Thanks to Eduardo in Puerto Rico for this great picture from Cieba, Puerto Rico.

Also, a friendly remind that we ship just about everywhere including all 50 US states (plus Guam, Puerto Rico and any APO/DPO address), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia,Taiwan, Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Austria, Japan,Belgium, Sweden, Israel, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, South Africa and the UK. If you don't live where we currently ship, tell us by sending us an email to info@paretonutrition.com or tweet us, @paretonutrition, and we'll see what we can do.  

Kay in Poland sent us this lovely picture of her stack "outside the Cloth Hall in the historic Rynek Główny (main market square) of Krakow, the largest medieval town square in Europe, which dates back to the 13th century."

If you're interested in the challenges of finding supplements in Poland, you can get Kay's thoughts here. 

Also, a friendly remind that we ship just about everywhere including all 50 US states (plus Guam, Puerto Rico and any APO/DPO address), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia,Taiwan, Switzerland, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Austria, Japan,Belgium, Sweden, Israel, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, South Africa and the UK. If you don't live where we currently ship, tell us by sending us an email to info@paretonutrition.com or tweet us, @paretonutrition, and we'll see what we can do. 

In this edition of 5 Questions, we feature Joshua from iUpgrade.me. In his own words, here is 4HB'er Joshua:

Joshua Cork is a Father, Husband, Fitness Gadget Geek, and Information Systems Evangelist. He is currently working for Intel corporation as a business intelligence manager in the supply chain. Josh also moonlights as a blogger & aspiring entrepreneur. You can follow or
contact Joshua here: about.me/JoshuaCork.

2a) How’s my progress so far?

Thanks to Lauralee for this inspiring picture from Wollongong, NSW, Australia.  You may have seen it posted on our Facebook page for a few weeks now but I thought I'd use it as an excuse to remind everyone that we post special discount codes for our Facebook friends, all you have to do is like us.

Also, a friendly remind that we ship just about everywhere including all 50 US states (plus Guam, Puerto Rico and any APO/DPO address), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia,Taiwan, Switzerland, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, Austria, Japan,Belgium, Sweden, Israel, South Korea, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, South Africa and the UK. If you don't live where we currently ship, tell us by sending us an email to info@paretonutrition.com or tweet us, @paretonutrition, and we'll see what we can do.

In our previous edition of 5 Questions, Ana from 365daystoanewme answered question #5 by suggesting that we talk to Suzanna from The Sugar Divorce - Fitness Over 50.  In her own words, here is 4HB fan Suzanna:

Suzanna Stinnett is the author of The Sugar Divorce, about her experience becoming fit with the Four Hour Body. Suzanna founded Bay Area Bloggers Society and ePub Clubs, and hosts the Twitter chat #ePubChat. She's had a lifelong fascination with the brain and considers the "global brain" a worthy topic. She resides in the San Francisco Bay area where she can be found petting dogs that hang out in front of coffee shops.

1) What goals are you working towards on the 4HB program?

My first goal was to lose 10 pounds. My intention was to take my time, as I am only interested in creating a healthy lifestyle, not rapid weight loss. I hoped to lose one or two pounds a week.

2) How is your progress so far, what have you found easy, and what has been your biggest challenge?

At 12 weeks, I had lost 15 pounds, but that's not the best part. I built a lot of muscle, and lost 5 inches in each thigh (!!), seven inches around my waist, and 3 jeans sizes. I am now in what I call "Second Phase," which I describe on my blog as a "CHECK IT OUT!" time, getting used to being so much stronger and leaner. I want to lose another 10 pounds but I'm in no hurry at all. 

The biggest challenge has probably been that 30 grams of protein in 30 minutes after waking, as it is for most people, but that is also profoundly effective. I manage it almost 7 days a week.

The easy part came after about 5 weeks when I first started doing the air squats and the wall push-offs. It's hard to believe they are so effective. I had to work my way up, but now I do 45 squats in 90 seconds. It is challenging to do them several times a day, which is silly, because they take so little time. They human psyche is very convoluted!

3) What’s one tip that you would share with someone who’s just starting the program?

I would say to work with the food first, focus on changing out the sugar-carbs for tasty legumes, and cut yourself some slack. I accomplished my goals while doing all sorts of things wrong. There's more flexibility than you think, but try to stick close to the food plan for those six days.

4) What is your favourite cheat day food?

I'd say potatoes. Hashbrowns, potato chips, baked potatoes, french fries, did I leave anything out? Popcorn is my ultimate favorite cheat food but I cheat with it during the week AND on cheat day.

We've been shipping to Taiwan for quite a while now but it wasn't until one of our wonderful repeat customers was nice enough to send this beautiful picture of Longshan Temple in Taipei that were reminded that we should start spreading the word.

We ship to all 50 US states (plus Guam, Puerto Rico and any APO/DPO address), Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan,Switzerland, France, the Netherlands, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Austria, Japan,Belgium, Sweden, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Slovakia, Taiwan, South Africa and the UK. If you don't live where we currently ship, tell us by sending us an email to info@paretonutrition.com or tweet us, @paretonutrition, and we'll see what we can do.

