30 Days of Only Ground Beef

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  • dasher602014
    dasher602014 Posts: 1,992 Member
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    FIT_Goat wrote: »
    Thinking about Animal April. Need my coconut oil though.

    If coconut oil is the only thing you can't imagine giving up, then keep it. In fairness, I consumed a fair amount of vegetable oils my first year going meat only. It was mostly a matter of convenience. I wanted egg salad and other stuff like that, and mayo is usually full of horrible oils. The coconut oil will be better than that.

    In an ideal world, you would avoid all plant products. But, you need to make yourself comfortable. I also recommend no supplements, but I wouldn't make that a strict requirements because they are effective in reducing the level of anxiety some people experience when trying this. They are worried that they'll become deficient, so a supplement makes them feel better. I know they're not in need of a supplement and it's not doing anything useful, but it makes them sleep better at night.

    Find a level that will work for you (obviously without plants because that would defeat the point).

    Thanks for the encouragement, @FIT_Goat . The supplements are doctor recommended but I am not convinced they are truly helpful and would happily drop them except possibly Vit D which does make me feel better. But doing meat only, I can see that one and I am very curious about the result.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    On April 8th, when I don't have to do just ground beef, my first meal is going to be roasted bone marrow on top of a ribeye steak. Then a cornish hen, which I might just skin after roasting and give the dogs most of the meat. Then, I want roasted lamb ribs.

    :lol: Can you tell I am having a bit of "the cravings" today? I'm not hungry or unable to eat. I just see all this other meat in my freezer and think, "I want that instead!"

    Oddly, not craving cheese or dairy, in particular. The foods I want aren't even foods that I would have dairy with.
  • glossbones
    glossbones Posts: 1,064 Member
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    I'm going to try and introduce foods back in slowly to identify any problem ingredient. Please don't let it be eggs. Or bacon. Or cream cheese. Or pepperoni. Or chicken. Actually I don't think I'd miss chicken all that much. But I miss eggs really really really.

    Today we are out for lunch and without a single raised eyebrow I was served an 8 oz beef patty, rare, on a plate. And lots of coffee. Bareburger has amazing burgers. It's funny, my tastebuds are reset and I could taste just about everything else that their cooktop touched. Bacon. Mushrooms. Onions. that was easily the most flavorful burger I've ever had.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    I haven't really missed eggs. Oddly enough, the one thing that has been tempting me was the idea of grinding some bacon with some beef for beef and bacon burgers. But, those can wait a couple weeks too.
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
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    Day 5 for me! I managed to consume 13 oz. of ground chuck today. I'm trying to work myself up to a pound each day, but haven't had the appetite for it yet! I still don't have anything I am missing, but am sure there will be something that comes up before too long. I can say that this is the longest I've gone without cheese, but surprisingly, I'm not missing it.

    I didn't weigh this morning, though I plan to in the morning.

    @glossbones, I added back very slowly after meativore May and identified the weight gain reaction that I have to artificial sweeteners. It's a great way to identify problem foods! I also understand the wishing for it not to be certain things, lol! I still miss the sugar free caramel coffee syrup, sometimes, just not the nasty side effects that come with it!
  • SamandaIndia
    SamandaIndia Posts: 1,577 Member
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    Swollen up, constipated and realising that my recent focus on bacon may be contributing. Histamines are a likely unfriendly for me. Shocking news that processed meats tend to be higher in them. Dr busy testing n eliminating other intollerances and alergies as causes of sinus headaches n symptoms.

    So... I bought 1kg of ground beef, 20% fat today ready to join the all beef meat feast team tomorrow.
  • hakamruth
    hakamruth Posts: 124 Member
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    I am having to get off this ground beef challenge. I had a gallbladder flare up. Thinking it was drinking the animal fat. I am discouraged by this since my weight was finally moving downward.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/FIT_Goat/view/day-17-30-ground-beef-826111

    Today is up. Nothing exciting. Tomorrow I will get body fat estimates from measurements. The electrical impedance device isn't very accurate.
    hakamruth wrote: »
    I am having to get off this ground beef challenge. I had a gallbladder flare up. Thinking it was drinking the animal fat. I am discouraged by this since my weight was finally moving downward.

    You don't need to force down all the fat; actually, I wouldn't recommend it. Fat should be increased slowly and be guided by desire. I consume a TON of fat, but I also consume a very high amount of calories. Your body will let you know if you need more fat. There's no need to force it. Yes, I am drinking the fat. First, it helps keep the calorie counts correct for this experiment. You don't need to worry about that. Second, I was already eating over 200 grams of fat each day. My body was adapted to this level of fat, because of my calorie needs.

    It might work better for you to not drink the fat and eat a little more meat, even if it's mostly lean.
  • glossbones
    glossbones Posts: 1,064 Member
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    To that point, I'll mention my daily fat totals are about the same, with lower spikes, as from before I started this challenge.
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
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    I don't drink the fat from the pan. I can't bring myself to do it, so I don't. I will have some in the rare state, though, if it's the ground chuck, but not the ground beef. I wouldn't recommend it for someone who isn't fat adapted yet either! The fat intake takes a little while for tolerance to take place, especially when switching the body from a low fat type of diet (which we have all been on at some point before this woe).

    I have increased my fat, and protein, macro by eating only ground beef, but it's still within the range I was set at prior to the challenge. I do like the simplicity of it. It cooks quickly, so cooking time has been greatly reduced too. My hubby has been supportive. He will have some ground beef, but adds other things with his like a veggie. He needs more variety, where I'm fine with just the meat and some mustard!

