The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [44]
The first few days you’ll feel like you’re force-feeding yourself, and then it will all change and you’ll feel incredible. Get at least 20 grams of protein per meal, no matter what.
Related problem: not eating enough food. Do NOT try to restrict portions or calories. Eat until you are full, and eat as much as you like of the approved foods. If you don’t, you will either downshift your metabolism or cheat between meals with banned-food snacks.
Kristal wasn’t losing weight and was irritable on the diet. Why? Because she was neglecting legumes and focusing on a higher volume of green vegetables, resulting in insufficient calories. There is no need to count calories if you follow the rules, and one of the rules is: get plenty of legumes. Her results multiplied after making one change:
I took your advice and made beans the #1 ingredient this week, and I have a lot more energy and am remarkably less cranky. The first couple weeks I made veggies #1 with a bit of beans and meat tossed in. This week it is beans, beans, beans … and I’m now down 10 pounds. Whoopee!
MISTAKE #3: NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER
To ensure optimal liver function for fat-loss, increased hydration is a must.
Insufficient water intake (“I just don’t like drinking much water”) seems to be particularly common among women. My mother plateaued in fat loss and, looking at her water intake, I insisted she add a few more glasses. She immediately started losing fat again and lost 3 pounds in the subsequent week.
Make a special effort to drink more water on your cheat day, as the carbohydrate overload will pull water to your digestive tract and muscle glycogen. If you don’t get enough water, headaches will be the result.
MISTAKE #4: BELIEVING THAT YOU’LL COOK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE A BACHELOR
In a sentence: if you don’t normally cook, get canned and frozen food for the first few weeks.
Don’t buy a bunch of food that requires cooking skills if you don’t have them. Don’t buy foods that spoil if you’ve never prepared a proper meal. Unfounded optimism will just result in rotten food and frustration. Below is a telltale picture of what happens to most onions that live in my refrigerator.
Jack and the onion stalk
I have bags of dried lentils in my cabinet that are now six months old. Why? I’m too lazy to boil and strain them.
Keep it simple. Use frozen and canned stuff for at least the first two weeks. Change one habit at a time: food selection first, food preparation second.
MISTAKE #5: MISTIMING WEIGHINGS WITH YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLE (NOT A PROBLEM FOR BACHELORS)
Women tend to retain much more water just before their periods. Be sure to take this into account when you start your diet and take measurements.
Ignore scale readings in the 10 days before menstruation. They’re not at all a reflection of what’s happening. If you are following the diet to the letter, you will lose fat. Treat your first weighing following your period (as soon as one day following is fine) as your “after” measurement.
Don’t let short-term water fluctuations discourage you. Be aware of your menstrual timing so you don’t mistakenly conclude the diet isn’t working.
MISTAKE #6: OVEREATING “DOMINO FOODS”: NUTS, CHICKPEAS (GARBANZO BEANS), HUMMUS, PEANUTS, MACADAMIAS
There are certain foods that, while technically fine to eat on the diet, are prone to portion abuse. I call these “domino foods,” as eating one portion often creates a domino effect of oversnacking.
My fat-loss has plateaued three times due to almonds, which are easy to consume by the handful and simple to excuse as nutritious. Unfortunately, they also contain 824 calories per cup, 146 calories more than a Whopper from Burger King (678 kilocalories).
A few almonds is just fine (5–10), but no one eats just a few almonds.
Caro learned to avoid domino foods, but lost valuable time in the process, as have dozens of others:
I have re-started this eating plan. I