The 4-Hour Body Part 8

Legumes *Lentils (also called "dal" or "daal") *Black beans Pinto beans Red beans Soybeans

Vegetables *Spinach *Mixed vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, or any other cruciferous vegetables) *Sauerkraut, kimchee (full explanation of these later in "Damage Control") Asparagus Peas Broccoli Green beans

Eat as much as you like of the above food items, but keep it simple.

Pick three or four meals and repeat them. Almost all restaurants can give you a salad or vegetables in place of french fries, potatoes, or rice. Surprisingly, I have found Mexican food (after swapping out rice for vegetables) to be one of the cuisines most conducive to the Slow-Carb Diet. If you have to pay an extra $13 to subst.i.tute at a restaurant, consider it your six-pack tax, the nominal fee you pay to be lean.

Most people who go on "low"-carbohydrate diets complain of low energy and quit because they consume insufficient calories. A half-cup of rice is 300 calories, whereas a half-cup of spinach is 15 calories! Vegetables are not calorically dense, so it is critical that you add legumes for caloric load.

Eating more frequently than four times per day might be helpful on higher-carb diets to prevent gorging, but it's not necessary with the ingredients we're using. Eating more frequent meals also appears to have no enhancing effect on resting metabolic rate, despite claims to the contrary. Frequent meals can be used in some circ.u.mstances (see "The Last Mile"), but not for this reason.

The following meal schedule is based on a late sleep schedule, as I'm a night owl who gives up the ghost at 2:00 A.M A.M. at the earliest, usually with winegla.s.s or book still in hand, a la heroin addict. Adjust your meals to fit your schedule, but make sure to have your first meal within an hour of waking.

Meals are approximately four hours apart.

10:00 A.M A.M.-Breakfast2:00 P.M P.M.-Lunch6:30 P.M P.M.-Smaller second lunch8:009:00 P.M P.M.-Recreation or sports training, if scheduled.10:00 P.M P.M.-Dinner12:00 A.M A.M.-Gla.s.s of red wine and Discovery Channel before bed Here are some of my meals that recur again and again:

* Breakfast (home): Scrambled Eggology pourable egg whites with one whole egg, black beans, and mixed vegetables warmed up or cooked in a microwave using Pyrex pourable egg whites with one whole egg, black beans, and mixed vegetables warmed up or cooked in a microwave using Pyrex containers. containers.

* Lunch (Mexican restaurant): Gra.s.s-fed organic beef, pinto beans, mixed vegetables, and extra guacamole.

* Dinner (home): Gra.s.s-fed organic beef (from Trader Joe's), lentils, and mixed vegetables.

Just remember: this diet is, first and foremost, intended to be effective, not fun. It can can be fun with a few tweaks (the be fun with a few tweaks (the next chapter next chapter covers this), but that's not the goal. covers this), but that's not the goal.

RULE #3: DON'T DRINK CALORIES.

Drink ma.s.sive quant.i.ties of water and as much unsweetened tea, coffee (with no more than two tablespoons of cream; I suggest using cinnamon instead), or other no-calorie/low-calorie beverages as you like. Do not drink milk (including soy milk), normal soft drinks, or fruit juice. Limit diet soft drinks to no more than 16 ounces per day if you can, as the aspartame can stimulate weight gain.

I'm a wine fanatic and have one to two gla.s.ses of red wine almost every evening. It doesn't appear to have any negative impact on my rate of fat-loss. Red wine is by no means required for this diet to work, but it's 100% allowed (unlike white wines and beer, both of which should be avoided).

Up to two gla.s.ses of red per night, no more.

RULE #4: DON'T EAT FRUIT.

Humans don't need fruit six days a week, and they certainly don't need it year-round.

If your ancestors were from Europe, for example, how much fruit did they eat in the winter 500 years ago? Think they had Florida oranges in December? Not a chance. But you're still here, so the lineage somehow survived.

The only exceptions to the no-fruit rule are tomatoes and avocadoes, and the latter should be eaten in moderation (no more than one cup or one meal per day). Otherwise, just say no to fruit and its princ.i.p.al sugar, fructose, which is converted to glycerol phosphate more efficiently than almost all other carbohydrates. Glycerol phosphate triglycerides (via the liver) fat storage. There are a few biochemical exceptions to this, but avoiding fruit six days per week is the most reliable policy.

But what's this "six days a week" business?

It's the seventh day that allows you, if you so desire, to eat peach crepes and banana bread until you go into a coma.

