The 4-Hour Body

[Melancholy]

Every diet, no matter what it is, all boils down to caloric intake. If you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. If you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. End of story.

No tricks. No complications. No deeper knowledge than it has to be.

It doesn't matter what you eat. It doesn't matter when you eat it. It doesn't matter if you follow a low carb, high protein or not fat diet. As long as you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight.

I don't understand why people think it has to be more complicated than this. :shrugs shoulders:

It doesn't have to be any more complicated than this... it just is haha.

My brother, cousins, etc. they are all lost on calorie counting..not to mention asking them to calculate BMR, BMI, calories burned during exercise, etc. etc. etc. etc.... that's just not something they are going to do. They don't care to get that involved, and now you take America as a pie, and slice that pie up.. I gurantee that there will be a portion of the population that falls into the same category as some of my family... now, you, I, Jericho, many others.. we understand this, and can most likely calculate all the necessary measurements to know that after a week, we have a deficit, but you guys have to understand that is not the norm, that is the minority....

In comes a book, written in a catchy language, by someone that people have followed in the past and BAM... people follow. No crazy calculations, just a set of instructions to follow. People don't have to read the side of labels and keep a diary, they just follow some basic, and very distilled rules, and they see results. It's not suprising that these fad diets are successful, because calculating calories in v. calories out has multiple steps...ohhh well.

 

[San2]

So basically, this guy is trying to sell me a book with information that I can get for free, right on this board, from people who are actually not only interested in my wallet? People who have been there and done that, and know exactly what they are talking about? People who don't just pick any current hype and write down what any half intelligent human being has already figured out?

Uhm...no thanks. I'm not buying. I'll stick with this forum, and places similar to it. Why feed a fat cat with even more money?

As for losing weight being complicated - it's not. It's exactly as Chef said - all you have to do is eat less calories than you burn. That is ALL there is to it. People make it more complicated than it has to be. Why does there have to be an underlying problem? Not everybody who is fat has some sort of childhood trauma. Not everybody who takes drugs does it because their mother never loved them. Sometimes it is just what you see, and no mysterious, underlying cause.

As for the comparison to drug-taking etc. - I disagree. All you have to do IS to stop doing drugs. Like smoking. Don't sit there and tell people that you want to stop. Don't mess around with nicotine plasters and all that other nonsense. If you want to stop, stop. It's that simple.

And before you say it, yes, I have been there, done that. I was addicted to drugs, and one day I just stopped. Cold turkey. I suffered like a dog, but I did it, and I haven't touched anything ever since. That's 13 years ago. So yes...you can just stop. If you really want to, you can.

 

[Jeanette401]

Well, simple does not equate to easy. It's like a story I once heard about a printing house hiring a consultant to give them advice on how to save money. The end suggestion? Make fewer mistakes. ... Awesomely simple, and yet how do you implement this simple advice?

I'm not saying that you need to have a diet that delves into insulin, fat transport, glucogenesis etc. in order to work - I think this book primarily delves into methods of implementing a calorie reduction without actually tracking how many calories you eat and talks up physiological 'fluff' to get people to buy into it - but really, talking about how 'simple' it is to lose weight, seems to imply that people who are overweight are lazy morons, otherwise why don't they just eat fewer calories than they burn and voila, weight loss!

I can attest to the fact that for me there are harder and easier ways to eat fewer calories than I burn, but what's easier for me may not be easier for someone else.

 

[Melancholy]

I agree with Jeanette,

I think that what I have a problem with, is that it's very easy to say... "weight loss is simple, calories in, calories out" as a catch-all... but it's not like that for <90% of the people that are obeese in the world.

If a kid is having trouble learning addition, you don't say... "look dude, this PLUS that".. it's just not constructive. Sure, some people are just plain lazy, but telling people over and over that weight loss is "so easy" just belittles the struggles that many people that are overweight endure.

Take this case study for example:

Typical overweight person, wants to learn how to diet. They are given the advice, "calories in should be < calories out"... the person then replies... "how is that calculated?"...

Wellllllllllll..............


First, you need to calculate your Basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is very simple:

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )
Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

okay, still with me? Now you need to get something like a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) so when you work out, you can accurately determine the number of calories you have burned. It uses a simple algorithm to compare weight/ age to heart rate during exercise to estimate the calories you have burned.

Alright, still okay? Now, get something to track the calories with that you eat everyday.. a diary, an iPhone app, etc. Now, write down EVERY SINGLE calorie you eat, to the best of your knowledge.

