Meativore May - May 8 Check-In

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Dragonwolf
Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
May 1 check-in link - http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10149152/meativore-may-may-1-check-in

Alright! We're a week into Meativore May! How's everyone doing? Feel free to post whatever stats or observations you want. :)
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  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
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    Checking in!
    I feel really good! The lack of pain after physical exertions is blowing my mind. Still not 100% but getting better everyday! My family sees the difference and supports me. My hubby acted apologetic yesterday because he wanted some veggies, which was fine with me (though he has been eating my way, mostly). So, he got some squash and zucchini and cooked it, then ate it along with some meat. About two hours later he was miserable. Stomach cramps and bathroom issues were awful! Hopefully is a learning experience for him.

    My biggest challenge has been keeping meat thawed and ready to cook. I am learning too! I do enjoy the simplicity of having just "meat". It's made things much more enjoyable, for me!

    Scale reading this morning is 207.6. That's a two pound increase for the week. I know my body is in the process of healing. After years of carbage this won't be a fast process but, I'm all in!
  • glossbones
    glossbones Posts: 1,064 Member
    edited May 2015
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    I'm down 0.6 lbs since the start, though I had three weigh ins (I collect data daily) that were another 0.8 lbs down.

    Last night was the first real challenge, as I came home hungry and we decided to go back out until the sun set (it was really warm in the house). I had a more labor-intensive dinner planned, and there was nothing readily available and meaty for me to eat quickly. I ended up eating some very dry Jerky, which was not particularly satisfying. Would have had eggs but we were fresh out.

    Had my planned deviation on 5/2 but it was still primarily animal product, so I consider myself on track.

    I think I'm reaching that "don't want to eat" wall. I'll power through it.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    My weight has remained up the past week. Still below my goal, so it's not a huge deal for me. You can see that I just tacked this on the end of last month's information. Although the trend is rising, the scale weights have been relatively stable.

    0onf37dd3crz.png

    Trend is currently: 71.9 kg, up from 71.4 kg. (+0.5 kg ~1.1 lb)
    Average weight is: 72.1 kg, up from 71.7 kg. (+0.4 kg ~0.9 lb)

    I haven't stuck to my plan on cutting cheese out, but I'll do it this week. We'll see how long it takes for this to turn around, or if I stabilize around this weight. Personally, I would "like" to get a little lower. But, I am not going to worry about it. According to the electronic body fat device (hugely unreliable), I am losing fat mass and gaining lean body mass with this weight gain. It's probably more a reflection of water retention than muscle, but hopefully it's right about the fat going down.

    The biggest set back was a meat and cheese platter at a party this week. We finished the programming club, at my work, for the year. The other teacher got the meat and cheese tray to make sure I had something I could eat. I way over-did it with the cheese. The kids and her also got me a $25 gift card to a local grocery store. They wanted to get me a steak, but worried it would go bad if they surprised me with it at the party. :smiley: They're a good group.
  • nicsflyingcircus
    nicsflyingcircus Posts: 2,486 Member
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    I am still up from my lowest weight in April, but down from my weight at the start of the challenge, slightly. If I follow my pattern from the past three months, the weight won't really fall off until mid-month.

    I had a big calorie day Tuesday, consciously chose several high carb options. Otherwise it's been all meat/eggs and hwc.
  • iam4life
    iam4life Posts: 39 Member
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    I've been low-carb for a while now, so I didn't think the transition to zero-carb would affect me that much, but I've been incredibly irascible this week, and I've had a headache that just won't quit. I suspect diet as a contributor. On the plus side, my cravings and the munchies have subsided all together, and I'm certainly less bloated. I don't weigh, so I can't say how that's going.

    I do enjoy the simplicity of just cooking meat... I talked my MIL into a Mother's Day cookout so we would have something to eat. Lol. I said, "I'll provide the meat!"
  • ChairmanWow
    ChairmanWow Posts: 44 Member
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    Starting weight 222.2
    Current weight 221.6

    Kinda bumped up in weight and then back down through the week. We've done much better at meal planning, going to the store every other day instead of once per week. This is helping us keep the meat and veggies (for the kids) fresh, and wasting a lot less. The kids seem pretty on board now, so long as we keep lots of veggies and fruit in the house.

