the slow-carb diet

so on tuesday, july 12, my world changed..

for the past couple of weeks, my dad had been obsessing over this new diet plan he discovered. it's from the book the 4-hour body by tim ferriss and the diet is called a slow-carb diet. every day i would hear about how if you eat according to this diet, you don't have to exercise, or you can eat as much food as you want and lose 20 pounds in 30 days.. my thoughts: "yeah right!"

then one day, an amazon box got delivered to my dad at work (which is not an unusual occurrence) and he calls me in to his office. i am presented with that looked like a copy of the bible, and in a sense it was, i suppose.

for whatever reason, i decided to crack the bad boy open. i immediately skipped to the chapter explaining the slow-carb diet so i could decide if i indeed wanted to partake in what i have dubbed the 'crazy man's diet.' it's been one week and i've lost 3.5 pounds and i started it when i was on my girly time (which means i was bloated and felt crappy, but still managed to lose weight).

here's the gist of it:

• the 'diet' part is a 6-day-per-week regimen in which you cannot drink milk (you must also avoid most dairy), white carbohydrates (i.e. bread, cereal, rice, potatoes, pasta, tortillas, chips, and delicious fried-food with any breading). also, no fruits! yes, you read right: you can't eat fruit on this diet. you can however have fruits on your cheat day.
• variety, while it is the spice of life, is not necessary nor is it particularly recommended for this diet. you should be eating the same few meals over and over again and basically mix and match each meal from three categories: protein + carbs + vegetables (i will discuss the approved carbs below)
• sticking with water and unsweetened tea or other no-calorie drinks is key. you cannot drink milk, fruit juices, or normal soft drinks and sodas. it is recommended to limit diet sodas to 16 ounces per day. however, you can have as much as 2 glasses of dry red wine each night, but no white wine, beer, or, sadly, hard liquor. *when i need a cure for my sweet-drink cravings, i turn to carrot juice. bolthouse farms (found in von's and costco) has a carrot juice that has no sugar added and the ingredients are literally.. carrots! there are ~17 carrots per bottle and it is soooo delicious!
• the suggested eating schedule is 4 meals per day, spaced approximately 4 hours apart from each other. breafkast should be eaten within a half hour of waking.

here is a short list of acceptable foods with which to compose your meals:
proteins: non-fat cottage cheese, chicken, turkey, grass-fed beef, fish, whole eggs & egg whites
carbs: black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, lentils.. basically beans
vegetables: any vegetable you want!

as far as seasonings go, you can use salsa (no sugar added!), avocado (limit use to one meal per day), butter (no margarine!), balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic powder, mustard, meat seasoning blends, cinnamon, lemons.. nothing cream-based!

dinner: chicken breast with veggies on lentils

i know the part you all truly care about is the cheat day:
ferriss recommends saturdays as an optimal cheat day, but theorhetically any day would work. you can eat anything you want. let me write that again: you can eat anything you want! this should make no sense to anyone who has half a brain, but in reality dramatically spiking caloric intake keeps the metabolism from downshifting and stimulates the thyroid's function, which results in increased fat-loss. when or if you start this diet, you need to begin at least 5 days before your first cheat day. ferriss recommends that you start your cheat day with a regular slow-carb breakfast (i usually do scrambled eggs with some veggies tossed in, top it with salsa and sometimes with a side of turkey bacon) and then from there anything's game.

as if this post isn't long enough, there are some key mistakes people make when attempting to stick with this diet that can stall-out weight loss:

• not eating within 30 minutes of waking up
• not eating enough protein
• not drinking enough water (you should drink more water on your cheat day)
• thinking you'll cook - feel free to get frozen veggies and canned beans to cut cooking time
• over-eating 'domino' foods - like nuts, hummus, peanuts.. although these qualify as acceptable foods in this diet, they are prone to portion abuse, so try not to eat anything that you will go overboard on

overall, eating this way has made me feel really - good! not being weighed down by breads and fried food has really made a difference in the way that i feel. granted, it's only been a week, but i'm going to go on a limb and say that this is the least-suckiest diet i've ever gone on. it's not about measuring food our counting points or calories. you can eat as much as you want - of the appropriate foods. and you get a 'fatty day' every week! what beats that?

i'll keep you all posted on my progress with this diets - some 'recipes' and meals i eat regularly, tips and tricks for fighting the urge to stuff anything wheat down your throat, and any results i see on the scale.

if you decide to try this, let me know! i'll be your dieting buddy <3

until next time..

<3 alaina