(Photo: Felipe Morin)
Holy crap. The 4-Hour Body (4HB) has ended up producing an avalanche of questions.
There are definitely a few gems hidden amongst the rubble, and more than a few typos were unearthed in the process.
This post — mostly how-to with a few bits of entertainment — is purely for tying up loose ends. I hope it helps.
Covered in this post:
The blog moving forward: 4HB content vs. 4HWW content vs. random topics
4HB Bonus Materials – If You Missed It
4HB Tools and Tricks – All Online!
Contest winners
Slow-carb clarifications
4-Hour Body – common questions and Q&As
Audiobook PDF downloads
4HB reader-generated goodies: desktop wallpaper, etc.
Media samples
4HB corrections and typos…
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The blog moving forward: 4HB content vs. 4HWW content vs. random topics
Some readers have expressed interest in more business-related posts, instead of physical-focused posts. Not to worry — there will continue to be both on this blog. In simplest terms, I write about what I’m most interested in (or passionate about) at the time. If you don’t find a post interesting, skip out for a bit and then check back in. I don’t expect anyone to read all of my posts.
4HB Bonus Materials – If You Missed It
The 4-Hour Body bonus materials have been up for a while now. If you missed them, all can be found here. Enjoy!
There are a number of forums and message boards for 4HB, including this blog and the reader-generated 4HBTalk.
For those interested, I’ll be experimenting with a private, paid forum (probably $9.95/month to start, but not sure) for 4HB. I’m going to test it with 100 people first. If you have any interest in being one of the 100 for $9.95/month, please fill out this form. My hope is that this forum can be a central troll-free and spam-free gathering point for people who are willing to test, gather data, and contribute to each other. I don’t want participants who ask others to Google simple questions for them. The price is a simple mechanism to separate out those who are most serious.
Regardless, information wants to be free. There are a ton of free resources and communities online, not to mention a 600-page book, that should be enough for anyone to make exceptional progress.
4HB Tools and Tricks — all online!
Ever wished all of links in the 4-Hour Body “Tools and Tricks” were online? You asked and I heard you — all of the resources links are now online here. Enjoy!
Contest winners!
CONTEST #1
Blog post: Have a Good Eye for Ads? Try the (Lucrative) 4-Hour Body Experiment…
Date: October 13
Winner: Salman Sajid (Congratulations!)
Prize(s): North Face Prophet 65 Trekking Pack (Retail: $319), A round-trip anywhere in the world Star Alliance airlines fly (or $1,000 cash), All 4-Hour Body revenue via ads on my site for two weeks (potentially every post ever written), using your Amazon affiliate code.
Notes: Here is Salman’s winning ad (he also won the smaller banner), based on click-through rate. I’ll be doing a longer analysis in a future blog post. The genius “Eat Like Santa, Look Like Jesus” ads, which I also used to great effect, was designed (visual and copy) by Conway Anderson. Amusingly, he and I randomly met on the Embarcadero sidewalk on the SF waterfront. He gave me his card “just in case” and here we are.
CONTEST #2
Blog post: “The Land Rush: 48 Hours to Claim $4,000,000 in Prizes” + “The 4-Hour Body is NOW OUT – Live Q&A Today, New Trailer, Free Books, and Much More”
Date: December 2010 (sadly, there were some great submissions who posted too late, like David Batchelor)
Winner: Camille. Runner-up: Roger P.
Prize(s): Free trip to the person who promotes The 4-Hour Body best this week. If you are the best promoter, judged by me and a panel of friends, you get to pick one trip of a lifetime… for free. I will almost definitely be in attendance: 8-Day Argentina Snow Adventure in Patagonia, or 10-Day Private Tour of India, including Miss India. Includes roundtrip economy airfare from and back to the U.S. Addendum: I’ll give the runner-up a round-trip anywhere in the world that Continental flies (or StarAlliance). Camille, you can also take this, if you prefer. No expiration date.
Slow-Carb Clarifications
I’m currently getting at least 500-1,000 questions a day via the blog, Twitter, Facebook, etc. about the slow-carb diet. Let me clarify a few things:
Do not eat the following, except for cheat days:
Yams
Sweet potatoes
Quinoa
Dairy (this includes cheese and yogurt of all kinds)
I mention cottage cheese at one point as a last resort. It is low in lactose, which is what you need to avoid. Ghee and cream (for coffee) should contain little or no lactose, hence you can use them. The same goes for effectively lactose-free, unflavored whey protein, etc..
[Note for the PubMed readers: It’s true that whey is partially (or wholly) responsible for the insulinemic response of most dairy, but avoiding lactose seems to be more directly correlated to faster fat-loss in the diet subjects I’ve tracked. Needless to say, avoiding all dairy is the simplest solution.]
SUPPLEMENTS: There is NO need for supplements on the slow-carb diet, besides magnesium, potassium, etc. in “Slow-Carb II.” PAGG is NOT necessary, so if you find it confusing, just omit it.
Post-workout carbs – If your goal is fat loss, and assuming you are not training for endurance competition:
– If you male and not 12% bodyfat or less, no post-workout carbs.
– If you are female and not 20% bodyfat or less, no post-workout carbs.
In the end, the point of 4HB is intelligent and responsible SELF-EXPERIMENTATION. I will not answer all of your questions, precisely because I want you to think for yourselves and figure it out. Hundreds of you have already done so. It’s not that hard.
The following will address 99%+ of confusion:
– If you have to ask, don’t eat it.
– If you haven’t had blood tests done, I don’t want to hear that the diet doesn’t work.
– If you aren’t measuring inches or haven’t measured bodyfat % with an accurate tool (BodPod, etc. and NOT bodyfat scales), I don’t want to hear that the diet doesn’t work.
– If you’re a woman and taking measurements within 10 days prior to menstruation (which I advise against in the book), I don’t want to hear about the lack of progress.
– On the critical 4-6 week window:
For people over 40 and women (especially after two kids), it’s quite common that the most dramatic fat-loss and weight change comes after 4-6 weeks on the diet. I have no explanation for this. Needless to say, if you haven’t done the diet for AT LEAST four weeks, please don’t post a comment about plateauing and panicking. I can’t give you meaningful advice without a ton of other supporting data (blood tests, etc.), and it’s physically impossible for me to respond to each person.
To reiterate: The entire goal of 4HB is to make you a self-sufficient self-experimenter within safe boundaries. Track yourself, follow the rules, and track the changes if you break or bend the rules. Simple as that. That’s what I did to arrive at my conclusions, and that’s what you will do — with a huge head start with the 4HB — to arrive at yours.
Do it for 4 weeks and then troubleshoot if you’re plateauing.
If you post a plea for help anywhere, include at least two FULL days of your meals and snacks so people can actually help you.
Most of those saying they’re “following the diet to the letter” are doing nothing of the sort. Reread “Slow-Carb II” in 4HB.
Last, I’ll repeat the basic approach to the unknown: If you have to ask, don’t eat it.
4-Hour Body – common questions and Q&As
Most of the questions you could possibly ask about 4HB or slow-carb have been answered, whether related to carb-loading for endurance, orgasms, or other. I’ve done a few Q&As over the last few weeks, and I encourage you to check them out — lots of good questions:
4HB Presentation and extended Q&A at Twitter Headquarters [VIDEO]
4HB Presentation and extended Q&A at Twitter Headquarters [AUDIO] (after clicking the link, just wait 45 seconds to download the file for free)
Presentation and Q&A at Google Headquarters (the preso is the same as Twitter, but the Q&A is different and starts at 18:00)
Audiobook PDF downloads
The PDFs that accompany audiobook downloads (which I have nothing to do with) are apparently really hard to find. Please note: on Audible and elsewhere, there should be a small download link on your purchase confirmation for downloading the PDFs.
4HB reader-generated goodies: desktop wallpaper, etc.
Just for the fun of it, here is some desktop wallpaper created by Cole Morgan.
Media Samples
If you’d like to see how you must compress your sound bites for television, here is a brief clip of me from The View. I REALLY want to get Barbara Walters huge on creatine. She’d look amazing with killer forearms:
I will also be on Dr. Oz this Monday (Jan 24), and it should be a much longer segment and worth seeing. Find your local times here. I’ve been on his radio show twice, and we’ve always had a good time digging into the details. He doesn’t hesitate to challenge.
4HB corrections and typos
Through the editing process, which included more than six passes of the manuscript and a team of copyeditors, typos inevitably ended up in 4HB. I’m thankful to you, my readers, for pointing most of them out. Here are those we’ve found so far. These are my notes sent to the publisher, so forgive the odd formatting, and most bolding has been removed:
1) HUPERZINE DOSE TYPO, PG. 280
“As I double-checked pg.280 of your 4-Hour Body book, I see that you indeed recommend 200 milligrams of the extract, however, the reader suggested that … it should, in fact, be 200 MICROgrams.”
