Day 12, Friday, one day before my second Binge Day – WOOT! My numbers are staying pretty steady at down five pounds total nearing the end of my second week.
WEEK 2 EXPERIMENT TWEAK: Can I eat within 90 mins of waking (instead of 30-60) and still lose weight on the 4 hr body plan?
ANSWER: So far, this has not been a problem. My numbers continue to improve.
We all know that diet alone won’t do, for total body health and weight loss we have to incorporate regular exercise, even if just walking every day. (Turns out walking is one of the BEST forms of exercise – some people walk for an hour a day or more.)
Today my energy is not the best it could be, all week I’ve struggled a bit with waking and focusing in the mornings, even though I’m generally a morning person. Yesterday I did not walk, and had some acid reflux in the middle of the night. So far this is the only night I’ve had trouble – probably because my foods on this plan are so healthy, I haven’t had issues with this at bedtime. But for me it’s important that I walk every day, especially after my last meal of the day. I didn’t do this yesterday, didn’t walk much at all, so that explains it. Overall I’ve had great improvement with my sleep and lack of acid reflux issues at bedtime on this 4 hour body plan.
This plan from the 4 hour body book is easy
I’ve lost a total of about 4-5 pounds on two weeks of the tim ferriss slow carb diet without exercise. I wanted to focus just on incorporating the plan to begin with, so didn’t worry about exercise too much. But I did get back to my VR workouts in the late afternoons, which are great for cardio and are so much fun. I was working out on the Great Wall of China yesterday – wow, it was cool and goes on and on over the mountain ridges!
However, today as I was feeling rather low on energy again, I spent some time in meditation in the To Be Magnetic app (I highly recommend), and I received the ping (inner guidance) that I need to UP my exercise game now. So I’ve made a plan that, beginning on Monday, I’ll start the Slim in 6 program by Debbie Sieber on the DVD I have. I love it, it’s a simple total-body toning program with cardio, it has three levels so is perfect for getting back to exercising again. Level One is only 24 minutes and is the perfect amount of challenge for the first two weeks. I’m going to change my morning routine so that I do eat breakfast within 30-60 mins of waking, then will work out with Slim in 6 immediately afterwards, six mornings a week. Over the course of the 6-week Slim in 6 program, one’s whole body gets in shape and beautifully toned. I’ll tack on my stretching routine right after my workout. With my workout first thing in the morning after breakfast, it will get done and give me energy for the day.
Lunch: fast low carb recipe
Finished the delicious HelloFresh beef tenderloin sliced into a fresh salad with savory white beans and fresh tomato on the romaine and fresh spinach. Drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil – yum!
Supper: healthy low carb recipe
Tonight we had leftovers for supper. So far I have not gotten sick of protein, beans, and veggie for almost every meal.
After three and a half years and two literary agents as a first time author, I finally landed a publisher for my own debut novel series! IT’S HAPPENING! Join me on my journey as I share my progress and the best advice for writers I’ve learned (and am learning) along the way.
Book agents: first time authors
Timeline: in 2017 I was close to finishing my novel draft. Friends talked me into attending BarCon at the Pike’s Peak Writing Conference, since it was too late to get in for the full conference. I’d been studying the Law of Attraction and said a prayer before entering, then I found my friends and networked around the room. A friend from my first writer’s group introduced me to a book agent because he felt she would be a great fit for my unusual book. I had five minutes with her as I pitched my novel, and right away she caught the vision and asked for a full manuscript! I couldn’t believe it! I stammered that it wasn’t quite finished yet, and she told me to take my time and to send it in once it was done.
WOW – I didn’t expect to connect with a literary agent as a first time author before my book was even done! A little over a year later, she became my agent.
My writing advice for authors: join local writer’s groups (find the right one for your needs), and begin attending writer’s conferences as soon as you can, even before your novel is finished. You will learn SO MUCH, make new friends, and some possible vital connections.
My first literary agent as a first time author
I finished my novel draft in a few months, but surprisingly it took me a full year to get through the revision process. In 2018, I won a scholarship to the Pike’s Peak Writer’s Conference and was able to attend the full conference this time. Again the Law of Attraction came through – usually you get to pitch to one agent or acquiring editor at the conference. But this year it worked out that I got to pitch to all five of the agents/editors that I was interested in! I couldn’t believe it!
My debut novel is quite unusual – a real potions textbook, interactive novel, and puzzle workbook. I received some interest from someone higher up within one publisher, but got all rejections from the actual agents. Still, it was great practicing my elevator pitch.
Writing advice for authors: be sure to craft and hone your elevator pitch for your novel idea. Do NOT start describing the whole story, plot, or characters to people (only amateurs do this and no one likes to sit and listen to more than five minutes of your story – make them want to read it). Just pitch 1-2 sentences to hook them.
I actually finished my novel in June 2018. I queried many agents and also sent the full ms to that first agent from 2017. After many rejections, that original agent got back to me in August and requested to become my book agent – as a first time author, I said YES!
It was such a thrill to be able to say the words “my agent” over the next couple of years. WOW!
How to find a publisher as a first time author
Getting a literary agent as a first time author is a rare thing – you’ve passed your first major hurdle and it means your writing really is quality. Your book agent is like the first test – you passed! They are also sort of like an angel investor – they are taking a chance on you and investing their own free time to help you revise and hone your work until it’s perfect.
For us, it took us another full year going back and forth as she helped me to uplevel my novel. We performed alchemy on my alchemy novel – taking it apart, improving the separate sections, then putting it all back together. It was a truly incredible experience which later led me to become a freelance editor, helping other new authors to perfect their novels via Upwork.
