Amazing Results Or How I Dropped 12 Pounds In A Week

You Better Believe It

Usually I write about nerdy stuff on here like retro computers or low-budget films I like. This time I've decided to share a positive life changing event. Don't worry, I'll get back to my nerdy goodness by next post.

Hah! The title of this post sounds like one of those silly infomercials that promise "amazing results" using their product. However, I would like to forgo the normal nerd related stuff I usually write about and actually talk about some amazing results.  Of course, this story starts with a hint of sadness.

I posted  before about my grandfather passing away back in June 26th. It was a very hard thing for me to go through. I sat in the hospice and watched my grandfather, a man whom I both loved and respected very much, go through the painful last few hours of his life. It was heart breaking and surreal. A few days later would be the funeral and my grandmother wanted grandsons to be the pallbearers. Being the oldest grandchild I was on the list.

The funeral was Saturday, June 30th and, as normally happens, there was a lot of family there. Cousins I hadn't seen in a long time. I knew I was overweight but when it was pointed out to me it really hit home. Of course, it was in a fun and teasing way with no one trying to be mean. Also, one of my cousins who used to be overweight had lost a lot of weight and was hovering around the 186lb mark. He'd lost almost 50lbs in about four months or so. The friendly teasing about my weight and seeing how much weight he'd lost in such a short time made an impression on me. I asked my cousin about the weight loss and he told me about some expensive diet he and his girlfriend were on that really restricted the amount of carbohydrates you can eat and really emphasized the proteins.



About a year or so ago author Tim Ferriss released a book called The 4-Hour Body . I'd bought it because I had also owned his book The 4-Hour Workweek and was a big fan of his. In The 4-Hour Body Tim had a diet called the Slow Carb Diet. It is really easy to follow and really easy to stick too. With out having to buy the book here are the rules:

Rule #1: Avoid “white” starchy carbohydrates (or those that can be white). This means all bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, and grains. If you have to ask, don’t eat it.
Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again, especially for breakfast and lunch. You already do this; you’re just picking new default meals.
Rule #3: Don’t drink calories. Exception: 1-2 glasses of dry red wine per night is allowed.
Rule #4: Don’t eat fruit. (Fructose –> glycerol phosphate –> more bodyfat, more or less.) Avocado and tomatoes are excepted.
Rule #5: Take one day off per week and go nuts. I choose and recommend Saturday.

 When I first bought the book I wanted to do this diet. I wanted to get everything ready and just do it. I waited until I bought the foods I needed but something happened. I was waiting for everything to be just right that I waited and waited and...never did it. This was stupid because I knew that "the timing will never be right."

Getting playfully needled about my weight and seeing what my cousin had done in such a short time inspired me in a way. It set in motion the desire to be skinny again. I knew I could do it. I'd been skinny before. The only thing standing in my way was was, well, me!

After the funeral several weeks had passed and I'd still not taken action on getting losing weight and I started getting pissed at myself. "You are better than this," I told myself and on July 17th when I had dinner I simply made the decision to eat more of the protein based foods and tons of veggies and eat way less of the carbohydrate based foods. There was no planning. There was no thinking it over. There was no waiting until I had the right foods. I simply just did it and consciously so. The next day I did the same and by the 19th I stepped on the scale and behold I'd lost over 3lbs. Being flabbergasted and excited I stepped on that scale three time and behold, I was three pounds lighter.

through the rest of the week I kept it up. I ate more proteins and less carbs. I started drinking tons of water. Especially at night. I didn't exercise more than I used to, just generally hiking around some wooded trails in a few parks nearby. And by the next week I'd lost over 10lbs. Fantastic.

The incredible thing that works so well is that I simply started doing it. As the week progressed I would make adjustments that would follow the Slow Carb Diet. I didn't wait and try to do everything all at once. If I ate a wrong food, no worries, I simply corrected what I'd done and by the next meal I was eating correctly again. It simply works.

There is a saying that goes, "ready, fire, aim!" What it means is that you execute your plan and then adjust it as you go. I think it's easier to do it this way.

I'm not one to write posts that have a little moral at the end of the tale but I think this one is okay. I know a lot of people tend to have paralysis of analysis. This means they over think and under act. Usually paralysis of analysis starts introducing fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) into your thinking. The old, "what if everything goes wrong," mindset.

In a couple more weeks it'll be one month since I started my diet. I've enjoyed it and I've lost a ton of weight. Almost 16 pounds at the time of this writing. I've structured my diet more into the Slow Carb Diet from The 4-Hour Body by Tim Ferriss and it is working wonders for me. I encourage anybody to try it. It's interesting a simple change in diet can affect your weight loss in a positive or negative way. I did it and it's positive.

Next post will be more nerd related goodness. Until then, happy weight loss and good luck!