I Quit Carbs and Sugar and Here is What I Learned

You’re using your lifestyle design skills to create a life style that sucks for your taste-buds!

Love it. I completely and totally quit carbs for 3 months. Dropped 40+ lbs and was on top of shit like kingdom come. Best thing I ever did.

Then what?

You got it, introduced them again and fell of the cliff.

Now I’m back and have cut down drastically on shit.

On rules and routines: on target. I read somewhere that we get out of the box by stepping into shackles. Couldn’t be more true. I have daily routines and rituals that, having started them, have pushed me through the stratosphere in terms of productivity and overall quality of life.

Living by rules is one of the best things that ever happened to me. I’m more free than ever before.

haha, i like being recognized as a guy with LD skills. Can you imagine a serious panel of experts… like we’ve got a scientist, a philosopher, and a lifestyle designer… hmm… more comedy videos…

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.”

Keep on truckin Dan.

Hi Dan,
which eating plan do you follow? 4 hour body or something else? I failed at the 4hww diet, because I cooked my beans for 90 minutes and they were still to hard to eat. Damn f**ers.

However, I pulled through one week and experienced myself standing in front of a sweets store saying to myself “Wow, this is all stuff that I don´t want to eat”. However, I lost track later and now am thinking about how to get back on a low carb diet.

Dan, I looove these steps you’ve taken and I commend your efforts. Be careful not to focus too much on what you shouldn’t be having and more so on what you should! Fruits, veggies, nuts/seeds, beans/legumes, pseudograins such as quinoa, millet and amaranth as well as the whole grains which you may or may not permit, like wild/brown rice. The pseudograins (grain-like seeds) and whole grains as well as lots of fruits and veggies (all complex carbs) are crucial to preventing a relapse. While I don’t suggest eliminating entire macronutrients (carb, fat, protein) from the diet – I do agree with eliminating the sugars and white/simple carbs as well as caffeine and alcohol. By doing so, you’ll find that healthier items fill your plate and you should be feeling pretty fantastic in 30 days! Keep us posted

Dan, I looove these steps you’ve taken and I commend your efforts. Be
careful not to focus too much on what you shouldn’t be having and more
so on what you should! Fruits, veggies, nuts/seeds, beans/legumes,
pseudograins such as quinoa, millet and amaranth as well as the whole
grains which you may or may not permit, like wild/brown rice. The
pseudograins (grain-like seeds) and whole grains as well as lots of
fruits and veggies (all complex carbs) are crucial to preventing a
relapse. While I don’t suggest eliminating entire macronutrients (carb,
fat, protein) from the diet – I do agree with eliminating the sugars and
white/simple carbs as well as caffeine and alcohol. By doing so, you’ll
find that healthier items fill your plate and you should be feeling
pretty fantastic in 30 days! Keep us posted

Very cool – thanks for sharing your experiences.  November 30th will mark Day 90 since I have started “eating clean”.

Fantastic results, similar experiences and feeling good.  Unintentionally dropped two waist sizes and have greatly decreased body fat.

Unfortunately, about 45 days ago when I decided to take a cheat day and some ‘delicious’ pizza, it just did not taste good – and it made me feel like crap …

It’s all about carb control
carbs have 4 calories per gram

I eat 100 grams of carbs everyday and maintain 7% body-fat year round

All the bullshit of bad carb, good carb, slow carb, fast carb… It doesn’t matter. The amount does.

Have you hit Zula on Dyanapura, Dan? Right near Ocha, other side of Legian.

Zula will make it easy to stick to your plan in Bali. Large menu, easy to focus on food you like, not what you’re ‘missing.’ Did I say easy? Yep.

I can do without the vegan ethos (I churlishly supply my own, thanks) but the food is excellent. I lost a lot of weight but who gives a shit, I feel great. Sustainable change, easily.
(btw not affiliated w/them in any way!)

Sounds good man…I’ve found huge benefits from eliminating grain carb sources as well. Currently stick with a moderate level (about 100g per day) of paleo/primal style carbs like sweet potatoes and plantains.

Eating like this is actually really affordable here in Panama since it seems easy (only been here a week) to buy quality meat and produce for cheap. Breakfast yesterday for me was eggs, sausage and plantains for about $1.10. If too busy to cook I can buy a similar meal across the street for about $3.50.

