THE SLOW-CARB DIET II
The Finer Points and
Common Questions
As to methods, there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods.
The system is the solution.
This chapter answers the most common questions related to the Slow-Carb Diet, shares real-world lessons learned, and pinpoints the most common mistakes.
I designate Saturday as “cheat day” in all of my answers, but, in practice, you can substitute any day of the week.
Chances are good that at least 50% of the questions in this chapter will come up for you at some point. If you’re serious about achieving the fastest fat-loss possible, read it all.
Common Questions and Concerns
HOW CAN I POSSIBLY FOLLOW THIS DIET?
IT’S TOO STRICT!
Just start with changing your breakfast. You will lose noticeable fat. Be sure to see Fleur B. in “Perfect Posterior,” who lost about 3% bodyfat in four to five weeks with this one substitution. Once you see the results, suck it up and move to 100% slow-carb for six days, after which you can indulge yourself for 24 hours.
Then again, would doing a one-week test from the get-go really be too much? I doubt it. “Pritibrowneyes” developed a simple method for extending self-control:
One thing that worked well for me was keeping a little notepad with me. Everytime I got a craving for something (sweet stuff or just regular food) I added it to the list of things I was going to feast on during my cheat day. This was my way of acknowledging my craving and reminding myself that I could have it, but just not right now. It’s like deferred eating.
If that’s not enough, don’t forget sugar-free Jell-O. When you are on the verge of self-control breakdown, usually late at night, a few bites will put the demons back in their cages.
BUT EATING THE SAME STUFF IS SO BORING!
Most people vastly overestimate the variety of their meals.
Assuming you’re not traveling, what have you had to eat for breakfast for the last week? Lunch? Chances are good that, especially for breakfast, you’ve repeated one to three meals.
Rotating five or six meals for a few weeks is not hard at all, even though you might imagine otherwise. Feeling awesome and looking better each successive week easily justifies having familiar (tasty) food from Sunday to Friday. Saturday is no-holds-barred. Here’s one of hundreds of examples of results trumping variety, this one from Jeff:
I’ve been going 2 weeks strong, and am down almost 15 lbs! I have this “lose 30 before I’m 30 years old” plan and I’m now halfway there with 4 months to go.
I do egg-whites, Lentils, and broccoli in the A.M., a burrito bowl (chicken, black beans, veggies) for lunch, then chicken, lentils and assorted veggies for dinner. All followed with some delicious red wine before bed.
I admit I’m already bored with the meals, but the results I’m seeing so far make it a minimal concern. I add some different seasonings or light sauces to the chicken to mix it up… .
I’ve only had one cheat day so far, but am looking forward to my second one tomorrow. I may have overdid it last week, as I consumed almost 5,000 calories, where normally I’m coming in around 1,200–1,300:); Surprisingly, that huge cheat day last week didn’t set me back too far, as I was back to my pre-cheat weight by Monday morning.
I don’t like exercise, and haven’t committed to it as part of my weight loss plan, but some folks at work get me to do 30–45 minutes on a elliptical or bike a couple times a week. Not sure if that’s enough that it really has an impact or not, but at least it gets me off my butt.
I’m interested to see how the next 2 weeks go. I’m under 200 lbs for the first time in years, and my goal is 185.
SHOULD I TAKE ANY SUPPLEMENTS?
I suggest potassium, magnesium, and calcium. This diet will cause you to lose excess water, and electrolytes can go along with it.
Potassium can be consumed during meals by using a potassium- enriched salt like “Lite Salt” or, my preference, eating extra guacamole with Mexican meals. Avocadoes, the main ingredient in guacamole, contain 60% more potassium than bananas. Avocadoes also contain 75% insoluble fiber, which will help keep you regular. If you prefer pills, 99-milligram tablets with meals will do the trick.
Magnesium and calcium are easiest to consume in pill form, and 500 milligrams of magnesium taken prior to bed will also improve sleep.
