3 Reasons To Try Tim Ferris’ 4-Hour Body (Slow-Carb) Diet – And 10 Reasons Not To…
Here are my 3 reasons for trying this diet:
3 Reasons To Try The 4 Hour Body/Slow Carb Diet
1. I love to experiment
This is probably the main reason for trying it for me. I love experiments and learning new things and this experiment has certainly taught me more than I bargained for about my own tolerance, what I’m capable of putting myself through and how I perceive food generally. It lead me to that simple thought I mentioned above which though very simple, kind of sums up my overall reaction to this experiment and how my perspective has changed.
2. It’s easy to follow/No measuring
This convinced me to get started straight away and is definitely a big advantage of this diet. Not being a fan of diets in general, I dislike the idea of having to check and measure all of that calorie and nutrient information which can make things difficult. This diet is really easy, it has very easy boundaries to follow (see “The Rules” below) and the cheat day once per week makes it all much much easier to take. It can still be tough through the week, but having a cheat day at the end of each week makes it much more manageable. I have also found through the weeks, that my ‘cheat day’ is becoming healthier and healthier as my cravings for unhealthy food are perhaps (hopefully) being re-trained through the week.
3. I like a challenge
In fact, I LOVE a challenge. I think challenging yourself, pushing your boundaries and learning new things are what makes life interesting. This is not quite the same as the first point above because it could be an easy experiment. I haven’t actually set myself a time limit for this challenge, but I reckon I’m going to give it at least 3 months. I will adapt as I go along but I won’t break any rules.
These are pretty much the only reasons I could come up with. You might notice that one of the reasons wasn’t to lose weight. That’s because I wasn’t particularly unhappy with my weight in the first place. As I said in the A Very Simple Thought… post, I don’t particularly like diets, but I do love experiments and this one intrigued me, so I thought I’d try it.
How It Works (“The Rules”)
Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates
This means no bread, pasta, rice, noodles, pastry, potatoes, cereals or even fried food cooked in breadcrumbs. Even brown rice, bread and pasta is forbidden.
Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again
I see this rule as more a guideline than anything (I couldn’t check – see point #8 below) as it makes it easier to stick to the diet if you eat the same few meals over and over again. In fact, it’s not difficult for me to observe this rule because I eat only fresh food anyway (we don’t own a freezer and live in the countryside so I just eat what we have that’s within the food allowed in the diet. Tim tells us to ‘mix and match’, creating each meal with one from each of the three following groups: Proteins (eggs, meat, fish), Legumes (lentils, beans), Vegetables (you know what vegetables are). See Tims post for more details. As long as we stick to these permitted foods, we are allowed to eat as much as we like.
Rule #3: Don’t drink calories
Water & tea, coffee (as long as it’s without full-fat milk or cream), even diet sodas apparently though I personally don’t drink those are allowed, as is a glass of red wine (though I don’t drink that either in my case).
Rule #4: Take one day off per week
One day per week (Saturday for me) is ‘Cheat day’. Everything is allowed on cheat day. The theory here is that by dramatically increasing the calories once per week your metabolism doesn’t slow down.
How The First Week Went For Me
Day 1: Monday
Feeling: Entusiastic.
Supplements: None
Breakfast: None (cup of tea)
Lunch: Raw Tomatoes & Parma Ham
Dinner: Mackerel
Drinks: Tea (with low fat Milk, no sugar)
Day 2: Tuesday
Feeling: Excited
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs & Kipper
Lunch: Butter Beans & Ham & Pea Soup
Dinner: Lamb Chops & Chick Peas
Drinks: Tea
Day 3: Wednesday:
Feeling: Challenged but Positive
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs & Kipper
Lunch: Tuna Fish, Broad Bean & Spinach Salad
Dinner: Spinach & Broccoli Soup with Butter Beans
Snacks: Pistachio Nuts
Drinks: Tea
Day 4: Thursday:
Feeling: Really Hungry!