In late August 2019 my husband and I got to spend four days in London, which helped me to fact-check for my novel and make a few important changes as soon as I got back. My book agent was ready and she began pitching my novel to the major publishers in the US. She spent about a year – yes, through the 2020 Covid mess – but by October 2020, after she’d stopped communicating with me, I reached out and found out that she’d given up as she hadn’t been able to sell it. My magical book was now back in my hands and I no longer had an agent!
Writing advice for authors: when you have a book agent as a first time author, don’t wait around too long without hearing from them. Reach out regularly for updates. Agents and publishers are notorious for being really bad at communicating with their authors.
Getting my second literary agent as a first time author
I found myself in a really bad position. I did research and discovered this is a bad place to be. No agent would pick me up now that all the major publishers had rejected my novel – one of the struggles of finding a book agent as a first time author. What to do?
I was at a pretty low point through the rest of 2020 and most of 2021. I basically didn’t do much with my novel. Needing income, I built up my contract writing and editing services on Upwork and met with success on that platform, building a part-time income as well as a robust and varied portfolio. I maintained high reviews and became experienced as a professional contract ghostwriter, writer, editor, developmental editor, proofreader, and more. This later served me well in advancing my author career – I had real “writing cred” in the professional world.
One of my clients had me ghostwriting for him and knew my writing was top-notch. The Law of Attraction came through again and I received the inner guidance to reach out and ask this guy to become my literary agent. He was running three different businesses related to books, book marketing, and turning books into films. He wasn’t really an agent, but he’d been in the publishing industry for a long time. He was an American living in the U.K. and my novel is set in 1665 London.
So I contacted him and proposed the idea. I discovered that he is an agent to a few select authors. He requested my ms and then put it through his process – having his own team of readers to read it first. My novel passed his test – every one of them recommended he move forward – this was amazing! He told me that rarely happens. So then he took the time to read it, and in October 2021 he became my second book agent as a first time author! WOO-HOO!
My confidence restored as once again I could say “I have an agent.” I hoped that with his long-time connections in the publishing world, especially in the U.K., he’d be able to sell my magic school interactive novel/textbook.
Writing advice for authors: listen to your inner guidance and take a bold move when you receive inspiration. Have courage and do it!
Letting go of my literary agent as a first time author
For the following year I had an agent, but he was so busy and spread thin that he never got around to pitching my novel to anyone. I’d read of one woman who’d begun querying directly to publishers as a first time author – there are some smaller publishers which do allow direct queries. She landed her own publisher in two weeks after having had and lost three agents!
I gave my second agent a little over a year, but also began pitching it directly to small publishers myself. When one – a sci-fi publisher who I’d just interviewed with for a job and were willing to look over my ms – wanted to communicate directly with my agent, my agent did the job of talking it over with that publisher – it was another polite rejection. (I didn’t get the job either, although I was in the top three).
By now I was working through Lacy Phillips’ To Be Magnetic courses online, learning to build my Law of Attraction magnetism, working through subconscious blocks, etc. As the year 2022 turned into 2023, I realized I had to take the courage to “fire” my agent. He’d had health issues and just didn’t have time for everything on his plate. We parted amicably, both agreeing this was the right move. Once again I was without a book agent as a first time author!
By now I’d taken a highly detailed and well-done course by Sara Cannon (on YouTube as Heart Breathings) all about self-publishing. I had the information, but I couldn’t shake my inner knowing, which stayed with me without fail, that my novel was going to be traditionally published.
Writing advice for authors: be sure to learn everything you can about the three main paths to publishing: “trad” (traditional publishing, usually with a literary agent); “indie” which means self-publishing, becoming an independent author where you do all the work of publishing and marketing, every step as a small business owner; and “hybrid” where you pay a publishing company to handle many of the nitty-gritty publishing tasks. There is a slight difference, I believe, between “vanity publishers” which just want to take your money, and a true “hybrid” publisher which works with you, handles the cover art and publishing details (which you’d have to find and pay for a la carte in any case), who help you come up with a marketing plan, etc.
How to find a publisher as a first time author – without an agent
There are lists online of many small publishers which do accept queries by unagented authors. I recommend the Reedsy website’s articles on this. Also, you will meet publishers and editors at writer’s conferences – attend these! (I go every year now, saving up all year.)
I had made my “List” – a list of all the specific traits I was looking for in a publisher. Six months later the Law of Attraction (and all the years of inner work I was doing) used my own mother to help me find my perfect publisher! She heard of a small publisher in her state, Kentucky, and told me about them. In March 2023 I looked them over and submitted my manuscript. Within DAYS they reached out and told me they were interested in signing with me, and would I look over their sample contract?
OH MY GOODNESS – after all these years, it was FINALLY happening! I had a full uplevel experience in my whole being as I consulted with a lawyer friend, who looked over the contract (since I had no agent), I made a couple of tweaks and then signed with my own perfect publisher! They matched every single thing on my list. I also found out that they specialize in publishing unusual books. They sell their books at cons (like I’m planning to do) and the Kentucky Renaissance Festival every summer – wearing medieval garb like me! They are small but agile and will launch my book in six months – WOW – that’s unheard-of in the publishing industry. That means I could potentially publish one book a year of my magic textbook series! They are called Line by Lion Publishing on Facebook under the company Pixel & Pen Studios.
