True Occam's Protocol Experiment

[jcranford]

Monday Feb 28th

Workout B

Incline Press 155 x 8.1

Squats 245 x 9.1

Leg Sled Calve Press 225 x 7 3x3 tempo

Jumped back in today and it had to be squats. I used to look forward to doing squats but now that I have to do them super slow to failure I dread them.

Diet is back on track as well... we'll see what we can do this week until Thursday of next week then I'm off to Singapore and Bali with the wife. We'll start doing body comps again after I return. Until then I'm just going to weigh myself and see if I can keep the scale moving up.

Notice I added calves. I'm now going to experiment with adding an exercise to each workout. For workout B it will be calve presses and for workout A it will be chins.

I know that everyone keeps telling me to post pics and I will, I just hate doing it right after falling off the wagon for a week. I'll feel less self conscious if I put them up at the end of a good week.

There is something else that I've been meaning to address. If you follow the thread you can probably tell that I have a somewhat stressful job that involves odd hours. This is because my employers are in India and because of the time difference I can only communicate with them late at night and early in the morning. Throw travel in there and you can see how difficult it is to keep up with the experiment. I'm not making excuses. I own the mistakes I've made. I just want to point out that the results we've achieved over the past four weeks have been under these conditions. In other words I'm somewhat stressed and not getting 8 hours of sleep every night. If I can get these results under these conditions I'm beginning to see how someone like Tim Ferris can achieve 34 lb's in 4 weeks or how a guy can gain 64 lb's in a short time like in the Colorado Experiment. If you remember I was pretty skeptical at the beginning of the experiment but now I'm open to trying everything in Tim's book.

[moltar]

Please post a sample food log and approximate portion sizes. It'd be of great help to me. I am trying this protocol, but not gaining as much. I am eating a lot more than the protocol recommends however. I think I might be too low on carbs tho. Also, do you have a different carb amount on on/off days?

Thanks!

[jcranford]

Please post a sample food log and approximate portion sizes. It'd be of great help to me. I am trying this protocol, but not gaining as much. I am eating a lot more than the protocol recommends however. I think I might be too low on carbs tho. Also, do you have a different carb amount on on/off days?

Thanks!

This whole thread has been one big food log but I will post a log for today if it helps you. The reason I stopped posting daily food logs is because once I got the hang of the eating part, it started feeling redundant.

My question for you would be, are you really eating as much as or more than what the protocol recommends? Why don't you post a full days food log here on this thread. I'll take a look at it for you and maybe I can give you some pointers. There is a good chance you aren't eating as much as you think you are. Otherwise you just might not be absorbing. I have some things you can try to help with that also.

I'll post another food log tonight after my last meal of the day.

Welcome to the experiment.

[wakawakalj]

Please post a sample food log and approximate portion sizes. It'd be of great help to me. I am trying this protocol, but not gaining as much. I am eating a lot more than the protocol recommends however. I think I might be too low on carbs tho. Also, do you have a different carb amount on on/off days?

Thanks!

Calculate your lean body mass, eat 20 cal/lb for 10 lbm more than your current mass. If your lbm is currently 150, eat 3200 cal/day (160 x 20)

If you're not gaining, you're not eating enough.

[jcranford]

9AM
5 organic whole eggs Protein 31 cal 462
3 strips of bacon protein 9 cal 138

10:30AM
Shake-12oz milk, 1 scoop syntha 6, 1 large banana, two tbls of sunbutter -36g protein 740
Cal

2:30PM
Chick fil a Spicy Chicken Sandwich
20oz whole milk


8:30
PF Chang’s
Crispy honey chicken + half of my wife’s spicy chicken entrée
Egg drop soup
Crab puff appetizer
Mini dessert

10:30
shake- 16oz organic whole milk + 30g platinum hydrowhey 45g protein 433 cal

[johnblythe]

New pics!

[talleydragon]

Im really glad to see you doing this step by step and recording all processes. Im doing something similar for a different program and after Ive finished that commitment, I will be copying your steps here.
Ive read 4 hr body and its still a little confusing your efforts make it easier and we're grateful for that.
Keep it up, Its not easy I KNOW lol
TT

[jcranford]

Im really glad to see you doing this step by step and recording all processes. Im doing something similar for a different program and after Ive finished that commitment, I will be copying your steps here.
Ive read 4 hr body and its still a little confusing your efforts make it easier and we're grateful for that.
Keep it up, Its not easy I KNOW lol
TT

Thanks so much and welcome to the experiment! Let me know when you start so I can follow your progress.

