The Four Hour Body Slow Carb Diet (Vegetarian), Introduction, Day 1 and My Notes
Posted on by Forest in Diet, Exercise, Grocery Shopping, Health, Recipes & Food
If anyone else is like me then the impact of Christmas on the belly was pretty bad for you, the problem is I had guests straight after so I continued the trend and probably gained a good 6lbs or so from this whole thing. It was fun while it lasted but it’s time to say adios and get myself back on track.
Introducing the 4 Hour Body’s slow carb diet
I am 100% sure you have heard of the latest book from Tim Ferris. Tim is a bit mental as far as I can tell and even though I find him arrogant at times I was utterly compelled to pick up his new book the Four Hour Body. I actually picked up the Audible (abridged) edition and the Kindle edition as soon as they were released.
I’ve been needing structure to my mostly healthy vegetarian diet (well not structured or healthy for the last month) for a while now and would really love to get rid of that belly that has been haunting me despite being in decent shape. So the idea to try the slow carb diet came along at just the right time. It’s not a whole lot different to my normal diet but just cuts a few things out so I don’t think it’s going to be too tough but it wouldn’t be the first time I have been wrong!
What is the slow carb diet?
The Four Hour Body, a kind of follow up to the 4 Hour Work Week, is Tim’s compilation of 10 years of testing his body to achieve results in the littlest time possible. It covers diet, exercise, sleep, sex and more. I am focusing on the diet aspect like most people who purchased the book likely are.
The slow carb diet introduced to me by Tim is not new as far as I can tell (although he has modified it and tested it a lot) and basically revolves around cutting all processed carbs from your diet. It’s not like Atkins as you still eat a fair few carbs mainly from vegetables and beans and from my readings it seems pretty reasonable. There are a whole bunch of science facts in the book but from my reckoning it just seems you may well lose weight because of cutting out high calorie carbs and sugars and turn to eat less caloric dense foods that need more processing by the body.
The rules are simple and to summarise you simple need to:
- Not eat anything that is white or can be white, bread, rice etc
- No dairy except cottage cheese
- No fruit (don’t like this one at all!)
- At least 40g protein per meal
- Have a cheat day in every week
The cheat day is a helpful thing as it allows you to binge however you want once per week. Again science pops up and he says the cheat day actually accelerates weight loss, I am dubious of this but he may be right. My simple explanation is that if you eat just right for 6 days then 1 day shouldn’t throw you off track but I am no expert.
Do I think the slow carb diet will work?
To be honest I have no idea. This is the first time I have ever prescribed to anything considered a fad diet (although Tim tells us it’s not, ha ha) and cutting fruit out of my diet worries me. Cutting bread makes sense but not so sure about brown rice and whole wheat. I guess I can eat this stuff on cheat day though.
Being vegetarian makes the diet a little harder as it’s harder and often more calorific to get high levels of protein into a diet but recently finding out that egg whites is an almost pure source of complete protein I feel like I have a new weapon in this fight. I plan to eat egg white as a supplement to most meals to keep my protein intake up.
Getting ready for day 1
So I have been knowing I would do this diet for quite a while and delayed any dieting for the week before waiting for the perfect day to start. Friday is good for me as my cheat days will fall on a Thursday which is the most likely day I will go out drinking.
I have kind of been fattening myself up eating take out and not exercising a whole lot. You will see in the measurements (I would put my photos up if I was confident enough but you will have to wait until I am happy with them!) below that I am in less than perfect shape right this minute but I have high hopes that things will be all fine in the end.
My first round of shopping didn’t cost me too much (around $15) and included a host of beans, spinach, eggs and vegetables. I have already had to ditch the veggies I purchased sadly as I realised they include potatoes so using fresh for the minute!
My first shop for the slow carb diet
My Starting Measurements (actually taken on the morning of day 2)
- Weight : 93kg (205lbs)
- Waist: 40.5″
- Neck: 16″
- Chest: 43″
- Hips: 43.5″
- Right arm: 12 3/4″
- Left arm: 12 1/8″
- Right leg: 23 3/4″
- Left leg: 22 3/4″
Following my progress
I’m going to try and write about the diet at least once a week here on the blog so please do stop by (likely thursdays or fridays, sign up to the mailing list link in the right of the header) but most importantly I am posting every meal on Flickr. You can find my Flickr album here: Forest’s Vegetarian Slow Card Diet on Flickr
I’ll also be sending tweets here and there from @FrugalZeitgeist and would love your interaction and feedback.
