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.)
10 lbs of muscle in 6 weeks? That is ridiculous. You can’t possibly put on that much muscle in 6 weeks. Try about a year and you can though. 1 lb of muscle can lift a lot more than people think.
I finally came upon this blog post “How to Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days… Without Doing Any Exercise ” and I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. I’m specifically confused about the rule contradiction that all white things (sugar, flour, bread, pasta, rice, etc.) are to be eliminated but why is there a post-workout picture of a pizza? I couldn’t think of anything worse for you than pizza dough. Also, what about whole grains and whole wheat bread? Are they permitted or is anything associated with grains off limits?
Kraig,
I hope this post addresses your questions. Yes, pizza is bad. Stay away from it. This web site is basically an advertisement for Tim’s book, the 4-hour body. All the details are in the book. Just to let you know, the pizza he pictures is what he eats on a cheat day after his work out. NOT during the week.
Also, the numerous posts that suggest eating fruits and toast with breakfast are contradictory to the diet as Tim spells it out in his book. The people suggesting eating fruits and breads have obviously not read the book.
I read Tim’s book, The 4-hour Work Week, and was amused so I bought his 4-hour Body book as well. I followed the basic diet as he spells it out. I followed it strictly and lost 28 pounds. I have occasionally relaxed my adherance to the diet and I gain a little weight. When I want to drop 5-10 pounds again (say for a jiu jitsu competition or just to feel better) I follow the plan again and I easily drop the weight. The first time I did the diet I was layed up after knee surgery so exercise is NOT required.
If you have interest in the details, just shell out the $15 or so for the book. It’s worth it. Lots of other interesting non-diet related stuff in there too.
As I said, I’ve read the book, followed the plan and had great success. It bugs me when people come on here and criticize the plan (not saying you were criticizing but others have) without trying it or reading the book and getting educated on it. It further irritates me when people are baffled when they don’t lose weight and then the post what they eat and half the shit they eat is stuff that Tim says to avoid, like bread or toast with breakfast, snacking on apples and mangos, etc.
If you don’t follow the plan closely then you (again, not you prersonally but about half the other posts on this forum) shouldn’t really bitch about it not working.
The pizza can only be had on the cheat days and within 30 minutes following a resistance training workout.
What meals do you suggest for breakfast
I want to start this ASAP
Please help
The ideal breakfast as recommended in The 4-Hour Body: 2-3 eggs (whole eggs are fine), lentils and spinach, within the first 30 minutes after waking up
i m trying my best to shape up myself by doing exercise for about 30 mins everyday and taking balance diet but i m not getting any result. i m 30 years old n 5 feet height with 53 weight,,though i m not that fat but i really miss old me,,i really wish if i can lose my 5 kgs.please suggest me…..
Fat loss is 80-90% just the diet. What “balance diet” are you following?
Cheers,
Farid
I am 38 yrs old woman tried hard to lose extra 26lbs ( i am 150 lbs) but i fail.
Can anyone pls help me? i dont understand what should i eat and what i must avoid, I live in Paris so pls advice me the food i can finde here easly.
Thanks
The diet is simpler than some might think. You can definitely find all you need in Paris.
More info: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2012/07/12/how-to-lose-100-pounds/
Can anyone let me know what the serving size of beans and mix vegies are in this diet,and wether you can also eat cucumber while on this diet. I’m very interested in trying it. I found it hard to lose weight on any diet and I’m not sure but I think a lot of it was due to not having my thyroid and getting my levels to the right point with medication has been an on going problem ever since having it removed. 5 years ago I weighed the heavest Id ever been at 142kg so made the decission to have gastric banding done since then I’ve been lucky enough to lose 42kg but would very much like to lose the other 20kg to reach my goal weight.. My band is full and I have no restricion on what I can eat anymore like I had when I had it first placed. So I was hoping this diet would be the best to try to shed my last 20kg.. Any information would be very appreciated.
Anne,
Start with one fistful of each. If you get hungry earlier than 3-4 hours, increase volume. Ideally, you should be eating every 3-4 hours and four meals a day.
Cucumber is fine.
hey!m ov 21. 5’3 n weight 51kg.
i want to reduce 5kg in a month n i don’t know how to take a start. i don’t eat veg n de food u all talkin abt:((
@sanam:
Just start with changing your breakfast. Either 30 grams of unflavored whey protein or eggs, lentils and spinach in the first 30 minutes after waking up.
I’m a 46 year old man, 5′-10″. Currently at 171 pounds. (Started out at 178 6 weeks ago.)
I’ve been following this diet for 6 weeks and have only lost 7 pounds, and that was all on week 2. I haven’t lost a pound since then. And my belly and waist measurements have stayed the same.
I’ve been eating pretty much eggs, black beans, and veggies every day, with a few veggie dogs here and there. On the cheat day I do eat pasta, fruit, cheese and have honey in my tea. There were probably 5 days out of the 6 weeks where I ate some carbs due to traveling for a funeral or business, but other than those few days I’ve been very strict.
I exercise 6 days a week–usually one bike ride between 20-40 miles and 2 more between 7-10 miles (those 3 rides usually burn 3000-5000 calories in total). An hour of yoga one night a week, and 45 minute walks 3-4 days a week.