Dan, I started out on the 4HB slow carb 3 or 4 months ago.  It has been surprisingly easy for me to maintain.  I’ve noticed that over time I’ve trended away from the beans toward a more classic paleo.  Results?  Down about 25 pounds.  Typical day looks like this:

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, 2 chicken sausages, 1 grilled tomato
Lunch: 2 servings vegetable stew (spinach, cabbage, etc), 1 serving protein (egg, chicken, tofu)
Dinner:  Fresh salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, fried cream dory (fish)

There’s a company cafeteria where I work, so I adapt to what they have as best I can.  Sometimes it’s tough though because it’s very focused on rice & noodles.

I do incorporate a cheat day, but sometimes I’m not very motivated by it any more.  I often end up feeling sluggish after carbing it up.

Challenges?  Way too much coffee (yes, black, but still), the occasional beer.  And last but not least, sushi.  I have zero resistance to sushi.  But it’s expensive enough that I keep it down to maybe once a week, and the amount of carb involved probably isn’t that great.

I’ll be interested to hear how cheat day works out for you and if it enables you to sustain the diet long term.

Love it. Glad your cheat day is Saturday, bring all kinds of bad shit to the porch!

Dan,

Great post, you are spot on. I’m actually launching a men’s health coaching company in March where I will work directly with entrepreneurs and career-driven professionals to achieve that clarity you talked about and become hyper productive, while losing weight in a safe way and looking damn good in the process. So much of what you say is true, but there is so much more to learn how you can make this clarity SUSTAINABLE. I would encourage you to check out my site (a rough beginning before the official launch), http://www.justinkivel.com, and check out some articles there. Eating the right foods can make you a productivity POWERHOUSE, and I loved reading this article. 

 Hey Dan,

 You say “ When I’m quitting carbs, I mean I’m quitting:bread, rice, pasta, brown rice and brown bread, cakes, tortillas, crackers, pizza, cookies, cakes, chips, pure sugar, soda, sugar drinks, french fries, potatoes and anything that fits that basic profile.”

 Duh!!!!!  why the majority of the list got classified as a “food” source somewhere along the line is a testimony to the skills of marketers and the fat, sugar combination
 that tantalizes our taste buds.

 The trick is to eat the good carbs, the body runs on sugar it is its primary fuel  
 The biggest problem that  people experience, is the ratio of fats to sugars in their calorie intake.

 As you noted it can take time to be more prepared for a balanced diet, but the biggest lesson you will need to learn to enable your calorie content to meet your needs without the mistake of stuffing the fats into you, is to understand FRUIT is your friend. 

Russell   

This is badass dude. I love reading about health/diet experiments like this. I tried the slow-carb while I was back in Sydney and it was awesome. I’m not sure if it was totally diet-related, but I remember feeling “bulletproof” most of the time.

The main reason I stopped was simply social reasons. The diet was cool, but if I was having dinner at someone’s place (family, friend, etc), I’d potatos, pasta or cheese if it was there. Didn’t really feel like shutting them down by eating the side of vegetables and nothing else.

Good luck man. Keen to hear how it goes. I want to get more paleo with my diet, but I’ll need a location more conducive to healthy eating before I do that.

FYI, got some useful email feedback: 

Great goals for your diet.  I’ve had a tempestuous relationship with the slow carb diet for years.  Here are three things that might help:Focus on eating more delicious foods: for example, I’ve become an almond fiend, and butter coffee is my new crack.  Seth Roberts’ ideas about diet work both ways: you need to break your appetite for carbs, but also develop an appetite for other foods.  This is why the veggies start tasting delicious
Make your breakfast a routine: personally I struggled with this in Bali because every restaurant wanted to serve toast and potatoes with breakfast. Eventually, I began asking for substitutes: Cafe Ocho and a few others were okay with replacing the toast with spinach, etc.  As often as you go there, you should ask them to make your favorite breakfast as soon as they see you; it will actually make their job easier, and you’ll remove willpower from the equation.  
Learn to love liquor: whiskey and water, gin with lime, NorCal margarita, vodka on the rocks… like veggies, these start tasting better when you cut carbs, and the hangovers are not as bad because you probably won’t consume as much.Looking forward to your updates.  Coffee is easily my biggest addiction so I’m rooting for you.Best,S

Dan, it will be fun to follow your quest.  I wish I had done a better job of documenting my weight loss over the last year and half.  I’m down to 82 kilos! Going to look great in Bali.