And what is my debut novel? Do you remember in the first Harry Potter movie when he opened a book in the Restricted Section and a face screamed out at him? I wrote that book. 😉 Okay, at least something in my creative mind triggered the idea for what that textbook could be – and I wrote it. It’s my answer to wishing I could go to Hogwarts and take a Potions class. I wrote a real beginning Potions textbook, only there’s something wrong with it (just like many things found in magic schools). It’s called Encyclopaedia Magica – Volume 1: Alchemy. Pre-orders are coming up and the book should be available Fall 2023! WOO-HOO!
Day 11, Thursday, and whatever was happening yesterday is gone. We all feel back to our normal selves today. I had freelance work to get done which I’d been struggling to do with an unfocused brain, so today I was able to catch up and knock that work out.
WEEK 2 EXPERIMENT TWEAK: Can I eat within 90 mins of waking (instead of 30-60) and still lose weight on the 4 hr body plan?
ANSWER: So far, this has not been a problem. My numbers continue to improve.
Today, alas, I forgot to weigh myself this morning. But so far my weight is down 5 lbs on Week 2 of the tim ferriss slow carb diet plan.
On every single other diet plan I have tried, it has been HARD. It has required a lot of focus and energy and time and willpower and discipline. They’ve all been a struggle in one way or another. They didn’t take into account real life. It didn’t matter if I told myself that this was a “lifestyle change” and not a diet.
My biggest struggle has always been that I want to be able to eat whatever I want, dang it! I grew up a skinny girl, always able to eat whatever I wanted, as much as I wanted, whenever I wanted. I had a high metabolism, I was active, and I naturally listened to my body, only eating when hungry and stopping when full. I didn’t have to think about it. I love sweets and carbs and could always have them whenever I wanted (though sweets were highly restricted as a child). Don’t stone me – I got mercilessly teased for being too skinny, too. (“Hey Jerilyn, do you have to wear skis in the shower?”)
So now it seems that whenever I tell myself I can’t eat such-and-such, all of a sudden my body and mind wants more than ever to eat the forbidden food – I can’t stop thinking about it!
Something changed in my mid-thirties after I was done having four kids, and I believe it had more to do with emotional and relational struggles at the time (being afraid I might “get kicked out of the tribe” – base ego fear). My weight began creeping up over time, and every diet I tried worked only while I was following it super-strictly, which never lasted very long. Then I would gain the weight back and some bonus weight, too.
Diet plans I’ve tried:
Blood Type Diet
South Beach Diet
The Belly Fat Cure (and the one about hormones)
1 Degree of Change plan
The French Don’t Diet Plan
Paleo
Keto
Intermittent Fasting
Weight Watchers
Viva Mayr Diet
Calorie counting with a personal trainer & MyFitnessPal
Trial-sampled Noom once
Tried hypnosis for weight loss with a hypnotist
With none of them was I able to stick to it and I always regained all my weight and then some. I slowly grew from a size 10 skinny girl in my 20s & 30s to a plus-size 16 in my 40s and 50s.
One plan which DID work is the one I came up with myself: The Trip to Europe Plan. It totally worked! Two and a half weeks in Portugal and Italy, eating whatever and whenever we wanted of the all-natural, incredibly high-quality whole foods and drinks, not drinking big sugary drinks like in the US, and walking 8,000-21,000 steps a day with plenty of mind stimulation did the trick! Too bad I can’t go twice a year, or I would be set. My weight stayed off for a while after I returned as I continued to walk at least 8,000 steps a day, still eating whatever I wanted, listening to my body. But alas, American food is just not the same quality as European food. Over the winter I wasn’t able to keep up my steps and I slowly gained the weight back. I gradually returned to having an occasional big sugary drink, too, like my medium lattes from Starbucks and energy drinks from Dutch Bros (I try to limit these overall).
This plan from the 4 hour body book, however, is easy
Yes, it still required some energy, time, and focus to get started. Now it’s becoming more automatic and I don’t have to think about it much. So far I really haven’t been craving cheats at all. I’ve had a little hunger here or there, and usually close to the time for my next meal. One time I fried up some bacon for a snack, but it wasn’t that far until lunch so I didn’t really need to do that.
Best of all, I don’t have the mind struggles going on over restricted, taboo foods. I know I can eat anything as much as I want on my Binge Day all day long. So as my week progresses, I enjoy getting nearer to my weekly Cheat Day, anticipating which treats and foods I might want to make and eat on that day.
I thought I wouldn’t be okay with eating beans at almost every meal (part of the plan from the 4 hour body book). But now that I’ve begun realizing that the beans are a major key towards not having cravings (since they are a healthy carb), I find that I don’t mind them at all. I’ve always liked beans. I’m enjoying finding different ways to cook and eat them. And I LOVE the simplicity of this plan with its Five Basic Rules and the simple meals of protein, beans, and veggies. For my 4 hour body review this week, I’m finding that it’s very easy and flexible to find slow carb recipes, or to adopt recipes into this plan, cooking and eating many of our favorite foods.
Lunch: fast low carb recipe
Loved my leftovers for lunch (beef tenderloin from HelloFresh), refried beans, and a small can of original V8 for a veggie. Had my Greek yogurt with monk fruit sweetener and flavor extract (I have a variety of them) for dessert.
Supper: healthy low carb recipe
Tonight I whipped up a recipe from Antoni Porowski on Season 6 of Queer Eye: More than a Makeover – Cajun Sausage, Shrimp and Veggies.
Cajun Sausage, Shrimp & Veggies Serves 4-6.
