(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)”
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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.??
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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”
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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.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
“changes in bold”? I don’t see any bold text…
I indicated in the post that the bolding was removed. Simply look at the parts after “Replace with” and follow those.
Tim,
Thanks for the update, I am a 43 year old women that had 2 children. I started the 4HB 1/1/11, and have only lost about 2 lbs per week. It is frustrating because I expected more. But I love the kettle bell work out, and I can physically tell I am loosing inches. I will keep the experiment up and see after 12 weeks.
Hi I am a 46 year old female with 3 kids and want to tell you that I love this diet. Started it last week Thursday and have lost 4 lbs. I have been working out for years and ran a marathon 2 years ago in 4 hours and 10 minutes. I consider myself above average fit. My body fat as per 1 month ago was 17 % but wanted more visible results. I love this diet! Will keep posting as I continue on my journey to hopefully below 15 % body fat. One question.. Is there a shake that I can subsitute for breakfast? Sometimes all that food is just hard to eat. Thank you!!
I have only been on the 4HB for 5 days and lost 4lbs already, but I am having trouble finishing a meal let alone eating 4 meals a day. I am a 42 yr, 4’2″ single mother who is stuffed and would like to know if I can get away with only eating 3 meals a day and less food at each one? Also, I know you dont have to exercise, but will it affect my results if I do?
A real quick question: is drinking coconut water allowed on the slow carb diet? I’m not eating the meat of the coconut, just drinking the water.
HI Tim! Thank you for 4HB and am dipping into 4HWW now and lovin it. Any way do you or anyone else know if there is fructose in maple syrup? I couldn’t find much online. Can I use it as a sweetener for slow carb diet?
Also is my new zealand whey protien shake a no no? Its unsweetened but was wondering since its from milk if its off limits for SC diet. You rock! Oh and ditto on the coconut water question.
Jason,
I think it was said elsewhere in the replies. If it tastes sweet, it will mess with insulin and in turn interfere with weight loss.
what about unsweetened almond milk…in protein shake vs h2o?
Hi Tim, love your work! just watched your preso @google…. the girl in your powerpoint freaked me out RE: body musculature. it was a bit ick! what kettle-ball w/o changes would you recommend for a female preferring to train to a VS model body shape rather than a female Incredible Hulk (however commendable her training/look may be to other audiences). Thx VLx
VLx,
You may have noticed I’m not Tim.
Even so I’ll say something. Women (natural, non hormone users) who look relatively large and muscular generally have two things in common:
-They only look scary when they are working out, when they aren’t all vasculated and pumped they generally look super fine. Some VS models have followed a fairly aggressive training regimen before, do some research on it, it’s fascinating!
-They work out a lot. Professional athletes will look like professional athletes, bodybuilders like bodybuilders, and an average person who takes care of themselves will look like such.
I wouldn’t be too scared of some kettlebell swings making you scary looking unless you’re on another two workout programs and eating over ~.8g of protein per 1lb of body mass a day. Even then, you’ll probably realize that you look better that way!
Tim – Should I split the 650 MG caplet of Allicin into 1/3 portions (essentially 217 MG per each 1/3 to more closely equal the 200 MG you state as the portion part of each PAGG throughout the day…or do you do 650 MG x 4…Confused. Please help!! Thank you kindly.
Jeff
Tom,
Maybe your virtual assistant can answer this one for me… What is your take on consuming ephedra on a more rare basis – ex. long plane flights or during trips when you have less time available to work out?
Tim- great book- I love to multi-task so trying to combine the Shangri-la diet with the 19 hour daily fast in the longevity chapter- my question is if I take the flax seed oil at night- am I breaking the fast? I eat between 8am-1pm only.
Thanks in advance.
Hi Jane, Thank you. I also loved this book. This book is multi tasking. Specially thanks to Tim.
[Moderator: link removed.]
Tim,
I had a complete thyroidectomy in 2007 which caused me to gain a lot of weight quickly 90 lbs to be exact!
I am about to start this program after seeing great results of people around me that are using this book.
Do you have any advice for someone who has no thyroid ( I take the hormones of course), insulin resistance ( YUCK!), and something called PCOS which is common in women who are childbearing age that are overweight. I am a female that is 24 and stand 6’0 tall weighing in at 250.
Where can I read the answer4 to the lady who had the thyroidectomy? I recently had mine totally removed (age 67). Am fighting weight gain tooth and nail–and loosing! Maybe gained 30 pounds in 3 months. Getting desperate!
Brit, did you ever find/get an answer? I am in the same boat as you but 20 years older. Looking for answers.
Thanks for the extras, Tim! At a time when a lot of the marketing gurus are preaching maximized prices, you’re truly giving value. (Next book: “The 4-Hour Marketer”?)
I’m currently experimenting with a few chapters (mostly diet-and-exercise-related), and combining some of your findings with some of mine and others. There’s so much more I want to try when I’m done with that.
Oh, and people, don’t try eating that tsp of cinnamon all at once! (To get the joke, look up “cinnamon challenge” on YouTube.)
Tim,
Looks like the problem with dairy, the high insulin response, is not caused by lactose, but whey:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15531672
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17413098
Regards,
SPS
Hmmm… back to the lab I go. I’d need to look at the combo of insulinemic and glycemic responses. If possible, I’d also look at glucagon. I’ve noticed lactose as a good correlate to increased fat gain (or decreased fat loss), but I can consume unflavored whey isolate with impunity if I avoid consuming carbs (CHO) simultaneously.
In all cases, avoid all dairy if you can. I simply use cinnamon in my coffee and skip the cream. It’s takes 2-3 days to learn to like it.
Thanks for the references, SPS — I wish more people did that.
Best,
Tim
Mark Sisson had a great post on dairy and insulin recently:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/dairy-insulin/
Tim,
Coffee without milk is fine, but I wanted to see if yoghurt (organic plain with nuts, seeds & cinnamon) would be fine as the fermentation breaks down (some) lactose. But alas, fermented milk has the same insulin response:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11451723
Casein is only slightly better than whey, so cheese is out too:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15531672
Curiously, adding fibre seems to reduce the negative effect:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19796383
Based on your results with whey, it could be that in the absence of carbs & fat (e.g., whey isolate), an insulin peak doesn’t result in fat gain and might slow down proteolysis. The correlation that you found with lactose and weight gain might thus also be observed with any carb & whey, assuming you consumed lactose with whey. But I’m not a biologist, so I should read up more before making any claims. I might do experiments with this, but only after getting to my target bf%.
Thanks!
Regards,
SPS
It is not lactose that stimulates the release of insulin into the the blood; it is, as SPS, said the whey or the protein, but this is not a bad thing!
All high-protein foods, including fish, beef, eggs, beans, etc. (and high fat pastries) stimulate the release of insulin into the blood, though they contain relatively few carbohydrates and a proportionally lower glycemic index (Wikipedia insulin index). Also:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC292828/pdf/jcinvest00267-0143.pdf
One, however, seems to be good and the other not so good for a person.
Insulin is necessary for the uptake of both glucose from ingested carbs and amino acids from ingested proteins (and for many, many various other cellular functions).
But, it seems, a high-protein meal which is also low in carbs also stimulates the release on insulin’s other half, glucagon. Insulin and glucagon, being opposites, basically neutralize each other; one puts a glucose in a cell, the other takes a glucose out.
This is the best source i could find: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1448457
A summary, the last sentence of the abstract: “In conclusion, the present data demonstrate that the postprandial rise of amino acid levels in arterialized venous plasma can account for most if not all of the postprandial increase of insulin and glucagon during the ingestion of a protein-rich meal. In contrast, only 35% of postprandial PP [pancreatic polypeptide] levels can be ascribed to the rise of plasma amino acids. In contrast to the effect of carbohydrate-rich meals, an enteric augmentation of insulin release seems to be of minor and possibly of no importance during ingestion of protein-rich meals.”
I hope this makes sense. I’m think this is right, but it’s possible it’s not.
Thanks, Sally! Great comment and excellent linking to sources. Hope to see you comment again!
Great book, thanks! I think a found a 4HB approved way of satisfying my latte cravings. I add two shoots of espresso and a few drops of stevia to my micellean protein shake in the morning. I make it with hot water and not too much protein powder. Micellean is kind of like powdered milk without the lactose and fat (or whey). What do you think? 4HB approved? Do I need to alter anything? Or is it one of those ‘if you have to ask’ 🙂
“Dietary Supplements” all 995 open and recruiting clinical trials can be found here.http://clinicaltrialselect.org/faceted_search.php? (select an intervention = “dietary supplements” should = 995 clinical trials.
OK so I’m a 6’2″ healthy 200lb guy here trying to loose weight on the SCD with PAGG and regular exercise. I’ve been on the diet now for 3 weeks and yet have not shifted a single pound, I’m still 200lbs!
I follow the SCD to the letter, with one slight alteration. Due to my size I thought I would take a protein supplement (30grams x 3 times a day) to ensure I get enough protein. I also was very cautious to choose one that was a 100% Whey Protein Isolate with NO sweeteners what so ever, currently the best fit I’ve found for this is the Allmax Isonatural, it has nothing else in it except 100% WPI.
I’m now wondering though if based on this comment if I should not also cut down or out all together the WPI? Could even this basic WPI still be impacting the fat loss?
I was under the impression that kefir, yogurt, and aged cheeses lack lactose. In fact Weston Price people suggested the kefir and yogurt to me when I was trying everything under the sun for my infant son’s formula. I thought he had lactose/milk protein problems but it was actually just pasteurized milk.
FYI, in the corrections/typos section where there’s notes indicating that changes are in bold, I’m not seeing any bold words.
Hi
Tim
I love the book, especially the chapters on muscle gain and fat loss.
I have tried to find the answer to this question on the blog as i thought it would be a common query…but i’ve had no luck. Most people who I know who are trying to achieve physique transformation want both fat loss and muscle gain at the same time.
The chapters in the book are both great for people ‘aiming’ to achieve one of these fitness ‘goals’ (i.e fat loss/muscle gain) but what if someone wants to achieve both at the same time? As you know both fat burning and muscle gain require different nutrition and training modalities. is it just a case of manipulating your diet to fit in with your training at specific times to support either catabolism or anabolism?..i.e reduce carbs/calories on cardio days to support fat loss and increased carbs/calories on weight days to promote muscle gain?
Also how would you combine the 2 training modalities with rest days/recovery etc? Would the amount of rest days be about the same for the weights even if you were taxing the body more with HIIT?
What do you think an optimal fat loss/muscle gain training & nutrition regime might look like with exercises/rest days etc?
regards
Julian
Thanks for doing this Tim,
It’s great that you are so active with your book and it keeps evolving and that you aren’t just sitting back.
It shows true passion (as much as I hate that word!)
James
Again Tim, thanks for all of this, especially the importance on remembering the PRINCIPLES you preach and not the exact nuts and bolts of what worked for you or your Test Subjects. If you have to ask, DON’T EAT IT is something simple you can remember instead of the list of every recommended food you list in the book. I’d recommend writing down every principle you need to remember and keeping it somewhere you can see it every day. The more you internalize the principles the easier it’ll be to stick to the plan (especially the Slow Carb Diet) because you’ll be doing a lot of this subconsciously.
