Zero Carb eating

sarah7591

Wow....you covered lots of territory in MI...(my home state ). Keep up the good work!

AKTipsyCat

Good Luck! I look forward to seeing the results of your journey.

russellholtslander1

Today I was 266.2. Down 2.2 lbs. since yesterday afternoon, but I think it was just the time of day I weighed in.. I'm lighter in the morning, after not eating all night. So 266.2 is down 4.2 lbs., since Thursday morning. So 5 days. My blood sugar, was 130 mg/dL.. still a bit high, despite not eating many carbs, and being on diabetes meds. I have 15 days to see my doctor, and she will be happy with weight loss, but my A1C may be higher than I hoped, if they test it. I think this time, they test my lipids, which will be a good thing to see. That'll give me 3 mos. to figure out what is going on. Maybe it's all the calories, protein, or just an adjustment period.. numbers are better, but not down to 100 or less.. where I want them.

This morning, I had 6 eggs, butter, and shredded 1 oz. of extra sharp cheddar over them. Lunch is 8 ozs. of haddock, cooked in butter, and dinner is 12 ozs. of boneless pork short ribs, cooked in butter.

Not much to speak of.. whatever chest discomfort I had Saturday, was a 1 day thing. I feel awesome today.. it's been 10 days. I'm down 14.4 lbs., which is mostly water weight. My breathing is a lot better, and I am sleeping better. Going to start walking again at the local park today, because I feel good. There is a 1 mile loop, with a bench at the far end, right under a tree.. so I can walk 1/2 a mile, rest, and walk back.. other than a little wading in the pool, walking is my main exercise. It helps , and is practical. When I am struggling to walk 250 feet, it severely limits what I can do.. not just going places, but it translates to daily life.. things like washing dishes can leave me winded.. not a problem, if I am walking and breathing better. I've been lax in my walking. I pay for a gym membership at Planet Fitness, but working up to doing a few workouts each week.. more focused on cardio now.. maybe lift weights during the winter, when I can't walk outside, or " swim ".

russellholtslander1

Down another lb. to 265.2. Busy day at the office today, so I woke up early to cook all my meals.. I had haddock for breakfast, will have short ribs for lunch, and a sirloin steak for dinner. Was planning on wading in the pool tonight, but it's outdoors, and supposed to be 60 for a high. Maybe I'll go shoot some baskets.

I feel good, and have to say that I have more energy than I normally do, BUT, my energy was low before, so I wouldn't say my energy is great, which some people say happens. I'm less sleepy, and feel more like exercising, which is better. I walked a mile yesterday, and felt great at the end. However, it's not some huge energy surge. Maybe it's the best I can hope for, until I lose more weight, since I AM a heart patient.. maybe good IS great.. for ME. I think maybe this idea of being a lot more energetic, is oversold though, and we simply stop being less energetic than people around us. Of course, I didn't start with a goal to have tons of energy, but it would be nice if it was true, right? So far for me, it's simply a little better. In case someone else is hoping this does that for them.. maybe others DO get a huge energy spike.

russellholtslander1

Feeling good @ 264 lbs.

Breakfast was 8 sausage patties, cooked in a half stick of butter. Lunch was 2 large chicken thighs, and dinner is going to be 12 ozs. of ground beef. Feels like I am in a routine now.. mostly just trying for some variety, and deciding what sounds good in the morning, and cooking it. Today I am actually having ZERO carbs.. just meat. I ran out of eggs, and don't go shopping until Saturday, so just going to do sausage until then.

I had my first low blood sugar today. It happened right before lunch, so I just warmed up my chicken thighs, and my vision cleared up after I ate. I didn't bring my glucose meter, which I should have, so I didn't test how low it got. This morning, my blood sugar was 88 mg/dL, before I ate the sausage, so I will need to start paying attention, and record any low blood sugar readings, so maybe I can either cut, or stop the meds for diabetes, once my doctor is convinced I'll stick to my plan.

Weather has been rainy, and 60. So no exercise. Tomorrow, the sun is supposed to show up, and make it to 70. Looking forward to taking a walk.

russellholtslander1

I gained today. 2/10ths of a lb. Up to 264.2. My blood sugars are still low though...70-95.

Had sausage patties again, and have tuna and mayo for lunch. Dinner will be chicken thighs, which I just have to reheat.