I’m frustrated and don’t know what else to do to lose this belly fat! My thought is that the beans/lentils are providing too many carbs, but I don’t eat meat so the only non-carb alternatives are eggs and veggies, but it would be nearly impossible for me to eat enough of only them to survive. Plus Tim says that black beans and lentils are OK so I’m not sure.
Any thoughts, tips, or ideas is greatly appreciated!
I’m 15 years old, I weigh about 129lbs and I’m roughly five and a half feet tall. My “problem areas” are my belly and legs. I go to the gym and I have a pretty healthy diet.
My typical day of food would be:
Breakfast: Branflakes with 0% fat yoghurt and berries (sometimes a splash of skimmed milk too)
Lunch: A tuna salad OR home made vegetable soup
Dinner: Vegetarian chicken with vegetables and gravy
I do tend to snack (some days more than others) but when I do snack I only ever snack on stuff like vegetables, fruit or 0% fat yoghurt.
But despite all of my efforts to lose weight like saying no to ice cream, turning down unhealthy food offers, having a dull vegetable dinner which I pretty much have everyday, in addition to going to the gym I still can’t seem to lose weight and shift the belly and leg fat. My weight has been yo-yoing between 9stone 4lbs and 9stone 7lbs for the past month or so. I have managed to lose 3lbs in the last five days which I’m pleased about but I need some tips on how I can keep losing until I’m around 120lbs. The only thing I drink is water (sometimes ‘options’ hot chocolate (40kals a cup) if I find myself craving something chocolatey).
Any advice you have I will be very grateful for.
What about watermelon? A couple slices a day?
@James:
Not at all.
I have fun with, cause I discovered exactly what I used to be taking a look for. You’ve ended my four day lengthy hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
lol,,.you say are not correct to eat 6 times for day, but you eat every 3-4 hours…so you wake up at 10:00…
I wake up at 6 and I lunch at 13..I think your post is ridiculously inconvenient..and again..drink wine before to bed?What do you think about caseine?There are some reasone you eat before to sleep, to recovery the muscle while sleep.Caseine are a proteine with slow release…I can’t understand the property of wine..I think your diet are really wrong, but overall, I think you must understand some principles before to post something you don’t know….
Josh,
I’m a 46 y/o male, I’m 64″ tall and weigh approximately 185 lbs. I am muscular and I can see my abs (under a bitt of belly fat). I have tried and succeeded at several “diets”, losing up to 17 lbs in 17 days, and felt amazing, but for some reason just revert back to eating food thats bad for me (white carbs, high sugar). I am at the point in my life that I need to treat a “diet” as if my life depended on it. It’s just very difficult in my line of work to have access to good food the way I need it prepared (I’m actually in Africa now, and it’s a bit easier here because they have natural foods here with no added hormones). What is the key to not being hungry? I seem to always be able to chow down if I get the chance. I drink lots of water. I’m a coffee drinker and I just switched to black, never used sugar anyway, but I think that I was taking in too much milk). I swim laps for exercise here because there’s no gym and because i have a tear in my knee that I can’t have fixed yet. How can I stick to this “restricted calorie diet” (I had someone figure out the formula that I need no more than 1700 calories a day intake) and not be hungry?? In fact I read one of the posts about pizza and I could eat a pizza now..lol. I will reiterate, I’m a mesomorph with an athletic build. I have a six pack under here somewhere waiting to be fully seen. How do I shut off the hunger? I eat three times a day (schedule permitting)
Frank
One thing I would like to comment on is that weight loss program fast may be possible by the right diet and exercise. A person’s size not just affects the look, but also the general quality of life. Self-esteem, depressive disorder, health risks, along with physical capabilities are disturbed in putting on weight. It is possible to do everything right whilst still having a gain. If this happens, a condition may be the perpetrator. While too much food rather than enough physical exercise are usually at fault, common medical conditions and widespread prescriptions could greatly amplify size. I am grateful for your post right here.
Greetings! I know this is somewhat off topic but
I was wondering if you knew where I could locate
a captcha plugin for my comment form? I’m using the same blog platform as yours and I’m having difficulty finding one? Thanks a lot!
I have been dieting since 2002!! i use to be 263 and i had a daughter in 2005 then a son in 2008. my hormones screwed up after having both of them but since i had my tubes tied after i had my son, they have never been right. I use to be able to eat healthy and feel great and lose weight!! now i eat a carrott and blow up!! Its weird. Im always so tired, i have done atkins which i am currently doing and calorie count and workout like none other. i never take breaks but maybe once a week from working out and when i do i feel so guilty!
im going in to see if my thyrorid is messed up and what my hormones are doing but i have heard my body is pretty much in defense mode so i am going to take a few weeks off. i really want to lose weight but i am scared to gain. SInce having my son i have been strict and have gained mpre weight every year. not a smoker hoever i like a couple of beers a week
my diet consists
7am- banana
run for 45 minutes and do calstenics
9am- 2 egg omelet with spinich
12- whey protein with ice only and skim milk
( use to do almond, soy and cocunut milk but i cant have it because of enlarged thyroid)
2- peanut butter and apple with unsalted crackers
5- dinner
usually the meat we have with salad
no seconds and the rest of the night is just water
please help
Just to let everyone know I have lost 4 lbs already since july 24, I may have lost more however there were a few moments where I lost it and ate things I shouldn’t have. I feel great and the best part I am not hungry in the mornings. With my job, i drive around quite a bit. I was always stopping in a convenience store to get a breakfast sandwich, now it doesn’t even cross my mind!!! I am so happy about that if i need a snack I bring a few almonds and eat them, and am good to go till lunch.
