Slow Carb Diet

The diet is really quite simple and has become very popular thanks to Timothy Ferriss's "The 4-Hour Body". You just have to follow the following easy to remember rules:

1. Avoid white carbohydrates or dairy such as bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, cereals, milk, cheese etc
2. Eat the same meals again and again based upon the menu below - eggs (for breakfast) / meat plus beans / pulses and vegetable
3. Drink lots and lots of water but no sweet / high calories drinks such as fruit juice, soft drinks, milk, beer or white wine
4. Leave out fruit
5. Once a week have a cheat day and eat whatever you want (anything goes!)

Slow Carb Diet Menu

Have 3 meals a day. Each meal should comprise one item from each of the following food groups:

Group 1

• 2 eggs (plus egg whites if you are feeling hungry)
• Fish
• Skinless chicken thighs / breasts
• Lean beef / lamb (ideally organic / grass-fed)
• Pork

Group 2

• Black beans
• Borlotti beans
• Aduki beans
• Soya beans
• Lentils

Group 3

• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Mixed vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
• Green beans
• Peas
• Asparagus

My sample menu is as follows, Sunday to Friday inclusive:

• Breakfast @ 6.30 am: 2 hard boiled eggs / scrambled eggs (no butter or milk remember!), 200g steamed spinach, half a can of black beans
• Lunch @ 12.30 pm: 2/3 fried chicken thighs, 240g mixed veg, half a can of black beans
• Dinner @ 8.30 pm: 2/3 chicken thighs in casserole with chicken stock and half a can of borlotti beans, 240g of mixed veg (plus a glass of red wine!)

I repeat the above every day (other than my cheat day!) and substitute for different items for lunch or dinner, e.g. beef or fish instead of chicken and different types of beans. This is about 1,200 to 1,400 calories and protein rich with slow release carbohydrates provided by the Group 2 foods. As a result, I never feel hungry or tired on this diet.

Every Saturday is cheat day! For my last cheat day I had a bowl of porridge with maple syrup and blueberries, a full english breakfast with croissants, a whole 24" sloppy giuseppe pizza, a bar of chocolate, biscuits and a take away curry! Yes my weight went up but fell away by Wednesday when I went back to the slow carb routine and overall trajectory is down.
That's it! Enjoy!