Sunny and 70 today, so I am going to try for 2 laps at the park.. so 2 miles. Fall is here. My favorite season.. and the next 2 weeks are supposed to be dry, 65-70, with a little sun. Perfect for a fat guy.

Grocery shopping today. I need some other form of meat, to add some variety. I'm limited to salt. Herbs and spices are derived from plants, so I'm not using even black pepper, although most ZC'ers do. Some use more herbs. I choose not to. I don't use even salt on most meat, since my Na is limited.. mostly on red meat. So I tend to just use light salt on ground beef or steaks. I do use salted butter, but most of what I eat is low enough that I stay below 1800 mg a day. Fish is saltier, if you buy it in a package. So I need to go to the fish market for fresh fish, and next door is an Amish market, where I can get chicken thighs, which aren't soaked in a salt solution. I could buy red meat there, but it is expensive, and the normal grocery has OK red meat.. a lot cheaper.

Most of my meat has several servings each, so I don't really have an excess of meat in my cart, plus there are other groceries from my brother, which are vegetables, fruit, bread, salad etc. So no one is staring at my selections. I know others who buy a ton of meat once a month, and just stock a freezer.. who say they get stared at. It bothers them. I eat about 2 lbs of meat a day.. so only 14 lbs. of meat a week, and some I get from the Amish butcher.. maybe half of what I eat is chicken?? So I'll get a pack of steaks, some packs of ground beef, maybe some pork chops, although I don't like pork that much. This week, I'm thinking lamb or duck for variety, but just one package, and cans of tuna. I don't think my cart would look strange, even if my brother's groceries weren't mixed in. Maybe the problem is buying a whole month at one time. That would be a LOT of meat at one time.

Funny thing is, my brother can't even do low carb for long. He tries every so often, and I cook whatever food he wants, since I have more time, but most of the time, he eats plenty of carbs. It's not a big deal.. today I cooked 6 chicken thighs. I will have 4 for dinner, and he'll have 2 thighs, and I'll cook up some lima beans on the side. Other days, I might eat a lb. of ground beef, maybe with shredded cheese on top, and cook him ground beef with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, and kidney beans. He also drinks sweet tea and Coke at times in front of me. The food doesn't bother me.. I do miss sweet tea though.

russellholtslander1

Down to 263.4 today. Ate 6 eggs for breakfast, then had to go get a screw removed from my tire.. 3rd time in 5 mos., since I bought my new car. None went flat, and the tires were plugged for free, but it's annoying. Hit the library, then watched U-M play Rutgers, and the Tigers beat KC.. and ate some chicken thighs about 3 p.m.

Dinner was 3 lamb chops. Ground lamb is expensive, so I just went with the chops. Didn't seem like a lot of food, but I am full. I did have a low blood sugar today, before lunch, since I ate breakfast at 7 a.m., and lunch at 3 p.m. Was waiting the hour for my chicken to bake. My blood sugar was 57 mg/dL. It was 84 this morning, and 102 before dinner. Got it before my vision became too blurry, so no headache after it cleared up.

Decided to come to the office, and do some work at 11 p.m., and check in. It's been 2 weeks now, and weight loss has been consistent, but has slowed down, blood sugars are low, and meals are pretty boring. I mix it up, but options are limited. I got some lamb chops, and later this week, I have some beef sausage links, which I plan to have with some cheese. Other than that, it's chicken, steak/beef, and occasionally some pork or fish.

I've been eating 2500 calories a day, but thinking I may drop serving sizes a little, and see if I still feel full at 2100 calories a day.

russellholtslander1

Weighed in at 262.8. Blood sugar was good this morning.. 86 mg/dL. I had 3 XL eggs and 2 sausage patties, cooked in 3 Tbsp butter, and added 2 slices of bacon. Lunch is just 2 cans of tuna, with 3 Tbsp. mayo. Dinner is 10.4 ozs. of chicken thighs.

This is only 1956 calories. I may add another Tbsp. of mayo, or 1-2 ozs. of cheese for a snack, to get to 2100-2200 calories.