CHANGE “Heinrich” to “Henrik” on pg. 256, parag 3
should be
CHANGE “Heinrich” to “Henrik” on pg. 265, parag 3
Barbara Walters is a tough sell ehh? Haha pretty funny.
dude… she is a b*tch! lol
Thank god for the greentea explaination! I’ve been halving my capsules and taking it as a powder (which is terrible by the way), but I’m glad to know that the 325 was for the EGCG, not the entire dosage size on the label.
totally agree with you!
A monthly sub for a forum is a bit much. A one time registration fee is sufficient. Numerous internet communities utilize this to be completely effective and deliver quality.
Oh my, Tim, it looks like you were indeed chased by quite an avalanche! 🙂 But what else was to be expected with such a phenomenal book: every action has an equal and opposite reaction after all.
In any case, thank you for all the info. Today I’ve started my second week of polyphasic sleep… self-experimentation is the way to go 🙂
And by the way: it’s great to see all those new videos with you in them.
Greetings!
The book is awesome Tim. I’ve read the first four chapters and started the slow-carb diet which is super easy.
Also wanted to say the video trailer for the book is great, it would be cool to see that turned into a 30 minute or 1 hour show for television. Anyway, thanks for the great info.
Thanks for the updates. Not even two weeks in and I have dumped 8lbs. I thought that the Alpha-Lipoic amounts were too high, having experimented a bit in the past with this supplement in combination with L-Carnitine (a very good combo). But I said to myself, what the heck, results are results. Having read the book several times now (to get the rules ingrained in my brain), I can honestly say everything works. I especially enjoyed reading the parts about fruit and how it really is not anyone’s friend if they are looking to lose weight. Having read statistics on the dietary intake of Pacific Islanders, one can easily see the role fruit consumption has on on obesity.
Regarding all the people who say they don’t see results with the slow-carb diet: The Glucose Switch should be required reading for people trying to lose fat. You don’t say that it is at the beginning of the book, yet in that chapter you state that even low-carb meals (and therefore presumably slow-carb meals) cause fattening glucose spikes if eaten quickly.
If eating too quickly can ruin an otherwise great diet, then the chapter on eating slowly should be mandatory, not optional. I also recommend Ice Age to everyone, as drinking ice water and putting a cold pack on the back of your neck is just about the most effort-effective fat-loss trick ever, and I see no reason for anyone not to do it.
Loving the slow-carb way, but I’m just at the early stages – 10 days in and 5 lbs loss. I’m experimenting on a variation of the ice age – the wet T-shirt. I thought maybe part of the 12,000 calories that Michael Phelps needs is not just because of BAT but the whole water immersion factor – so I’m wearing a wet T shirt around the house and finding that the evaporation is speeding the weight loss and for me is easier to do than to be stationary with ice.
I tried the ice pack on my neck and got my period within 3 days. I’m breast feeding and have only gotten it once since having my baby. The first time was at three months after the birth and the second time was after the ice packs. (I’m still nursing) This could be a total fluke but was wondering if the ice also stimulates certain hormones that would cause this, and would those hormones affect my baby through breast milk..Any ideas?
awesome shoes – what brand?
I assume you mean on The View? “J Shoes” — they are great.
Yup, thanks!
Thank you, Tim.
The “gear” portion of this website is a hidden (well, not anymore) gem!
Great stuff Tim. Thanks for answering the questions so we can direct people (that would’ve otherwise tried to clog up your lines of communication) to them here.
Cheers!
– Josh
Really looking forward to private paid forum. I entered to be one of the 100. I am so into this. This may be a cult. Oh no. AM I in a cult? Kidding of course. Thanks for catering to your readers.
Thanks for the guidance, Tim, I have checked in on the site a few times and have seen some conversations about an upcoming forum site, and was wondering about the status of that? I am finishing my first week of slow carb and am looking forward to cheating tomorrow!
I really enjoy cooking- unlike several of the examples in the book- and I already made the fake mashed potatoes (cauliflower) you referenced in the book. They were really good so I am hoping to get some more ideas like this… maybe a great forum topic!
Its too early to talk results yet (though I have enjoyed increased energy, but that may just be the green tea!) but in any case the book is fascinating. Thanks again!
Check out the forum Tim mentioned. http://www.4hbtalk.com
It has really taken off and there are some good discussions going on there.
~Madeline
I enjoy cooking too. I’m actually inspired to write my own slow carb/ ketogenic diet cookbook.
Thank you for the updates
Thanks Tim,
I did the slow car. Diet about a year ago (from your blog) and it worked
like crazy. This time it’s going well but without the dramatic results.
However I know for sure the difference us in my implementation. The first time I was super strict, while this time I’ve allowed myself (small amounts of) milk and cheese etc.
The devil is definitely in the detail.
Thanks for the follow up info.
The Devil is DEFINITELY in the details. The difference between strict and a little can be the difference between success and failure. True with many things in life. Try getting a little pregnant or cheating a little on a spouse! Some things are absolutes.
Tim
The devil is in the details hmmmmm…
Can you elaborate on why Quinoa is prohibited on this diet. Quinoa was supposed to be my saving grace since I am struggling with eating enough protein. Also, what do you think about Shirataki noodles? So far, I’ve still managed to get results.
its a fruit :).
Hey Tim,
Regarding the strictness of this diet: I am doing well and enjoying new recipes but I am concerned with my milk production or other issues (I am breastfeeding my 5 month old)….have there been any studies with breastfeeding participants?
in response to Mische – my bf is doing this diet. I am not. But I am 33 and I breast fed all 3 of my kids. I weigh 122 to 125lbs and I am 5 foot 7 inches. I just wanted to say that I’m a vegan and if you are breast feeding and on this diet please take extra trouble to make sure you eat the recommended caloric intake for a breast feeding woman- the positive thing for you is that by breast feeding you are burning off more calories just sitting there feeding your baby than you would by not breast feeding at all- so GOOD FOR YOU! That will help! So make sure you consume those calories girl and your milk production should not decline- also make sure you drink a ton of water! I know I struggled on my diet being a vegan and trying to eat all the extra calories for my breast milk so it wouldn’t decline but if you take the trouble to make sure you do it then you shouldn’t have any problems with your milk production and you should still experience weight loss on this diet but how much you loss might be affected either positively or negatively due to your breast feeding. What matters most is that you are taking care of yourself and your baby! Good job! hi5!
Hi, Tim! I am just 3 days into the diet and want to make sure I AM following the diet precisely for maximum results, but I do have one question: In the book you mention using salsa with corn (I’m sorry, I neglected to note the page #). I have always considered corn a starch with high sugar content so assumed it was off limits. Because you mentioned in the book using the salsa containing it, I’m wondering if a little is ok in something such as bean and corn salsa, which is something I love and a great way for me to get my bean count higher. Thanks for your time!
Great work Tim. LOVE the part about writing when you are passionate about it. Right on!
Don’t let the babies get you down. You can lead a horse to water…
I’ve lost over 10 lbs so far, and love the diet. Even the beans.
4HWW and 4HB have really helped me and my business.
So, thanks dude. Keep up the good work.
EC
Thanks, Eric 🙂
Awesome job Tim, you’re so well spoken. I’m sure all your media experience has you well prepped for these sorts of things now 🙂
Hay Tim its Josh
Could you do a post on applying the D.E.A.L. process to the people in your life. i know you wrote briefly about it in the 4hww but it lacked dept
the post would consist of an example of your principles, guidelines, philosophy of how you
D : Define the people in your life according to 80/20 and who plays what role in your life, and what role you play in theirs (trade off, obligations)
E : Personal preferences in all the categories that you place the people in and the architecture of your categorization process be it friends, best friends, public friends, family, mentors.(what ever labels you personally use) Where you draw the line of conduct in these categories that help you define the best of the best and help you eliminate the rest.
A : Bring more of the type of people you value into your life through automation and your own automation for keeping them around
L : what you do with each group to, tend to your social garden so to speak with efficiency without sacrificing effectiveness
A Tim Ferriss inner game D.E.A.L. on human interaction
Flight to JFK today will see snow in NY for the 1st time out of my 4 trips there have a full 14 hour transfer so i am thinking since i don’t have anywhere to put luggage ill just grab a seat and devour ur 4HB book which i haven’t had a chance to start underlining
all the best Tim
peace
Thanks Tim;
Please comment on use of sourkraut. You mentioned that you eat sourkraut while waiting for your breakfast to cook, but that was about the jist of your statment. Can you elaborate.
That’s all there is to it. Nothing to elaborate that isn’t in the sidebar on fermented foods.
Is it safe to eat sugar free candy everyday (sweetened with splenda or maitol)? I do that instead of cheating, and it makes my cravings go away. I have a feeling that it could have the same effect on my body as sugar though.
BTW…
I am still happy you don’t have a girlfriend!
Haha… I appreciate the comment. Don’t eat the candy. Eat 10g of BCAAs (Google it) per meal if you have sugar cravings.
Is there a product you recommend for this? Sugar-free candy was my go-to for sugar cravings. On BodyBuilding.com, it looks like I’d have to take TEN 1g pills of BCAA every meal. That’s a lot of pills… Is powder better?
I think he meant 10mg of BCAA, or maybe 100mg.
10g of BCAA seems very excessive.
p. 83 you refer to a sidebar in the last chapter on “The Forbidden Fruit”, which I cannot find, nor can I find correction. I need it. Thanks.
Hey Janet had that problem too. Its actually in the Previous chapter on page 77 in a grey box. I think the wording is gramaticaly correct its just a little confusing huh?
For all the people who still have a question about how to perform kettlebell manouvres, what food they can or cannot eat, here’s a really good link:
http://tinyurl.com/5wjl3ma
I promise you you’ll be using it a lot!
Rowland – hahaha! That was delightful! Literally LOL! Needed that.
Rowland, that certainly deserves a good chuckle!
Great link.
I can think of a number of places to use it straightaway.
Thank you
Mike
AWESOME BRO !!! my results start to make sense now.
One more thing do you have any damage control tips for excessive alcoholic intake(during bing day) ?
thanks for sharing your knowledge
Yogurt: If I make yogurt at home with a 24 hour ferment time (this gets rid of lactose) would that be acceptable for the slow carb diet? I’m asking because you recommend yogurt in the paragraph about fermented foods and I’m just trying to clarify. Thanks. Loving your book!
Try it out and report back!
Interesting about yogurt made at home. My mother recently shared with me that if she makes her own yogurt at home, she can eat it without any side effects.
Mother is lactose intolerant and has problems with every kind of milk, cheese, yogurt product, store purchased.
So perhaps there is something to the yogurt made homemade fresh. Perhaps the natural fermentatation without any added preservatives or whatever “other additives” in store bought yogurt is just not present in the yogurt that is homemade. I found this to be quite interesting and when I saw the comment here, thought I’d contribute this observation.
also farmer’s cheese, cheedar cheese and gruyere dont have lactose.
i lost 30 pounds, staying lean at 180 (6’1”) following the4 hour diet. but i also add:
– yogourt fermented for 24h
– all the cheeses mentioned above
– honey
another tip, try spaghetti squash if you need a filler (that’s allowed i believe)
I bought the kindle version of the book and it seems you’re limited to download it to one device this (unusual, as far as I know), this limitation seems petty. I’m not going to pay 10 bucks just to be able to check if the gym I’m considering has all the machines in the occams protocol program on my iphones Kindle app, it’s annoying that you have to. Because these limitations aren’t clearly advertised when you buy books they always come like an unpleasant surprise. They also sometimes mean your book is stuck on the device because you ordered it to your mac.
