Can You Lose 10lbs in 14 Days?

Is it possible to lose almost 1lb per day with almost no exercise?

I would have said no, but it seems that not only is it possible, it has worked for hundreds of people already.

I know what you are thinking… Dean, this sounds like another fad diet.

I actually got it from Tim Ferriss, and it is backed by buckets of evidence, what’s more, his readers have been doing it for 2 years, and have reported huge successes.

Here is the info taken directly from Tim’s awesome site:

Rule #1: Avoid “white” carbohydrates

Avoid any carbohydrate that is — or can be — white. The following foods are thus prohibited, except for within 1.5 hours of finishing a resistance-training workout of at least 20 minutes in length: bread, rice, cereal, potatoes, pasta, and fried food with breading. If you avoid eating anything white, you’ll be safe.

Rule #2: Eat the same few meals over and over again

The most successful dieters, regardless of whether their goal is muscle gain or fat loss, eat the same few meals over and over again. Mix and match, constructing each meal with one from each of the three following groups:

Proteins:
Egg whites with one whole egg for flavor
Chicken breast or thigh
Grass-fed organic beef
Pork

Legumes:
Lentils
Black beans
Pinto beans

Vegetables:
Spinach
Asparagus
Peas
Mixed vegetables

Eat as much as you like of the above food items. Just remember: keep it simple. Pick three or four meals and repeat them. Almost all restaurants can give you a salad or vegetables in place of french fries or potatoes. Surprisingly, I have found Mexican food, swapping out rice for vegetables, to be one of the cuisines most conducive to the “slow carb” diet.

Most people who go on “low” carbohydrate diets complain of low energy and quit, not because such diets can’t work, but because they consume insufficient calories. A 1/2 cup of rice is 300 calories, whereas a 1/2 cup of spinach is 15 calories! Vegetables are not calorically dense, so it is critical that you add legumes for caloric load.

Some athletes eat 6-8x per day to break up caloric load and avoid fat gain. I think this is ridiculously inconvenient. I eat 4x per day:

10am – breakfast
1pm – lunch
5pm – smaller second lunch
7:30-9pm – sports training
10pm – dinner
12am – glass of wine and Discovery Channel before bed

Rule #3: Don’t drink calories

Drink massive quantities of water and as much unsweetened iced tea, tea, diet sodas, coffee (without white cream), or other no-calorie/low-calorie beverages as you like. Do not drink milk, normal soft drinks, or fruit juice. I’m a wine fanatic and have at least one glass of wine each evening, which I believe actually aids sports recovery and fat-loss. Recent research into resveratrol supports this.

Rule #4: Take one day off per week

I recommend Saturdays as your “Dieters Gone Wild” day. I am allowed to eat whatever I want on Saturdays, and I go out of my way to eat ice cream, Snickers, Take 5, and all of my other vices in excess. I make myself a little sick and don’t want to look at any of it for the rest of the week. Paradoxically, dramatically spiking caloric intake in this way once per week increases fat loss by ensuring that your metabolic rate (thyroid function, etc.) doesn’t downregulate from extended caloric restriction. That’s right: eating pure crap can help you lose fat. Welcome to Utopia.

Dean here again…

Ok, so despite being fairly thin, I seem to be in the early stages of developing what us Brits refer to as a “Beer Gut”… and so I want to stop it before it gets out of hand.

Also, my diet is awful, and let’s be honest, sitting on my ass all day is not helping, so I think that a more healthy diet is essential.

I will give it two weeks, and my goal is to lose 10lbs.

I will be going to the gym and doing weights, so I may gain some muscle weight, but as long as I am healthier, I will be happy.

Lose Weight With Dean

Is this of interest to you?

Why not do this for 14 days with me?

We can become healthier and fitter together.

Dean

PS: stay tuned for updates (See below)

PPS: Tim’s blog post is here: Losing weight

****UPDATES****

I have been doing this for two days now, and I am on track, as I have lost 2lbs already.

Some quick notes:

For breakfast, I recommend either a low/no-fat yoghurt, or 3 egg whites with one yolk for flavour, and mix in some low-fat cheese (not much) to make either an omlette or scrambled eggs. If possible, have some lentils or pinto beans with it.

For lunch, I have had tuna or turkey breast salad (I recommend adding black beans to your salad, otherwise you will be super-low on energy)

I also had chicken thighs/breast with spinach, carrots and green lentils.

For dinner I had a beef stew, made from organic, grass fed beef, mixed veg, some lentils, and some beef gravy granuals for flavour/thickness. (it was delicious)… oh, and I added a bit of red wine and pepper for seasoning.

Today I have one piece of pork, chopped chicken breast, carrots and half a can of pinto beans (yummy).

My goal is to lose 10lbs, and then I will find a balance between my old diet and this one.

I think that having one day per week where you can go crazy is ideal… I will aim to drink alcohol only on this day.

I have a max of one cup of coffee per day, and I dont use milk or sugar anymore.

Other than that, I drink only water, so I drink zero calories per day (please don’t fall for the “diet” soda drinks, they are full of crap)

Post your thoughts and updates below.

Dean