4 hour body

[shalab]

There was a discussion about reducing fat and weight earlier in the year. Would the contributors mind sharing their current status.

 

I found this book - a recommendation by a friend interesting - though some of it may be misleading.

 

http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Body-Uncommon-Incredible-Superhuman/dp/030746363X

 

 

[Valuebo]

"Some" of it may be misleading?  :P

[Rabbitisrich]

Eat less, move more.

[jb85]

calculate how much you burn in a day.  Eat 750 calories less than this everyday.  do push ups, pull ups and situps (really only takes about 15 minutes every other day).  If you do this, you will be in shape.

 

weightloss is simple, but not easy.  don't overcomplicate it.

 

if you are gaining weight you are eating more calories than you burn, plain and simple... and no, it is not because you have a "condition" or are heavy boned, prone to weight gain etc.  you are simply eating more calories than you are burning.

 

I still don't understand why people waste money on fitness books

[beerbaron]

calculate how much you burn in a day.  Eat 750 calories less than this everyday.  do push ups, pull ups and situps (really only takes about 15 minutes every other day).  If you do this, you will be in shape.

 

weightloss is simple, but not easy.  don't overcomplicate it.

 

if you are gaining weight you are eating more calories than you burn, plain and simple... and no, it is not because you have a "condition" or are heavy boned, prone to weight gain etc.  you are simply eating more calories than you are burning.

 

I still don't understand why people waste money on fitness books

 

Amen!

[maxthetrade]

As others have already stated if you want to loose weight you have to eat less calories than you burn. The key to lasting weight loss is to feel satisfied on a lower calorie diet and that is where caloric density (calories per weight unit) comes into play. There are several studies that have shown that every person looses weight if only food below a certain calorie density level is consumed. Eat lots of potatoes, oatmeal, greens, fruits etc. and avoid especially food containing fat as fat is with 9 calories/g the most caloric dense food. Sugary beverages (including fruit juice) should be avoided as well because it's very easy to consume lots of calories this way.

CRON-O-Meter is a great free tool if you want to check the caloric density of different foods or if you want to check your total caloric intake: http://spaz.ca/cronometer/

And here is a tool to estimate your total energy expenditure:  http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

[twacowfca]

As others have already stated if you want to loose weight you have to eat less calories than you burn. The key to lasting weight loss is to feel satisfied on a lower calorie diet and that is where caloric density (calories per weight unit) comes into play. There are several studies that have shown that every person looses weight if only food below a certain calorie density level is consumed. Eat lots of potatoes, oatmeal, greens, fruits etc. and avoid especially food containing fat as fat is with 9 calories/g the most caloric dense food. Sugary beverages (including fruit juice) should be avoided as well because it's very easy to consume lots of calories this way.

CRON-O-Meter is a great free tool if you want to check the caloric density of different foods or if you want to check your total caloric intake: http://spaz.ca/cronometer/

And here is a tool to estimate your total energy expenditure:  http://www.health-calc.com/diet/energy-expenditure-advanced

 

Excellent advice in the opinion of this health and nutrition book publisher.  The easiest and probably most effective exercise is to walk as much as possible each day.  :)

[scorpioncapital]

My rule for weightloss: Always eat food that is thirty minutes walking distance or more from your mouth.

Unlike value investing, this is a case were buying in bulk and saving could lead to overconsumption.

[EdWatchesBoxing]

calculate how much you burn in a day.  Eat 750 calories less than this everyday.  do push ups, pull ups and situps (really only takes about 15 minutes every other day).  If you do this, you will be in shape.

 

weightloss is simple, but not easy.  don't overcomplicate it.

 

if you are gaining weight you are eating more calories than you burn, plain and simple... and no, it is not because you have a "condition" or are heavy boned, prone to weight gain etc.  you are simply eating more calories than you are burning.

 

I still don't understand why people waste money on fitness books

 

I've been doing push ups at least every other day for 7 years. It definitely works. I don't have pull up equipment, but that would really make you strong. I bought a heavy bag and a stand a few weeks ago. I love punching the bag. It's great stress relief.

 

I take transit, so I walk to the bus stop and I walk to the far end of the train station. I think all the little things add up.

[cwericb]

Diet - Not the answer

Exercise - Not the answer

The answer is simple - Diet + Exercise

The hard part is willpower.

[rkbabang]

There was a discussion about reducing fat and weight earlier in the year. Would the contributors mind sharing their current status.

