Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Tim Ferriss' Slow-Carb Diet Test: Day 15


Today is the 15th day of Tim Ferriss' Slow-Carb Diet, as laid out in The 4-Hour Body.

For the next 15 days, I will continue to execute the plan, document my progress, and share any relevant observations along the way. Does it work? Is it worth doing? Do I have enough will power to stick it out? I invite you to join me on this 30 day adventure and find out.

Meals
Since my last report (day 8), I have done exceedingly well with the meals. Below, you will find a list of foods consumed.

Meat
  • Chicken breast: It has become far easier to simply eat Tyson's grilled chicken. As a result, I have quit cooking Walmart's frozen chicken. 
  • Eggs: I eat between 6-10 scrambled eggs a day. For color and flavor, I leave two egg yolks in the mix.
  • Ground Beef: I cook 93/7 ground beef.
  • Steak: In week two, I continue to buy lean cuts of steak. The fat count is under 5 grams per serving.
Legumes 
  • Red Beans: I cook from a can.
  • Black Beans: I stopped cooking bagged black beans and replaced it with a canned alternative. Cooking beans takes way too long, which affects planned meals.
Vegetables
  • Broccoli: I'm eating a lot of broccoli.
  • Spinach: Over the last few days, I started putting frozen spinach in my eggs. It tastes great and gives me the veggies I need.
Beverages
  • Water: During week two I did much better than in week 1. I am now drinking at least 1 gallon of water a day.
  • Red wine: I cut back on wine after day 8. I noticed my tolerance level dropped. Two glasses of red wine practically put me out. Today, I'll drink half a glass (maximum).
  • Coffee: When available, I'll drink a cup of black coffee in the morning. 
My cheat day, which is Saturday, was minimal. Unlike week one, where I gorged myself into a sugar coma (twice), I only cheated during dinner. It didn't take much to avoid, I just didn't feel like eating. Although, I believe breakfast helped curb my appetite.

For dinner, we prepared home-made pizza and I tasted a Blizzard from Dairy Queen (4-5 bites total).   
    Physical Activities
    Last week, I identified the desire to increase my activity in the gym. Unfortunately, it didn't happen until yesterday when I returned to a normal routine.

    Heading into week three, I am back to weight training and cardio.

    Statistics
    I weighed in and measured myself yesterday evening (day 14). If you recall, on day 8 I gained 2 pounds and lost 1/2 inches from my chest.

    This week, I gained another pound, which puts me at 263 lbs. Instead of dropping weight, I'm gaining weight. At the same time, I lost 3.4% of body fat and 0.25 inches from my waist. Below is the complete report:

    • Weight: 263 lbs (+ 3lbs)
    • Height: 6' 2"
    • Age: 36 (today's my birthday)
    • Body Fat: 25.5% (-3.4%)
    • Chest: 45.5"
    • Waist: 43.25" (-0.25")
    • Arms: 17.25"
    • Shoulders: 53.5"
    • Forearms: 14"
    • Neck: 16.25"
    • Hips: 46.25"
    • Thighs: 26"
    • Calves: 18"
    Observations
    I feel great! No energy loss or hunger pains. In fact, I'm really not that hungry most of the time. I still feel like I'm forcing myself to eat. On a few occasions,  I only ate three meals.

    Final Thoughts
    Similar to week one, I anticipated a weight loss. However, I'm disappointed by what the scale reports. Frankly, I'm confused by the numbers. How is it that I'm gaining weight, but losing inches and body fat?

    Is it water weight gain? Is it too much sodium from canned goods? I'm not sure how to explain it, but the weight tells a different story than my other measurements.

    When compared to what others on the diet are reporting, I seem to be the only person gaining weight. Am I doing something wrong?

    As long as my waist and body fat keep decreasing, I won't give the scale too much attention. Although, when people ask how effective the diet has been, I can only tell them that I have gained weight.

    Is it possible to lose 20 pounds in two weeks? I don't know, but I'm going to give it a try. Maybe with some cardio attached, I'll do better. Although, isn't the diet touting weight loss without exercising? I'm just saying.

    Suggested Changes
    • Increase cardio
    Feedback
    For those following along, how do you feel? What could you do better tomorrow? Leave me a comment in the section below and join us on the discussion board (see Community).

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    1 comments:

    Unknown said...

    Perhaps you are gaining muscle faster than you are dropping fat as muscle weighs more than fat does. Tim also states somewhere in the book that you are creating a "recomposition" ie . Exchanging fat for lean muscle. I am on day 18 of the same diet and my scale weightloss has stalled but my bodyfat % continues to drop so I would ignore the scale and focus on lean body mass vs bodyfat %

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    Damond L. Nollan, M.B.A.

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