Renpho smart scale | Jerilyn Winstead

May 14, 2023May 15, 2023 Jerilyn Winstead Health & Fitness, Uncategorized

DAY 2 of slow carb diet menu – NO HEADACHES!

WEEKLY SUMMARY:

Goal		180	25	25%	45%	40%	50
DATE:		WEIGHT:	BMI:	BODYFAT:	BODY H2O:	SKEL.MUSC:	MET AGE:	TOTAL INCHES:
5/7/2023	Su	200.7	29	36.6	43.5	36.9	60	202
5/8/2023	M	199.6	29	36.6	43.5	36.9	60	202
5/9/2023	T	196.4	29	36.6	43.5	36.9	60	202

What is the 4 hour body diet? Tracking data, not just weight!

I’m actually enjoying tracking all this data – it’s easy with the Renpho smart scale and app. I got my real numbers when I weighed myself this morning before my shower. Whew – my body fat percentage is 36.6%, so it’s between my guess of 30% and my end-of-day measurement yesterday of 39%. Per the 4 hour body book my goal as a woman is 25%, so I have a ways to go.

Cold turkey off sugar without headaches

Finally feeling close to my normal energy, I’m almost back up to speed from the flu, and still absolutely no headaches from going cold turkey on sugars and carbs. Not only that, but I’m not craving sweets, either, something else I’ve always had to deal with on other diet plans. My weight is already dropping dramatically, but we all know that’s often from water weight and to not take it too seriously. I’m fine with slow, gradual, steady weight loss and improvement in my numbers over time. So I won’t freak out if the weight goes up and down here or there, as long as I’m making progress over time.

The power of momentum

But I will say that having immediate success is a huge motivator. I’ve noticed in the past that if you can get into the forward-moving momentum of any weight loss plan, it gets easy to stay on it and keep riding that wave. Getting started is often the hard part, and Tim Ferriss in his slow carb diet book (4 hr body) actually talks about reaching that inner place energetically where you’re ready and motivated to focus on real change.
The power of momentum works the other direction as well – most of us have experienced that when we start to cheat a little, it can often snowball into a full day of cheating and then giving up on the diet.

So I want to focus on the forward momentum and ride this wave. Having a fast improvement in numbers right away is a powerful motivator, for sure. It feels darn good!

Lunch at a cafe

Today I met with my writer’s group at a local cafe. Thankfully their simple menu included Chef’s Salad. It was very good; I had it with Ranch dressing. No beans for lunch today.
TWEAK: I didn’t bring my sweetener with me, so I ordered a medium Americano with a Tablespoon of whole cream and sugar-free coffee syrup (caramel). It was pretty good, but I disliked the sugar-free aftertaste.

TIP: Always carry your natural sweetener with you.

Can I do minor tweaks with slow carb diet recipes?

I want to know if I can follow the 4 hour body slow carb diet with minor tweaks here and there – will it still work if I’m sometimes not 100%? We will see. Some diet plans like Keto and Paleo didn’t seem to work for me if I wasn’t following all the rules 100% (or 98%) of the time. So this factor – aka REAL LIFE – will be a part of my 4 hour body review.

Supper: fast low carb recipe

For supper I tried out a recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook (a great basic cookbook to have and should be in everyone’s kitchen). This was super fast and easy to make as well as being a healthy low carb recipe (aka slow carb recipe). I tweaked it a little from the original.
Mexican Pork Chops

Serves 4.

4 pork chops (ideally 3/4″ thick)
black pepper
cooking oil for high heat (avocado, macadamia, peanut, etc.)
1 15-oz can of beans (black, red kidney, or pinto beans)
1 cup salsa of your choice
1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro or parsley
Several sliced pickled jalapenos (optional)
Plain yogurt or sour cream (optional)

Take four pork chops and rub black pepper onto them, then fry in hot oil over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes per side. Remove and drain fat.
Into the same skillet pour 1 can of drained beans. Add 1 cup of salsa. If you have it, throw in some fresh cilantro or parsley. I also threw in some sliced pickled jalapenos with a little jalapeno juice.
Add the pork chops back to the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 5 minutes or until no pink remains in the pork and the juices run clear.

Serve topped with dollops of plain yogurt or sour cream if desired.