If that’s the case, it would be an Amazon limitation. Sadly, I can do nothing about that.
I’m not sure that’s the case. The amount of times you can download a book has a limit that varies, I would guess it depends on the policies of the author/publisher (http://boingboing.net/2009/06/22/some-kindle-books-ha.html).
it was a technical problem
@AVR – I bought the Kindle version, too, and have successfully downloaded it to my iPhone, iPad, and 3 Macs, and only paid the once. On any device where it’s not downloaded yet, you’ll find it under “Archived Items.”
@Tim – thanks so much for the added info about how it can take longer for women, and especially “older” women see results. I’m 47 and not seeing much loss yet, but I’m still a believer! And even if I never lose any fat (although I’m certain I will), I LIKE the diet and I’m not gaining, which is progress!
And one request, Tim: if you ever do a second edition of the book, would you please remove the heterosexual bias? It’s not always a man facilitating a woman’s orgasm, and it’s not always the “opposite sex” that people want to attract. Thanks!
strange that I can’t I guess I’ll contact amazon
Hear! Hear! Totally with you on that last point! Thank you for bringing it up, CrunchySue.
For what it’s worth, I also bought the kindle version and haven’t had any problem loading it on multiple ereaders. Maybe there’s something with your account? I have no idea, but it doesn’t seem to be the case across the board anyway. Good luck getting it to work, hopefully you can get around the limitation.
I downloaded it to alll my devices without problem. Sometimes you can’t open them simultaneously, so maybe try with only one device open.
Good luck.
Ian
I have the book downloaded to my kindle and have been able to also load it to my iphone no problem. Possible user error.
Christ, Tim, my farts smell terrible. But I’ve been trying to fend off guys lately, so this diet is a godsend. 🙂
Ooookay…so here I go. Tomorrow morning I start the diet! I’m a 49 year old female and it’s been a crazy few months. I had Achilles surgery in October and managed to put on 30 lbs., just like that! I know that some research suggests that anesthesia can cause havoc on the metabolism…I sure hope I can reset it.
I am a very well versed user of the Atkins diet. It has always worked terrific for me, but always felt like it couldn’t be long term…you eat more than 20 grams of carb and the body shuts off the D.I.K. effects. So, I’m scared to death of adding in all those extra carbs in the Legumes…I understand the fat-burning D.I.K. process, but this process, not so much. I think all the research is crazy astounding, so here I go. I am going to completely trust in all the hard work you’ve done for 10 years. This should be interesting, as I also went thru surgical menopause 14 years ago, so physiologically, this is a 64 year old woman trying it out! Let me know if you have any additional tips with someone with my strange challenges…, and thanks again for this fabulous book!
I don’t believe this to be true. I have the Kindle version of 4HB downloaded on my iPad, iPhone, and Mac. I often switch between them and I have not noticed any limitations.
You can download books to your kindle, but they also have applications for PC or MAC to read them. You can sync last page read, highlight, take notes, and search the same way you do on the Kindle. As far as not being able to put the book on other devices, this is the case for all books you buy for the kindle.
I have it on 3 Kindle “devices” – iPhone, iPad and laptop (Kindle app). You’re usually limited to 5 Kindle “devices” per Kindle account.
I purchased the kindle version as well but I was able to download it to several devices. You might want to try again.
Kindle recently had an upgrade, last week. I didn’t try to read off my kindle before, but in testing out the upgrade my 4HB kindle version seems to appear on all my devices now.
Great book – working on program since January, but few positive results? Not discouraged, just keep tweaking and reading blog for ideas. I feel great at 55, on this diet – love the food, but very few inches or lbs lost. Will power through – and keep reading!
Not sure why my comment was deleted, when the person who criticized Babs Walters was not? So much for sense of humor. Thanks for catering to your readers.
It wasn’t deleted. You need to be patient with moderation 🙂
Hoping not to upset anyone here, but is the cheat day, one day (awake time on that day) or up to 24 actual hours (Friday night to sat night). Wanted to see if I could kill it twice for dinner and drinks. I appreciate the book and all your effort Tim.
No problem, AC. It’s one wake cycle; don’t split it between two days or you will gain fat. Enjoy!
Oh, drats!!! I’ve always had my cheat days from Sat night to Sun afternoon.
Is it okay to change which day it is occasionally? If you normally do Saturday but want to switch to another day for an event?
Hey Tim, you have no idea how excited I am!!! Thank you so much! I can’t want to hear more details about this roundtrip ticket anywhere in the world. Is there any fine print? Is there some way I can contact you or one of your assistants to get more details?
Again, thanks so much! I’m actually on a flight right now, and I can barely stay still in my seat, I’m so excited 😛
-Roger
Glad you’re happy! I’m happy for you. One of my assistants will be in touch in the next few days. Start thinking of options 🙂
Have a great weekend,
Tim
Congrats Roger!
Tim,
Thanks for an excellent book! I have had mixed success so far with the SCD, but I know experimentation is the key, and I’m not giving up yet! I’ll figure it out and get to where I want to be.
I do notice a couple of inconsistencies in the book, and I’m hoping you can clarify in a comment or elsewhere, when you have time:
You mention artificial sweeteners are a problem (p98,99), yet your father restarted his fatloss with the slow carb diet (p 95) by using Myoplex, yet Myoplex (both original and lite varieties) contain Maltodextrin (= sweetener) and Fructooligosaccharides (= like fructose), specifically 2g sugars/42g protein in 1 serving of original and 4g sugars/20g protein in 1 serving of lite.
In addition, in the “Meatless Machine 1” section (p 524), you mention 3 different protein powders that you have tried and suggest, yet 1 contains Fructose (Pure Advantage Pea Protein Isolate), 1 contains Stevia (Sun Warrior Chocolate Brown Rice Powder) and 1 contains both Fructose and Stevia (Nitro Fusion Plant Fusion). (note that “Sun Warrior Protein Raw Vegan Natural” has no sweeteners at all, though I don’t know how it tastes)
My question is, in light of what I’ve pointed out, is there some amount of sugar (fructose/glucose/whichever) or artificial sweeteners that will not impact the efficacy of the SCD, and if so, what is it?
Hi Gregg,
You just need to do your best.
– My dad used an imperfect product for convenience. Better still would be unflavored whey protein.
– Almost all vegetarian protein powders will screw you one way or another. Sad but true.
SCD can work with a little sweetener here and there, but I try to avoid it all when I can.
Good luck!
Tim
I can vouch for the vegetarian protein powder predicament. In my own experiments, I was losing 2-3 pounds per week following SCD without compromises (the lower amount of loss has more to do with not drinking enough water and not eating enough food, I suspect) when I ran out of why protein (I was having it first thing in the morning with a tablespoon of peanut butter as I can’t stand the thought of food in the morning). The week I switched from whey to Sun Warrior I lost 0 pounds. Total plateau. The next week I ditched it and actually just skipped my pre-breakfast shake. Back to my losing ways at 4 pounds lost that week. Sun Warrior is rice, rice can be white. White carbohydrates are out. It is what it is.
Daniel I’ve noticed that if I make ANY changes to my diet I tend to plateau for a week to ten days, but then like magic I can drop 4-7 pounds one day and I return to my cycle of 1.5 – 3 pounds per day. So your change to the Sun Warrior shakes my not have been a plateau due to rice (carbs), but due to your body resisting the change.
My first week on SCD I gained 9 pounds two weeks later I was down 9.8 pounds from the first week, nearly twenty pounds in three weeks. I changed from scrambled egg whites with one egg to frying in butter two whole eggs (the beans were just two dry w/o the yolk) and gained 1 pound in that week, yet three weeks I am down 34 pounds with minimal exercise from Occam’s Protocal.
I’m going on my 11th week almost 40 pounds lighter and feeling much younger than my 42 years. I still have 45 pounds to go, but I’m getting very excited about feeling confident enough to take my shirt off in appropriate public places (water parks, pools, beaches, etc.).
Tim, if you’re catching this, thanks so much for being you and doing what you do. I am starting a website http://www.shannonsjones.com which will track the continuation of my journey now that experimentation is out of the way. SCD works, 4HB is phenomenal, my goal of >50 lbs is approaching which allows me to reward myself with a copy of 4HWW, so excited!!!! Namaste
Hi TIm,
Just on the vegan protein discussion – the Mike Mahler protein cookies you recommend in the book include Sun Warrior rice protein; yet above you note that vegan protein powders “screw you up”. I think you mean in regards to weight loss only? – I.e. if you’re at your weight goal, and are (now) looking at muscle gain, or increased strength, or whatever then it’s OK to eat vegan protein powders?
Would be great to hear back from you, or others on this thread
Cheers
Tom
(12 kgs down in 6 weeks!)
Dan,
In your reply you mentioned mixing your whey protein with peanut butter. I think I love you for it. I’ve been searching for a way to use my protein powder in the morning that won’t make me gag or resorting to sweetened protein shakes. I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me as I love nut butters. This was especially helpful since I tried incredibly hard, but still cannot stomach eggs.
Thanks!
First off Tim, really enjoy your work. Great Stuff!
I have a quick question, what is your take on protein shakes? I currently have both a blend (whey iso, whey concentrate, micellar caesin, and egg) and a pure caesin powder. I consume the blend post-workout and the pure caesin before bed. Thanks Tim!
Hi Tim or anyone else who wouldn’t mind helping me out,
A couple of quick questions.
1. I am currently working on G2F and in about a month I am going backpacking in Asia for 4 weeks. As someone who is always on the go do you have any tips or tricks to hold onto gains made?
2. You mentioned in the first chapter ginger and sauerkraut if you are under muscled. I only saw sauerkraut for probiotics and fat loss later in the book and ginger was never mentioned again. How do they help you if you are under muscled?
I have really been enjoying the book. It’s fun creating a new me. I preordered the signed copy on B&N but it is taking forever to get here in Germany. I am glad that I got the digital copy for my kindle to hold me over till it gets here.
Also, 4HWW gave me the kick in the ass I needed. I am currently setting things into motion and creating the lifestyle I want and not the one my job dictates. Thanks for writing such an inspiring book.
-Brad
For G2F when traveling, focus on single-leg exercises like pistols…
Thanks. The water bag you recommended for the TGU, is it strong enough for swings?
One a side note, your book arrived in the mail today. Looking forward to diving into it.
Keep up the great work.
-Brad
Tim, thanks again. DVR is set for Dr. Oz! I’m glad you pointed out that people need to realize that they need to do their own experimentation. The rules are clear, and self experimentation is key. One question: can you elaborate on why you omit the greet tea supplement from the before bed dose of PAGG? Just wondering. I’ve been doing the full PAGG before bed so I’ll have to change my process. Thanks!
Green tea before bed, can make it harder for some people to fall a sleep.
I’ve never had any problems with green tea before bed – even with caffeinated types. BUT I think I’m an anomaly because I’ve always been able to drink expresso before bed.
So is that the main reason? If it ISN’T an issue, is there any benefit to keeping the full PAGG plan for the before bed dosage? Just wondering…
Thanks for posting this. Where can I find more scientific literature about eating 30g of protein within 30 minutes of waking and fat loss?