Not much going on today. Just going to watch my Lions lose another game, then take a walk in the park, and then read later this afternoon.

gothchiq

I'm diabetic too but I do include nonstarchy vegetables. I have a friend who tried Atkins and got gout, so after that happened to him, I decided that like 50 to 75 carbs a day from plenty of nonstarchy vegetables would be okay. Ran that by my doctor and she was down with it. I mean YMMV of course but please talk to your doctor to make sure you aren't running a risk of getting gout like my friend did.

russellholtslander1

I already had gout, which is why I eat this way.. no flare-ups since I started Atkins, then moved to Keto, and now ZC. That was years ago. I think my doctor had no clue what caused gout. He told me to cut protein, and mushrooms.

What causes gout for me, in the year it took for me to get rid of the flare-ups, was olive oil, duck, gravy, game meat.. like venison, basically rich foods, which are sort of greasy. I avoid those, and it's been years since gout was an issue.

I do fine with animal fats, meat, fish, fowl.. 2-3 lbs a day, plus 3-6 XL eggs a day. Non-starchy vegetables aren't a problem in this regard either, but I tend to creep upward when I do eat vegetables, until I go over 20g a day, and get cravings, and cheat.. then have to start over. So I was already eating under 20g a day most of the time, and my cardiologists actually recommend low carb. I have had good results, and I think by having more consistency, they will even be better.

Since my doctor was already seeing days with 5-10 grams of carbs.. switching to 2-4 from eggs, wasn't a huge change.. any dangers that would pop up, would have happened years ago. I'm down about 100 lbs. now. My doctors are well aware of what I eat, how much I exercise, and test me extensively. I am a heart patient. I don't just go do something, and then hope things turn out well.

I'm glad that 50-75 grams works for you, but it doesn't work for me.. even if it comes from non-starchy veggies, that many carbs causes me to binge eat, until I hurt. I don't think anyone would skip berries, or veggies, if they could eat them, and stay on track. Which is why most people don't do ZC, or even KETO, or Atkins Induction. They wouldn't follow it.

I find ZC keeps me well below 20 grams a day.. 0-5 grams, and since I rarely eat cheese, eggs are usually the only source of carbs.. and I can't eat enough eggs to get to 20g in a day. This allows me to only eat when I want to, and how much I want to. I could go a day or 2 without eating at all, and not be bothered, but choose to eat 2-3 meals a day.

I'm willing to do this, to have control, and so far, it's working. Keto, and Atkins Induction worked when I was strict, but eventually, if you are right at 20, or wherever cravings start again, you will pop up over that number.. you'll be watching a game, and have a handful of olives, and 2 ozs. of cheese, and suddenly be ravenous, and realize you ate 24 grams that day.

Basically, this WOE doesn't allow for the POSSIBILITY of doing that. Once you are eating some form of carb, it's not that hard to have too much. If you aren't having any carbs except cheese and eggs.. you would need to eat a LOT of those, or knowingly eat something with carbs. That would be a choice, not simply a mistake of eating 5-10 extra carbs. This way, I just eat until full, and I don't have to look and see if I have any carbs left. I just eat.

Next time I do tests, my doctors will be poring over the results to see if anything got worse.. thanks for your concern.

russellholtslander1

Down to 262.4 today.. weight loss is pretty slow right now. I ate 2,179 calories yesterday, and still felt a bit stuffed. That's 300 calories less than I was eating, and I felt better, but today since I have a lot of meetings, I just boiled 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs ( 1.5 lbs. ) Breakfast was 3 XL eggs, and 2 sausage patties, diced up, and cooked in 3 Tbsp. butter. That only comes out to 1,750 calories, so I might have to add more after my last meeting after dinner. I have some cheese sitting unopened in the fridge. Maybe 1,750 will be OK.. I am a bit stuffed after breakfast. I could have cooked the thighs in butter to add some calories, but boiling them meant I didn't have to watch them, or flip them. I just waited 45 minutes, and split them into 2 bowls of 4 thighs each.. 510 calories each, according to the package.. rounded off to 12 ozs. each. No bone or skin, but they don't trim the fat at the Amish butcher's. Gives me a few more calories.

I decided to skip seasoning today, and have nothing but chicken, eggs, and breakfast sausage, and the butter w/ breakfast. Fat is down to 65%, protein 35%. I want to see how I like this, and if I feel lighter after eating this way. I feel like I am adding EXTRA butter and mayo to foods, just to hit a caloric goal. Maybe my weight loss will speed up again, with less calories?? We shall see. My Na for the day is 1,390 mg.. lower than it has been.

