Dieting is not about less; dieting is about enough

Just over 4 weeks ago I started the ‘Slow Carb Diet’, outlined in Tim Ferriss’ latest book: The Four Hour Body.

If you know me, or have read much of my site, you’ll know I’ve a huge man-crush on Tim Ferriss.

His first book, The Four Hour Work Week was a massive inspiration and all-round help when I quit my job in Japan, and tried out some “meaningful travel“.

So I was sure I’d get some value from his second book.

Almost instantly I was taken by the idea that I could lose fat without actually changing my exercise and fitness routine (which has recently been practically non-existent).

All I was required to do was change what I ate.

Nothing new here of course.  I’ve written before that diets suck – and I still hold to that. Diets in the traditional sense do suck, because they typically require huge sacrifice and hunger… hunger because you’re simply not eating enough.

Sod that… I enjoy eating and I don’t enjoy being hungry.

But what if, by the foods you eat, you can engineer your body to utilize fats instead of store them?

Sign me up!

The 2 reasons I started dieting…

Convincing people of the merits of doing something “different” is usually a tiresome task. But here it is…

[1] Because of the fat you can’t see

If you know what I look like in person, you’ll (hopefully) agree I’m not fat.

But I do have “excess”.

And when you have visible excess, no matter how little, you can safely assume you have “internal excess” also.

Fat doesn’t just sit on your ass, hang from your arms, or give you that 3rd chin you’ve always wanted. It’s everywhere. And when you have visible excess, you’re bound to have some that you can’t see.

I don’t like the idea of internal health problems that I can’t see – I generally subscribe to the idea that internal body health leads to sustained and natural well-being all over.

I ultimately wanted to clean out some of the internal fat that surrounds my organs as well as the little bit extra on my ass. The hips don’t lie folks. 😉

[2] Because of my current eating habits

I’m a creature of habits. If I find something I enjoy, I’ll do it repeatedly until I physically can’t take it any more in my life.

It’s what I’ve always done and it’s no different with food.

I moved to Spain nearly a year ago and discovered Spanish serrano ham. ¡Madre mia! Put that on some bread, slap on some cheese then stick it under the grill. Heaven.

That was my staple diet for about 9 of the last 12 months.

I knew I had a problem – the inability to get off my ass and try something different.

I didn’t know how to cook with anything except rice, pasta and potatoes. And even then, I was limited with those.

The new diet that Tim Ferriss proposed would force me outside of my comfort zone and demand that I take a controlling stake in my daily eating habits.

It could only be good for me, so I signed-up to the challenge.

Results of the Slow Carb Diet?

In nearly 5 weeks, I lost approximately 4~5kg – that’s between 5~7% of my initial body weight.

That also involves a slight weight gain from a bit of resistance exercise to build up back, shoulder, arm and leg strength.

I had to buy a new pair of jeans a few days ago to compensate.

Pretty impressive.

A diet where you eat more, not less

With this diet I actually ate more, not less. The difference was the types of foods.

If you think you’re overweight, or at least have a little extra padding you want to get rid… get conscious about what you’re putting into your body.

Bread in excess, loads of carbs, chocolate, soft-drinks, sweets etc. are a 20th century phenomenon. Our bodies aren’t designed to properly handle this stuff, and there’s little or no nutritional value in them for you.

Dieting shouldn’t be about calorie counting, serious permanent dietary restrictions, or forcing yourself to live on terrible foods you hate.

It should be a conscious decision to improve the food you eat and in-turn improve your health. Weight loss is just a by-product.

I had hardly anything to lose, and I lost a good bit without any significant increase in exercise, all the while eating some of the best meals I’ve had in a long time.

Don’t wreck yourself with crap commercially motivated diets that promise silly results if you eat only carpet for a month. That’s not fun and it wont last.

Just be good to yourself and your body.

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