Google/everywhere… I’d be surprised if you went to any news stand and couldn’t find at least one publication every month with a relevant article. In my experience, the magazines worth subscribing to cite their sources one way or another for more involved investigation.
Hi Tim! I am currently working on natural ways to improve my fertility (acupuncture, supplements, diet) and am very interested in getting more information about what you’ve discovered with women and a gluten free diet (mentioned in your interview on The View and in your Twitter discussion). Can you point me to any good resources? Thanks so much, loving all this experimenting!
Dr. Mercola on the link between gluten-intolerance and infertility:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/02/23/can-foods-contribute-to-infertility.aspx
Awesome! I am 58 and back into weights and kettlebells because of this book.
Not much weight loss yet, but I suspect I am not super strict on the protocol and as Tim says, for us older types, patience is a key. But feeling stronger and happier within myself.
I know I will get 200kg off the ground sometime this year.
Cheers
Lobster, Shrimp, Crab (all kinds), Oysters and Scallops aren’t mentioned, as far as I can tell. Are these discouraged in the Slow Carb Diet or do I need to refer to “if you have to ask, don’t eat it”? Thanks.
All are fine.
YAY!!!! Thank Goddess! I can’t live with out Lobster, Salmon(any fish really!), Oysters, Shrimp, Scallops… The sea is the way to go! That and a really great steak!
Tim,
You mentioned in the Twitter talk experimenting with home made sauerkraut and the appropriate duration. Is this simply a matter of taste or were you looking to measure levels of lactic acid?
For home made kimchi, I have found three weeks to be optimal fermentation.
– Chris
What was the ambient temp that you got three weeks under?
I’m having a go at homemade sauerkraut at the moment, but my previous experiment with sourdough bread (a no-no now 🙁 on the SCD) is that recipes based in the US assume a quicker fermentation than is usual in NZ (oh I love our well-insulated homes 😉
Great job on The View, Tim.
Is it me or was Barbara’s reception colder than the ice baths I’ve been taking!
Keep up the awesome work man.
Hey Tim,
Just blasted through the gaining mass portion of your book and so far so good. I know you’ve received plenty of questions about what foods are allowable, but do you think you can be more clear with the eating list for those trying to gain mass?
On page 212 you write,
“The meal composition is nearly identical to the Slow-Carb Diet, as are the tenets, though we now add a starch such as brown rice or quinoa to the non-shake meals.”
But later in the book you mention a calorie-dense macaroni dish as well as the GOMAD technique.
So does this mean that pasta’s and dairy are okay for those trying to gain mass? And you didn’t mention white rice or breads…are those still not allowed?
Love the book. Thanks for the help
mike
Hey Tim,
the 4HB was great – hugely detailed. What I’m most interested in though (I was hoping it would be in the book) is ‘speed learning’ – or how you manage to master skills to a high level in a tremendously short time. (ie. 6 months from nada to world class tango.)
Are you planning to go into this at a later stage?
cheers
Naomi
He has a lot of that type of info on the blog 🙂
S
Tim,
Regarding Brazil Nuts, I know you eat them daily and so do I now that I’ve read your book, I found a disturbing study that shows them to be slightly RADIOACTIVE:
http://www.orau.org/PTP/collection/consumer%20products/brazilnuts.htm
According to this study Brazil nuts have some 1000 times more Radium than most other foods, but “most of the Radium of ingested Brazil nuts was not retained by the body.”
I don’t know whether this is reassuring. Any thoughts or your own research on this matter? Thanks
It might be interesting to look at the actual studies in question. It could be (as happens) that they’re all pointing back to one specific study, which may or may not be rigorous or statistically strong.
I think I remember reading that stud(-ies) have shown that a modest (but very low) level of radiation is actually beneficial, though I can’t cite anything.
Yes indeed. Some of us (former) extropians keep old glazed pottery under own beds because_the radiation is thought by some researchers to be good for you. (Japan was a large clinical trial that produced these results far enough away from the blast center.)
A general link on the subject. http://www.lewrockwell.com/miller/miller12.html
I am not a doctor and don’t play one on the Internet but my advice to you is to enjoy your Brazil nuts!
Good luck.
Etienne
I loved the book, Tim. I’m a week into the slow-carb diet and its working a treat. One point of confusion though – does the protein content of the beans/lentils count towards the protein required per meal?
Yes, it does.
Yo Tim
Good job dealing with those ladies on the View, and it’s different not seeing you in your usual leisure clothing haha.
BTW gained about 14 lbs of muscle so far from 4hb recommendations I’ve made!
David
Why was Green Tea eliminated at night from PAGG? I know some people say they experienced sleeplessness, however the back of the bottle says that it contains a max of 3.6mg of caffeine per serving which probably has zero effect. Therefore I think it should be included in the regular dosage schedule
It’s not the caffeine, it’s the minimum effective dose. In the book (paraphrasing here) it notes that the effect of the EGCG on fat loss has a “hockey stick” effect (a sharp rise) between 900 and 1,100 mg. So depending on the brand you’re using, you calculate how much of the supplement you need to be between 900 and 1,100 mg per day. The brand Tim notes in the book has 325 EGCG per tablet, so you take 3 per day. Taking more won’t produce more results.
Hey Tim,
I know you suggest “recreational sports” is not measurable and I would guess may impede progress for pure muscle-building (g2freak/occam’s). I recently fell in love with the game of squash.
Should I stop until my bulking period/g2freak is done or is there an optimal way to allow cardio-like recreation/sport in between HIT workouts?
Also, should I worry about left/right imbalances when playing sports. E.g. Development of right arm (right-handed person) in racquet sports.
Thanks!
Hey Tim, just want to know if you know of any progress on the cheaper ultrasound device ($500) mentioned in 4HB?
Quick question – what was with the muscle milk on the table? Looks like they cut you off before you got to it. Thanks in advance!
Yes! I really want to know too… I have a bunch of muscle milk light and now am guessing I can’t drink it anymore as fructose is an ingredient. If that’s not so, you’ll make my life better (as I’m way bummed about the no sweet potatoes thing.)
OMG, I can’t believe you told Barbara Walters how her vagina works on national television. So epic.
Fuckin’ A — of course I did 🙂
Admire you both (Tim and Darya) so much, but I really wish we would all stop using “vagina” when referring to a women’s vulva. Certainly, vagina is better than “down there”, but it continues the miseducation about Women’s genetalia. Tim, loved that you included illustrations in your book. Do you know how many men (and women) have never even looked in the light of day. It’s time to lose the mystery and educate the people on what’s really going on “down there”!!
Hello, Tim. Greetings from Mongolia. I’ve read your 4HWW and am starting to read your 4HB. Your book has changed my view in a huge degree. So I’ve 2 questions.
1st. What are you planning to do next? I think maybe if you do a documentary based on your books or some other things, it’d be wonderful. I just watched Freakonomics the movie. It was great, but it didn’t meet my expectations. If you do some documentary of your own, I think it’d blow it up.
2nd. I’m 19 year old and 5’7”. It has always been of interest to me for the last 1 or 2 years to grow in height. Have you ever done research on that? If not, it’d be a great topic for people under 25 who would like to grow more in height.
Thanks, Ganzorig
I think a screenplay might be next. For height, just focus on strength and you’ll be fine. Rock it!
Man, height means much to me. Even 2” would greatly affect me in many things. Do you have any idea how I can increase my height? Oh, BTW, I read somewhere that doing intensive strength exercise thickens the bones. Is that true, I mean do you know people who have had this? Anyways, thank you for your response and I’ll sure focus on strength. Thanks Tim 😀
He’s right, a documentary on 4HB would be stupendous.
Tim is right, you can easily make up for height by just being fit. Watch this video of my friend who is no more than 5’7″ http://www
— spend your time working on strength (because it sounds like it’s too late to do anything about your height).
Oh my gosh, Tim. Your book is amazing, and thank you for posting your clip of you on the View. Don’t get that show here in Denmark, so I love being able to watch clips of you and get your soundbites so we can trim down your tips into little improvements in our lives. (:
I didn’t know the thing about gluten and fertility, and we’ve been trying for almost a year and just started the slow carb diet. So fingers crossed on that and good luck to us and thank you so much for publishing that wonderful book!
I’m not even finished but I’m recommending it to every friend I can who’s having trouble with weight loss and body issues.
Tim, I’d love to read your “4 hour body” book, but it is not available on the Kindle in Australia. Anything you can do to get it released here? (Now i’ve got a kindle, i cant see the point in buying hardcopy books anymore). thanks in advance, Craig.
@Craig – You can get it in Australia by just changing your country on amazon. I live in Australia too and got it that way just fine.
TIm,
You mentioned to use the following:
Should be changed to (please just copy and paste the below):
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)
but here you recommended:
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)
The followng:
Mega Green Tea Extract— 325+ mg EGCG, 100 capsules (www.fourhourbody.com/greentea)
[Links to a lightly caffeinated version on bodybuilding.com]
Vitamin Shoppe—Alpha-Lipoic Acid, 100 mg, 60 capsules (www.fourhourbody.com/ala)
[Don’t use 300mg?]
Thanks!
Sorry for elaboration. Use the lightly caffeinated version instead of the decaffeinated version?
Yeah. The link takes you to lightly caffeinated version instead of decaf. I bought it blindly with double checking and realized only after I got it.
morning tim from the uk … excuse my ramble but hopefully its helpful …
i’m currently reading your book and telling folk to grab a copy but being me the title change in my head from 4 hour week to 4 hour month, etc and so i am sending folk to your blog … but it is not easy for them to access the way old book as the new slim jim book is taking over your brain and therefore this blog …
it will probably take 5 years for the rest of the world to catch up and if they are all being sent to this blog then you might think about allowing this space to remain dominated by the working week, with a link to the new foodie blog
perhaps its time for a tim ferris … in fact just did this timferrris.com and it brought me to the fourhourworkweek.com which does pitch up about the book … i see, the blog dominates when i look for tim ferris on google … got it …
there is a tiny link at the top that says the book … this was probably cool when you had just the one … now the right hand side says eat santa, the middle focuses on the 4-hour body and even your recent post with santa’s little helper has the body tag and not NO 1 BOOK YEAH tag
congratulations on hitting the top spot … and can I just ask for a small image top right of the working book, maybe between THE BLOG logo and the search box, that links to amazon so when i send people over they know they are in the right place and buy the right book
cheers
keep nibbling at what life has to offer 😉
jon
The bonus section on DNA was incredible. Mainly because of the links to the links to the links.
Thanks for providing the people and the research. It is like you are doing introductions.
(BTW the people visiting your blog with GREAT sites…well the list is growing and it is one helluva one to maintain )
I am doing fMRI tracking as an interesting offshoot/Trojan horse with the physical. Looking at brain storms dealing with depression/anxiety/rumination and some of the crossover is INCREDIBLE.
Thanks, Jscott. I’d LOVE to see the fMRI results if you ever post them.
Best,
Tim
I am slowcarbing for 3 weeks now. Initially I was very strict with the diet, for 10 days or so. Then I gradually started adding a little cheese and cottage cheese in the morning instead of the eggs, because I could not face another egg again. —-> My fat loss slowed down considerably.
I will be more strict from sunday on (today is freeloader´s day).