Won't be able to walk today, since I have so much to do. Hope to finish several projects, and I don't think I have any more meetings this week, so maybe I can stay home tomorrow, and walk in the morning, and go do something like shoot hoops in the evening.

sollyn23l2

russellholtslander1 wrote: »

Down to 262.4 today.. weight loss is pretty slow right now. I ate 2,179 calories yesterday, and still felt a bit stuffed. That's 300 calories less than I was eating, and I felt better, but today since I have a lot of meetings, I just boiled 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs ( 1.5 lbs. ) Breakfast was 3 XL eggs, and 2 sausage patties, diced up, and cooked in 3 Tbsp. butter. That only comes out to 1,750 calories, so I might have to add more after my last meeting after dinner. I have some cheese sitting unopened in the fridge. Maybe 1,750 will be OK.. I am a bit stuffed after breakfast. I could have cooked the thighs in butter to add some calories, but boiling them meant I didn't have to watch them, or flip them. I just waited 45 minutes, and split them into 2 bowls of 4 thighs each.. 510 calories each, according to the package.. rounded off to 12 ozs. each. No bone or skin, but they don't trim the fat at the Amish butcher's. Gives me a few more calories.

I decided to skip seasoning today, and have nothing but chicken, eggs, and breakfast sausage, and the butter w/ breakfast. Fat is down to 65%, protein 35%. I want to see how I like this, and if I feel lighter after eating this way. I feel like I am adding EXTRA butter and mayo to foods, just to hit a caloric goal. Maybe my weight loss will speed up again, with less calories?? We shall see. My Na for the day is 1,390 mg.. lower than it has been.

Won't be able to walk today, since I have so much to do. Hope to finish several projects, and I don't think I have any more meetings this week, so maybe I can stay home tomorrow, and walk in the morning, and go do something like shoot hoops in the evening.

Curious, what was your blood sugar today?

russellholtslander1

I am down to 261.6 today. After looking at the weights on my chicken thighs, it ended up being 13.76 ozs. per meal, instead of my guess of 12. So I ate 1900 calories by the end of the day.

This morning, my blood sugar was 84, then I ate 3 XL eggs, cooked in 2Tbsp. butter, and 2 ozs. of cheddar cheese. My blood sugar before lunch was 101, and I ate 4 more chicken thighs. I baked these ones. I add 2 cups of water, so not sure how much they vary from just boiling them. I cook them at 375 for an hour, and flip them at 30 mins.. top side up at the end. That made the skin crunchy when I was eating whole thighs, but after years of eating boneless, skinless thighs from the Amish store, I like them. The skin is delicious sometimes, but I don't do a lot of things I can on this diet. I rarely have bacon for example.

Sometimes I get as much chiding from ZC people ( not here ), about not eating skin, or bacon, or lard, or saving fat from meat I cook, as I get from the average person gives me over not eating veggies, or fiber.

I'm at 66/33 fat/protein. I like eating food from animals, but not all the food available. I still like the same food I ate on low carb, but just cut out the few veggies, and berries I might have.

I'm back up to 2,325 calories today, but that is because while I was buying chicken thighs yesterday, I saw a nice 14 oz. porterhouse steak, and got it. So I'm having that for dinner, cooked in 2 Tbsp. butter.. a few extra calories.

I have been not posting blood sugar as much, because it is tending to be great. After initially not dropping low enough, it's consistently 70-110, which is where I want it. I was hoping for a few more low blood sugar reactions, to show I needed to cut meds, but so far, it's lower, but not low enough. I doubt my doctor cuts my meds, even if I have a 5 A1C, without low blood sugar reactions.. so it might take longer to show I am being consistent. Like a year, maybe. Can't say I blame the doctor though, after 3 years of higher A1C's. I did have a significant drop the last time I got tested, which they liked, but they tend to be very careful in cutting diabetes meds. Last time, I had to have over 100 low blood sugars, before they let me quit all my diabetes meds. Back then, I was eating Atkins Induction.. under 20 Total grams of carbs. Now that I am eating less than 5 grams, a day, I expected more low blood sugars. I am on less meds than I was back then, so maybe being 11 years older, makes a difference.