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs, Parma Ham & Spinach
Lunch: Rump Steak & Fried Tomato
Dinner: Rump Steak, Fried Tomato & Broccoli Soup
Snacks: Pistachio Nuts
Drinks: Tea
Day 5: Friday
Feeling: Hungry but looking forward to cheat day tomorrow
Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs & Bacon
Lunch: Lamb Tikka Masala with Lentils
Dinner: Roasted Chicken Legs & Salad
Drinks: Tea
Day 6: Saturday (Cheat Day)
Feeling: Positive, no visible results yet but made it through the first week!
What I Ate: Too much crap to mention
Note: I’ve been trying the diet now for several weeks, but have just posted the kind of stuff I’m eating from week 1 as it’s pretty much the same each week, just to give you an idea and otherwise it could get very boring 😉
Having tried the diet (and surprisingly not getting the results I expected or claimed by the diet even though I have stuck to the rules of the diet), here are 10 reasons why you may not want to try this diet…
10 Reasons Not To Try The 4 Hour Body/Slow Carb Diet
1. It’s Boring
Yep. It’s really really boring. I like to appreciate food, good, natural, healthy food and to enjoy every mouthful. This diet eliminates lots of foods I could otherwise be enjoying 6 days out of 7.
2. Too many eggs?
I’m a little concerned about how many eggs I end up eating on this diet. We believe that a good healthy diet is about moderation, but with this diet it’s very difficult to exercise moderation (particularly for breakfasts and especially when you consider breakfast as the most important meal of the day) regarding the number of eggs you eat. Are too many eggs bad for you? How many eggs are too many? In any case, I really feel like I might be eating too many eggs on this diet.
3. There seem to be ‘leaks’
In the first week I snacked on nuts. Then in the second week I snacked too much on nuts. Nuts are apparently allowed, even salted nuts (I love almonds and pistachios but I read that salted peanuts are fine too) but this to me feels like a kind of ‘leak’ – i.e. snacking on nuts could easily be used as a substitute for biscuits, crisps etc and given that the diet promotes eating as much as you like, this feels a little dangerous. So I have massively cut down on nuts after week 2.
4. Not the best for nutrients
Tim does say in his book
5. No fruits
I get it that fruits contain a lot of sugar, but they also contain a lot of goodness, they’re natural and full of vitamins. No fruits whatsoever could be a big turn off for some people. This point alone for me makes the diet unsustainable in the long term. Apples and bananas in particular will probably find a way back in to my life at some point during the week.
6. It’s anti-social
This diet is really difficult if you are invited to a friends for dinner and it happens to be on a day other than your cheat day. I also eat every day with my family but don’t share their meals. The last example was a beautiful lasagne I made at the request of my kids (I do make a mean lasagne) but I couldn’t eat any of it!! Whilst my wife and kids finished off my beautiful lasagne, I sat with them eating a repeat of the meal I’d had earlier that day (steak and lentils).
7. It’s confusing
Take a look at Tim’s How To Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days Without Doing Any Exercise post (i.e. the slow carb diet post) – what’s the pizza doing there? Are pizzas allowed on this diet? It seems a bit contradictory to what he said was allowed. Am I being thick? I don’t eat pizza as it is a bready/whit carb type product, surely! Let me know what you think – I find this very confusing, but maybe that’s just me.
8. Lack of ‘official’ information & support on the diet.
On that How To Lose 20 lbs. of Fat in 30 Days Without Doing Any Exercise post you may eventually be able to find my comment (left March 19th 5.12pm). I ask for some guidance and a few questions as I can’t quite understand why the diet is not working. No response. It’s no surprise. Tim is obviously a busy boy, but it seems to be par for the course for this diet that you have a plethora of contradicting ‘participants’ opinions (and don’t get me wrong, some very helpful people and an amazing community) but no official feedback when things don’t quite go to plan. Reading through the comments there are quite a few others who have struggled with the diet and got little help – though it does seem to be effective for the majority of people.
9. It’s probably not sustainable
I don’t know about you but I don’t plan to stick strictly to this diet forever and have always been an advocate of, when making any kind of change, making it a sustainable one, particularly when it comes to your health. Having said that, it’s been interesting and I think it certainly will serve to educate me as to what works and what doesn’t. I will certainly consider continuing with my own ‘version’ of this diet once I’ve tried it for a few months (e.g. re: my point above, perhaps allowing apples and bananas back into my diet during the week – or perhaps even all fruit, but just not other sugar such as sweets etc).