TIM: I’m not sure how this happened, but he’s right. It should be “micrograms (mcg)” NOT milligrams. Please change to “micrograms (mcg)”
###
2) IODINE TYPO and add to biotin, PG 524
“Hello,??I noticed two typos on page 524:??* Iodine does not have a USRDA value of 1,500 mcg…it is actually 150 mcg.”
TIM: This is correct. Please change to 150 mcg. I don’t know how this happened, as it was accurate at manuscript stage. Needs to be “150 mcg”
“?* Biotin does not have a USRDA value of 30 mcg…it is actually 300 mcg.”
TIM: He is incorrect here, I believe, but we should still update, as Biotin does not have an USRDA. Put “(no USRDA)” next to biotin like a few others.??
###
3) CINNAMON TYPO, PG. 101
“Under DAMAGE CONTROL you state that during your binge you consumed 1 tbsp cinnamon in your coffee. However under THE GLUCOSE SWITCH, when explaining types and quantities of cinnamon you stressed the importance of not exceeding 1.5 teaspoons a day. Which would mean you had consumed double that “safe” amount during your binge. Can you please clarify?”
TIM: “1 tbsp cinnamon” on pg. 101 (under “12:45pm”) is a typo and should be “1 tsp cinnamon”
###
4) PG. 26
“That is, if you’re a critical intervention patient, such as a morbidly
obese type 1 diabetic.”
Should be changed to “type 2”:
“That is, if you’re a critical intervention patient, such as a morbidly
obese type 2 diabetic.”
###
5) PG. 116, PAGG
The end result was PAGG.
Policosanol: 20–25 mg
Alpha- lipoic acid: 100–300 mg (I take 300 mg with each meal, but some
people experience acid refl ux symptoms with more than 100 mg)
Green tea fl avanols (decaffeinated with at least 325 mg EGCG):
325 mg
Garlic extract: 200 mg
Daily PAGG intake is timed before meals and bed, which produces a
schedule like this:
Prior to breakfast: AGG
Prior to lunch: AGG
Prior to dinner: AGG
Prior to bed: PAGG
Should be changed to (changes in bold):
The end result was PAGG.
Policosanol: 20–25 mg
Alpha- lipoic acid: 100–300 mg (I take 300 mg with each meal, but some
people experience acid reflux symptoms with even 100 mg)
Green tea flavanols (decaffeinated with at least 325 mg EGCG):
325 mg
Garlic extract: at least 200 mg (I routinely use 650+ mg)
Daily PAGG intake is timed before meals and bed, which produces a
schedule like this:
Prior to breakfast: AGG
Prior to lunch: AGG
Prior to dinner: AGG
Prior to bed: PAG (omit the green tea extract)
6) PG. 120, PAGG PARAGRAPH AND TOOLS AND TRICKS
[SECOND PARAG]
“Until further research concludes otherwise, I suggest using an
aged-garlic extract (AGE) with high allicin potential that includes all constituent parts, including S-Allyl cysteine.”
Should be changed to [changes bolded]:
“Until further research concludes otherwise, I suggest using an
aged-garlic extract (AGE) with high allicin potential that includes all constituent parts, including S-Allyl cysteine. If AGE isn’t available, unaged garlic extract appears to work at slightly higher doses.”
[CHANGES IN TOOLS AND TRICKS]
I currently use the following products. I have no financial interest in any of them:
Vitamin Shoppe— Allicin 6000 Garlic, 650 mg, 100 caplets (www.fourhourbody.com/garlic)
Mega Green Tea Extract (decaffeinated), 725 mg, 100 capsules (www.fourhourbody.com/greentea)
Vitamin Shoppe— Alpha- Lipoic Acid, 300 mg, 60 capsules (www.fourhourbody.com/ala)
Nature’s Life— Policosanol, 60 tablets (www.fourhourbody.com/policosanol)
Should be changed to (please just copy and paste the below):
I used the following products for my testing, but I’ll update links based on availability and reader feedback. I have no financial interest in any of them:
Allicin 6000 Garlic—650 mg, 100 caplets (www.fourhourbody.com/garlic)
Mega Green Tea Extract— 325+ mg EGCG, 100 capsules (www.fourhourbody.com/greentea)
Vitamin Shoppe—Alpha-Lipoic Acid, 100 mg, 60 capsules (www.fourhourbody.com/ala)
Nature’s Life— Policosanol, 60 tablets (www.fourhourbody.com/policosanol)
###
7) CHANGE “Heinrich” to “Henrik” on pg. 256, parag 3
###
8) PG. 15 — “500 scientific citations” needs to be changed to “300 scientific citations”
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
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It’s not about carb speed, it’s about carb quantity…
It’s same glucose in the end, so stick with the tasty carbs 🙂
So I started the slow carb lifestyle again about 3 weeks ago, and I feel great, but just as before,I wish I was getting results. I lost inches when I did slow carb last winter, but slowly. I am female, 29, 180 lbs. My menu is as follows ( i follow it as strictly as possible):
B:
1/2 c. egg whites
1/2 c. green veg.
1 tsp. macademia nut oil
1/2 c. beans
1/2 c. cottage cheese
L:
4 oz. lean protein (chicken,beef,salmon)
1/2 c. beans
1 c. green veg.
1 tsp. oil
2nd small lunch:
2 eggs
OR
3 oz. chicken,beef,salmon
D:
6 oz. chicken,beef,salmon
1 c. green veg.
I do excercise,body weight stuff shown in the book and some cardio,horseback riding, yoga.
Any thoughts? Thanks!
Well I am coming up to the one year anniversary of starting the SCD – on Feb 8th last year I changed my whole eating regime to SCD.
I am at my wit’s end trying to hack it to work. 48 year old mother of two, started at 72 kg, now 66kg and going nowhere.
I lost 6kg in the first 8 weeks and nothing since. I now suspect it was really only water due to the severely reduced carb intake.
I did the exercises and 8kg kettlebell swings at home initially and then in September I started with a personal trainer doing 2 sessions a week of 45 mins high intensity/interval Girevoy style training. I now use the 12kg kettlebell. I do the abs workout etc at home.
I have tried tweeking everything and nothing changes. According to the DEXA scan I had on Feb 17 last year when I had lost a few kgs, I had 7kg of fat I could safely lose.
Since then the scales just do not change and neither do my measurements, and I still have the (smaller) spare tire just above the hips so not much has changed visibly either.
I’ve tried:
No alcohol – no difference
Alcholol – no difference
Adding heaps more beans – no difference
Upping chicken and fish and reducing red meat – no difference
On PAGG – no difference
No PAGG – no difference
I am certainly fitter and my legs are now rock hard, I can see some tone and muscle around the biceps and shoulders but still the layers of fat are there and my measurements are not reducing.
I’m going back for a 2nd DEXA scan in a week or so and I’m pretty confident my body composition and fat ratio are not changed much.
Does anyone at all have any ideas??? Have any women successfully taken off around 12kg and got their bodyfat ratio right down to where they are lean and strong?
In the absence of any ideas or suggestions I really can’t keep going without getting any results. I had hoped it would be “rapid fat loss” but it hasn’t been so I will have to hit the research and try another approach.
My daily calorie intake averages 1200, and carbs total around 75-100 most days. I drink 1.5 litres of water a day on average.
I really only have a binge meal on Saturday nights rather than a binge day. I certainly can’t eat much junk or sugar anymore. “Binge” really means I have a cafe latte and a bread roll, rice and maybe Thai food.
Thanks in advance.
Hi there Skippy(gir)
I am a middle aged guy who used Tim’s SCD with a few modifications (no beans, no cheat days) and lost +/- 70 lbs. (My guess is that you may not be consuming enough protein.)
SCD can be tweaked in other ways of course. Several have worked for me but this is exactly what I do. (based on a post from Chris @ Athletic Greens)
1. Aim for a DAILY intake of 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight or more. Break this protein intake over each of your daily meals and make getting in that quota your priority at every meal. Eat your protein until you are about 75-80% of the way to satiety, check for fats, fill up on veges.
2. Fat SECOND. After you get your real food protein down, ensure you are getting some healthy, quality, FATS at every meal.
If you cook in coconut oil, limit omega 6 intake, eat little or no chicken and nothing for protein (careful whey protein consumption is okay) but grass fed meat, wild caught fish such as salmon, anchovies, and sardines, game meats and wild fowl, and vegetables, you are probably good to go without any supplementation other then half the recommended high dose of fish oil.
You are aiming for a 1:1 to 1:3 ratio (you need a LOT more omega 3 and a lot LESS omega 6 to get this balance). We do this two ways. 1) LIMIT Omega 6 intake. 2) TOP up Omega 3 intake.
To top up Omega 3, do the following….
Take down a tablespoon or a handful of fish oil caps (liquid is much more convenient for me, pills when I travel only) with every meal. Work up to 10-50 GRAMS per DAY.
Daily amount as follows:
50 grams if you are more than 30lbs overweight, any of your joints hurt, or you suffer any form of auto-immune or inflammatory disease. If you are anywhere in between, I recommend you continually build up towards 50 grams until you CAN see your abs, then drop back down to the 10 grams per day level.
