are trying to gain weight or lose. You talk about bulking, but 2000 cals per day + cardio exercise is not going to help you gain weight. I’d say you are on track to lose some fat with your current plan.

A third point: I would not recommend taking any maltodextrin before bed. It is classified as a complex carbohydrate but it is actually more “simple” than table sugar. The only time I would consider consuming maltodextrin in your diet is post-work out.

Hi Tim,

I just googled “loose 20 pounds” and came across your site. I put weight on (25lbs) over the holidays, but the extent of it didn’t really hit me until now. I am officially, statistically and visibly overweight. My clothes from the fall look lewd. Having always been around 120lbs and never dieting or exerizing, it took buying 3 different scales and a new mirror to fully digest (pardon the pun) what I had done.

Too embarrassed to confide, complain or seek advice from anyone I know, I’ve turned to the internet- only to find that the best advice I’ve come across is from someone I know. Our families are friends. Funny coincidence.

Anyway- thank you! and I look forward to the next 30 days.

I’m a male, 25 years old and I’ve had a lot of success with this diet over the past year. A little bit about my story:

I started it on 4/1/2009 weighing 196 lbs. I’m 5’10”, so I was def overweight and wanted to drop about 25 lbs, down to about 170lbs. I continued the diet exactly as Tim mentions here for about 2 months. By 6/1/2009 I was down to about 182.

I began to make a few modifications such as eating fruit, and I had some milk too. As long as I ate them early in the day, it didn’t seem to effect the diet or weight loss at all. Also, after about the one month mark I started to exercise about 2-3 times per week. Each workout consisted of about 30 minutes cardio and 30 minutes strength training. I also did about 50 pushups per day and started doing about 20 pull ups a day.

By 7/1/2009 I wieghed about 176, and def packed on a lot of muscle too. Instead of having the egg whites and beans in the morning, I would have a 12 ounce protein shake which consisted of Muscle Milk, frozen berries, a banana, skim milk, ice, flax oil, and peanut butter. This sustained me for most of the day and for lunch I would eat the egg whites, beans and lots of vegetables. I also drank loooots of water throughout the day, and would eat an Apple and about 15 almonds mid day before lunch. For dinner I would usually have some lean chicken, steak, or fish (talapia, flounder,salmon) with lentils or quinoa. And always a ton of veggies. I always had a serving of frsh asparagus,peas, and broccoli. Sometimes I’d eat a few pieces of avacado too. I always made extra protein shake in the morning so I could drink about 8 ounces of it right after a strength training workout which I usually did before dinner.

By the end of august 2009 I weighed about 171 and was more lean and muscular than ever. I never felt so good in all my life. Def looked and felt super healthy. My skin cleared up, my mood was better, I looked about 5 years younger (even though I’m only 25) and by now I barely even cared about the Saturday cheat days, although I still enjoyed them for having a few beers and the occasional hot wings/cheeseburger. But I really began to lose my craving for sweets and carbs, especially since I had a pretty sweet tasting protein shake in the morning.

So I had officially reached my goal by August/Sept 2009 and this is when I began to grow a little lax with everything…It’s easier to reach a goal than to sustain it. Bylate November I was basically off the diet. Needless to say, come February 2010, I weighed about 185 lbs. Still better than my 196, but nowhere near my lean and muscular physique of 171. I blame this on a tough death in the family, a very cold and snow filled winter, and basically my complacency. I reached my goal and kind of trailed off. Stopped exercising and lifting, etc.

So a few days ago (sunday) I decided to go hardcore back into this diet again. It’s now Thursday, March 4 2010 and I’ve already went from 185 to 179. 6 lbs in 5 days. I know it’s mostly water weight, but still, it feels good to be back on the ‘bean diet” again.

I wish everyone success with this diet. It’s not a scam kind of diet or a fad. If you stick with it, it will def work for you. And after about a month or two, I’d make some modifications that fit your lifestyle, esp if you’re exercising a few times per week. I was never really exact with the rules Tim posted after two months, and I continued to lose weight and feel good. Good luck everybody. Oh and maybe I’ll post a link to some of my before and after pics, they’re pretty drastic looking, haha.

Alright, John I cut out the oats I had been eating for breakfast entirely and cut BACK on skim milk and low fat cheese. So basically did what Tim said all along, it’s just so hard for me to cut out what I thought were healthy carbs that fill me up at breakfast and are quick. But I stayed strong!