If you prefer to get your electrolytes through whole foods, here are good slow-carb options, in descending order of concentration. Notice that spinach is the only item on all three lists:
Potassium (4,700 mg per day recommended for an average, healthy 25-year-old male)
1. Lima beans, cooked, 4.9 cups (1 cup = 969 mg)
2. Chard, cooked, 4.9 cups (1 cup = 961 mg)
3. Halibut, cooked, 2.6 fillets (half a fillet = 916 mg)
4. Spinach, cooked, 5.6 cups (1 cup = 839 mg)
5. Pinto beans, cooked, 6.3 cups (1 cup = 746 mg)
6. Lentils, cooked, 6.4 cups (1 cup = 731 mg)
7. Salmon, cooked, 3.4 fillets (half a fillet = 683 mg)
8. Black beans, cooked, 7.7 cups (1 cup = 611 mg)
9. Sardines, 7.9 cups (1 cup = 592 mg)
10. Mushrooms, cooked, 8.5 cups (1 cup = 555 mg)
Calcium (1,000 mg per day recommended for an average, healthy 25-year-old male)
1. Salmon with bones, 1.1 cups (1 cup = 919 mg) (great-tasting if you’re a cat)
2. Sardines with bones, 1.8 cups (1 cup = 569 mg)
3. Mackerel, canned, 2.2 cups (1 cup = 458 mg)
4. Tofu, firm, 3.6 cups (1 cup = 280 mg)
5. Collards, cooked, 3.8 cups (1 cup = 266 mg)
6. Spinach, cooked, 4.1 cups (1 cup = 245 mg)
7. Black-eyed peas, cooked, 4.7 cups (1 cup = 211 mg)
8. Turnip greens, cooked, 5.1 cups (1 cup = 197 mg)
9. Tempeh, 5.4 cups (1 cup = 184 mg)
10. Agar, dried, 5.7 cups (1 oz = 175 mg)
Magnesium (400 mg per day recommended for an average, healthy 25-year-old male)
1. Pumpkin seeds (pepitas), 2.6 oz (2 oz = 300 mg)
2. Watermelon seeds, dried, 2.8 oz (2 oz = 288 mg)
3. Peanuts, 1.6 cups (1 cup = 245 mg)
4. Halibut, cooked, 1.2 fillets (half a fillet = 170 mg)
5. Almonds, 5 oz (2 oz = 160 mg)
6. Spinach, 2.5 cups (1 cup = 157 mg)
7. Soybeans, cooked, 2.7 cups (1 cup = 148 mg)
8. Cashews, 5.5 oz (2 oz = 146 mg)
9. Pine nuts, 5.7 oz (2 oz = 140 mg)
10. Brazil nuts, 6.3 tbsp (2 tbsp = 128 mg)
NO DAIRY? REALLY? DOESN’T MILK HAVE A LOW GLYCEMIC INDEX?
It’s true that milk has a low glycemic index (GI) and a low glycemic load (GL). For the latter, whole milk clocks in at an attractive 27. Unfortunately, dairy products paradoxically have a high insulinemic response on the insulinemic index (II or InIn) scale. Researchers from Lund University in Sweden have examined this surprising finding:
Despite low glycemic indexes of 15–30, all of the milk products produced high insulinemic indexes of 90–98, which were not significantly different from the insulinemic index of the reference bread [generally white bread].… Conclusions: Milk products appear insulinotropic as judged from 3-fold to 6-fold higher insulinemic indexes than expected from the corresponding glycemic indexes.
Removing even a little dairy can dramatically accelerate fat-loss, as Murph noticed:
OK, it’s been a week since taking Tim’s advice and cutting the dairy. I’m down 6 more pounds. And what’s unbelievable to me is that I wasn’t even consuming that much beforehand. Maybe a handful of cheese on my breakfast eggs, and a glass of milk per day.
Need something to flavor your coffee? If you must, use cream (not milk), but no more than two tablespoons. I opt for a few dashes of cinnamon and the occasional drops of vanilla extract.
NO FRUIT? DON’T I NEED A “BALANCED DIET”?
No.
To begin with, there is no consensus on what a “balanced diet” is. My researchers and I tried to find an official definition from the U.S. Department of Agriculture or other federal agencies, and we could not. I have not seen any evidence to suggest that fruits are necessary more than once a week on cheat day.
See “The Forbidden Fruit” sidebar in the last chapter for more.
GOD, I F*ING HATE BEANS. CAN I SUBSTITUTE SOMETHING ELSE?
Perhaps you just hate farting and not beans.
First, let’s fix that bean issue, then I’ll talk about how and when you can omit them.
Lentils seldom cause the gas problem and are my default in the legume category. For beans, purchasing organic will often fix the rumbling pants effect, and if that doesn’t work, soaking the beans in water for a few hours will help break down the offending cause: oligosaccharides. This is one of many reasons I eat canned beans and lentils, disposing of the murky juice in the can and rinsing, instead of purchasing either dry. If all else fails, add some Beano (Bean-zyme for you vegans) or epazote (available at Mexican grocery stores or online) to the beans and you’re golden.
Is it the blandness that’s the problem? That’s even easier to fix: add a little balsamic vinegar and garlic powder. I personally love hot sauce (www.cholula.com is my current favorite). Try red beans instead of black or pinto.
Perhaps it’s the beany mouth feel and texture? Try fake mashed potatoes, which slow-carber Dana explains:
Put a little olive oil in a pan … add a can of white kidney beans (or some cauliflower), mash them with a spoon or whatever you choose, add a bit of water to get the consistency you want, season with a little bit of salt, pepper, garlic powder, and some parmesan cheese if you wish … tastes awesome and cooks in no time at all!
The fake mashed potato approach also works well with simple refried beans … and don’t forget to mix the beans with something else. My breakfast is often a concoction of mixed veggies with lentils and store-bought, mayonnaise-minimal coleslaw. It’s 100 times better-tasting than the three eaten separately.
Do you really have to eat beans every meal? No. Which leads up to the rules of omission.