I found this book - a recommendation by a friend interesting - though some of it may be misleading.

http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Body-Uncommon-Incredible-Superhuman/dp/030746363X

 

I was the one who lost 18lbs in a few weeks.  I haven't read that 4hour body book, so I can't comment on that.  I started my diet in January and have lost a total of 36lbs as of this morning.  I have about 20-30lbs to go before I am the weight I was when I graduated high school.   In December I went for a routine check-up and bloodwork and was pretty upset about the results. Not only was I obviously obese, but my good cholesterol was low, my LDL was high, my triglycerides where through the roof, my blood sugar was high and A1C was in the diabetic range.   On a recommendation I read "Good Calories, Bad Calories"  then "Why We Get Fat"  both by Gary Taubes.  I thought I'd give it a try.  I went on the diet completely, I haven't cheated a single time since going on it the first week in January.  I do about 20g of net carbs/day.  (Net carbs) = (total carbs) - (fiber).   As I said I've lost 36lbs on the scale, I went from a size 38pants (they were tight) to a size 34 which are getting too loose now to wear without a belt.  I had bloodwork done at the end of March and it was amazing.  My triglycerides was 94 (under 100 is very good, they were almost 150 in December), my HDL (Good cholesterol) was way up into the high 40's and my LDL was still a little high, but almost normal. The LDL doesn't bother me anymore because of my triglycerides level being under 100, read this.  And best of all my A1C level was 5.6 (it was almost 6.8 before) which is well under the diabetic level and well into the normal range.   I'm done debating people.  I don't really care if you buy the food pyramid eat lots of grains BS.  Everyone else seems to be getting fatter and fatter and my results speak for themselves.   People have been coming up to me almost daily in my office asking me how on earth I've lost so much weight in so little time.  I point them towards Taubes' books.

 

--Eric

 

 

[rkbabang]

Congratulations Eric! I wasnt overweight before but have lost five pounds since the last thread. I am targeting another five-six pounds in the next three months. I exercise more, eat less sugar and fats.

 

Excellent!  One thing I still need to do is exercise more.  I exercise about once per week, sometimes less :(  which is about the same as what I was doing before going on the diet.

 

--Eric

 

[augustabound]

Congratulations Eric! I wasnt overweight before but have lost five pounds since the last thread. I am targeting another five-six pounds in the next three months. I exercise more, eat less sugar and fats.

 

Excellent!  One thing I still need to do is exercise more.  I exercise about once per week, sometimes less :(  which is about the same as what I was doing before going on the diet.

--Eric

 

Congratulations indeed! 

I used to be a gym rat until life kicked in, put on a few pounds, stairs exhaust me now etc. 

Our new home that we move into in May is in a "master planned community", so nice meandering streets, a community centre with a pool, gyms etc.  The streets will be more appropriate for biking than where we are now (the old downtown in Newmarket, Ontario) which has all north/south and east/west streets with every other one a main street.

 

I also will have a big basement for my woodshop and I've already found a fitness store for a basic bench and 300 lbs of olympic style weights pretty cheap.

 

Now just to read those books that were suggested. ;)

[ERICOPOLY]

There was a discussion about reducing fat and weight earlier in the year. Would the contributors mind sharing their current status.

I found this book - a recommendation by a friend interesting - though some of it may be misleading.

http://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Body-Uncommon-Incredible-Superhuman/dp/030746363X

 

I was the one who lost 18lbs in a few weeks.  I haven't read that 4hour body book, so I can't comment on that.  I started my diet in January and have lost a total of 36lbs as of this morning.  I have about 20-30lbs to go before I am the weight I was when I graduated high school.   In December I went for a routine check-up and bloodwork and was pretty upset about the results. Not only was I obviously obese, but my good cholesterol was low, my LDL was high, my triglycerides where through the roof, my blood sugar was high and A1C was in the diabetic range.   On a recommendation I read "Good Calories, Bad Calories"  then "Why We Get Fat"  both by Gary Taubes.  I thought I'd give it a try.  I went on the diet completely, I haven't cheated a single time since going on it the first week in January.  I do about 20g of net carbs/day.  (Net carbs) = (total carbs) - (fiber).   As I said I've lost 36lbs on the scale, I went from a size 38pants (they were tight) to a size 34 which are getting too loose now to wear without a belt.  I had bloodwork done at the end of March and it was amazing.  My triglycerides was 94 (under 100 is very good, they were almost 150 in December), my HDL (Good cholesterol) was way up into the high 40's and my LDL was still a little high, but almost normal. The LDL doesn't bother me anymore because of my triglycerides level being under 100, read this.  And best of all my A1C level was 5.6 (it was almost 6.8 before) which is well under the diabetic level and well into the normal range.   I'm done debating people.  I don't really care if you buy the food pyramid eat lots of grains BS.  Everyone else seems to be getting fatter and fatter and my results speak for themselves.   People have been coming up to me almost daily in my office asking me how on earth I've lost so much weight in so little time.  I point them towards Taubes' books.