So basically the point of writing for an answer the first time was that I was stuck on a plateau at 152. Again, I”m 5’9 and 22 years old. after one week of eliminating oats and including soy nuts and seeds (like pumpkin seeds) I got down to 148.8. Pretty happy with that.

HOWEVER, I sort of LOST weight on my cheat day? Yesterday I had McDonalds, Lucky Charms, girl scout cookies, Pizza Hut, Preztel Bites, breadsticks and peanut m&ms…and when I weighed myself this morning I was 148.6. Which is only .2 of a pound, but even the fact that I maintained my weight after a cheat day was really odd to me. Can anyone explain that? I weigh myself every morning, and this morning I was ecstatic. Could it be that I’m already drinking enough water so water weight gain isn’t an issue for me? I’m constantly drinking water.

Also, is it ok that instead of beans I’m eating other legumes, such as soy nuts? I looked up legumes and soy nuts and peas are included…can I just stick with those if I hate beans? Or am I losing weight substantially faster now because my body’s running on nothing? I want to be healthy.

hii……. i am an overweight girl, i am vegetarian can you suggest me some easy cook vegetable as i am 17 years old n didn’t know much about cooking . and also suggest some meal which can be cooked easily and eat again and again . i m very fond of foods so i cant get hungry for much time

Hi Tim,

I just want to thank you first for your website and articles. This article and all of the comments has been very intriguing to me (since losing weight is a big priority for me right now,) and I’m determined to make it work! 😉

I do have a few questions that I would really appreciate if you could help me with when you get a chance. First, I just had a baby 7 months ago, and I am still nursing. Since this isn’t a low carb diet, I feel like it is okay to continue, but I just figured I would check with you too. I have been following it mostly for almost 2 months now, but I am a little disappointed (though I refuse to quit) because my clothes haven’t been fitting better and I only lost one inch off my waist (I go by my measurements). Having said this, I do feel great with the beans, lean protein, veggie combo! I have a lot of energy from it, and I thank you so much for this, because usually I do eat lean protein and veggie, but I would have never thought to add the beans! 🙂

Also, before I was pregnant I had tried almost every diet from low carb, raw foods, high fiber/low calorie, etc. because I was doing a lot of modeling and I was very interested in nutrition and trying to stay super lean. But even on raw foods my lowest body fat percentage was 16%! Most of them worked enough to keep my weight low for a while, but it never lasted for that long and I always yo-yoed back up 10 lbs. I really want this to work now because I know I can be disciplined and eat like this, but I just wish I could see better results. Should I be eating anything a little more specific to help jumpstart some weight loss?? RIght now I eat a salad with egg whites (a tbs olive oil and lemon as dressing) with black beans for breakfast and lunch usually, and dinner is some other kind of lean protein (chicken, ground turkey, fish, etc.) and more salad. I was eating a few tbs of almond butter and/or peanut butter as a mid day snack..do you think this was the problem? Also, I drink a lot of water all day, but I also have decaf tea with non dairy creamer and honey maybe twice a day. It’s my only vice really. Do I absolutely need to give this up for this to work? I am really only allowed to lose 1-2lbs a week since I am nursing, but at this point I would be ecstatic for even this!

Thanks so much for reading this long post (sorry!) and I hope to hear from you soon!!!

Well I hit one my goals, I started back in October 2009, Starting weight 257lbs, waist 38, I did the diet plus the muscle gaining workout. It’s awesome

My current weight is 236lbs and waist is 34inches, my one my goals was fit back into a size 34 pair of pants I saved for just this purpose.

The last time I wore them I was under 230lbs, I attribute the higher weight to muscle gain, I figure I put on 15 to 20lbs of muscle since I started and lost well over 30lbs of fat..JUST AWESOME!!!

hey tim i did the 11 day diet worked great lost 13lbs my question is eating the same thing wouldnt your body get used to the calories you consume and start only burning that amount. the 11 day diet was calorie shifting. would not mixing it up cause that.

Hi Tim,

Thanks for getting back to me, I’ll give the yoghurt a miss, I guess the curries will be extra spicy!

Hope everything is going well for you!

Lloyd

Hey Tim,

I noticed that on your bodybuilding.com article you had suggested taking ChromeMate with every meal. Which I’m guessing would add up to about 1,000 mcg per day when you account for the bedtime dose. Is that amount safe or should I stick with one dose daily as suggested here?