Suggestion: instead of a cheat day, have only a cheat meal.  I know the 4HB has a shock method for raising metabolism, but I’m not convinced it works for body types like us (i.e. big boned with upper body mass).  If I do it, I gain weight and feel sluggish the next day.  Stick religiously to your diet and exercise schedule (cardio everyday!) and the pounds will drop away.

Also, I know you are really going anti carbs, but if you feel like you need them, use them in the morning.  A piece of toast can go a long way to filling you up and making you feel a lot better all day.

Regarding prepping and cooking meals — hire a cook will ya?  Nothing better than healthy home cooked meals right on schedule to keep you going through the day.  It has made a huge impact on my life.

Finally, be sure to add some supplements to the mix. A multi vitamin and fish oil at the very least, but I would highly recommend a protein shake meal replacement (usually for dinner after an afternoon workout) and some creatine.  Don’t forget the water!

Hi everyone. 
I have a friend of mine. He is very professional personal coach here in Shenzhen. He gave me this nutrition Plan. Feel free to look at it and use if found suitable.
read some of his articles in Shenzhen standard

http://www.shenzhen-standard.com/2011/10/24/5-rules-of-performance-nutrition-rule-1/ 

NUTRITION PLAN FOR: Vlad Pashkov

6 out of 7 days in the week

(        )Wake up: 

Finish 1 Cup of cold water

Multi-Vit

1 Omaga 3 fish oil cap

1 Green tea extract cap

(        )Meal 1: 

1 scoop of protein powder 

1 serving of sliced cantaloupe, pineapple or watermelon 

(        )Meal 2: 

3 whole eggs (2 yolks)+ with one slice of low fat cheese

1 serving of mixed fruit (apples, bananas or oranges)

Cup of coffee

(        )Meal 3: 

One serving of fish

½  of a banana 

1 serving of salad veggies

(        )Meal 4: 

1 chicken breast

One serving of veggies 

(        )Meal 5: 

1 cup of yoghurt 

1 hand full of mixed nuts

Pre-workout snack (30min before WKOUT)

1 scoops of Whey Protein Powder with Water

Post-workout snack (Immediately after WKOUT)

1 scoop of protein powder

½ bottle of Gatorade

(        )Meal 6:

One chicken breast, fish or other meat protein

2 servings of mixed green vegetables

1 tbsp of olive oil and vinegar 

(         )Meal 7:

1 cup of low fat milk or yogurt with one spoon of peanut butter OR 3 Omaga 3 fish oil caps 

Notes:

*Finish completely the cup of water in the morning, it’s a tip to help boost your metabolic rate throughout the day.

*If you feel hungry just drink more water, it’s good for you and we can burn it off in the gym.

*Meal 1, 2 and 3 are carb meals other than that no carbs whatsoever. 

* Fruit is your primary source of energy, you will feel drained after a month on this diet but it’s 

something you will need to deal with. Being on low carbs isn’t easy, but that’s the trick to drop weight. 

*If you must eat more of anything eat more veggies, that’s it. 

*It doesn’t really matter when you workout, just remember to aim to have whey protein scoop about 20-30 min before exercise.

*When I say veggies I’m primarily thinking of greens (anything green).

*If something is in question, just don’t eat it. We have to be strict, real strict. When you have made progress the diet will be loosened up.

*A serving is roughly 1 cup size or small bowl full.

*If possible boil anything you can – eggs, veggies, etc 

*Try to space your meals 2 hours apart

1 Day out of 7 in the week – high calorie high carb day 

(        )Wake up: 

Finish 1 Cup of cold water

Multi-Vit

1 Omaga 3 fish oil cap

1 Green tea extract cap

(        )Meal 1: 

1 scoop of protein powder 

2 servings of sliced cantaloupe, pineapple or watermelon 

(        )Meal 2: 

3 whole eggs (3 yolks)+ with one slice of low fat cheese

2 servings of mixed fruit (apples, bananas or oranges)

Cup of coffee

(        )Meal 3: 

One serving of fish

1 banana 

1 serving of salad veggies

OR

One average size cube of Tofu

One hand full of mixed nuts 

One cup of Raisin Bran or granola

OR

2 servings of Sushi

(        )Meal 4: 

1 chicken breast

One serving of veggies 

1 baked potato 

(        )Meal 5: 

1 cup of yoghurt 

1 piece of any fruit 

(        )Meal 6:

One chicken breast, fish or other meat protein

2 servings of mixed green vegetables

1 tbsp of olive oil and vinegar 

1 cup of white rice 

(         )Meal 7:

1 cup of low fat milk or yogurt  

½ cup of pineapple 

One hand full of mixed nuts 

Notes:

*I high calorie/ high carb day is very important to boost your metabolism and keep you on the road to fat burning.