I do not eat beans with every meal because I eat out almost every lunch and dinner. If I’m cooking, lentils and black beans are my defaults. Outside, I’ll order extra protein and vegetables for the entrée and supplement with one or two slow-carb appetizers, such as unbreaded calamari and a salad with olive oil and vinegar. If you omit legumes in a meal, you must absolutely make a concerted effort to eat larger portions than your former higher-carb self. Remember that you’re getting fewer calories per cubic inch. Eat more than you are accustomed to.
HOLY FESTIVUS, I GAINED EIGHT POUNDS AFTER MY CHEAT DAY!
DID I UNDO ALL OF MY PROGRESS?
No, not at all. It’s common for even a 120-pound female to gain up to eight pounds of water weight after 24 hours of increased carbohydrate intake. Larger males can gain 10–20 pounds. Expect MASSIVE weight fluctuations after cheat day. Relax. It will disappear over the next 48 hours.
Mark’s experience is typical:
I have been doing this now for about 10 weeks and I have weighed myself daily during the process. I put on up to 2 kg (4.4 lbs) every cheat day, return to my pre cheat weight by Wednesday at latest, and have been averaging a further 1 Kg (2.2 lbs) per week loss by the next cheat day.
To date I have lost 12 kgs / 26.5 lbs. I am fairly strict during the week (protein + beans + veg and thats about it), and I do circuit training and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu 3–4 times per week. The only variation I have from Tims guide is a whey protein shake after every hour of training.
Weigh yourself before your first meal on cheat day and ignore the short- term fluctuations, which do not reflect fat-loss or gain. Remember to take circumference measurements on your weigh-in days, as it is typical to gain some lean muscle while on this diet.
The mitochondria in muscle increase your ability to oxidize fat, so we want to encourage this, but the muscle gain can keep you at the same weight for one to two weeks.
Pounds can lie, but measurements don’t.
Some dieters needlessly fall off the train in frustration. Angel, whom we met once in earlier chapters, didn’t. Why not? At the risk of sounding repetitive, let me reiterate, since I know most readers will ignore this:
[Week one] Hello all. I just wanted to share my first week with you. I have lost a total of 7 pounds.… Mondays are also the day that I take my measurements. I have lost 1 inch from each thigh, 1 inch from my waist, and 1/2 inch from my hips. I already noticed that my pants I haven’t worn for a while fits perfect. This is the motivation I need to keep on going.
[Week two] After my cheat day on Saturday, I gained 1 pound which is normal for me. The week before I gained pretty much that, but lost it. So week two, I lost that 1 pound. I didn’t lose any weight on week two, but I’m not discouraged. I did manage to lose in inches. I lost ½ an inch off my hips which is absolutely great. I lost a total of 1 inch off my thighs. Not so shabby either. So that’s a total of 1.5 inches for the week. I’ll take the inches. The grand total of inches lost from Day One: 5 inches total. Yippee! No exercise either.
Enjoy your cheat day guilt-free. Measure the right things at the right times.
CAN I USE SPICES, SALT, OR LIGHT SAUCES? WHAT CAN I USE FOR COOKING?
Spices and herbs, but not cream-based sauces, are your friends. Take a trip to Whole Foods with $50 and get educated. That $50 spree will last you at least a few months.
Montreal steak rub, thick salsa without sugar added, garlic salt, white truffle sea salt (combine this with tarragon on eggs), Thai chili paste (srichacha)—this is just about all you need to start. For salad dressing, a few drops of a nonsugar sweetener like stevia mixed with vinegar and mustard will give you a dressing to satisfy any sweet tooth. My preference, and my go-to restaurant salad dressing, is simply balsamic vinegar and olive oil.
Butter is fine, as long as the only ingredients are butter and salt.
For cooking, you can use olive oil for low heat and either grapeseed oil or macadamia oil for high-temperature cooking.
“Comparison of Dietary Fats and Oils,” from Agricultural Handbook, no. B-4, U.S. Human Nutritional Information Service, http://www.adoctorskitchen.com/about/about-fats. (Courtesy: Deborah Chud MD)
Macadamia oil is the new and improved olive oil. Since several high-level bodybuilding coaches introduced me to this new kid on the block, I’ve been hooked.
Consider the following:
• It tastes almost like butter. Extra-virgin olive oil is fine alone or on salad, but let’s face it—it makes scrambled eggs taste like cat vomit.
• Unlike olive oil, it has a high smoking point (234°C) and is ideal for sautéeing and all manner of cooking. I now use butter from grass-fed cows, ghee, and macadamia oil exclusively for all stove-top action.
• It has a long shelf life and is more stable than olive oil when exposed to light. If you’ve ever consumed olive oil from a clear container, there is a good chance that you’ve downed rancid olive oil on at least one occasion. Some industry analysts estimate that more than 50% of all mass-produced olive oil is spoiled when consumed.
