The Slow Carb Diet

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.

Starting Measurements

As I mentioned previously, I have started following the Slow Carb Diet and Geek to Freak sections from Tim Ferriss' latest book - The 4-Hour Body. And I just finished talking about the value of setting goals and tracking data so it would be a remiss of me to not include these before I get into the swing of things.

Goals

My goals are fairly simple to start with:

1. Lose Fat – Cut my body fat percentage to under 10% and drop 2cm on waist and hips
2. Gain Muscle – Add at least 2cm to Biceps, Chest, Quads

Starting Measurements

Weight: 84.3kg Body Fat: 17.5% (estimated) Lean Body Mass: 69.5kg (based on weight minus body fat estimate) Right Bicep (unflexed and flexed): 29.5cm/33cm Left Bicep (unflexed and flexed: 29cm/32.5cm Chest: 99.5cm Waist: 88.5cm Hips: 93cm Right Quad: 56.5cm Left Quad: 56.5cm

For posterity I also took a couple of photos so I can compare the changes visually. They will make a good set of "before" photos when showing off how massive I am in a few months.

Update (2/2/11): You can now see my 6 week measurements and "after" photos in this article.

Setting Goals and Tracking Data

Making dramatic life changes is quite a challenge. Breaking old habits is an arduous task especially when it comes to implementing a new diet and exercise plan. Through experience I have discovered two great (and simple) tricks to avoid falling back into my old ways - setting measurable goals and tracking data often.

Setting Measurable Goals

Setting airy-fairy goals like "I want to eat better" or "I want to exercise more" is no good when trying to adjust to something new. If you cannot measure your goal then how will you know when you succeed? And how will you know if you are on target along the way? Failing to set measurable goals (or not setting goals at all) is one of the main reasons why people fail to stick to a diet or exercise plan.

Tip: When setting goals, aim for measurable variables that can be tracked often. For example: "I want to have a body fat percentage of less than 10%". Even if you resort to just tracking something in the simplest form (i.e. body weight) it is better than nothing.

Track Data Often

Now that you have your measurable goals defined, you need to start tracking that data. Often. Recording your data will help you maintain motivation when the figures start showing positive progress before you can visually see any. Visual interpretation is biased based on your mood. Numerical data just shows you the plain old facts without bias.

Tip: Set regular times to do your measuring. Keeping it consistent will prevent the impact of normal body fluctuations skewing results and will also help you establish a routine. Remember "What gets measured gets managed."

Image: Idea go

My 4 Hour Body

Tim Ferriss (the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The 4-Hour Work Week) has released another bestseller - The 4-Hour Body. It is an interesting recount of his years of personal experimentation with dieting, fat loss, muscle gain, injuries, rehabilitation, and more. It is backed up with scientific research, expert advice, and data from previous studies. From the horse's mouth:

The 4-Hour Body is the result of an obsessive quest, spanning more than a decade, to hack the human body. It contains the collective wisdom of hundreds of elite athletes, dozens of MDs, and thousands of hours of jaw-dropping personal experimentation.

Sounds like the perfect thing for me to test and as such my first personal challenge to track here will be my attempt to achieve my very own 4 hour body. I will be following two parts of the book in particular - the Slow-Carb Diet and Geek To Freak, tracking all progress along the way.

Goals

At this stage my goals are pretty simple:

1. Lose Fat - Cut my body fat percentage to under 10% and drop 2cm on waist and hips
2. Gain Muscle - Add at least 2cm to Biceps, Chest, Quads,

Measuring for Success

"What gets measured gets managed" is the call of the day for this plan. Any diet and exercise plan needs to be monitored properly to ensure motivation is maintained and the best way to do that is by measuring everything. That way during any times of weakness or self-doubt, the cold hard facts are there to give unwavering encouragement. My measurements will include:

• Body Fat Percentage
• Body Weight
• Bicep size
• Chest size
• Waist size
• Hips size
• Quadricep size

The diet officially starts tomorrow (although I did a trial run for dinner - ground mince, lentils, capsicum, all wrapped in lettuce) and the exercise routine will kickoff later on this week. Keep an eye out for more updates to come soon including all my starting measurements, and outline of my diet rules, and my exercise plan.

Side note: If you don't know how Tim Ferriss is then I suggest checking out his blog and the above mentioned books. A very interesting character who has achieved so much in his life so far.

Update (2/2/11): You can now read the 6 week wrap-up of my 4-Hour Body journey in this article.

Introduction

The flood waters have receded, the cleanup is well underway, and I have successfully moved into my new house. Time for me to unveil what zacsky.com is all about. In a nutshell this site is about personal development - physical, mental, and everywhere in between - and how to turn a positive attitude into lifestyle freedom. There will be lots of information designed to challenge the norm and push boundaries to improve productivity and encourage positive personal growth. But there will also be useful anecdotes and information, case-studies, tips and tricks, and progress reports on my own personal experiments.

Three years ago I started writing a personal development book called Positive Happiness. After finishing the first draft I decided that I did not want to sell it - I wanted to give it away instead. I believe so strongly in the information that I wrote that I wanted everyone to have the opportunity to read it and benefit from it. That is why this site will include many articles based entirely on Positive Happiness. I really hope you can learn something from them and apply them to your life.

Like any personal development quest there will be tough times and challenges. Forcing change in your life and purposefully traveling against the flow societal norms is a difficult task, riddled with criticism and self-doubt. But it is precisely those times that a positive and productive mindset is needed to stay on the path towards lifestyle freedom.

Strap yourself in.