Divide your daily intake across your meals equally.
Cook in coconut oil (low to high heat), or in the animal’s own fat (or rendered lard from grass-fed animals, if you can find it).
3. Veges THIRD. Yes, third. Fill up (keep going until you achieve satiety) with green, nutrient dense veges.
Just close out the meal and keep chomping until you are no longer hungry.
Limit fruit, eat NO carbs at all other than those naturally occurring in your vegetable selection, and only drink sugar-free, unsweetened beverages.
4. SUPPLEMENTS: Fish oil for Omega 3s and to combat inflammation, and Vitamin D3, ALA, NAC, Magnesium and Iodine
Chris’s “Don’t Ever” list follows:
NO GLUTEN. Remember the “no anti-nutrients”? Gluten is the king of anti-nutrients. So that means not today, not on a cheat day, not once in the next 30 days, and ideally not ever. You are welcome.
NO GRAINS, NO CEREALS and NO LEGUMES. Sorry, they are OUT for my version of the fat loss cure. While legumes are by far a “lessor evil” when compared to gluten, the anti-nutrient content (lignans, lectin, saponins) plus the carb content rules them out. All cereals and all grains out means no quinoa, no oats, no brown rice.
NO JUICE. No juice….no juice. NOT ONCE.
NO DAIRY: including milk, cheese, whey protein, cottage cheese or anything else.
LIMIT FRUIT to post work out only, one serving or less (on average) per workout, until you are lean. Best choices are melons or berries. Limit means exactly that.
NOTES:
What about eating grain fed meat? Avoid it whenever budget and availability allow, those cows are unhealthy and have a messed up omega 3 to omega 6 ratio (omega 6 heavy, frequently higher than 1:20), but if you have to, go for the leanest cut you can (the fat on grain fed meat is BAD). PLUS automatic 10 grams of fish oil, every time.
Any meal that is made up of grass fed meat, wild salmon, anchovies, or sardines, you can halve the fish oil.
You do this for 30 to 60 days, then back fish oil down to 25 +/- grams per day
I eat a lot of egg whites, I do consume high quality whey protein powder and do NOT eat much chicken or fowl.
Lastly. Sleep. If you are not getting your sleep it is very hard to lose weight or even be healthy. (Tim’s bit on sleep is great)
Good luck
Best
Etienne
Thank you Etienne,
I very much appreciate you taking the time to help me.
From reading your post I am going to make these changes:
1. Start tracking protein intake – I’ll need 145g per day based on your ratio.
2. Cut out chicken. This means I’ll be having grass fed beef, lamb and pork, white fish and salmon. (I can’t do anchovies).
3. I’ll switch my macadamia oil for cooking to coconut oil if I can find it. Not common here in Australia.
4. I’ll start the fish oil tables or liquid.
5. No cereal, legumes, grain etc all sounds a bit like Paleo (which I just read). At the moment I only have a bread roll for lunch on Saturdays and maybe some pasta or rice at Saturday dinner. I’ll try to cut them out for 4 weeks and judge the results. The thing I liked about SCD was it’s sustainable. I’m not sure that no grains etc is sustainable long term. But I’ll try it.
I’ve begun a written food diary now to get the stats on daily calorie intake, carb intake and protein intake.
Thanks again. I am determined to get this fat off. I just have to keep modifying the plan until something starts to move it.
Cheers
Skippy
Hi Skippygirl,
Thanks for all the info. I’m Marci and your daily menu looks really close to mine. Except my doc has advised to limit my water to 2 slurpy-sized glasses since too much water was flooding out my elecro-lites-(easy cure is Gatorade or Propell).
Anyway, I’m going in circles too so if you receive any advice would you please forward same to me.
THANKS. I’m hanging in for another month and then things gotta change.
Hi Marci,
A fellow plateau-er! How much do you need to lose?
I adopted the changes I listed after reading Etienne’s post, and managed to drop 1kg, but cannot get any lower than 65kg and in fact most days I’m between 65 and 66kg. I was gobbling handfuls of fish oil tabs, which filled me up on their own haha.
I started using the MyFitnessPal iPhone app to track my daily nutrition intake and it confirmed that I have 1200 cals every day, but I found it hard to reach 145g of protein every day. I just couldn’t eat that much beef, pork, lamb, fish or eggs.
I had another DEXA scan just after my post, and at least I had some good news. It was almost a year to the day since I had the first one, and even though the scales had not changed much it showed I had lost about 3% body fat, 2.4kg of actual fat, and gained 0.8kg of muscle.
I was delighted at the fat loss (even though it had taken a year) but a bit disappointed with the muscle gain. Even my personal trainer was surprised because with the twice-weekly Girevoy kettle bell training (and it’s bloody hard 16kg or 12kg work, I almost vomit from 16kg deep squats!) I do now have very toned and muscly shoulders and arms (with a little fat layer over the top but if I flex I look awesome!), my legs are really hard and my bum has lifted a bit.
I just still have this layer of fat around the torso that is driving me crazy as it won’t go. My pot belly is gone ad I have a general slimmish profile, but there is no definition because the fat is still there.
Most frustrating I see no change to measurements since a year ago.
The DEXA scan said I was now in the “normal” range, but I could lose 4-7kg of fat and be in the “lean” range. All I want is the 4kg off at least.
So I’ve decided to give Etienne’s theory another 4 week crack, and have added at an-home-on-Sunday 30 min kettle bell swing workout with the 12kg (I got Tracy Reifkind’s book for her 30 min workout plans) to try to add an effective cardio session. Somehow I am just not burning fat so that is the next hack I am trying.
Let me know how you go, what works for you, any ideas.
S
Are you eating too late, or not having your meals spaces out correctly?
Well this is interesting/disturbing:
http://www.sharkpatrol.co.nz/blog/2011/04/promoter-of-property-schemes-to-pay-reparation-for-fair-trading-act-breaches/
Seems the front man for Athletic Greens and BrainQuicken has some issues. Perhaps Tim et al would be willing to comment. It is ironic, since I found this only after signing up to buy the Greens. Are we being scammed?
William,
I know Chris a little bit. He has gone out of his way to help me through a sports injury and answered the many follow up questions I had without ever asking me for anything.
As it happens I don’t use Athletic Greens but I will vouch for Chris Ashenden personally.
Thank you
Etienne Taylor
Thanks for that, Etienne. I certainly hope your impression is accurate.
Becky M. and Skippygirl,
When a low to no carb diet isn’t working it is often a good idea to have one’s thyroid and adrenals checked out by a Naturopath (preferably) or MD. I recently had a client who was following the slow carb diet and she just could not shed the pounds. I sent her to a naturopath and she came back with the diagnosis of hypothyroidism. Issues with the thyroid are becoming more and more prevalent as toxins in our environment and food continue to stress and deplete our bodies.
Also, I sponsor a facebook page called The Four Hour Body for Women. I started this page b/c women often have issues that aren’t as common in men (namely hormones) and want to discuss more personal issues. So feel free to join us there! You may run into other women with similar struggles.
Thanks Alison I’ll give your FB page a read.
Really what Etienne has described here is a healing the gut diet. 80% of our health lies in our gut and if that isn’t working properly then all hell breaks loose. Many people are diagnosed as gluten intolerant, or allergic to gluten, but in truth, they need to cut out all grains, all legumes, all dairy, all coffee (even decaf), and caffeinated tea and let their gut heal. This can take as little as 6 months and as long as 2 years, depending on how bad the damage is and how strict you are on the diet.
You can also treat this as an “elimination diet” where you cut out all of these things for 2-4 weeks and then add foods back. I’m currently doing this. Next week (hopefully) I’ll be adding back wheat on one day, waiting to see if I have any reactions (bloating, intestinal distress, allergies, inflammation) and then after 2 days I’ll be trying out eggs, waiting for a day or two to see if I have any reactions, and go on from there.
If you want more information you can search for GAPS diet and elimination diet or you can find Healthnutnation on Facebook and I’ll send you the links directly.
Thanks for all the 4HB clarifications Tim. This is my second time on the 4HB (1st was just prior to xmas 2010, going to (strictly) 1st week in Feb. Just in that time both myself & my partner had happy success on the 4HB) and I’m already seeing progress after 9 days. (I don’t *see* it, my tape measure tells me!) I have all the rules on sticky notes next to my computer at work. This time around is easier, if only because I’m NOT working at a cafe/bakery like last time! Oh, all the temptation!!
At the moment, I’m struggling with getting to sleep every odd night, and bloating during the day, although this seems to settle of an evening.
I’m hesitantly drinking a whey protein shake within 1/2 hour of waking of a morning, if only because I have an hour long commute (not in a train, driving) and eating breakfast & driving doesn’t really go together. I’m slightly concerned about the ingredients in the shake, but am going to see if it inhibits my weight loss before giving it up completely. It IS providing me with 33g protein within 1/2 of waking, which is super important.
THANKS SO MUCH TIM.