• It is the lowest of all cooking oils in omega-6 fatty acids but high in palmitoleic acid, which isn’t found in any other plant oil. Because palmitoleic acid is found in the sebum of human skin, macadamia oil can also double as a potent skin moisturizer. Not suggested with olive oil unless you want the sex appeal of a Greek salad.
• The fat in macadamia oil is 80% monounsaturated, the highest percentage among cooking oils.
Sources and Resources: Species Nutrition (http://www.speciesnutrition.com)—President Dave Palumbo was the first to introduce me to macadamia oil and I get mine from his producers.
CAN I DRINK ALCOHOL? WHAT TYPES OF WINE ARE BEST?
On cheat days, all is fair. Have a keg by yourself if the spirit moves you. On diet days, stick to dry wines, “dry” being defined as less than 1.4% residual sugar. The driest red varietals are Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, whereas the driest whites are generally Sauvignon Blanc and Albariño. This certainly doesn’t stop me from enjoying my favorite big reds: Malbec from Argentina and Zinfandel from California. I have found better fat-loss results with red wine compared to white.
Though there are exceptions, it is best to avoid Riesling, White Zinfandel, and Champagne.
WHAT SHOULD I EAT FOR SNACKS?
There should be no need, or real physical urge, to eat snacks. If you are hungry, you’re not eating enough protein and legumes at each meal. This is an uber-common novice screwup. I’ve been there too. Eat more.
If you’re eating enough and still feel the urge to snack, it’s a psychological addiction, one that most often goes hand in hand with procrastination. Some of us go to the bathroom, others go to the water cooler, and others eat. I’ve done all three, so I know the drill.
If all else fails and you must have a snack, go for carrots, but a bag of carrots will hit you like a donkey kick in the stomach, so don’t binge. If I snack, I’ll most often make a small snack—200–300 calories—out of restaurant leftovers like Thai chicken basil with no rice. If you’re really starving, just eat another slow-carb meal. It won’t do any harm.
If you get headaches or have other symptoms of low blood sugar, 90% of the time it will be because you are not eating enough. First-time slow-carbers are accustomed to eating small portions of calorically dense carbohydrates (think bagels or pasta), and they duplicate the portion sizes with the calorically lighter slow-carb foods, resulting in insufficient calories. Expect that you can eat two to three times as much volume, and assume that you should.
Likewise, if you have trouble sleeping due to hunger, you’re not eating enough. In these cases, consume a bit of protein prior to bed, which can be as simple as 1–2 tablespoons of almond butter (ideal) or peanut butter with no additives (the only ingredients should be peanuts and perhaps salt). Note to the ladies, for whom peanut butter seems to be like crack: the tablespoon scoop should be no more than a small mound, not half the jar balanced on a spoon.
DO I REALLY HAVE TO BINGE ONCE A WEEK?
It is important to spike caloric intake once per week.
This causes a host of hormonal changes that improve fat-loss, from increasing cAMP and GMP to improving conversion of the T4 thyroid hormone to the more active T3.
Everyone binges eventually on a diet, and it’s better to schedule it ahead of time to limit the damage. The psychological benefits outweigh even the hormonal and metabolic benefits. I eat like this all the time and have for seven years. Few ways of eating (WOE) are this sustainable and beneficial.
CAN YOU GET AWAY WITH ONE CHEAT MEAL PER WEEK?
Most men can. Some women can’t.3
Menstruation can stop if leptin levels get too low. This happened to one reader for seven months until she returned to “refeeding,” as she called it (binge day), though she only did it once every two weeks. Forced overfeeding can temporarily increase circulating leptin 40%. I still suggest once per week as a default. Bumping up food intake for 12–24 hours, not necessarily to the point of sickness, is an important reset. If you gain too much or plateau and get nervous, eat a good high-protein meal for breakfast on your off day and then binge from lunch to dinner, which is what I now do most of the time.
I don’t always splurge to the point of sickness. In a response to one slow-carber, I explained:
Yes, you can eat anything you want—in any quantity—on Saturdays. I tend to go nuts every 1 of 4 weeks and eat so much I get nearly sick, which makes me moderate the other 3. I love Snickers, TimTams, bear claws (and all pastries), and ice cream. Enjoy.
One more tip: whenever possible, eat out for your cheat meals.
No matter what, throw out all bad food before the next morning. If there is bad food in your house, you will eventually eat it before your “off” day, also called “reverse Lent” by some followers.
WHAT ABOUT BREAKFAST?
My most frequent breakfast consists of eggs, lentils, and spinach. I prefer lentils, straight out of the can, to black beans, and hard-boiling a dozen eggs beforehand makes this easy.
Breakfast is the hardest meal for most to modify, as we’re a country of toast- and cereal-eating junkies. Moving to slow carbs and protein requires a more lunchlike meal for breakfast. This is easier when you realize that breakfast can be a smaller meal when followed by a lunch three to five hours later. Try it for five days and you’ll see the difference. Not only will the increased protein intake decrease water retention, resting metabolism increases about 20% if your breakfast calories are at least 30% protein.