 

--Eric

 

 

 

I too have come down roughly 18 lbs now -- although it has taken me 3 months.  Just taking Gary Taubes advice.

 

 

[sswan11]

How about this diet, by Cynthia Kenyon, UCSF geneticist.  The "fountain of youth"?

 

http://kenyonlab.ucsf.edu/

A Regulatory System for Aging

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<wbr></wbr>Cynthia_Kenyon

 

 

Personal diet

 

Kenyon's research prompted her to make personal dietary changes. She

stopped eating high glycemic index carbohydrates when she discovered

that putting sugar on the worms' food shortened their lifespans.[1]

Kenyon follows a low glycemic index diet similar to the Atkins diet[1]

and the South Beach Diet.[2]

No desserts. No sweets. No potatoes. No rice. No bread. No pasta. When

I say ‘no,’ I mean ‘no, or not much,’ she notes. Instead, eat green

vegetables. Eat the fruits that aren't the sweet fruits, like melon.

Bananas? Bananas are a little sweet. Meat? Meat, yes, of course.

Avocados. All vegetables. Nuts. Fish. Chicken. That's what I eat.

Cheese. Eggs. And one glass of red wine a day.[3]

But the diet is unproven, she cautions, and she's not recommending it

for all. Nevertheless, she's pleased with its performance for her. 'I

have a fabulous blood profile. My triglyceride level is only 30, and

anything below 200 is good.'[3]

You have to eat something, and you just have to make your best

judgment. And that's my best judgment. Plus, I feel better. Plus, I'm

thin—I weigh what I weighed when I was in college. I feel great —you

feel like you're a kid again. It's amazing.[3]

In the past, Kenyon had also briefly experimented with a calorie

restriction diet for two days, but couldn't stand the constant

hunger.[1]

 

 

http://kenyonlab.ucsf.edu/

A Regulatory System for Aging

[rkbabang]

I have to check my cholesterol though. Did you do anything specific to get Triglicerides under control?

I stay away from the high fructose corn syrup and it is everywhere! I am trying to banish it from my household but it is hard.

 

No, nothing but staying under 20g net carbs per day for 3 months.

 

--Eric

 

[rkbabang]

How about this diet, by Cynthia Kenyon, UCSF geneticist.  The "fountain of youth"?

http://kenyonlab.ucsf.edu/

A Regulatory System for Aging

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/<wbr></wbr>Cynthia_Kenyon

Personal diet

Kenyon's research prompted her to make personal dietary changes. She

stopped eating high glycemic index carbohydrates when she discovered

that putting sugar on the worms' food shortened their lifespans.[1]

Kenyon follows a low glycemic index diet similar to the Atkins diet[1]

and the South Beach Diet.[2]

No desserts. No sweets. No potatoes. No rice. No bread. No pasta. When

I say ‘no,’ I mean ‘no, or not much,’ she notes. Instead, eat green

vegetables. Eat the fruits that aren't the sweet fruits, like melon.

Bananas? Bananas are a little sweet. Meat? Meat, yes, of course.

Avocados. All vegetables. Nuts. Fish. Chicken. That's what I eat.

Cheese. Eggs. And one glass of red wine a day.[3]

But the diet is unproven, she cautions, and she's not recommending it

for all. Nevertheless, she's pleased with its performance for her. 'I

have a fabulous blood profile. My triglyceride level is only 30, and

anything below 200 is good.'[3]

You have to eat something, and you just have to make your best

judgment. And that's my best judgment. Plus, I feel better. Plus, I'm

thin—I weigh what I weighed when I was in college. I feel great —you

feel like you're a kid again. It's amazing.[3]

In the past, Kenyon had also briefly experimented with a calorie

restriction diet for two days, but couldn't stand the constant

hunger.[1]

http://kenyonlab.ucsf.edu/

A Regulatory System for Aging

 

Sounds very similar to what I am doing and what Gary Taubes recommends. The only fruits I've been eating are berries and only a limited amount of them usually over unsweetened whipped heavy cream.  I don't eat fruit everyday.  I eat a lot of green high fiber vegetables everyday along with everything else she claims to be eating.  I don't like wine though, I've never drank it. I'm not going to start now.  I did give up beer when I went on this diet. Beer has a ton of carbs.  And this from a longtime SAM shareholder, :(  I really shouldn't be advising people to give up beer!

