July 1 was when I started on the Four Hour Body or Slow Carb Diet. My doctor had strongly suggested I get my act together and lose some weight and lower both my cholesterol and triglyceride levels. So after reading through Tim Ferriss’ book, I decided to take the plunge. Many of my friends looked at me with a bit of skepticism, but were supportive nonetheless. Months later, after seeing my progress, a number of them even joined me and took up the diet as well (some more diligently than others).
So what have I learned in 4 months of sticking to the diet at least 85% of the time? Quite a bit actually. The plan outlined in the 4HB appealed to the scientist in me, as it outlined WHY your body did certain things and reacted in certain ways to what we’re consuming. I wrote a bit about the diet before, so I won’t rehash it all, merely use this as a progress report of sorts.
Several things I noticed during the last few months:
- Consuming 40Gm of protein in the morning is easier with protein shake included in meal (low-carb option I liked Progenex Max Muscle or Recovery – Belgian chocolate)
- Pre-assembling meals for rapid cooking is essential for maintaining (I’ll outline this in a future post) dietary restrictions
- Lean turkey/deli meat make excellent in-between meal snacks
- Body is much more efficient at processing large quantities of protein than it is at handling moderate amounts of carbohydrates, especially sugars.
- Snap-back ability increases the longer you are on this diet, I can binge a few days, gain 5lbs, and then drop it in 2 days after I go back on the diet.
After 4 months, here are my before and after stats, as these are the best way to measure progress:
- Overall Weight: 191lbs -> 170lbs (-21lbs -11%)
- Pants: 33Waist ->31 waist (-2 inches)
- Chest: 42”->40”
- Neck: 17.5 -> 16.75
- Biceps: 13” -> 14”
- Forearms: 11” -> 11.5”
- Waist at bellybutton: 36”->32”
- Fat loss substantial
- Triglyceride levels: 400 -> 140
- Cholesterol: 260-> 220
From an exercise standpoint I was doing the following:
3-4x/week Cross training at EliteU Fitness (45min avg workout high intensity workouts)
1-2x/week Soccer 11v11 90minutes
1-2x/week 2-3mile run (recently higher rate of running, less soccer)
Supplements I’ve tried and my experience with them:
Fish Oil: This I think does more for weight loss than the other supplements I’ve tried.
Green Tea Extract: More consistent energy throughout day, no noticeable effect on weight loss
Progenex Recovery Protein Powder: Definite recommend when consumed immediately after workout, pricey, but bag lasts long time (~2 months for me)
Next will be trying the PAGG stack.
Performance records
1Mile run: 9:30 (august) -> 8:25 (crossfit test – Nov)
5k run: 32:20 (may) -> 29:15 (Nov)
10k run: 1:13 (may) -> 1:02 (Nov)
Deadlift: 250lbs -> 325lbs
20 tire flips: 2:40 -> 1:35
So that’s it for now. If you have questions, let me know.