1 smoked sausage/kielbasa, sliced thinly
1 medium package of raw shrimp, thawed if frozen, skinned and de-veined
1 small onion, sliced into chunks
2 bell peppers (bright colors are great), cut into chunks
1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
Butter, oil, ghee, and/or bacon grease for sauteing
“Slap Yo Mama” Cajun seasoning (or other similar Cajun seasoning)
salt and black pepper to taste
Prepare your shrimp. Put it into a medium bowl and generously sprinkle Cajun seasoning all over it. Let it sit while you cook everything else first.
In a skillet on medium-high, saute the sliced smoked sausage until nicely browned. Remove into a large serving dish or bowl.
In the same skillet, add a little oil and/or butter, and saute the onions and bell peppers for a few minutes until getting soft. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove into the bowl with the sausage.
In the same skillet, add a little oil and/or butter if needed, and saute the zucchini and yellow squash until getting lightly browned and soft. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Remove into the bowl with the sausage.
Lastly, saute the shrimp, adding more Cajun seasoning. Do NOT salt the shrimp, there’s already salt in the Cajun spices. Saute until the shrimp are cooked, no gray left but white all the way through. Add it to the bowl of sausage and veggies.
Toss all together. Pass the Cajun seasoning around for anyone who wants a bit more spice (it’s so good!).
This was so easy and so delicious and we all enjoyed it. Before I began my Cajun dish, I got my Quick Savory Beans simmering, using white beans this time. I had them as a side. I enjoyed my Merlot red wine with my meal, and had my Greek yogurt dessert for a sweet ender. What a great supper for the whole family which matches the 4 hour body slow carb diet plan – a perfect slow carb diet recipe.
Day 10 and I had a particularly difficult day today, Wednesday. I experienced one of my super-low energy days, where my whole body just feels like it’s dragging all day long. I find it very hard to focus or do my brain work well, I have to take many breaks, take power naps, walk outside, etc.
WEEK 2 EXPERIMENT TWEAK: Can I eat within 90 mins of waking (instead of 30-60) and still lose weight on the 4 hr body plan?
ANSWER: So far, this has not been a problem. My numbers continue to improve.
I have this strange relationship with my weird energy fluctuations going up and down and I’ve never been able to fully figure it out. But I have learned to cope. One of my main ways to help is to turn to sugar and carbs. I’ve always done this as my body has sought the energy and dopamine boost it needs. Recently I had a high-energy day and had no cravings at all. I realized that I’m not actually addicted to sugar and carbs, as I don’t crave them when my energy is good. It’s just my body seeking energy and sometimes dopamine, too, and this need seems to happen fairly regularly.
Today was not cheat day, however, so I had to get through the whole day feeling so draggy, that after I struggled through some work and tasks, I finally gave up and had to take the rest of the day off (yes I am lucky my current work allows me to do this occasionally, but also I need a new PT job with better, consistent income). I took a nap in the morning and a nap in the afternoon, which helped a little. It was rather depressing. Not even a brisk walk in the Spring cool air with warm sun helped. Drinking lots of coffee made no difference. It didn’t even help when I popped a few tiny chocolate-covered espresso beans into my mouth (so far taking a few of these once in a while has not affected my progress on the tim ferriss slow carb diet).
NOTHING helped at all. I was chocking it up to my moon flow (I always blame that for unusual things), or maybe I had a lack of sleep recently. Then later I found out that all four of us in this household had an “off” day today. All four of us. My husband who worked from home all day but was so tired by evening he felt like he was dragging, too. My eldest daughter happened to have this day off this week and she slept much of the day, feeling unusually low in energy. My youngest son, living with us from college over the summer, was also tired and napped quite a bit (he keeps odd hours).
My daughter believes it’s planetary influence – about all the planets being in Taurus right now with not a scrap of fire or air energy at all. I didn’t think much about this until I realized later that ALL FOUR of us were affected rather extremely on this one day. Weird.
My husband commended me for sticking with the 4 hr body diet plan even though I struggled all day long.
To be honest, cheating on the 4 hour body slow carb plan didn’t even enter my mind. Cheat day is Saturday. I don’t think about cheating the other days, I have my upcoming Binge Day for that. Maybe because my numbers are improving so well and so regularly and overall I feel good on this slow carb recipe plan. And my body and mind already know which day is cheat day, it’s a no-brainer.
Lunch: fast low carb recipe
Every day for lunch this week I’ve been eating my HelloFresh leftovers my daughter made for us on Mother’s Day – beef tenderloin. I simply substitute refried beans for the garlic mashed
potatoes. If I don’t have a leftover veggie side, I turn to my hack for a quick full serving of veggies – a tiny can of original V8. Every day I enjoy my Greek yogurt with monk fruit sweetener and flavor extract (I have a variety of them) for dessert.
I took a long lunch break and rested a bit in the afternoon. I struggled pretty much all day, then finally felt much better after my supper meal – I think the combo of protein with beans and veggies (and my Merlot) gave my body enough sugar and carbs to give me the boost I needed.
Supper: healthy low carb recipe
We loved our Southwest Chicken Omelet on Monday so much, and our supper slow carb recipe plan had to be adjusted for tonight, so I simply made that meal again. It was SO GOOD. We love it, it’s quick and easy to make and very healthy. I stewed my Quick Savory Beans as a topper, and also topped mine with Salsa Verde and a dollop of sour cream.
Even though I couldn’t have sweets today, when my daughter brought home a Crumbl cookie, she let me see it and savor the beautiful aroma of sweet, chocolatey goodness! I find when I cannot eat sweets at the moment, being able to at least enjoy the scent with my nose is almost as good – I love it! (My hubby thinks I’m just a tad crazy.) I’m already planning to get Crumbl cookies for my cheat day – Saturday, coming up soon!
