quick savory beans | Jerilyn Winstead

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.

What is the 4 hour body diet? Challenging on low days.

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!

WEEKLY SUMMARY:

Goal			180	25	25%	45%	40%	50
DATE:		Day	WEIGHT:	BMI:	BODY FAT:	BODY H2O:	SKEL. MUSC:	MET AGE:	Ttl lbs lost:
5/7/2023	Su	i	200.7	29	36.6	43.5	36.9	60
5/8/2023	M	1	199.6	29	36.6	43.5	36.9	60	1.1
5/9/2023	T	2	196.4	29	36.6	43.5	36.9	60	4.3
5/10/2023	W	3	196.6	29	36.4	43.6	37	60	4.1
5/11/2023	R	4	195.8	29	36.4	43.6	37	60	4.9
5/12/2023	F	5	195.6	29	36.4	43.6	37	60	5.1
5/13/2023	Sa	6	194.8	28.9	36.2	43.8	37.2	60	5.9
5/14/23*	Su	7	194	28.7	36	43.9	37.3	60	6.7
5/15/2023	M	8	196.8	29.1	36.7	43.4	36.9	60	3.9
5/16/2023	T	9	196.6	29.1	36.6	43.5	36.9	60	4.1
5/17/2023	W	10	195.4	29	36.4	43.6	37	60	5.3

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!
I feel good every day.

Week 1 – down 4 lbs total. WOOT!

What is the 4 hour body diet? No headaches or cravings.

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.