My cheat days are on Sundays-I follow instructions from the book. I hold mt water from the day until about Wednesday I notice, wondering what other people’s experience is. Thank you
Does anyone have suggestions for breakfast other than cooking something all the time? I would love if we could have a shake to drink while I am getting ready…
I just have to say, I love this diet. I started it on Monday after having a pig out day on Sunday, and I am already down two pounds after following it strictly for 2 days. This morning was tough as I did not have time to cook breakfast before having to leave the house, but did find someone’s suggestion for a Protein shake with unsweetened Whey and unsweetened cocoa powder that looks great. I can’t wait for Monday’s weigh in!!
A couple of things:
Crystal, welcome! A quick suggestion that you take some time and read earlier posts. We’ve taken the time to answer a lot of questions (many over and over) throughout the past year that I think you will find helpful.
If you click on my name it will take you to my website which has a couple of videos with 4 hour body recipes, one of which is a smoothie/shake. You can also find it on Youtube on healthnutnation channel.
Mercola recently put out an article on brown fat and how using ice therapy revs up the metabolism and increases fat burning. The Four Hour body is mentioned in his article. I never know if his links will work for others as you may have to subscribe to view it. Here’s the link anyway: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/02/13/scientists-find-brown-fat-to-help-lose-weight.aspx?e_cid=20120213_DNL_art_1
Thank you Alison. I did read most of the old posts, but there were so many in just this portion of the blog alone it was hard to get through them all in less than 3 days.
One more question I have not seen answered. I chew gum or suck on a mint (for fresh breath) all the time. Is that detrimental?
Tim
Maybe something left out here in your book??
Didn’t see it in your typos section above or in the comments:
Regarding the training plan for the ultramarathon I have been wondering how you achieve 800m on 2:30 (week 2) or even on 2:00 (week 3). Of course, you are supposedly “super human” but are you really that fast?? Now in week 3, I realized that this maybe is supposed to be ‘on 2:30 rest’ or ‘on 2:00 rest’, respectively, since that’s how it is stated on Tuesday in week 3 for the 10x200m sprints.
Can you confirm? Because if ‘800m on 2:00’ is supposed to mean: “if you finish earlier than 2:00 then the remaining time up to 2:00 is rest”, then this is BS. Sorry to say so, but I am assuming that we’re talking here about people who have -like you- never ran a marathon before or even hate running and do the training mostly for the ‘bucket list’. How can someone like that, or even you despite being ‘Super Human’, run 4x800m on 2:00 and still have time left for a minimal recovery? 🙂
Regards from Greece, where I am following your plan for a 66k alpine run and where I also report to my blog readers about the progress once a week,
David
Tim/ folks – Got the 4HrBody from my cardiologist (!) and it’s a game changer for me, in the dialogue and the clarity – thank you.
Now on 2nd day of Slow Carb Diet (LOVE it, and THANK YOU Tim) – HOWEVER, I bought a couple bags of frozen mixed “vegetables” and couldn’t help but notice that CORN dominates each bag – after reading the section on Fructose, I thought “heck is corn even really a vegetable?” I know it’s the basis for high fructose corn syrup, and it’s the number one ingredient in most bad things out there today, and if you just look at it, it looks and positions an awful lot like FRUIT…
I googled, and it is NOT! Corn is technically a grain, specifically a dried fruit. So, (1) I’m guessing if someone is struggling, and corn finds its way into your Slow Carb setup, perhaps you should pull it (like I’m going to do) and see what happens.
Tim – great book, breakthrough thinking – what do YOU think of this?
I really want to thank Tim for writing the 4hb! This book has changed my life, and the lives of many of my friends. Last year I saw him on the Dr Oz show, and the diet just made sense, so I tried it. I eventually lost 40lbs before going into a plateau.
I gave it to my co-worker who was running five miles a day and not losing weight, and he lost 50 or so pounds by the end of the summer. He gave it to his dad and mom, and his wife, with varied results. So, it works!
What I absolutely love about it is the simplicity. People tend to want to make everything seem very complicated (look at a fair amount of books on homebrewing), but really, if it’s overly complicated then 99% of people won’t do it. On top of that, Tim makes you responsible for your results. I plateaued last year. I didn’t know why, so I ended up stopping the diet. I started it back up again a few weeks ago and have not had the same results as last time (1-2lbs per week loss instead of 5lbs+ per week). SO, like Tim said, I took a good hard look at what I was eating/drinking now that was different from last year.
My conclusion? Around the time my weight plateaued last year I started drinking 0sugar 0carb energy drinks. I figured “hey, it’s 16oz, it’s sugar free… should be ok”. What have I been drinking lately? Sugar free carb free energy drinks. Conclusion? Cut them out for a few weeks and see if my hypothesis is correct.
So, thank you Tim. Even if I’m wrong, I’m still eating much healthier than before. On top of that, trying to find out what I’m doing wrong is making me be more aware of what I’m ingesting.
Thank you for the wonderful report, Rebecca! Totally made my day.
I would definitely suspect the artificial sweeteners and so on in the drink, as you hypothesized. Keep us posted!
All the best,
Tim
My husband started your diet 2 months ago and I wanted to join in on his guilt-free Saturday splurge day. I’m a healthy, lean 55 yr old female, trying to add muscle mass so I can be physically active the next 50 years. My only health problem is that I have a low thyroid (I’m on a daily 75 mcg of levothyroxine). Will this be a problem with your diet?
Enjoyed your book!
There are quite a few previous posts on the subject of thyroid issues that you may want to check out.
Previously there’s been quite a bit of discussion around protein powder so I thought I’d let you all know that I’ve recently posted a video on whey protein concentrate vs. whey protein isolate that lists the pros and cons. It’s meant to be informational, not definitive (meaning you still need to decide for yourself which one is best for you). Click on my name to view.
Enjoy!
something missing in the ultra training plan?
Tim
In week 6 on Tuesday it says: “1 min on 3 min x 5″… What’s that supposed to be? In case indeed something’s missing here then also the German translators didn’t really care of finding out what’s missing here because the DE translation has an exact (incomplete?) translation of the EN.
Thanks in advance for the update, although this week is alreadyover for me so I had to skip that exersice.
Regards from Greece,
David
Anyone know what the status of the paid forum is? I’d be well up for paying the tenner a month
Thanks Tim for the 4HB lifestyle. I’m using your book information as a start here point and continue to develope what works/not works for me. Ex – I can’t get away with a glass of wine BUT I have no problem and actually loose better with (cap) 4 oz of cheese daily (any natural). WHICH PROVES EVERY BODY’S NEEDS ARE A LITTLE DIFFERENT. Thank you for the main blue print so I can figure what works for me. Each day I eat regular meals of 40+% protein and whenever I want to munch I (priorly set up a 3 cup bowl of seasoned/roasted garbonzo beans) get a 1/2 cup of the garbonzos (they travel well). I use my ‘cheat’ day to eat any cravings and consume fruit. All is going well.
Hi Tim (and other smart people)
I’m a little confused with recommendations related to cholesterol. In the PAGG chapter, Policosanol is a supplement that reduces that cholesterol, but in the Sex Machine I chapter, it seems that reducing cholesterol also reduces testosterone. Does that mean that using Policosanol will ultimately reduce testosterone? I know there’s a difference between dietary cholesterol and body cholesterol levels, in Sex Machine you make the comment that you “had obsessed over lowering my total cholesterol”, which I took to mean body cholesterol levels. Can you clarify?
BTW, have lost 60 lbs. on slow carb and added a ton of muscle. I look and feel better at 30 years old than I did at 20. Can’t wait for 40. Thanks!
Tim,
You seem like an awesome person and boy people are critical! Typo smypo, who cares?!
Your book & diet are great. Guess nobody heard of doing their own research.
Keep up the good work!
H
What’s wrong with the following weekly menu. I,m in a circle – what I loose is gained bact on “cheat day”. I’m only loosiing 4 lbs/month.