That pizza looks awesome!
Is there anything non-gluten in the book?
i have to reduce my weight and my weight is 60kgs what to do to be thin
Per ‘Avoid “white” carbohydrates’
Does this include corn? Like organic corn tortilla chips?
Hi! I am going to probably give way too much information but I am desperate to find a way to lose weight and want to lay it all out there..I am a 38 year old female, 5’7″ 275 pounds. I work 3 (12 hour shifts a week, from 7am-7:30pm and I drive approx. 40 miles to work one way). I get up on mornings that I work around 4:30 am and return home around 8:30pm. I have a set schedule..I work every Wednesday and Thursday and every other weekend. I work in a hospital at a desk job. I have the kind of job that I can’t take a meal break at the same time every day..I usually eat breakfast around 5:30am and the rest of my meals that day depends on how busy I am at work. On my days off I get up at 7am. I ususally have breakfast within an hour of waking. I am looking for the right things to eat at the right times..and a workout schedule that will work with my schedule. I think I make healthy choices for the most part (but obviously I am not or my weight would not continue to increase as it has over the past 20 years from 150 lbs to where it is today at 275 lbs). Please help. Thank you.
This is a typical day’s meal (on work day)
Breakfast:
2 eggs (either scrambled or hard boiled)
1 sourdough english muffin
2 slices bacon
Morning snack:
2 slices toast with peanut butter and jelly or
cottage cheese with some canned peaches or
(sometimes nothing)
Lunch:
wrap (that I make myself): 1 flour tortilla, meat (chicken or beef), 1 tbs real mayo, spinach, alfalfa sprouts
small bag of chips
Diet Coke
Afternoon Snack: granola bar or tortilla with melted cheese or something laying around in staff break-room (cookies, etc..)
Dinner:
Meat (steak or pork chops)
Potato with butter
veggies (usually asparagus or corn)
Milk
On days I am home I am more tempted to eat “garbage” like desserts, etc
hi my age is 23 years and my height is 5 feet 3″ and my weight is 68 kg plz how can i reduced my weight plz help me i take medicine bt bt it never reduced plz give me some suggestions to reduce this
Hi, I’m 18 years old and have gained an incredible amount of weight in the past 8 months. I always try to attempt to loose weight but I give in to easily to food so my biggest problem is motivation. The amount of weight I have gained has made me at times not even want to leave the house and I have been going to sleep feeling like my body is so clogged and
Blocked that I’m going to have a heart attack. Can someone please suggest a food plan 7 days. Breakfast lunch and dinner ( I don’t eat tuna either) any information anyone has food/ exercise wise would be so helpful.. I’m really ready to change my life back around
I like the diet, but I have a question can I eat rice? Instead of patatoos
This diet worked so well for me! And I really enjoyed eating this way. I take a daily vitamin and calcium pill and I feel so much better now. I have no craving for sweets or anything white or that could be white! Haha. I really recommend this plan. I lost exactly 20 pounds in 30 days and have kept it off for another month now. I’m going to incorporate exercise this month and hopefully I will lose more. Thank you!
Good to hear, Noel 🙂
I HAVE WENT FROM 212 TO 195 IN THE LAST MONTH BUT I AM AT A HAULT WHY DO I NEED TO HAVE THE CHEAT DAY IN ORDER FOR THIS DIET TO WRK BECAUSE I HAVENT HAD A CHEAT DAY YET
Well there is no shortage of advice but one simple will make is that we can all suffer from paralysis by analysis. We spend so much time reading blogs we are not out exercising, going to a nice cafe and having that special breakfast with the family.
see ya!
im going to give this a go and do my best to stick at it.
i ballooned from 16st to 23st over the past 9 years, i stopped almost all sports i did at the time and got more into partying and that type of lifestyle. i find exercising very difficult due to the ammount of weight im now carrying, i need to find a way to lower my body fat enough that i feel comfortable to get back in the saddle and work at it. my new exercise bike comes next week too so ill throw in a little bit each week until i feel i can truely get back to exercising properly. i have always eaten alot of bread and drank alot of milk my diet has never been healthy but i used to keep it off with exercise alone, im used to drinkin ALOT of water so im sure ill be ok on the drinks front, including tea although ill have to get used to it without milk an sugars
hopefully this will work, any tips please feel free to message me.
Hello, I am following the low-carb diet, I ask if I can use or it’s recommended lemon juice in food .
@Luis:
Fresh lemon juice is recommended before and during the meals.
