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books How-To

I lost 7 pounds in 2 weeks with the 4 Hour Body Slow Carb Diet

At the end of the LA marathon, I was a healthy 165, but my foot was busted. There’s a stress fracture on my 4th metatarsal on my left foot and I’ve got to keep it flat in a wooden boot until it heals. I can’t even swim, since the water would flex my foot.

At SxSW, I went to Tim Ferriss’ talk on his new book, The Four Hour Body. I didn’t feel I really needed the book, but when I ballooned to 172 in less than a week, that gave me pause.

Weight on 3/28: 172
Weight on 4/08: 165

I didn’t work out except for doing some squats. On cheat days, which is Saturday for me, you can eat whatever and as much as you want: chocolate croissants, pringles, ABB Carboforce, protein drinks, steaks, ice cream. I love Saturdays.

Here’s the diet I followed and each meal except for the sardines and carrots made me full. I spent about $50 on groceries and $50 on lunch per week. $100 / week isn’t bad on a mostly protein diet.

3/28 - Monday
Breakfast: steak, 3 eggs, spinach
Lunch: chipotle bowl - no frills
Dinner: Chicken, Mixed veggies, Black Beans, Yogurt (nono)

3/29 - Tuesday
Breakfast: steak, 3 eggs, spinach, glass of milk (nono)
Lunch: chipotle bowl - sour cream and cheese (nono)
Dinner: swordfish steak, mixed veggies, black beans, yogurt (nono)

3/30 - Wednesday
Breakfast: 3 eggs, spinach, swordfish steak
Lunch: chipotle bowl with salsa and avocado
Dinner: chicken, mixed veggies, black beeans

3/31 - Thursday
Breakfast: 3 eggs, beef steak, spinach
Lunch: tofu, asparagus, veggie chili, brocoli
2nd lunch: carrots, sardines
Dinner: red wine (free), swordfish, mixed veggies

4/1 - Friday
Breakfast: spinach, swordfish
Lunch: chipotle bowl with salsa and avocado
2nd lunch: carrots, sardines
Dinner: red wine, steak, mixed veggies

4/2 - Saturday
Went nuts and ate all day

4/3 - Sunday
Breakfast: 3 eggs, chicken breast
Lunch: steak chipotle bowl - salsa, lettuce & guac
Dinner: lentils, chicken breast

4/4 - Monday
Breakfast: 3 eggs, chicken breast
Lunch: steak chipotle bowl - salsa, lettuce & guac
Dinner: lentils, chicken breast


4/5 - Tuesday
Breakfast: 3 eggs, lentils, chicken
Lunch: steak chipotle bowl - salsa, lettuce & guac
Dinner: salmon, asparagus, beans , redwine

4/6 - Wednesday
Breakfast: lentils, spinach, chicken
Lunch: barbacoa chipotle bowl - salsa, lettuce & guac
Dinner: blackbeans, mixed veggies, steak


4/7 - Thursday
Breakfast: spinach, lentils, steak
Lunch: steak chipotle bowl - salsa, lettuce & guac
Dinner: steak, blackbeans, mixed veggies

4/8 - Friday
Breakfast: steak
Lunch: salmon, asparagus, beans , redwine
Dinner: steak, blackbeans, mixed veggies

I lost a surprising 4 lbs. the first week, but only lost 3 lbs. the second week. I’m pretty sure the 3 lbs. was due to not having the 2nd lunch as recommended. I also measured my body fat with calipers: 24% – 20% body fat.

The first week was pretty difficult but the 2nd week it’s been no problem at all. I can also tell when I’m in ketosis because there’s a slight metallic taste to my mouth and my breathe seems sweeter to the nose.

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books iphone

4 Tech Tools for Marathon Training

I finished the LA Marathon on Sunday in 6 hours and 30 minutes. Walking the whole thing straight would’ve been faster, and I was on track for a 5 hour and 45 minute marathon, but my foot blew out in the last 4 miles. There were lots of things that almost derailed this marathon, but I’m glad I did it. All the hard work paid off this time.

Hopefully, it’s nothing more than a muscle injury and not a fracture. I’ll find out soon.

There are 4 tools that really helped me out. I’ve tried a dozen tools but these 4 turned out to be the best of the lot.

Runkeeper was by far the best for daily use. I’ve tried different apps and even got a GPS enabled watch, but Runkeeper proved itself to be quite a bargain at around $10 USD .

Next up is the free Marathon Coach app by Running Method. It’s free but shouldn’t be used as a stand alone since it’s GPS features are quite buggy. However, the synergy you get when used with Runkeeper is excellent.

Tim Ferriss’ book, The Four Hour Body, really helped me out a bit. I experimented one week by reducing the amount mileage by 75% of my midweek run and replaced it with sprint work. This sprint work was provided by AccelerateSF at Kezar Stadium. These guys are great and train you for $5 / session by experienced marathoners and track runners. The result was a fast (for me) weekend run where I ran 10 miles in 2 hours and 5 minutes vs. a previous 2 hours and 10 minutes. What’s more is that this speed gain pretty much remained with me throughout training.

Rapid carbohydrate loading after a short bout of near maximal-intensity exercise is the last piece of technology that helped me. I didn’t hit the wall at all during the LA Marathon by following this program.

There were a few mistakes I made during training:

  • Be sure to keep your nutrition levels up. I had a zinc deficiency that led to an infection. I did not eat enough protein or consume enough calcium in the beginning. The requirements for these double during training.
  • I think the reason I got injured was because I didn’t have the year of running that is required as a base prior to any marathon training.

Marathon training is quite the commitment but I’m glad I did it!

(I also raised money for the American Heart Association as part of my marathon participation.)