We hear diets can be really painful.

But Tim Ferriss, the Four-Hour Workweek guy (which is a great book, by the way), has some Fuego-caliber rules for cutting fat, eating well and increasing muscle.

The Four Rules:

Rule 1: Avoid “white” carbs

• White bread
• Rice
• Potatoes
• Pasta
• Fried food with breading

Rule 2: Eat the same meals over and over again from these groups:

Proteins:

• Egg whites + a whole egg for flavor
• Chicken
• Grass-fed beef
• Pork

Legumes:

• Lentils
• Black beans
• Pinto beans

Vegetables:

• Spinach
• Asparagus
• Peas

Rule 3: Don’t drink calories (update: read our previous issue on low-cal beers)

Rule 4: Take a “vacation” one day per week (Ferriss calls this “Dieters Gone Wild” Day — a Saturday holiday)

Get your stupid face out of bed earlier
In other words, how to get out of bed when your alarm goes off

Steve Pavlina says getting up when your alarm goes off is all about repetition.

1. Reproduce your nightly sleep routine — whatever you do before you go to bed, do this with your room as dark as it gets.
2. Set your alarm for a few minutes ahead and zone out the best you can. You’re faking going to sleep, but don’t think about faking it.
3. When the alarm goes off, turn it off as fast as you can, then take a deep breath and stretch out all your limbs. Then do the next thing you’d do if you were waking up.
4. Perform this procedure over a period of days, just like reps at the gym. Pavlina recommends “one or two sets per day at different times…and perhaps 3-10 reps each time.”
5. Make this a daily habit and a pattern. That way you’ll stop beating yourself up for waking up late, and it won’t be just willpower getting you out of bed every morning.

A quick estimate: if you oversleep 30-60 minutes a day, you’re missing out on 180 to 365 hours a year — nine 40-hour weeks!