Next, for some more math. There are about 3500 calories in a pound of fat. Assuming that fat is indeed what you want to lose, you need to calculate a weekly deficit in order to determine the pace of weight loss that suits your need. Take the BMR calculated from step 1, and multiply by seven. Next, take the calories burned/ workout, and get a weekly average for this number, add it to your BMR. This is your average/ week calories burned which we will call "Z". Now, take your calories for the week that you have eaten, and add them up. This will be called "Y". Next, complete the equation, and solve for "X": Y-Z=X. X should be a negative number. Take 3500 and divide by X, this is the number of days it takes you to lose 1 pound of fat....

blah blah blah..

haha... as I wrote that out, I realized WHY fad diets are so popular. That is not easy at all. Those of us on here that like doing that, are fine with it... but my family, they are not going to do all that to determine calories in v. calories out.

You guys are right. Calories in v. calories out is all it takes to know how to physically lose weight, but it doesn't help with the implementation of this principle. Losing weight is not easy. If it was, then why aren't all of us skinny? Why are we not at our goals? The concept is easy, the mechanism isn't.

I highly doubt this author is vindictively exploiting overweight people. More likely, he has an ego that allows him to think his way is the best way. If this book helps 500,000 people lose weight, then why does it matter? It doesn't hurt us if someone else buys this book, it allows someone else in the world to have another healthy loved one...

 

[San2]

And that's exactly why so many people are turning to fad diets. Because they ask a simple question, and get an overly complicated answer. Information overload, and everybody tells you something different.

There are about ten different formulas to get your caloric needs, BMR etc., and everybody claims that theirs is the only correct one.

Let's start...

You don't need to know your BMR. Totally unnecessary and overcomplicating things. Same goes for heart rate and all of that. We're not talking athletes here, or people who know loads about nutrition. Just Joe Average who feels that it is time to do something about those spare tires. He doesn't need all of those formulas to get started.

I am not saying losing weight is easy. If it was, I wouldn't be here, trying to lose weight and failing with astonishing regularity. What I am saying is that a lot of people make things so overly complicated that those who want to lose weight get disheartened before they even started.

For me, what is needed to get a general idea on how to cut calories is a food scale, a set of scales, a piece of paper, and some source of information about calories (like books, the internet, or even the back of the food packages/boxes/etc)

Step a) Write down what you eat for a couple of days.
Step b) find out the rough amount of calories
Step c) Have a good look at that list and find stuff that is high in calories.
Step d) Try to reduce, eliminate or replace those items.
Step e) Step on the scales, jot down your weight.
Step f) Stick to your new plan for a while.
Step g) Weigh yourself. Did you lose weight? Yes? Good. You're on the right track. No? More tweaking needed. Let's look at the stuff you eat again.

With time, the person will learn about calories, what's good and what's bad for them, and be able to instinctively make good choices, and tweak their eating and eventually exercise to their needs. That won't be easy, but it is relatively simple.

If I was completely new to weight loss, and came on this board, and saw a post like the one from Melancholy, I would turn around and say 'Forget about it. Way too complicated.'

Making it that complicated when it doesn't have to be is what drives people to try fad diets, because they promise a quick fix without all the formulas and whatnot.

The good old 'Eat less, move more' is the best advice you can give somebody to make a start. Not numbers that, in a lot of cases, turn out to be wrong anyway.

 

[ChefChiTown]

When referencing "calories in vs. calories out", nobody said it was easy. It's just the reality - you will only lose weight if you burn more calories than you consume. It's not as complicated as some want to make it seem.

 

[BP BOB]

Wow, I think its great that there are 1000 opinions about how terrible and wrong a book can be, yet a majority of you have not read it… and seems like from the people who have read it say that there is some beneficial material to the diet...

So, your argument is that he is a scam artist for just disguising calorie counting? It’s almost not even worth responding to most of these, do you really think that a guy who wrote a book about efficiency at the work place, is just another scammer who decided to write about dieting? Again, read the 1st chapter or 2 on his background, how long he has been personally tracking his health, and who backed him for the book.

Could it all be complete BS, sure...but mindlessly arguing with people who are yet to even familiarize them self with the book is moronic.

Some people are just too set in their ways, to fathom a new perspective on something.

Then again, the world is flat right? ;-)

Im no expert, im just a fat guy who is having success on this diet.

...and who has read the book.

 

[BP BOB]

I didn't say that. I'm saying by doing those 'steps' do you not..in fact..simply cut your calories by making different food choices? I saw the steps and that is honestly what it does become.

I think people assume that weight loss has to be complex and hard. 'There must be some tricks because I can't lose weight.' The fact remains that for pure weight loss (not talking health and nutrients, we are talking pure numbers) it is Calories in vs Calories out. Everything on top of that is icing. This is why there is a huge diet industry. Instead of learning what to eat, how much you should be eating, and gaining knowledge..people look for crap like this. Sorry, that is my opinion on this rubbish.

