I received an email from a reader this morning telling me that the 4 Hour Body wasn’t working for them. They were doing the diet, the GLUT4 exercises, taking the PAGG stack, and not losing weight. I’ve seen similar stories on many 4 Hour Body forums.

Here are a few thoughts:

1. Even among many people who are not losing weight on the scale, they suddenly find their clothes are fitting better. Tim Ferriss calls this body recomposition, and he even says in the book that you may lose 20 pounds of fat, but gain 5 pounds of muscle. I wonder if for some people this principle may be happening in extreme, where they are putting on lots of muscle. They may not see a net loss of weight, but they look and feel better. Instead of measuring pounds only, measure total inches, bodyfat percentage, and take those full body photos to see if the diet really is having an effect.
2. Some common themes I’ve noticed among people who are not losing weight include: they write extensively about the amount of beans and vegetables they are eating, but don’t mention anything about protein. Or they write about the protein shakes they are consuming. My advice would be to focus on real-food protein. Eat eggs, fish, and meat to get 30 grams or more of protein at breakfast, and 20 grams or more of protein at lunch and dinner. Don’t do protein shakes, and don’t obsess over beans an veggies.
3. Watch out for the snack foods. At Tim says, any food that you can’t consume just one of is a risk. So nuts, jerky, or even beans are all foods that may be part of the diet, but you can eat them mindlessly. Don’t do that. Eat meals. If you get too hungry with three meals, then eat four, but don’t snack.
4. Visit the 4HB Talk forums, where lots of other users are sharing their experiences.