The slow-carb diet is really working for me, but I’m REALLY struggling with low-blood sugar. I feel like I’m stuffing myself, and I’m not hungry at all, but I’m still getting headachey and nauseous. I’ve been eating almonds as a way to compensate, and I’m going to go and buy some vegetarian protein drinks, but I’d like some more options. 🙂
Thanks!
@Rae:
You’re probably not drinking enough water.
I want to try this Slow Carb diet for 1-2 months. I eat lentils a lot with spinach though Is it okay to use mung bean as well? Does anybody want to join me trying out this diet? It is really nice to have people for support 😛 I wanted to start on Monday and update my results 😀
Hi Tim,
Thanks for your contribution. This diet and your book have changed my life for the better. I was 5’11” 215lbs. 18% body fat. Now I’m down to 195lbs and 5-7% body fat. The diet has become my lifestyle, I can bench 305lbs and have gorgeous six pack. I love every part of it except one part, I now have complaints that my semen tastes bad. I believe that semen taste is diet related, and I’ve heard that fruit juice can help this. Fruit is a no-no on the diet and I’m not ready to give up my stomach…. Can I have my cake and let my girlfriend eat it too?
Thanks TIm
What about vegetarians? what should be taken as sources of protein? Anybody please help
veena
n the seventies a synthesised sweetener made from corn (sweet corn) was developed by some Japanese scientists, which was eagerly used to replace sugar by food and drink manufacturers, as it was thirty per cent cheaper.
What was not realised at the time was that fructose corn syrup interferes with the livers production of leptin, the hormone that gives the brain the “Full Signal”, making it extremely easy to over eat.
Corn syrup is now in almost all processed food and fizzy, sugary drinks, not eating or drinking it is difficult, unless fresh produce and water is consumed instead, but doing that makes losing weight easier, this is probably the main reason for the obesity epidemic that is sweeping the west.
Hi ok so one thing that can help you lose a few pounds is to eat small portions throught out the hole day. It keeps your stomach small but able to eat throught out the hole day.
What are exercise can you do besided running ?
I am 6’5″ and weight 285 pounds. I was always an athlete in High School and college but I am a teacher now and the sedentary lifestyle is literally slowly killing me. I have high blood pressure,am pre-diabetic and have developed gout. This diet makes sense to me and after one week I have dropped 9 pounds but I struggle with breakfast. I have made an omelet of sorts with egg whites, onion, spinach and peppers. Because of my plan period I eat breakfast before school at around 6:30 and can eat my first lunch at 10:30 but I am always tempted to cheat because I seem to get hungry around 9, 9:30. Any ideas or suggestions?
Hey everyone: Starting today Aug 19th, I will check in in a week. Trying to lose 25lbs. thanks for the motivation all.
Hi Tim,
Nice post with really helpful tips. Besides the diet, I think the most important aspects remain desire and motivation! If you are motivated and decided to adopt a new lifestyle certainly results will come! In generally people start highly motivated, but unfortunately they lose that motivation too fast and they don’t get to enjoy the final result!
Best,
Mihai,
@Mihai,
Many people will stick better to their diet if they consistently track the right values.
I eat a lot and when I eat, I eat food. This diet has food and I eat it. I gain weight though and I eat all foods. My cheat day is only 7 days a week and I eat more food than usual so I loose weight like article man. I gain weight so I ate more and more of everything in store. Why do this?
Great article, Tim – I’ve been working on cutting with a high green juice fast – it’s been great! 3 weeks – about 8 pounds and feeling a lot better. But, I’ll need to boost up the protein in a bit after the weight loss.
Great article ,great tips and I loved the saturdays gone wild that is one of the reason people give up on there diets they feeling deprived from all the foods they enjoy and love all your tips and food choices will really help me.
i am 18 years old…and my weight is 90 kilo,,,,i want a strict diet chart,,,,,,,,please help me…………..my email address is sovanb4@gmail.com…..i want to stay in touch of a dietation…
Hi,
I’ve been following this diet for 12 days and my net weight loss is 0.4 pounds. I lost 3.4 pounds in the first 4 days and it’s almost all come back.
I’m worried I’m doing something wrong. I am still putting a Splenda and 1/2 tablespoon of non-dairy creamer in my coffee, and I do drink several cups every morning. Is that enough to screw up my insulin levels?
Once in a while a tiny bit of cheese will sneak into my beans if I don’t tell the restaurant server “no cheese.” Otherwise, I’ve followed this to a T.
On my first Cheat Day: pancakes for breakfast, salad for lunch, an ice cream cone in the afternoon, a milk shake, fries and Japanese curry for dinner.
In the last 12 days I’ve exercised 4 days, not too rigorously. One run, one long walk, some hula hooping.
Anyone have any advice or experience the same lack of significant weight loss?
@Kris,
Definitely ditch splenda, the creamer and the cheese. One table-spoon of whole-fat cream is fine though.
On your cheat day, have a small slow-carb breakfast and then go nuts to minimize the damage to some extent.
Measure your arms, waist, hips and both legs and add them up. Take these measurements at least once a week. Note that on this diet, you could gain some muscle even without any exercise.