If I drop below 70, or pop back up over 110, I'll mention it, but if it is 70-110, that's where I want it to be eventually, even if I am disappointed to be at normal, while still taking meds. My hope is that I'll stay here for a time, and then drop again, and record a lot of low blood sugar reactions, and get proof that I no longer need meds, but right now, that isn't happening. Someone told me it was the extra protein? Maybe. The other difference this time is he 15 units of basal Insulin I inject every night. I wasn't on that. Maybe it affects me differently.

So I am just treading water on blood sugars which I find boring, so I didn't figure anyone cared. If nothing changes, I will have better blood sugar control, but still be on meds.

My hope is to hit 100 lbs. lost tomorrow. I've hit it before, and it's been 20 years, since I was at that weight, but I spent half of that at about 340-350 ( 2001-2010 ). I did get down to 242 in 2011, and off diabetes meds from 2010-2016.. so while it's a major milestone.. I've been here before. I probably need to lose another 100 lbs., but I celebrate what I can. I am also close to 20 lbs. lost as well, on this current WOE. Started on 9/11, so that would be 18 days to lose 20 lbs. Barely a lb. a day, and closer to 1/2 a lb. a day now. So I wouldn't say ZC is a miracle weight loss diet, but I'm consistent on it, and that's good. A ZC'er who has been on this for a decade, said she didn't adjust for 6 mos., and her cholesterol went up, her blood sugars were all over the place, and her weight went up and down, and then after 6 months, everything got regular. I doubt I could eat this way, and not see results. Not that I don't like what I am eating, but no results? Or up and down? I would go bonkers, and probably just try to be more consistent on a very low carb plan. Luckily, with over 100 lbs. left to lose, I have only had 1 day where I gained weight.

My next weight goal, after 261.0, will probably be to get below 242.0, which is the lowest I have been. I was there 10 years ago for a short time, but before that, it would be 25 years since I was below 240. My early 20's. At that point, I will consider it to be new weight loss, and I have plans to go buy some new clothes at that point.. maybe an early Christmas present to myself??

I'm rambling, because I have an hour to burn, until the Tigers game starts. I'm done with this though. Have a great day if you are reading this, and made it this far.

russellholtslander1

Finally had a big loss, after a week of small ones.. down to 259.2, a drop of 2.4 lbs.

Today, I ate 4 XL eggs for breakfast w/ 2 Tbsp. butter. Lunch is 8 ozs. of haddock w/ Tbsp. butter. Dinner is 3 Beef Sausage links w/ 2 Tbsp. butter.

This gets me to 2,040 calories. It's also higher fat/ lower protein than most of my recent days. 76% fat, 23% protein, down to 116 grams of protein.. I found that eating 150 plus grams a day, made me feel bloated. Hoping this helps stop that.

Otherwise, I feel awesome. I'm taking the afternoon off, and going walking. Weather is beautiful.. 68 and sunny this afternoon.

I DID hit 20 lbs. lost. 21.2 actually, in 18 days. So that's a good start.. hoping to lose at least 15 lbs. a month for the next few months, but we'll see what happens... how much I slow down going forward.

pnrbor

I lost quite a lot of weight with not eating carbs a few years ago. In fact I hardly ate carbs after that. Only when covid hit did I go back to carbs and eating badly and picked up weight.

GaleHawkins

pennyborelli wrote: »

I lost quite a lot of weight with not eating carbs a few years ago. In fact I hardly ate carbs after that. Only when covid hit did I go back to carbs and eating badly and picked up weight.

Same here but finding the way back.

russellholtslander1

Hope you both get back on track. Covid messed me up big time. They said to buy 6 weeks of groceries.. and low carb foods other than meat, spoil in less time.. the eggs, veggies etc. I was eating closer to Keto.. but bought a bunch of canned pasta, because everyone thought we wouldn't be able to shop, and confined to our homes. That turned out to be false, and I ate the 6 weeks of groceries in about 3 weeks. I got back on track at the end of last year, did Keto off and on, until I started trying ZC. I did a few test runs of 2 weeks, and didn't cheat, so I'm hoping to be able to stick to it for the long haul.. see if I can.

Today I didn't lose any weight.. gained 2/10ths of a lbs. 259.4. No big deal after big loss yesterday.

Today, I ate 4 XL eggs w/ 3Tbsp. butter. Lunch is 4 chicken thighs, which I tore up, and added 3 Tbsp. mayo to. Dinner will just be ham, and 2 ozs. of extra sharp cheddar. it's a high salt day, but I just wanted a different meat, and ham sounded good.

