All Animal April (Advanced Experimenters)

FIT_Goat

Note: This challenge is for those who are comfortable with low-carb and are interested in some self-experimentation. There is no, proven, benefits to weight loss over keto or other low-carb plans.

For the month of April, eat only from the Animal kingdom. This means no plants or salads, no vegetable oils, and so on. I am willing to be flexible on the vegetable oils, but they can be problematic. If you're all about your coconut oil, you can keep what you're comfortable with. Technically, if you're stuck between quitting and having a little mayo (made with vegetable oil), then go with the mayo. It's should not cause you any issues. You just don't need them.

Dairy is allowed, but could cause problems. In particular, cheese can cause constipation in large amounts. This can usually be rectified (hehe) with a little extra fat or a nice pot of full strength coffee. It is best to keep the amount of cheese reasonable. Most people won't see any issues with 1-2 ounces a day. Some don't have problems even with 2-3 times that much. Dairy can also cause slower weight loss, stalls, or even slight gains. It is delicious and adds some variety. I would encourage most people to not be worried about problems with dairy, but just to take it easy and be aware that it is a primary suspect for these sorts of issues.

Basics

• Eat only from the animal world (meat, eggs, high-fat/low-carb dairy).
• Eat nothing from the vegetable world whatsoever (very small amounts of spices may be added, they are not ‘food’).
• Drink mostly water, coffee, or tea. Drink nothing sweetened in any way.
• 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. Check ins should be more of a personal narrative, although you are welcome to report hard numbers as well. Share the good, the bad, and the ugly. Even going from keto (20 grams of carbs) down to 0 grams is a big step. It's a lot bigger than going from 70 grams to 20. It's about as big as going from the standard American diet to keto. Why? I don't know. But, those last 20 grams are a big step.

Don't fear salt, especially the first couple weeks. Salting things will help if you experience a lot of water weight loss. You can supplement, if it makes you comfortable. Some people may choose to track calories and macros, others may not. This is an advanced experiment and you get to determine what protocols are important for yourself.

krazyforyou

On it Boss

tinywonder25

OH MAN! I just fell in love with vegetables! 4 months ago I would've been totally in! Good luck y'all!

Kitnthecat

Count me in, but with so many social functions coming up this month...I will watch my dairy intake, but will allow myself an occasional vodka and soda with my meat.

tlflag1620

I'm in - just enjoyed some strawberries and heavy cream as a "good bye plants" snack. I plan our family dinners two weeks in advance, but most of the upcoming week looks compatible (I'll have to have something else on chili night, but no problem). Grocery store had a great BOGO sale on meat today, so I'm stocked up and ready to go. Glad I'm in an area of the country where the produce is still pretty sad this time of year . Don't feel like I'll be missing much, and I'll appreciate those local spring veggies all the more next month! I will "cheat" on my husband's birthday - he's requested a carrot cake and that was already going to be a planned cheat for me. I've got some home rendered lard in the freezer and I save bacon drippings, so cooking oils shouldn't be an issue. I already don't track, but estimate that I usually eat 50-80g of carbs per day, so this will be a big drop for me... A little nervous, lol.

TexasJohnnyBravo

Count me in, gotta kick the diet DP habit!

danidanibobani

I'm so freaking ready! I went to Costco and stocked up. I had some strawberries and cream also as my goodbye. I am looking forward to this. I have been hovering at 156, and I'd like to lose about 8 pounds. I have been this weight for months, so I am ready to shake things up.

SamandaIndia

tlflag1620 wrote: »

I'm in - just enjoyed some strawberries and heavy cream as a "good bye plants" snack. I plan our family dinners two weeks in advance, but most of the upcoming week looks compatible (I'll have to have something else on chili night, but no problem). Grocery store had a great BOGO sale on meat today, so I'm stocked up and ready to go. Glad I'm in an area of the country where the produce is still pretty sad this time of year . Don't feel like I'll be missing much, and I'll appreciate those local spring veggies all the more next month! I will "cheat" on my husband's birthday - he's requested a carrot cake and that was already going to be a planned cheat for me. I've got some home rendered lard in the freezer and I save bacon drippings, so cooking oils shouldn't be an issue. I already don't track, but estimate that I usually eat 50-80g of carbs per day, so this will be a big drop for me... A little nervous, lol.

That's huge! My learning: don't forget the butter n other fats. I feel fab (day 5) but would be grumpy if I had done this a few months back when I was still getting used to adding fats. Really impressed you are going cold turkey, so to speak n jumping straight down. Good luck!!

LuizH

I started early so today is day 14 for me. Week one I lost 3lbs and a few bits of inches in various places. Week 2 has been less productive, my body seems to like my current weight and I'm not seeing any real change, my trend weight has flattened right out.

I have been feeling positive about the changes in diet, even before I turned to keto I would have been happy to live on meat and cheese for the rest of my life. But today I just feel a bit flat and like I don't want to do this any more, not really that I want to start eating other foods, more that I don't want to be bothered eating anything, even though physically I feel hungry. I guess this is just a low and it will pass. I have tried cutting out my BPC this week and have been struggling to hit my fat goal without it, so maybe that's my answer right there. I've also been eating mostly cheap cuts of meat for the higher fat content but maybe tonight I'll try something a bit more tasty like a big fat rib-eye with plenty of butter.

