Book Review: The 4-Hour Body

I finished reading Tim Ferriss' The 4-Hour Body over the weekend. I know someone that has sustained a significant weight loss over the last year. He was following the dietary guidelines of Tim Ferriss. Why me? I need to lose weight. Over the last six years or so, I have been working to improve my health. I have had back troubles for as long as I can remember. Last year, I had my second surgery. I had 3 vertebrae fused together. After the first surgey, I lost a significant amount of weight. 100 pounds. I could easily stand to lose another 100. My first goal is to get to my high school football "playing weight". 225. I have been stuck and on an up and down run after that first back surgery.

Last year's surgery really messed me up internally. I struggled for the better part of the last year to get my weight stable along with my "numbers" - blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar. A few months ago, I started to embrace the methods of Paleo and 4 hour body. At the same time, my wife started reading Wheat Belly by Dr. William Davis. Wheat Belly says no wheat. Wheat is evil. I've settled on a "protein and produce" approach, trying to eliminate carbs from wheat.

You have to keep your eye on Ferriss. I like the book. I like his philosophy. You have to be careful though. I like that he measures everything. You have to measure. I see my doctor quarterly. We went down to 3 times per year. I'd like to go monthly. But quarterly is ok. We do tests, we review results. Not as in-depth as Ferriss. But it is a good place to start.

Here are his Rules:

RULE #1: AVOID “WHITE” CARBOHYDRATES. 

RULE #2: EAT THE SAME FEW MEALS OVER AND OVER AGAIN.

RULE #3: DON’T DRINK CALORIES.

RULE #4: DON’T EAT FRUIT. 

RULE #5: TAKE ONE DAY OFF PER WEEK

 

The no fruit rule is founded in his low glycemic load approach. I get it. I like grapes though. 

 

Taking one day off has its merits. Spiking caloric intake "tricks" your body. It is scheduled binge-ing. It relieves the mental pressure. It doesn't allow the body to think that you are changing the program which will make it slow your metabolism down. 

He brings a lot of science. 

Which brings me back to Dr. Andrew Weil. I need to go back and re-read. I feel that, at the end of the day, if I followed Weil very STRICTLY, it would get me to the same place. I need to look into it. 

Anyway, I feel protein and produce is working. I got myself stable. And I have been consistently dropping weight. I am going to try the weight lifting program that Ferris lays out. The overall approach in 4HB is to find the minimum effective dose. He does that with weights. I am ready to start working out again. I have "graduated" from the surgeon. :) No more visits needed. 

Do you need to buy this book? Not really. ALL of it can be found in different places on the Internets. I can see using this as a reference book of sorts. And he even calls that out. Its not a book you read cover to cover - although that is exactly what I did. :) Open it, flip to what you need and dive in.