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Mar

I started the 4 Hour Body Program in 1/1/11 and have to say it is my favorite eating plan I’ve tried. When I’d stick to the plan I’d lose on average 5 pounds a week and I’m never hungry, in fact for me, it’s hard to eat as much as I’m supposed to. In January losing weight was the goal. But the great thing about the 4HB book (I also have the audio version) is that it’s not just about losing weight it’s like an encyclopedia of methods to get a variety of results you may be looking for. Even “15 min orgasms” it claims but I will say that was the one part of the book that seemed a bit elementary “the basics”, and the claim, well a little misleading. Here’s a cheat sheet for the diet portion of the book see what you think and consider buying it here. Measurement:   NEVER COMPARE BEFORE-AND-AFTER RESULTS FROM DIFFERENT TOOLS   TOOLS: Tape Measure BMI - DEXA, BodPod or BodyMetrix Scale if you want Take before pictures   Four Principles of Failure-Proofing   Make it conscious.   Make it a game.  Measurement = Motivation Make it competitive  Make it small and temporary.     Food Rules:   Rule #1:  AVOID “WHITE” CARBOHYDRATES Avoid any carbohydrate that is, or can be, white.  The following foods are prohibited:  all bread, rice (including brown), cereal, potatoes, pasta, tortillas, and fried food w breading.   Rule #2:  EAT THE SAME FEW MEALS OVER AND OVER AGAIN Mix and match from the folling list, constructing each meal with one pick from each of the three groups.    Proteins Egg whites w 1-2 whole eggs for flavor (or, if organic 2-5 whole eggs, including yolks) Chicken breast or thigh Beef (preferably grass-fed) Fish Pork   Legumes Lentils Black beans Pinto beans Red beans Soybeans   Vegetables Spinach Mixed Vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, or other cruciferous vegetables) Sauerkraut, kimchee Asparagus Peas Broccoli Green beans   Eat as much as you like of the above food items. Meals are approximately four hours apart. Must eat within 1 hour of when you wake.  Preferably within 30 min. Try to eat within 1 hour of going to bed.   Rule #3:  DON’T DRINK CALORIES Drink massive quantities of water as much unsweetened tea, coffee (with no more than 2 tablespoons of cream: suggest using cinnamon instead, or other no-calorie beverages as you like.  Do NOT drink milk (including soy), normal soft drinks, or fruit juice.  Limit diet soft drinks to no more than 16 ounces per day.  Wine is fine (red) up to two glasses of red per night, no more.  No other alcohol.   Rule #4:  DON’T EAT FRUIT Only exceptions are tomatoes and avocados in moderation (no more than one cup or one meal per day.)   Rule #5:  TAKE ONE DAY OFF PER WEEK Recommends Saturdays as your Dieters Gone Wild day.  Eat whatever you want.  Drink whatever you want.  Start the diet at least five days before your designated cheat day.  Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intak 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 downshift from the extended caloric restriction.   Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings   MISTAKE #1:  NOT EATING WITHIN ONE HOUR OF WAKING, PREFERABLY W/IN 30 MINUTES   MISTAKE #2:  NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN Get at least 20 grams of protein per meal.  This is absolutely most critical at breakfast.   MISTAKE #3:  NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER Make a special effort to drink more water on your cheat day.   MISTAKE #4:  BELIEVING THAT YOU’LL COOK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A BACHELOR If you don’t normally cook, get canned and frozen food for the first few weeks.   MISTAKE #5:  MISTIMING WEIGHINGS WITH YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLE  Woman tend to retain much more water just before their periods.  Ignore scale readings in the 10 days before menstruation.   MISTAKE #6:  OVEREATING “DOMINO FOODS”: NUTS, HUMUS, PEANUTS ETC MISTAKE #7:  OVERCONSUMING ARTIFICIAL (OR “ALL-NATURAL”) SWEETENERS MISTAKE #8:  HITTING THE GYM TOO OFTEN.   Over training leads to over eating.   DAMAGE CONTROL:  Preventing Fat Gain When You Binge   PRINCIPLE #1 MINIMIZE THE RELEASE OF INSULIN, A STORAGE HORMONE. Ensure that your first meal of the day is not a binge meal and has at least 30 grams of protein. Consume a small quantity of fructose, fruit sugar, in grapefruit juice before second meal.   Use supplements that increase insulin sensitivity:  AGG (part of PAGG). Consume citric juices, whether lime juice squeezed into water, lemon juice on food.   PRINCIPLE #2  INCREASE THE SPEED OF GASTRIC EMPTYING, OR HOW QUICKLY FOOD EXITS THE STOMACH Bingeing is a rare circumstance where you want the food (or some of it) to pass through the gastrointestinal tract so quickly that its constituent parts aren’t absorbed well. Accomplish this primarily through caffeine and yerba mate tea.  Also the supplement “Athletic Greens” will help.     PRINCIPLE #3:  ENGAGE IN BRIEF MUSCULAR CONTRACTION THROUGHOUT THE BINGE. Airsquates, wall presses, chest pulls with elastic band.  Do 60-90 secs ideally abut 90 min after you eat   THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF FAT-LOSS PAGG   Policosanol:  20-25 mg Alpha-lipoic acid:  100-300 mg Green tea flavanols with at least 325 mg EGCG Garlic extract:  200 mg   Daily PAGG intake is timed before meals and bed.   Prior to breakfast:  AGG Prior to lunch:  AGG Prior to dinner:  AGG Prior to bed:  PAGG     Take one day off each week and one week off every two months.  This week of is critical.     ADVANCED   ICE AGE Mastering Temperature to Manipulate Weight   Options:   Place an ice pack on the back of next or upper trapezius are for 20-30 min preferably in the evening, when insulin sensitivity is the lowest. Consume, at least 500 milliliters of ice water on an empty stomach immediately upon waking. Take 5-10 minute cold showers before breakfast and/or bed.  Use hot water for 1-2 min over entire body lather. then turn the water to pure cold and rinse your head and face. alone.  Turn around and back into the wather, focusing water on your lower neck  and upper back.  Maintain this position for 1-3 min as you acclimate and apply soap to all other nessary regions. If you can tolerate it 20 min baths that induce shivering. EAT within 1 hour of waking and 1 hour of bed

