The Slow Carb Diet

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Humans, in general*, have a deeply ingrained desire to be physically fit and healthy. Way back when we had to hunt our own food and build our own shelter, having excellent physical condition meant more success, and more success meant living longer. While we do not face the same challenges in our current society we still have the natural desire to attain our peak physical condition. Of course, back in those times we were more active and food was not as readily available, so keeping off the fat was not an issue. Today our eating culture is one of instant gratification mixed with over-indulgence, and our exercise levels are declining as we spend more time sitting around. Even I had fallen foul of this habit recently, when I went 3 months without sport (rare for me) and starting eating whatever I damn well felt like. Blessed with a fast metabolism I did not get "fat" but I am definitely NOT anywhere near my peak physical condition.

So after finding motivation in Tim Ferriss' latest book - The 4-Hour Body I am once again striving to improve my physical condition, and one of the key methods for achieving this is the Slow Carb Diet, which I started earlier this week. Here is how it works:

The Basic Rules

  1. Avoid "white" carbs - no pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, breadcrumbs etc
  2. Build meals with protein (meat), legumes (beans) and vegetables
  3. Don't drink calories - no milk (even in coffee!), no adding sugar, no beer
  4. No fruit - tomatoes and avocado (in moderation) excepted
  5. Dedicate one day per week to take off and eat anything!

The no fruit rule struck me as odd, but I have since read a few different scientific research results which recommended dropping fruit from your diet for a few weeks if you want to switch your body into "fat burning mode". Sounds good. The rest of the rules are fairly simple but there are a few extra notes and tricks I will be applying in my quest to drop some fat fast.

Extra Notes and Tricks

  • The diet lacks some key vitamins so take a Calcium and Magnesium supplement
  • Aim for at least 20 grams of protein every meal
  • There is no specific calorie level to maintain - just eat when hungry
  • Use spices and herbs to flavour otherwise awful foods (beans!)
  • Food is for energy. This diet is not supposed to be "fun" so focus on getting energy

So that's it. It looks pretty simple, but often it is the simple things that work best so fingers crossed this does what it should.

*Note: I say "in general" because obviously there are a few strange people out there, like this lady who is purposefully trying to become the worlds fattest person.