Time2LoseWeightNOW

I'm hoping a tablespoon of Butter in my coffee will count in the dairy...I forgot!! But I am excited to get into the All Meat April!!

kirkor

I'm in. Drinking only water too, which will be a big change. I put away the AeroPress last night.

FIT_Goat

Time2LoseWeightNOW wrote: »

I'm hoping a tablespoon of Butter in my coffee will count in the dairy...I forgot!! But I am excited to get into the All Meat April!!

Butter is high fat dairy. It is totally allowed.

tlflag1620

Posting my day one stats:

5'7" female
SW: 149 lbs
Waist (at narrowest point)- 27.5"
Hips (at widest point)- 37"
Thigh (at widest point)- 22.5"

GW: 140-145 lbs, no real time frame, but it would be nice to lose 2-3 lbs this month

The fam is having chili tonight, but there's leftover chicken and pork chops in the fridge, so I plan to eat that, probably shmeared with some butter.

@SamandaIndia : Thanks! I've been eating at this level (50-80g) for about three years now. I'm not too worried about getting enough fat (when I used to log I hovered around 100g per day and I don't think that's changed) so much as I'm worried about missing veggies and nuts, but I think my almond habit has been slowing me down, so this will be a nice way to test that theory

ChoiceNotChance

I'm in. I started on Monday. It's going well. The scale is moving in the right direction. Tonight we have a kid's birthday party with pizza and cake. I will eat my meat and butter before I go.

Dragonwolf

I've got company over tonight and am planning salads for it (right now, it's a lettuce blend, black and green olives, dressing, and a variety of meats to top it; I'm still debating whether I'll be the weirdo with meat salad or if I'll do a little lettuce, and I'll likely have at least a few olives, because olives are awesome), but other than that, I'm in. I forgot to do a weigh-in this morning, but my current weight is swinging between 252 and ~256. I'm hoping to see that move downward.

I've got a bunch of steak already cooked up, too.

kirkor

I haven't been weighing in a while but I suppose I'll do a before and after at least.

I am an IF'er too btw, for years now.

Weight training will continue, at least 2 days a week but often a 3rd shorter session. Do cardio once or twice a week.

Sunny_Bunny_

I need to take measurements but here are my current stats

F 5'4"
Scale weight 134.4
Trend weight 135.4
Keto for 11 months

Day 1 of AAA going great!

danidanibobani

My stats:
37 F
5'6
This morning weight 156.8
I'd love to lose 8-10 pounds by mid July. I hope this will get me motivated again. The carbs have been slowly creeping in. I have been reading Gary Taubes "Good Calories, Bad Calories". I feel pretty solid about this challenge. I definitely need to be more mindful of what I eat.

Time2LoseWeightNOW

FIT_Goat wrote: »

Time2LoseWeightNOW wrote: »

I'm hoping a tablespoon of Butter in my coffee will count in the dairy...I forgot!! But I am excited to get into the All Meat April!!

Butter is high fat dairy. It is totally allowed.

Thanks, Fit_Goat!

Habits!! Ugh!! I forgot again a few hours later. While I was talking to a friend , I keep small containers of sunflower seeds in my purse and before I thought about it, I had chunked back a "mouthful of 'em....lol It wasn't until later that I even thought about it...I'm not stressing though , the rest of the day has been easy. So I know it will be easier to remember.

Sunny_Bunny_

Well, I've hit my first hurdle. Hubs was in a rare mood for Mexican but started complaining about how I can't eat anything there. Then I said yes I can, I get fajitas.. Oh dang! I'll have to look at the menu, cuz I'm doing this no vegetable thing...
Well, then he yells to my son that we aren't going now because I'm too much of a freak.
Now he's grumping and I looked at the menu and said I would just ask for extra meat and less peppers/onions and just eat the meat, then he said that's stupid to pay for food in not going to eat...
Then he started in about why I'm not eating vegetables. I made up something about how my belly hurts after so I'm experimenting to see if there's any improvement with my digestion...
He teases me sometimes about eating differently but has even cut back on carbs himself after all the success I've had. I'm kinda surprised at his extreme response tonight. Must just be in a mood.
Anyway, I'm not budging. I refuse to eat food just because it's on my plate. I also told him he could go with our son and I would be fine with that. He's too grumpy to even talk to right now! He's being bratty!

Sunny_Bunny_

I had to update because things took a crazy turn...
So, then after confirming that we were eating at home, I said I was cooking sausage, bacon and eggs then and asked if he wanted pancakes.
He then asked me to stop offering him "fattening foods", initially, I thought I was about to get a lecture about bacon and sausage, then as he went on, he was saying that if I don't offer to make pancakes, then he won't want them and to stop offering food like that for him. Because it was just going to make him fat...
Lol
Well, I didn't see that one coming!