If you want a more typical breakfast, try eggs with turkey bacon (or organic normal bacon)4 and sliced tomato. Delicious. Cottage cheese, my mother’s preference, is also a fine addition. Have you ever cooked eggs with ghee (clarified butter)? Try it and thank me.
Interested in why I specifically choose eggs, spinach, and lentils? For those who like to get deep in the weeds, your science fix is next.
In randomized and controlled trials, eating eggs results in more fat-loss and increased basal metabolism. In one such trial, overweight women who consumed a breakfast of two eggs a day for eight weeks (at least five days per week) instead of a bagel of equal weight and caloric value lost 65% more weight and—more importantly—had an 83% greater reduction in waist circumference. There were no significant differences between the plasma total-, HDL-, and LDL-cholesterol and triglyceride levels of either group.
Egg yolks also provide choline, which helps protect the liver and increases fat-loss as compared to a control. Choline metabolizes into betaine and offers methyl groups for methylation processes. Steven Zeisel from the University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill explains: “Exposure to oxidative stress is a potent trigger for inflammation. Betaine is formed from choline within the mitochondria, and this oxidation contributes to mitochondrial redox status.” Guess what another primary source of betaine is? Spinach.
This is where credit is due: Popeye got it right. Spinach is incredible for body recomposition.
The phytoecdysteroids (20HE specifically) in spinach increase human muscle tissue growth rates 20% when applied in a culture (think petri dish). Even if you’re not interested in growth, it also increases glucose metabolism. Phytoecdysteroids are structurally similar to insect molting hormones—finally, an affordable way to eat insect molting hormones!—and both increase protein synthesis and muscular performance. Even little rats build stronger paw grips. In good news for women, the 20HE ecdysteroid tested demonstrates no androgenic properties. In other words, it won’t give you a hairy chest or an Adam’s apple.
The Rutgers University researchers responsible for the principal study emphasize, almost as a deterrent, that one would need to eat 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of spinach per day to mimic the administration used. In testing, I’ve found that it’s not hard at all to see a visible effect with smaller amounts. I routinely eat two to three cups of spinach per day, which is less than you think, and each cup is 81 grams. Two cups, at 162 grams, is about 16% of 1 kilogram. Three cups is almost 25% of 1 kilogram. If the results of the study are dose-dependent, one might expect an increase in muscle fiber synthesis of 3% from 2 cups and 5% from 3 cups, not to mention the effect of increased carbohydrate metabolism. Compounded over time, this is significant. If the effect is not dose-dependent but rather triggered at a dose less than 1 kilogram per day, it is possible that the 20% increase could be achieved with far less than 1 kilogram. I also believe that spinach increases cAMP, but that’s for the geeks to explore.
Lentils, last but not least, are a rich and cheap source of protein (amino acids), isoleucine and lysine in particular. Both lysine and isoleucine, a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA), are noted for their roles in muscular repair, and the latter for its effect on glucose metabolism.
DO I HAVE TO LIMIT VEGGIES TO THOSE LISTED?
There’s no need to limit veggies to those I listed, but I’ve found that the more variety you attempt, the more likely you are to quit, as everything from shopping to cleanup becomes more complicated.
As I’ve said before, this diet is not designed to be fun, even though most people end up enjoying it. It’s designed to be effective. The vegetables I’ve listed are those I’ve found to be most tolerable when eating them again and again. Feel free to substitute whatever you want, but don’t forget to include legumes for calories.
One veggie that often gets unnecessarily tossed due to rule #1 (no white foods) is cauliflower. Eat all the cauliflower you like. It’s great for making faux mashed potatoes. Otherwise, stick to the no-white rule.
ARE CANNED FOODS ALL RIGHT?
Canned foods are absolutely fine. No problem. Almost all of my vegetables are either frozen (80%) or canned (20%). I’m a huge fan of canned tuna in water mixed with lentils and chopped onions.
CAN I EAT WHOLE GRAINS OR STEEL-CUT OATS?
No.
CAN I DO THIS IF I’M A LACTO-OVO VEGETARIAN?
Lacto-ovo is fine. Meat isn’t necessary, but it does make the job easier. Eggs and beans are sufficient to lose weight, but I would avoid most milk products. Cottage cheese is an exception. It doesn’t interrupt things, and the high casein content appears to facilitate fat-loss.
One reader used Yves veggie hot dogs and Instone high-protein pudding, in addition to eggs, to satisfy his protein requirements. Brown rice protein, as well as hemp or pea protein, will work if you can stomach it. If possible, I discourage consuming any refined soy products, including all soy milk and isolated soy protein supplements. See the “Meatless Machine” chapter for more warnings on soy and alternatives.
CAN I EAT SALSA?
Salsa is outstanding, especially chunky medium spicy salsa with corn, beans, etc. I can’t stand egg whites by themselves, as they’re too boring even for me. This is why I almost always eat whole eggs, but if you add a few spoonfuls of salsa on top of either option, it’s a delicious little meal. Just don’t put the salsa and lentils in the same bowl. The mixture will make you gag like a camel coughing up a hair ball.