10. Dangers coming off the diet
As a follow-up to the above point, there are lots of people commenting on Tim’s blog post that we should Be VERY careful with this diet and remember as soon as you return to normal eating habits you will gain all back and more. Be smart, choose a diet you can maintain for life and that won’t screw with your hormones.
Two Bonus Reasons
Just for good measure, here are two bonus reasons why this diet may not be the best idea for you. Admittedly the first isn’t a strong reason, and it’s more of a suggestion about how the diet is communicated, nothing in the diet stops you drinking lots of water – I just think it should be a bigger part of the diet. Tim should make that one of his rules. It would have more impact than ‘eat the same meals over and over’.
11 (bonus). Not enough emphasis on water
This diet only really started working for me when I introduced a minimum daily consumption of water as part of it. Once I did that I found that the diet became effective, but it’s not something that is prescribed as a necessary part of the diet.
12 (bonus). It’s Tricking Your Body
Basically this diet is ‘gaming’ your metabolism. The body is a complex and wonderful thing, it’s also finely balanced so messing with the complex system that is your body may be dangerous.
Would I Recommend The Diet?
No.
That being said, I wouldn’t go on a campaign against it either.
Tim Ferris is obviously a very smart guy and he does present several caveats in his work. So if you’d like to try it, you’ve read the caveats and disclaimers and you’re comfortable with these, why not?
I tried it because it intrigues me.
I can’t recommend it though because we promote health and moderation and this diet is about neither of those things in particular, though one could argue that despite the diet allowing you to eat as much as you like and on cheat day eat anything you like, at least if you have a sweet tooth, then you’re only eating sweet things one day per week (so it can’t be that bad) – what are your thoughts about that?
What’s The Alternative?
Well, there are lots. I’m probably the wrong person to ask. As I said, I’m not particularly into diets as such as for me it’s always been simply a case of eat less, move more, eat healthy. When I’ve obeyed these simple rules, I have generally been healthy and a good weight, when I’ve disobeyed them, I’ve put on weight.
A while back when on a fitness drive (more so for fitness than weight loss at that time) I invented my own kind of diet which someone actually offered me money for. It’s essentially a kind of accountability diet to keep you on track versus your own health goals and make sure you are making good healthy choices every day (e.g. 5-a-day, vitamins, execise, drinking enough water etc etc). It’s basically a spreadsheet (I love spreadsheets) and I think at some point I will transition from Tim’s diet above back to my good old reliable spreadsheet. I may even write a post about it ;-).
What Next?
I’m going to continue on the diet for a while (I’m now on week 6) to make sure I’ve given it a good chance and most likely will slowly transition to what I consider a healthier diet based more on healthy choices, moderation and getting the right amount of exercise than quick wins and tricking the body. I will keep you posted. In the meantime, I’d love to hear any thoughts you might have…
It honestly sounds like you skimmed the book. Every single question or issue you raised is directly addressed in the book. You also made every single mistake that the book makes crystal clear need to be avoided, including a lack of protein at breakfast and not increasing the volume of food you ate. This seems like a really shoddy review and I think it’s a disservice to your readers.
Hey Andrew,
first of all, thanks for your comment.
You may be right about the lack of protein at breakfast (though not the ‘not increasing the volume of food as I’m not eating particularly larger quantities and I’m pretty sure that several times Tm says you can eat as much as you like in his book) – I did realize after a while and having read other articles about diets and nutrition that I should probably be eating more at the start of the day. That being said with this diet I have already been eating a lot more at breakfast than before as I rarely had breakfast before starting this diet, just a cup of tea – but I could probably do more.
On your other few points about the shoddy review and the issues I raised – I never declared this as a ‘review’ of the diet and this is just my own experience and opinion which I believe I’m entitled to. Also when you say every single point I raised are addressed in the book this implies that some of the points I made above are wrong, but they’re not. For example ‘No fruits’ – it’s a fact that the diet states to eat no fruits and in my case I’m just saying I quite like fruits and think they contain a lot of good nutrients and vitamins (which they do) so in my case they will probably find a way back into my diet.
