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  1. #1
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    an experiment in body redesign - based on methods from the 4-Hour Body

    ***DISCLAIMER***
    This is just for learning purposes. This is what I have done and what I am continuing to do. It is an experiment for my body and I have no goals other than to learn more about my body. I make no claims and do not present any scientific evidence of experiments other than what I have witnessed with my own eyes. I am willing to answer any questions and take any advice about this ongoing experiment.

    Please note also that when I say I have a schedule of things outlined here, I have not followed it to a T. Many days I skipped certain things due to time constraint or other limiting factors.

    Also remember we went through Christmas, New Years and Football Playoff during the time of this diet and I didn't slack on eating/drinking any of those days

    DAILY ROUTINE:
    -Wake up and immediately weigh myself.

    - Chug 50 ounces of ice water.

    - Check email and shiver for 15 minutes.

    - Do 90 seconds each of air squats, wall presses and chest pulls.

    -Breakfast:
    2 eggs with some black bean and corn salsa (used to be 3 whites and 1 whole egg until I started drinking whey)
    1/2 cup of black beans (about 1/3 of can)
    1 cup of chopped spinach with lemon juice and flaxseed oil.
    Whey protein shake. (25g of protein)
    cup of green tea (or 2 or 3)

    -an hour after breakfast: 90 seconds each of air squats, wall presses and chest pulls. Started adding 60 bicycle crunches to this the past week.

    -Right before making lunch: Do 90 seconds each of air squats, wall presses and chest pulls.

    -Lunch:
    6 ounces beef or chicken (if I have chicken I slather it in guacamole)
    1/2 cup black beans or lentils
    1 cup mixed veggies (usually broccoli and cauliflower)
    If I work out of a clients office I go to Qdoba and get either a chicken or steak salad "naked", with extra beans, medium salsa and a side of guac. No cheese or sour cream. I squeeze one lemon and lime wedge and dump the whole side of quac on top. Unfortunately when I work away from home (what my last 3 weeks were like) I don't do my after breakfast exercise or my pre/post lunch exercises cutting my day down to half the exercises.

    -an hour after lunch: 90 seconds each of air squats, wall presses and chest pulls.

    -Right before making dinner: Do 90 seconds each of air squats, wall presses and chest pulls.

    -Dinner:
    6 ounces of of beef, chicken or fish. Been big on the Angus beef roundeye steaks as of late. My grocer has them for cheap and they come in a 2 pack and are perfect portions for me.
    1/2 cup black beans or lentils.
    1 cup mixed veggies (usually a Broccoli, carrots, white beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans and red peppers medley).

    -an hour after dinner: 90 seconds each of air squats, wall presses and chest pulls. Been adding 100 bicycle crunches to this recently. I wait 5 minutes and do 10 'cat vomit' exercises. Every 3 days do high rep swings with 44lb kettlebell trying to get up to 75. Slacked on this the majority of the time but am doing good the last week or so.

    -an hour or so later, while watching tv I put ice packs on my chest and back of my neck (just been doing this for a week or so) for 30 minutes.

    -relax with a couple glasses of red wine before bed.

    Every Saturday I have my normal breakfast and binge on whatever I want to eat or drink for the remainder of the day. Gained 7.4 pounds from when I woke up Sat to when I woke up Sunday. It is all gone again by this morning minus .4lbs.

    Supplements:
    Men's Health one a day (once in morning before breakfast)
    B-Complex 50 (once in morning before breakfast)
    Ultimate Omega Sport 975 mg EPA 675 mg DHA (once in morning before breakfast)
    Vitamin D-3 1000 IU (once in morning before breakfast)
    Allicin 4000 Garlic (before each meal and before bed)
    Alpha-Lipoic Acid 300 mg (before each meal and before bed)
    Green Tea extract decaffeinated 325mg EGCG (before each meal and before bed)
    Policosanol 20mg (before bed)
    = 16 pills a day

    I base my progress on not only body weight lost but also inches (stomach, waist, thighs, biceps and total inches). When I started I could do something like 24 swings with the 44lb kettlebell. I am up to 63 as of last night and I slacked on this for 3 weeks. When I started the chest pull with a 25lb band I had to only grab one side of it and I could only get up to 30 in my 90 seconds. Now I double it up and can get anywhere between 40-50 depending on how I'm feeling. Bicycle crunches I started at 40 and am up to 100 now.