 

--Eric

 

[rkbabang]

I too have come down roughly 18 lbs now -- although it has taken me 3 months.  Just taking Gary Taubes advice.

 

Congratulations.  Maybe you weren't quite as overweight as I was.  Or your metabolism is just different from mine. Either way 18 lbs in 3 months is nothing to sneeze at.  If you told me last year that I could loose 18lbs in 3 months (never mind over 30) I would have not believed it.  My weight loss has slowed significantly as time goes on.  I lost 18lbs in 2 weeks then another 18 over the next 3 months, loosing less and less every week, some weeks not loosing at all.  That's OK with me though, even If it takes me a year or more to loose the next 18 I'm OK with that.  As long as I feel good and my lipid and sugar levels stay at healthy levels it is a huge improvement over where I was.

 

--Eric

 

[rkbabang]

I follow the Ornish diet as I stay away from meat. The lowest common denominator though is the low glycemic diet and eliminating sugar.

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=diet&dbid=5

 

Atkins is the closest to what I am on. Here is a study done comparing Atkins, Zone, and Ornish diets against a traditional low-fat/low calorie/ high exercise diet.

 

Atkins was clearly the winner, but both Zone and Ornish were also preferable to the low-fat/low-cal/exercise diet in every metric of health which was measured..

 

http://www.math.hope.edu/stats/articles/weight-loss.pdf

 

I think you are correct in that the first thing anyone should do is cut out sugar of all types from their diet and that alone will probably make a difference.  After that, I think the evidence shows that cutting out the starches and grains will yield further benefits.

 

--Eric

 

[mranski]

The No Rice surprises me, we eat alot of rice and we are thinking it is pretty good for us? What's wrong with rice, it is a staple everywhere. i can understand the bread and pasta as they are more processed.

 

 

 

 

[jberkshire01]

I'm going to second Eric's recommendation about reading Taubes. Nassim Taleb actually got me interested in Taubes (via Taleb's Amazon book reviews). I decided I needed to do a value investor type work on figuring out how the body really works, stores fat, etc. I would say the idea that the way to lose weight is to burn more calories than one takes in is equivalent to the efficient market hypothesis in investing. The body is a complex system with various feedback loops and trying to simplify the formula using the first law of thermodynamics is quite misleading (as Taubes describes at length in Ch. 17 of Good Calories, Bad Calories).

 

When people ask me for recommendations now that I've read a bunch of stuff, I now basically direct them to 2 books, both fairly short: 1) "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes; and 2) "The New Evolution Diet" by Art De Vany. Taleb also has a great 10 page essay at the end of De Vany's book.

 

If someone wants the extremely short version of diet because they'd rather spend all of their free time reading annual reports, I direct them here: http://www.archevore.com/get-started/

 

If someone wants the extremely short version of finding a workout that they can do once or twice a week for 10-20 minutes because they couldn't possibly imagine spending more time away from their stack of annual reports, then I usually recommend checking out both Doug McGuff's "Big 5" workout and also De Vany's 15-8-4 hierarchy workout (can do using the same machine's as the "Big 5").

 

Big 5: http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=2

 

15-8-4 - See "Ascending Threshold Sets": http://www.arthurdevany.com/categories/20091026

 

The entire De Vany essay above is worth reading too, although it can get a bit technical in spots.

 

All of the above is pretty similar to the advice Ferriss gives in "The Four Hour Body" in the section where he elaborated on this essay: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to-freak-how-i-gained-34-lbs-of-muscle-in-4-weeks/

[coc]

I'm going to second Eric's recommendation about reading Taubes. Nassim Taleb actually got me interested in Taubes (via Taleb's Amazon book reviews). I decided I needed to do a value investor type work on figuring out how the body really works, stores fat, etc. I would say the idea that the way to lose weight is to burn more calories than one takes in is equivalent to the efficient market hypothesis in investing. The body is a complex system with various feedback loops and trying to simplify the formula using the first law of thermodynamics is quite misleading (as Taubes describes at length in Ch. 17 of Good Calories, Bad Calories).

