Good-Bye The 4 Hour Body

You can read my results, final thoughts, etc on The 4-Hour Body here on my regular blog. But yes, I am done with it. So...onward!


I am not sure what my next hype or help experiment will be. Not going to lie I am hoping for some sponsored ones. 


In the meantime I am going old school: tracking. Tracking calories in and calories out. Good old consistency with food choices and workouts. I am going to keep one off day, or higher calorie day. Again, I'll be tracking all my food, workouts, etc here.


So....December of doing my own thing resulted in 4 pounds lost, 3 weeks on The 4-Hour Body resulted in 2 pounds lost, what will some good old fashioned calorie counting do? I'm game to fine out!

Day 17 Review on The 4-Hour Body

Today was an odd day, I did the best I could.


Got up and immediately did the .5 L ice water and then supplements. Then had a Muscle Milk. I was helping hubby and boys get out the door to go get wood and didn't want to stop to cook myself breakfast. But, at least it was protein within a half hour of waking.


Then, I did my workout. Which was 32 minutes of Turbo Jam Fat Blaster with weighted gloves. 


I had planned to cook myself a more normal breakfast after the workout, but I was feeling sort of nauseous, not sure why. Possibly the supplements on not much to eat followed by a hardcore workout? So, I just had another Muscle Milk.

Lunch was spinach, purple onions, baby bella mushrooms, smoked turkey sausage, and navy beans sauteed in a little butter. Cooked double batch and had the same thing for dinner. This was very good. Had supplements before each. 

3 liters of water.
Nutrient breakdown:
Calories: 1524
Carbs: 88
Fat: 50
Protein: 121
Fiber: 23

Day 16 on The 4-Hour Body Plan

I feel back on track today. I had let my exercise slip (for me) and I think that was part of my issue with feeling frustrated/cranky. My workouts probably won't match up with the book's workouts, but I NEED my workouts. I don't own kettlebells and am not going to buy or make any right now, so I am back to my normal workout routine. I will incorporate his suggestions as much as I can (like the 5/5 cadence, etc). I'm running and doing my workout/weights DVDs. It works for me. I am however sticking diligently to the diet and diet related suggestions in the book. That was always my main focus of this experiment anyway.


Today:
Up at 7 am and had .5 L ice water. Then the supplements. Then breakfast.

1 cup All Whites with sauteed onion, mushrooms, roma tomato, and black beans. Sprinkled with a little garlic salt. Was very good.

Supplements, then lunch was 6.2 oz chicken breast with black beans and a roma tomato sprinkled with garlic salt and italian seasoning.

Post run I had a muscle milk.

Supplements, then dinner was 4 oz roasted chicken with broccoli, cauliflower, and black beans with a little butter.

I have decided to track my nutrient intake for this week, just curious where I am at with this plan. Today:
Calories: 1211
Protein: 134
Fat: 33
Carbs: 96
Fiber: 29


3 liters of water.
Workout was speed work at the track. Did 400 meter repeats. 2 miles total. Felt awesome! Burned 350 calories (via my Polar HR monitor)

Days 14 and 15 The 4-Hour Body Thoughts

OK, so I took a break from taking pics of all my meals yesterday and today. I'll be back with tomorrow's food. 


Yesterday was my off plan day. Had some yummy things, sort of similar to last week's. Today I'm right back on track, minus the coffee with cream that I'd been having. Also, making a point to get protein in within a half hour of waking.


As I've said before I've been struggling with the slow results. I wavered on just quitting the plan.


HOWEVER, I am going to give it at least one more week and maybe the full 30 days I planned. I don't want to wimp out on these Hype or Help Experiments! 


I am focusing on following the plan as set out in the book (The 4-Hour Body). (I've had lots of suggestions, but my focus here is testing what I can do from the book). I know I wasn't eating breakfast early enough. Never thought it was that big a deal, but I want to give the book a true test, so this week I will be sticking to the plan (as detailed in the book) to the letter.

Day 13 Wrap Up

After yesterday's post I had several twitter suggestions on things to change up. I also went back and re-read the common mistakes for the diet. So, starting today I will be tweaking: 

1. 1/2 liter of ice cold water upon waking.
2. Ditching the cream (and hence the coffee) except for my high calorie day. Will substitute hot tea.
3. Whey protein with water within a half hour of waking.

Weigh in is tomorrow. I'm debating whether to stick out the 30 day experiment or pick a new one. We'll see.

So, yesterday:

Breakfast was refried beans with chicken sausage, salsa and coffee with cream and cinnamon.

Lunch was weird, wasn't hungry, so had a whey protein with water shake, then an hour later refried beans with salsa.

Dinner was a stir fry with chicken sausage, peas, broccoli, and cauliflower. This was yummy.

Workout was Jackie Warner's Power Circuit Training with 15 and 20 lb weights...feeling THAT today!

3 liters of water, as well as supplements on schedule.

I gotta say, unless tomorrow's weigh in is exceptional I'm about over this. It is a lot to remember and stick to for such little results. I don't want to jump from one plan to another too quickly though, so I will probably give the tweaks I'm making another week.