    Start of diet measurements 12/20/10:
    Weight - 153.4lbs
    Waist (around belly button) - 35
    Hips - 37
    Right thigh - 20
    Left thigh - 20
    Right Bicep - 11.25
    Left Bicep - 11.25

    TI (total inches) = 134.5

    Measurements this morning 2/1/11
    Weight - 138.8lbs
    Waist - 30
    Hips - 35
    Right thigh - 18.5
    Left thigh - 18
    Right bicep - 10.25
    Left bicep - 10.75

    TI - 122.5

    So that is a loss of 12 total inches over 6 weeks. A loss of 14.6 pounds but I am sure I gained some weight in muscle (not much) so that is more than 14.6lbs of fat.

    Now, these pictures may not seem too startling to you but for me they are amazing. I have never been a strong or big person and have never been on a diet or been a gym rat so I've always just gone with the flow. It's nice to see with a little bit of paying attention I can rebuild my body to hopefully be more physically fit.

    These are all at rest, no flexing, no sucking in. Left photos were taken 12/16/10 (4 days before I started my diet) and right pictures were taken today.







    If someone like me can do this, anyone can. Not only am I changing my body from diet, I cut my drinking down tremendously... even threat of jail didn't slow me down before but this did. Something to think about.

    Hope you enjoy, criticize politely and comment. And I really hope it may push some of you fatties to read Tims book. Plus losing fat is just the first 100 pages of his book. He has 400 pages more after that about bulking up, fixing sports injuries, increasing stamina and oh yeah... giving a woman a 15 minute orgasm.

    PS... this is an ongoing experiment so I hope to update this with in another month or so with new measurements, changes in routines, and pictures as long as these don't get abused.
    Last edited by gameface; 02-01-2011 at 09:45 PM.

  2. #2
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    Sexy moobs.

  3. #3
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    Glad this started out the right way. If all the posts turn into ^this I'll just delete the fucking thread. Fuck anyone else who may want to make a change in their life.

  4. #4
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    Don't be butthurt sweetheart, I'm all for making life changes...




    Still, those are quite the moobs

  5. #5
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    GF, good on ya for your dedication and for having the peaches to post this. Haters gonna hate.

  6. #6
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    Good for you, but the splitters love the guns. Get some dumbbells or a curl bar. You don't need much weight, just a lot of reps and a little bit of time. That will help you fill out a t-shirt and widen your neck. Good luck.

  7. #7
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    congrats on the results, I'm thinking about ditching cereal for breakfast- I ate eggs the other day and felt much better. Not so bloated.

  8. #8
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    Apr 2010
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    925
    I cant see the pics but from all the detailed info id say you just being too self conscience.

  9. #9
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    Congratulations on obvious progress!

    That's a huge difference: you could certainly get more defined, but you don't sag anymore.

    If it works for you, keep going until you stop making forward progress.

  10. #10
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    Spats, I wanted to see what was underneath before I started building on top of it. I know I got a looonnnnggg way to go on losing fat and putting on muscle, but you got to start somewhere

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by gameface View Post
    Spats, I wanted to see what was underneath before I started building on top of it. I know I got a looonnnnggg way to go on losing fat and putting on muscle, but you got to start somewhere
    The biggest changes with weight lifting will come at the start, it then takes a long time for big changes.

    The muscle mass you have the more calories you will burn, the less you have to 'control' what you eat.

