April Challenges

Options
1356

Replies

  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
    Options
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    My all bacon starter challenge is a fail for me. Fourteen strips of bacon a day is not filling. Tasty, but not filling. I've added in other meats to help me feel satiated... Still not feeling full before about 2200 kcal but I'll cut calories when I can... maybe when hormones level out. So not worth it at the moment. LOL

    This does not shock me. I would have to eat a LOT of bacon to be full. A pound is a single meal. So, probably three pounds a day (assuming the fat is drained). I could probably do a pound and a half if I could eat all the fat. But, I doubt I could.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Options
    FIT_Goat wrote: »
    nvmomketo wrote: »
    My all bacon starter challenge is a fail for me. Fourteen strips of bacon a day is not filling. Tasty, but not filling. I've added in other meats to help me feel satiated... Still not feeling full before about 2200 kcal but I'll cut calories when I can... maybe when hormones level out. So not worth it at the moment. LOL

    This does not shock me. I would have to eat a LOT of bacon to be full. A pound is a single meal. So, probably three pounds a day (assuming the fat is drained). I could probably do a pound and a half if I could eat all the fat. But, I doubt I could.

    Thanks Goat. Always good to hear. :) I honestly thought the bacon would be filling, instead I had to stop myself from eating it all at once. LOL
  • lisawinning4losing
    lisawinning4losing Posts: 726 Member
    edited March 2016
    Options
    The last two days I've been ramping up for next month. Been at about 40 grams of carbs per day. Still polishing off some stuff I have, like a left over jar of spaghetti sauce in the fridge, and some sweet potatoes. But, still plan on staying below 50 at the most leading up to April. In April I'm actually going to do Ad Lib, 30 grams of carbs a day or less. I'm thinking of it as under 30 carbs for 30 days. Has a nice ring to it! But, I'm feeling good and I'm actually really enjoying all this yummy food without having to worry about fat or calories so much.

    Also, ya know, there's always friends and family to deal with. My boyfriend is afraid that I'm literally going to die if I eat nothing but meat and stuff for 30 days. Lol. Plus, I probably have a better chance of sticking to it if I can a little bit of variety. Heck, today it was 4 carbs just to add some onion to my hamburger. Ya gotta have onion in your hamburger.

    All I want is to get to ketosis. Hopefully >30 will be low enough to get me there. I'm going to buy some strips so I test myself. Any advice is appreciated. I've never done this before, but I'm reading up on it so I can be prepared.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
    Options
    My boyfriend is afraid that I'm literally going to die if I eat nothing but meat and stuff for 30 days.

    This was my wife. I did it anyway, and then she insisted that I was going to die any day after that. Even after six months, she was convinced I was going to die. It took a doctor's appointment with a full range of blood tests that came back perfectly normal before she accepted that it wasn't deadly. In the end, we're all going to die. But it [probably] won't be within 30 days just because of eating meat.
  • totaloblivia
    totaloblivia Posts: 1,164 Member
    Options
    I really want to do all-animal april, but will require negotiation at home with my husband, plus my mum is coming over for the weekend in early april and will go bananas at the idea - not sure I can take the grief!
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    Options
    I really want to do all-animal april, but will require negotiation at home with my husband, plus my mum is coming over for the weekend in early april and will go bananas at the idea - not sure I can take the grief!
    My husband will definitely have some words of non support if I discuss it with him. So I'm not going to. I'm just going to do my thing and if he notices, I'll just say I haven't been in the mood for certain foods. I'm not likely to tell him I'm doing it on purpose.
  • kvinson80
    kvinson80 Posts: 26 Member
    Options
    I am a newbie - have been doing LC for a little over 2 weeks now and am seeing pretty good weight loss but am still struggling with cutting out "sweetened" things... So, I am interested in the All Animal April as I think it may help me break those habits. Question though: what is included in the allowed "high fat/low carb dairy"?
  • LuizH
    LuizH Posts: 211 Member
    Options
    I really want to do all-animal april, but will require negotiation at home with my husband, plus my mum is coming over for the weekend in early april and will go bananas at the idea - not sure I can take the grief!
    My husband will definitely have some words of non support if I discuss it with him. So I'm not going to. I'm just going to do my thing and if he notices, I'll just say I haven't been in the mood for certain foods. I'm not likely to tell him I'm doing it on purpose.