I started the 4 Hour Body Program in 1/1/11 and have to say it is my favorite eating plan I’ve tried. When I’d stick to the plan I’d lose on average 5 pounds a week and I’m never hungry, in fact for me, it’s hard to eat as much as I’m supposed to. In January losing weight was the goal. But the great thing about the 4HB book (I also have the audio version) is that it’s not just about losing weight it’s like an encyclopedia of methods to get a variety of results you may be looking for. Even “15 min orgasms” it claims but I will say that was the one part of the book that seemed a bit elementary “the basics”, and the claim, well a little misleading.

Here’s a cheat sheet for the diet portion of the book see what you think and consider buying it here.

Measurement:

 

NEVER COMPARE BEFORE-AND-AFTER RESULTS FROM DIFFERENT TOOLS

 

TOOLS:

Tape Measure

BMI - DEXA, BodPod or BodyMetrix

Scale if you want

Take before pictures

 

Four Principles of Failure-Proofing

 

  1. Make it conscious.  
  2. Make it a game.  Measurement = Motivation
  3. Make it competitive 
  4. Make it small and temporary.  

 

Food Rules:

 

Rule #1:  AVOID “WHITE” CARBOHYDRATES

Avoid any carbohydrate that is, or can be, white.  The following foods are prohibited:  all bread, rice (including brown), cereal, potatoes, pasta, tortillas, and fried food w breading.

 

Rule #2:  EAT THE SAME FEW MEALS OVER AND OVER AGAIN

Mix and match from the folling list, constructing each meal with one pick from each of the three groups. 

 

Proteins

  • Egg whites w 1-2 whole eggs for flavor (or, if organic 2-5 whole eggs, including yolks)
  • Chicken breast or thigh
  • Beef (preferably grass-fed)
  • Fish
  • Pork

 

Legumes

  • Lentils
  • Black beans
  • Pinto beans
  • Red beans
  • Soybeans

 

Vegetables

  • Spinach
  • Mixed Vegetables (including broccoli, cauliflower, or other cruciferous vegetables)
  • Sauerkraut, kimchee
  • Asparagus
  • Peas
  • Broccoli
  • Green beans

 

Eat as much as you like of the above food items.

Meals are approximately four hours apart.

Must eat within 1 hour of when you wake.  Preferably within 30 min. Try to eat within 1 hour of going to bed.