*Have your high calorie / high carb day on a non workout day.

*Remember that you are only allowed this day if you maintain a strict low carb diet throughout the previous 6 days

*Again Fruit is your primary source of energy but as you can see Meal 3 has Raisin Bran or granola – a great energy source for this “high” day.  

*Meal 3, 4, 5 and 6 could be ‘Order Out’ meals, meaning you could use your best discernment and order meals that roughly follow what has been written here for those meals – a nice hamburger, sushi, etc are all great options – HOWEVER No fast food. 

*As far as fruit goes Pineapple, Cantaloupe and Watermelon are faster absorbing for your body and Apples, oranges fall under more complex carbs.

*With your coffee intake, if you are used to having 3-4 cups then I would urge you to cut it down to 2 cups and substitute Ecco, Nature’sCuppa, Green Tea, or some other caffeine-free stimulant throughout the day. 

If you can buy Green Tea extract have one cap with your morning water, or you can just have a cup of green tea sometime during your morning  

*Try to space your meals 2 hours apart

Good luck with the challenge! I feel hugely inspired, I’m gonna look into trying it myself. 

Duplicate comment, sorry

http://www.amazon.com/Bed-Procrustes-Philosophical-Practical-Aphorisms/dp/1400069971/ref=pd_sim_b_2

Worth a read if you haven’t yet sir!!! Love that guy.

Hey Mike… thanks for laying that out, that’s useful to me. Interesting you mention Sushi…. both previous times it was eating sushi rolls that broke the diet. I think my rational brain was all like “whats wrong with this!?!?!”

No! Great tip, thanks Tom… will check it out.

Word. I’m really glad I put this out there. I think it’ll help me this time around.

Cheers! 

Looks like Ferriss’ ideas are catching on!!!

Yeah man you are an inspiration. I love the idea of the cheat meal! I’m gonna incorporate that one immediately. Once you get past the first few days the idea of cheating gets less appealing… I like the idea a lot because of that. 

Noted on the toast– one of the crutches I’ve found useful is oatmeal. I didn’t mention that– but it does wonders and I let it in for the first meal of the day. 

Perhaps next year on the cook!…

I’m on the vit. suggestions ASAP. Thanks Joe! 

Cheers man! Mylene can cook Paleo for you! She does for me when I’m there, just ask

I’ll get on the fruit! 

Cheers Justin, thanks for the shout… I’ll take a look at your site now.

ha! 

Cheers Daniel… panama sounds fun!

noted there. not a bad way to look at it via grams. will keep that in mind.

congrats man! that’s encouraging!!! 

Cheers lis your blog is an inspiration. I’m going to be looking that direction more as I progress for sure, you’re in the reader   I’ll add the complex carbs as I find them and experiment.

haha… none right now. I’ve been on a wide variety of eating plans for diet, right now I’m eating really healthily beyond the rules I’ve laid out below. this will be the first time I try the “cheating” concept.

If you ever come to Italy prepare to eat the best pizza of your life.
http://damichele.net/
This is the original place where they invented pizza in 1870 in Naples, they only make two flavours of that pizza but there’s always a queue outside the door.
What’s the point of making 1M a year when you never experienced a real italian pizza?

I enjoy how you wrote yesterday about living healthier and I wrote about the importance of drinking bourbon in my holiday traditions.  ;)

I think there is a two-fold need for a cheat once a week. Aside from the scientific boost to metabolism, there is the the psychological frustration of constantly denying yourself for the mere reason that “it isn’t part of your diet.” For me, that is why I often struggle with strict “eat this and none of that” diets. I eventually get to the point that I would kill a human for a slice of pizza, and that just isn’t a good situation for anyone. I really need to get back into a healthier swing of things.

Finally, Bulletproof Coffee, yes. Absolutely the best addition to my routine in a long while.

Ohhh sweeeeet, I made THE reader!! Mission accomplished.
Don’t hesitate to use me as a resource — I can help you to “lean” into the process

Good plan, man. I don’t know how feasible this would be in Bali, but I’d strongly advise you to look for a kettlebell, or build one of the 4HB’s T-bar, for your resistance training. It’s a very time efficient workout. 