Guest post: Jason Jacobs from Finding My Fitness

How many of you started 4HB with "the cheat day" being one of the top reasons?

How many of you swore off "the cheat day" after your first one? :)

I'll be honest, after my first two cheat days, I said "never again!" I had decided that I wouldn't subject myself that that kind of torture ever again. I believe I said that for several weekends...

Eventually I had a "reasonable" cheat day. After all, your body can only handle that kind of gluttony for so long.

Cheat days *are* important

A few weeks ago, I wrote what ended up being an article series on cheat days. I started out by saying there was absolutely no reason to go hog-wild on a cheat day, but then I did some extra research over the weekend. After the third post, I had discovered that cheat days were indeed important and played an large role in our fat loss.

Cheat days can be scary for the 4HB newcomer. How can a diet work if you get to stuff your face until you can't anymore? It doesn't make logical sense. Then again, if you've been at this 4HB thing for any length of time you've seen plenty of things that don't make sense give you results you would have never expected.

So why are they important? Two main reasons:

1. After a week of deprivation and self-discipline, you want to crack. By allowing yourself a cheat day, you're less likely to cheat more often. Doing it all at once satisfies your cravings AND makes it harder for your body to convert it to bodyfat and instead sends it out...a different way. (That last one's my theory, I haven't proven it yet)
2. Your body gets used to the lower caloric intake you have as a result of the restricted diet (fancy word: adaptive thermogenesis). It learns to very efficiently burn the fuel you give it, kind of like the way a car idles lower the warmer it gets in the winter. To rev your metabolic engine back up, you "refeed" it. You actually burn more when you keep it guessing this way.

My last cheat day

Sometimes a case study is necessary to really send a point home. Here's my best example from personal experience.

I was abnormally good a few weeks ago. I mean, I stuck like glue to the plan all week, and by Saturday I was going insane. I had already purchased half a blueberry pie and had made plans to get some donuts on Sunday morning. My wife and I saw a Hardees commercial, and in that moment I decided I was going to get a biscuit sandwich too.

It was all she could do to keep me from cheating on Saturday, but when Sunday came...oh boy.

Before 9am I had eaten three donuts; half of an enormous cinnamon bun; and a sausage, egg, and cheese biscuit and accompanying hash rounds. At lunch I had fried chicken, pork barbecue, potato and pasta salads, and a mini cheesecake. At dinner I had meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and a slice of cake for my niece's birthday. After logging my food out of curiosity, I couldn't believe the totals: 4620 calories, 437 g carbs, 265g fat, and 163g protein.

Just for comparison, my normal day is more along the lines of 1800-1900 calories, 80g carbs, 90g fat, and 100g protein.

More shocking to me was that I only gained 2 lbs by Monday morning! Even more shocking: I dropped it again in 2 days.

Cheat day cheat sheet

There is a method to the madness.

In the book The 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferris tells us exactly what his cheat days look like, and he also gives some very specific tips to controlling the damage:

Eat the right kind of breakfast first

Be sure to get a minimum of 20g protein, some legumes, and some vegetables. This will help digestion and it will help hold things together. The increased carbohydrate, fat, and oil consumption you will likely experience on your cheat day could disrupt an otherwise-well-functioning internal plumbing system.

I can't find a specific time frame that you're allowed to cheat after this meal, but I'd wait at least 30 minutes to an hour. Then go nuts.

Three simple exercises

There are three exercises you can to do help direct the extra calories to your muscles: squats, wall presses, and chest flies. I try to get about 30-40 of each in just before eating and then 90 minutes after.

Drink extra water

Much of the weight gain will be water weight. Drinking more than enough water will help your body get rid of it quicker.

Grapefruit juice and coffee

Tim says that grapefruit juice before meals helps keep the insulin spike lower, and lower insulin levels seems to be the key to fat loss. Caffeine, as I understand, helps increase metabolism.

If you normally take PAGG, specifically do it that day

Some people have asked about not taking PAGG on their cheat day. I guess in a sense they want to just "turn off" 4HB for a day. That's a bad idea. If you take PAGG, you should definitely take it on your cheat day. I would daresay that cheat day is the most important day to take it!

Limit it to one waking day

My biggest problem at first was that my cheat "days" often started on Friday night and ended Sunday evening. You don't want to give your body extra crap to work on for more than a day. Stick to one day between the time you wake up and the time you go to bed to maximize results. If you cheat for more than a day, don't expect the weight to come off in 3 days.

Stock up this week and enjoy your weekend!

Now that you've got your cheat day mental arsenal, it's time to go shopping. Think of what you want to eat and buy it! Do yourself a favor and wait until your cheat day if you can (minimize temptation!).

About Jason Jacobs

Jason is fat, but that's started to change.  After 15 years of yo-yo dieting, he's finally ready to get rid of the gut once and for all. He's finding his fitness little by little every day, and has been following the protocols in 4 Hour Body since December.  The weight has been coming off, but the most surprising for him is the sense of well being he has now.  He wants to help others who are starting their fitness journeys to keep going, and he finds motivation from others on the path as well.

Editor's note: Jason also participated in our 5 Questions series, you can read his answers here.