[wakawakalj]

An update on the final day of my 8-week run of the "last mile" diet from the 4 hour body. I figured I'd post this here in case anyone is interested, as I know jcranford was asking about my progress earlier.

I slightly modified the diet as written, mostly in that I allowed myself a full cheat day, as opposed to a single meal. My protein portions were 4oz. I also tweaked the meals a little - instead of 1/4c of nuts with the low-fat meals, I used 1oz of almonds, and 1/2oz of cashews. Sometimes in place of the 5 hard boiled eggs, I would have 2oz of ground beef with three eggs for breakfast, with lots of pepper and a light sprinkle of ketchup. For anyone trying this diet, I highly recommend preparing your food in bulk once-twice per week. I would cook off 5lbs of chicken and 6lbs of meatballs (I can pass along my super awesome keto-friendly meatball recipe if anyone wants) at a time, and portion them out into 4oz bags in my fridge. When it was time to eat, I would simply toss one portion into a bowl and nuke it for a minute or so, with franks red hot sauce as seasoning. I also went through a very large number of bags of frozen broccoli, at least one huge bowl per day.

I lost 15 lbs (161.6lb to 146.6lb), and went from a 14mm abdominal skinfold, to an 8mm abdominal skinfold. I lost roughly 3.5 inches off my waist, judging by how many holes I had to move down on my belt. I would estimate that I have gone from high teens/low twenties bf% to 12-13%, and have lost little to no strength. This was done with zero gym time, though I do train in traditional japanese (Jikishin-Ryu) jiu-jitsu 4-7x per week @ 1.5hrs/session, which could count as a low-moderate intensity combination cardio/strength workout. I also work in a kitchen, which at least on weekends, could count as a decent sustained LISS cardio workout. I initially started taking PAGG, but due to a stupid mistake on my part, I ran out of policosanol after the first week or so. At that point, I changed from the 3x per day dosing to a single morning dose. I also doubled the ALA dose to 600mg on the two days immediately following my cheat days as there is some anecdotal evidence that it helps your body store carbohydrates and return to ketosis faster than usual. It did seem to help. Placebo effect? Maybe, but ALA is cheap.

At a guess, another four weeks would put me very close to if not in the 10%/defined 6-pack range. I debated it, but have decided not to continue on for another month, as now that I have stripped away much of the fat on my frame, I realize that I would be better served by doing a run of occam's protocol to help fill out my body composition. I've now gone from fat, to skinny-fat, to just plain skinny - I can live with a little more fat on my frame if it means I can finally have something larger than scrawny 12.25" arms...

Overall I am extremely happy with my results, they were better than I expected. Hooray for Keto and Tim Ferriss. I've got a good vector image made up for those shirts, and am now trying to find somewhere to get them printed that won't charge us arm+leg+firstborn for a small-ish run. It looks like unless we want to get ~100 shirts printed, our minimum cost is going to be in the $20-25/shirt range.

I will be taking a week off of any sort diet to let my body get used to it's recent changes to get over a nasty head cold I have recently contracted, and to get used to eating carbs again. Then I will be taking a complete set of body measurements and pictures, (unfortunately I cannot afford to get professional bf% tests done as my car's engine just blew up and I need to rebuild it >.<) and will shoot for a two- or three-month run of occam's protocol. My goal is 30+lb of lbm gain.

I will be taking ALA, Creatine, a multi-vitamin, a b-complex vitamin, and, for the first three weeks, Cissus Quadrangularis (I received two bottles free recently and have been chomping at the bit to give it a shot. I also have a couple of minor joint/tendon issues and am curious to see if it will help with those as some research suggests).

When I start my own occam's trial I will start my own progress thread, though I doubt it will be nearly as detailed and comprehensive as this one.

[johnblythe]

i just want to see progress pics so bad! it's awesome to read about the progress, but seeing it will be killer

[jcranford]

Workout A

Yates Row 195 x 8.1

Shoulder Press 120 x 7.3

Pull-ups 6 super slow reps 5/5

Replaced the myotatic crunch with pull ups. My back could use the work and my waist doesn't need to get any bigger right now especially with all the food I'm eating. Walking around bloated all the time is not a good feeling plus I don't want to have to buy new pants. By the way, my pants are getting super tight from squats and I definitely got my booty back.

I'm not sure if slow pull ups are the way to go but It seems like a good plan for right now. As always, I am open to suggestions.

