I’ve completed my fourth week of 4 Hour Body. Check out previous posts:

• Before I Begin
• Week 1
• Week 2
• What I Miss
• Week 3

I started the week at 185.8 lbs and 17.7% body fat.

Day 22 – Sunday, February 6, 2011

To continue with the Ice Age chapter of the book I had a large glass of ice water to start the day. Jumped on the scale to check out the damages from yesterday and nothing new there. I gained 2 pounds just like every other cheat day. For breakfast I had scrambled eggs with salsa, black beans, and peas. I’m going to take pictures of every meal again (even if it’s a repeat) like I did for week one because it helps to see portion sizes and makes the posts look more interesting.

I went hiking at Camelback Mountain and had to park a mile away. So did a mile walk, over 2 miles hiking, and another mile walk back to my vehicle. For lunch I decided to take the turkey tacos I made last week a step further with some inspiration from The Great Taco Salad by Suzie at Waist and Taste. I used ground turkey instead of beef, black beans instead of chili beans, and didn’t use Better Than Sour Cream. It was really tasty!

I played 18 holes of golf where I walked 5.35 miles. That’s a total of 9.5 miles on my feet, so I picked up a bowl from Chipotle with veggies, pinto bears, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, lettuce, and chicken. If there was ever a day I could go for an ice bath it would be today, but there is no way I’m going to try it. Used ice on my shoulders while enjoying some wine.

Day 23 – Monday, February 7, 2011

Drank a large glass of ice water after waking up. For breakfast I had some turkey taco salad. For dinner I made eggs with salsa, black beans, and asparagus. Made baked salmon for dinner with lentils, asparagus, and cottage cheese. Decided to give my body a rest from exercise today after going 9.5 miles on foot yesterday and not getting a good night’s sleep. Had a glass of red wine and iced my upper back and shoulder area.

Day 24 – Tuesday, February 8, 2011

After rereading parts of 4HB and watching some of Tim’s videos I realized I’m not eating enough protein to start the day, so I picked up some turkey bacon last night. Started off the day with a large glass of ice water. For breakfast I ate 4 hard-boiled eggs, 4 slices of turkey bacon, and spinach.

Swung the kettlebell for sets of 55 and 36 and then did 10 myotatic crunches and 10 cat vomits. For lunch I had turkey taco salad. Had a 30 minute golf lesson followed by 30 minutes of practice. For dinner I had baked salmon, black beans, and mixed veggies. So much for cutting back on beans! I’ll be switching to lentils or the rest of the week since I cooked up a whole bag the other day. Iced my back/shoulders and chest while getting some work done at night.

Day 25 – Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Downed a large glass of ice water while making breakfast. Then I ate scrambled eggs made with 2 whole eggs and the rest egg whites, 4 slices of turkey bacon, and spinach. For lunch I had baked salmon, mixed veggies, and lentils. After lunch I went for a 2.25 mile hike at Camelback Mountain. I snacked on a handful of nuts after the hike. For dinner I did butter, minced garlic, and a chopped onion in a pan. Then added Angus beef tips and cooked it all up. Had mixed veggies and lentils on the side. I forgot to use the ice therapy because I was too busy watching the Duke vs. UNC game while working.

Day 26 – Thursday, February 10, 2011

I had a big glass of ice water while making breakfast. I ate 3 hard-boiled eggs, 5 slices of turkey bacon, and spinach. Did sets of 60 and 40 kettlebell swings with my 50 pounder. Was the first time I did 100 total swings. Lunch was exactly the same as last night’s dinner, which was garlic beef and onions, mixed veggies, and lentils. I forgot to take a picture because I was in the middle of a chat meeting for work, but the portions were the same size.

After lunch I had an hour practice session at GolfTEC. For dinner I baked some chicken breasts seasoned with basil, garlic powder, sea salt and pepper. Ate lentils and broccoli with it. Ended the day with a glass of red wine and ice on my shoulders and chest.

Day 27 – Friday, February 11, 2011

Started the day with a large glass of ice water. For breakfast I ate scrambled eggs and egg whites, 5 slices of turkey bacon, and spinach. Once again I forgot to take a picture of lunch. I had garlic beef and onions, lentils, and broccoli. After lunch I completed a 2.1 mile hike. I snacked on some mixed nuts after the hike. For dinner I warmed up last night’s dinner, baked chicken, lentils, and broccoli. Had a small glass of wine and iced my shoulders and chest before bed.

Day 28 – Saturday, February 12, 2011

Depending on my weight this morning, I was thinking about putting Cheat Day off until Sunday. Didn’t happen. 🙂

I started off with a 16oz bottle of fat free chocolate milk which I had bought early in the week, saving it for today. Then I ate 7 slices of turkey bacon and 3 hard boiled eggs. I had a half hour practice session at GolfTEC. On the way to the golf course I ate 2 fruit and nut bars. Walked 5.6 miles while playing 18 holes of golf. During the round I ate a couple of Fiberful dried fruit leather. The bars and these were both tasty.

After breakfast I was tempted to take it easy on cheat day. Haha, yeah right. For dinner I had a Philly Cheessteak, Cheez Whiz fries, and a fountain Coke. First pop I’ve had in a month. Was craving a cannoli after seeing an episode of Cake Boss the other day, so I found an Italian place and got one to go. What a great way to celebrate 4 weeks on 4 Hour Body and end cheat day. I added up the calories and it falls somewhere in the neighborhood of 3,500 to 4,000 for the day.

Tracking Progress

Four weeks ago I wanted to “get my weight down to 180, body fat to 12%, and total inches to 135.” I set pretty high goals because I like to push myself. Over the first two weeks I ate a few extra cheat meals when folks from work were in town or I think I would have come extremely close to hitting the weight and inch goals. I still came pretty close and I’m thrilled with the results.

When I weighed in on the morning of week 4 cheat day I was at 183.1 pounds, 17% body fat, and 138.125 total inches, so I lost 2.7 pounds, 0.7% body fat, and 2.125 inches for the week. I’ll take that!

I made a few changes in week 4. I wonder if any or all of them contributed to it being a good week.

• I started limiting bean portions and then switched to lentils.
• I started drinking a large glass of ice water first thing in the morning and icing my shoulders and upper chest at night.
• I increased the protein content of my breakfasts.

• Weight: 183.1lbs (-10.8 lbs)
• Body fat: 17.0% (-2.4%)
• Total inches: 138.125″ (-6.625″)

Where do I go from here? I’m going to stick with the diet for a 5th week and see if I can get to 180 pounds. For weeks 6 and 7 I’ll be following a modified Slow Carb Diet because a friend from Michigan is coming for a visit and then my Mom is coming for a visit. I’m going to try to stick to the diet for breakfast and lunches, but go a little wild for dinners and see if I can maintain my weight. We plan to eat some great meals! I’ll be back to a strict Slow Carb Diet for week 8. I really want to drop my body fat to at least 14% or 15%. I wouldn’t mind dropping to 175 pounds, but I don’t want to go any lower than that. If I get close to 175 I may work on adding more muscle.

Look ahead to see how week 5 turned out.