FIT_Goat

I am finishing up day 24 of the ground beef. I'll be moving to a more mixed-meat diet. I am probably going to stay off of dairy the whole month. I make no promises though.

The social aspects are often the hardest part. My wife totally did not understand, for a long time. It was actually months, and only after I went off the diet for a week because she begged me to, before she really saw that I was benefiting from it and accepted it for what it was. Be patient with others. This can be a very weird thing for someone on the outside looking in.

wishfullthinking79

Wow you all are so awesome. I wish I had it in me to just eat meat and eggs basically. Even though I have been eating a ton of eggs and chorizo with green chili and cream cheese. My new go to fav when I am making food for just me. I look forward to reading about your successes this month.

tlflag1620

So I'm wrapping up day one and I stuck with all animal products, BUT... I know I didn't eat much today (3 eggs cooked in appx 2 tbs butter, a pork chop and half a roast chicken breast w/ the skin). I'm really not feeling hungry, but I'm cooking myself a cheeseburger (no bun or toppings) right now because I feel like I "should" eat more. I guess my question is this (and @FIT_Goat might be the one to ask) - is it normal to see your intake drop so low initially? I didn't think the relatively small amounts of plant foods I was eating before would drive such a difference in appetite, but I guess it does? I expect I'll make up for my low intake today with higher intake tomorrow... Just wondering if anyone else who has done all meat experienced the same thing. I feel good, fwiw.

FIT_Goat

Yes, this sometimes happens. At the start, you might want to prepare some food even if you're not super hungry. Then try it. Sometimes, you don't even know you're hungry until you try the food. But, if you're just not feeling it, you're just not feeling it. It usually balances out, over a few days, and your appetite will pick back up. That's part of why I encourage people to have a variety of meats they like and not just do ground beef. You want to be able to pick a food that is attractive to you, when your mind is telling you that you only want the foods you're not choosing to eat at the moment.

I found having ribs and chicken wings around helped me a lot. Those usually are tempting even when I am not feeling like anything else.

tlflag1620

Thanks! Good idea about the chicken wings - I can cook up a batch tomorrow and rewarm as needed. I did go ahead and eat a cheeseburger, and I was definitely hungry enough to eat all of it, lol. I think my hunger signals are going to have to adjust to this

FIT_Goat

tlflag1620 wrote: »

Thanks! Good idea about the chicken wings - I can cook up a batch tomorrow and rewarm as needed. I did go ahead and eat a cheeseburger, and I was definitely hungry enough to eat all of it, lol. I think my hunger signals are going to have to adjust to this

That has happened to me before. I will be sure that I am not hungry, but as soon as I start eating I realized that I do want to finish what I have. I'm glad you at least tried. I'm even happier that you discovered, first hand, how confusing hunger can sometimes be at the start of eating this way. It does get better.

The great things about wings is that they are very easy to rewarm and you can heat up only as much as you might want. And, they heat quickly in case you under-estimated.

We have a toaster oven, which I like because the skin "toasts" and gets a little crispy when I rewarm them.

Time2LoseWeightNOW

Day 1 complete. Almost all meat except for the sunflower seed slip up. I can honestly say It hasn't been as tough as I thought it might be. I notice that I am not craving anything. Usually I take a trip into the kitchen to see if there is anything that would pass as LCHF before bedtime, most of the time it has been the small slice of Lemon cake. That dang thing won't go away. Usually Hubby has eaten it up by now!! But tonight , no Problem passing it by!! I am anxious to see how much easier it may be as the days go on. Sunday I'll put up some stats , mostly for me to see if I can tell a change at the end. Everyone looks like they had a great day! Can't wait to get into some chicken wings or ribs! Off to the car show tomorrow in Mobile, Al. so that may be chancy, but I think I can find enough to satisfy me. fingers crossedXXXX

Sunny_Bunny_

Day 1 ended great for me, though I did have some wine ...

Dragonwolf

So, I did salad for dinner last night, complete with the veggies (but also a good amount of meat and cheese, as well as a bunch of olives). It was actually a great standard low carb meal.

My friend and I came up with some fantastic sounding cream cheese stuffed burgers, so I'm thinking about doing that today.

tlflag1620

Started off day two very well - resisted the strawberries and heavy cream that my three year old had for breakfast . Had two large strips of bacon from "our" pig (he's in the freezer) and two scrambles eggs, cooked in the bacon grease. Gotta pick up my older girls from their cousin's house today; plan to have a ground pork "burger" or two for lunch. It's burrito night at my house - I would typically put the meat and toppings on a salad, but today I plan to just have a bowl of meat and cheese... The lack of salsa or guacamole makes sad, but I think I'll manage, lol. Will have some bone broth or some bacon (I cooked up some extra this morning) if I feel hungry or like I need more salt.

@Time2LoseWeightNOW - it is wild how the cravings go away doing this! I'm usually foraging for food in the evening, and while I eat LCHF compatible things so I never saw it as a big deal, it was so odd to not be even vaguely hungry last night!

Sounds like everyone got off to a pretty good start!