I seem to have some energy today. Woke up at 6:30, did a load of laundry, and cooked my meals before I got here at 8:30. This afternoon, I'm taking a couple hours off to go for a long walk, then after work, I plan to get groceries, and go shoot some hoops, before it gets dark. I'll have to wear a hoodie, since it's supposed to be 60 degrees by 8 p.m. I only recently was able to do this.. and still have to pace myself, so my pacemaker doesn't go off @ 171 HR, but I'm playing against other fat guys, so I can do about 30 mins. before I need to rest and get my HR back down to 75, before I play again, so maybe 2 shifts, if I feel really good.

russellholtslander1

Busy day yesterday, and I didn't lose any weight. Ate well, and today I am down to 258.4.

Today I had eggs and some cheese for breakfast. Lunch will be chicken thighs, and dinner is 1/2 a ham steak. My menu for the rest of the week will be a lower sodium group of foods.

My brother is starting lower carb again today. I like to cook, so I cook his dinners, and lunches on the weekend. This makes it a bit easier for me. Today for lunch, he is having a small microwaveable bag of broccoli, and I just put it on the side of the chicken. He eats half the chicken. He'll have some green beans with the ham tonight.. all just a side dish, but it is nice not to have to cook noodles, and watch him eat them in front of me. Green beans and broccoli don't tempt me at all.

Lazy day today. I'm at the office, but only because we can both get online here. I plan to take a ride, and enjoy the cool weather before noon. It's in the upper 60's soon. Then it's U-M vs. Wisconsin. Hopefully we win, and then I plan to walk in the park for a couple miles for exercise. Next to last game of the season for the Detroit Tigers, is on at 7 p.m.

T1DCarnivoreRunner

Why low sodium? We need a lot of sodium when eating such low carb because uptake isn't very good.

russellholtslander1

I have congestive heart failure, so while they like me doing very low carb, they worry about water weight gain. Yesterday, I had 4500 mg Na. My goal is 1800mg. If I have too much sodium, I get thirsty, and drink too much water. This makes it harder for my heart to pump, and I gain water weight, as well as have some trouble breathing.

Yesterday, I lost another 6/10ths of a lb., down to 257.8. There was some carbs in the ham as well, so my blood sugar this morning was a bit higher.. 114. Hopefully by lunch, I burn it off, and blood sugar drops. Breakfast was eggs & sausage. Chicken thighs are for lunch, and beef chunks are dinner. That's about 1900 calories, and 1200 mg Na. I'll add 1/4 tsp. table salt to the beef, to get up to 1,800.

One thing I have noticed now, 3 weeks in, is that my calories are dropping.. to 1900-2000 most days. I feel good at that level. My protein intake hasn't changed much.. 150-175 grams a day, simply because I eat a couple lbs. of meat, and eggs. The 500 calories I dropped, was mostly butter.. FAT. Not because I fear fat. I still am well over 60% fat. It's simply that I no longer want to eat 2,500 calories, and if I cut protein, I would have about a lb. of meat, and still using a stick of butter a day. I have non-stick pans, and a crock pot.. they don't require butter. I still have 2 Tbsp. of butter with my eggs., but cut the 2-3Tbsp. I would have with lunch & dinner. Since I eat about 2-3 grams of carbs.. lower fat equals higher protein and vice versa.. so I'm close to a 33/1/66 macro split.. 2:1 fat to protein, instead of 3:1.

This is very different than Keto, which had me eating less protein, and higher fat. I always felt full on Keto, but my meals were tiny.. often 8 ozs. of meat, with a few veggies, and mostly fat, which meant I drank some butter to get my calories. At first, on ZC, I simply added more meat, and that helped, but 2,500 calories made me feel stuffed right after meals. I decided the meat was what was important.. if I cut the meat.. it would simply be Keto, without any vegetables. I started cutting butter, and now don't use it as much.. I still feel full, since protein barely affects blood sugar, and allows you to stay in ketosis, so as long as my body handles the 2 lbs. of protein, I'm OK. The first few days, it didn't feel right, but now my meals feel more normal. I will eat 4 thighs for lunch, instead of 2 diced up, and cooked in butter. I'll have 12 ozs. of beef chunks, instead of 8, with butter. If you've never eaten this way, you would be amazed at how pitiful a high fat, moderate protein meal looks.. it's just a cup of meat, floating in butter.. a few mouthfuls. Less fat means more meat, and a more substantial plate of food. It just feels right. My meals actually take 15 mins. to eat, not 5. It no longer feels like 3 quick snacks a day, even though it ends up being less calories.

russellholtslander1

Down another 8/10ths of a lb. 257.0. I'm pretty close to dropping below a lb. loss per day.