As a final point, perhaps the title of the article is a little provocative but then it was intended to be – as I said, it’s just my opinion and my experience with it so far I’m certainly not claiming to be an expert,
thanks again for the comment,
take care & best wishes,
Alan
Jut to clarify: I stated that “not eating enough” was a mistake and you are absolutely correct that he says eat as much as you want of the foods allowed, so we are on the same page there. As far as my comment’s point, I think you are more than entitled to your opinion, but I also think if you have a following (which it seems you do), then you owe your readers a bit more. Your point about fruit is a perfect example. In the book, Tim is very clear that his overall message is not “stick strictly to this diet” but rather “try what I’ve developed for 2 weeks and then experiment and see what happens to your body.” So your choice to eat fruit is well within the bounds of the diet, but the book clearly states that if you deviate from the system, you have to accept the consequences. You are deviating from the system and blaming your lack of results on the system, discouraging others from even investigating it for themselves. So in my opinion, you owe your readers a clarification because some people out there actually see you as an authority figure on this and are making decisions based on your writing. But as you said, we are entitled to our opinions. Hope that adds a but more color.
Honestly, I don’t think Tim is writing the book to tell people not to follow his advice – eating fruit is clearly quite a fundamental deviation from what he is proposing with this diet and why it works.
My main concern with this diet (for me, not for anyone else) is that though I find it very effective, I’m not sure it’s the best choice health-wise.
but then if people were disciplined enough to make the right healthy choices, then we wouldn’t need diets like this in the first place, would we?
That being said I’m still following the diet, albeit my own slight variation of it – I think this is mainly because it provides a convenient structure which allows a certain degree of ‘laziness’ when it comes to decision-making about what to eat.
So I’ll take on board your suggestion and consider writing a follow-up article, particularly as I’m still following the diet or at least my own version of it which has certainly been informed by the slow-carb diet.
Awesome. I’d definitely recommend actually reading the book while you’re at it. Good luck!
Well, as I said, I did only read part of the book, but that part I didn’t skim, I read it properly – though it was a while ago.
Thanks again for your comments Andrew,
take care & best wishes,
Alan
Feriss says outright to only read the chapter pertaining to your area of interest.
Good point Natalie – he does 😉
Fantastic website you have here but I was curious about
if you knew of any message boards that cover the same topics talked
about here? I’d really like to be a part of community where I can get advice from other knowledgeable people that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Cheers!
just do a google search adding the word ‘forum’, ‘discussion’ or the words ‘message board’ e.g. “slow carb diet forum” and you should find what you’re looking for
I just wanted to comment on the pizza – he mentions that white carbs/any carbs that can be made white are prohibited, EXCEPT “within 1.5 hours of finishing a resistance-training workout of at least 20 minutes in length”.
Good point Cass,
thanks for the comment – I’m not really doing much in the way of resistance-training workouts so this doesn’t really apply much to me (for the moment I mostly play golf and take long walks with the dog) – but that’s true if you do workout, he does say that.
best wishes,
Alan
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I am trying to lose weight but I can’ t keep from eating fast food and stuff like that. I really like your article I need to really do some of this stuff. I just wanted to let you know that I think you got a really good Page here.
Hi there,
many thanks for the kind words, I’m glad you like it.
take care & best wishes,
Alan
I am just starting the diet. Just a couple observations. While I agree with some of the do not’s, there are some things you seem to be missing, which may be the reason for the lack of weight loss~ Breakfast should contain 30gr protein. Also it seems you are not eating the basics at EACH meal (greens,beans,proteins). It’s appears that you are not eating enough. Also you should be eating something every 4 hrs….it also took some doing but i am finding a variety of recipes( I hate eating the same meal over and over)
Hey Laurel,
I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this comment. I was wondering why I was having such poor results but also conscious that I have made a couple of decisions based on the difference in Tim’s book between what he does and what he tells you to do. For example, he seems to advise eating the same meals over and over, but I don’t think you HAVE to do that, my impression from reading his book is that’s just advice, not a rule. He talks about eating corn-fed chicken but I’m guessing it just has to be meat. On that subject – eating meat, e.g. chicken, is it OK to eat the skin? He doesn’t talk about drinking lots of water as a rule, but does mention it in passing, I think drinking plenty of water is essential. So in short, yes, I’ve made some assumptions but just because the ‘rules’ could be clearer.
