Female success on the 4HB plan!

[maudgnne]

I've been doing this for 5 weeks. Problem is I am 50 years old. I know that sounds ancient to everyone on here, but I am in really good shape and very disciplined and very athletic. I wanted to lose 10 lbs and torso fat. I have lost, maybe, 2 lbs - but REALLY feel like I have fixed the torso fat thing.

I wonder if peri-menopausal women, even very athletic ones, have more trouble. And after reading these posts I wonder if ALL women, even young ones, have different metabolic needs. But I have done enough research to think that this type of diet is best for everyone. I just think it might take longer for us women, the same way it takes longer to get defined arms, etc in the gym with the same amount of work.

My questions (if anyone is still on this thread are:

Having 3 glasses of red wine? Fatal?

I have a protein shake with 23 g of protein and 1 gram of carbs in the a.m. I can't stomach eggs 30 min after I wake up so I do this. Then I have a hard-boiled egg, some sauerkraut and black beans a little later. My original mistakes were eating TOO much -- I eat very little anyways and trying to be true to the diet I was eating Chipotle-sized meals 2x a day after a full bkfst and it was just too much! So I realized that TF was a ? late 20-something guy? with those dietary needs but I am 50 y old! Enough already!

The advice I see about the cheat concept are diff whether it's in the book or on this blog. The book says: Cheat day (2 meals); many bloggers say 1 meal. there are quite a few inconsistencies in the book but I can live with it.

In the end I can't believe (even with little tiny tweaks here and there) if you aren't eating ANY fast food, any crap, eating protein and slow carbs all week, that you can't lose weight!! These little subtleties seem small - compared to what 99.9% of my peers eat.

Ok. Think I'm done. : )

[maudgnne]

One more question and a suggestion - both related to alcohol : )

1) It's so darned hot in the MidWest, how about a red wine spritzer: red wine, club soda (no cal, no carb) plus a lime slice. Yum!

2) Someone else asked this but there was no answer: Do we drink red wine only cuz TF likes it? What about a whiskey + club soda? I know that whiskey is not CARBS but that it does affect carb metabolism. DISCUSS.

[justhamade]

Having 3 glasses of red wine? Fatal?

Everyday? Probably not fatal, but detrimental.

It's so darned hot in the MidWest, how about a red wine spritzer: red wine, club soda (no cal, no carb) plus a lime slice. Yum!

Probably ok

Someone else asked this but there was no answer: Do we drink red wine only cuz TF likes it? What about a whiskey + club soda? I know that whiskey is not CARBS but that it does affect carb metabolism. DISCUSS.

Ha ... I hope I don't drink it because someone else likes it. I drink it cuz I like it and its not that bad for you and some people argue that it is actually good for you.

In terms of whiskey, I am sure a bit would be ok.

Here is a comprehensive post on alcohol fat loss and muscle gain
http://www.leangains.com/2010/07/truth- ... uscle.html

[shannon902]

I am so glad to find this thread! I started the 4HB plan 10 weeks ago (9/20/11) and today I'm am down 5.6 lbs. My neighbor (a man) who told me about 4HB lost 20 lbs in the first month, hence my frustration.

I cook for a hubby and 4 boys (13, 11, 4, 3), so with all the pasta, dairy, fruit, sugar/carbs I’ve cut out, I thought I’d be a lot further ahead by now. I’m thinking I may be overcompensating on the protein (b/c I was always hungry) which often comes with fat. I got burned out on hard boiled eggs every morning and fell in love with fried eggs in olive oil with salsa and turkey sausage (which probably has too much fat). I believe if I could get my exercise level back up to what it was in the Spring, I’d have a winning combination; I’ve started a hard core yoga class and we’re starting to run as a family. I did download the book, but still haven’t read the section on women’s weight loss yet.

I was interested to see the comments on nuts and peanut butter. Almonds are one of my afternoon go to snacks, and some Smuckers all natural pb (only peanuts and <1% salt) with baby carrots or celery is my evening snack if dinner won't carry me through till bed.

On the positive side, I feel good, and almost 6 pounds is better than nothing, but I would really like to move this along. Thoughts?

5'0" 41 year old mom of 4 boys
9/20/2011 139.2
9/29/2011 139.6
10/6/2011 137.4
10/15/2011 134.6
10/27/2011 133.6
11/9/2011 135
11/12/2011 134.8
11/17/2011 133.6

Shannon

[shannon902]

Oh yeah - and I agree that cheat day needs to be in moderation. I always end up feeling guilty and hate seeing the weight increase. It takes longer to lose it and regain ground. That being said, I don't think I'd be able to keep up with this plan if I couldn't sneak in a Big Mac or pancakes with syrup once in a while. Halloween also did me in...cheated every day for a week!