So, by buying a book of a guy who has done, experiments, and has actual findings and science from his research, that isnt me, Johnny Public, trying to "gain knowledge" on weight loss?

And what exactly is crap about the diet? Eat more veggies, eat more beans, drink more water and eat a lot of protien 3-4 times a day, and once a week eat what you want...if it is not hurting you, and it produces results, seems anit-crappy to me. ...

I just realized im defending the book like i wrote, i dont know why, guess im more angry that people can talk so much smack without even reading or citing the book!

snarf snarf

 

[ChefChiTown]

Wow, I think its great that there are 1000 opinions about how terrible and wrong a book can be, yet a majority of you have not read it… and seems like from the people who have read it say that there is some beneficial material to the diet...

So, your argument is that he is a scam artist for just disguising calorie counting? It’s almost not even worth responding to most of these, do you really think that a guy who wrote a book about efficiency at the work place, is just another scammer who decided to write about dieting? Again, read the 1st chapter or 2 on his background, how long he has been personally tracking his health, and who backed him for the book.

Could it all be complete BS, sure...but mindlessly arguing with people who are yet to even familiarize them self with the book is moronic.

Some people are just too set in their ways, to fathom a new perspective on something.

Then again, the world is flat right? ;-)

Im no expert, im just a fat guy who is having success on this diet.

...and who has read the book.

There are hundreds of new diet books that are published each and every year, based off of dozens and dozens of new diet fads. Looking at the track record, none of them have ever worked. Sure, some of them have some short term benefits (IE - immediate weight loss), but time and time again, once proper studies are done on those diets, they are found to be one of two things...

1) Unhealthy for a number of reasons
2) Bullshit

Look at all of the diet books. Every single one of them claims to contain the secret to losing weight. And, you know what? They all DO!!! And, that secret can always be found buried underneath chapters and chapters of horseshit, barely visible to the naked eye. That secret?

Eat healthy and exercise

Anything other than that is just crap. All of these books are designed to make money - nothing else. Sure, some people might experience some good results from following this book's regimen, but that has nothing to do with the diet contained within the book being magical or better advice than anyone else has ever given. It has everything to do with the person reading that book actually eating right and exercising.

Personally, I'm not going to waste $17.99 on a book that is going to tell me to watch what I eat and exercise. Common sense has taught me that my whole life. It's just a matter of people finding that the willpower to apply that common sense and make it happen. And, buying a book won't give you willpower...it will only give you a lighter wallet.

...

...

...a lighter wallet?

Oh my God, HEY!!! Maybe buying a fad diet book DOES help you lose weight!!!

 

[buckofalltrades]

Wow. A link to a relevant blog post removed for "Advertising (SPAM)?" Really? I won't be back.

(edited for trying to go around the rule)

Best of luck to everyone.

 

[BP BOB]

There are hundreds of new diet books that are published each and every year, based off of dozens and dozens of new diet fads. Looking at the track record, none of them have ever worked. Sure, some of them have some short term benefits (IE - immediate weight loss), but time and time again, once proper studies are done on those diets, they are found to be one of two things...

My question would be...how many of those fad diet books have made #1 on the NY times best seller in whats considered one of the hardest generes to accomplish a #1? Your right, time will tell, for now, im losing weight, eating better which is the overall point of diet, having more energy, while not going through certain food withdrawls, or ever being hungry.

I would also def. suggest checking out what Buckofalltrades said as well.

Meow.

 

[Jericho]

Wow. A link to a relevant blog post removed for "Advertising (SPAM)?" Really? I won't be back.

Best of luck to everyone.

Actually, if you read the PM you got about it, it was because you are a new member and new members are never allowed to post links.

 

[ChefChiTown]

My question would be...how many of those fad diet books have made #1 on the NY times best seller in whats considered one of the hardest generes to accomplish a #1? Your right, time will tell, for now, im losing weight, eating better which is the overall point of diet, having more energy, while not going through certain food withdrawls, or ever being hungry.

I would also def. suggest checking out what Buckofalltrades said as well.

Meow.

Every book ever written makes the New York Times bestseller list, HAHAHAHA...that recognition means nothing anymore. It's like getting nominated for a Grammy - who cares anymore?

 

[Jericho]

My question would be...how many of those fad diet books have made #1 on the NY times best seller in whats considered one of the hardest generes to accomplish a #1? Your right, time will tell, for now, im losing weight, eating better which is the overall point of diet, having more energy, while not going through certain food withdrawls, or ever being hungry.

I would also def. suggest checking out what Buckofalltrades said as well.