RULE #5: TAKE ONE DAY OFF PER WEEK.

I recommend Sat.u.r.days as your Dieters Gone Wild (DGW) day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Sat.u.r.days, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. If I drank beer, I'd have a few pints of Paulaner Hefe-Weizen.1 I make myself a little sick each Sat.u.r.day and don't want to look at any junk for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat-loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function and conversion of T4 to T3, etc.) doesn't downs.h.i.+ft from extended caloric restriction.

That's right: eating pure c.r.a.p can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia.

There are no limits or boundaries during this day of gluttonous enjoyment. There is absolutely no calorie counting no calorie counting on this diet, on this day or any other. on this diet, on this day or any other.

Start the diet at least five days before your designated cheat day. If you choose Sat.u.r.day, for example, I would suggest starting your diet on a Monday.

That's All, Folks!

If the founding fathers could sum up our government in a six-page const.i.tution, the above is all we need to summarize rapid fat-loss for 99.99% of the population. Followed to the letter to the letter, I've never seen it fail. Never.

When you feel mired in details or confused by the latest-and-greatest contradictory advice, return to this short chapter. All you need to remember is: Rule #1: Avoid "white" carbohydrates (or anything that can be white).Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again.Rule #3: Don't drink calories.Rule #4: Don't eat fruit.Rule #5: Take one day off per week and go nuts.

For the finer points, we have the next chapter next chapter.

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Andrew Hyde is community director at TechStars, a well-known start-up incubator in Boulder, Colorado. He is also an Internet-famous big bargain hunter. I use "big" in both the figurative and literal senses: Andrew is 65 and 245 pounds.

I should say that he was was 245 pounds. In his first two weeks on the Slow-Carb Diet, he lost 10 pounds and, perhaps more impressive, racked up incredibly 245 pounds. In his first two weeks on the Slow-Carb Diet, he lost 10 pounds and, perhaps more impressive, racked up incredibly un unimpressive costs: Total per-week food cost: $37.70Average per-meal cost: $1.34 And this was including organic gra.s.s-fed beef! If he'd eaten a big salad three times a week instead of a few proteins, his weekly cost would have been $31.70.

He repeated four meals: BREAKFAST: Egg whites, one whole egg, mixed vegetables, chicken breastLUNCH: Mixed vegetables, peas, spinach (salad)SECOND LUNCH: Chicken thigh, black beans, mixed vegtablesDINNER: Beef (or pork), asparagus, pinto beans His exact shopping list was simplicity itself. The prices are the per line totals: 1x Eggs (12 pack) $1.20 2x Gra.s.s-fed organic beef (0.5-lb cuts) $4 4x Mixed vegetables (1-lb bags) $6 2x Pork (1-lb cuts) $3 1x Chicken breast $2 2x Asparagus bundles $2 1x Organic peas (2-lb bag) $2 1x Pinto beans (1-lb bag) $1.50 2x Spinach (3-lb bags) $6 1x Black beans (1-lb bag) $1 3x Chicken thigh $9 Getting these prices didn't require a degree in negotiation or dozens of hours of searching. Andrew looked for discounted items near expiration date and shopped at smaller stores, including a Mexican grocery store, where he bought all of his dried beans.

Just to restate an important point: Andrew is an active 65, 245-pound, 26-year-old male, and he exercised three times a week during his Slow-Carb Diet experiment. He's not a small organism to feed.

He's also not unique in his experience.

Though you might not get to $1.34 per meal, his two-week experiment shows what thousands of others have been surprised to learn about the Slow-Carb Diet: it's d.a.m.n cheap.

The myth that eating right is expensive is exactly that: a myth.

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Can fruit juice really screw up fat-loss?

Oh, yes. And it screws up much more.

Not to speculate, I tested the effect of fructose in two tests, the first during a no-fructose diet (no juice, no fruit) and the second after one week of consuming 14 ounces-about 1.5 large gla.s.ses-of pulp-free orange juice upon waking and before bed. The orange juice was the only thing distinguis.h.i.+ng diets A and B.

The changes were incredible.

Before (10/16, no fructose) and after (10/23, orange juice):Cholesterol: 203 243 (out of "healthy" range)LDL: 127 165 (also out of range)

There were two other values that shot up unexpectedly:

Alb.u.min: 4.3 4.9 (out of range)Iron: 71 191 (!) (out of range aka into the stratosphere) Alb.u.min binds to testosterone and renders it inert, much like SHBG (discussed in "s.e.x Machine") but weaker. I don't want either to be out-of-range high. Bad for the manly arts.