OMLETTE
ALL BREAKFASTS (batch 1/6th) Fat Carb Prot Fiber
egg (3) x 6 81.0 18.0 108.0 0.0
onion-pepper-mush 1 cup 0.0 28.0 9.0 8.0
bacon (2 Tbs) x 6 18.0 0.0 36.0 0.0
TOMATO raw (1 oz) x 6 0.0 6.0 0.0 9.6
BEANS garbanzos (1/4 cup) x6 6.0 54.0 18.0 18.0
TOTALS 105.0 106.0 171.0 35.6
Balance 25.1% 25.4% 40.9% 8.5%
6 17.5 17.7 28.5 5.9
HAM & BEANS w/TOMATILLO
ALL LUNCHES (batch 1/6th) Fat Carb Prot Fiber
BEANS navy (1 cup) x6 0.0 228.0 60.0 72.0
onion 1 cup 0.0 15.0 2.0 3.0
ADD ham (4 oz each) x 6 12.0 0.0 288.0 0.0
tomatillo 4 oz 0.0 4.0 0.0 6.4
TOTALS 12.0 247.0 350.0 81.4
Balance 1.7% 35.8% 50.7% 11.8%
6 2.0 41.2 58.3 13.6
FISH, b-sprouts, gabanzo
DINNER MONDAY Fat Carb Prot Fiber
fish tilapia 3 ct 4.5 0.0 69.0 0.0
BRUSSEL SPROUTS 15 ct 0.0 24.0 9.0 9.0
BEANS garbanzos 1/2 cup 2.0 18.0 6.0 6.0
TOTALS 6.5 42.0 84.0 15.0
Balance 4.4% 28.5% 56.9% 10.2%
1 6.5 42.0 84.0 15.0
STEAK, cauliflower, lima
DINNER TUESDAY Fat Carb Prot Fiber
steak rib-eye 8 oz 24.0 0.0 48.0 0.0
cauliflower 2.5 cups 0.0 10.0 2.5 2.5
BEANS lima 1/2 cup 0.5 17.0 4.0 4.0
TOTALS 24.5 27.0 54.5 6.5
Balance 21.8% 24.0% 48.4% 5.8%
1 24.5 27.0 54.5 6.5
SALMON, broccoli, garbanzo
DINNER WEDNESDAY Fat Carb Prot Fiber
salmon blackened 6 oz 19.0 7.0 34.0 0.0
BRUSSEL SPROUTS 10 0.0 16.0 6.0 6.0
BEANS garbanzos 1/2 cup 2.0 18.0 6.0 6.0
TOTALS 21.0 41.0 46.0 12.0
Balance 17.5% 34.2% 38.3% 10.0%
1 21.0 41.0 46.0 12.0
HAMBURGER + PMO
DINNER THURSDAY Fat Carb Prot Fiber
sirloin lean 8 oz 22.0 0.0 46.0 0.0
onion 1/4 cup 0.0 4.0 0.5 0.8
pickles 6 avg 0.0 3.0 0.0 0.0
BEANS garbanzos 1/2 cup 2.0 18.0 6.0 6.0
TOTALS 24.0 25.0 52.5 6.8
Balance 22.2% 23.1% 48.5% 6.2%
1 24.0 25.0 52.5 6.8
SHRIMP, broccoli, garbanzo
DINNER FRIDAY Fat Carb Prot Fiber
shrimp 12 oz 4.0 0.0 72.0 0.0
BROCCOLI 1 box 0.0 12.0 3.0 6.0
BEANS garbanzos 1/2 cup 2.0 18.0 6.0 6.0
TOTALS 6.0 30.0 81.0 12.0
Balance 4.6% 23.3% 62.8% 9.3%
1 6.0 30.0 81.0 12.0
PIZZA CHICKEN w/ZUCCHINI
DINNER SATURDAY Fat Carb Prot Fiber
chicken 6 oz 6.0 0.0 48.0 0.0
ZUCCHINI 13 oz 0.0 13.0 0.0 16.9
onion 1 cup 0.0 15.0 2.0 3.0
pizza sauce 1/4 cup 1.5 4.0 1.0 1.0
BEANS garbanzos 1/4 cup 1.0 9.0 3.0 3.0
TOTALS 8.5 41.0 54.0 23.9
Balance 6.7% 32.2% 42.4% 18.8%
1 8.5 41.0 54.0 23.9
FREE DAY SUNDAY
THANKS FOR ANY AND ALL HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Marci,
You have a healthy diet. Without knowing more I couldn’t say for sure why you’ve stalled. I’d suspect a few too many beans. I’d cut those out altogether and replace them with veggies. Maybe try a healthy breakfast on your cheat day as well. He is a recycled post that has know worked to for the 8-9 people I’ve been able to encourage to follow it.
———-
I am a middle aged guy who used Tim’s SCD with a few modifications (no beans, no cheat days) and lost +/- 70 lbs.
SCD can be tweaked in other ways of course. Several have worked for me but this is exactly what I do. (based on a post from Chris @ Athletic Greens)
1. Aim for a DAILY intake of 1 gram of protein per lb of bodyweight or more. Break this protein intake over each of your daily meals and make getting in that quota your priority at every meal. Eat your protein until you are about 75-80% of the way to satiety, check for fats, fill up on veges.
2. Fat SECOND(fish oil). After you get your real food protein down, ensure you are getting some healthy, quality, FATS at every meal.
If you cook in coconut oil, limit omega 6 intake, eat little or no chicken and nothing for protein (careful whey protein consumption is okay) but grass fed meat, wild caught fish such as salmon, anchovies, and sardines, game meats and wild fowl, and vegetables, you are probably good to go without any supplementation other then half the recommended high dose of fish oil.
You are aiming for a 1:1 to 1:3 ratio (you need a LOT more omega 3 and a lot LESS omega 6 to get this balance). We do this two ways. 1) LIMIT Omega 6 intake. 2) TOP up Omega 3 intake.
To top up Omega 3, do the following….
Take down a tablespoon or a handful of fish oil caps (liquid is much more convenient for me, pills when I travel only) with every meal. Work up to 10-50 GRAMS per DAY.
Daily amount as follows:
50 grams if you are more than 30lbs overweight, any of your joints hurt, or you suffer any form of auto-immune or inflammatory disease. If you are anywhere in between, I recommend you continually build up towards 50 grams until you CAN see your abs, then drop back down to the 10 grams per day level.
Divide your daily intake across your meals equally.
Cook in coconut oil (low to high heat), or in the animal’s own fat (or rendered lard from grass-fed animals, if you can find it).
3. Veges THIRD. Yes, third. Fill up (keep going until you achieve satiety) with green, nutrient dense veges.
Just close out the meal and keep chomping until you are no longer hungry.
Limit fruit, eat NO carbs at all other than those naturally occurring in your vegetable selection, and only drink sugar-free, unsweetened beverages.
4. SUPPLEMENTS: Fish oil for Omega 3s and to combat inflammation, and Vitamin D3, ALA, NAC, Magnesium and Iodine
Chris’s “Don’t Ever” list follows:
NO GLUTEN. Remember the “no anti-nutrients”? Gluten is the king of anti-nutrients. So that means not today, not on a cheat day, not once in the next 30 days, and ideally not ever. You are welcome.
NO GRAINS, NO CEREALS and NO LEGUMES. Sorry, they are OUT for my version of the fat loss cure. While legumes are by far a “lessor evil” when compared to gluten, the anti-nutrient content (lignans, lectin, saponins) plus the carb content rules them out. All cereals and all grains out means no quinoa, no oats, no brown rice.
NO JUICE. No juice….no juice. NOT ONCE.
NO DAIRY: including milk, cheese, whey protein, cottage cheese or anything else.
LIMIT FRUIT to post work out only, one serving or less (on average) per workout, until you are lean. Best choices are melons or berries. Limit means exactly that.
NOTES:
What about eating grain fed meat? Avoid it whenever budget and availability allow, those cows are unhealthy and have a messed up omega 3 to omega 6 ratio (omega 6 heavy, frequently higher than 1:20), but if you have to, go for the leanest cut you can (the fat on grain fed meat is BAD). PLUS automatic 10 grams of fish oil, every time.
Any meal that is made up of grass fed meat, wild salmon, anchovies, or sardines, you can halve the fish oil.
You do this for 30 to 60 days, then back fish oil down to 25 +/- grams per day
I eat a lot of egg whites, I do consume high quality whey protein powder and do NOT eat much chicken or fowl.
Lastly. Sleep. If you are not getting your sleep it is very hard to lose weight or even be healthy. (Tim’s bit on sleep is great)
Good luck
Best
Etienne
Etienne,
I’ve been reading this comments section for quite some time and i have to say, 1g of protein per lb of bodyweight seems like a crazy amount. For me at my current weight, I’d have to try and find a way to get 270g protein per day. Even if I weighed 200lbs, that would seem like a lot.
How do you manage to get all that protein daily?
I’m using whey protein powder some mornings as is, but i may be getting around 80-90g on a good day.
I’d appreciate any direction you or others would recommend.
Marci,
As a women approaching 50 and doing this and tweaking it for a long time, I can tell you if I were you, I would cut the beans and increase the natural fat. I eat mostly meat, fish, eggs, veggies, & natural fats from good sources (grass fed/pastured/wild caught/organic). No industrial seed oils, no gluten ever, cheat MEAL once a week. I had been “stuck” for a while and did that plus I do a “bulletproof coffee” for breakfast rather than the protein shake. I feel SO much better not eating SO much protein but adding more natural fat. We are all a bit different and need to tweak and body hack just as Tim did to find our “sweet spot”. Good luck!
oops, please excuse my typos!
p.s. Bulletproof coffee can be found online-do a Google search.
Hey Jake,
200lbs grams of protein a day for a 200lbs man is an awful lot. It is hard to tweak a normal high sugar diet and land land there. You do have to sort of start over and build your meals around a protein source. Protein comes naturally packed with high quality healthy fat (if you don’t eat commercially raised meats or fish). Eating protein and fat until you are about 75% full and then moving on to your veggies should do the trick without having to count)
Even still I cheat and consume 25 (sometimes 50) grams of protein in a whey shake within a 1/2 hour of waking. An hour or an hour and a half later I’ll have an omelette with another 100 grams of protein.