Day 9 and I began Week 2 yesterday, Monday. As expected my weight went up a couple of pounds after Binge Day (marked with an asterisk). Still, I’m down 4 lbs total after my first week, that’s great!
This whole week I’m trying out an experiment, so that I can get back to my almost-daily stretching in the mornings.
WEEK 2 EXPERIMENT TWEAK: Can I eat within 90 mins of waking (instead of 30-60) and still lose weight on the 4 hr body plan?
I know that once my body loses some pounds and then plateaus, I will likely have to go back to being completely strict. But in the meantime I’m trying out different tweaks. So far they’ve all worked just fine. This one is not an occasional tweak, however, so we will see how it goes for a whole week.
You know for yourself how much fun it is to go on (or look over) a diet plan and have every single meal and recipe planned out for you. It’s so satisfying perusing all the delicious-looking recipes and pictures of amazing mouth-watering foods.
The problem with many of these? I can think of several:
Many of these meal plans involve lots of unusual ingredients (and non-repeatable foods) which results in a higher food bill.
Many of them have every single meal and snack planned out. This doesn’t take into account real life, or the real people in your life, or if you don’t feel like cooking from a recipe first thing in the morning when you’re still waking up, or if you can’t cook supper one night.
Many of them don’t work if you don’t follow the meal plan exactly.
For my 4 hour body review, I have to say that the tim ferriss slow carb diet plan is pure simplicity. He gives you five basic rules to follow in his 4 hour body book (plus tips for refinement). For almost every meal, you have a healthy protein, veggies, and beans. How you cook these and which recipes you use is up to you. I’ve been discovering that I can do tweaks here and there with my recipes and get more variety than I at first expected. Like when I made the Pan-Seared Chicken with Harissa, Dates, and Citrus yesterday. I’m continuing to try different tweaks as real life situations come up every week.
Lunch: fast low carb recipe
I’m still enjoying my HelloFresh leftovers my daughter made for us on Mother’s Day. I simply substitute refried beans for the garlic mashed potatoes. Today I sauteed fresh spinach for my veggie side. I had my Greek yogurt with almond and vanilla extract and cacao nibs for dessert.
Supper: healthy low carb recipe
TWEAK: Can I occasionally have pasta made from bean flour for my beans at a meal?
(Real Tweak: when my hubby really wants to make Gluten-Free Tuna Casserole with lots of cheese and whole cream, can I still lose weight and eat this, too?)
My hubby made this when I was out of town and wanted to make it for me to try. He used two kinds of corkscrew pastas made simply of bean flour. One of them was made with chickpea flour, the other was another kind of bean, approved for the 4 hour body slow carb plan (Tim Ferriss generally recommends avoiding chickpeas). The pastas were made from bean flour (and water I assume) and that’s it – no additives or other flours.
ANSWER: Yes! According to my numbers next morning, eating the gluten-free tuna casserole with bean pasta and lots of cream and cheese didn’t affect my numbers. I had one medium serving, about 1.5 cups.
I grew up eating vegetarian meals every other night, it’s much healthier and more balanced (and REALLY good for the Earth), and eating so much meat all the time on the Paleo diet was too much for me. So it would be a good idea for me to generally avoid meat on Binge Days, we’ll see if that happens. But having a lighter meal like this is wonderful – tuna was the protein, there were green peas and spinach in the casserole, and he topped it using toasted minced cauliflower instead of bread crumbs! Brilliant! And it was delicious! (I haven’t liked chickpea pasta in the past.)
I liked having bean pasta instead of beans. I would however only do this on occasion on the 4 hour body slow carb plan.
I enjoyed red wine along with water with my meal. Didn’t need a dessert.
Day 8 and I return to my protein, veggie and beans for just about every meal. As expected I gained some weight back from Binge Day and my other numbers got slightly worse, but I won’t worry about that as long as I continue making good, steady progress over time.
First week of my real time 4 hour body review:
It was easy.
It was fun, especially when I got inspired to blog my progress. I’m a writer and it gives me a creative charge.
I’m enjoying the creative challenge of cooking the beans and allowed foods.
I never experienced any headaches, even going cold turkey on no sugar and carbs. I’ve never had it this easy before!
The biggest surprise – no cravings, either!
My biggest weight loss for the week was 6 lbs. My total weight loss after Binge Day was 4 lbs. I’ll take it!
At least not yet. On every single one of my previous diets I continued to crave sweets and sugar. Especially on days when my energy was low. A lot of those other plans have several days of feeling bad or low, experiencing sugar withdrawal headaches, etc. Not this one, at least not for me. I was surprised not to feel cravings during the week. I do like a sweet dessert, and I enjoyed my Greek yogurt with monk fruit sweetener and flavorings all week, along with my Italian coffees. I only had hunger one day on the plan. So far the tim ferriss slow carb diet is working well.
Lunch: healthy low carb recipe
This week I’m savoring the leftovers from the incredible HelloFresh meal my eldest daughter cooked for me on Mother’s Day. I can’t have the mashed potatoes, so I’m having the beef with fig balsamic glaze with refried beans instead. Today I didn’t have a veggie side left over, so I did one of my life hacks – drank an original V8 to take in a quick and complete veggie serving. Enjoyed my Greek yogurt for dessert. Working towards my 4 hr body!
Supper: fast low carb recipe
I had leftover cooked chicken breast from last week, so I transformed it into:
Southwest Chicken Omelet Serves 1.
2 eggs
1/3 cup cooked chicken, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
other fillings per your taste: veggies, olives, pickled jalapenos, corn, fresh baby spinach, other meats
Cheese: any if not on the 4 hour body slow carb plan. If you are on the plan, then a slight sprinkling of cheese is okay
Toppings: Savory Beans, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream, salsa of your choice
Get your Savory Beans simmering. I did a quick version, see below.