Rainy and cold the past few days, so no walking. Just eating good, watching sports, and napping.

I had 14 ozs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs ready for lunch, diced up, and in the broth, so it would stay moist. Instead of eggs today for breakfast, I had what was basically chicken soup. I'll have the eggs for lunch, and then GB for dinner. I left a bunch of the grease, so it's not dry when I reheat it.

Despite having no gallbladder, greasy food doesn't bother me. They say some people get constipated on ZC, or other low carb diets, due to lack of fiber, and after gallbladder removal, greasy foods can lead to diarrhea, so maybe these offset each other.. for whatever reason, I feel great having a greasy meal every so often, and I'm regular, so one less issue to worry about.

New seasons for TV shows are in full swing starting today.. so I'll try to find an hour or two of shows most days.. the Pistons start soon as well, to replace Tigers games. I still need to start doing some indoor exercise, since it is getting colder, and we have rain 1-2 days a week. I pay for a gym membership. so I may have to start lifting weights 2-3 days a week to supplement my walking, when it is impossible. I dread the day, we drop below 50 degrees for good. Cold weather is usually bad for my breathing. Then I have to go to gym, or find a way to play some basketball indoors with friends who can secure a court. I really don't like the gym, but it helps me keep busy, and I feel like I want to do something physical. Focused mostly on cardio, but I want to also maintain muscle, while losing the fat. I'll do what I can.

AnnPT77

russellholtslander1 wrote: »

Down another 8/10ths of a lb. 257.0. I'm pretty close to dropping below a lb. loss per day.

Rainy and cold the past few days, so no walking. Just eating good, watching sports, and napping.

I had 14 ozs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs ready for lunch, diced up, and in the broth, so it would stay moist. Instead of eggs today for breakfast, I had what was basically chicken soup. I'll have the eggs for lunch, and then GB for dinner. I left a bunch of the grease, so it's not dry when I reheat it.

Despite having no gallbladder, greasy food doesn't bother me. They say some people get constipated on ZC, or other low carb diets, due to lack of fiber, and after gallbladder removal, greasy foods can lead to diarrhea, so maybe these offset each other.. for whatever reason, I feel great having a greasy meal every so often, and I'm regular, so one less issue to worry about.

New seasons for TV shows are in full swing starting today.. so I'll try to find an hour or two of shows most days.. the Pistons start soon as well, to replace Tigers games. I still need to start doing some indoor exercise, since it is getting colder, and we have rain 1-2 days a week. I pay for a gym membership. so I may have to start lifting weights 2-3 days a week to supplement my walking, when it is impossible. I dread the day, we drop below 50 degrees for good. Cold weather is usually bad for my breathing. Then I have to go to gym, or find a way to play some basketball indoors with friends who can secure a court. I really don't like the gym, but it helps me keep busy, and I feel like I want to do something physical. Focused mostly on cardio, but I want to also maintain muscle, while losing the fat. I'll do what I can.

Maybe, but the diarrhea effect is variable. I have no gallbladder, can eat mega-greasy foods just fine. As just one example, on Saturday I ate a whole 12" pizza with multiple cheeses, caramelized (i.e., pan-fried) onions, dressed with herb-flavored oil . . . and was completely fine. I'm vegetarian, eat lots of fiber, so pretty far from ZC. It's individual. Does your ZC help? No way to know. But bad reactions to high-fat foods aren't universal among those with no gallbladder who eat in other ways. I think one tends to hear from those who have problems with fat consumption. Those of us who don't, don't really have any reason to talk about it. 😉

T1DCarnivoreRunner

AnnPT77 wrote: »

russellholtslander1 wrote: »

Down another 8/10ths of a lb. 257.0. I'm pretty close to dropping below a lb. loss per day.

Rainy and cold the past few days, so no walking. Just eating good, watching sports, and napping.