Everyday at lunch I’ll have a salad as big as my head (I have a big head) with an avocado, beets, onion, tomatoes, shredded carrots, sprouts, radish, dried tart cherries, cucumber, red pepper and fresh blueberries/strawberries/pomegranate. (Dressing: FRESH lemon juice, balsamic, olive oil and mustard) + 1lbs of wild caught fish (Salmon, Ahi, etc.)
Dinner is ANOTHER salad + more fish or grass fed meat.
I only work out twice a week. I lift heavy and swing around an 80lbs kettle-bell. On those days I consume an addition 50 grams of protein in pre and post workout drinks.
Dense salads, no beans and a couple pounds of protein from wild fish and/or “clean” meat sources + an indecent amount of fish oil and Bob’s your Uncle.
I hope that this helps.
Thank you
Etienne
Eitenne, Thanks – I’ll try doing my base B-Fast on CDay.
pdxhollym, Thanks – Need the beans for digestive reasons (per nutritionist & doc). I agree about upping the fats by adding some avocados and walnuts/pistachios. I’m going to check out the Bullet Proof Coffee.
THANKS to both of you for your help!!!!!!
Sorry Etienne for mis-spelling your name. I have a bad habit of typing too fast and not checking.
Love what you’re doing Tim! I hope to meet you one day. You’re really helping a lot of people while you are making tons of money. That’s the ultimate success story.
I only have 2 issues so far with 4 hour body.
#1- Many of us having been getting really into raw organic coconut oil these past few years, and your chart showing it with so much more saturated fat than the others is probably misleading and putting many people off but as you know, all fat is not bad fat. I would love to hear your take on coconut oil (green pastures has just come out with a new line of coconut oil that is incredible as well as their codliver/butter oil products which you already know about)
#2- Microwave? really? Its very commonly known in the health food world that microwaving your food destroys all nutritional value completely. I can’t imagine “nuking” my food. If you are ‘nuking’ your sauerkraut, for example, you are not getting the live enyzmes you definitely want to be getting. I can’t believe people are still using microwaves in 2012. Its like Japan saying “we have no plans to stop building nuclear power plants, or change our nuclear policy”. HUH?
Those things just crept into the mainstream over the past few decades and are just commonly accepted nowadays, but that doesn’t make them ‘smart’ or even ‘ok’. That’s not to say that microwaves are as big as problem as the ongoing nuclear threat in Japan, but in the context of a health protocol the microwave really should be removed completely I suspect.
Hello Tim,
I have enjoyed the 4-hour body and 4-hour work week books and have lost 20 lbs so far in the first month. I remember either reading in the 4 hour body or hearing it said that it was physically possible to lose up to 17 lbs in 2 days. I was wondering where could I find the steps for trying this?
Thanks
Hmm it appears like your blog ate my first comment (it was super long) so I guess I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to the whole thing. Do you have any suggestions for first-time blog writers? I’d really appreciate it.
Hi Tim,
I’m thinking about eating 1300 calories while on your diet, my daily caloric intake to maintain my weight is 1700 calories.
1 lb = 3500 calories, so in a week, I will have a 2800 calorie deficit
I will work out 5 times a week and burn 700 calories so that’s 3500 calories burnt a week
so i’m looking at a total of 6300, so about 2lbs a week lost. I can do this in addition to the 4hb. What are your thoughts? I’ve found I need to be a bit more strategic when i eat and work out. Yesterday, I didn’t consume enough calories before my work out and felt too fatigued.
Writing because I’m not getting the “normal” results with the SCD. I first started slow carbing to change my eating habits and be overall healthier, fat loss was not necessarily a goal as I was already 103 lbs. SCD started around January of 2011. I immediately started gaining weight. After trying to SCD for 8 months (gained approximately 10 lbs) I went Paleo. The main things I changed were: subtracted legumes from my diet, added fruit, added whey protein powder. Meat and vegetable amounts stayed the same. From August 2011 to about two weeks ago I kept the Paleo diet gaining another 10 lbs. Two weeks ago I thought there was something really wrong and re-read SCD in 4HB. I began slow carbing again but with a different goal in mind- fat loss. Two weeks ago I weighed in at 123.5. Today I weighed in at 123.5. Here are two days worth of meals:
Day 1
Breakfast within 30 minutes of waking 2 whole eggs, 4 egg whites, 1 130 gram avocado (seed in), 1 heirloom tomato, chunky salsa mixed with cilantro and green onion. Lemon water.
Between breakfast and lunch: beet, carrot, burdock root, lemon freshly juiced.
lunch: boneless skinless chicken breast with zucchini, red onion, and mushroom. One the side 5 stall sticks of celery, 4 on the vine tomatoes, 1 half avocado.
dinner (around 7 p.m.): 4 oz carne asada cabbage salad with tomato, same salsa from breakfast, and avocado.
I 4 oz glass of red wine blend (not really a dry red)
Day 2
AGG
Breakfast within 30 minutes of waking 2 whole eggs, 4 egg whites, 1 130 gram avocado (seed in), 1 heirloom tomato, chunky salsa mixed with cilantro and green onion. Lemon water.
AGG
Lunch: 4 oz carne asada cabbage salad with tomato, same salsa from breakfast, and avocado.
AGG
Dinner: boneless skinless chicken breast with zucchini, red onion, and mushroom. 1 avocado.
2 4 oz glasses of Argentina wine (don’t remember the type)
PAG
If you wonder why I’m eating the same meals its because I cook all my lunch and dinner food on the weekend (enough to have left overs all week).
Some other notes:
Just started PAGG, we’ll see how it works in the next couple weeks.
I drink at the very least 3 liters of water a day.
I do take athletic greens but have still only gone no. 2 3 times in the past 2 weeks. It’s horrible.
I go on sierra club 2 hr 6-8 mile hikes, however, I don’t really do any other exercise.
Is anyone else experiencing weight gain? Can someone comment on what I might be doing wrong or what I can change? I’m confused and wondering why I’m not seeing any results. Is it possible that the SCD doesn’t work with some body types? Thank you for taking the time to read this and help. I appreciate it.
Hey Tiffany,
I’d guess that your protein intake is much lower then it should be and that you might cut back on the avocado and tomato. (High fat and high sugar respectively.
If you shoot for 1 gram of protein per 1 pound of body-weight per day this will tend to push out some of the other dense caloric foods, like the avocado you are eating now. (Be sure that all your animal protein is grass fed or wild caught fish. Make chicken a sometimes thing-its too high in omega 6s )
Lastly consider high dose fish oil (10-15 grams a day!)
If you follow these tweaks I bet that SCD will work for you in short order.
Best
Etienne Taylor
Hi Etienne,
Thank you so much for your reply.
It’s taken me a while to write back because I was taking a food log (photographs with my telephone). I wanted to post every meal for 1 week. At the end of the week my phone died and I lost all my photos. Anyways, I dropped the avocado (probably had 1 whole avocado the entire week) and I ate a half a tomato in 1 meal. I upped my protein intake (about 1 gram per lb of body weight) and increased vegetables consumed during breakfast. My weight was consistently 123 lbs every day except for Thursday (122 lbs) and Friday (121 lbs). Saturday and Sunday were back to 123lbs. I have not dropped any inches off my waist or anywhere else. I am now on week 5 of SCD and no results. I’m still following the PAGG routine and doing some sort of physical exercise 3 days a week (hiking, dancing, walking) but not lifting any weights. I started the food log again so I can post everything for the past week, just in case that adds any insight.
I have not tried the fish oil. I’m not convinced it will have significant results so I’m going to hold off on it. Let me know if you have any other ideas, any help would be appreciated!
Thank you,
Tiffany
Tiffany,
I’m a little puzzled, I’d like to get some sense of calories in calories out. One of the upsides of eating so much protein is that it tends to curb any over feeding. (I would still try and include the fish oil and keep to clean wild caught fish or grass fed meats as your protein source.)
Have you calculated your body-fat, BMI etc? I am curious if your body composition is moving in positive direction, i.e. perhaps you are putting on muscle losing some fat?
Etienne
I’ve been on the 4HB for 5 weeks now. The first 4 weeks I barely saw any results, I think this is because I ended up having 2 menstrual cycles in one month and my hormones were off balance. The 5th week I was back on my regular cycle and noticed a significant difference. I don’t weigh myself but I base on clothing and inches lost. So far I’m down to 3 inches lost around the waist. Excited to see what the next 4 weeks will bring. I cheated a total of 3 times – cheated last night. I’ll still have my cheat day this Saturday but I’ll make it a light one.