Women can have fluctuations in weight due to menstruation as well.
Keep us posted.
Any plans to invest, ’cause it’s out near you and you like startups and healthy food?
http://www.wired.com/business/2012/07/ff_lyfekitchens/
I honestly want to go to Palo Alto and eat here. I also want to own one. Did some research and sent my resume already.
Hi everyone 🙂
I’m a 19 year old female and plan on starting this protein, vege and legume only diet tomorrow.
One thing I’m unsure about is whether or not to take one day off per week from the diet.
I read that a couple of people said they gained weight which they were then struggling to lose again, I don’t want to be in this position!
I can also only afford to stick to this strictly for about 1 month as I am going overseas to Malaysia. Does anyone have anything to say about whether my lost weight may or may not stay off? I would hate to come back from my 2-week holiday being back to square one. Thank you 🙂
Seriously awesome diet, just ordered the book
Hi,
Thanks for such an informative post. I am 23 years old an need to reduce 20 killos of weight to lower my body fat percentage to 20.
I have tried exercising and even though I gaineed a lot of muscle and muscle mass my BFP didn’t even fall below 28. Now I have decided try my luck with dieting. The biggest obstacle for me is that I am a vegetarian and I plan to stay that way. So I want to know what kinda diet you would recommend for a vegetarian and also can you make it simple by listing the foods that we can mix and match to eat, like you have done above.
Thanks in advance.
Im 20 years old and i weigh 200, i was 223 less than 3 weeks ago,
i want to be down to 140 pounds. and to me thats not Impossible. I have learned self control and i have an awesome friend who motivates me and he also started a diet w me so i can work harder and have a friend to help, he is only 6 pounds heavier than i am now.. together we are dropping pounds like flies.
The best part is that its fun, we eat a light lunch/bfast.
while i go to Zumba he works out
Then we go to his house and follow these awesome food steps.
and go for walks at night!
It feels soo good losing weight and even though i know 140 is 60lbs away, i know i will be there soon…and i will deff put up pictures to share, with the way things r going,i give myself less than 3 healthy months.
Congratulations for taking the plunge and making a change, Anita. Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels!
Right on!
Is it ok to eat Lima or navy beans instead of black or pinto?
Guys i need help i need to lose 50 pounds by january i dont know if that is possible i am 14 and was wondering if they are some tips you can give me and remember im in school so i cant be eating a meal every 2 hours is there stuff i can take for a pack lunch please email with some ideas thanks
email- Jake_Sadler@yahoo.com
hey am 18 yrs old and my w8 is 55 kg…… and i wna loose alot of it but how i dnt knw plz gv me sm suggstn. thank you
I have been trying to lose weight for a while now but have not succeeded. I could say that the failure is entirely my fault because I lack persistent motivation. I eventually developed a blog to keep me motivated and now I seriously want to shed some weight. I want to start diet pills and I would gladly appreciate any advice based on personal experience for the best diet pill to use.
thanks.
You don’t need diet pills. Just follow the advise given here… People are having great results. Do interval training, and follow the diet described here. You don’t need diet pills. Those are for short term success, and you don’t want to gain the weight back.
Hi guys,
I am Scottish, 36 years old and work in metric – currently I weigh 21st 7 lbs and if my math is correct that makes me 301lb. Obviously I am at the morbidly obese stage.
I never exercise and have a lot of health problems related to weight, so need to lose a lot of weight as fast as possible. I am majorly addicted to carbs, I have tried cutting out carbs altogether and just lowering carbs, but I feel so ill and experience shakes, nausea and migraines that I just give up again.
I heard that a diet consisting mostly of protein is the best plan for me. Problem is I eat very little meat (never red or pork) and I cannot eat fish. Is there an almost vegetarian style of this high protein diet that will help me?
Doctor said my upper weight range for my height is 11st 7lbs, so I have a long way to go.
I need help or I am looking at having to undergo surgery for spine problems due to carrying so much weight – even at this point, I have been told, that losing any weight may help me not need surgery until a later date.
Tanks for any information.
How is everything cooked? Like egg whites? They are the ones that come in the carton I am assuming. Do you just fry them in a frying pan using olive oil? What can we use for that? Or is there another way you cook them? Maybe I should just use regular eggs and just hard boil them and eat the egg whites and one egg yolk.
How is everything cooked? I don’t want to cook with butter or anything else that might be hindering my potential fat loss.
Hi my name is maire i’m 19 and i have a daughter she is 3 moths old and i’ve gain a lot of weight after she was born and my wedding is in 4 moths so i need some advice
thank you,
Marie
hi im aisha and i am 11 and 16 and a half stone. i just started secondary and i really want to loose weight. its not the fact that im around thinner girls, im perfectly confident when it comes to fitting in but i just want to loose weight so i can feel brighter and make sure that my weight dosnt go to overboard and i stay healthy. i also want to loose weight now because they say that its harder when you grow up to loose weight. ive tried going to gyms but they don’t except me because ive got a very serious shoulder problem that cant be treated until im sixteen and even then i wont be able to move my arm within a thirty degree range. i don’t know what to do and my birthdays coming up in like 3 weeks and i really want to loose weight so i can express myself freely without people having thoughts in their mind and only think of the fact that im fat. please help me.