Heat your skillet with a little high heat oil or bacon grease. Whip the two eggs in a blender with a tiny splash of whole cream.
Pour the eggs into the hot skillet, cover the whole bottom of the skillet with a thin layer. Let it cook for half a minute or so.
Add any cheeses you are using (I didn’t use any). Layer onto the thicker side that is taking longer to cook. There’s usually a thinner layer of eggs which are cooking faster, and this will be the side we fold over.
Layer onto the thicker side your other fillings: cooked chicken, fresh spinach, veggies, pickled jalapenos, etc.
Once the thinner side is cooked through, carefully fold it over onto the side with the fillings. Shift the omelet to the middle of the skillet and let it finish cooking for a minute or two.
Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.
Carefully lift the omelet onto your plate. Smother it with the Savory Beans, salsa of your choice, and a dollop of sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt).
My chicken omelet with Salsa Verde was SO GOOD! I didn’t miss cheese at all. (I made it with cheese for my hubby and son). I was full and didn’t need dessert tonight.
So far I’ve been having fun coming up with slow carb diet recipes for the 4 hour slow carb diet plan (4 hour body book).
Fast slow carb recipe
Quick Savory Beans
Serves 2-4.
Pour a can of pinto (or other) beans with its liquid into a medium cast iron skillet. Get it simmering.
Mix in any spices of your choice, such as Mexican Spice Blend. Be sure to add onion and garlic powders, too.
Simmer for about 10-20 minutes until well-flavored. Add salt and pepper to taste.
You can serve this as a side by itself or over rice (or cauliflower rice for a healthy low carb recipe) or over omelet.
My ender – Merlot
I sipped Merlot while cooking and with my meal. I didn’t need any other dessert tonight.
Day 7, Sunday, Mother’s Day, and after six days on the tim ferriss slow carb diet I’m down 6 lbs! WOOT!
Of course, today is my weekly Binge Day, so I know that number will go up afterwards. That’s fine by me.
I woke excited about making my Maple Breakfast once again, which had become a staple after I cut out toast for breakfast recently. On the 4 hour body slow carb plan, however, I had to stop using maple syrup with my egg and veggie breakfasts. Now I’ll enjoy them once a week on my Cheat Day.
Maple English Breakfast
English breakfast with an American flair. Serves 1.
2 slices of bacon
Real maple syrup (3 T – 1/8 cup)
2 eggs
1/4-1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
1-3 slices of fresh tomato
I always cut my long bacon strips in half, allowing me four half-strips and they’re much easier to cook in a skillet. Heat your skillet (I recommend cast iron) and fry your bacon for a few minutes on each side, till partly cooked.
While the bacon is frying, prepare your veggies. You can use any veggies you like but I’ve found this combo works especially well with the maple syrup.
When the bacon is partway cooked, drizzle real maple syrup all over them with a little extra in the skillet. Pepper them well, flip and pepper the other side. If you want a tiny bit of spice, also sprinkle a little red pepper flakes or cayenne on the bacon when you pepper them.
Keep flipping and cooking the bacon in the bubbly syrup-bacon fat until the bacon is crisp and nicely browned. Carefully place each strip on a plate so they don’t touch each other (or they’ll stick together).
In the hot skillet with the maple-bacon fat, add your sliced onion in the center and the tomato slices at the edges of the skillet. Let these cook for a minute or so, flipping the tomatoes.
Move the veggies over and add two eggs. Cook the eggs how you like them (I prefer sunny side up). The flavors of bacon fat and maple syrup will caramelize on the onions, tomatoes, and eggs and taste oh, SO GOOD.
Pile your plate with the sticky eggs and veggies, draping the sweet bacon on the edge. I find that after I finish my eggs, there’s an incredible liquid left on the plate of egg yolk mixed with the maple-bacon fat, and I like to dredge my bacon strips in it when I eat (then I lick the plate!). I always save at least one maple bacon strip for last as a sweet ender. Sometimes I’ll cook up a third bacon strip, they are DELICIOUS! And if it’s my Binge Day, why not?
Serve this breakfast with orange juice and strong coffee if you like.
With my beloved Maple English Breakfast, I also enjoyed fresh pineapple slices and chocolate-covered strawberries from the two special Mother’s Day gifts sent to me from my daughter in Florida. I had quite a few of the strawberries, so good. The second plate contained mini-cheesecakes, more chocolate-covered strawberries, and other little chocolates. We all enjoyed eating these all day long. I told my family – it’s a whole week until next Cheat Day, and these won’t keep, so eat up!
I also loved having my regular cappuccinos and Americanos with real sugar and milk all day long.
Lunch on Binge Day: healthy low carb recipe
My eldest cooked up a special dinner for Mother’s Day luncheon. She made a HelloFresh recipe: Balsamic & Fig Beef Tenderloin with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Rosemary Panko Brussels Sprouts. She substituted broccoli for the Brussels sprouts. It was all divine! Today being Binge Day I was able to fully enjoy the mashed potatoes with the meal. My guess is that all the rest of the meal could be enjoyed on a regular eating day of the 4 hr body plan if you simply skip the mashed potatoes or make cauliflower mash instead. Or, better yet, the White Bean Garlic Faux Mashed Potatoes to get your beans in.
