The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman

Timothy Ferris, The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman

The Minimum Effective Dose

To remove stored fat → do the least necessary to trigger a fat-loss cascade of specific hormones. To add muscle in small or large quantities → do the least necessary to trigger local (specific muscles) and systemic (hormonal) growth mechanisms.

Diet

Rule #1: It’s not what you put in your mouth that matters, it’s what makes it to your bloodstream. If it passes through, it doesn’t count. Rule #2: The hormonal responses to carbohydrates (CHO), protein, and fat are different.

1. Make it conscious. 2. Make it a game. 3. Make it competitive. 4. Make it small and temporary.

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.

Still Tasty?

Principle #1: Minimize the Release of Insulin, a Storage Hormone.

1. Ensure that your first meal of the day is not a binge meal. At least 30 grams protein. High in fiber.
2. Consume a small quantity of fructose, fruit sugar, in grapefruit juice before the second meal, which is the first crap meal. Combine the naringin in grapefruit juice with coffee, as it extends the effects of caffeine.
3. Use supplements that increase insulin sensitivity: AGG and PAGG.
4. Consume citric juices, whether lime juice squeezed into water, lemon juice on food, or a beverage like citrus kombucha.

Principle #2: Increase the Speed of Gastric Emptying.

• Caffeine and yerba mate tea. Consume 100–200 milligrams of caffeine, or 16 ounces of cooled yerba mate, at the most crap-laden meals. Athletic Greens.

Principle #3: Engage in Brief Muscular Contraction Throughout the Binge.

• Air squats, wall presses (tricep extensions against a wall), and chest pulls with an elastic band.
• Do 60–90 seconds of exercises a few minutes before you eat and again about 90 minutes afterward. 30-50 reps.

Losing the Final 5–10 Pounds

Eat one of these meals every three waking hours:

• Option 1: 50 grams of whey protein isolate + half a cup of nuts or two tablespoons of peanut butter
• Option 2: eight ounces of cooked, white, nonfatty fish (no salmon, mackerel, etc.) + half a cup of nuts or two tablespoons of peanut butter. Acceptable fish include, but are not limited to, lean tuna, white fish, bass, catfish, pike, whiting, and flounder.
• Option 3: eight ounces of cooked turkey or chicken + half a cup of nuts or two tablespoons of peanut butter
• Option 4: eight ounces of cooked fattier protein: red meat (à la flank), ground beef, fatty fish, or dark poultry + one tablespoon of olive oil or macadamia oil
• Option 5: five whole eggs (easiest if hard-boiled) Unlimited quantities of the following are allowed at each meal:

Spinach Asparagus Brussels sprouts Kale

Collard greens Broccoli rabe Broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables

• One tablespoon of olive oil or macadamia nut oil can be included as dressing, as long as you have not included the half-cup of nuts or two tablespoons of peanut butter in that meal. In the lower-fat meal options, you may make a salad dressing using slightly more oil: two tablespoons olive oil or macadamia oil.
• No corn, beans, tomatoes, or carrots are permitted, but one cheat meal is encouraged every seven to ten days.

Drugs

Cissus quadrangularis (CQ): 2.4 grams (2,400 milligrams) three times per day 30 minutes prior to meals. Super Cissus RX

Balancing Bacteria for Fat Loss

1. Get off the Splenda.
2. Go fermented.
3. Consider probiotics and prebiotics.

PAGG

• Policosanol: 20–25 mg
• Alpha-lipoic acid: 100–300 mg Hepasil DTX
• Green tea flavanols (decaffeinated with at least 325 mg EGCG): 325 mg
• Garlic extract: 200 mg

1P, 3A, 1G, 1G

Prior to breakfast: AGG Prior to lunch: AGG Prior to dinner: AGG Prior to bed: PAGG This dosing schedule is followed six days a week. Take one day off each week and one week off every two months. This week off is critical.

Increasing fat content in meals blunts jumps in glucose much more than lean protein.