Hi Tim,
Love this site and your new book here. Your original 4 hour workweek book is what got me and my son Ryan going with the real weight diet. We are so grateful for you inspiring us. Ryan has released over 50 pounds and myself over 14 pounds, & my husband 26 pounds.
Thank you,
Tanya & Ryan
HI Tim,
I would like to comment on the bean thing. The value of beans lies in the high fibre. Fibre absorbs liquid and continues expanding, So if you overdo it you will be uncomfortable. It is good advice. Just don’t overdo it. If you have a thing about beans, choose some other high fibre foods like bran and most veggies.
Weightloss is such a hot topic and so difficult for some. There is a lot of good advice here. But I honestly believe that in the end it is quite simple. You have to have it as a very real personal goal, otherwise it wont happen. Making it such a goal is the first step, probably the most difficult, but if you do this part, the rest becomes easy.
When I say a very real personal goal it must be as important as not missing a hot date or saving money for a great vacation or whatever is very important to you.
When you choose a diet, think carefully. You cannot eat yourself thin. Diets that focus on five meals a day, etc. give people an excuse to eat. Focus on making sure your energy levels are OK… (not satiated!) and do the mind work to keep your goal uppormost.
Thanks,
Thomas
I saw a lot of useful articles over here and i am impressed. I would like to relate my experience. I was overweight due to work.Just imagine working from morning to night and eating those unhealthy stuff like pizza,chinese food etc. I decided i had enough of these nonsense and pick myself up. I read various website and formulated my own diet and work out exercise.It was tough initially but i persisted. I cut down my intake on those oily food(but i still enjoy them!), step up my gym workout and bought some natural slimming tea from a website called haroldwilsonhealthcare.After some months,it paid off and i lost around 10 pounds.I regained my self confidence and ha ha great sex with wife.So it takes some hard work and a great slimming tea to acheive result.For those who are in the process,persist!
Hello i need help cutting weight, im a starting mixed martial arts fighter and my first fight is in december. I weight 146 and im 5’3 and i need to get to 125pnds can someone guide me and help me to loose weight correctly. please respond to my email gianarchilla@hotmail.com
To the author:
You mentioned that one can optimize diet, exercise, or a drug/supplement regimen.
How can I optimize a supplement regimen? I can handle this diet that you’ve listed as I have done it before, but I live with my vegetarian family so I can only stick with the eggs as far as protein goes.
I put on a lot of stress pounds while trying to complete my degree. I intend to get active again, but at the moment I’m still recovering from a car accident and even when I thought I was ready to get some exercise, my body hurt.
As far as supplements go, I was trying green coffee extract for a while. It seemed to be working while I used it but that could be water weight. I was taking it slow because I’ve had problems with caffeine in the past.
Since I am not exercising too hard, are there any other supplement plans or ideas you could offer? Or maybe some links pointing in the right direction? (Upon trying to look it up, I am not comfortable trying the ECA stack, nor do I have the money to order the supplies.)
correction: eggs and whey protein for a protein shake*
I don’t like to consume soy protein as a shake or as a meat substitute. (I’m an environmental biologist and anthropologist and I’ve studied the risks of estrogen mimicking compounds on development and your endocrine system.)
Hey Chan, Can you post more information or link articles regarding Soy products?. I eat way too much soy and wonder how bad it can be. Response would be really appreciated. Thanks!
“Author: Chan
Comment:
correction: eggs and whey protein for a protein shake*
I don’t like to consume soy protein as a shake or as a meat substitute. (I’m an environmental biologist and anthropologist and I’ve studied the risks of estrogen mimicking compounds on development and your endocrine system.) “
Great article. I noticed that you had dinner set for 10pm. I have read a lot of articles that say you shouldn’t eat after a certain time, usually somewhere between 6pm – 8pm. What is your take on this?
Hi,
I have two questions for you. Can you eat any fruit? And, is it possible to stay on this diet long term? I am a mom, tired of using the kids as an excuse to be overweight and out of shape. My youngest is 4, and I need to take care of myself to have the energy to be the kind of mom I want to be.
hi…. i am 21 years old and my weight is 91 kg, height is 5.4″
want to lose 30 kg in 2 or 3 months……… plz help me out
i m very upset about my weight 🙁
thank you for giving people a opportunistic to fix their body on the internet
Hell all,
About a year ago, i did the slow carb diet with moderate success. I lost a total of 12 lbs in about 2 months. I’ve started up again about 2 weeks ago and have yet to lose a single pound. My measurements have not changed either and my clothes actually feels tighter than it did all of 3 weeks ago. Im eating about 4 times a day, plenty of eggs beans meats and veggies. The only thing i would say i’m doing different is taking 1 Tbsp of Metamucil fiber, sugar free, before i go to bed to help me feel a little better the next day. I feel like I’m drinking my weight in water and have stopped drinking alcohol completely except for my free day which is on Sunday for me. Please help me figure this out as i know i should be losing more than this after almost 3 weeks (this Sunday).
Thanks for your input.