    I'm ashamed to say I started 2 weeks early because my mum is in Australia right now so she can't tell me everything I'm doing wrong (she's a devout follower of Slimming World and already can't grasp the concept of low carb). By the time she's home I'll have been doing this for 3 weeks and hopefully she'll be able to see the positive effects the diet is having on my body shape.

    And after all the years I have spent converting my husband to a more balanced diet (he lived on beer and the kind of fast food you only get when you're drunk when he first moved in with me) it's not really surprising to me that he has something to say about me only eating animal products. I just sold it to him as 'testing how low I can take my carbs', I don't think he's noticed that I'm eating no veg at all because I eat separately from the family most days anyway.
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Options
    I really want to do all-animal april, but will require negotiation at home with my husband, plus my mum is coming over for the weekend in early april and will go bananas at the idea - not sure I can take the grief!

    I feel you on this!! My MIL and her SO are coming to stay in mid April. They are vegetarians! :D Should be interesting. We don't see eye to eye on a lot of things so this will just be another thing for her to roll her eyes at. LOL
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
    Options
    I'm thinking of it as under 30 carbs for 30 days. Has a nice ring to it!
    Definitely!
    All I want is to get to ketosis. Hopefully >30 will be low enough to get me there. I'm going to buy some strips so I test myself. Any advice is appreciated.

    Do you mean the blood test strips? 'cuz the urine ones won't really give you what you're looking for.
    kvinson80 wrote: »
    Question though: what is included in the allowed "high fat/low carb dairy"?
    Check your labels, but generally it means aged cheese, HWC as opposed to milk, some greek yogurts, etc.

  • lisawinning4losing
    lisawinning4losing Posts: 726 Member
    edited March 2016
    Options
    Oh crap, I meant to write <30. Less than 30, not greater than! Oops! My math teacher would fail me right now, if I were still in school! Ha ha!

    Well, I was reading article online that recommended using the urine strips to test for ketones, and they said you can buy them cheap from the pharmacy. Is that not good enough? I really hope I don't have to prick myself and draw blood.

    Edit: Just found a couple more articles that kind of explain it. I guess the urine strips aren't very accurate, and apparently I was reading some old fashioned advice. Well, I'll hate having to poke myself, but, I'm the kind of person who needs to know.

  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
    Options
    In addition to the pokey factor, the ketone blood strips are expensive. The thing is, if you are strict about your tracking and are under 30g carbs a day, it's a basically a metabolic certainty that you will be in ketosis. The question of "am I or aren't I" really only comes up when you start getting to that 50g-100g space where individual physiological differences manifest.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
    Options
    Oh crap, I meant to write <30. Less than 30, not greater than! Oops! My math teacher would fail me right now, if I were still in school! Ha ha!

    Well, I was reading article online that recommended using the urine strips to test for ketones, and they said you can buy them cheap from the pharmacy. Is that not good enough? I really hope I don't have to prick myself and draw blood.

    Edit: Just found a couple more articles that kind of explain it. I guess the urine strips aren't very accurate, and apparently I was reading some old fashioned advice. Well, I'll hate having to poke myself, but, I'm the kind of person who needs to know.

    I think the idea of them not being accurate is debatable. It's more like, you have to understand what can influence the test.
    I think there are things that can cause someone to test negative that is actually making ketones.
    But, if you test positive, there's nothing to debate. You're making ketones and the strip detected them.
    They are sometimes not accurate when someone is very well hydrated because the urine is diluted. So the ketones show up as negative or possibly show as smaller concentration.
    So basically,
    If it shows ketones, you're making ketones.
    If it shows negative, you might be making ketones.


