The mirror didn't lie, I had really let myself go. After seven months working my new job, living out of hotels did a number on me and it was time for a change. Living on restaurant food and working 12 hour days was adding up. In seven months, I had gained 15 pounds. Add that to the 30 pounds I had gained over the past 8 years running my own company (entrepreneurs seem to put on the weight), and I was a mess.

I also had had enough.

Enter The Four Hour Body

I had already read The Four Hour Workweek and really liked the concept of identifying the core elements necessary to achieve desired results. When Tim's new book came out, I glanced through it then added it to my Nook (BTW, love the Nook, I'll write about that later). I decided that January was the start of a new chapter. My birthday is right after Christmas, and who was I kidding, there was no way I would be able to start something during my week away from the road. So January I started following the Slow-Carb Diet.

The Road is a Tough Challenge

Until we move to the new job, I live in hotels for 4 nights a week. I don't have a kitchen because I really don't want to mess with all of that, but I had to start eating differently. I discovered several ways to eat the Four-Hour Body way with only a micro-fridge and a microwave. You can too, but you need a few things to get started.

1. Pick up a set of Ziploc microwaveable containers with lids. 3-4 should do you just fine

2. Pick up one good divided plastic container with lid. This makes it easy to heat up everything without making a bunch of dirty dishes to clean

3. A scale. I got one for $15 from Wal-Mart. It's thin, and packs in my suitecase. If I track my weight, I pay attention to what I eat.

4. A can opener. I forgot this one so now I carry it with me.

5. Pepper and cinnamon for some basic flavoring. Go out and buy spices that you like. Personally, I don't salt anything

Okay, now you have the basics and it's time to go shopping.

My Shopping List For the Road

3 packs of Tyson Grilled & Ready steak and chicken strips. Flavor is pretty good. It's not gourmet by any stretch, but it's pre-cooked, tasty and comes in a microwaveable pouch. I buy 3 because I don't do dinner in the hotel on Thursdays, I'm heading home.

1 six-pack of eggs

1 small container of Eggbeaters

Canned veggies and/or Mixed veggies in a steam pouch (from the freezer section). If I can get the small cans, I prefer them because it's pretty much a single serving. Remember, the less washing up the better and I don't have to store anything. I don't find lots of variety in the small cans so that's what the Ziploc containers are for.

1 jar of Salsa (great for breakfast)

A 12-pack of bottles water. I hate the tap water and usually drink 2 bottles each evening.

Microwaving My Way To Success

So now that I have my groceries, it's time to put them to use. The Slow-carb diet say to have protein within 1 hour of waking, preferably within 30 minutes of waking. So breakfast consists of:

Eggbeaters in one of the Ziploc containers with one egg mixed in. Microwave for 2-3 minutes. Be prepared to see the eggs inflate like a ballon while in the microwave. Looks weird the first time. When done, take them out, splash on some Salsa, maybe throw in some black beans and gobble it down. Grab a bottle of water and down it before leaving the room for work.

Lunch is usually El Pollo Loco (Love it!) or Boston Market (get the mixed vegatables and a 1/4 White - doubled up on the veggies and no cornbread).

Dinner is where I mix things up. I take one of the packages of Tyson meat. Heat it up a bit (it's more dense so it takes more heating up than the veggies). Dump it in one of the sections of the divided container. Pop open my choice of veggies for the evening - one in each of the other two sections. Cap and nuke it. Add some spices and a bottle of water and dinner is over.

How To Tackle Eating On The Road

Well, that takes care of my breakfast and dinner, I eat those in my room. Lunch is usually eating at a restaurant. However, when I'm travelling, I need to be able to eat without eating the bad carbs and it's not easy, but it's not THAT hard. Here are my favorites at common pitstops:

El Pollo Loco: The Chicken Caesar Salad (my typical lunch)

Wendy's: The Baja Chicken Salad - comes with Chili and the salad veggies. There is a small amount of cheese, but it's not piled on there

McDonald's: They have several salad choices, but one of my favorite tips is for the afternoon snack. I get two of their Grilled Chicken Snack Wraps, unroll them and eat the chicken, lettuce, etc and leave the tortilla.

Burger King: The new BK Garden Salad blows, don't buy it unless you are desperate.

Taco Bell: I haven't found anything at Taco Bell that isn't mostly rice so I pretty much have ditched it.

KFC: actually a choice on the road. They have a grilled chicken option now and when paired with corn or beans, you get your veggies without the starches.

Subway: No offense to Jared, but when I think Subway, I think a big, honking hunk of white bread. I know you can Saladify anything, but I haven't explored that.

Boston Market: If you run into one, the quality of the food makes it one of my favorite choices. Just stay away from the Creamed Spinach, Sweet Potatos or other bad carbs. Takes some willpower because their food is so good.

One thing I've noticed is that nothing that's appropriate for the Slow-Carb diet can be eaten while driving. This is a good thing. Makes you slow down which makes you eat better.

Results? You Bet

Three weeks into it and I've lost 10 pounds. I haven't exercised a bit because 1) It's too cold and 2) I'm working too much on this project. Each morning I weigh myself and I lose about 1.2 pounds per day. I set up a Google Docs spreadsheet to track it, and I can update via my Android phone so it's no problem to gather the data.

Unlike the Zone Diet or other diets, I'm never hungry. I also find that because I don't have to measure, count calories, or any of that nonsense it's easy to make it a habit. The core rules are:

1) Don't eat white foods or anything that can be turned into a white food.

2) Eat protein when you get up.

3) Eat every four hours.

4) Once per week, throw out the rules and eat whatever you want. Last weekend I had Mellow Mushroom's Pizza among other things. My weight went up all of 1.5 pounds for about 48 hours before my body got rid of the excess water.

Sure, Tim has six rules in the book and they improve the results. But if you remember those four you will have success.

So, there you go. An easy way to live for someone who has battled maintaining weight their entire life. Thanks, Tim!