Somehow I can’t lose weight. I’ve been eating healthier than I have been in the past and exercise 6 days a week but so far haven’t been losing any weight. I usually do heaps of cardio and some abs but nothing seems to be working. If anyone could give me suggestions that would be much appreciated. I’m going to try this for a couple of weeks and see what happens.
sometimes we exercise and eat healthy food but still find ourselve getting fatter and fatter everday. Maybe you try claim the give away ebook that may help you at losefatfastmalaysia
What kind of cardio are you doing? I am not an advocate of doing tons and tons of cardio, but I am an advocate of interval training, like tabata. You can find a link to a video on my website for a tabata routine that I really like (there are a bunch of videos out there that you can look for yourself – I just really like the one I’ve posted on my site). You can tailor tabata for your own personal abilities. If done consistently, you never need more than 8-12 minutes of cardio! There isn’t a need for heaps and heaps of cardio when doing proper intervals. You want to raise your metabolism and then keep it peaked for as long as possible. That’s what interval training (tabata) can help you accomplish. Good luck – I hope this helps
I am 24 years old. I recently had to do some time in jail, and went from 120 lbs to 161 lbs in 4 months!! I have never been this big in my life..Im disgusted, none of my clothes fit..And I need to drop this weight fast..Is there any suggestions any of you have to help me with this? I figured Id eat 2 poached eggs at breakfast, lean grilled chicken breast and black beans or refried beans at lunch, have a snack of a few boiled eggs between lunch and dinner, and then eat chicken breast and garbanza beans or pinto beans for dinner.. If I stuck to this routine 6 days a week, only taking off the diet and eating carbs on the 7th day will I lose this weight? And can I eat as much beans and eggs as i like?
please someone write me back!! my email is taylorj727@gmail.com
My lazy way of losing fat:
Sleep until the afternoon.
Wake up at dinner to eat.
Then sleep again.
It’s effective. I lost weight.
Nice blog, really informative, keep on writing more, the things which you have written about the types of food that can be consumed is really amazing.
This article is very informative! I learned a lot! Thank you for sharing it.
I think it’s important to eat small meals with a low glycemic index frequently which this article recommends. I am somewhat less optimistic that you could lose that much fat that fast, but that’s okay. What if it took sixty days instead of thirty? So what? The main thing is that the flab is coming off. Life is a journey.
Okay, I have done a lot of reading, and I am going to try this plan, which I like … because it seems more restrictive, but simplier, than the other basic Fast/Slow Carb with Protein plans.
As for myself, I am almost 50 years old, presently 30 lbs overweight, and am running the Marine Corps Marathon in a little more than 30 days. Although, I have not really trained for it … I am not too worried, because I didn’t really train for the Boston last year or the year prior, but I finished them both … but for those I was only 20 lbs overweight; sorry gotta brag a little! My lungs will carry me the distance, but my legs will do much better if they do not have to carry the extra 30 lbs.
My goal is to cross the starting line at 190 lbs, and with Tim’s outlook and plan, I think it may be possible, because over the next month, I do plan on running a little bit too.
Anyhow, if anyone has already established meal plans so I don’t have to think about it, I would appreciate seeing them. This morning I had a black bean, green onion and spinach omelette … and was very pleased.
I am 17 years and my birthday is on October 20 2012 and It’s my debut already .. I am 73 kilos now .. I want to lose at least 5 kilos before my birthday .. what shall I do ? 🙁
If more people could give up sugar they would soon see an improvement in their weight. too much sugar soon kills the taste of proper food as it tends to mask the delicate flavours in some foods.
A lot of proccessed foods contain way too much sugar that it creates a craving for more of the same…..
Hi Tim
9 kg of fat loss and 4.5kg of muscle gain in just 30 days?
That’s amazing. I’ve never seen anything that good. But can you prove it?
Do you have any evidence such a DEXA scans at the start of your program and 30 days later that you can upload to prove that this is possible?
Currently you simply assert it to be true – kind of like how the Bible asserts that Moses parted the red sea…
As a reasonable person, I’m hope you can provide us with some evidence as to how you recorded this change in body composition so that we can believe it.
Cheers
Steve
Hi,
Really want to lose weight try, so set up a good plan where you are can not fail.
Hi Everyone,
Sainsbury’s has found the perfect plan: a food diary which re-educates you. It shows the number of calories your body needs and how the foods you choose use this up. Try it.
Tim, I have been eating 2 eggs for breakfast since January 2011 when I totally changed how I ate and how often I ate. Swapped carbs for protein and lost a heap of weight without alot of exercise as well. While I didn’t follow exactly as your article reads, I can vouch for your article in so many ways.
It all comes down to what you put in your mouth at the end of the day!
Hello im 18 years and currently weighting at 241. :/ i want to know what kind of foods i should eat so i could start loosing pounds. please
Hello, I am a 15 year old girl who is 5ft tall and weigh about 155-165. I want to lose weight but i don’t got time to work out. My family is poor so i can only eat breakfast at school. I always get a cheese stick with chocolate milk i don’t know if i should eat the cereal instead. Lunch I eat pizza with milk. Sometimes no meat product on it. Dinner is the worst. I can only get fast food places like Mc Donald’s, Taco bell, Checkers, Wendy’s, etc. What should i eat to help me lose weight? Since i can only eat at fast food places, what are the healthiest foods to eat there. Please help i’m tire of being bully.
what about subway?
