Updated pictures in My measurements

Hi everyone!

I have successfully finished another week on Slow Carb Diet. It's definitely working, but it is not going as fast as was hoping for. I am going to do it for 3 months to start with, so I'm not stressed. I just have to keep at it.

Will update the measurements soon too. Check the "My Measurements..." page.

All the best,
David

Measurement update

R bi 33 cm
L bi 32 cm
Waist 94 cm
Hip 102 cm
R leg 61 cm
L leg 60 cm
R calf 39 cm
L calf 38 cm

Improvements!!! Maybe because it is hard to measure correctly but I have tried my hardest to be honest. Hopefully it is correct.

Pics after week two - one day after cheat day

I don't know if maybe you can see some differences. I think there is a slight change. But then again pics are hard because I can pull in my stomach or push it out. I try to stand the same every time.

Blood test results back

So was a bit worried about the absence of weight lost. So went and got my blood tested. Results came back with some very interesting values. I most certainly have something called hypothyroidism, which means that my thyroid doesn't work as it should, which means that my metabolism is much lower than for people with normal values. I will not let that bring me down and have not given up. I am just going to go harder and better!

I got my blood checked because I hadn't lost anything in two weeks while I was following Tim's plan to the point. I was even exercise quite a lot, and that without cheat snacking or anything like that. I eat plenty of proteins and drink heaps of water, and have never cheated. I haven't had anything even remotely white. I followed the simple motto, if in doubt, then don't eat it. On top of that I have even done the cold treatments. I have done my best to spike calorie intake on the cheat days and I have even been doing air squats and push-ups and drinking grapefruit to keep the food from getting stored as fats on cheat days. So I went and got my blood checked.


Not all was bad though. I could see the results of going on the diet. I had a lot values increased above the norm thanks to diet and specifically to increased protein intake and vitamin intake. My cholesterol was much better. LDL was down to 4.2, which is the lowest in a long time. But my TSH was 5.1 mU/L and it is supposed to be between 0.4 and 2.5, but never above 3.5. I will not start hormone treatment yet, but will wait to get some more tests done. It is nothing serious, you just have to take a pill to replace the lost hormones. It is usually a medication called Levaxin. But it might take a while before the right dose is found. You start on the lowest and work you way up until your TSH is where you want it to be.

Will instead try and order some virgin coconut oil and have that everyday to see if it can help me speed up my metabolism.

Probably going to see a huge increase in fat loss as soon as I start on Levaxin, but that has to wait. I am going to do it anyway. I just have to up the cardio even a bit more.


Don't give up -  never give up!

First week - not much change to report

Not much difference. Looks exactly the same. Will keep pushing on. More soon.

These were taken before the cheat day.

One meal left to chEAT day

I have made it so far and everything is good. I didn't do the morning cardio this morning. The alarm rang at 5.10 am but I hadn't gotten enough sleep so slept another hour and then got up to work. It is 42 degrees celcius in some parts of Sydney and I have no fan or no air-condition. My fiancee doesn't want to use the fan because it has got dust on it and she is afraid it will spread around in the room. I have told her that the fan is more like a vacuum cleaner when it comes to dust - it collects it, it doesn't blow it around. Anyway, a woman's word is law so no fan.

We tried ice treatment last night and I couldn't feel any difference, but my fiancee claims to have felt much hungrier in the morning, or at least that was a theory of hers. We will keep doing it and hope for the best. Anybody know where exactly to put it? Or does that not matter.

We have a whole eating day planned tomorrow. We are just going to eat all day. I will try to get some grapefruit juice after the meals and do some air square to minimize fat gains. See how it will go. I'm really looking forward to putting myself into a food coma.

Will try to review the pills I ordered in a post soon. I can say that some of them are so big I don't understand who can swallow them whole. I usually don't have a problem with pills.

See you on the other side!

Not a beautiful pic, but it's a tasty breakfast

Day 4 and everything is going according to plans. This was what was left of the chicken salad I had for dinner last night. It was actually more to start with, but I remembered to snap a picture half way through. I added a can of lentils. Picked up a siv at the supermarket and when you use it to drain the lentils and clean them properly with lots of water, they're actually quite alright.

Same lunch as always. Thai chicken basil without rice and added lentils. Hopefully the PAGG stack will work wonders. Have taken it twice now. I quickly realized that I must soon order again. It's a lot of pills everyday. PAGG plus multi mineral/vitamin and fish oil on top o that.