Good luck, Dan – I feel your pain, I have started and restarted the no carb thing multiple times , I go gangbusters for 3 weeks and then fall off the wagon, generally to pizza. Back on it now, and for me its about training my brain, I have been doing a slow cut of carbs while raising protein. So now I am working on keeping myself between 50-75g of carbs a day. Knowing that I can have something is so much better for me than having nothing, so I say ok 2 slices of pizza is allowed, but I know that covers all my carbs and I can have no carbs the rest of the day, so I’m still not completely ruining my life by cutting the pizza. Anyway, that’s what works for me so far, and I’m definitely down on pounds, up on energy and focus doing that. Plus I just really like knowing the healthy stuff I’m eating, it only took me about a week to get used to my coffee black, and I am sugar freak!

Ok now that’s a commitment!
I wish you good luck and we’ll see how it goes..

would be interested in hearing about your raw diet!! I was on that 3x a day for two months.. I liked it, but I don’t think I could sustain that lifestyle at all. I am not really a ‘health’ person. Sometimes, I try to be. But ultimately, I don’t think its my “identity” and its hard to break out of that and think of myself as someone that could be super healthy and athletic… cos I’m not and never really have been. That kind of stuff makes me crazy. I guess I’m into holistic health but maybe that’s a little different? And again I’m not consistent on anything.

I’m a go with the flow type and while it does have its advantages, totally true on the lack of vision there.. The sort of marriage point is to ‘go with the flow’ BUT keep a greater goal/vision in mind when making those decisions. Can it be done? Is that still going with the flow? I’m not sure. I just try to trust my intuition. Seems to work out fine.

oh i’m sure it can be done!!! i love to go with the flow too… i’d just like to see myself not doing so on some of the more important issues, in particular my work and my health. when it comes to hanging out with friends etc etc i’m hip to the flow. 

raw diet was pretty amazing… had some odd experiences of euphoria on it– as many report… i found it very difficult to live like that even though at the time i had a full time chef. probably won’t venture back that way again anytime soon..we’ll see.

cheers Tomer! thanks for the encouragement… i’ll update here next month. so far, so good.

haha… i like how pizza gets the best of us… as it should!!! great advice there on the carbs, seems a lot of folks are using that system, might experiment with that after my 30 days. black coffee it is for me too! prefer 1 sugar, but oh well….. 

agreed. HUGE fan of kettlebells.. only one thing i like better for resistance– swimming… and got that covered here in bali. only thing it doesn’t cover well is legs, so to do that I lounge around the outside of the pool. 

haha yeah I loved that post and reminded me of visiting home… it really had an evocative feel to it! i could smell the pine needles…

haven’t gotten to the BC yet, very interested to try once stateside (i eat out every meal here in Bali) … very curious would love to see a post on it from you (sure Dave would too!!!) …. i skipped my cheat yesterday because i just got started, interested to see how it effects my psychology as you mentioned.

great point Fred no effing way this diet stands a chance against Italy. Actually thinking about a trip there next summer, cheers! 

You are so punny! 

My vice is Coca-Cola!! I call it “liquid crack”. Not the diet Coke crap, we are talking about the real deal. Tomorrow, I will switch to one of the many non-sweetened teas here in Japan. Probably need a couple of days of withdrawal before I can start to cut the carbs, lol.  

I know how you feel man…

heeeheeeee!!

I am following the slow carb diet from The 4 Hour Body.
Once I got used to it, mainly having 3 warm meals a day, it was easy to continue and lose weight. It helped me a lot not to feel hungry, as you say, energy is evenly distributed during the hours in-between meals. And if I feel hungry, it’s a sort of hunger that I can control. Before I used to go psycho when hungry. 
Luckily I was not a fan of sweets and sodas, so giving that up was not hard. But man, here in Europe we love bread and pasta, that was tough. I was used to the bachelor cuisine, today pasta, tomorrow pasta, and iterate.
Right now I am in a plateau and I plan to go on holidays to south east Asia, which means, no beans and lots of noodles/rice. It seems I will regain some of the weight.

