
(See my first post on The 4-Hour Body here to get caught up quickly as to what this is all about)
From my experience with The 4-Hour Body, here are my four favorite tips I’ve implemented that each help you lose a little weight with no effort:
- Add cinnamon to your coffee or tea (or any food you’re eating that it works with). Don’t be paranoid, but try never to consume more than a teaspoon of cinnamon daily as it can be bad for you in quantities over 4 grams. A little-less than a teaspoon serving of cinnamon should be way more than you’d typically use in a day anyway so the quantity shouldn’t be a problem.Tip:
Toss your cinnamon that you’ve had in the cupboard for months or years. It has zero effect, is completely stale, and is probably basically rancid. Fresh ground is best, but who has time? Organic if possible, but get either Saigon cinnamon (best) or Ceylon cinnamon (very good). Wal-Mart actually sells Saigon cinnamon if you look carefully. The first time you use one of these fresher-than-your-cupboard-default-cinnamon, you will be amazed at how rich the cinnamon taste can be. Plus, Saigon and Ceylon are said to have the best effect on your body’s calorie-lowering ability and your blood sugar. (A minor warning is in order. Ceylon is the only one of the three types that is not toxic in doses of more than a teaspoon and a half or so. Typically, you will eat far less than a teaspoon and a half on any day even if you love the stuff as much as I do; I changed to an organic Ceylon only, however, just to be sure. Since Indus no longer carries it, this is the “good stuff” we’ll buy next.
- Squeeze fresh lemon on anything and everything you eat that you can. Obviously, if you are eating fried eggs, lemon might not be so great. But anything such as salad, meat, chicken, whatever. Fresh lemon juice reduces the glycemic index of the food you are eating. This is just an instant and free weight reducer. Why wouldn’t you?Tip: Ask for extra lemon with your iced tea or water when you eat out. You’ll have enough then for your food when it comes.
- If you can stand it (my lovely bride Jayne could never do this), place a cold ice pack, wrapped in a towel, over the back of your neck when you read or watch TV for 30 minutes or so. Daily if you think of it. I have only began doing this the past two weeks ONCE A WEEK on a Friday night (before my weigh day the next morning). I am such a lazy slug, I figure I’d be a pound or two lighter if I’d been doing this 3-4 times a week this whole time.
- Drink 3-4 large glasses of ice water every day. (I actually first heard of this technique long before Tim Ferriss; drinking ice water is a cool tip taught by the trainer Ellington Darden, the designer of the Bowflex.)