I the beginning I had MAJOR problems with gas and I felt full and bloated all the time, but I think my metabolism got used to the diet.
Bottom Line: It works and I know what has screwed up all my previous low-carb diets: Lack of legumes, too much sweetener and dairy.
tim maybe you could make a recommendation to AMAZON. Maybe you could have them implement a system where when the author logs into the kindle or digital book he is allowed to make changes to HIS book. Which then take effect automatically on all digitally downloaded books. So that when people are reading the book it can say ” their are changes made by the author on xxxx would you like to review these changes now?”
would save hassle of authors trying to post on blog and readers hoping to find information and looking for info in multiple places.
Hi, Tim.
My last day of eating beans for the week. CHEAT DAY!
As for the avalanche of questions, it was to be expected. A lot of science in the book. Also, you being somewhat of a obsessive genius with means, (which enabled you to produce such a good book) could be the reason for all the questions being generated. Most people are not particularly obsessive with clinical details and lack the means to gain access to accurate measurements. Millions of people without health insurance means no check ups, no doctors, no blood tests, no ultrasound equipment, no BodPods, and certainly no stem cell growth factors. As readers, we do hope authors would exercise more patience and be mindful of current times.
Self-sufficient self-experimenting (now three times faster) might have been the point of 4HB,(as stated above), but unfortunately there is very little on the subject inside the actual book. One might think such a important subject would be included in the title(ex, An Uncommon guide to Self-sufficient Self-experimentation) or occupy its own whole chapter. Sadly, the subject is limited to only the appendix, 8 little pages of the 500+. 13 individual pages according to the Index. Remarkably short and well hidden.
Luckily, this blog has many readers and a series of posts on the subject of Self-sufficient self-experimenting would be enough to illuminate the hidden points of the book.
On a lighter note, congratulations on you appearance on the view and dr.oz. Didn’t like the format as much, but it is what could be expected. I’m not a fan of either show but any publicity from a major television network is great exposure. Well Done!
The forum is coming which is awesome!
Trying to make my own protein bars. Still trying to figure out something to bind the ingredients together which does not include sugar, fat, oils, or anything against the slow-carb diet. any suggestions will be helpful.
David
Try using virgin coconut oil to bind everything together. Must be kept in the fridge or it will start to melt.
V. coconut oil helps fat loss and is filling. Google it for more info. I’m really surprised Tim didn’t mention it in the book.
Try nuts, coconut oil, raw cacao etc
Why not go with eggs as in normal cooking? And I am sure a little olive oil will not hurt.
Cheers
@Ganzorig : there are numerous clinics in Asia that will make you taller. It’s painfull and risky though (they break your legs and then stretch your body on legs).
It can also be quite expensive if you use real doctors..
But hey, since, your’re a fellow 4HB-er, I’ll break your legs for free 😉
Most of the asian clinics are cosmetic surgery-type of businesses.
There are a number of clinics in the western world that perform the same procedures, but focus on people with underdeveloped/malformed limbs.
Google on “leg lengthening surgery” for more info.
(I was going to insert an insanely funny joke about short people, but I won’t. I got punched in the privates by a midget last time)
haha, man, you are such a man who have not much to be proud of, so that you keep teasing people of simple things. I’d never consider that surgery, maybe that’d be better for u, cause u’d be able to tease more people than now. Good luck buddy =P
Hi Ganzorig,
from what I know the only methods of increasing height are the surgery mentioned above, or growth hormone therapy when you’re younger (if you’re deficient in it).
why are you looking to be taller, is it for women or social status? you don’t need it for either (see Tom cruise) body language/ posture can make an incredible difference, increasing core strength will improve both of those things.
Hi Tim,
Enjoyed the 4HB generally, lot of great content.
My only grip was that while you make a very good point about causation etc early on you then go on to make the same mistake yourself.
For example, yes “x” number of women lost more weight eating eggs in the morning but it’s a really flawed study and probably had a lot more to do with the fact they simply stopped either eating nothing or eating high gi sugary cereals, the eggs themselves may quite well have played zero part in the equation.
Generally I bit my tongue on a lot of small issues , overall it’s a great read.
Thank you.
Excellent post! Do the blood work; you can get a profile at most any pharmacy these days; just make sure you have fasted. As for kettlebells besides the two hand swing; make sure you you can do 75 swings alternating with each hand (harder than it looks); 75 snatches (even harder but effective); make sure you know how to clean it to the rack position, etc before you move up in weight; especially when moving from a 24 kg kb to a 32 kg kb and above. The best of if you have to ask don’t eat it!
Ed
If anyone here wants to learn the snatch, etc., please get proper RKC instruction. Otherwise, just stick with swings.
Best,
Tim
Ditto; I took a course from an RKC instructor. It is worth the $, as it will keep you from injury.
Ed
Didn’t we learn about the snatch in the 15 minute orgasm chapter?
I believe that was plenty of instruction.
Ganzorig, I tease all kinds of people, it keeps me fit (ever been chased by a bunch of hooligans after teasing them? I set a personal record on that one). Can you imagine that jokes sometimes get misinterpreted?
I did not post with the intention to offend you, and if I did, it takes a big man to appologize, and I do.
Seriously, there are a lot of people desperate enough to endure operations and 6 to 9 painfull months afterwards to become 3 inches taller. Your answer means that you’re not *that* desperate, which is good.
One question though (in dr. Phil mode now): why do you want to become taller? Because of physical limitations, social status, or other reasons (babes, intimidation, highplaced showerheads?). There are solutions for all of them, besides having your legs broken by a doctor. If you can’t work through it, work around it.
By the way,
I am trying to find some research of the negative effects on soy.
My focus is if the negative effects are isolated to certain species of soy produced in certain areas or is it a wide spread among all soy in all countries.
In asia, one person consumes a ridiculous amount of soy and soy products. Yet, no wide spread negative effects have been acknowledged there. why is that ? Do they use better soy ?
If anyone has any research on this matter, send me a email.
thank you.
David,
While it is true that soy has been eaten for thousands of years in Asia, most of it has been consumed in fermented form, until about 20 years ago.
Not-fermented soy products have been associated with a load of negative health effects, see below.
Moreover, there *have* been pubications about negative effects of soy consumption in Asia. Somehow, they just didn’t make it to the mainstream media. The funny thing is, most of the positive reports did.
Here are some articles on the negative issues concerning soy:
– Dietary soy and increased risk of bladder cancer: the Singapore Chinese Health Study. (older study, performed in Singapore)
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12496060
– Soy food and isoflavone intake in relation to semen quality parameters among men from an infertility clinic
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2721724/
There are some hints in this paper that the physical differences between asian men & caucasians may partly be because of soy consumption.
-High tofu intake was associated with worse memory in elderly Indonesian men and women.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18583909
If you want more, go to pubmed, and look it up..
More soy info has been written up by the Weston A Price Foundation (love these guys!) ‘the Ploy of soy’ I believe, Kaayla Daniels book on soy, Donna Gates (Body Ecology Diet) and Dr Mercola’s website.
Asian countries often have mineral rich broths (incl seaweeds with iodine) with their tofu which help to negate some of its effects.
Thanks. Rowland!
It’s exactly what I was looking for.
Here’s some meta-info on the topic too, so you can draw your own conclusions. From my own experience, non-fermented soy makes my body acidic, which just causes all kinds of issues from gas to yeast infections. In children, I have seen kids on soy formula develop nasty skin conditions and allergies. When switched to raw dairy and assisted with probiotics, all the issues went away. Another good resource is the Weston Price Foundation (great recipes for fermented foods too). http://www.westonprice.org
I am your biggest fan.
Respectfully, Karl T.
Hello Tim from China! Awesome interview ON the View, always good to see BW squirm…so as you know, the food here in China leaves little to be desired by the old digestive system (ala Kevin Rose when you guys were here). Have lost 30 pounds in the last 10 months, and hit a plateau after that. I am glad to report that after using the FHB diet, abs, supplements, and those f***ing cold showers (damn you!), I have lost another 10 pounds just in the last 2 weeks! Thanks for helping me be the “new” me!
Your thoughts/experiments on Piracetam combined with Choline…or other nootropics?
I’ve been taking piracetam and choline for about two months now. Its helped me think more clearly, made me a bit more creative, and has made colors really seem super bright and vivid. I came to the conclusion that it makes me interpret the world a bit more like how i did when i was a kid. the only downside i’ve experienced so far has been a couple of headaches i got when i didn’t supplement with choline, and its changed my taste in music a bit…really heavy beat driven music used to be my staple (dnb, dubstep) and now more melodic and vocal driven music has all ive been able to tolerate.
Can I ask how many mg of piracetam and choline you take and how often?
It’s something i’m still experimenting and toying around with, to be honest. I bought a kilogram of it in bulk form from a nootropic mail order place out of Florida for 70 bucks, which has been highly cost effective, considering that already capsuled bottles run for 25-35$. I went and bought #10 capsules at my local sunflower market (its like a low cost whole foods) and have found that three of those capped to be the best so far. Its kind of a pain in the ass to make that many per day (i took that three times a day) so I reduced it down to 3 and then two capsules twice a day, where the effects began to diminish rapidly. From what i’ve expereinced there is a sweet spot around 3 caps 3 times a day for my body that works. I don’t have a scale that measures weights under a gram well, so i am not sure exactly how much those caps weigh. I did find that if i took too much i got a little scatter brained. Your initial dose should be somewhere around 4 grams, but not less than 2. It takes about an hour for the effects to begin to manifest. It took a full day before it really began to start to work on me. Oh, and if you plan on taking it, make sure you have some sunglasses with you, ive found that daytime headlights on cars to be super bright at times. The effects on my vision have been the most pronounced so far along with much clearer thought. So yeah, front load a 3-4 gram dose (get your self a decent scale that can take measurements under a gram) and start out with 3 #10 capsules three times a day and see what works on you. I wake up in the morning, take my caps, then wait ten minnutes and swallow down the pagg stack thats in the book along with choline, fish oil, cold liver oil, a b vitimin complex, then make myself a non denatured whey protien/coconut milk shake that has a few blueberries and black berries thrown in for good measure every morning. Be sure to take the choline or headaches will ensue, as the piracetam effects the levels of acetalcholine and your body needs this to supplement with. 120 250mg caps of that were at whole foods for 19$, which is pricey, but it all that was nearby to me. should only be 12 or so.
Hi Lawrence ,
Have you ever tried listening to TRANCE music. Give it a try. with the effects you are talking about I think you would really dig Trance. A god place to start would be Above and Beyond 🙂
Tim, This is fantastic for me. I started a week ago Thursday, but did a cheat on Saturday 1/15 to have Saturday as cheat, and now I am on cheat day today 1/22. Down around four to five pounds and just not sure when good time to weigh usually in the buff when I wake up after peeing.
Bought the Escali scale but forgot the hydration before initial fat % and today’s fat % which was up one tenth of a percent from Monday. In one part of book it mention to not use the scales with fat percent but in tips after taking measurement you give the website to the one I bought. However, I am down an inch at bellybutton measurement. Guess I expect too much too soon. Just want this belly gone after 50 years. Need to drop another 20 and cannot wait for the next three weeks.
I hope I did not f*** up the first leg from what I did to get started. Thanks.
Hey Tim
I was never so excited about a book as the 4 Hour Body. Has lived up to my expectations! I’m always looking forward to what you come up with next on your blog or where ever!