I'll be in town until Wednesday of next week and then it's off to Bali and Singapore. I'll be gone for about nine days total. I will of course try to eat big while on vacation but I doubt I'll be anywhere near compliant with the experiment. The good news is that I'm having another body comp test as soon as I get back and then we're going to keep the experiment going the way it was intended for a few more weeks.

[jcranford]

An update on the final day of my 8-week run of the "last mile" diet from the 4 hour body. I figured I'd post this here in case anyone is interested, as I know jcranford was asking about my progress earlier.

I slightly modified the diet as written, mostly in that I allowed myself a full cheat day, as opposed to a single meal. My protein portions were 4oz. I also tweaked the meals a little - instead of 1/4c of nuts with the low-fat meals, I used 1oz of almonds, and 1/2oz of cashews. Sometimes in place of the 5 hard boiled eggs, I would have 2oz of ground beef with three eggs for breakfast, with lots of pepper and a light sprinkle of ketchup. For anyone trying this diet, I highly recommend preparing your food in bulk once-twice per week. I would cook off 5lbs of chicken and 6lbs of meatballs (I can pass along my super awesome keto-friendly meatball recipe if anyone wants) at a time, and portion them out into 4oz bags in my fridge. When it was time to eat, I would simply toss one portion into a bowl and nuke it for a minute or so, with franks red hot sauce as seasoning. I also went through a very large number of bags of frozen broccoli, at least one huge bowl per day.

I lost 15 lbs (161.6lb to 146.6lb), and went from a 14mm abdominal skinfold, to an 8mm abdominal skinfold. I lost roughly 3.5 inches off my waist, judging by how many holes I had to move down on my belt. I would estimate that I have gone from high teens/low twenties bf% to 12-13%, and have lost little to no strength. This was done with zero gym time, though I do train in traditional japanese (Jikishin-Ryu) jiu-jitsu 4-7x per week @ 1.5hrs/session, which could count as a low-moderate intensity combination cardio/strength workout. I also work in a kitchen, which at least on weekends, could count as a decent sustained LISS cardio workout. I initially started taking PAGG, but due to a stupid mistake on my part, I ran out of policosanol after the first week or so. At that point, I changed from the 3x per day dosing to a single morning dose. I also doubled the ALA dose to 600mg on the two days immediately following my cheat days as there is some anecdotal evidence that it helps your body store carbohydrates and return to ketosis faster than usual. It did seem to help. Placebo effect? Maybe, but ALA is cheap.

At a guess, another four weeks would put me very close to if not in the 10%/defined 6-pack range. I debated it, but have decided not to continue on for another month, as now that I have stripped away much of the fat on my frame, I realize that I would be better served by doing a run of occam's protocol to help fill out my body composition. I've now gone from fat, to skinny-fat, to just plain skinny - I can live with a little more fat on my frame if it means I can finally have something larger than scrawny 12.25" arms...

Overall I am extremely happy with my results, they were better than I expected. Hooray for Keto and Tim Ferriss. I've got a good vector image made up for those shirts, and am now trying to find somewhere to get them printed that won't charge us arm+leg+firstborn for a small-ish run. It looks like unless we want to get ~100 shirts printed, our minimum cost is going to be in the $20-25/shirt range.

I will be taking a week off of any sort diet to let my body get used to it's recent changes to get over a nasty head cold I have recently contracted, and to get used to eating carbs again. Then I will be taking a complete set of body measurements and pictures, (unfortunately I cannot afford to get professional bf% tests done as my car's engine just blew up and I need to rebuild it >.<) and will shoot for a two- or three-month run of occam's protocol. My goal is 30+lb of lbm gain.

I will be taking ALA, Creatine, a multi-vitamin, a b-complex vitamin, and, for the first three weeks, Cissus Quadrangularis (I received two bottles free recently and have been chomping at the bit to give it a shot. I also have a couple of minor joint/tendon issues and am curious to see if it will help with those as some research suggests).

When I start my own occam's trial I will start my own progress thread, though I doubt it will be nearly as detailed and comprehensive as this one.

Awesome bro! I can't wait to follow your thread. Let me know how I can get one of those t-shirts from you. I don't mind sending a check but you might want to open a pay pal because something tells me that you will have quite a few buyers. Congratulations on your progress, you're going to have an awesome bulk. I wish I could have started mine at 12%.

Just my opinion but it seems to me that spending the money on professional bf% testing is unnecessary for this forum. People seem to be much more interested in pics. If money is an issue then I would only do it at the beginning and the very end. If you post some nice starting pics and progress pics along the way, people will be just as in to your thread. I'm sure that whatever you decide to do it will be just as good or better than my experiment. You've already learned from my mistakes.

