Simple Guide to Dairy on the 4-Hour Body Diet (aka Slow Carb)

Tim Ferriss has repeatedly noted that the 4-hour body diet is intentionally designed with a set of 5 rules that are simple to follow. One of these rules is to limit most dairy. While diet rules should always be nuanced to include individual chemistry and lifestyle, here are a few important things that I learned about dairy while coaching a large range of people on the slow carb diet.

Jump to: Complaints of SCD | Diet Rules Around Dairy | Comparison of Dairy Sources

Common Complaints about the Slow Carb Diet

Ferriss has done some of the experimentation for you with regards to dairy and the 4-hour body diet, but bodies are unique and complex.  

Tweeking is going to be necessary to achieve a long term, sustainable way of eating that will fit your exercise intensity, your sleep routines and your overall lifestyle.

As a previous coach on a range of low carb diets, the most frequent complaints or confusion I heard around this “way of eating” was focused on:

• the degree of fat that is allowed,
• the type of fruit that is allowed, and
• the type of dairy that is allowed.  

Summary of Rules Regarding Dairy on the 4-Hour Body Diet

Before I give you my interpretation of how dairy fits in to a slow-carb (and low-carb) diet, I want to quote the author of the 4-Hour Body, Tim Ferriss.  This quote is from this post on his website:

“Do not eat the following, except for cheat days

• Yams,
• Sweet potatoes,
• Quinoa,
• Dairy (this includes cheese and yogurt of all kinds)

 “I mention cottage cheese at one point as a last resort. It is low in lactose, which is what you need to avoid. Ghee and cream (for coffee) should contain little or no lactose, hence you can use them. The same goes for effectively lactose-free, unflavored whey protein, etc..”

 “[Note for the PubMed readers: It’s true that whey is partially (or wholly) responsible for the insulinemic response of most dairy, but avoiding lactose seems to be more directly correlated to faster fat-loss in the diet subjects I’ve tracked. Needless to say, avoiding all dairy is the simplest solution.”

Many nutritionists will tell you that any diet that excludes an entire food group is faulty.  This seems logical and valid if we are talking about a long-term, sustainable diet. 

For short-term weight loss, or for kick-starting your entry into a lower carb world, you may need to avoid three food groups for a while: fruit, grains and dairy.  Many people will effectively relegate these food choices to their cheat days.

Now, while simple rules are easy to follow and give you a great boiler-plate for initiating a high-protein-low-carb diet, the devil is in the details after you get going, particularly if you want to make this way of eating a lifestyle change rather than a short-term diet.

The rest of this post is my interpretation of how dairy and the 4-hour body diet works with respect to fat loss.  More on fruits and grains later.

Comparison of Dairy Sources for Slow Carb Diet

Lactose:

The bottom line on dairy is you want to avoid lactose, which is also called milk sugar, and acts on insulin in the same way as other sugars.

That said there are some dairy products that are made in a way as to be limited in lactose.  This would include aged hard cheeses, butter, and cream (note that they may be dense in calories even if low in lactose). 

There are also some dairy products that are allowed in small amounts, or intermittently, because they are very high in protein even though they contain lactose.  This would be cottage cheese and plain greek yogurt.

Cottage Cheese:

The interesting thing about cottage cheese is that the process it goes through to become cottage cheese results in there being “almost” no lactose present at all. This explains why mysteriously some lactose-intolerant folks can happily eat cottage cheese without a problem.

The lack of lactose coupled with the high amount of protein is why Tim Ferriss included it in the ‘grey area’ of slow carb foods.

So is cottage cheese and the 4-hour body diet compliant or not?  Ferriss notes you can have 1/2 cup but not on an every day basis.  The answer comes down to what else you are eating on a daily basis, as well as individual experimentation.

Getting plenty of protein is one of the major keys to success, so if you’re in a tight squeeze or can’t tolerate other high protein foods for breakfast, then cottage cheese is a better choice than limiting protein.  However, including it into a daily meal routine could mean slowed fat loss.

I personally have used cottage cheese once or twice a week without any weight gain (note that I have already reached my goal weight however, and have been stable for years). 

My daughter, who is on SCD, regularly eats cottage cheese with spicy salsa and is continuing to lose weight. Experiment with your own body with respect to cottage cheese.

Greek Yogurt:

Greek yogurt supplies less than 6.8 grams of lactose (the milk sugar) per 6-ounce serving,  compared to cottage cheese at 3 grams of lactose per half cup.  

They’re both rich in lean protein, with cottage cheese having slightly more;  27 grams per cup cottage cheese versus 20 grams per cup for greek yogurt, and only 12 grams for plain yogurt .

The carb count of cottage cheese (4%) and greek yogurt is a wash, with greek yogurt coming in with fewer calories (98 calories per 100 grams cottage cheese vs. 59 calories per 100 grams greek yogurt). 

Greek yogurt also has a slight edge over cottage cheese in terms of having more calcium, less sodium, and the addition of probiotics. 

You do need to avoid flavored yogurts and many people add fruit to greek yogurt, which is definitely not allowed on SCD and will up the sugar content quite dramatically.

BOTTOM LINE:  From the horse’s mouth (horse being Tim Ferriss):  ” In the end, the point of 4HB is intelligent and responsible SELF-EXPERIMENTATION.

MY TAKEAWAY:  Try your cottage cheese or greek yogurt for a while, but make sure you’re getting 20-30g of protein with your meals.  

Dairy on the 4-hour body diet can work together if close attention is paid to the type of dairy (minimal lactose) and the amount of dairy.  

The amount is watched primarily because dairy (like hard aged cheeses) can be very dense in calories.  If you plateau on the diet, try ditching the dairy for a while.   N=1 is often the best experiment.