Losing Fat Efficiently - Dieting

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Over the past two months I have followed the guidelines of the slow carb diet as decribed in: The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman By Tim Ferriss. In that time I've lost 31 lbs and 4 inches around my torso. I did this without stepping foot into a gym, and my average time spent working out was about four minutes and thirty seconds per day. In this blog I'm going to break down the basics of the diet I followed. I will write more blogs detailing the other aspects of the system. I don't want to overload people with information, so I'm breaking it up into multiple blogs. For more advanced instruction, I seriously recommend buying the book.

First let me start off with a warning, this system does not work because it is easy, it works because it is efficient. Sure you can save time, and effort; but it requires dedication, mental fortitude, and a healthy dose of will power. The weight-loss methods I'm going to describe are based on the idea of getting the biggest returns for the least amount of effort. I'm not going to try to explain why this stuff works, if you want that information, (Which you should), you're going to have to get the book. I'm just going to give you the how, not the why. This is not for everyone, but if you can stick to the guidelines put forth, you and those around you will be blown away by the results. So lets jump right into it, starting with the "dieting".

The main aspect of the system revolves around eliminating sugars and controlling your body's insulin response. How do we do this? Completely remove sugar from your diet, but only for six days at a time, more on that later. When I say completely remove sugar, I mean COMPLETELY. For 6 days at a time we have to cut out anything and everything that our body breaks down into sugars, this means no breads, no pasta, no grains, no fruit, no flour, all fast burning carbohydrates have to go, even dairy also has to go, it creates to much of an insulin response.

Another important restriction is not allowing ourselves to drink any calories. We need to limit drinks to water, tea, or coffee. Obviously the coffee and tea can't have any sweeteners, even things like stevia should be avoided, because the sweetness alone prompts your body to create an insulin response. Something I enjoy putting in my coffee, as well as countless other things, is Extra Virgin Organic Coconut Oil. Coconut oil is one of the best sources of MCT's (Multi-Chain Triglycerides). MCT's are the easiest form of fat for your body to utilize, increasing your body's ability to turn into a fat burning machine.

So what are we supposed to eat instead? Glad you asked. We are going to only eat proteins, fats, leafy green vegetables, and slow burning carbohydrates, like beans. This is easiest to pull off if you stick to cooking the same basic meals every day. A basic day for me looks something like this:

  • Breakfast: 1 whole egg and 3 egg whites, cooked in butter. A generous serving of Kale sauteed in butter. A serving of another protein, preferably something fatty, like bacon.
  • Lunch: More kale sauteed in butter. A full can of beans, usually black or pinto, reduced down with chicken or beef stock as well as butter and seasonings. Any protein.
  • Dinner: Same as lunch.

Here's the cool thing about this diet, you don't have to worry about portions whatsoever. As long as you're sticking to the guidelines, you can eat however much you want. In fact, you should eat more than you think you need too. On this diet there are no snacks, if you feel like you need a snack, it's because you didn't eat a big enough meal. If you're properly feeding yourself at mealtimes, you wont have the urge for snacks.

Now remember how I said you have to cut out sugars for just six days of the week? Well here's the fun part: on the seventh day, we throw all the rules out the window. Seriously, go nuts, eat anything and everything you want. Personally I like to go get donuts and ice cream for breakfast, then I continue along that theme for the rest of the day. Why do this? It seems pretty counter productive, but there are two major reasons for this:

  1. It helps you not give up on the diet. Instead of thinking, "I have to give up ice cream forever." Your thoughts become, "I only have to give up ice cream for 4 days, 3 days, 2 days, etc." This mentality makes the diet much easier to stick with.
  2. It makes you burn more fat throughout the week. When we binge after being so restrictive, our bodies compensate. It does this by amping up metabolism to deal with all the extra calories. This change not only lasts for your cheat day, but several days afterwards, dramatically increasing your fat loss potential.

So in conclusion, the diet can be summed up in a few simple rules that only have to be followed six days at a time:

  1. Don't consume sugars of any sort
  2. Don't drink calories
  3. Eat only proteins, fats, leafy green vegatables, and slow burning carbs, like beans.
  4. Don't skip meals, and eat large portions at mealtimes.
  5. Take one day off and go nuts.