This was quick and easy and we enjoyed it very much. I’ve noticed that the Better Homes and Gardens website has a LOT of awesome-looking recipes for bean and meat dishes, so I’ll have to explore there, too.

My sweet ender

I was wanting a dessert tonight, so I scooped about 3/4 cup of plain Greek yogurt into a bowl and added monk fruit sweetener and a little lemon extract. Stirred it well and enjoyed it with a small spoon to get lots of yummy sweet scoops. It was very good and hit the spot for an ender. Since I’ve just come off of antibiotics, I’m focusing on getting as much plain Greek yogurt into me as I can. The Tim Ferriss slow carb diet also recommends probiotics. I could have added real lemon juice or peel, as Tim does recommend citrus like lemon water, especially on Binge Days.

May 13, 2023May 13, 2023 Jerilyn Winstead Health & Fitness

Day 1 of slow carb diet menu – 4 hour body review

MONDAY, MAY 8, 2023 – DAY 1:

My weight Sunday morning before starting was 200.7. This morning, after a half-day start yesterday, it’s 199.1. No exercise restarted yet, though I try to get in good steps most every day (daily goal is 8,000, but I have to really work to reach that most days).
Took all my Before Photos this morning.

I am cringing inside, but I’ve included my awful-looking before photos – size 16, at the bottom of this post.

Lunch – Fast low carb recipe

Turkey Black Bean Salad
Serves 4.

I’d remembered one of my all-time favorite recipes from my 20s. It’s very simple and easy. My ham steak was thawed, so for lunch I whipped it up.

Mix together:

1 can of drained black beans
2 bell peppers diced (any color)
2 cups cubed turkey or ham steak

(Feel free to vary these amounts to suit.) Mix and stir in a dressing of 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup veggie oil, 1 clove of minced garlic, dash of salt, dash of hot pepper flakes. Pour over salad and coat well.

That’s it! Simple, easy, quick, and so delicious for lunch. I had some of that along with my Chipotle leftovers (which I’d almost forgotten about).

Supper – Healthy low carb recipe

For supper I wanted to try out the garlic white bean faux mashed potatoes. My marinated chicken breasts were thawed enough, so I sauteed them in a pan with oil and butter, and sprinkled salt and pepper and seasonings on them (some of which I’d homemade from paleo plans in the past – BBQ dry seasoning was one). For a veggie side I sauteed fresh spinach in a little bit of oil.

Garlic White Bean Faux Mashed Potatoes

Serves 2. This is simple and you can tweak it to make it your own.

Heat up a skillet with a combo of butter and oil.
Saute minced garlic (1-3 cloves as you like) for a minute.
Add a can of drained white cannelloni beans. User a masher or fork to mash the beans while they’re cooking.
Add any extra liquid you need (water, broth, or cream) or more butter to get it to the consistency you like.
Salt and pepper to your taste.
If you’d like, add a little grated Parmesan on top.

Day One 4 hour body review

I was getting over the flu so mainly rested a bunch today between doing my work at my desk (I work from home as a freelance professional writer/editor). Regarding my eating I felt surprisingly well. The biggest takeaway – NO HEADACHES! In the past I’ve always experienced detox/sugar headaches whenever I’ve gone cold turkey from all sugar. I think on every single diet this has happened. I couldn’t believe I had no headaches and felt good. I attribute it to the beans. They are a healthy carb, after all, so I’m guessing they are keeping my headaches away. If anyone has heard of The Bean Protocol, a whole eating plan where you eat as many beans as possible as often as possible (from what I understand), you get it that beans are like a super food and do a TON to help regulate the body in many different ways.

My Sweet Ender

Dessert is one of my favorite parts of the day. I always prefer to end a satisfying healthy meal with a tiny bit of sweet as an ender. So tonight I made myself a decaf tiny Italian espresso with monk fruit sweetener and a bit of whole cream. It hit the spot!

Got my smart scale

Tonight I set up my new Renpho smart scale and stepped on it near the end of the day to set it up – I always weigh myself first thing in the morning before stepping into the shower. So my numbers fully clothed at the end of the day showed 202 lbs with 39% body fat! (I had guessed I was around 30% body fat, and for a woman the goal is 25%.) In the Renpho app I put my goal weight at 180, twenty pounds to start. My brother lost just 20 lbs and that made all the difference for him. This is not my normal weighing time so I’m not really counting this number.