I live in Canada and therefore couldn’t enter your Land Rush Giveaway 🙁 What I’d really like to see is the Slow Carb Cookbook for some fresh ideas….
A new blog post along those lines would be great or a digital download!
Thanks Tim….back to air squats before my next crap meal!!
Thanks for clarifying some issues from the slow carb diet. I’ve been testing this diet now for 5 weeks, and I am down a little over 4 pounds. I’m having a ball on my days off!
I have also been using the PAGG stack method for weight loss for about 3 weeks now. My wife is complaining about my strong ‘garlic breath’, and I can only assume that the garlic is causing this.
My question is this: Is there a benefit of taking the other supplements without the garlic?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Len,
It sounds like you are taking the unaged garlic which can make you a bit whiffy.
I take AGED garlic capsules which dont have the smell and have all the good stuff you need.
Try an odorless garlic extract, which is available in stores like the Vitamin Shoppe. I had the same problem.
On Dec. 15th I said I would report back about my results about rock climbing.
BEFORE: Prior to rock climbing trip weekend of Nov 13th 2010, I could not even hold myself up on the fattest section of campus bars in my gym.
AFTER: Exactly 62 days on the SCD with a 2-inch smaller waist, I could hold myself up on the first rung and climb up to rung 4. Start on 1, go to 2 and match hands, got to 3 and match hands and go to 4 and match hands, then drop off.
I dropped off and felt so psyched – like I had just climbed my personal Jumbo Love. True, measurable results from SCD that translate to real physical performance. Tim, thank you for that!
For those of you that don’t know what campus bars are – imagine a ladder made out of the decorate wood around your door frame. Now try to do pull ups on that or even just try to hang on it for a second or two. Now imagine that decorative wood continues up and makes a ladder that you can only use your hands (or finger tips) to climb up. Now build that ladder up an inclined wall that goes back up over your head to increase difficulty. That is what campus bars are.
I had my Harajuku Moment the weekend of Nov 13th, 2010 when I went rock climbing with some friends that are all younger and with less fat. I got really pissed that I couldn’t climb some bouldering problems that they could. So I made Nov 15th my true beginning to the SCD.
I had tried the SCD in the past from when you first wrote about it; but never with any consistency or true commitment to myself and the process of self-discovery.
This time, I used the free version of DailyBurn and discovered that I ate way more carbs and more calories than I realized. The self-discovery inside of DailyBurn was another Harajuku Moment.
My next proj is to tackle some of the tendinitis I have in my elbows – I have already found a Chiro in my area that specializes in Active Release.
I’ll keep you updated.
Thank you for everything,
Jason
Jason,
I think tools like DailyBurn are great. Until you can see a pattern in data, you are kinda lost. I’ve been using myfitnesspal, which seems similar. I was wondering if people had experience with both and could recommend one over the other. They both seem to have mobile apps, though DailyBurn seems to be Iphone only. I’m an Android guy and so probably will continue with myfitnesspal.
Also, I’ve visited DailyBurn twice now, and MalwareBytes has warned me both times of a potentially dangerous site. I can’t imagine that, but it does make me a bit cautious.
Great post Tim, definitely cleared up alot of questions i’ve had about the 4HB.
Thanks!
****Continued comment due to actually hitting the “Submit Comment” Button. Moderator: Please merge this with the last post****
I prefer the 1 min static squat over 50 Air Squats as it allows you to set a timer and zone out for a minute. Plus you don’t look creepy making weird noises in public bathroom stalls…
Personal Note to the 500-1000 Questions Per-Day Crowd: Tim is a smart cookie, but stop humping his leg with weird questions.
If I eat 10 grams of BCAAs at breakfast, will I die?
What if I eat beans, but consume 5000 calories of them every meal, will I gain body fat?
You mentioned a supplement that has 2 grams of sugar in it! Doesn’t this break all the rules of slow-carbing and immediately make me fat?
Seriously, come on you guys. The rules of the book are meant to educate us on basic principles of blood sugar control, exercise, and intelligent supplementation, not answer every possible question about human physiology.
For everyone on the blog contributing knowledge, you guys kick ass!
I learn some killer tips every time I read the comments here…
Hi the chapter on Six Minute Abs doesn’t say anything about frequency. How often should these be performed?
it’s in the occam’s protocol section.
Just erased 3 years of weight gain (10 lbs) in 3 weeks on the diet. No exercise. I have more energy than before the diet and I am rarely hungry. Awesome!
Now to reverse the clock by another 4 years (12-15lbs) and I will be dialed in.
My favorite fast food meal: El Pollo Loco, Skinless Breast Meal, 275 kcal, 39g protein…comes with veggies and side salad.
Thank you!
P.S. Tim, like your last book, 4HWW, you should consider expanding the content in the Improving Sex chapter…possible title: “4 Hour Orgasms: Superhuman, Rockstar Sex for the Masses” :)>
As a pilot, everything we do has a checklist. Every checklist has a trigger.
Approach Flaps, Approach Checklist.
Gear Down, Landing Checklist.
You get the idea…
When you’re traveling 300 mph, this habit-trigger formula becomes an obvious need.
I’d argue that when your body is headed for “fat and nasty”, these habits are just as mandatory.
Here are a few I’ve picked up after reading the 4HB:
Trigger – Wake Up
50 Air Squats
20 Pushups
10 Snake Turns Over (Kung Fu Strength Exercise)
5 min Cold Shower (32 degrees F or Colder)
Trigger – Go to the Bathroom
1 min Thighs Parallel Static Squat
Trigger – Cook a Meal
2 Glasses of Water
1.5g Creatine
3 caps Fish Oil
3g BCAA
AGG Stack
To fulfill the vegetable requirements for meals, just stop by Wal-Mart and pick up bags of frozen Great Value Sugar Snap Stir Fry. Each bag is something like $1.27, and if you manage to finish the whole pound of veggies, you’ve consumed a whopping 150 calories total!
Tim: I’m torn between Occam’s Protocol and the typical Bodybuilding workouts recommended by Dr. Fred Hatfield (“Dr Squat”) in Hardcore Bodybuilding: A Scientific Approach.
Occams would be 1 workout every 4 days. Dr Squat would be 6+ workouts a week, cycling very specific body parts based on recovery times. The problem is I’ve been lifting for 3+ years, and have been working out a good bit lately…so Colorado Experiment type results are probably out of the question.
Decisions, Decisions…
Hello,
In the video
Part 2: 4-Hour Body Presentation and Q&A at Twitter HQ
at min 8:40 what is the substance you mention that is like an expresso shot, asparagine?
Thanks
Tim, what’s your connection to Argentina? I’m from Argentina myself (Cordoba) and I was impressed to read about your tango spins world record. I can’t even dance tango at all!
Anyway, I really hope this is the right place to ask this (I can’t seem to find any other forum or discussion board).
My typical day:
For breakfast: 3 or so big spoonfulls of black or pinto beans, California mix veggies, one or two egg whites and a whole egg.
For lunch: Tossed salad, sometimes with some kind of grilled meat or tuna (I’m a school teacher so I’m away from home 10 hours a day, and it’s hard to do better than that!)
Dinner: Tossed salad with grilled chicken or pork (hey, I’m poor, and the chicken alone is putting a dent on my budget!)
After dinner: some mates or green tea with Splenda.
I’ve lost about 7 pounds since I started a week and a half ago, and about two inches of total inches. I’m really excited about this, but I’m worried I’m messing up in some respects, and I have some questions.
1. The most important one: I don’t poop anymore. I pee like crazy, two or three times more than usual (I’m not retaining liquid anymore, I suppose?), but I only pooped on my first cheat day. I always needed assistance form milk of magnesia, but now not even that’s helping. I figured that with
all the fiber and protein I’m eating, I would be very regular, but not only I’m not regular, but I’ve even had stomach aches due to gas.
2. I bought two big bags of spinach with the best intentions of eating that for breakfast, but the texture alone makes me gag, and the first day I was worried I was going to throw up my breakfast. Since then I switched to California mix veggies, which are better but are becoming gross too. I’m
mixing half a serving of those with a half tomato (I freaking love tomatoes), but I’m worried that I’m not having enough veggie variety? Am I being dumb by eating so much more tomato than any other veggie (yes, I know, I know, tomatoes are not vegetables).
3. You mentioned that diet soda in moderation was ok. I’ve always hated diet sodas, but now I’m cravig sugar so bad that I’ve been drinking half a 17oz bottle of Diet Coke once a day and it’s the highlight of my day! Is that too
much? I also gave in and started having Splenda with my mate. Again, is that not ok? Sugar is what I miss the most, and my mouth feels weird since I quit it, so it’s not just craving, but a physical response as well.
4. Is it ok to eat whole eggs like I’m doing? I know they have too much cholesterol, but then you said that cholesterol is not necessarily bad. I’m also having one or two hard boiled eggs a day. Too much?
5. Finally, you mentioned that plain non fat yogurt was ok, so I started having that with a pinch of Splenda for texture sakes, but now you mention here that all dairies are a no-no. Did I mess up by doing that?
Of course, if anybody else can help, I’d appreciate it!
Manuel
I’m going to reply to this because it’s almost exactly the experience I had when I did the South Beach diet a few years ago. And I haven’t had any of those troubles with 4HB, so I’ll respond with I see as different:
For breakfast: 3 or so big spoonfulls of black or pinto beans, California mix veggies, one or two egg whites and a whole egg.
For lunch: Tossed salad, sometimes with some kind of grilled meat or tuna (I’m a school teacher so I’m away from home 10 hours a day, and it’s hard to do better than that!)
Dinner: Tossed salad with grilled chicken or pork (hey, I’m poor, and the chicken alone is putting a dent on my budget!)
After dinner: some mates or green tea with Splenda.
I’ve lost about 7 pounds since I started a week and a half ago, and about two inches of total inches. I’m really excited about this, but I’m worried I’m messing up in some respects, and I have some questions.
1. The most important one: I don’t poop anymore. I pee like crazy, two or three times more than usual (I’m not retaining liquid anymore, I suppose?), but I only pooped on my first cheat day. I always needed assistance form milk of magnesia, but now not even that’s helping. I figured that with
all the fiber and protein I’m eating, I would be very regular, but not only I’m not regular, but I’ve even had stomach aches due to gas.
==========================
Keep up the veggies, but go ahead and take some off the shelf laxatives (e.g. Dulcolax), eat some prunes, (yeah, they’re fruit, it’s only temporary), until you start “moving” again. What happened to me on SB is somewhere in the first few days my fluid and fiber intake was low and protein was high. I didn’t notice it as I was changing so many things at once but it locked me up solid with exactly the symptoms you’re describing. So bring on the laxatives and all will be well afterwards.
2. I bought two big bags of spinach with the best intentions of eating that for breakfast, but the texture alone makes me gag, and the first day I was worried I was going to throw up my breakfast. Since then I switched to California mix veggies, which are better but are becoming gross too. I’m
mixing half a serving of those with a half tomato (I freaking love tomatoes), but I’m worried that I’m not having enough veggie variety? Am I being dumb by eating so much more tomato than any other veggie (yes, I know, I know, tomatoes are not vegetables).