    I won't be getting back on the scale until something begins to happen in the bathroom department. TMI, but I've not had a bowel movement since beginning the challenge six days ago! I'm sure the traveling I did right before beginning has some to do with it. I have increased my magnesium supplement to assist with this. I don't feel bloated, yet, but am looking forward to things moving along again. I don't normally "go" everyday (normal can be two times a week for me), but six days is pushing it for me. So, the scale will wait since I don't like to weigh when I know I have what I consider to be extra on board! :blush:
  • LowCarbInScotland
    LowCarbInScotland Posts: 1,027 Member
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    hakamruth wrote: »
    I am having to get off this ground beef challenge. I had a gallbladder flare up. Thinking it was drinking the animal fat. I am discouraged by this since my weight was finally moving downward.

    @hakamruth I only lasted a couple of days eating a single source of meat only. I had absolutely intolerable indigestion. I was eating pork belly, couldn't possibly have done ground beef as I don't care much for it without other accompaniments. Even though my overall fat levels were relatively the same as before, clearly not having the 10-15 grams worth of carb foods in my diet and some very basic variety of foods made it hard on my digestive system.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    I only lasted a couple of days eating [pork belly] only. I had absolutely intolerable indigestion. [. . .] clearly not having the 10-15 grams worth of carb foods in my diet and some very basic variety of foods made it hard on my digestive system.

    This conclusion about carbs doesn't follow, unless you added back just the carb sources and continued with only pork belly. It could easily apply to a diet of mostly pork belly being hard on your digestive system. Pork wouldn't be my recommended meat for most people. I know a lot of people who have problems with pork products. Or maybe it was the lack of the carbs. Indigestion isn't a completely rare adaptation issue for people moving to meat only diets. It does pass.

    I wouldn't even recommend most people do one type of meat only. There's really no benefit for it over eating a mix of meats. My benefits are coming from removing dairy. I could probably get the same results with a mix of meat. I will probably continue to not have dairy through April, even after I add back in other meats.
    Karlottap wrote: »
    I won't be getting back on the scale until something begins to happen in the bathroom department. TMI, but I've not had a bowel movement since beginning the challenge six days ago! I'm sure the traveling I did right before beginning has some to do with it. I have increased my magnesium supplement to assist with this. I don't feel bloated, yet, but am looking forward to things moving along again. I don't normally "go" everyday (normal can be two times a week for me), but six days is pushing it for me. So, the scale will wait since I don't like to weigh when I know I have what I consider to be extra on board! :blush:

    I know you're not worried, because you're not bloated or uncomfortable, but it's also very likely there isn't much left in there anyway. A diet like this will produce very little waste, on the order of 5-6 times less waste than a mixed diet. Is it possible that you have a few extra pounds that will work their way through? Yeah, but I wouldn't let it keep me off the scale. You might be shocked, when things get moving, about the lack of volume. I've even had moments where it was like, "that can't be everything."
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
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    I figured the volume would be less than ever too! It just seems to be a big change! I'm adding it to my data with regard to changes while undertaking this challenge! :wink: Thanks!

    Sorry for anyone seeing negative side effects! I think it would be harder for me if I weren't already primarily carnivore!
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    As for my daily measurements.

    Body-Fat %: 21.34% -> 21.00% -> 20.56%

    So, it's continuing to drop. It would be nice to get back down to around 18%, which is where I was for a long time. My ultimate goal is to be 15% or lower. But, I am thinking of shorter goals right now. 20%, 18%, 16%, and then 15%.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    Yeah, I am not completely shocked that there are adaptation issues with people going to a mono-food. I didn't mean for most people do jump in to trying this, as I expect most people won't succeed. It is an extreme change to handle all at once. All the reports that I have ever read, mostly dealing with Arctic exploration, describe very difficult adaptation periods ranging from 2-3 weeks when people move to a meat-only diet. Some of that will be keto-adaptation (which many here are past), but there's more.

    In many ways, going from 20g to 0g of carbs is just as hard as going from 150g+ to 20g. It might not seem like a huge number, but it's a very big step. Going to a single food source is very difficult, for mental reasons but it can also cause some physical issues.

    I think people should start with a mixed meat only diet. Don't want burgers? Have some wings or a steak or bacon and eggs. It's a lot easier get adapt to.
  • SamandaIndia
    SamandaIndia Posts: 1,577 Member
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    @FIT_Goat and @glossbones what are you adding to the beef mince to vary flavour or texture? My 80% mince that I fried in xct oil was a bit dry n dull. I added salt but looking for ideas. I had BPC for breakfast. Thought about butter or philadelphia cream to add moisture to the beef once through cooking at lunch. Thoughts? Technically dinner time but not hungry yet.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
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    I just add a little seasoning and salt. Last night it was a little chili powder and some pepper.
  • glossbones
    glossbones Posts: 1,064 Member
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    I am generally grilling mine with no seasoning, keeping the meat rare.

    This morning I wanted to cook some meat that I was less confident about, so I wok-cooked it as a crumble with about a 1/2 teaspoon of salt (for a pound). It wasn't too bad but if I drained it I'm sure I'd find it inedible.
  • FamedSuperPanda
    FamedSuperPanda Posts: 8 Member
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    FIT_Goat wrote: »
    Tanukiko wrote: »
    Curious if you're eating grassfed or factory ground beef.

    I almost never eat grass-finished beef. My meat is always grain-finished. I have other threads where I explain my reasoning behind this.

    Would you be able to link those? I love the simplicity and starting a no dairy, no flour, no sugar detox next week. Was going to do all grass fed though but it is pricey. The studies you reference on the Arctic would have had deeper nutritional profiles in their meat. Not sure that impacts the results. Concerning or no? Thanks!