[wakawakalj]

Awesome bro! I can't wait to follow your thread. Let me know how I can get one of those t-shirts from you. I don't mind sending a check but you might want to open a pay pal because something tells me that you will have quite a few buyers. Congratulations on your progress, you're going to have an awesome bulk. I wish I could have started mine at 12%.

Just my opinion but it seems to me that spending the money on professional bf% testing is unnecessary for this forum. People seem to be much more interested in pics. If money is an issue then I would only do it at the beginning and the very end. If you post some nice starting pics and progress pics along the way, people will be just as in to your thread. I'm sure that whatever you decide to do it will be just as good or better than my experiment. You've already learned from my mistakes.

How many shirts, and of what type, would you be interested in if I were able to get the price to no more than $25/shirt (including shipping to you)? I'm thinking the design will just be the 4hb logo top center of the back, most likely no text, roughly 4" wide/tall. I'm thinking of white, black, navy blue, and 4hb orange as shirt colors, in both tshirt and muscle/wifebeater options. Those colors will only happen if I can get them to only charge me for one color, even though the logo will be white on the black & navy shirts, and black on the white & orange ones. I would expect that we would need to figure out exactly how many we would be ordering and pay up front before the shirts are ordered.

I've got a paypal account, but don't want to sell these commercially, as I'm pretty sure that that would put me in a less than fantastic legal situation. The email I got from Tim Ferriss' assistant implied that they will be coming out with some 4hb swag in the not too distant future, and there's no way I'm going to compete with that, nor would I really want to.

I'm only really interested in the professional bf% test for my own information, I'd like to be able to get it done at the start and the finish of my trial, but frankly in my financial situation right now it's just not in the cards.

I am unfortunately really resistant to posting progress pics, (my roommate would say that it's my "inner girl" coming out - or maybe my inner fat kid) but I have serious self-confidence and body-image issues, and frankly am not comfortable posting pics of myself in very little clothing on the internet. If people don't believe my log/progress information without pics, thats fine. This is here as a record for myself and for anyone who wishes to have some information on this protocol. I will be taking pics, but I seriously doubt they will be posted.

** EDIT : It looks like I can get the price for the shirts to around $20 before shipping etc, but it requires a minimum order of 12. I will keep looking around.

[jcranford]

How many shirts, and of what type, would you be interested in if I were able to get the price to no more than $25/shirt (including shipping to you)? I'm thinking the design will just be the 4hb logo top center of the back, most likely no text, roughly 4" wide/tall. I'm thinking of white, black, navy blue, and 4hb orange as shirt colors, in both tshirt and muscle/wifebeater options. Those colors will only happen if I can get them to only charge me for one color, even though the logo will be white on the black & navy shirts, and black on the white & orange ones. I would expect that we would need to figure out exactly how many we would be ordering and pay up front before the shirts are ordered.

I've got a paypal account, but don't want to sell these commercially, as I'm pretty sure that that would put me in a less than fantastic legal situation. The email I got from Tim Ferriss' assistant implied that they will be coming out with some 4hb swag in the not too distant future, and there's no way I'm going to compete with that, nor would I really want to.

I'm only really interested in the professional bf% test for my own information, I'd like to be able to get it done at the start and the finish of my trial, but frankly in my financial situation right now it's just not in the cards.

I am unfortunately really resistant to posting progress pics, (my roommate would say that it's my "inner girl" coming out - or maybe my inner fat kid) but I have serious self-confidence and body-image issues, and frankly am not comfortable posting pics of myself in very little clothing on the internet. If people don't believe my log/progress information without pics, thats fine. This is here as a record for myself and for anyone who wishes to have some information on this protocol. I will be taking pics, but I seriously doubt they will be posted.

** EDIT : It looks like I can get the price for the shirts to around $20 before shipping etc, but it requires a minimum order of 12. I will keep looking around.

Cool, let me know. I would be interested in buying two t-shirts, one navy and one orange.

[chaosman33]

Cool thread!

[jcranford]

I've decided to go ahead and post some pics before anything else gets in the way. These were taken today.

[williamshane]

I've decided to go ahead and post some pics before anything else gets in the way. These were taken today.

How much weight are you estimating you've added in fat? You look chubbier? I'm finding it hard to tell how much lean mass you've put on. Looks like it could be a bunch of fat or a little bit of fat and a massive amount of muscle.