 

Rule #3:  DON’T DRINK CALORIES

Drink massive quantities of water as much unsweetened tea, coffee (with no more than 2 tablespoons of cream: suggest using cinnamon instead, or other no-calorie beverages as you like.  Do NOT drink milk (including soy), normal soft drinks, or fruit juice.  Limit diet soft drinks to no more than 16 ounces per day.  Wine is fine (red) up to two glasses of red per night, no more.  No other alcohol.

 

Rule #4:  DON’T EAT FRUIT

Only exceptions are tomatoes and avocados in moderation (no more than one cup or one meal per day.)

 

Rule #5:  TAKE ONE DAY OFF PER WEEK

Recommends Saturdays as your Dieters Gone Wild day.  Eat whatever you want.  Drink whatever you want.  Start the diet at least five days before your designated cheat day.  Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intak 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 downshift from the extended caloric restriction.

 

Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings

 

MISTAKE #1:  NOT EATING WITHIN ONE HOUR OF WAKING, PREFERABLY W/IN 30 MINUTES

 

MISTAKE #2:  NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN

Get at least 20 grams of protein per meal.  This is absolutely most critical at breakfast.

 

MISTAKE #3:  NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER

Make a special effort to drink more water on your cheat day.

 

MISTAKE #4:  BELIEVING THAT YOU’LL COOK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE A BACHELOR

If you don’t normally cook, get canned and frozen food for the first few weeks.

 

MISTAKE #5:  MISTIMING WEIGHINGS WITH YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLE 

Woman tend to retain much more water just before their periods.  Ignore scale readings in the 10 days before menstruation.

 

MISTAKE #6:  OVEREATING “DOMINO FOODS”: NUTS, HUMUS, PEANUTS ETC

MISTAKE #7:  OVERCONSUMING ARTIFICIAL (OR “ALL-NATURAL”) SWEETENERS

MISTAKE #8:  HITTING THE GYM TOO OFTEN.  

Over training leads to over eating.

 

DAMAGE CONTROL:  Preventing Fat Gain When You Binge

 

PRINCIPLE #1 MINIMIZE THE RELEASE OF INSULIN, A STORAGE HORMONE.

  1. Ensure that your first meal of the day is not a binge meal and has at least 30 grams of protein.
  2. Consume a small quantity of fructose, fruit sugar, in grapefruit juice before second meal.  
  3. Use supplements that increase insulin sensitivity:  AGG (part of PAGG).
  4. Consume citric juices, whether lime juice squeezed into water, lemon juice on food.

 

PRINCIPLE #2  INCREASE THE SPEED OF GASTRIC EMPTYING, OR HOW QUICKLY FOOD EXITS THE STOMACH

Bingeing is a rare circumstance where you want the food (or some of it) to pass through the gastrointestinal tract so quickly that its constituent parts aren’t absorbed well.

Accomplish this primarily through caffeine and yerba mate tea.  Also the supplement “Athletic Greens” will help.

 

 

PRINCIPLE #3:  ENGAGE IN BRIEF MUSCULAR CONTRACTION THROUGHOUT THE BINGE.

Airsquates, wall presses, chest pulls with elastic band.  Do 60-90 secs ideally abut 90 min after you eat

 

THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF FAT-LOSS

PAGG

 

Policosanol:  20-25 mg

Alpha-lipoic acid:  100-300 mg

Green tea flavanols with at least 325 mg EGCG

Garlic extract:  200 mg

 

Daily PAGG intake is timed before meals and bed.

 

Prior to breakfast:  AGG

Prior to lunch:  AGG

Prior to dinner:  AGG

Prior to bed:  PAGG  

 

Take one day off each week and one week off every two months.  This week of is critical.

 

 

ADVANCED

 

ICE AGE

Mastering Temperature to Manipulate Weight

 

Options:

 

  1. Place an ice pack on the back of next or upper trapezius are for 20-30 min preferably in the evening, when insulin sensitivity is the lowest.
  2. Consume, at least 500 milliliters of ice water on an empty stomach immediately upon waking.
  3. Take 5-10 minute cold showers before breakfast and/or bed.  Use hot water for 1-2 min over entire body lather. then turn the water to pure cold and rinse your head and face. alone.  Turn around and back into the wather, focusing water on your lower neck 

and upper back.  Maintain this position for 1-3 min as you acclimate and apply soap to all other nessary regions.

  1. If you can tolerate it 20 min baths that induce shivering.

EAT within 1 hour of waking and 1 hour of bed

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