  • DorkothyParker
    DorkothyParker Posts: 618 Member
    edited March 2016
    Options
    I'm in for Ad Libitum April! The fact that it feels "spooky" tells me that it is a healthy way for me to go!

    Edit: I might even start early!
  • Phrick
    Phrick Posts: 2,765 Member
    Options
    I'm in for Ad Lib, and starting today :smiley:
  • Juliste
    Juliste Posts: 298 Member
    Options
    I'm in for animal kingdom food with mct oil - beginning April 1.
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
    Options
    Yay to everyone wanting to go for these challenges! They have both been life changing for me!
  • ChoiceNotChance
    ChoiceNotChance Posts: 644 Member
    Options
    I think I'm going to try all meat, at least for a while. Don't know if I'll make a whole month. It could be a budget killer. It's going to be all animal, not going to restrict myself to ground beef. Are we saying no condiments? I sure do love a glob of home made mayo on my meat.
    Are there actual guidelines anywhere?
  • nvmomketo
    nvmomketo Posts: 12,019 Member
    Options
    I think I'm going to try all meat, at least for a while. Don't know if I'll make a whole month. It could be a budget killer. It's going to be all animal, not going to restrict myself to ground beef. Are we saying no condiments? I sure do love a glob of home made mayo on my meat.
    Are there actual guidelines anywhere?

    I am guessing that ideally, mayo would be out due to canola oil or soy oil. I'm keeping coconut oil though. Do what works is my attitude. :)

    Goat's guidelines:

    All Animal April
    • This is the challenge that has already been discussed for April. Go the whole month giving up plants. It is similar to Meativore May. I forget if we had any specific guidelines last year, so I typed this up. Let me know if I missed anything or it needs clarification.
    • For the month of April, eat only from the Animal kingdom. This means no plants or salads, no vegetable oils, and so on. Dairy is allowed, but could cause problems.

      Basics
      1. Eat only from the animal world (meat, eggs, high-fat/low-carb dairy).
      2. Eat nothing from the vegetable world whatsoever (very small amounts of spices may be added, they are not ‘food’).
      3. Drink mostly water, coffee, or tea. Drink nothing sweetened in any way.
      4. No sweeteners.
      Weekly Check-In Should Include
      • Short description of how it's going for you. Anything you think is important or you want to mention.
      Yeah, it's a simple check-in, but it is also a simple lifestyle.
  • FIT_Goat
    FIT_Goat Posts: 4,224 Member
    edited March 2016
    Options
    I think I'm going to try all meat, at least for a while. Don't know if I'll make a whole month. It could be a budget killer. It's going to be all animal, not going to restrict myself to ground beef. Are we saying no condiments? I sure do love a glob of home made mayo on my meat.
    Are there actual guidelines anywhere?

    It really isn't as bad on the budget as you might expect. You're dropping the foods with a very high $/calorie ratio. Veggies don't pack much punch per dollar spent. You're also not going to be replacing the veggies by volume or weight, just by calories. An extra 200 calories of meat is probably even cheaper than it would have been to get the 200 calories of veggies.

    Condiments are fine. Multiple types of meat are encouraged (don't be one type of meat unless you've done this before or have a reason to go that simple). I try and avoid vegetable oils, but if a little homemade mayo is what it takes to keep things achievable, go for it. Supplements aren't deal-breakers either (although no fiber supplements). Seasonings, coffee, tea, sparkling water... all fine. No artificial sweeteners.

    That's basically it.

    Edit: My issue with vegetable oils is that they're really not healthy for you. They also mess up the omega ratios and can cause inflammation. Long-term, I highly encourage them to be removed from your diet. They are 0 carb, though, and shouldn't really negate the benefits of doing all-animal. If the difference between success and failure, for someone, is a couple TBS of mayo a once or twice a week, then I would say they should keep the mayo. There's time to clean up the little things after the big things are addressed.