 

When people ask me for recommendations now that I've read a bunch of stuff, I now basically direct them to 2 books, both fairly short: 1) "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes; and 2) "The New Evolution Diet" by Art De Vany. Taleb also has a great 10 page essay at the end of De Vany's book.

 

If someone wants the extremely short version of diet because they'd rather spend all of their free time reading annual reports, I direct them here: http://www.archevore.com/get-started/

 

If someone wants the extremely short version of finding a workout that they can do once or twice a week for 10-20 minutes because they couldn't possibly imagine spending more time away from their stack of annual reports, then I usually recommend checking out both Doug McGuff's "Big 5" workout and also De Vany's 15-8-4 hierarchy workout (can do using the same machine's as the "Big 5").

 

Big 5: http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?page_id=2

 

15-8-4 - See "Ascending Threshold Sets": http://www.arthurdevany.com/categories/20091026

 

The entire De Vany essay above is worth reading too, although it can get a bit technical in spots.

 

All of the above is pretty similar to the advice Ferriss gives in "The Four Hour Body" in the section where he elaborated on this essay: http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2007/04/29/from-geek-to-freak-how-i-gained-34-lbs-of-muscle-in-4-weeks/

 

This is good advice. I hope people start to understand how wrong the "eat less, move more" idea is...a very destructive piece of common wisdom. Your body works like any other homeostatic system - if you starve it, it will try to replace those calories. Expending more energy on the same level of calories or cutting calories on the same level of energy expenditure are both forms of starvation. Doing both...it's no wonder why they're called "yo-yo" diets...the body can only be starved for so long before it gives up.

 

On the other hand, if you stop poisoning your body with insulin (released to process the carbohydrates you eat), it will be much happier and stop storing all that body fat! Someone asked how to get their triglycerides down....it's all in the carbs. Our body is not adapted to the type of carb-heavy diet we eat today. One of my favorite points by Taubes are the populations on the earth that literally eat all fat and protein -- lots of saturated fat, very little to no veggies -- and are perfectly healthy (i.e. the Inuit). Tell that to your average nutritionist and they'd be the ones having a heart attack.

 

If you have to choose between the two, read Taubes' newer book. It's more to the point.

 

The funny thing is people realize that sugar is not good for them, and highly processed food is also not good for them. And yet we seem to think whole wheat bread and pasta are "healthy" food, and eggs and steak get villified. What's that Charlie has to say about raisins and turds? That's how I feel about modern diet advice.

 

 

[Rabbitisrich]

Coc, to be clear, Yo-yo dieting is your contribution, and otherwise unmentioned in the thread. Would you also infer that "move more" means attempt marathons and 3X bodyweight deadlifts daily? It's also worth noting that Taubes never argued against a relationship between caloric intake and obesity. He also never tried to prove a mechanical inefficacy of exercise in improving health; rather, he only demonstrated that exercise rates did not predict obesity trends (a very different topic).

 

http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/291/10/1193.full

USDA survey data for 1977-1996 suggest that factors contributing to the increase in energy intake in the United States include consumption of food away from home; increased energy consumption from salty snacks, soft drinks, and pizza; and increased portion sizes.

 

Eat less, move more, thoughtfully.

[ericd1]

I'm down 30# in a year - The first 20# were fairly easy - cut way back on portions, less fat intake, added more fruit and more veggies. It took about nine months. I was still close to being diabetic so I decided to take off 10# more. It has been harder giving up almost all sugar (desserts & candy mostly - esp high fructose corn sugar - it is in everything) and almost all bread/pasta etc. I've been exercising 3x week treadmill & elliptical since starting. Now I don't crave sugar like I did before. Actually sweets aren't as appealing since I've been away from them. I thought about going to the dentist to get my sweet tooth pulled, but now it's not necessary :)

 

I get my test results later this week. Certainly hope they are much improved!

[sswan11]

I do have some questions:

 

What fruits are ok, which are not?  bananas, oranges?

 

What about tea and coffee?  How much coffee is ok?  Should tea always be green tea?

 

I presume honey is NOT ok. 

 

Any danger of "overdoing it" (not getting ENOUGH glucose?)

 

Thank you.  BTW, I have lost 12 lbs in 3 weeks - no sugar, low carbs.