    I started strong on the no artificial sweeteners front, but haven't been able to quit them for more than a day or two at a time. I've been able to cut it out for breakfast completely, but I still crave diet soda a lot in the afternoons. I don't get any cravings for anything else sweet, just the soda itself, and I'm still losing weight, so I'm not sure that it is worth it. Cutting soda is the only part of eating this way that makes me feel deprived. Blah.
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    Month starting weight - 245.8
    This morning's weight - 248.0 (+2.2lb)

    I'm pretty certain it's due to this past weekend. Ended up more off plan than I anticipated and felt like crap for it (not guilt, but physical crap). My in-laws just had to send the chocolate cake with chocolate buttercream frosting home with my son from the birthday party they had for him (hi, my name's Dragon and I'm a chocoholic. I was clean for 6 months until I fell off the wagon this weekend...). Like @nicsflyingcircus, though, it won't surprise me if I don't drop a bunch until later in the month. I am down .8lb since yesterday, so the water weight is finally starting to release.

    I've been feeling better, though. I notice that my back bothers me less if I stick to it (as opposed to getting all tight and uncomfortable). Doing the 100 Pushups Challenge has been interesting, due to the lack of muscle glycogen to use in those situations. I recover pretty quickly overall, though, and today's the first day I've had even minor DOMS from it, and I continue to improve in it, even if I consistently fail the last "X+" set.

    This is going to be another interesting weekend. My dad is supposed to come down, and my aunt might, too, so food's going to be interesting, since my dad's vegan last I knew. If we eat lunch out, though, it shouldn't be too difficult to handle.

    I got into a stupid debate with someone over ways of eating and for once, the dickery like that isn't getting to me. Often, things like that would break my confidence, but it's not this time. In fact, it's amusing in a twisted sort of way.

    I've been craving bacon for some stupid reason the past couple of weeks, so I thoroughly enjoyed my plate of bacon that I had the other day. :) The other pack I bought will probably stay in the freezer for while, though I have some breakfast sausage to enjoy as well (yay, sausage and egg scrambles!).
  • tru2one
    tru2one Posts: 298 Member
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    5/1 starting weight: 219.2
    5/8 212.4

    -6.8 lbs

    Definitely inflated success numbers here, due to my LEAP off the keto wagon the weekend (and a few days following) prior to first weigh in. However, if I go by my lowest weight before the carbage fest, I'm still down two pounds...so there's that. ;-) I'm actually up a smidge today from the low I hit on Wednesday, and I am so fine with that. Water flux and all.

    Fit_Goat...I LOVE eating this way. I very well may not return to higher carbs after the month is over. I feel absolutely great physically, mentally, every way. This is what my body likes. My famous shrimp Caesar salad recipe has been requested for Mother's Day brunch on Sunday, so I may deviate a bit then. Imagine that, "cheating" with Romaine lettuce. ;-)

    Throwing this out there to ponder, as I've thought this theory to have quite a bit of validity for a long time now. My ancestry is Athabascan native (Eskimo) and Swedish, two northern cultures that historically relied very heavily on fat and protein and less so on carbohydrates, unless they're seasonal things like berries or veggies that can be found in the short summer months. When you reflect on your own ancestry/genetics, do you find that the way the cultures that you hailed from ate may predict your body's preferred macro levels today?

    Just a thought...
  • stillonamission
    stillonamission Posts: 140 Member
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    May 1 Starting: 140.2#
    May 8: 144:.4 #

    As enthusiastically has I started this challenge, I am starting to get down. My goal was no veggie and no AS. Doing great on the no veggie thing, not so much on the AS. I have had gum a few times this week. And I broke down last night and had flavored 'sparkling' water. Ah... It was so good. On the plus side, I have had no splenda in anything, which isn't that hard. I still have a feeling of needing something after I eat dinner. I am sure it is more mental than anything.