Also decided today to start with the ice therapy, but will dedicate a separate post for that later. Tonight I'm making omelette with a side lentils salad. Yummy! Will try to remember to take a photo so you can behold the beauty.

See you!

PAGG stack arrived last night

Finally the PAGG arrived with fedex. They were here a day earlier but since no one was home at midday on a weekday they took the package with them and returned the next day. My flatmate was lucky enough at home to sign for it. I was a little bit worried that all of it wouldn't make trough customs, but everything arrived just fine. When I ordered the stack from bodybuilding.com they didn't let you buy the policosanol to Australia because of country restrictions, but I managed to trick the online system buy having more than one tab open in the browser and in that way I was able to get the policosanol in the order. Don't know why they won't ship it to Australia - it's not like it is illegal here or anything.

This what the letters in PAGG stands for:
P - policosanol. Once a day, before bedtime.
A - alpha lipoic acid (ala). 4 times per day.
G - garlic extract. 4 times a day.
G - green tea extract. 4 times a day.

This creates the following pill intake schedule:
AGG before breakfast directly when you get up.
AGG before lunch.
AGG before dinner.
PAGG before bedtime.

Hopefully this help speed up the process. I am in the good shape and I have cheated in anyway and kept to the diet 100% so far.

My thoughts this morning goes out to the flood victims in QLD who by some unfortunate irony have now also been hit by the tropical cyclone Yasi. Yasi is the strongest cyclone in Australian history with wind gusts up to 295 km/h. Fitness and extreme dieting seem quite futile and unimportant in contrast to what people o QLD has suffered in recent times.

I'm however not quitting in anyway, but wanted to send my regards. I hope all ends well.

See you soon,
David

Tim Ferris building a kettlebell

This one is from the book. I haven't tried it yet, but Tim loves it and talks highly of it in the book.

End of Day 3 on the slow carb diet

So another day finished. It's been a good day and I have had a lot of energy and I have been eating plenty. Tim states that you can eat as much as you want if you follow the rules, in fact you are suppose to eat bigger portions to get enough calories and carbs and not get completely brain dead. So hopefully it will work. What do you think? Can that really be the case?

Had a good session at the gym tonight, but I have to confess that I didn't get up at 5:10 am this morning for morning cardio. I got to bed too late, and when I woke up at 5:10 I was simply too tired and opted to get some more sleep and not ruin the whole day. In hindsight, I think it definitely was the correct decision. It's not often you feel that way in hindsight.

Had a great green salad with mixed veggies, and fried some chicken breast fillets to go with it. Used a barbeque spice on the chicken and it was a hit. Damn, just realised I forgot to snap a picture. I have to get better and this. Sorry. It's early days and I haven't gotten into the habit yet.

Will try and tell you my training program in a few posts.

Till then. Take care!

Ciao

Questions and thoughts about the slow carb diet

So here it is - my beautiful face. What is that black thing you have on your face, you might ask. Well, it's not because I am afraid of showing my face online it's because I am hoping to surprise some people with my results. I, of course, haven't told them about the blog, but you never know. It is just another measure to try and keep it a surprise.

I have some questions about the diet and I hope someone could help me answer them.
Everything white is a no go. But you can have cauliflower. That's basically the only thin he mentions in the book. Can I have white kidney beans (cannellini)? And are the worse than red and/or pinto beans or lentils for that matter?

Dairy is another no no. But he talks about protein shakes and I assumed he meant whey protein. Which I have been taking for quite a while now. But whey is milk protein so these shakes actually contain milk. Eventhough it's not one of the ingredients it says that contains milk. Can't I have them then. They are a big part of my diet. I have roughly three each day. Also thought it would be good way to get the right amount of proteins early in the morning.

It's still early days and way to early to tell, but by Friday after the gym I should see some differences, or maybe not. New photos will be posted for you to admire ;)

Take care!

Edit: Forgot to tell you why I am looking like a cave man. I haven't shaved since the new year and wont until I have reached sub 10% body fat.

Another funny thing happened today. I have become such good friends with my local Thai restaurant close to work, that I just nod to order and today they let me out the back way, through the kitchen, because they know it's much closer back to work. That's sweet!

The slow carb diet (scd) according to Tim Ferriss

Going to quickly jot down what the diet is about. But first I have to apologize for forgetting to snap a photo of my dinner yesterday or my breakfast this morning which was the same as my dinner last night. Splendid by the way.