Eat four Brazil nuts and one tablespoon of almond butter first thing upon waking.

Lemon juice lowers glycemic response. Three tablespoons of fresh-squeezed lemon juice just prior to eating appeared to lower blood sugar peaks by approximately 10%.

Cinnamon, even in small doses, has a substantial effect on glucose levels. One and a half teaspoons. Don’t consume more per day.

More than quality, it’s the size and speed of meals that determined glycemic response. The easiest thing you can do to decrease glucose spikes is slow down. It also helps to drink more water to dilute digestion, eat smaller portions, and chew more.

For fastest fat-loss, minimize your blood sugar bumps above 100 to no more than two per day.

• Eat decent quantities of fat at each larger meal. Saturated fat is fine if meat is untreated with antibiotics and hormones.
• Spend at least 30 minutes eating lunch and dinner. Breakfasts can be smaller and thus consumed more quickly.
• Experiment with cinnamon and lemon juice just prior to or during meals.

Exercise

DAY 1 (MONDAY)

• High-rep kettlebell (53 pounds) swings to at least 75 reps (ultimately, I got to 150+ reps in a single set)
• Slow myotatic crunch (next chapter) with max weight x 10–15 slow reps

DAY 2 (WEDNESDAY)

• Iso-lateral dumbbell incline bench press
• “Yates” bent rows with EZ bar (palms-up grip and bent at the waist about 20–30 degrees)
• Reverse “drag” curls

DAY 3 (FRIDAY)

• High-rep kettlebell (53 pounds) swings to 75-rep minimum
• Slow myotatic crunch (next chapter) with max weight x 12–15 reps
• Every other week: single-arm kettlebell swings to 25 minimum reps each side

Workout A All exercises, except for kettlebell swings, are performed for 10 repetitions using a 13-Repetition Max (RM) weight.

1. Heavy dumbbell front squat to press (ass to heels)—squeeze glutes at bottom for one second before rising
2. One-arm, one-leg DB row
3. Walking lunges with sprinter knee raise
4. Wide-grip push-ups
5. Two-arm kettlebell swings × 20–25

Repeat sequence 2–4 times.

Workout B

1. One-leg Romanian Deadlift (RDL) (10–12 reps each side)
2. Chin-up (four-second negative lowering portion only) × 10 or until you cannot control descent
3. One-leg hamstring curls on a Swiss ball—6–12 reps each leg
4. Plank for abs (and gluteus medius on sides) → Progression: start with 30 seconds front, 30 seconds each side, working up to 90 seconds maximum
5. Reverse hyper × 15–25 Repeat sequence 2–4 times.

Abs Movement #1: The Myotatic Crunch 1. Start with arms stretched overhead as high as possible. Keep your arms behind or next to your ears for the entire exercise. 2. Lower under control for 4 seconds until your fingers touch the floor, the entire time attempting to extend your hands further away from the ball. 3. Pause at the bottom for 2 seconds, aiming for maximum elongation. 4. Rise under control and pause in the upper, fully contracted position for 2 seconds. The arms should not pass perpendicular with the ground. 5. Repeat for a total of 10 repetitions. Once you can complete 10 repetitions, add weight to your hands.

Movement #2: The Cat Vomit Exercise 1. Get on all fours and keep your gaze focused either directly under your head or slightly in front of you. Don’t arch your back or strain your neck. 2. Forcefully exhale from your mouth until all air is fully expelled. Your abs should be contracted from this forceful exhale. Full exhalation is necessary to contract the transverse abdominals, and you’ll use gravity to provide resistance. 3. Hold your breath and pull your belly button upward toward your spine as hard as you can for a target of 8–12 seconds. 4. Inhale fully through the nose after the 8–12 second hold. 5. Take one breath cycle of rest (exhale slowly out the mouth, inhale slowly through the nose), then repeat the above for a total of 10 repetitions. __NOEDITSECTION__