Closing thoughts
So this post is closing in on 1000 words now so I better bring it to a close! I am currently on Day 3 of the Slow Carb diet and have actually dropped 4lbs already which I know is all water weight but it still feels good. Energy levels are high and so far the eating has been no big problem, of course I am looking forward to cheat day though and was just eyeing up some croissants here in the cafe!
I do plan to bring my normal exercise back in so may find myself having to increase portions in a few days when I do that. I don’t want to go hungry and start hating the diet.
Overall I am enjoying the start and am excited to be testing and following something. I have no idea if it will work overall but I am willing to try.
Wish me luck and let me know if you are doing or plan on joining me on this lifestyle choice.
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25 Responses to “The Four Hour Body Slow Carb Diet (Vegetarian), Introduction, Day 1 and My Notes”
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krantcents
23. Jan, 2011
First and foremost, you have to like what you are doing or you won’t stick with it! This is true for everything not just diets. To simplify diets to its lowest level, it is calories in and calories out. It is up to you what you eat, but eat less and burn up more. Good luck. I went through this approximately 32 years ago and lost 35 pounds. It was about this time of the year after gaining an extra 20 lbs.duringr the holidays.
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Forest
24. Jan, 2011
Hi KrantCents, of course but I also like testing theories. This diet is debunking the in and out theory as too simple…… It seems to be proving that way and luckily I am enjoying it too!
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JoeTaxpayer
23. Jan, 2011
Didn’t notice alcohol mentioned. Is beer off the list?I did Atkins (no carbs) for over a year. I felt great, lost weight, but got tired of listening to everyone tell me it was unhealthy. And my wife said it would be rude to say “I am slim, you are fat, you’re telling me about healthy?” Following you to see how you do with this, it seems a modifies Atkins. A year with no beer. I missed it, but honestly, I missed pizza more than beer.
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Forest
24. Jan, 2011
Hey Joe,
I can drink 2 glasses of red wine a night and anything I want 1 day a week….. Bring on Thursday
.
I don’t think Atkins is healthy if you follow the eat junk route but of course the healthy version can be great for you. I do think you need some carbs though to operate correctly but who am I to argue with someone who did so good of it!
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Michelle Adams
24. Jan, 2011
Hey Forest, well done so far! I see your latest tweet that you’ve lost over 6lbs, awesome start! Keep up the great work!
I’m being strict to lose a few pounds too right now and have cut most carbs that don’t come from vegetables. So far so good, and the veg protein has been reasonably easy thanks to lots of tofu and gluten based meat alternatives.
Looking forward to seeing some ‘after’ photos of you.
Michelle Adams recently posted..Make Money Online Interview- Forest of FrugalZeitgeistcom
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Forest
24. Jan, 2011
Thanks Michelle, it’s been going well and I hope it’s ongoing….. I hope i find the confidence to post those photos.
I’m not eating gluten right now but tofu is all good.
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retirebyforty
25. Jan, 2011
This diet looks like it’s hard to stick with.
I like the sound of your mostly healthy vegetarian diet better. I guess if you’re just testing it to get the weight down a bit then it’s probably ok for the short term.
Luckily, I escaped the holidays pretty much unscathed.
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Forest
05. Feb, 2011
Hey 40, actually found it easy but was hard during recent Egypt crisis. Will be restarting it very soon when i leave nyc.
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Alex
24. Jan, 2011
Hi forest, I just started the diet and I was wondering if you suggested any foods that go a long with the diet. What do you eat for breakfast and dinner?
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Forest
05. Feb, 2011
Hi Alex,
I would suggest eggs and beans for breakfast, mashed beans and veggies for lunch and then varied bean related dinners. Good luck.
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20 and Engaged
25. Jan, 2011
Good luck with the diet! It’s definitely going to be a lot more difficult for me to follow so I’m looking for other alternatives.
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Forest
05. Feb, 2011
Hey 20and, once you start it it is pretty easy to follow.