============================
Plain spinach is gross. If you have nothing else to mix it with then at least add butter, salt, garlic powder, and/or other spices. Better if you can combine it with something (anything!) else. Spinach in equal parts with sauerkraut and eggs it’s actually quite tasty. You might want to add an equal fourth part of (re)fried beans to keep the GI moving though.
3. You mentioned that diet soda in moderation was ok. I’ve always hated diet sodas, but now I’m cravig sugar so bad that I’ve been drinking half a 17oz bottle of Diet Coke once a day and it’s the highlight of my day! Is that too
much? I also gave in and started having Splenda with my mate. Again, is that not ok? Sugar is what I miss the most, and my mouth feels weird since I quit it, so it’s not just craving, but a physical response as well.
============================
Splenda is the problem here. Read p.111-112 several times slowly. 🙂 If you think about what the imbalance of bacteria does, it’s causing the sugar in your bloodstream to be out of whack as well. So what you are taking in isn’t being used and your body is still craving. I did a bit of a retrogressive on my previously large Splenda intake and realized that my weight gain rate close to doubled after I started using Splenda. I was simply packing in a lot more calories because I was always hungry! No problems at all since I cut it on Tim’s advice and I find that my sugar sensitivity is at an all-time high. I still use one or two Stevia in my tea but that’s the only sweetener I use at all now.
4. Is it ok to eat whole eggs like I’m doing? I know they have too much cholesterol, but then you said that cholesterol is not necessarily bad. I’m also having one or two hard boiled eggs a day. Too much?
============================
Should be fine.
5. Finally, you mentioned that plain non fat yogurt was ok, so I started having that with a pinch of Splenda for texture sakes, but now you mention here that all dairies are a no-no. Did I mess up by doing that?
============================
Yep
Of course, if anybody else can help, I’d appreciate it!
===============
De nada…
Note: even though we aren’t supposed to have to count calories, the restaurant calorie tables are invaluable for figuring out where they’re sneaking on corn syrup! (Balsamic vinegar dressing at 300cal? Tomato soup that tastes like sugar? Eww…) I don’t even bother with salad dressing in restaurants anymore and I mostly stick to local mom’n’pop places now as it’s usually the national and larger regional chains that are on the corn syrup bandwagon.
Thank you so much!
Manuel,
For constipation try a big plate of sauerkraut.
Regarding sugar cravings Tim suggested to use BCAA elsewhere on the site. Or you could try one tablespoon of fresh lemon juice.
Try eanting raw spinach it has a crunchy texture, jusl like salad.
Cholosterol from egg yolks should be of no danger to your health, I´m eating up to 12 whole eggs every day. Most of the time I eat the yolks raw and cook the whites do avoid developing an allergy.
All the best
Peter
Manuel,
I can comment on a couple of things…
First – Spinach for breakfast. I too can’t stand the consistency or smell of cooked chopped spinach. The trick for me is to mix it with the eggs. I put a big handful of the spinach in a pyrex bowl and then add 2 or 3 eggs worth of the liquid eggs (egg beaters or eggology) and microwave for about 3min. Makes a kind of spinach souffle. Top that with salsa and it’s really good! Egg beaters makes a “southwest style” that adds peppers and onions. Even better.
Second – DRINK MORE WATER. Try that before anything else. If you aren’t pooping start with that. Replace any drinks you normally have for a few days with just plain old ice water and force a bottle or two on yourself and I bet the problem resolves.
Get off the Splenda. My vice is that I must have sweet coffee. I thought a tiny bit wouldn’t hurt. After about a week my weight loss stalled. Switched to Nutrasweet and I’m back on track. I still keep that down to about a half packet a day and avoid diet drinks whenever possible.
Hope this helps….
Spinach & eggs sounds real good. Can’t wait to give it a try this w/e! I take my coffee black & unsweetened, but I add agave nectar to my tea.
Hi,
I don’t believe in using nutrasweet or splenda… I use sugar in the raw when i have coffee or tea. I only drink a cup of coffee or tea each day and I have about a teaspoon of sugar in the raw with it. Do you think that is detrimental to this diet or any diet?
To speed up access to breakfast, I make a kind of bean and spinach stew to keep in the fridge. I rinse a can of red beans and a can of black beans thoroughly under running cold water, then saute a couple of sliced shallots in a teaspoon of macadamia nut oil, throw the beans into the pan and shake Bragg’s Liquid aminos over the beans to season them, After a minute or so, I add a can of unsalted tomatoes with some basil, and after letting that cook a while on low heat, I add half a 1 lb bag of frozen spinach. Voila! A four day supply, if you can hold back.
The spinach and bean stew is great with hard boiled eggs, which can also be done ahead- boil a four day supply at one time to keep in the fridge. Best recipe for hard boiled eggs- http://bit.ly/xzCXdY.
For a 4HB party, you can make deviled eggs with avocado instead of mayo, and get a nice Dr. Seuss effect if you add a bit of prosciutto.
Another good breakfast is to get those frozen grass fed beef sliders and use two of them instead of bacon and then do sunny side up eggs in the same pan and add some cherry tomatoes o the plate- all inside the one hour time slot- though maybe not the half hour.
Mushroom+ frittatas are great too, but they take too much time to cook for breakfast, imo. Saute sliced mushrooms and maybe peppers and shallots and chives, cover under low heat and while they are cooking beat as many egg whites as you want together with one yolk- salt and white pepper added- then pour the eggs over the vegetables and cook slowly. When they are getting firm underneath, then either flip the frittata like a pancake, or, if you’re using a cast iron pan, stick the whole thing under the grill until the top is firm.
Manuel,
I hate generally do not like vegetables, so moving to the slow carb has been a bit of a learning experience for me. I have found that raw baby spinach is actually quite good straight out of the container. I get it at HEB (Texas grocery chain) and eat it with either black beans, dry roasted peanuts, eggs for breakfast, or sometimes just to munch on alone. It’s nice and crunchy with a very subtle taste.
Give it a shot, you may be surprised!
Good luck.
I think you need to add beans to your salad at lunch and dinner. They’ll provide more protein and you’ll want to drink more water. Your poop should be fine after that. I believe you’re supposed to have 20-30 grams of protein per meal. Do you put the raw spinach in your salad? You can mix it in with the other veggies which will make it easier to swallow. Skip the Splenda completely. I think you’re better off with one sugar packet than false sugar. You could also add a few Kalmata olives to your salads. They provide the good fat and salt which will help your toileting activities as well. I’ve been on the diet for 1 1/2 weeks and having good results.
This link in the Gear sectionis dead:
Protein-Cycling Diet by Dr. Ron Mignery (www.fourhourbody.com/protein-cycle)
but the diet is available here:
http://knol.google.com/k/ron-mignery/protein-cycling-diet/2s3nmvrwklbxs/1
Not even a mention on my contest entry huh? Just kidding =P
Tim,
So you’re saying cheese is ok, then?
Anyway… to sum up your post: “Basically, f@#$ all of you and your questions.”
Loving the book, and still trying my best to not annoy people with my new obsession.
Thanks,
-Jon
🙂
I’m sure it was sarcasm, but cheese is not okay.
I know, RIGHT! I’m OBSESSED! The poor people I work with, run into at the store, pumping gas… LOL!
Hey TF!
Thanks for clarification, but a bigger thanks for taking the time to write this book.
I pre-ordered and read the entire thing throughout December! It was amazing! I learned some great ideas to implement and I even setup an entire website dedicated to tracking my daily progress (and promoting your book!) complete with half-nude photos, meal times, etc…
I have also been making weekly “jiggle videos” where i record myself shaking my fatness (it’s mad funny!) so I can compare the results – I’m a little embarrassed to post them on the site right now, but they’ll get on there someday!
I know I can’t put my website link here, but I’d love for you to check it out the site and see what all your hard work and crazy experimentation can do for a reader. I’m not special, I’m no fitness expert, I just followed along and I tweak where necessary.
I know I speak for all readers when I say that you’ve given me the guidance and inspiration to get off my fat ass and get sexy. Thanks.
I f’n love your style man!
Thanks,
IA
Another question… is there anything that can be done about the bad breath? My hot wife is protesting kissing me and that really sucks.
Any ideas / products / treatments, etc…?
IA
Ian,
maybe you should consider doing a ketosis urine test. If you are in ketosis you could raise your carbohydrate intake slightly until you get out.
I experimented a lot with carb-restriction and ketosis wasn´t necessary for rapid fatloss.
If you eat a lot cleaner the before, the smell could also be a sign of the detox process.
All the best
Peter
2 drops of pure clove oil swish it around you’r mouth for 5 min, and do it 3times a week, and if it’s too strong add it into 1T of olive oil/w 2drops of pure clove oil and swish it around you’r mouth it does wounders and if its too weak just add 3drops into the olive oil. It helped my husband
I love the idea of the jiggle videos! Keep up the great work, Ian.
A SCREENPLAY might be next?
That piqued my interest. You would demolish that industry after 6 months. You would end up writing the definitive book and cut through all the bullsh** that’s floating around out there. It needs to be done. There are too many pretentious loud mouths with an opinion on everything who haven’t even sold a spec.
I would be very interested to see a screenplay from a guy who’s seen Casino Royale and The Bourne Identity hundreds and hundreds of times. AND a guy who has really lived life more fully than 95% of people in the world. AND a guy with a sharp sense of humor.
Why don’t you get Doc Oz to intro you to Oprah and get your own show on OWN? Trial by Fire has to work as a great pilot piece.
It’s a young network and ready for molding from true influencers and bright/smart-assed people.
I look forward to seeing your mug on protein bars and shakes within two years.
Thanks, Victor 🙂
My pleasure.
Next time you’re in LA taking meetings with Paramount/Universal/Sony/WB, I would consider it a blessing and an honor to share a cup of tea with you.
You’ve probably squeezed in a pitch meeting with Scott Rudin or Harvey Weinstein while in NYC, huh?
Anyway, you’ve probably been told this already, hell, you probably know the real identity of the blogger, but the place to go to get a pulse on the spec script market/scene is scriptshadow.blogspot.com It got a good write up in Wired maybe a year or so ago.
In terms of books, like I said a lot are junk, but Syd Field’s ‘Screenplay’ and Viki King’s ‘How to Write a Movie in 21 Days’ do offer some foundational practical lessons that have lasted a couple of decades. The most recent decent book is Michael Hauge’s ‘Selling Your Story in 60 Seconds’ practical, helpful advice explicitly for pitching, but it helps shape ideas too.
But, of course, you know this better than anyone, the best way to learn a new thing is to just do it over and over again. Although a neat thing about the screenwriting game in particular is that so many great specs and great movies have their full screenplays in PDF form floating through the intertubular webbaconnectors. You can read, analyze and rip through half a dozen fantastic pieces a day before fatigue sets in. If you did that for just one week, you’d have a better idea of what goes into a great screenplay than 95% of the general public. That’s what I did last summer going into my senior year at UC Irvine. It was exhausting but it was more than worth it. I now consider myself to have four or five really solid and fresh ideas that I can craft into a solid first draft in 7-10 days. Always best to get them first drafts out asap.
Anyway, good luck and I hope our ideas don’t overlap too much, but I suspect they might….
(A mid-21st century Blade Runner-esque extrapolation of the current population’s genetic and phenotypic landscape, but with more nanotech and cybernetics hacking. Instead of a detective-style story ala Minority Report, it’s more of an Inception-style heist flick with beautifully colorful characters with rich, truly international backgrounds and a dedicated professionalism to their grey-hat jobs.)