    I have felt okay. I got a little nauseous feeling a few times. And as much as I love eggs, I haven't wanted one all week.

    I have noticed my skin is a little red, especially my face. I even had a coworker ask if I had been out getting sun. The skin on my arms is sore, it feels similar to sunburn, but I haven't been outside very much, and I very very rarely get sunburn. Has anyone else experience that?
  • rkufeke
    rkufeke Posts: 73 Member
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    Current weight: 166 lbs, down 1.6 lbs this week!
    Awesome thing I noticed this morning: I am comfortably wearing a pair of jeans that last time I used a rubber band to button... And a new shirt that I thought I wouldn't be able to wear until the fall because it was too tight when I got it! And my back fat is WAY less than it was too, almost no roll left under my bra in back! :)
    I'm feeling really good, not feeling like it's monotonous, not even craving sweets too badly at this point. I've replaced my morning BPC with ginger tea, and my evening sweet treat with various "sleepy time" type herbal teas. My husband started doing it with me on Monday, and his skin already seems a little better. My chronic pain has decreased, even though it's been rainy and damp here all week and usually my joints would all be hurting.
    We did have a fundraiser dinner for my husband's work last night, and because I had a scope a few months ago that suggested I have celiac I had requested a gluten-free meal. Unfortunately the gf meal was VEGETARIAN, it was veggies and quinoa. I ate enough to be polite, because we were at a table with 2 of his coworkers and several potential donors. He ended up with a small chicken leg quarter (maybe from a Cornish hen) on a bed of big couscous stuff with veggies. We both left feeling like we needed to go home and eat some meat!
    This week we have Mother's Day on Sunday, but I'm not planning to have anything "extra" that day, and my son turns 9 on Thursday, but I might just get the kids some cupcakes at the store or something so I won't be tempted.
    I am just over 1 lb away from having lost 20 lbs, I started keto 10 weeks ago tomorrow!
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    tru2one wrote: »
    Throwing this out there to ponder, as I've thought this theory to have quite a bit of validity for a long time now. My ancestry is Athabascan native (Eskimo) and Swedish, two northern cultures that historically relied very heavily on fat and protein and less so on carbohydrates, unless they're seasonal things like berries or veggies that can be found in the short summer months. When you reflect on your own ancestry/genetics, do you find that the way the cultures that you hailed from ate may predict your body's preferred macro levels today?

    Just a thought...

    That's held true for me thus far. Nearly all of my known ancestry is northern European (farthest south is Netherlands and England, with a good chunk coming from Sweden; yeah...I'm about as white as they come), and the Native American side are Blackfoot and Sioux (aka - L/Dakota). Makes nearly all of my ancestry people who lived nearly entirely on animals. Small wonder my body has pretty much "hell yeah!" going carnivore (and why summer is pretty much the only time I actually kind of crave a salad).
  • Dragonwolf
    Dragonwolf Posts: 5,600 Member
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    I have noticed my skin is a little red, especially my face. I even had a coworker ask if I had been out getting sun. The skin on my arms is sore, it feels similar to sunburn, but I haven't been outside very much, and I very very rarely get sunburn. Has anyone else experience that?

    I actually have been out in the sun a lot the past couple of weeks. Getting a nice tan. :) I have noticed that I'm more red-tinged this time around, though, but without actually burning as far as I can tell (though I can relate to that slight soreness as though it burned). That's unusual for me. Usually I burn the first time, then am fine unless I'm out on water all day. It's definitely a different experience, but I'm vitamin D deficient, so I'm kind of running with it.
  • stillonamission
    stillonamission Posts: 140 Member
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    Dragonwolf wrote: »
    I actually have been out in the sun a lot the past couple of weeks. Getting a nice tan. :) I have noticed that I'm more red-tinged this time around, though, but without actually burning as far as I can tell (though I can relate to that slight soreness as though it burned). That's unusual for me. Usually I burn the first time, then am fine unless I'm out on water all day. It's definitely a different experience, but I'm vitamin D deficient, so I'm kind of running with it.

    That is usually me too. If I am outside for a long period of time I am usually tan by the time others have started turning red.

