Adventures in Lifestyle Design from a Path Less Traveled
Tim Ferriss Diet – One Week Later
I have a cynical friend (that happens to be overweight) who asked me “why bother losing weight at all?” His rationale was that once you stop the diet, you will just gain all the weight back as if people are just helplessly caught in the gravitational field of obesity and no matter what they try to do, they will just end up slowly slipping back to their “naturally fat” state of being.
Well, that probably will happen if you go back to the same way of eating and exercising (or lack thereof) that got you overweight in the first place.
One week after ending the Tim Ferriss diet, I have not gained a single pound. I am exactly at the same weight that I was on my final weigh in. In the past week, I have eaten cake, candy, pizza, Indian food, cereal, and all sorts of “normal” foods.
The reason I am not edging back up to the weight I was at the day I finished my thesis is because I am not living the lifestyle my thesis demanded. That is to say, I do not sit in front of a computer for 20 hours a day in a state of worry and panic while I generate Photoshop renderings and eating at Chipotle, Subway, Mai Island Grill, and the Chuck Box everyday before staggering home at 3 in the morning to get a quick 4 hours of sleep.
Instead, I now only work on my computer for 8 hours a day with no deadlines except for the ones I set for myself. I can work in relaxing coffee shops instead of under the watchful eye of a self-described “draconian thesis adviser.” I no longer get a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach as I wonder if my work measures up to my colleague’s work. I actually get a healthy amount of sleep. And I eat less food that is “engineered” to be more flavorful and tasty than nutritious.
I honestly believe that I would have gotten to this weight eventually without doing the diet, but it would have taken some time.
The point being this: Don’t do the diet to lose weight and then get surprised when your waistline starts to expand when you go back to your original birthday cake and onion rings diet. The diet will undo the damage that poor diet and exercise choices have created, but once you quit you will likely need to change your habits if you want to keep the changes. The diet is just a sort of shortcut to get you from where you are to where you want to be.
Also, my girlfriend and I have decided to go ahead and create a small e-book about my experiences with the Tim Ferriss diet. We will be explaining the mechanics and rules of the diet in greater detail. I will be writing a section on keeping yourself motivated to stick to the diet. She will be writing a section on recipes you can use on the diet.
This is something I’ve never done before, and I’m not really sure the best way to go about doing this. I am going to try to contact Tim Ferriss regarding the use of his name. I’m not sure If I need to, but it seems like the right thing to do.
My goal is to get the e-book done by New Years (to take advantage of “resolution season”), though I suspect it will be done much sooner than that.
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cool man…. hope you get the ebook done on time.
my personal opinion on diet is bad. diet is temporary. when sport and fresh vegetables and fruit combine you’ll love it more and you’ll want to do it forever.
thanks for the post
Yeah, I’m trying to get the e-book/sales page/shopping cart all set up by the end of 2009. This will be something new entirely for me.
I honestly don’t know enough about weight loss to know if diets result in temporary or permanent weight loss. My guess is that it depends on the diet and the lifestyle you adopt after ending the diet.
Hey –I’ve been on the “eating play” as I call it for 10 days now — initially lost 9 pounds, had only oatmeal and raisin toast on my “day off” (about 3 days ago) and now I’ve gained a pound back — I love this plan — love the food, etc. — Just don’t know why I gained some weight back — am I on a plateau? or am I eating too much? Tim says you can eat as much of you like of certain foods, which I do — I am ony about 20 pounds overweight (10 lbs. now!), but I’d like to keep losing — what do you think is happening? Would love to hear your views ……..
@Beverly, Good job on your weight loss! Don’t get caught up in your day-to-day weight. A lot of things can contribute to fluctuations of a pound or two. Focus on the long-term results.
In a way, it was a blessing that my girlfriend and I don’t own a scale. Only weigh yourself once a week at most. If it helps keep you motivated, you might want to tape over the display on your scale with a piece of paper that has your target weight written on it.
Also, remember than on your cheat day, you really want to go wild. By spiking your caloric intake on this day, you keep your metabolism from slowing down too much on the other six days. So make sure you eat plenty of calories on your off-day.
Hey
Just curious did you have have 1-2 glasses of red wine and supplements like Tim does before bedtime?
@Martin, It’s been a few months, but I believe I had a glass of red wine every few days or so. I didn’t take any supplements or workout at all.
Good luck with the diet :)