Tim Ferriss Slow Carb Diet – Week 1

A (borrowed) recap of last weeks Slow Carb Diet overview.

Last week I finished transitioning off of Whole 30 and just kinda enjoyed a few not-really-restricted days before getting ready for the official start of the Tim Ferris “Slow Carb Diet” (TFSCD).

Things were going well, each “forbidden” food item caused no side effects on it’s own when reintroduced. Tuesday I went to Beuchert’s Saloon and enjoyed my favorite burger in the city, sans cheese, but with a bun! And two IPAs! It was a delicious meal and I think that missing it made it even tastier. I felt fine that evening and all day Wednesday.

Wednesday evening I met a date spontaneously at Dacha. We each had a couple glasses of wine and shared the meatballs (there were only three normal sized, not jumbo, meatballs so we each had one and a half). The bartender gave us exactly two small pieces of bread to sop up the tomato sauce with. My date said he was famished and didn’t like the looks of anything else on the menu, so we stopped at Rasa for a fast-casual Indian-inspired dinner.

We both ordered the Tikka Chance on Me, and I had mine with just a splash of rice instead of a heaping ladle full. Here is the list of ingredients, copy+pasted from Rasa’s website.

After dinner we went our separate ways, and I laid up on my couch to do a little work before bed. I had gotten home around 8:30pm, and at 9:30pm I was extremely bloated, had stomach cramps to the point where I felt nauseous, and began to have a headache. I unhooked my bra and undid my pants (TMI- Sorry, haha) which helped for a second. Then I went to my room, changed into loose pajamas, and laid in bed tossing and turning for HOURS. I got up and went into the bathroom several times feeling like I was going to puke, but I didn’t actually (it takes A LOT to get me to throw up). After finally falling asleep around 3am, I woke up at 6am still with an upset tummy and with a major headache. I didn’t feel 100% better until I got up on Saturday morning.

My date said that he felt fine, so it probably wasn’t food poisoning. Which makes me think that something in the mixing of gluten, dairy, alcohol, pickled stuff, and likely the spices used at Rasa, set off that reaction in my post-Whole30 body. It was like heartburn on steroids.

Saturday some friends organized a party bus to take us to a couple wineries in Virginia. We had a fun day but I don’t really miss drinking like that. I got home at 7pm then stayed in and ate leftovers and went to bed at 9:30pm. Sunday I spent part of the afternoon reading at Whole Foods while enjoying pizza for lunch (cheese and gluten – no issues) before meal prep and the best pot luck (Italian – and I loved EVERYTHING my friends had to share!) and episode (but still disappointing) of Game of Thrones yet this season.

This week I am starting the TFSCD to guidelines. The biggest problem I’ll have with the “fine print” is trying to get 30g protein within an hour of waking, especially on days that I go to teach at 6am (Wednesdays, Fridays). If whey weren’t an issue, I’d just drink whey protein in the mornings, but I think it will be better for me to fast until 8-9am no matter what time I wake up. I prefer to try to keep at least a 12 hour fast, and that would involve not eating after 5:30pm if I had 30g protein within an hour of waking. So… that’s not going to be something I focus on, at least not this week.

Here is my planned schedule for meals this week:

On Sunday I prepped everything but didn’t compose the meals, choosing to do that as I go. Hungry Harvest was skipped this week and instead I just loaded up on greens and broccoli at the grocery store. Today (Monday) was fine. I wasn’t hungry much because my weekend was so crazy. I like eating four smaller meals, but as I transition back to an office we’ll see how that goes…

Here is a breakdown of what my weekday meals look like:

Breakfast – lentils with spinach, onions, 2 eggs, 1/2 avocado
- 445 kcal, 31g Carbs, 26g Protein, 24g Fat
Lunch – Chicken sausage, kale and white bean stew
- (I LOVE this recipe especially when I get to eat it with toasted sourdough and feta)
- 350 kcal, 35g Carbs, 30g protein, 10g Fat
Second Lunch – 3oz pulled chicken, roasted broccoli, hummus, toasted sesame oil
- 345 kcal, 13g Carbs, 24g Protein, 22g Fat
Dinner – steak tips and fajita veggies served over black beans with cilantro and lime juice
- 439 kcal, 47g Carbs, 29g Protein, 15g Fat
Totals (approximate)**:
- 1575 kcal, 126g Carbs (41g fiber), 109g Protein, 72g Fat
- No wonder people lose weight on this diet?

Designated cheat day is Saturday since I’m going to see the Cubs beat the Nationals with my Crossfit friends. I picture beer and stadium food in my future.

Next week I’ll get into sharing some articles reviewing the TFSCD but that’s all for this week.

** Rant about my Fitness Pal…

Their math, and macro math, is consistently incorrect… 125g Carbs is 500 calories, 106g Protein is 424 calories, and 72g fat is 648 calories for a total of 1572 calories, not their stated 1515. That’s a 60 calorie difference and could be a big deal to someone actually trying to lose weight. And where does this discrepancy come from?! Also, as you’ll see below, the macros change from screen to screen for no apparent reason. And the macros are also different on the browser version than on the app (fat total is 72g on the browser). MFP is a good way to keep approximate tabs but having to double check their math is time consuming and a bit annoying for those who fine comb the details.