Day 12 Wrap Up--The 4-Hour Body Doubts

OK, it may be a bit premature to have doubts, but I have them. I am not losing much weight or inches so far. Almost at the 2 week mark, so I'll keep going, but so far I'm not impressed. I'm not losing any more than I would on any run of the mill plan out there. Yes, I'm taking the supplements and I've even include some cold showers (not twice a day, but weight loss just isn't worth that to me, nor is it worth ice baths when I can just count calories!) Perhaps I'm expecting too much, or perhaps this week's weigh-in/measure will show more. We shall see, but if it doesn't, I'm just not sure it's worth it! Oh yes, and the mad cravings for fruit and oatmeal are back today.

Yesterday:

4 AM coffee with cream and cinnamon.

7 AM breakfast was one cup all whites with black beans and salsa. NOT protein within an hour of waking, still struggling with that so will go back to whey protein first thing. Ordered some more and waiting for it to arrive.

Noon: lunch was chicken breast, black beans, onions and italian seasoning.

2 PM second cup of coffee with cream and cinnamon.

6 PM dinner was a Chicken Ratatoille recipe I got from Muscle & Fitness hers. YUM! Seriously.

No workout, resting sore muscles. Water intake was 3 liters.

Like I said, I'm struggling with being this strict on food choices for only little results. I feel I could do just as well and have my oatmeal too ;) Reserving judgment until weigh in day though. Feel free to critique my food anyone, am I missing something here?

Day 11 Wrap Up

So, as I write yesterday's wrap up I'm thinking "almost half way there!" I'm missing my Coach's Oats and berries, and admittedly counting down until the 30 days is up...just being real ;) Those are the only two things I miss though. Yes, I can have them one day a week..OK, enough whining. Yesterday:

6 AM Coffee with cream and cinnamon...OK, you've seen enough of my coffee pics, I was mostly trying to show my pretty cup and saucer.

9 AM chicken sausage, spinach, mushrooms, onions, and black beans sauteed in a little I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Out of whey protein and still struggling with getting protein in within an hour of waking. I got up at 5, so this wasn't even close.

Noon had a Carl's Jr Low Carb Burger, forgot to take pic.

6 PM dinner was turkey kielbasa, lentils, canned tomatoes, onion, red pepper in a soup/stew. Was pretty yum, never had lentils before. Hubby and kids liked too.

Workout was 30 Day Shred Level 1.
Water 2 Liters.

Days 9 and 10 on The 4-Hour Body

OK, busy weekend, got a little behind with my wrap up posts!

Day 9:
This was a really weird day. Coming off my high calorie day I just didn't feel like eating! I didn't want the foods I can have on this plan, and I wasn't hungry. This was the first day I really struggled with the food choices available on this plan. But, I think I did OK, just maybe didn't eat as much as I should have.

5 AM coffee with cream and cinnamon.

10:45 refried beans with chunky salsa.

2 PM garlic/herb chicken breast with lettuce and tomato.

6 PM beef meatballs with onions, mushrooms, and asparagus.

Generally just a bad attitude day, but I pressed through. Days like this happen.

Day 10:

Another weird day, only because we were so busy. My attitude was much improved, but we were running all around (which isn't normal for me) and I didn't have time to grab food! Hubby took the kids to Sonic while we were shopping, but I didn't want anything there, so I grabbed some Muscle Milk from Target. I wound up having three of those and dinner. Although I could have made much worse choices, I need to focus more on getting enough of the right foods in this week.

6 AM coffee with cream and cinnamon.

Had 1 at 11 AM, 2 PM, and 4 PM

7 PM had a big salad topped with black beans and chicken breast.

Little bit of bad attitude on Friday, but feeling much better. Not giving into the poor me junk. I committed to 30 days and I will stick it out. It really isn't bad. The food is yum. I just miss things like oatmeal, I'm really an oatmeal freak!

Day 8--Higher Calorie Day--Wrap Up

What I learned from this day:  The junk I think I want so bad, once I have it, isn't that great.

Finally! My beloved Coach's Oats. Had for breakfast at 5 am. With one scoop white chocolate whey protein and a sliced banana. Yum squared. I consider this a perfectly healthy breakfast and it is typically (pre-4 hour body) what I would choose on a daily basis. I miss this the most on this plan.

These were the donut holes my Grandma brought that I thought looked so yummy. I took one bite and threw the rest away. YUCK. it like coated the roof of my mouth, lard? Grossed me out.

9 AM the boys and I went to Starbucks. I had banana bread and a triple shot white chocolate mocha....WITH whipped cream. Not gonna lie, this was good. Little sugar overload though.

After Starbucks the boys and I went grocery shopping and then to the library. On the way home I had the urge, like MUST HAVE PROTEIN NOW. 11 AM I stopped at Safeway and all they had was this. It was not in the cooler and I prefer the regular muscle milk. But I downed it and felt better.

1 PM lunch was a peanut butter sandwich on thin buns with a handful of BBQ popchips. This was what I really wanted. Hit the spot.