Hi Tim,
My questions are purely for sport. I realize I’m behind the power curve and you’re probably very busy with new epic projects, but I would love to read your answers if you have time. While studying your before/after photos in the “From Geek to Freak” chapter, I noticed you shaved. I’d like your opinion on man-shaving. 1) Did you do it before or after you reached the size of your “after” photograph? 2) Have you continued shaving? If not, did you notice a change in the texture of your hair? If so, did you notice a change in the texture of your skin? 3) Do you prefer to be hairy or hairless? 4) Do ladies prefer you hairy or hairless? (I’ve never been with a hairy man, so I’m curious if you collected any opinions about this) 5) Why did you shave? Obviously not for competition — unless there was one? Did it make it easier to work out, less chaffing (did it include shaving DOWN THERE)?
Thank you for all your daring and hard work. I thoroughly enjoyed 4HB.
I love this way of eating and plan to use it for the rest of my life. I’ve hit a snag, however, in that for the last 3 months, I cannot lose weight ! I’m a pro at this, and it has been very frustrating to work so hard and not see any results. Lately, in fact, I have been GAINING weight. I finally figured out that I have a hormone imbalance of some sort, and will be having blood work drawn next week to be sure — Just wanted to warn, especially the women who are near, in or past menopause – that if you stall, have your hormones tested ! I’ll follow up when I know for sure — thanks!!! Lisa
Lisa-
Many people (women in particular) struggle with their weight because of hormone (this includes thyroid) imbalances. In fact, I started a facebook page especially for women following the 4 Hour body protocol (you can search for 4 hour body for women on FB) because it’s exactly these type of situations that often stump women, have them end up feeling like a failure because they “have no willpower, can’t lose weight, and will just have to be fat.” When all along it’s a hormone imbalance that is the problem.
Now would be a great time to read The Diet Cure by Julia Ross. I actually suspect that Tim got a lot of his information/ideas from this book. I found it to be extremely helpful (as a women who also struggles with hormone and adrenal imbalances) and I think you will too.
Alison
Alison, thank you SO much ! It is beyond frustrating for me because I know this way of eating WORKS. I’m not a facebook girl, sadly, but I will research the book ! Thanks for taking the time to answer – it means a lot ! Lisa
I have a question about beans
I have avoided beans due to their high carb #….
I am a type 2 on metformin…. if my bs is high I won’t lose weight.
Perhaps I answered my question….. but I am afraid to eat
anything to raise my blood sugar…..
love the book….do I need to love beans??
thanks
Hey Jeanne,
No you don’t need to eat beans, but it is so much easier if you allow yourself at least a few beans and/or lentils. (If you really want very dense salads can be switched out for your beans)
I’d bet that if you don’t eat too many beans, and eat them after (or with) healthy protein (which comes packaged with healthy fat) your blood sugar will be just fine.
You know the drill. Test, measure, adjust and repeat:-)
Good luck!
Best
Etienne
Hi Tim I have been following the slow carb diet for a month now. I have not seen too much change in my weight but my appearance is changing. I don’t have accurate tools for measuring Body fat( currently using a BIA meter which shows i am at 20% Bodyfat) but i think i will stick with the diet because I just feel much better on it.
I am from India so many of the things you mention in the book aren’t available here like the greens suplement, PAGG, AGG, Cissus etc. Also i live in a hostel as of now so having a hard time cooking.
I also wanted to ask if carrots are ok. I eat a lot of it and read somewhere that they are high in fructose.
Also I have been doing some resistance training 2x per week and prefer to do it in the mornings which upsets the 30g of protein on waking up. I usually have Dymatize whey protein isolate and two eggs for the protein and spinach with some beans. So how do i eat if I have to work out in the morning?
By the way the book is just awesome. It is the best i have read so far ( read it 5 times already). Thanks .
For the C&L at home, how do I choose a Gray Cook Band strength?
The website simply lists them as extra-light, light, medium, heavy, and extra-heavy.
I’m 5′ 8″ 123 lb. female and I use a sandbag for most things, it is probably around 15 lbs and I think I need to fill it to 20 or so to get the right weight for the KB swings.
How do I determine what strength of Gray Cook band to use for the C&L?
Hi Tim,
First of all let me thank you for the wonderful work you have done in the form of 4HBody. Its simply marvelous! I am myself trying to loose weight for the last 10 months now and so far lost 18 kgs. But since last 2 months my weight reduction has seemed to stopped. I am 170 cm, 68 kgs with BF at 18.5 % (Yeah i can grab a lot of fat on my belly even now). I tried 100-150 gram carb with 60-75 gm fat and 100-140 gm protein diet but it didnt work. Then i tried your SCD diet with same 65-75 gm fat, beans, veggies and lentils along with 100-120 gm protein and still i hardly loose 600-700 gms in 6 days, binge and gain them back. Its happening like this for the last many weeks. I was wondering that you didnt mention taking any fats % in SCD diet, so should i be taking these fats or should reduce or increase them? Lost here…
Also for last 5-10 pounds, should i be taking 170 gms plus fats daily having a combo of faty fish like salmon and whey protein? Thanks and looking forward to hear from you.
Asking questions are actually nice thing if you
are not understanding something totally, except this
article presents nice understanding yet.
I started the diet and supplementation right before Thanksgiving. I haven’t been to re-measure body composition just yet. But, I’m down almost 30 pounds (28). This is truly life-changing for me so far.
One modification (which is probably slowing my progress): I do enjoy the “Insanity” workout routine + swimming 2-3 times per week (for a total of 4-6 workouts per week).
I’ll pop in 6 months from now, and I’ll let you know how things are going.
Just checking in, wanted to say Thanks Tim for designing a diet I can stick to. I am a 43 year old male. I have put on 3-4 lbs per year over 20 years and am determined to reverse that damage this year. I started Dec. 31 at 229 lbs and 46 inches, and as of this morning am down 10 lbs and 4.5 inches.
I am sticking (almost perfectly!) to the 5 rules. I am not counting calories or worrying about portion size, other than not bingeing. I am not exercising other than taking dog for a daily walk. I am eating a piece of cheddar cheese with most breakfasts mostly to make my omelette taste better and ensure my calcium. However I will try to stick to Parmesan now after reading this blog as I see that cheese is not allowed! I am not PAGG stacking.
I watched Tim’s breakfast video and emulate that breakfast as good as I can and take a couple swigs of red wine with it! 🙂 Instead of lentils I mix it up and throw in some refried beans.
My energy is better and I don’t get so hungry like I used to between meals ( and like I still do on cheat day!)
My regime:
Typical breakfast is 2 egg omelette, with mushrooms, ham, onions, and a sprinkle of parmesan. If I can’t make breakfast I drive thru and get two assorted mcmuffins without the buns, and a coffee with two sugars. If I forget to order without the buns, I will remove the buns and discard.
Lunch is often a can of lentil soup or Stagg beef chili from the can. If work provides catered lunches for meetings, I eat a couple ham /chicken sandwiches minus bread, and add pickles, olives, and a couple pieces of cauliflower from the veg plate (if included) to round out the meal. If I can’t make lunch, I drive thru quick and get a burger minus the bun and a diet coke. My favourite? Double Big Mac minus the bun. Or Baconator minus the bun. They’ll give you a fork and knife if they’re on top of their game.
Suppers are often whatever my family is eating minus the starches. Stir fry minus noodles or rice, Lasagna separated and wheat removed, whatever.
I drink two coffees with 2 sugars each, every day, I kept that in because it’s available everywhere, and gives me something to give up if I plateau.
My Non Negotiables:
– No starches, except on cheat days;
– No Fruit
– No sweets, except for my 2 coffees;
– No counting calories
– As much vegetables, meat and beans as I want
– Eat only when hungry, stop when satisfied
I also have a plan for if I plateau: I will use the damage control tips for cheat day, remove dairy, remove coffee sugar, add cinnamon, add kettle bells and ensure my first meal is within 30 minutes of waking up, in that order.
I found out about this diet from the Epic Mealtime guy from Quebec. I figured if that guy can eat what he eats on cheat day, and lose weight on this diet, there’s hope for me! So far so good.
I do weigh myself and measure my waist and wrist each day except for the day after cheat day (To avoid discouragement). This gives me weight, waist and a body fat calc I can use to chart progress. This helps because some days I don’t lose weight but lose body fat, and vice versa. I recommend this approach.
If you are struggling to lose weight on this diet, I would consult a dietician for help, who is OK with a paleo/slow carb type diet. Also others have suggested re-reading the book; I got the Kindle book and use that, it works well for me and was cheaper. I basically keep it within the 5 Rules chapter and just reread the sections to remind myself what to do and why I’m doing it.
Summary: (TL;DR for Redditors) 43 year old male grateful for Tim’s book and research, the 5 rules alone are helping me lose on average 3-4 lb / week.
Thank you Tim, your book changed my life!
one observation. When you write about cottage cheese and yoghurts, I assume you are writing about the ones sold in stores. They do contain lactose, which, basically, is milk sugar. Most of those yoghurts, cottage cheese, sour cream and other dairy is made with dry milk and other ingredients for taste, thickness and lasting.
Home-made yoghurts, butter milk or dry cottage cheese are essentially safe as they contain next to no lactose. Even my lactose-intolerant grandma can eat those yoghurts and cottage cheese I make. Downside – they go bad after 3-5 days.