    I am wondering if it has to do with dehydration? My muscles feel fatigued as well. Sort of feeling like I did a bunch of push ups 3 or 4 days ago... which I didn't.
  • LaurenLK
    LaurenLK Posts: 17 Member
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    May 1 weight: 155.8
    May 8 weight: 154.8

    Doing pretty good on the carnivore diet. Cheated with a sprig of cilantro on taco night. (Crunchy shells for the kids; big bowls of seasoned meat with cheese and sour cream for us.) But its actually really nice not to have to figure out some sort of veggie to have on the side. Was getting pretty tired of broccoli anyway. Have not been able to completely cut out my after work cocktail, even though it is zero carb. Cutting *down* on it though, and maybe I'll be able to phase it out.
  • ChairmanWow
    ChairmanWow Posts: 44 Member
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    tru2one wrote: »

    Throwing this out there to ponder, as I've thought this theory to have quite a bit of validity for a long time now. My ancestry is Athabascan native (Eskimo) and Swedish, two northern cultures that historically relied very heavily on fat and protein and less so on carbohydrates, unless they're seasonal things like berries or veggies that can be found in the short summer months. When you reflect on your own ancestry/genetics, do you find that the way the cultures that you hailed from ate may predict your body's preferred macro levels today?

    Ukrainian, Italian, Lithuanian, Scottish. I have no idea what to do with that, but probably a lot of cabbage.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    On a long enough time scale, we are almost all descended from people who relied on meat for the vast majority of their dietary needs. :smile:
  • cdpits
    cdpits Posts: 91 Member
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    Haven't been able to give up cheese, I am horrible at throwing things out so still have a bit left and had a couple days where I had a bowl of romaine lettuce with a little caesar dressing, 1 heart of romaine left and thats gone too. Other than that I am enjoying all my steaks and chicken on the BBQ!! Down 2lbs this week and loving what I am eating !! Looking forward to bacon and eggs in the AM :)
  • Juliste
    Juliste Posts: 298 Member
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    My week was unsuccessful as far as zero carb is concerned. For the following reasons:

    - I tried to maintain my weight training program (I cut out HIIT sessions) with no carbs and crashed about every 3 days. Even though I know that I am supposed to limit exercise when starting this program until fully adapted. I was previously on a Targeted Keto Diet and replenished carbs after a workout and kept under 20 gr otherwise.
    Next week: I will change my program and frequency.

    - I had no problem sticking to meat and water only all day. If I had cheese with my meal at night, I knew I was in trouble... It is now a trigger food. I am usually hungry after supper but stopped at a certain amount as I thought I was taking in too many calories. Also noticed that certain foods are not filling if eaten alone regardless of the portion size and fat content; i.e. eggs and ground beef.
    -
    Next week: eliminate cheese and also important to eat till I am sated regardless of calorie count.

    So my n=1 experiment continues and hopefully week 2 will be an improvement.

    Have a great week everyone



  • cdpits
    cdpits Posts: 91 Member
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    My big challenge starts Monday as I am going on a road trip for 2 1/2 weeks. Any suggestions or travelling?
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    Juliste wrote: »
    Also noticed that certain foods are not filling if eaten alone regardless of the portion size and fat content; i.e. eggs and ground beef.

    I find ground beef to be one of the most filling foods, of course I am eating it in 250g-750g (~ 0.5 - 1.5 lb) amounts. Eggs I find filling as well, but I normally eat 4-8 (sometimes 12) eggs at a sitting. So, while 2 eggs might not be satisfying and a burger patty or two might not get the job done, these foods can be filling.

    I think it also probably relates to how long you've been eating this way. When you have trained your body to require a lot of bulk to get all the nutrients it needs, it can take a while for it to recognize that it's now getting everything it needs in smaller volume.

    Before I ate this way (low carb not meat only), I could kill a 26oz steak and a couple sides plus a salad. That's after eating some bread, too. And heck, why not split a dessert? Now, I sometimes barely finish a 12-16 oz steak without the sides. My body has changed what it considers "enough."
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