2 PM 3 scoops peanut butter cup ice cream. Funny, I remember LOVING this stuff. It was kind of like meh, this is good, but fantastic? Not really. Absence makes the heart grow fonder?

3:30 PM coffee with cream and cinnamon.

7 PM dinner was a chicken sandwich and french fries. Another sounded good, then I tasted it and thought: I really liked this? I took off most of the bread because it was soggy and didn't finish the fries. I think I would have been just as happy with a big salad with ranch dressing. Live and learn.

Day 7 Wrap Up

OK, so today the cravings were worse. My grandma brought us some chocolate donut holes, which normally wouldn't even tempt me, blech, and they look so yummy! I did well all day, but decided that tomorrow will be my off day instead of Saturday. It'll be day 8 and I haven't had a high calorie day yet, so that'll work well. Ya, time for some sweet stuff, fruit, coach's oats. Tomorrow. After my first weigh in of course. ;)

5:30 AM coffee with cream and cinnamon

6 AM 1 scoop of whey protein with water

8 AM refried beans with salsa. Should have added some chicken or something, but didn't.

1 PM refried beans, chicken breast, lettuce, and a roma tomato. Yumazing.

I don't actually remember what time I had this second cup of coffee, but I had it with some saigon cinnamon I ordered, so good.

This is the cinnamon. Got it from myspicesage.com I thought they were reasonable, and like I said so yum, best cinnamon I've had. Tastes more...red hottish? If that makes any sense. Anyway, check them out. (I'm not an affiliate or anything just really smitten). The stuff from the 4HB book seemed over-priced to me.

5:30 PM dinner was chicken sausage chili. Bad pic, light is just bad in the kitchen at night. This was tasty! Chicken sausage, can of tomatoes, can of red kidney beans, onion, garlic, cilantro, cumin, red pepper.

With dinner a glass of cabernet sauvignon.

That was my day seven. I'm actually feeling good right now, cravings have passed, but I still plan to have my higher calorie day tomorrow. I think part of it's purpose is to help with the cravings, so now's a good time! First week results tomorrow on my main blog Adventures in Dietland. I don't feel like I've had much of a change, we'll see.

Day 6 Wrap Up

Today I was missing something sweet for the first time. Not too bad though. I am still however struggling to get protein in within an hour of waking. Today I got up at 4 am and was nowhere near ready to eat anything even by 5:30. So, I have decided to try some whey protein with just water.

Scoop and a half of whey protein with just water.

Today was grocery day, last of the egg whites was only a 1/2 cup. Had with onions, baby bella mushrooms, spinach, and black beans. 8 AM

1:30 PM Refried beans with chicken breast and salsa. This was yum and easy. 

Sorry for the horrible pic, but dinner was a stew recipe from Muscle & Fitness hers, same one I used a few days ago but I used  Chicken sausage instead of turkey. Amazing. Hubby loved it too. 6 PM

Ran around a lot today and didn't get a workout in. Unplanned rest day I guess. Also wasn't so great with the water today, only 2 liters. 


And, now...I'm sleepy from getting up so early zzzzzz

Day 5 Wrap Up

Busy day, didn't cook ALL day, at all. 7 AM Breakfast was weird, but worked. Started with 2 boiled eggs and coffee with cream and cinnamon.

Then had about half cup of black beans with salsa.

This is the salsa I've been having. Yum.

12:30 Lunch. Again, weird and no beans whoops ;) 5 or 6 oz of chicken breast with cauliflower and salt/pepper. 

3 PM Just did one coffee pic today, lol. Figured they're getting redundant.  Who am I kidding? This afternoon cup is likely here to stay.

6:30 Dinner Carls Jr Low Carb Burger, no cheese. OK, this is a record for us, we NEVER have fast food, and we've had it twice in the last week!

3 Liters of water.

Workout: 25 minutes running intervals. One minute slow jog, one minute fast run. Had to try out my new shoes! I am going to follow his advice on weights as much as I can but: I'm a runner, I run. Period.

Day 4 Wrap Up

7:30 Coffee with cream and cinnamon.

8:30 AM 1 cup egg white omelet filled with with baby bella mushrooms, white onion, and spinach, sauteed in a little ICBINB light.

1 PM busy day, took 5 oz left over  chicken, white mushrooms, 1/2 cup black beans and topped with lots of salsa and sprinkled with cayenne and garlic, microwaved 2 1/2 minutes.

Ya...haven't ditched the afternoon cup yet. 2 PM coffee with cream and cinnamon.

Workout: 20 "kettlebell" swings (used a 20 lb dumbbell just to see if it would work, don't think it's going to). Bicep curls, deadlifts, and shoulder presses with 20 lb weights--one set each to failure.

6 PM drizzled a little olive oil in a skillet, sauteed white onions, then added baby bellas, then added frozen asparagus. Sprinkled with garlic salt. Last added turkey meatballs (pre-made, but after reading ingredients think I'll be better off making up my own ahead and freezing). Yum. The pic doesn't do it justice. Also had a glass of pinot noir.

Have been just sort of going with the flow for my workouts. I'm thinking a little planning ahead for the week would be helpful and more productive. Going to peruse the book again and do that tonight.