If you said "Holy sh*t!" when you saw the iron jump, we're in the same boat. This result was completely out of the blue and is not good, especially in men. It might come as a surprise, but men don't menstruate. This means that men lack a good method for clearing out excessive iron, which can be toxic.2 The increase in iron was far more alarming to me than the changes in cholesterol. The increase in iron was far more alarming to me than the changes in cholesterol.

Here is just one of several explanations from the research literature:

In addition to contributing to metabolic abnormalities, the consumption of fructose has been reported to affect homeostasis of numerous trace elements. Fructose has been shown to increase iron absorption in humans and experimental animals. Fructose intake [also] decreases the activity of the copper enzyme superoxide dis.m.u.tase (SOD) and reduces the concentration of serum and hepatic copper.

The moral of the story? Don't drink fruit juice, and absolutely avoid a high-fructose diet.

It doesn't do the body good.

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TOOLS AND TRICKS.

The Three-Minute Slow-Carb Breakfast (www.fourhourbody.com/breakfast) Breakfast is a ha.s.sle. In this video, I'll show you how to make a high-protein slow-carb breakfast in three minutes that is perfect for fat-loss and starting the day at a sprint. Breakfast is a ha.s.sle. In this video, I'll show you how to make a high-protein slow-carb breakfast in three minutes that is perfect for fat-loss and starting the day at a sprint.

Still Tasty (www.stilltasty.com) Not sure if it's safe to eat those eggs or those Thai leftovers? Tired of calling your mom to ask? This site allows you to search the shelf life of thousands of cooked and uncooked foods. Not sure if it's safe to eat those eggs or those Thai leftovers? Tired of calling your mom to ask? This site allows you to search the shelf life of thousands of cooked and uncooked foods.

Food p.o.r.n Daily (http://www.foodp.o.r.ndaily.com) Need some inspiration for your cheat day? Food p.o.r.n Daily provides a delicious and artery-blocking cornucopia of bad (but tasty) eating. Save it for Sat.u.r.day. Need some inspiration for your cheat day? Food p.o.r.n Daily provides a delicious and artery-blocking cornucopia of bad (but tasty) eating. Save it for Sat.u.r.day.

Gout: The Missing Chapter (http://www.fourhourbody.com/gout) Concerned about protein intake and gout? Read this missing chapter from Concerned about protein intake and gout? Read this missing chapter from Good Calories, Bad Calories Good Calories, Bad Calories, graciously provided by stunning science writer Gary Taubes. It might change your mind.

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End of Chapter Notes 1. Okay, I did have a few cold ones in Munich. It was one-third the cost of bottled water. Okay, I did have a few cold ones in Munich. It was one-third the cost of bottled water.

2. See the "Living Forever" chapter for more on this. See the "Living Forever" chapter for more on this.

THE SLOW-CARB DIET II.

The Finer Points and Common Questions As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods.-Ralph Waldo EmersonThe system is the solution.-AT&T This chapter answers the most common questions related to the Slow-Carb Diet, shares real-world lessons learned, and pinpoints the most common mistakes.

I designate Sat.u.r.day as "cheat day" in all of my answers, but, in practice, you can subst.i.tute any day of the week.

Chances are good that at least 50% of the questions in this chapter will come up for you at some point. If you're serious about achieving the fastest fat-loss possible, read it all.

Common Questions and Concerns HOW CAN I POSSIBLY FOLLOW THIS DIET?.

IT'S TOO STRICT!

Just start with changing your breakfast. You will lose noticeable fat. Be sure to see Fleur B. in "Perfect Posterior," who lost about 3% bodyfat in four to five weeks with this one subst.i.tution. Once you see the results, suck it up and move to 100% slow-carb for six days, after which you can indulge yourself for 24 hours.

Then again, would doing a one-week test from the get-go really be too much? I doubt it. "Pritibrowneyes" developed a simple method for extending self-control:

One thing that worked well for me was keeping a little notepad with me. Everytime I got a craving for something (sweet stuff or just regular food) I added it to the list of things I was going to feast on during my cheat day. This was my way of acknowledging my craving and reminding myself that I could have it, but just not right now. It's like deferred eating.

If that's not enough, don't forget sugar-free Jell-O. When you are on the verge of self-control breakdown, usually late at night, a few bites will put the demons back in their cages.

BUT EATING THE SAME STUFF IS SO BORING!.

Most people vastly overestimate the variety of their meals.