[jcranford]

How much weight are you estimating you've added in fat? You look chubbier? I'm finding it hard to tell how much lean mass you've put on. Looks like it could be a bunch of fat or a little bit of fat and a massive amount of muscle.

I'm definitely chubbier around my midsection now. I had gained over 13lb's of lean mass last time I was tested. I think most of the additional fat came during the week I was stuck in Orlando and was unable to eat the way I wanted to. Prior to that, I was gaining muscle with almost zero fat accumulation.

[mcdougall9]

I've decided to go ahead and post some pics before anything else gets in the way. These were taken today.

Hi!
Thanks for documenting your experiment and for your honesty (and your humour) in your posts, very entertaining and informative. I read all the posts this morning.

And thanks Tim Ferris for tweeting this log too (that’s how I found it)!

In my unprofessional opinion your arms, back, legs definitely seem to have more muscle and are bigger. You definitely seem bigger all around... maybe partly more fat??

Hope you stick with it and that you keep posting. I'll definitely be following

I started a body recomp on Dec 10th; Tim Ferris's book was definitely my “Harajuko Moment” ... my catalyst... I have read his 4HWW and was looking forward to 4HB to start my own experiment.

I'll post my experience in the near future. My intent was to loose fat and retain (or gain) muscle. I went from 210# (27-30%BF) in Dec 10 to 185# (19-21% BF) today and more muscle. I used the slow carb diet in the first month then moved to a Keto type diet for the last two months.

More later.

Ian

[wakawakalj]

And thanks Tim Ferris for tweeting this log too (that’s how I found it)!

In my unprofessional opinion your arms, back, legs definitely seem to have more muscle and are bigger. You definitely seem bigger all around... maybe partly more fat??

^^ Agreed. I see a little more chub on the stomach area, but definitely an increase in lean mass on the legs, back, and arms.

Also, Hi, Tim Ferriss fans! We don't bite in this thread, but beware the denizens of the rest of the site. The search function is on the top right of the page. Have fun, and welcome to the experiment(s)!

[jcranford]

Hi!
Thanks for documenting your experiment and for your honesty (and your humour) in your posts, very entertaining and informative. I read all the posts this morning.

And thanks Tim Ferris for tweeting this log too (that’s how I found it)!

In my unprofessional opinion your arms, back, legs definitely seem to have more muscle and are bigger. You definitely seem bigger all around... maybe partly more fat??

Hope you stick with it and that you keep posting. I'll definitely be following

I started a body recomp on Dec 10th; Tim Ferris's book was definitely my “Harajuko Moment” ... my catalyst... I have read his 4HWW and was looking forward to 4HB to start my own experiment.

I'll post my experience in the near future. My intent was to loose fat and retain (or gain) muscle. I went from 210# (27-30%BF) in Dec 10 to 185# (19-21% BF) today and more muscle. I used the slow carb diet in the first month then moved to a Keto type diet for the last two months.

More later.

Ian

Hi Ian,

Let me start by saying how floored I was to read your post. I had no idea Tim Ferris had tweeted my thread! I must definitely be a fan now because I feel giddy at the thought of Tim reading about my experiment.

Congrats on your recomp. I'm going to do the same thing after this bulking experiment. You were right on about where I've put on the muscle. It's hard to see in the pics but it's most noticeable in my legs. Definitely fatter now but I blame most of that on the week I spent in Orlando. I'm actually kind of sorry I have to go on vacation later this week. This will motivate me to at least attempt to eat big while I'm gone because I want to keep making progress. Whatever happens I'm going to keep the experiment going for a while longer.

Keep me updated on your progress and thanks again for letting me know about the tweet.

[jcranford]

Mcdougall9 has been cutting via the slow carb diet and getting awesome results!

Here is a link to his thread:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=132434793

[jrant4]

this log is awesome! good work yo. I think I'm gonna try this out

[jcranford]

Incline Press 165 x 6.3

Squats 245 x 9.1 (no progress)

Leg Sled Calf Press 275 x 10

Dips Unweighted x 8

Kettlebell swings 25 x 50

After reading the "From Geek to Freak" chapter again, I decided to add Dips as well. I'll probably add one more exercise to workout A also. I hate that this is my last workout before going on vacation. I'll workout in Bali if I get a chance but I doubt it will happen. On the bright side, we've planned a pretty active schedule for while we're there. Lots of hiking and biking, maybe I'll lose some fat.

No progress made on squats. Blaming that on the mental state and long day I had before the workout.

[briggssox007]

As i mentioned before - i've gained about 10 in the first month but am a little soft in the abs and face. Went up about 30% in that same month in all exercises but I've plateaued in both my lifts and gains over the last 2 weeks.