Now on to your points:
1) I didn’t realise that breakfast has to contain 30gr protein – your point is it has to be a decent sized meal, right? I get that but hadn’t realised this as an essential part of the diet. I usually do have a big breakfast, but have to admit it’s usually eggs and meat, I don’t particularly like the idea of having beans or lentils with my breakfast – is that an essential part of the diet? You’re also right that I don’t eat much during the week.
2) Not eating much during the week. I stop eating when I’m no longer hungry. I have found that during the week I’m not as hungry but I see that as a good thing – are you saying I should eat more even if I’m not hungry? I thought if I’m not eating much during the week, then the danger is that my metabolism may change because of that, but the ‘cheat’ day stops that from happening?
3) I haven’t focused on this point in particular either (eating every 4 hours) but again, I didn’t see it as an essential part of the diet. I probably do eat around about every 4-6 hours anyway, but haven’t been measuring the time. You’re probably right on this point so I’ll try and adjust this and see if it makes any difference.
I have been very strict on keeping to (at least my understanding of) the rules though and would have thought that would have got me further than it has. The good news for me is that if your adjustments were the bit I’m missing, then it should be easy to adjust because I haven’t wavered otherwise.
You say you’re on the diet and have just started – how long have you been on it then & how’s it going for you so far?
thanks so much for the comment!
Alan
Hey Alan,
What a great review of this plan. Boy, I sure am glad I don’t do diets anymore. I also have never done ones like this. I just cut back on what I normally eat or cut a few things out that I overindulged on in the first place to drop my weight.
It looks rather boring to me too. Plus, plans like this trick your body into doing certain things but then when you get back to eating regularly, your body is all out of whack. I guess for people needing a quick fix, this would be something they would want to do. Not me.
Great review though, love your honest about the pros and cons. Thanks for sharing.. The next time I hear of anyone wanting to do this one, I’m sending them here first.
Have a great week.
~Adrienne
Hey Adrienne,
well I’m still on it for the moment (I’ve eaten hardly anything today).
I really appreciate your comment & thank you so much for your kind words and for saying you’d send people here.
On that note, following your great advice from your blog, I have also added the code for TYNT. I hadn’t realised I could do it without the plug-in. Lets see how that goes then 😉
I will be transitioning to a more healthy, less quick-fix diet because as you say, it really has to be sustainable.
I think I’m going to come up with something that is simple and compelling and works as well or better than this one (believe it or not). I doubt I’ll make a best-selling book out of it though 😉
Hope you get some good results from using Tynt Alan. I love the keyword sneak peak of what people are really searching for. Very helpful for future blog posts.
I have no doubt that whatever you come up with will work great and probably taste pretty good too. You’ll have to keep us up to date with that.
OMG. I have already received an ‘SEO overview report’ email from TYNT and found out that in just the first day of using it, my content was copied 9 times!
Wow. Now I’m scared. I think what I will do is see where this goes and perhaps compare the stats between this and also using blog protector (i.e. I think with the second tool the ‘scraping’ should lessen – not sure at this point if I want that or not, I still somehow don’t like the idea of people copying my content).
Thanks very much again for the tip Adrienne. I had heard of this before and thought this thing wasn’t really for me but you convinced me to give it a try. I hate the idea of people scraping content but I guess it’s just a reality of life on the internet and perhaps even a compliment in a way.
On the diet thing, yep – I’ll keep you posted, I’m gonna stick with this little experiment a while longer just to make sure I’ve given it a good hearing, but I’ll let you know when (I was reading Tim Ferriss’ book again last night just to double check I was doing everything to the letter – I am).
take care Adrienne,
a bientot,
Alan
Surprise!