Did I nail it or did I nail it? Not much point doing anything less in your position.
Hell, you’re already a great enough non-fiction writer, and must be a snazzy storyteller amongst friends, you probably don’t need to read a single book or screenplay and deliver a better spec than most people.
Best of luck, it can get frustrating wringing out every drop of your visual and aural imagination onto a blank page.
P.S. Final Draft 8 is the software to have. Mac friendly. 😉
Freaking great comment, Victor. Thank you for contributing and hope to see you here again.
Tim
Thanks for the extra info. ^_^
I’ve already brought my HBA1c down by a point or two.(Type 1 diabetic) by using certain principles in your book and am loving Occam’s protocol.
If you ever need a diabetic for something, I’ll be around!
10 lbs down tim! Will keep you posted, oh and thanks for the updates on the dosages for PAGG I figured it out after getting your recommendations though. I was however, taking the green tea at night yikes! Working out made me tired so I really didnt feel it.
For your insomnia have you tired brainwave therapy? I call it my KYTFO (knock you the fu ck out) playlist.
“cream (for coffee) should not contain any lactose”
Cream actually contains between 2.8 and 3.6% lactose.
Fair enough. That said, full-fat cream will have less lactose than milk. The point I was attempting to make was that the less lactose you consume, the more fat you will lose.
WILL THE CORRECTIONS BE AVAILABLE IN THE EBOOK VERSION of your book? or should we look for those citations and make the changes manually?
thx!
Thanks for the clarifications Tim.
BY FAR the most dramatic impact I’ve experienced on the SCD is through the addition of breakfast. I’m alert and full of energy these days. I can’t stress enough what a major difference this has made.
Inches did not alter dramatically the first three weeks, but are starting to move now. For those first weeks I focused on the major positive changes I was experiencing in energy and mental clarity. This made it easy to keep with it.
Am taking your advice to heart about keeping notes on additions and alterations to the protocols you lay out, basing my decisions on what has been beneficial and detrimental in my own experiences with diet and exercise. Small changes make a HUGE difference and I have it all written down.
Just started back at the gym and I’m certain the caliper measurements we took a few days ago will alter dramatically in the next three weeks.
Also looking forward to working with a gifted chef I know to help create some easy and awesome SC meals within the proper parameters. Should be an interesting experiment!
Thanks again.
Tim,
The 4 Hour Body is freaking me out…. because it’s working.
I’m an MD who has never been able to figure how to manipulate my physiology to produce meaningful, lasting weight loss (or body recomposition, as you more ideally put it).
I’ve changed my body more in the past four weeks than after years of running and calorie restriction.
To the naysayers, I say you aren’t following the guidelines as laid out. if you make the commitment to follow the plan, instructions, and advice, the Four Hour Body will work for you.
Tim, thanks for the clarifications/corrections/resources in your last post and keep up the good work!
Thank you for the kind comment, Loren, and congratulations!
All the best,
Tim
I’m an MD as well, and have had good success from the diet in this book. The low-glycemic index carbs and the idea to use foods that minimally stimulate insulin is a great recommendation.
I’ve thought for a long time that some of the typical recommended diets in medicine are generally outdated (refer to diets recommended by American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association). My guess (and hope) is that some formulation of the diet recommended by Tim will become more mainsteam in the next few years…
Paul
Hey Tim
thanks for your reply, I am the 390lb guy, that everyone is pushing the gastric bypass on, and my Dr. bummed me out about 4HB and a Dexa scan, well its been a couple of weeks, and I have to say I have kind of fell off the whole diet wagon, i’ve been cheating modestly, but I have been consistent with eating withing 30 to 60 minutes of waking, and cold showers(friggin blow my mind) and have been using PAGG, and I have lost 8lbs since my bummer Dr. visit. Also I have started taking the huperzine a before bed and some magnesium and have been sleeping very well, thanks for the book, and thinking past what everyone blindly believes. what do you think of the gastric bypass, I have been large my entire life, I did a biggest loser type contest and lost 80lbs but did not keep it off, because I cant resist temptation, I over indulge and never feel full or satisfied, I am married and have two beautiful little girls, all of whom, I love with my whole heart, and am desperate to lose this weight, and increase my chances of being with them for as long as possible. do you think gastric bypass is wrong. just looking for some different insight.
Jon Gabriel “the Gabriel methoed” mentions that emotions can sometimes be a factor with weight. E.g. Your fat might ‘protect you’ in some subconscious way.
Seriously, check out Jon’s website and his book. It is compatible with the 4hb. His big thing is to add foods rather than subtract – for people who are sick of dieting. He says to have either protein, omega 3 (eg fresh ground flaxseeds, krill oil, chia seeds etc) or some live food (raw carrot/cucumber/salady foods etc) before eating anything else.
John,
I was once at 330 lbs and lost 120 lbs while gaining muscle mass by low-carbing. In my opinion the bypass is one of the dumbest ideas on earth.
When starting slow or lowcarb at your weight, you should eat MASSIVE amounts of protein and fat. It makes the transition a lot easier. At least in my experience. The cravings will go away.
All the best
Peter
John,
I think that Amanda and Peter make great points about alternatives to consider before a gastric bypass.
Tim has a page in the book on Reversing Permanent Injuries where he goes through a progressive set of stages he works through to fix a problem. (They are: Movement -> Manipulation->Medication -> Mechanical Reconstruction p.298) Obviously a gastric bypass is a pretty extreme step to take, and (while it’s highly anecdotal) the one person I know who did it lost the weight for a few years but has been slowly creeping back up there recently.
So one suggestion I’d offer is to explore hypnosis, in addition to what Amanda and Peter mention. I heard a radio interview last year that planted a seed and this year I plan to check out hypnosis for weight-loss with the psychologist interviewed in the program below.
http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2010/mar/19/please-explain-hypnosis/
And acupuncture is also on my list of things to try for weight-loss this year- depending on the results of SCD, and hypnosis and exercise.
Hi tim,
(sorry for my poor english)
1) Could you drop your raw datas of when you were isolating the cold bath factor when looking for improving your testosterone please?
i would love to see how much this parameter alone has increase your testo level
2) how about a 4hour brain book next ? 🙂
Do you have any tips for me if I want to start making my own sauerkraut?
Save yourself a world of hurt and buy it. My aunt used to make it and it’s amazing how much attention & work goes into making something so apparently simple. Also, it takes a couple of months for the cabagge to become sauerkraut…
All of that is incorrect.
If it’s from a commercial outlet, it will be pasteurized and all the goodness gone… buy from a farmer’s market or make your own if you want any of the benefits.
Making saurkraut is easy, google it or pick up any pickling book. Its basically you slice cabbage and put it in water and a little salt and let it ferment in a cool place. TA DA saurkraut
Making your own kimchee is equally easy, and it’s awesome. Just google for recipes. You can start eating it right away, and it peaks in fermentation in about 3 weeks.
Kombucha tea is also really easy to make, but you have to wait 2-3 weeks before it’s ready to drink.
See wikipedia which has a link to a wiki-cookbook page:
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Sauerkraut
I’m trying this approach at the moment
Actually, I just started making sauerkraut and it is much better than anything store bought. (If you do buy from a store get fermented sauerkraut in the refrigerated section) I heard on Dr. Oz about this thing called a picklemeister and bought one. It is a lot cheaper than the Harsch crocks and a lot smaller. I bought the 1/2 gallon and am ordering 2 more for friends. It only took 6 days to ferment…it was really cool and tasted great. Good Luck, Jennifer
WOW,
Great article, really enjoyed all the tips.
Like how you have answred all the questions
Bryan Carlton
I see Tim recommends yerba mate in the videos, book and this blog.
Now there is yerba mate with prebiotics (inulin): Unión Bio
http://www.yerbaunion.com.ar/web_new/bio.html
95% yerba mate, 5% inulina
Made by Las Marías, which also makes Taragüí which you may know.
http://www.lasmarias.com.ar/eng/home.htm (English)
I am using it and it has the same flavor 🙂
Sweet! Thanks, che!
Just wanted to express my gratitude for this book, Tim. Ive already lost 16 lbs on slow carb/pagg and even have been able to reduce my running a bit. I can gain weight (muscle or fat) super easy but its always been a damned struggle to get it off. The tips and tricks and science behind some of the mechanisms you described were the missing ingredient that i haven’t been able to get a handle on, ever.
Anyways, keep being rad and keep doing what you’re doing.
Been following Slow Carb for about 3 weeks, have dropped almost 13lbs of body fat. Just started PAGG stack this week, going well so far.
Quick question – how much should I be concerned with meat portion size and/or fat during each meal? Should I be keeping a limit on the amount of meat I eat each meal? Does it matter what the fat content is (say, difference between a 6oz filet and 6oz filet wrapped in bacon?)
Most no carb diets let you go nuts on the meat and fat, just wanted to know what kind of guidelines are good to follow for Slow Carb.
(The Website link goes to my food blog, if that would help illustrate the kinds of portions I’ve been eating).
Regarding a membership fee as a spam-blocking device… I can speak from experience that sometimes there can be unintended consequences. A couple years ago I was a part of a niche music forum. They had lots of great discussion and it was awesome. Then they decided to charge membership fees, and justified it by adding extra features and bonuses. It all made sense on paper, but the community didn’t care as much about those added features as much as it did a vast and diverse forum community.
Obviously, you are free to run a beta test however you like, but maybe there are other ways to weed out the spam.
Either way, you’re going to have to decide what to do with these out of control blog comment-section discussions. Will this be the de-facto shitty forum which you are going to have to moderate either way. It seems like the benefit of a dedicated forum is a single inbox for community discussion.
-Jon L
p.s. Tim’s section on “The View” reminded me more than ever 1) that we are complete nerds and 2) that most of the population is more interested in the consistency of Creatine and trying out a sleeping device on their children (i.e. they’re missing the point).
Oi! Today was my first cheat day and I destroyed myself. Pizza buffet and then a LARGE helping of chicken tikka masala. I am stuffed beyond reason and can’t wait to get back to my eggs, steaks and spinach…
🙂
Gonna chime in a bit on the cheat days. The first couple of them I regained 5+ pounds each time! And that wasn’t just water weight. Totally killing my weight loss progress! (Literally two steps forward and one step back). But I realized that since I’m not exercising yet and I really(!) was bingeing, it was a simple matter of calories consumed. So this is another case where a wee bit of attention to calories is actually warranted. Now I only regain about a pound.
Yeah, I have been doing the same thing on cheat days. Eating everything in sight. Going from one restaurant to another eating all my favorite carb foods. I gotta stop that.
Yeah, my cheat days were turning into 3 day binges with not much exercise! I’m going to be one of the crazies “Tim, your diet DOES NOT WORK”. LOL
Hi Tim
I have read the 4 Hour Body and follow your blog, I may have missed it but I am curious about your thoughts on post workout isolate whey protein shakes, avoid or take?
As well, I tried the Geek to Freak with success but the NO xplode did not treat me well, can you suggest an alternative? Is there a need for a nitric oxide in rapid muscle growth?
Keep up the amazing work, I recommend your books and blog to everyone I know interested in lifestyle change.
Thank you
nice article and thanks for sharing the information