My plan is to increase my calories and start doing PAGG. Any thoughts? The only supplement i was taking during the first 6 weeks was creatine.

[jcranford]

As i mentioned before - i've gained about 10 in the first month but am a little soft in the abs and face. Went up about 30% in that same month in all exercises but I've plateaued in both my lifts and gains over the last 2 weeks.

My plan is to increase my calories and start doing PAGG. Any thoughts? The only supplement i was taking during the first 6 weeks was creatine.

I'm no expert but I think that some fat gain is inevitable when you're bulking. You could get really neurotic about your diet and slow it down some but it's tough to build muscle without some fat gain. I've never taken PAGG so I don't know how much it will help decrease fat storage during a bulk. It can't hurt to try it though and see what happens.

I'm a little more concerned about your gains plateauing. What's your lean mass and how many calories are you eating currently?

[briggssox007]

I'm no expert but I think that some fat gain is inevitable when you're bulking. You could get really neurotic about your diet and slow it down some but it's tough to build muscle without some fat gain. I've never taken PAGG so I don't know how much it will help decrease fat storage during a bulk. It can't hurt to try it though and see what happens.

I'm a little more concerned about your gains plateauing. What's your lean mass and how many calories are you eating currently?

(started Jan 24): 160lbs 10% body fat - 143lbs lean mass.

(as of March 7): 172lbs 11% body fat - 152 lbs lean mass.

So - 9 pounds lean mass - 3 pounds fat.

First month i ate close to 4k calories a day. I used to basically eat two meals a day - so it was easy for me to just add a big breakfast - a calorie rich shake (about 700 cals) at night - and a cliff "builder" bar during work between lunch and dinner.

didnt really change my lunches/dinners - just made a bit more and made sure to always finish it - and add a big glass of milk.

I think once i noticed a little belly i cut back some which i bet is why i stopped gaining as much. I'm going to try a month of PAGG - eating like an animal - and add a bicep, tricep, and calf set to A and B (noticed most of my gains are in the upper leg, chest, shoulders, and lats).

I'll post pics!

[johnblythe]

(started Jan 24): 160lbs 10% body fat - 143lbs lean mass.

(as of March 7): 172lbs 11% body fat - 152 lbs lean mass.

So - 9 pounds lean mass - 3 pounds fat.

First month i ate close to 4k calories a day. I used to basically eat two meals a day - so it was easy for me to just add a big breakfast - a calorie rich shake (about 700 cals) at night - and a cliff "builder" bar during work between lunch and dinner.

didnt really change my lunches/dinners - just made a bit more and made sure to always finish it - and add a big glass of milk.

I think once i noticed a little belly i cut back some which i bet is why i stopped gaining as much. I'm going to try a month of PAGG - eating like an animal - and add a bicep, tricep, and calf set to A and B (noticed most of my gains are in the upper leg, chest, shoulders, and lats).

I'll post pics!

that's awesome man. i totally want to see some b/a pics of people (besides ferris!) who have done occam! currently at ~18% BF so i'm dropping it right now and then want to do some crazy bulking like this.

[jcranford]

Hi everyone, I'm posting from Bali today. Diet and exercise are totally out the window this week as I expected they would be. Having a great time though. Took us almost 24 hrs of flying to get here because of the route we took. It was a ten and a half hour flight from Houston to Moscow, then another ten hours to fly from Moscow to Singapore, and finally a two hour flight from Singapore to Bali. Some things I've found interesting so far... The airport in Moscow was totally shabby. I expected it to be nicer since that is their capital. The airport in Singapore is the nicest airport I've ever seen in my life. It was like a high end shopping mall with a free gym, internet, and arcade. Singapore airlines is also the nicest airline I've ever travelled with, and I've been on quite a few. As for our route, I was suprised to find that we would be flying directly over Afgahnistan. The flight took us almost directly over Kabul. It was night when we passed over. I looked out the window expecting not to see anything because it was dark, but I was shocked to see lights all over the place. It was like flying over any major city like Houston or New York. I guess I thought because of the war they wouldn't have electricity, or at least not that much electricity. Anyway, just wanted to share my experience.

[tpromeloni]

Hi Ian,

Let me start by saying how floored I was to read your post. I had no idea Tim Ferris had tweeted my thread! I must definitely be a fan now because I feel giddy at the thought of Tim reading about my experiment.
.

Yes, he did. That is how I find out about your post as well. Good luck and thanks for sharing your experience and results. We're all watching