Living the 4-Hour Work Week » dieting

The Four Hour Body and You

Rex — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:47:14 +0000

Like many of your Tim Ferriss fans out there, I’ve been very keen to try the Four Hour Body lifestyle change. I’m overweight by quite a few pounds, so I made a New Year’s resolution to shed some pounds. I figured a good healthy goal would be to lose one pound a week. That’s not much, eh? But indeed, after 52 weeks, that would be 52 pounds. Quite an accomplishment.

Well, I’m happy to say that since January 2011, I’ve lost over 20 pounds, and I’m right on schedule. I make sure to follow the basic ideas of the 4HB, but I’m not a stickler. I feel that a goal of one pound a week and making sure that I hit the goal at least once in the week (even if I bounce up) will keep me on target.

So, what tools do I recommend? First, the 4HB regimen is a combination of dietary changes (drop all the “white” carbs, shift to mostly lean proteins, etc.) as well as repetitive workout regimens. They recommend kettlebells for exercises, but other exercise approaches would work. To get a good cross-section of workout gear, you should definitely check out the Become shopping portal. In particular, the Sports and Outdoors section is relevant to those of you trying to get on the 4HB track. For example, the workout bench and the Proform Elliptical are welcome add-ons to a 4HB routine. Check out the Editor’s picks on the site and peruse the options. A search on Kettlebell turns up quite a few results as well. So, this looks like a good place to pick up some equipment.

I’d love to hear from you all. Are you also having good results with the 4HB diet? Any recommendations? Many folks say you’ll hit a plateau at 15-20 pounds, but I seem to be cruising through it… so far. I wonder what’s in store!

The Meal Planner… 4HWW Style

Rex — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 23:24:03 +0000

One of the hottest posts on the 4HWW Blog is the topic of how Tim Ferris lost 20 pounds of fat in 30 days… without exercising. His basic method: eat 4 times a day, repeat the meals frequently, focus on low glycemic-index foods, cut out the “white carbs / starches”, take one day a week off, and focus on protein and veggies. Ok, nothing new here. Nothing revolutionary. But just like everything else in 4HWW, the idea is to focus, focus, focus on efficiency and just making it work. Cut out all else, and work to the bare essentials.

Coincidentally, another 4HWW blogger, my friend Brick at the 4-Hour Workweek Journal posted recently a Menu Planner that has helped him become more efficient with regards to meal preparation. He posted a nice spreadsheet to help with meal planning, and I found it to be an excellent tool. However, once I started focusing on the 4HWW diet, I realized that the meal planner as provided was still focused around the staid three-meals a day concept. So, I’ve tweaked the meal planner in a way to make it more 4HWW friendly.

Below, you can see the 4HWW-based Weekly Meal planner in action:

It’s just a simple planner focused around pre-planning your 4HWW-based 4-meal day (do you see a theme here?). Plan out your whole month and then you’ll be able to efficiently shop, cook, or outsource your meals without having to wander through the day eating, wasting time, and gaining weight (if that’s your problem). I’ll continue with this and check in periodically to let you know how it’s going.

You can also download the spreadsheet below if you want to use it. If you improve it, let me know and I’ll post a link to your post, or upload the file here for everyone else to share.

4HWW Menu Planner