Meow.

Yup, you are eating healthier and cutting calories..doesn't matter if you are actually counting them, you are cutting them.

also..just because it is on the #1 best seller list doesn't mean it is good, it just means it has good marketing.


I think the reason for the objections is getting twisted here. Just like San said, this isn't new information. Hell it is free right here! This guy found a market to repeat commonly known weight loss (it's still calorie reduction, just painted up) and to me, he is as bad as the other diet industry people.

If this is working for you...GREAT. Doesn't change my opinion and honestly? My opinion shouldn't be changing yours.

 

[BP BOB]

haha yeah it doesnt change mine. and I def. am cutting calories, personally the draw to this book for me was we have similar eating habits, usually one 1-2 meals at home and 1-2 meals out per day, so immedeatly i was drawn to this...i just did a food run for us here at the station, Panda Express, I had one serving of the broc. and beef, and 3 servings of veggies...normally its be 2-3 servings of orange chicken and some starch (or white carb if you will). ..so regardless, eating habits have changes, ...

now to only survive my buddies wedding this weekend!

 

[Jericho]

see? we can agree to disagree.

Good luck at the wedding

 

[Melancholy]

There is an interesting resistance to information, and where it comes from on this site... ALL of the information that we have on this site, is from a book somewhere, sometime. Some of the diet books, like South Beach, Dean Ornish, etc. actually DO contribute positively to the weight-loss community. We need to sort through the good/ bad, and make opinions but only after we have read/ tried the techniques. What has this author done to deserve such scorn? I can understand vilifying diets like "3-day cleanse" and other heinous diets as such, but a book that is founded using sound scientific principals? That's like saying a book on Biology is a waste of money, because Biology has already been written about. As the world evolves, so will dieting even if it re-hashes some old, and tried and true principals. This book may be the impetus for someone that is really struggling to lose weight, to finally move ahead, and what is wrong with that?

 

[San2]

Uhm....I have to try everything to see if it works. I'm not gonna try every crap that comes around the corner if I have already found something that works. You tell me you tried every available diet?

Nope, don't think so.

What it boils down to is that the information in that book is nothing new. It's common sense coupled with common knowledge, wrapped in paper.

Being on top of some list doesn't make it good. Look at music - the biggest bullshit gets the biggest sales. Those lists are determined by one thing - money made. So, if the book has a good enough title, and enough people go and buy it, it will go to No.1. Doesn't matter if people read it and go 'Oh, I already knew that!' - they bought it, another one for the statistic.

Oh, and the guy is an author. Not a dietician, a doctor, or any other health professional. All he knows is how to write. He takes other people's work, puts it in shiny new words, and makes a killing on it. Nifty!

If people want to spend money on something that they could get somewhere else for free, more power to them. If you've got the money, waste it. It's what it's there for.

I am not bashing the book. It might have some helpful stuff in it. Some of the others might have. Totally possible. But it's old news, nothing revolutionary, nothing that hasn't been done before, and the sensationalistic title doesn't change that. It's not a new technique, it's not anything even worth reading because everybody with half a brain should already know. THAT is what irks me about those books!

 

[Melancholy]

Ha, sounds like a vandetta!!

This is 2011... there is very little that is going to come out that is revolutionary. How many movies/ year are re-boots of old movies? How many songs right now are taking samples from 80's music? The answer is a LOT!

Diets are the same way. They are embedded in pop culture. I didn't say you need to try EVERYTHING before you form an opinion. I meerly suggested that sometimes, when an author puts out a compilation of previous knowledge (good knowledge) and it becomes popular. It's not bad for the weight-loss community.

I would rather have my family read a book, before they come here online and see some of the responses ... seriously, as a mod, you have to read some of the craziest crap that people come up with!

I don't think anyone's intention was to advocate for this author (it's not mine at least). That said, I think it's kinda crappy to bash any book that comes out, because it costs money.

 

[San2]

Pretty much everything's recycled nowadays.

Sad truth, but that doesn't mean that I have to like it, does it?

And as said, to each their own, but if somebody tells me how great that book is, they need to live with the fact that I tell them how old/recycled the stuff is. If they learn better from a book and get spoon fed instead of really learning what it's all about, then....well, more power to them I guess.

As for reading crazy stuff...uh-hu. There's stuff out there that can drive a grown woman to tears. Maybe that is part of my initial dislike of posts that start with things like 'Have you read THIS book?' or 'I have just started the XXX diet, you should do it too!!', or anything of that sort. Not just because it's usually spam, but also because there is a very good chance that the thread will end up full of nonsense. *sigh*

Aaaanyway....back to the regular programme. Nothing to see here....move along!