Tip for Binge Days from the 4 hour body book
Tim gives lots of tips to best navigate the Binge Day on the 4 hour body slow carb plan. One tip is to drink grapefruit juice with coffee before lunch. There are ingredients in each that when taken together help with burning off the extra calories, I believe. I forgot to have grapefruit juice and coffee before lunch, so I had it after and drank more grapefruit juice and coffee in the afternoon. Of course I didn’t take my statin pill this morning as you’re not supposed to mix statin with grapefruit. I have an alarm set for Saturdays and Sundays (to cover every cheat day) to remind me first thing NOT to take my statin on Binge Day.
Dessert for supper – not a slow carb recipe
DESSERT FOR SUPPER – YES! I ate more of my special dessert platter, including some of the cheesecake and more chocolate-covered strawberries and the other chocolates. Went to my home church (we call it Group) and they had a bunch of desserts from their Mother’s Day celebration. So I thoroughly enjoyed two different kinds of apple pie with whipped cream before our meeting, then had more apple pie after meeting. I LOVE apple pie. What an awesome Cheat Day I had!!! I CAN’T WAIT until the next one.
Day 6, down 6 lbs, I’m feeling great, my numbers are improving, and this is the last day before cheat day! My first Binge Day is tomorrow, Sunday, since it is Mother’s Day and my kids and hubby want to pamper me. 🙂 I am REALLY looking forward to tomorrow!
Having a weekly Binge Day to look forward to is really amazing. If I crave any cheat during the week (which so far I haven’t – what?!), I can simply write it down to have on my weekly Binge Day. It’s fun to slowly creep towards Binge Day and to anticipate all the amazing treats I’ll have on that day. It makes that one day a week feel like a special celebration!
In the tim ferriss slow carb diet plan in his 4 hour body book, he takes Saturday off as his Binge Day every week. Because I live in real life, I will choose which weekend day to be my Binge Day each week depending on which social engagements and activities I have planned. This week: Sunday for Mother’s Day. Next week: Saturday, since we were invited to a May Fun Day and BBQ. Plus my eldest daughter is going to cook for the whole family that evening for Family Night, Loaded Pork Taquitos from HelloFresh, so I need to be on my Cheat Day to enjoy that meal.
We like to have a weekly Family Night here, either on Friday or Saturday night. We were making homemade individual pizzas and calzones for much of the past year (which I’ll only be able to do on my Cheat Day), but when everyone got a little tired of that we switched to Grill Night – hot dogs and burgers. I can do that on the 4 hour body slow carb plan by simply omitting the bun (use romaine lettuce) and skipping the potato chips.
Lunch: fast low carb recipe
Today again I enjoyed Tuna Onion Saladfor lunch on fresh baby spinach with a drizzle of olive oil. For dessert, I had my Greek yogurt (with monk fruit sweetener) flavored with
vanilla.
Supper: healthy low carb recipe – Grill!
TWEAK: Can I occasionally have baked beans in my slow carb recipes even though they have sugar which is not allowed on the 4 hr body plan?
Whenever my hubby cooks burgers and hot dogs on the grill, he loves to heat up a can of baked beans as a side. I examined the numbers and read that one serving, 1/2 cup of baked beans, contains 12 grams of sugar. Then I checked The Belly Fat Cure diet plan, which I’ve tried here and there in the past, and saw that we can have up to 15 grams of sugar per day and still lose weight. (FYI, that’s about the amount of sugar our ancestors had daily, which is one reason why pioneers were so skinny!)
So I decided to bank on the information that with 1/2 cup of baked beans, I was still below 15 grams of sugar today. Remember, the 4 hour body slow carb plan says no sugar on your regular diet days (only on the weekly Binge Day).
I had a delicious burger wrapped with romaine lettuce leaves, topped with fresh tomato and kimchee for probiotics and flavor. I also put on a little bit of mustard and ketchup. It was delicious. I savored every bite of my 1/2 cup of sweet baked beans. It’s nice to have variety in my beans at my meals.
ANSWER: Yes! According to my numbers next morning, eating these baked beans still allowed me to lose weight on this 4 hour body slow carb plan. Probably because I was under 15 grams of sugar for the day. WOO HOO!
Supper was hearty and delicious and I didn’t crave any dessert tonight. We enjoyed watching a show together for Family Night.
I am really enjoying writing and living this 4 hour body review. I went to bed anticipating the joy of MY FIRST BINGE DAY TOMORROW!
Day 5, and I’m two days away from my first Binge (Cheat) Day! I can’t wait! My first Binge Day happens to be this Sunday, Mother’s Day. My family asked me to do Sunday instead of Saturday this week so they can spoil me. YES.
One of my fatal flaws (or is it a strength?) is that I can’t seem to ever follow any plan (or set of rules for that matter) with 100% perfection. Real life is messy, each of us and our bodies are different, and tweaking here and there to find the right fit makes more sense to me. So throughout this 4 hour body review of the 4 hour body book, I’m constantly experimenting and tweaking here and there to see what works for me.
Lunch: fast low carb recipe
Today I enjoyed my Turkey, Black Bean and Pepper Salad for lunch. I’d whipped it up on Monday so no cooking. Light, healthy and delicious; I enjoyed two servings. (My version this week was with ham instead of turkey.) I had my Greek yogurt for dessert flavored with vanilla.
Supper: healthy low carb recipe
TWEAK: Can I occasionally have a meal made with fruit or fruit juice, even though fruit is not allowed on the 4 hr body plan?
Tonight I tried a new recipe from my NYT cooking app. I highly recommend this app – there are SO MANY recipes from all styles of cooking and regions around the world. They are incredible, you can find anything there. It’s well worth the subscription fee. I’m not an affiliate with them.