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Richard Stooker
27. Jan, 2011
Good luck. I read The Four Hour Body and The Primal Blueprint right about the same time, and decided to go primal.There is a lot of overlap. As you realize, a lot of the value of the Slow Carb diet is that you are eating “slow” (low glycemic index) carbohydrates. This keeps your insulin under control, allowing your body to burn fat instead of storing it. A lot of diets make use of this concept, starting with the Zone, South Beach, Hormone, Paleo, Paleo Zone and now Primal.I too don’t want to give up fruit. Ferriss’ reason for excluding it seemed to be based on his experiences with drinking a glass of orange juice slowing down his weight loss. Well, don’t drink juice. It does have a high glycemic index. You shouldn’t gorge yourself on fruit, but if you don’t eat any, you miss out on the polyphenols they contain.I know that the cheat day is based on the hormone of leptin. This hormone slows down your weight loss and your body makes more leptin when it experiences a substantial reduction in calories eaten.So the theory is that by cheating one day a week, you keep your leptin levels low enough so that you continue losing weight the other six days.Personally, I believe it’s smarter and healthier in the long run to “cheat” by just eating a lot more HEALTHY calories on your cheat day — even including lots of fruit.I don’t know your age, but I believe a lot of the 4HB comes from the viewpoint of a young man who’s not (yet) worrying about long term effects. He only mentions resveratrol and TA-65, but shrugs them off without a real explanation.By focusing on all the “bad” food you can eat on your cheat day, you’re reinforcing the view that healthy eating is not for your life, but a temporary way to lose weight.In the long run your health will be better served by simply no longer eating sugar, starch, grains, bad fats etc.I notice you didn’t mention taking cold showers to lose weight. Can’t say as I blame you.
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Forest
05. Feb, 2011
Hey Richard, thanks for the great comment. I had to stop the diet because I was in Egypt and couldn’t really choose my meals easily for a few days. Will be restarting slow carb in a few weeks and then will amend to fit me maybe taking a look at paleo and some others.
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Barb Friedberg
31. Jan, 2011
Good luck Forest. I am a fruit addict, it would never work for me! And of course my morning oatmeal probably wouldn’t work either. I am of the school that if one gets off their butt more and eats a bit less, the weight usually comes off! Hey Forest, I hope you are well with the political unrest. Be safe! Best regards, Barb
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Forest
05. Feb, 2011
Thanks Barb, yeah your method works for sure just was intrigued by this diet.
Political unrest is worrying and I am in USA now but hoping to return soon.
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Ryan
02. Feb, 2011
Forest! I love this book thus far. Can’t say I would exactly stick to it as religiously as I should. But I’m working towards getting there. The exercises work wonderfully! Especially the ab routines! Good luck. Looking forward to the results.
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Forest
05. Feb, 2011
Hey Ryan, I have not tried the exercises yet, will be restarting the diet soon but had some trouble as was in the turmoil in Egypt.
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Moneycone
06. Feb, 2011
Very interesting Forest! I’m very curious to see how this goes! Good luck and keep us posted!
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Forest
10. Feb, 2011
Thanks Moneycone, due to the issues in Egypt I had to stop but am going to be restarting soon… The first week went awesome.
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Megoola
13. Feb, 2011
I’m doing this, too. My doctor recommended it to me.
Tim says no soy, but it is hard for me to get enough protein without it.
I added greek-style yogurt, too. If it is is the real thing and doesn’t have thickeners, then the nutritional profile is similar to cottage cheese.
I had 53 pounds to lose and now, 4 weeks later, I only have 40 to go.
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Forest
16. Feb, 2011
Hey Megoola, Tim says to test things and it seems to be working for you.
I had to give up due to Egypt issues but am in USA right now staying with people (can’t control my diet here) but can’t wat to get back on the diet as I lost 7 pounds in first 2 weeks.
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Doreen
12. May, 2011
Good Luck and have fun.
I’ve been doing watching my diet by making sure I have the right amounts of carbs, meat and vegetables according to my dietician. I have been exercising 30 + a day. So far, I lost 3 pounds in 3 weeks. Yahoo.
I am diabetic, so have to watch what I put in and must exercise.
I find this very interesting. We all need slow carbs in our diet.
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Forest
15. May, 2011
Thanks Doreen, 3.5 weeks in and 16lbs down, it’s going very well indeed.
Good luck to you, the exercise is very important for the health aspect at very least. It just gets your body working right.
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Mallik
30. Sep, 2012
Hi Forest, don’t you think that there should be some red meat in the diet? I agree that natural foods are very effective to loose weight but having some limited amount of red meat is necessary too. It can produce a huge energy in body. Just wanted to know what do you think about it.
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