Now for the embarrassing Before Photos. Continue at your own risk – you’ve been warned! Size 16, 200 lbs:

If I suck in my gut (which I’m not doing here), I look much better. I sometimes remember to do this when in public.

May 12, 2023May 12, 2023 Jerilyn Winstead Health & Fitness

4 Hour Body Review in Real Time

Day i, Sunday, May 7, 2023. Not my first official day, that’ll be tomorrow. But after returning from a road trip, my weight crossing the 200lb mark, I spent all day today reading and applying The 4 Hour Body book by Tim Ferriss. By lunchtime decided to go for it. I looked in my kitchen and the only protein available was quality hot dogs. So I cooked up a skillet of sliced hot dog with pinto beans, cooking them together. Then I sauteed fresh spinach in another skillet, one of my all-time favorite veggie side. Made for a pretty good first lunch.

From the freezer brought out a variety of meats to thaw during the week (pork chops, bone-in chicken thighs, a ham steak, and chicken breasts, which I put marinade with (balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and Italian seasoning).

Slow carb diet recipes begin

I cut out all sugar, milk, and cheese. (I had indulged in a lot of sweets, candy, and desserts on the road trip.) Switched to monk fruit sweetener for my coffee, with whole cream: about 1-2 teaspoons (up to 1 T.) per cup of coffee. After my Italian espresso in the morning, I switch to Cafe Americano (adding a little boiling water to the double espresso shot), then the sweetener and whole cream.

Don’t have to plan out my meals for the week like I usually do. This diet plan is very simple and affordable. Our pantry is already stocked with a variety of both dried and canned beans. Canned beans are the best as they are quick and easy. I’m thawing out several meats. We have several veggies on hand, fresh, frozen and canned, including two containers of fresh baby spinach. I don’t have to put much onto the grocery list, mainly Greek yogurt, monk fruit sweetener, sparkling water, and macadamia oil, which Tim lists as one of the best oils for high-heat cooking. We also have avocado and peanut oils, which I use for heat cooking, and virgin olive oil for low heat and salad dressing. Hubby later told me the macadamia oil was quite expensive, so we won’t get that regularly. (He does the weekly grocery shopping. Yes, I’m that lucky.)

Slow carb diet menu for eating out

Uh-oh! I’m getting ready to leave for my brand-new affirming house church this evening (we call it Group), and I was reminded that we’re supposed to bring our own supper food. I hadn’t remembered or prepared. But in the 4 hour body book it’s mentioned that Chipotle is a great place to get food, as you can build your own meat salad with beans – fresh avocado or guacamole is also recommended once in a while. So I stop there on the way and get a Salad bowl with a base of romaine, topped with Chicken Pastor, lots of veggies, beans, and guacamole. It’s so much food I can only eat half of it at home church, so I save the rest for tomorrow’s lunch. I can have red wine on this 4 hr body plan, but choose not to and also skip the cheeses and crackers and cookies at Group. It’s easy as my supper is filling and Group is stimulating.

Tim recommends Mexican and Thai foods for the easiest way to stay on the slow carb diet menu – any place which abounds in protein, beans, and veggies. One can always get a meat salad at just about any restaurant, and it’s okay if you miss the beans here or there at a meal. (I don’t have them at breakfast.)

Prep day – half-day on the 4 hour body slow carb plan

Sunday was very easy. I also took the time today to take my measurements per the 4 hour body book:

Right upper arm: 13.5″
Left upper arm: 13.5″
Waist: 36″
Hips: 45″
Left upper leg: 26″
Right upper leg: 26″
Both upper legs together: 42″

TOTAL INCHES: 202″

Though not part of these measurements, if you’re interested, my bosom is 42″.

4 hr body tool: smart scale

I also looked into the various body measurement methods/tools Tim recommends, and the most accurate are well over a hundred dollars each. Out of my budget. So I researched smart scales, his next affordable option (though not as accurate), and found one with high reviews and a great price tag, Renpho for around $29 with a beautiful faux-marble design, and ordered it (their basic black one is only $18 currently). It will arrive tomorrow, yay for Amazon!

Prep and first half-day was easy peasy

I’ll take my Before Photos tomorrow morning.