    Good for you dude, start lifting it will change your life...
    i wish i never chose that user_name

    Whitedot Freeride

  12. #12
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    I thought moobs was funny.

    Really, thanks for sharing. I didn't delve into the details of your regimen yet, but will: the improvement in the pictures is clear and, actually, looks comparable to what I'd realistically like to achieve for myself.
    Last edited by woodstocksez; 02-01-2011 at 05:44 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by Tippster View Post
    Sometimes I think you guys are some of the smartest people on the web, other times I wonder if you were shaken as babies.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Huck_Schmuck View Post
    The biggest changes with weight lifting will come at the start, it then takes a long time for big changes.

    The muscle mass you have the more calories you will burn, the less you have to 'control' what you eat.

    Good for you dude, start lifting it will change your life...
    When I do start lifting (by the end of the month), any suggestions on duration, routine and time of day?

    Tim suggests once every 3 days at first and the more you work out extending rest time between workouts. Then he suggests one set to failure of no more than 80-120 seconds with a 5 second up and 5 second down cadence (8-12 reps) of 2-10 exercises per workout. At least 3 minutes of rest between exercises.

    Don't know about the failure part as I would need a workout partner and my schedule is fucked and I don't want to have to rely on someone else for perfect timing. Not sure I am sold on this way as I have never been a lifter and I NEVER want to have a frame like the after pictures.

    But, doing this routine he gained 34 lbs in 28 days and reduced his body fat over 4%. But he also took a shit ton of supplements and did not do his "Slow-carb" diet that I am on. And no anabolic steroids.





    Remember, this is an experiment and Tim suggests, what he thinks, gives the biggest gains with the least amount of work. So, take it with a grain of salt if you don't believe in his routine and I'm willing to listen to anyone on advice on this.
    Last edited by gameface; 02-01-2011 at 06:02 PM.

  14. #14
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    Thanks for posting this. I am reading that book and adopting some of the author's recs, too. I started about 3 weeks behind you and am not seeing much for results yet, but I didn't do the whole measurements thing so maybe there is some progress that the scale isn't telling me (down 3-5 pounds this week depending on the day, nothing for the previous 2 weeks). Also not eating so much legumes as is recommended, no protein shakes, not doing the bands and air squats - maybe some of those items are crux to getting better results, maybe my body is not the best candidate for this eating plan, or maybe I just need more time. In the past only massive amounts of exercise has deflated my spare tire in the slightest and I am not on that program at the moment.
    Keep updating this as you go, I'm curious to see how it develops. On twitter folks are posting results with #4hb and many are seeing more dramatic body changes than yours with very few folks publicly quitting for lack of results.
    another Handsome Boy graduate

  15. #15
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    PP... it may be you're not getting enough protein in the morning. When I upped my protein intake I started seeing much better results. Also, weight yourself immediately after urinating first thing in the morning. This morning I weighed 138.8 and just now I weighed myself and I am 144.4. Also, make sure you are drinking plenty of water. I drink about a gallon a day.

    From what I gathered from his appearance on Dr. Oz, doing the exercises gets the muscles going to burn the food as fuel quickly so it doesn't turn to fat.

  16. #16
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    I did the workout partner thing when I was about 20 and the big weight and big bulkup thing was ok, but not for me. Light weight (30-60lbs) with curls, military presses, situps and squats when your watching TV or whatever, instead of sittin down, you be buff. Good luck.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by bushman View Post
    I did the workout partner thing when I was about 20 and the big weight and big bulkup thing was ok, but not for me. Light weight (30-60lbs) with curls, military presses, situps and squats when your watching TV or whatever, instead of sittin down, you be buff. Good luck.
    If I did something along those lines, would you suggest everyday or maybe every other day? Even more rest time?