The scd is not about calorie counting and it's not necessary, but I downloaded an app I got recommended at work today. It is very clean and great usability. You add meals online and via your phone. It is called My Fitness Pal and is available for free in the AppStore.

So the diet. What's it about? It's quite simple to remember and you don't have to be a professor to pull it off.
5 points which if they are followed got Tim's test group of 194 to loose on average 20 pounds (9 kgs) in 30 days with no exercise.

#1. Avoid white carbs (or anything that can be white). You can't have rice nor brown rice (can be white). On the other hand you can and should eat cauliflower, cabbage, onions, white beans to mention a few white things that are ok.

#2. Eat the same few meals over and over again. The diet is not meant to be fun and if you're not a great cook you may struggle coming with new things and will therefore derail. On the other hand you may eat out. Simply substitute anything "white" for a side salad or similar. Mexican and Thai are particularly well suites for his diet. Remember though to look out for things high in sugar.

#3. Don't drink your calories. Drink lots of water, unsweetened tea or coffee. You can also drink not to vast quantities of no-calorie/low-calorie beverages (like Coke Zero or Pepsi Max). You can't drink milk, soy milk, normal soft drinks or fruit juice. Red wine is allowed, but keep it to no more than 2 glasses a day (merlot, cabsav or Pinot noir).

#4. Don't eat fruit. No fruit at all. Only exception really is avocado and tomato. And avocados you have to be a bit careful with. They are calorie dense. One per day max.

#5. Take one day every week off where you go completely bananas and eat everything in your path. Seriously though. It's a rule and therefore you have to do it. It is important to spike calorie intake so the body doesn't shift down and start burning less. So eat pizza, pastries, drink coke and beer and have a good time. Eat whatever you want.

That's it folks. Easy peasy.

There are of course more in depth question to how the diet works. But shoot away you questions and I will try and answer. I don't have all the answer but I will try and sometime I will also ask you for help.
Next post is going to be such a question accompanied by a pretty photo of my bearded face.
Ciao

Feeling good at the end of Day 2

I know it's only Day 2, but I am feeling great. Since I followed Tim's every advice almost, I started on a Monday. Did two gym sessions on Monday, and just finished a cardio session at the gym tonight. Had left overs from yesterday. So pork roast with sauerkraut. Today I added a nice salad and tried a new mash made with only white beans (cannellini). It was much better than yesterday.

I fried 4 garlic cloves in olive oil and then added two cans of cannellini and started mashing it to pieces. I then added salt, pepper and white pepper. Really good. I had A LOT of food for dinner and I am feeling very full.

Going up at 5:10 am tomorrow for another cardio session at the gym. And then back again after work for a back and biceps session.

Will to another photo shoot again on Friday and then take photos every Friday. Forgot to take a picture of the food I had for dinner, but I am bringing it to work for breakfast so hopefully I will remember to snap a pic.

I feel like I want to end with a quote but it's bedtime and I don't know any good quotes from the top of my head. So take care and hopefully see you soon.

Ciao 

Lunch on Day 2

Same lunch as yesterday, only this time with white beans. Don't know if white beans are completely ok in the diet. In 4hb it says "nothing white, besides cauliflower". But I hope white beans are ok. Posted question to Tim on his blog. Hopefully I will get an answer.

Dinner tonight will be almost the same as yesterday. Btw, the cauliflower and kidney mash was good. Tasted much less beans and more potato mash than I could imagine. So that was great. Eating the same thing but making mash without cauliflower tonight with white beans instead and make a nice little side sallad with avocado in it.

Just came from the gym and sitting in the car waiting for my fiancée to finish showering (girls take forever in the shower) and blogging. I have always weighed myself after training wearing only towel and flip-flops and today I had gained 1 kg - weighing 88 kgs now. Not worried though. Have been drinking like crazy.
If I can get some spare time tonight I will update you on what the diet exactly is about. Sorry. I know I am slow.

See you soon!

Yummy Breakfast - noooot

The colorful and lovely world of slow carb diet :) Honestly though. It's not as bad as it looks.
It is:
Half a can of lentils
Half a can of red kidney beans
Spinach leaves
Thin slices of roast beef
Added some garlic salt, but didn't use the Taco sauce today. Also. Keep in mind I already had my 30 g pure protein shake and two eggs this morning at 6.30. I got up at 6.15.
I am going to tell you more in detail about the diet soon. Promise. Maybe later today. Ciao