I had thawed chicken legs (not thighs like I thought) in my fridge so tonight I made Pan-Seared Chicken with Harissa, Dates and Citrus. I couldn’t find Harissa at Walmart so I substituted with Korean Gochujang sauce. I plan to make this again with proper Harissa, the Korean spice wasn’t spicy enough.
I decided to try this recipe even though it called for orange juice, orange peel, and dried dates. I want to know if I can have a little bit of fruit in my slow carb recipes sometimes and still lose weight on the tim ferriss slow carb diet.
ANSWER? Yes! Having this slightly sweet fruity sauce with dates and scallions didn’t affect my weight loss at all.
To go with the chicken, I cooked up savory black beans and served rice on the side for my family members (I just had the black beans since I’m on the 4 hour body slow carb plan). I roasted broccoli for a veggie.
The chicken and sauce was SO GOOD! The sauce was mildly sweet and yummy – can’t wait to try this with actual harissa. We topped ours with plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream since I need the probiotics.
Slow carb diet recipe
Savory Black Beans
Serves 2-4.
Heat a little oil in a skillet and add 1/2-3/4 cup chopped onion and 1-3 cloves of minced garlic. Feel free to add any other spices you like such as a pinch of red pepper flakes or spice mixes. Experiment! Saute for a few minutes until onion begins to get soft.
Pour in one can of black beans (or beans of your choice) with liquid. Bring to a simmer.
Simmer for about 20 minutes until well-flavored. Add salt and pepper to taste.
You can serve this as a side by itself or over rice (or cauliflower rice for a healthy low carb recipe).
Love my red wine
Being Friday evening, I sipped Merlot while cooking, then enjoyed it with my meal. It was so good, and the chicken sauce was slightly sweet, that I didn’t crave dessert tonight at all.
Wow, I’ve lost almost 5 lbs already! WOO HOO! Several of my other numbers are slowly improving, too. I continue to be conscious about drinking lots of water each day.
Today for my 4 hour body review I have to say I haven’t felt any more hunger. I’m feeling a little better each day from my flu and travel and my energy is fast returning. I’m getting back to my almost daily VR workout at the end of my work day. They are so fun!
Of course, we all know that regular exercise (even if just long walks) is vital to improving our body and numbers. I don’t think it’s wise to exclude it in any plan, ever. But I have read and noticed anecdotally that in general, male bodies seem to have greater success in losing weight through exercise, and female bodies seem to have greater success when focusing primarily on diet.
My energy has been lax due to going on three trips in a row and having the flu in all of that. So this has been mainly a recovery week for me. Normally I do my VR workouts, which are SO MUCH FUN but so far they haven’t pushed my body enough yet. I’d like more variety, and a little harder push on cardio as well as adding in some regular muscle training. Recently I’ve been doing 30 minutes of a combo of stretching, yoga, and muscle work 3-5 mornings a week (need to get back into that). Let me know if anyone is interested in seeing my routine I’ve curated over a period of time.
Since the Tim Ferriss slow carb diet (as laid out in the 4 hour body book) says it’s important to eat breakfast within 30-60 minutes of waking, I haven’t been able to do my stretching routine all week. Because of my digestive issues I can’t lie prone after eating or drinking anything, at least not for an hour or more. My routine before this 4 hr body plan was stretching right after my shower, then breakfast. But that would put me just past 60 minutes of waking. So for my Week 2 Experiment I will try going back to that routine as a tweak, and see if I can keep doing it that way instead of eating breakfast so soon. Stay tuned.
Lunch: fast low carb recipe
Our 26-year old daughter is living with us. This week she’d made a healthy low carb recipe – tuna salad with chopped red onions instead of pickle relish. She’s discovered she loves this version way better and it has a fuller, larger flavor. Less sugar, too (just what’s in the mayo). It’s a great slow carb diet recipe for lunch or supper.
Tuna Onion Salad
Serves 4-6.
2-3 cans of drained tuna
1/2-1 cup of mayonnaise
1 red onion, chopped
salt and black pepper to taste
In a large bowl mix together all the ingredients, add salt and pepper to your taste.
Keep the proportion of mayo to tuna low – not too much on the mayo. The salad should not look white.
Add as much or as little red chopped onion as you like, anywhere from 1/2 cup to one whole onion. This gives it a wonderful flavor and crunch, so don’t be skimpy.
Serve over salad greens or on Saltines (Saltines only if you’re not doing the 4 hour body slow carb plan).
I had a generous scoop of tuna salad over fresh baby spinach. The tuna was slightly dry on the mayo so I drizzled it all with olive oil. I heated canned refried beans in bacon grease and had that as a side. Very yummy lunch and quite a healthy and quick slow carb recipe – especially since the tuna salad was already made ahead of time.
Tonight was our daughter’s turn to cook, and she does HelloFresh so she made one of her favorite recipes from there, which I was easily able to tweak for myself to make it a healthy low carb recipe.
A great thing about HelloFresh is that you can access all their recipes for free either on the app or online. Tonight she made Hoisin Honey Chicken with Green Beans and Jasmine Rice. All I had to do was replace the rice with my refried beans. It was surprisingly delicious!
My sweet ender
In tonight’s plain Greek yogurt with monk fruit sweetener I stirred in some maple extract, butter extract, and vanilla. (We have the butter extract for making Butterbeers, lol). The butter one didn’t quite work – next time, I’ll just use the maple and vanilla.
We all know that diet alone won’t do, for total body health and weight loss we have to incorporate regular exercise, even if just walking every day. (Turns out walking is one of the BEST forms of exercise – some people walk for an hour a day or more.)