[Natacha]

Hello, I'm also over 40 and on the 4HB for 10 weeks and I lost 9.5 lbs. I decided to try the PAGG and started today... hoping this will help speed up the weightloss. I am starting a exercise routine this week... thinking of trying kickboxing? I agree that women take longer to lose, it's another one of burdens


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[justhamade]

I’m thinking I may be overcompensating on the protein (b/c I was always hungry) which often comes with fat. I got burned out on hard boiled eggs every morning and fell in love with fried eggs in olive oil with salsa and turkey sausage (which probably has too much fat).

Fat is not a problem, unless it contains linoleic acid. Dietary fat does not equal serum fat. If you do some googling you can read many articles on it here is a good start http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/07/magaz ... all&src=pm

I believe if I could get my exercise level back up to what it was in the Spring, I’d have a winning combination; I’ve started a hard core yoga class and we’re starting to run as a family. I did download the book, but still haven’t read the section on women’s weight loss yet.

Exercise does little for fat loss, you may get some results at first as your insulin sensitivity gets better but your energy will balance out. Here is a good read on exercise http://nymag.com/news/sports/38001/

I was interested to see the comments on nuts and peanut butter. Almonds are one of my afternoon go to snacks, and some Smuckers all natural pb (only peanuts and <1% salt) with baby carrots or celery is my evening snack if dinner won't carry me through till bed.

Almonds are my go to, and I actually found that I lost more fat when eating a lot of almonds.

Keep at it and you will get there. One thing that Tim does not mention in the book is sleep and cortisol. You might want to look into TS Wiley's book, she was on the underground wellness podcast recently too.
http://undergroundwellness.com/tag/ts-wiley/

[adj0hns0n]

My and my girlfriendstarted the diet early this year and stayed strict for several months. Several months later, my brother and his wife started on the diet. We were pretty strict except that we drank more red wine than we should. The women saw faster, more dramatic results. I was actually coming to the conclusion that the diet acually work better for women! it could just be because they had more fat to lose (my brother is already pretty trim and I started at about 12.5 bodyfat)

[4hrbfanindy]

I have only had 2 official "cheat days" so far but I have been on the program for almost 1 month. I started mid week my first week. I have not lost much weight (started at 146, now around 143), however, I have dropped in clothing size (started at 10 and now in a 8/6) and my family and friends can notice a pretty big difference in my appearance. Unfortunately, I have not done my body fat or measurements yet. Need to get on that! I also have been getting a little discouraged since my weight has been hovering around the same amount since I started. I am not over training either. I probably only do 30 minutes of cardio and 4HB exercises 2-3 times per week. I adhere to the diet STRICTLY. No diversions except Saturdays (cheat day). I just started AGG/PAGG stack this week. I did have my period last week, which I think caused about 5lbs of water weight. I saw another post in this blog that reassured the woman who posted to give it more time, which is what I am going to do. I do notice a significant difference in the way I feel, the way my skin looks and my overall well being. So, in short (well kinda), I do think I am seeing overall success from the program, maybe just not the fast weight loss that everyone expects. Hope this helps.

[chubula]

I am a 41 year old female with a really gross (guessing) % of body fat and 157 total inches. I'm only on day 2 of 4HB but have lost 4.5 pounds already. Someone at work said "ahh, it's all water weight so far" which may be true but whatever, she should shut her clam and leave me and my lentils alone.

Anyway, here's the progress:

Yesterday (day 1) I weighed 184.5 pounds in the morning. I had 64 oz. of water and 184 grams of protein throughout the day. Then, I lost it and ate a bunch of peppermint ice cream before bed because I feared I would punch someone if I didn't have some sugar. Woke up with a splitting headache at 3:30 AM and took Tylenol Migraine.

Today (day 2) I weighed 180.0 pounds in the morning. Today, I added more water for a total of 88 oz. (assuming the headache was not enough water) and had 208 grams of protein throughout the day - 54 of which were for breakfast. I cannot even express how many times I have peed in the last two days. It's epic.

Yeah, I'm chowing down on beef, chicken, lentils, black beans, eggs and having a little bit of vegetables but not much. I am using Macadamia Nut Oil for cooking and drizzled on meats for some flavor. I'm really sticking to the "every 4 hours" thing so we will see how it all goes tomorrow. I feel like I am constantly eating but I had a LOT more energy today than in a long time.

So far so good but if the scale goes below 180 on day 3 I'm going to find Tim Ferriss and french kiss him.

----UPDATE----

I am on day 4 now...and down 6.5 pounds. Granted, forcing myself to eat beans and chicken for breakfast is not fun, but it's working. I have not seen the scale say 178 in a looooonnnngggg time.