People are going to copy your content no matter what you put on your blog for protection Alan. Not everyone is copying it for the wrong reasons which is what Tynt explains in their video introduction. A lot of people are just sharing what they read through email because that’s their form of sharing.
It’s definitely a compliment and if you ping your content when you publish it, the search engines know which one is the original one so you are perfectly safe there as well.
Do keep me posted on this diet. Will love to know how it goes for you.
Enjoy your day!
Yep – you’re right, it would be cool if there was a way to separate the genuine sharing by email from the scraping too.
I’ll be sure to keep you posted on the diet. Advance warning, it’s not going to be anything earth-shattering, because I am a believer in health, moderation and simplicity 😉
take care,
Alan
Your reasons for not staying on the diet are pretty much similar to mine. Have you read through much of the 4hb website? There are a lot of fanatics on there. I wonder how much of the comments on experiences like yours and mine have been suppressed?
It’s great to experiment though,eh?
Raz
Hi Razwana,
I did read through the comments on the 4hb website, mainly to see if other people who have been having problems with the diet have been answered, so that I could know more about why my results didn’t match the claims. There were quite a few people with similar experience according to those comments so I’m not so sure that such comments have been suppressed, however I didn’t find any of those actually being addressed.
I’m still doing the diet, on week 7 now, and will keep with it for a while. I am actually seeing some results just nowhere near to the extent which most of those fanatics seem to experience or to the extent the diet claims.
I have learned plenty from the experience and will certainly change my diet as a result, it just won’t bear much resemblance to the 4hb diet in the end. But first I will persevere with this one for longer – until I’m completely bored of it ;-).
yep, good to experiment!
Alan
I tend to stay away from diets like this, Atkins or the paleodiet simply because I don’t like all the rules are put on me. From how you described it, I don’t think I’d last long and just move on to my own things.
For the most part, I just eat what I think is healthy. I also try to get a lot of water (which admittedly I’m not all that great at doing).
I think you’re biggest critique that it’s boring really makes the diet hard to maintain. Enjoying what you’re eating makes sticking to a diet so much easier. And I can see how this diet would get repetitive. Perhaps it would work if you were completely dedicated to it, but more casual dieters would just lose interest.
Me too normally it just intrigued me somehow.
I do like a challenge.
This diet has helped me in a way, but I don’t see it as the ultimate diet, just a very interesting experiment. In the end, you’re right – just eating healthy and drinking plenty of water are probably as simple as it needs to be.
That being said, some people struggle with both of those things and need set rules to follow. Once I’ve decided something and have a boundary or rule defined, whether set for myself or by anyone else, I’m pretty good at sticking to the rules. In this particular case, the rules become easier to follow because of the cheat day.
I would have thought you’re a bit like me though Steve on this one, you like to learn, you like experiments and you are pretty good at being disciplined (though I know you don’t like being bored) – still don’t fancy giving it a try?
😉
I’m going to give it a while longer…
Hey Alan,
Well, that is one reason I don’t follow any diets particularly. I feel some diets works and some don’t but everyone of us has a different body and a different coping mechanism. Though I am not against any diets; I don’t follow any. I consult a nutritionist. I work out everyday and stay away from the obvious calories – desserts, sodas, too much diary, fried food and so on. But having said that I do have “cheat days”.
But yes, I ain’t telling any one to stop following any particular diet; but yes working out is the bigger picture. That’s how I feel.
Hi Hajra,
me neither, until this… and previously my own kind of diet, though as I said that was more of a means to track fitness and good habits than a diet as such. Sounds to me like you have very good healthy habits already – working out every day is excellent. I don’t but I should. I like the idea of fitting exercise into everyday things or at least things that are fun (walking the dog, cycling with the kids…). I also agree that assuming you have a fairly sensible exercise regime just staying away from the obvious calories should be good enough for some people.
We’ll shortly be posting an article on Emotional Eating which can also be a problem as far as dieting is concerned but if you’ve cracked the 3 fundamentals – i.e. you eat in moderation, you get enough exercise (which could be moderate too) and you don’t emotional-eat then that should easily be enough for good health.
thanks for the comment Hajra!
Alan