Dry cottage cheese may often be found in European food stores. Making it is pretty easy too.
Eating no dairy was the hardest part as I’m used to unflavoured yoghurts, buttermilk, cottage cheese, etc (I’ve been eating lots of these products since I was a kid)
While on SCD I experimented – I started eating dry home-made cottage cheese for 4 weeks (150-200grams a day). The weight loss slowed down very slightly by the end of the 2nd week. But when I stopped eating it again, the slowdown continued. I figured it slowed due to the fact that when I started eating cottage cheese it was my 5th week of very vigorous exercising with weights (I started gaining some lean mass) and by that time I only had to loose around 15lbs of fat (from original 45lbs). The body fat % kept decreasing steadily despite cottage cheese and I kept getting slimmer. Thus I’m positive the slowdown had nothing to do with cottage cheese.
I’m still on slow-carb diet but I made some personal modification. Since I workout a lot, I allow myself 1 piece of fruit a day (or a handful of berries) and 2-3 times a week I eat some whole oatmeal, or brown rice, or buckwheat. My weight no longer decreases but I don’t need it anymore (I’m 5’4″, 107lbs, 18%bf), my silhouette stays slim and is getting ripped because of exercising.
hi tim
whats your view on whey protein supplements and soya flour i use both of these to get my protein fix and decarb certain recipes
thanks phil
Hi! Can someone please clarify- is it onto eat all vegetable on this diet like peppers and tomatoes and cucumbers? Or only the small list of sauerkraut, broccoli, mixed Vegis, etc?
Thanks so much for your help!
CW
Hey Chana,
Yeah all vegetables are good including the ones you listed.
I started the diet for about a week and was losing belly fat rapidly but my libido disappeared. I tried re-introducing dairy and libido came back but belly fat loss slowed/stopped. Is the temporary loss of libido normal and will it come back? I have always noticed a correlation between libido and dairy for whatever reason.
EeeeK!
Coconut water is a sugar drink. Coconut mild derives its calories from healthy MCT fats.
They are not interchangeable!
“Author: Ernie
Comment:
Tim has said coconut milk is allowed as long as there aren’t any other ingredients in it, you can google it. Coconut water has about 50g of sugar per liter, so maybe what you saw wasn’t coconut water.”
Hi Tim,
Can the PAGG regiment be used without the slow carb diet? Also if you eat about 4 times a day, when should you take the supplements (because PAGG is before meals but only specifies 3 meals + before bed)?
Please let me know!
Regarding 4HB corrections and typos, in case it hasn’t been caught previously:
PG. 325, Gray’s Anatomy: From the NFL to Special Ops, 6th paragraph. Should be Indianapolis Colts, not “Indiana Colts.”
Thanks, ND! I’ll send this to the publisher ASAP.
What is the recommended frequency of the stretches recommended for undercarriage preparation for running?
If you are doing 4 meals a day, do you take AGG 4x along with the nighttime PAG?
Or just 3x a day?
Hello!
I would like to know if I can eat edamame beans on the SCD? Also, where can I find photos of successful results ?
This may have been discussed on here earlier. Can you have Almond Milk on the 4HB diet?
Thanks for the information Tim – the most useful comments above… the point of the 4HB so to make you an capable self experimenter, and if you’re unsure if you should eat it… don’t.
I really enjoyed your books and after looking through your site thought I might offer some further ideas you might want to explore.
How women can stop their menstrual cycle safely and naturally. Female Deer exercise in Stephen T. Chang;s book The Tao of Sexology. Taoist say one of the ways men lose alot of vital energy is thru ejaculation(lots of our life lorce is stored in our sperm) and women thru menstruation|( blood loss and regenerating blood). I told my girlfriend about this and she said she remmebers being told by the catholic church that this book in particular was to be avoided as the work of the devil. She never read it. After she read it was amazed about how much she learnt about human sexuality nad how really the book was about understanding and control of your body. She tried the simple exercise and was able to stp her period. When she stopped the exercises her period returned.
You seem very focussed on performance and enhancement via drugs etc. You should explore Chi Kung and how cultivating and becoming aware of your energy can allow you to heal yourself , make you invincible, etc. Go see a demo by a chi kung master. I went to one recently in Toronto where the guy turned the hands of a clock backward, had bpeople kick him in the groin, handed tin foil to people and let the tinfoil heat up in their hands, etc. He also gave a quick energy assessment of people’s health.
You are doing great work!
Cali, Yes edamame is a glorious snack eat them liberally https://www.facebook.com/4HBParticipants/photos
Thanks, Tim! Just wrapping up week one of 4HB and appreciate the above clarifications:)
A
Is there anyone on this forum who’s used SCD’s ingredients, to make chili?
Here are the ingredients I typically use:
Ground Beef/Chicken/Turkey
Dark Red Kidney Beans
Pinto Beans
Tomato Sauce*
Garlic
Cumin
Red Pepper
Chili Powder
Salt
I drain at least half of the fat from the meat once browned, so my version doesn’t have a bunch of ingredients, swimming in a pool of fat. I figured chili would kill the meat/bean parts of SCD in one dish, and then I’d just add green beans/other SCD veggie, to round it out.
The only ingredient that worries me is the tomato sauce. I guess that pretty much violates the veggie aspect, of the diet.
Chili, anyone?
Hey there, peoples! Can anyone give me some advice on the PAGG regimen? I’m 2 weeks into taking it religiously, and have seen a 0.0% change in body fat. Is there a general time frame to expect to see results, based on experience that someone can tell me?
Thanks all!
Sorry for the dumb question.
I know (whole) bread is not allowed during the slow carb diet, but is it not allowed on the geek to freak protocol as well ?
Hello, I started the slow carb diet about two and a half weeks ago, and I’ve found that I have some trouble taking consistent measurements for Total Inches. For example, if the tape measure is slightly askew, it could add an extra inch to a single measurement. Or if the tape measure is slightly above or below where I last measured, I could add or subtract an inch. Does anyone have any tips for taking consistent measurements? Thank you!
Hi, I am Elizabeth. I was suffering fatty weight. Now-a-day I’m using 4HB. It’s very helpful & working. I lost my weight 5 lbs.
Something was mentioned in one if the first comments about if it tastes sweet it will raise insulin levels. This is something I’ve kinda wondered about for years but never really got a solid answer on.
Besides the obviously sweey foods that contain sugery calories….and it also is looking like similar problems with zero cal artificial scrap like aspartame and splenda etc…
What about Stevia or xylitol ir erythitol….supposed to have no or at least very little insulin response so no inhibition of fat loss or energy fluctuation etc
But..does just the sweet taste in and of itself trick the brain and body into release a csrtain amount of insulin and therefor stall fatloss?
I just ordered the glucose tester tim recommends from Amazon and am going to start actually testing this on myself…girlfriend…and her kids to see what the numbers say
Hey Tim. Thanks for all this wonderful info and the book. I’m fascinated with Sat Cheat Day but wondering.. if we’re running the food quickly through the body and doing those tricks and supplements so the bad stuff doesn’t ‘stick’, does the day still count as a highly caloric day so metabolism isn’t decreased?
Thanks!
Hi Tim, and group! Not sure if this Blog is still up and running because I am only seeing posts for 2011. I did Slow Carb in 2011 for my wedding and loved it. Since then, I have had 2 babies and my body is not what it once was. I decided to get back on track with this awesome, sustainable diet. Have already lost almost 20 lbs in 3 months.
My plan was to eat the following: Breakfast- 1 egg, 2 egg whites, big spoonful of cottage cheese, Lunch- leftovers from dinner, Dinner- chicken stir fry, chili, lentil soup, or tuna salad.
It was all going well, until I started getting horrible stomachaches from 8-11am every day. Turns out I am either allergic or intolerant to eggs. I have started eating 2 cups of plain, non fat greek yogurt (about 40 grams of protein) for breakfast instead. There is zero chance I would be able to eat chicken or spinach or salsa or beans for breakfast, so my options are limited. The greek yogurt keeps me full until at least noon.
Do you think that its OK? or am I screwing up the whole diet? Help!!!
I managed to grab a copy of your work 4-Hour Body and tried it for the first week. It works, but I would just like some clarifications.
May I ask if when you used the word “fruit”, did you mean everything with seeds (like eggplant, bell pepper), or the culinary context?
Also, when you meant sugar, does MSG (Monosodium glutamate) count as one?
Lastly, I have read your discussed excercises like kettleball swing x75, myotatic crunch x10 and cat vomit x10, but how often should I do these a week?
Thank you very much!
Fella,
Has someone put a gun to your head and forced you to do this diet?
The man is busy and doesnt have time to answer the sheer volume of questions.
If your not happy, take some responsibility for your choices and move on….
I am allergic to legumes. Is there any easy modification/substitution that will allow SC to work for me?
Page 75 ( thyroid function and conversion of T4 to T3) any data and effect on those with Graves Disease?