Cheers,
Julio

Word Julio… yeah ya know it’s really tough to imagine going back to vietnam and staying off the noodles… talk about a shame… don’t think i’ll manage next year when i visit

Dan,

I’ve did the 4HB and it worked but my body hates beans. I recently came across Bulletproof Diet (thanks to one of your retweets) and have been giving it a shot. It’s crazy how much weight I’ve lost in 2 weeks while eating more grass-fed butter (!!!) and grass-fed beef. I follow the regular BP diet which allows rice in moderation – good because I cannot survive w/o rice. I switched from 4HB to BP suddenly and I haven’t noticed any adverse effects of bringing rice back into my diet. My weight has dropped, alertness and gone way up and I just feel really good.
Good luck with your diet and stay ballin’

Amit

Balla!! That’s a great case study Amit… I’ve heard a lot of people say although they lost weight on 4HB, they didn’t feel well… so I’m keep your story in mind. David here at the house is currently on Bulletproof diet as well. LOVE THAT BLOG!!!

Love to read about other’s health challenges!We did the 4 HB for 5 months, however eating that much protein doesn’t make much sense to me (of course you lose weight, but I don’t believe it’s very healthy). Starting my own challenge once in Thailand (vegan, many greens with some fruit and little complex carbohydrates). Keep us posted Dan, and have fun with it!

I challenge anyone to go raw vegan for 30 days. Then tell me that it’s not the best they have ever felt and looked in their entire adult life.

I did a 33 day raw vegan workshop and dropped 20 pounds in 6-weeks. My skin and appearance was so healthy I was literally glowing and people told me so. I got down to my college weight for the first time in 10 years.

That said, it’s a pretty difficult lifestyle change to make…especially if you travel the world like we do. But raw vegan food can be delicious and you can mix it in with a regular diet.

Taking in a ton of vegetables is clearly the way to optimal health for the average human being. And I no longer believe that animal protein is a requirement for optimal human health. Although I do eat it about two dozen times a year…just in case.

P.S. But I gotta have pizza, beer, and coffee just like Dan.

hahah Adam…. seems like we are in lock step here Pretty much agreed, but damn if these funky foods humans have cooked up aren’t awesome.

Cheers Lieve! Thanks for dropping by ! It’s been a blast so far! No troubles aside from the caffeine bit! 

Yes they definitely taste awesome. Very difficult to give up all the “cooked up” goodies because we all have so many pleasant mental/emotional/social associations with them.

And that IS what drives us to eat most prepared foods we think taste delicious as I discovered while doing the raw vegan thing. It’s simple pleasure associations in the brain…not at all driven by the desire to eat what is optimally nutritious.

Sugar is definitely the dangerous culprit, I believe, more so than just carbs.

And its amazing how many people fall into the trap of believeing that buying food that states”Low in Fat” gives them the mental image that its healthy. Yogurt, for example, definitely falls in this trap, where brands love to label their packaging with ”Fat-Free”.

But when you check the amount of sugar, it runs 20-40 grams … and in the end, sugar turns into fat, resulting in bigger waistlines.

And Rule #7 is definitely important! I don’t believe any health guru that hasn’t eaten some junk food to satisfy the primal appetite from time to time.

Last time I did a no sugar and carb diet… and yes I was really strick about it. I lost about 15 pounds in two weeks… it was awesome.  I also prescribed to the one day a week no holds barred consume whatever you want rule… and it didn’t affect my weight loss.  It all worked really well… until the Holidays came around…

noted sir! i’m pretty sure i’m losing weight here fast too… no scale though.

Hey Dan!  I’m going to be cheeky and ask, how did it go? (Or, how’s it going?)

I’d love to hear how your new improved self is doing

I started a variation of the slow-carb diet 3 days ago; I’ve felt a bit sluggish and REALLY notice the lack of sugar (it does feel like an addiction), but drinking plenty of water is good, and I definitely feel like my body is clean. 

Hey Tristan! Thanks for thinking of me Totally noticed the sluggishness when I started this diet above and got over it about day 4 or so. 

The hardest part for me was the coffee and ‘fun’ drinks– I couldn’t stay away from 2-3 cups of coffee or similar a day or ginger ale/ coke zero. Tea just couldn’t quite kick it. So the caffeine goals lasted for 6 days. Regarding the carbs, I managed to stick to it for 26 days minus a few flip ups. I then landed in NYC and ate my way through the town. Today I start on the above again with my housemates here in Bali. Although I’m still yo-yoing a bit, I think these experiments help me gain more control in general.

I ended up losing about 10 lbs or so and feeling really productive. ONWARD! Good luck on your own journey as well!!!

26 days, that’s massive! Great stuff and sounds like you made some real progress – 10 pounds is rocking.  Feeling slightly less sluggish today (day 3) – I shall soldier on!