CAN I EAT FRIED FOODS?
Stir-fry is ideal for this diet, as are most cuisines (like Thai) that depend on it. Deep-frying should be avoided because of the breading and poor nutrient density for the calories.
Refried beans work just fine, and more than 30 slow-carbers have lost up to one pound per day using them as a staple. Reader David C. lost 20 pounds in 30 days using almost exclusively canned refried beans. In his last update, he’d lost 42 pounds and his wife had lost 36 pounds.
Refried beans do, however, contain a boatload of sodium, approximately 45% of the daily allowance per cup. If you don’t have hypertension, this probably won’t kill you, but do your best to include other beans, or mix them together, on occasion. This will result in less water retention. Bloated ain’t pretty, no matter how low your bodyfat.
I love refried beans, too, but try to diversify once you have the hang of the diet.
WHAT IF I’M TRAVELING AND EATING IN AIRPORTS?
If you’re airport-hopping and cannot find a Mexican restaurant or grill, grab a bag of raw almonds or walnuts at a kiosk and commit to consuming no starch for the remainder of your travel time. There are enough calories in that single bag to give you two to three small “meals” and get you through a full 12 hours. Most airports also have chicken salads (omit dressings besides olive oil or vinegar) that you can combine with the nuts.
If it comes down to it, choose mild hunger instead of deviation. If you always eat on the clock, perhaps it’s been a few years since you’ve felt real hunger.
Having followed this diet in 30+ countries, I can state without exception that travel is not a legitimate excuse for breaking the rules.
Speaking as a cooking-inept bachelor, and as someone who has eaten out an average of twice a day for the last five years, the slow-carb solution in restaurants is eight words:
“I’ll just have more vegetables instead of [starch].”
For most places, it’s a simple matter of substituting more vegetables—spinach or whatever is available—for the standard rice, bread, or potato that comes with the meal. “No substitutions” on the menu? No problem. Add a few more words and it’s abracadabra done:
“I’ll just have more vegetables instead of the [starch]. If I have to pay a bit extra, that’s fine.”
If that fails, gird your loins and just order a separate veggie or legume side while omitting the starch. In total, this substituting will average out to less than $3 extra per meal, and it’s often free. Consider this your nominal flat stomach tax. If you’re eating out to begin with, you can afford an extra $3, so don’t be penny-wise and pound-foolish. If you can’t afford it, skip a latte or newspaper so you can.
The most cost-effective cuisines I’ve found for the Slow-Carb Diet are Thai5 and Mexican, the latter of which leads us to the wonderfully simple example of Eric Foster and his Chipotle® Diet.
Eric lost 91 pounds and went from 44% to 23.8% bodyfat in less than 10 months adhering to the following menu:
BREAKFAST: One cup of coffee and an egg (scrambled or hard-boiled) [I believe he would have lost significantly more fat by adding even one extra egg each day.]
LUNCH: Fajita bol (peppers, onions, steak, tomato salsa, green tomatillo salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, romaine lettuce)
DINNER: Fajita bol (peppers, onions, steak, tomato salsa, green tomatillo salsa, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, romaine lettuce)
This diet totals about 1,480 calories and 29 grams of nonfiber carbohydrates daily. Brent, another follower of the Chipotle Diet, lost 120 pounds in 11 months, bringing him from 300 to 180 pounds bodyweight.
But doesn’t it get boring? Eric suspected it would:
I honestly thought I might get bored of the burritos after a couple months, but it hasn’t happened yet. Thank God! Before I started dieting, Chipotle was my favorite place to eat. I made adjustments to the menu items to make it low-carb, and it tasted just as good as if I hadn’t made any changes at all.
Losing fat doesn’t need to be punishment. It doesn’t even need to be inconvenient.
Go slow-carb for a week and you won’t go back.
WHAT ABOUT FAT-LOSS DRUGS?
I could recommend several hard-core thermogenics, but the potential for addiction, organ damage, and lesser-known chronic problems (sinusitis, for example) just isn’t worth it.
The most effective, side-effect-minimal “stack” I’ve found is PAGG, and it’s detailed in the chapter entitled “The Four Horsemen.”
ISN’T HIGHER PROTEIN HARD ON THE KIDNEYS? WHAT IF I HAVE GOUT?
First, I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on the Internet. If you have medical conditions of any type, consult a physician. Now, on to my interpretation of the data:
If you don’t have a serious preexisting medical condition, the amount of protein I prescribe should not hurt you. There is no compelling evidence to support the protein-hurts-your-kidneys claim. This is what Michael Eades MD calls a “vampire myth” because it just refuses to die, despite a lack of evidence.
Gout?
Gout is usually blamed on purines and therefore protein, so those diagnosed with it, like my mother, will be put on low-protein, low-legume diets. I ascribe to Gary Taubes’s interpretation of the scientific literature, which indicates that fructose (and therefore sucrose, table sugar) and other factors are more likely to be causal agents of gout. Phosphoric acid in carbonated drinks is also to be avoided.