  18. #18
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    When I was in my twenty's I did it every day at home. I just switched what I worked on. I was in the military then and sometimes hit the gym cause they had everything you could ask for in the workout Dept. and racketball courts. I guess what I saw was that in their schools we had workout times each day and mostly calisthenics and I gained about 25lbs in 12 weeks and thought shit I can do this by myself.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by gameface View Post
    If I did something along those lines, would you suggest everyday or maybe every other day? Even more rest time?
    Way to make the commitment. As far as lifting weights, read up on starting strength/basic barbell. Once you get some muscle mass and some weightlifting knowledge on those compound movements you'll have an idea of where to take it next.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by gameface View Post
    PP... it may be you're not getting enough protein in the morning. When I upped my protein intake I started seeing much better results. Also, weight yourself immediately after urinating first thing in the morning. This morning I weighed 138.8 and just now I weighed myself and I am 144.4. Also, make sure you are drinking plenty of water. I drink about a gallon a day.

    From what I gathered from his appearance on Dr. Oz, doing the exercises gets the muscles going to burn the food as fuel quickly so it doesn't turn to fat.
    The "more protein" thing seems to be the consensus from the twitter conversations and comments on the blog. I'm eating 2 hard boiled eggs and some chunk of meat (chicken breast o salmon) within 30 minutes of getting out of bed and before my 40 minute walk to work. Seems like the eating then walking thing would encourage uptake, and since the eggs have some decent fat the leanness of the meat/fish should not be an issue. I'm drinking upwards of 4 liters of water every day, so I think I'm hydrated appropriately for winter. The book presents everything as results of experiments and I dig that approach so I'll keep experimenting on me. This belly didn't show up yesterday so I don't expect it gone overnight, but I sure wouldn't mind some of the fast and dramatic results others are seeing.
    I'm doing the kettlebell swings 3x/week and my back feels much more solid, plus my posture is better at the desk all day, so at least some of this is working for me.
    another Handsome Boy graduate

  21. #21
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    How much were you drinking (generally) prior an what was your preference?
    ...And the greatest ice must crumble when it's flower's time to grow.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by mushmouth View Post
    How much were you drinking (generally) prior an what was your preference?
    When i went to the bar I drank beer. When I was at home I drank Vodka Soda. And usually a couple fingers of scotch. I drank every day to excess. And like was said in Spats first thread, I'm sure the reduction of alcohol had a great influence on my fat loss, but I figured I have been consuming around the same of calories now and back then as I was eating once a day and like crap. So all-in-all, I don't care if it is the removal of booze only or that and the food... it's working.

    16oz of vodka after work was not uncommon. I would make my drinks in pint glasses and fill it a quarter the way up with vodka. Several of those would last me the night but it was a lot of booze. I was going through handles of Svedka like it was going out of style.
    Last edited by gameface; 02-01-2011 at 08:56 PM.

  23. #23
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    Good on ya man. You made it thru the first month strong, which is huge. I've only been workin out for a year, have a long way to go, and don't really know shit. Which, as you know by now, doesn't mean i don't have an opinion...

    No idea what all those supps are, but maybe think about adding fish oil? Nordic Naturals is a brand i trust.
    And when you keep/add to weight training, make sure the technique is solid. Here is a swing demo from the gym i'm at; here is another KB complex, may need a lighter one for the overhead stuff, which is awesome for core...
    good luck!!!
    Something about the wrinkle in your forehead tells me there's a fit about to get thrown
    And I never hear a single word you say when you tell me not to have my fun
    It's the same old shit that I ain't gonna take off anyone.
    and I never had a shortage of people tryin' to warn me about the dangers I pose to myself.

    Patterson Hood of the DBT's

  24. #24
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    Good on you for starting to take care of yourself but you're making this way more complicated than it needs to be. 16 pills a day? Overthought diet?

    From where you're starting just cooking decent food and exercicing will give you similar results. It's actually pretty simple!!

  25. #25
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    Hey good on ya man, very noticeable change. Sort of just started working out again on my own improvised program and need some direction. I'll have to check out that book.
    There's nothing better than sliding down snow, and flying through the air

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