Ok, my group is going slow carb for 12 weeks. I am highly athletic and my weight is 180 pounds to start. I have already lost 80 pounds doing low carb, bfl, p90, training etc. I will be back in 30 days to report results.
Hi. I am a 25 year old married girl who is 167 cms tall and weighs 167.5 pounds.
I am a vegetarian. I want to reduce 10 kgs in 6 months time since I am planning for a baby next year. Can you suggest a good diet for me?
Wow, you guys have given me so much encouragement! I am 34 years old. I had a baby on April 30th, 2012. Before the pregnancy, I was a size 8. I gained over 100 lbs during my pregnancy. It has been so hard to get it off! I am going to start this diet tomorrow, and I’m super excited about it! Right now, I am a little over 200 lbs. I can’t wear any of my old clothes, and I hate the way I look. I want my old body back, and I hope this can help me! I will keep checking in to let everyone know how I’m doing!
I found that a bit hard to believe, lose 30lb of fat in 30 days, without exercise. Man is this really possible.
i love reading your article tim, and the only things that i believe is someone need to have a strong motivation on her/him self to achieve his goals. Motivation is the MAIN KEYS.
hello im 16 years old and frustrated.so about a year ago i weighed about 106 pounds and now i weigh about 117 pounds .i try evry diet possible i am always dieting n will lose 2 or three pounds in a week and gain it all back by the weeknd and sometimes wen i dont pig out i wont lose any weight i dont know wat to do any mor i cry all the time cuz im short but fat n i need help or im jus guna giv up on myslef 🙁 plz hlppppp!!!
For anyone eating flavorless beans, get yourself some sofrito from the latin/mexican section, and some sazon goya. Makes a HUGE difference. You can make a stew with veggies, tuna and pink beans, or whatever beans. one pot meal 😀
well I really have a big problem on my diet, because I can’t say no to rice because it is a part of our everyday meal. I used to have a morning walk or biking everyday for atleast 30 min, but sometimes I feel so lazy that I skip my daily routine, that’s why I don’t feel like I’m losing any weight. I really need to understand the proper diet. I’m already 20 and I’m 132lbs, and my bigger problem is my arm I want to make it reduce, it’s kinda big.
By following food lovers fat loss system diet surely you can lose 20 lbs or more with in 30 days along with proper exercise sure, because i telling it from my personal experience
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Since my post, I have lost 10 lbs on the diet. So, in a little less than two weeks, I’ve lost 10 pounds. My boyfriend has lost a few inches himself, he keeps tightening up his belt buckle. We’re both doing really well on the plan, and plan on keeping it up until we hit our weight loss goals!
i am 21 year old and my weight is 80kg i wanna reduce 10kg weight plz tell me
hey Nice sharing
i also want to loose my weight . my age is 26 and my waight is 75
how can i reduce my weight ?
@Bosslady
Lol you’re completely wrong and don’t seem to understand what you’re talking about. You say he needs to exercise to burn calories, not just diet. Well by DIETING he is burning calories, because each day the body burns a certain amount of calories. For example, I burn roughly 2700 calories per day WITHOUT EXERCISING. If I diet and eat 1500 calories per day, that’s a deficit of 1200 calories. It’s the same as if I were to eat exactly 2700 calories, then burn 1200 calories exercising. So, No, he doesn’t need to exercise to burn calories. Dieting by true definition is limiting your intake to a level below your baseline calories burned for the day, so that a deficit is created, thus causing weight loss.
I can’t find bosslady’s comment – but I know personally that I feel better physically when I move my body. I don’t know how much of a deficit I produce by working out for different lengths of time, but I know I feel better when I lose weight by limiting crappy calories, increasing the calories my body needs, and amping up exercise. When I do interval training, I feel like I burn more calories all day long. I see that you have a different opinion, but I am just saying that everyone is different. Maybe our bodies are the same, but our bodies feel better doing different things…
My thanks go to Dr. Mark Hill When I first opted for this spell, I did not expect much from it, until when I saw so many testimonies on internet I manage to apply for a spell on Dr Mark Hill spell temple, at first I was not having that believe that he can solve my situation and this time things was getting waste every day, my problem increases my weight every day I can’t move from one place to another I was like living amount the dead. To my greatest surprise after every thing DR Mark Hill ask me to do e.g. sending my picture and other things, after some weeks I was noticing some changes in my body system every morning, until my body return to the normal position. And I we stop publishing his testimony, if you need his help Email markhilltemple@gmail.com
Hi friends
I’m new here I have been trying to lose weight from my belly for the longer with not success. I need heeeeeelp please. I have done diets, exercises everyday and don’t know what else to do. If anybody can help me I will really appreciated it. Thank you in advances
Tim,
You say 2 glasses of wine per night….hopefully this is 8 ozs each for a total of 16? Please???
Thanks!!