My mother’s uric acid levels normalized on the Slow-Carb Diet, despite much higher protein intake. She continued to take low-dose allopurinol during the diet, and the food was the only variable that changed.
This said, no matter what you do with your diet or self-experimentation, do not stop or modify medication without consulting a medical professional.
I’M HITTING A PLATEAU—WHAT SHOULD I DO?
The first three mistakes discussed in the next few pages (eating too late, not eating enough protein, drinking too little water) are the three most common causes.
Nevertheless, the total percentage of bodyfat lost per month naturally decreases over time. The number of mitochondria in your muscle tissue largely determines your rate of sustained fat-loss. Targeted exercise, even just 20 minutes per week, will often double fat-loss that’s plateaued, and should do so for at least two to four months. The best options are covered in the “Adding Muscle” chapters.
Common Mistakes and Misunderstandings
The first three mistakes in this section cover 90%+ of stalling problems, but the rest are well worth reading. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and a few minutes of education is worth many pounds of extra fat-loss.
MISTAKE #1: NOT EATING WITHIN ONE HOUR OF WAKING, PREFERABLY WITHIN 30 MINUTES
This was my dad’s issue and is almost always a show-stopper. Look at what happened once we addressed it:
12/27/08
Beginning weight 245 lbs.
1/30/09
End of month #1 228 lbs.
3/1/09
End of month #2 222½ lbs. [Too little protein in morning for last 4 weeks—added 30 grams as a ready-to-drink Myoplex shake within 30 minutes of waking to restart fat-loss]
4/2/09
End of month #3 203¾ lbs.
The first month, his rate of loss was 17 pounds per month. The second month, when he postponed breakfast, his rate of loss dropped to 5.5 pounds per month. The third month, after consuming 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking, that rate more than tripled to 18.75 pounds per month!
These numbers don’t tell the whole story, of course, as he was adding muscle at the same time, but this type of dramatic acceleration is typical. Skipping breakfast is also closely associated with overeating in the evening. Don’t skip. Have no appetite in the morning? No problem. Keep it small and protein-rich, then: two to three hard-boiled eggs sprinkled with white truffle sea salt.
Here’s another case study, this time from JayC:
10/18/2008–2/14/2009: Starting weight: 260 lbs, Today’s weight: 212 lbs
Wow! This is the first time I’ve been less than 215 since my freshman year of college! I hit a bit of a plateau after getting down to 220 on Christmas. I was eating the same, drinking the same, etc and stayed at 220! So how did I get over this plateau?? By eating more! Can you believe the awesomeness of this lifestyle? Tim had posted … to eat at least 30g of protein upon waking, and to up the water even more so. Reluctantly I enlarged my breakfast and lunch portions and BAM!
Skip breakfast, forget to eat within one hour of waking, and you will fail.
MISTAKE #2: NOT EATING ENOUGH PROTEIN
Get at least 20 grams of protein per meal.
This is absolutely most critical at breakfast. Eating at least 40% of your breakfast calories as protein will decrease carb impulses and promote a negative fat balance. Even 20% protein—more than most people consume—doesn’t cut it. First choice: down two to three whole eggs at breakfast. Second choice: if that’s impossible to stomach, add other protein-rich whole foods, such as turkey bacon, organic bacon, organic sausages, or cottage cheese. Third choice: have a 30-gram protein shake with ice and water, as my father did.
The first few days you’ll feel like you’re force-feeding yourself, and then it will all change and you’ll feel incredible. Get at least 20 grams of protein per meal, no matter what.
Related problem: not eating enough food. Do NOT try to restrict portions or calories. Eat until you are full, and eat as much as you like of the approved foods. If you don’t, you will either downshift your metabolism or cheat between meals with banned-food snacks.
Kristal wasn’t losing weight and was irritable on the diet. Why? Because she was neglecting legumes and focusing on a higher volume of green vegetables, resulting in insufficient calories. There is no need to count calories if you follow the rules, and one of the rules is: get plenty of legumes. Her results multiplied after making one change:
I took your advice and made beans the #1 ingredient this week, and I have a lot more energy and am remarkably less cranky. The first couple weeks I made veggies #1 with a bit of beans and meat tossed in. This week it is beans, beans, beans … and I’m now down 10 pounds. Whoopee!
MISTAKE #3: NOT DRINKING ENOUGH WATER
To ensure optimal liver function for fat-loss, increased hydration is a must.
Insufficient water intake (“I just don’t like drinking much water”) seems to be particularly common among women. My mother plateaued in fat loss and, looking at her water intake, I insisted she add a few more glasses. She immediately started losing fat again and lost 3 pounds in the subsequent week.
Make a special effort to drink more water on your cheat day, as the carbohydrate overload will pull water to your digestive tract and muscle glycogen. If you don’t get enough water, headaches will be the result.
MISTAKE #4: BELIEVING THAT YOU’LL COOK, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE A BACHELOR
In a sentence: if you don’t normally cook, get canned and frozen food for the first few weeks.
Don’t buy a bunch of food that requires cooking skills if you don’t have them. Don’t buy foods that spoil if you’ve never prepared a proper meal. Unfounded optimism will just result in rotten food and frustration. Below is a telltale picture of what happens to most onions that live in my refrigerator.
Jack and the onion stalk
I have bags of dried lentils in my cabinet that are now six months old. Why? I’m too lazy to boil and strain them.
Keep it simple. Use frozen and canned stuff for at least the first two weeks. Change one habit at a time: food selection first, food preparation second.
MISTAKE #5: MISTIMING WEIGHINGS WITH YOUR MENSTRUAL CYCLE (NOT A PROBLEM FOR BACHELORS)
Women tend to retain much more water just before their periods. Be sure to take this into account when you start your diet and take measurements.
Ignore scale readings in the 10 days before menstruation. They’re not at all a reflection of what’s happening. If you are following the diet to the letter, you will lose fat. Treat your first weighing following your period (as soon as one day following is fine) as your “after” measurement.
Don’t let short-term water fluctuations discourage you. Be aware of your menstrual timing so you don’t mistakenly conclude the diet isn’t working.
MISTAKE #6: OVEREATING “DOMINO FOODS”: NUTS, CHICKPEAS (GARBANZO BEANS), HUMMUS, PEANUTS, MACADAMIAS
There are certain foods that, while technically fine to eat on the diet, are prone to portion abuse. I call these “domino foods,” as eating one portion often creates a domino effect of oversnacking.
My fat-loss has plateaued three times due to almonds, which are easy to consume by the handful and simple to excuse as nutritious. Unfortunately, they also contain 824 calories per cup, 146 calories more than a Whopper from Burger King (678 kilocalories).
A few almonds is just fine (5–10), but no one eats just a few almonds.
Caro learned to avoid domino foods, but lost valuable time in the process, as have dozens of others:
I have re-started this eating plan. I started it but wasn’t following it exactly how Tim laid it all out.… I added peanuts and I was eating chickpeas and no weight loss, so I thought it was time to get real. I re-started 5 days ago and I am happy to say I have lost 5lbs in 5 days by following the plan EXACTLY as Tim says, making no adjustments or substitutes in any way, getting real and honest about what I can and can’t eat.
Think you’ll just have one cookie or a couple of potato chips?
Not if there’s a bag of either in the kitchen. Self-discipline is overrated and undependable. Don’t eat anything that requires portion control. Get domino foods out of the house and out of reach.
MISTAKE #7: OVERCONSUMING ARTIFICIAL (OR “ALL-NATURAL”) SWEETENERS, INCLUDING AGAVE NECTAR
Even with no calories, most artificial and natural sugar substitutes provoke increased insulin release, though aspartame (Nutrasweet®) shows surprisingly little effect on insulin. Not that this is a free license to overconsume Nutrasweet®: it’s often paired with acesulfame-K, which has a host of negative health effects. Both low-calorie and no-calorie sweeteners have been associated with weight gain. I’ve seen just about all of them stall fat-loss.
Don’t think I’m preaching. I’m a total Diet Coke whore. Can’t help it.
Indulging my addiction up to 16 ounces a day doesn’t seem to interfere with loss. I’ve found, as have other slow-carbers, that more than 16 ounces interrupts the process at least 75% of the time.
“All-natural” sweeteners are, based on the role of fructose in metabolic disorders, arguably worse for you than even high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
So-called “sugar-free” health foods are full of sweeteners such as “concentrated apple and pear juices,” which are two-thirds fructose, and the latest and greatest saviors are even worse. Raw agave nectar, for example, is as high as 90% fructose and shows no better antioxidant content than refined sugar or HFCS.
Skip the sweeteners whenever possible. If it’s really sweet, it probably spikes insulin or screws up your metabolism. Experiment with spices and extracts like cinnamon and vanilla instead.
MISTAKE #7: HITTING THE GYM TOO OFTEN
One female slow-carber wrote:
I have been going to the gym 5x/week, 2 hours on the treadmill plus a one hour spin class 2x a week.… I have been doing this for almost three months. In the first 3 weeks I lost almost 20 pounds but since have regained about 7 pounds. I also complete a variety of exercises targeting various muscles groups (2x/week for my legs, hips, arms, etc)
The seven pounds could have been muscular gain, which is good, but she was spending more than 12 hours a week in the gym. I suspected her problem, which I’d seen in others, was unsustainable overtraining and related “reward” eating:
I suspect you are overtraining and actually losing muscle, given your description. This will lower your basal metabolic rate and then cause you [to] stall with fat loss. Try the diet with no more than 2–3 short weight training workouts per week [if you even choose to exercise; it’s not mandatory] and remember to track bodyfat % and not just weight.
Doing too much will not only not help, it will reverse your progress, as it also leads to overeating, sports drinks, and other assorted self- sabotage.
Remember the MED. Less is more.