I had 14 ozs of boneless, skinless chicken thighs ready for lunch, diced up, and in the broth, so it would stay moist. Instead of eggs today for breakfast, I had what was basically chicken soup. I'll have the eggs for lunch, and then GB for dinner. I left a bunch of the grease, so it's not dry when I reheat it.

Despite having no gallbladder, greasy food doesn't bother me. They say some people get constipated on ZC, or other low carb diets, due to lack of fiber, and after gallbladder removal, greasy foods can lead to diarrhea, so maybe these offset each other.. for whatever reason, I feel great having a greasy meal every so often, and I'm regular, so one less issue to worry about.

New seasons for TV shows are in full swing starting today.. so I'll try to find an hour or two of shows most days.. the Pistons start soon as well, to replace Tigers games. I still need to start doing some indoor exercise, since it is getting colder, and we have rain 1-2 days a week. I pay for a gym membership. so I may have to start lifting weights 2-3 days a week to supplement my walking, when it is impossible. I dread the day, we drop below 50 degrees for good. Cold weather is usually bad for my breathing. Then I have to go to gym, or find a way to play some basketball indoors with friends who can secure a court. I really don't like the gym, but it helps me keep busy, and I feel like I want to do something physical. Focused mostly on cardio, but I want to also maintain muscle, while losing the fat. I'll do what I can.

Maybe, but the diarrhea effect is variable. I have no gallbladder, can eat mega-greasy foods just fine. As just one example, on Saturday I ate a whole 12" pizza with multiple cheeses, caramelized (i.e., pan-fried) onions, dressed with herb-flavored oil . . . and was completely fine. I'm vegetarian, eat lots of fiber, so pretty far from ZC. It's individual. Does your ZC help? No way to know. But bad reactions to high-fat foods aren't universal among those with no gallbladder who eat in other ways. I think one tends to hear from those who have problems with fat consumption. Those of us who don't, don't really have any reason to talk about it. 😉

I have no gall bladder, eat carnivore, and I have bile acid malabsorption. If you are having diarrhea after eating high fat meals, you might look into this. Bile acid malabsorption is when bile acids fail to be recycled. Normally, farsenoid-x receptors will take those bile acids from your small intestine and send them back to be used again. But when FXR's do not work, those bile acids get dumped into your colon (where they are toxic). The result is that your body sends lots of water (and electrolytes) to your colon to flush those bile acids. Stools with those bile acids will have a particularly foul smell and might even burn a bit coming out.

In my case, high doses of milk thistle and ascorbic acid prevent BAM. In particularly bad times, I add berberine also.

russellholtslander1

I guess I am lucky. I go 1-2 times a day.. no change, based on grease. If I eat over 80% fat for more than a few days, I do get diarrhea, but without adding LOTS of mayo or butter, to LESS protein, 80% fat is impossible. Meat and eggs tend to be around 67% fat. So I had a few days of diarrhea at the start of Keto, but not on ZC at all.

I tend to be 62-70% fat, and it works great. Diarrhea was never a problem, just something I was told to expect after they took my gallbladder out. The grease with the ground beef was delicious, and when I drain it, it is kind of dry, and I feel like I am choking it down. It was kind of like the chicken and broth I had for breakfast. Not quite as soupy, but close.

Ground beef soup for the soul!

russellholtslander1

I lost 1.8 lbs. this morning. My blood sugar was 70 mg/dL. Right at the bottom of my range.

For breakfast, I ate 5 sausage patties, cooked in 2 Tbsp. butter. For lunch, I have 2 cans of tuna, mixed with 3 Tbsp. mayo, and 2 ozs. of extra sharp cheddar. For dinner I am having 2 whole chicken thighs, with skin.. 9.76 ozs.

Yesterday, I ate dinner about 5:30 p.m. I saw a video which said that older LC dieters should not eat as late, so they can eat more at breakfast time, and consume most of their calories earlier in the day. So I had about 13 hours of no food, between dinner, and breakfast today. I added cheese to get up to 1,927 calories, but also because it gives me some food I can eat quickly, if I start getting blurry vision from low blood sugars.

I have decided to start taking Magnesium & Vitamin C tablets. After reviewing my diet, I don't think I get enough of these, eating this way, and even if I do.. a little extra won't hurt me.

ccrdragon

I would recommend ramping up slowly on the magnesium... it will not hurt you, but there is a magic point at which the body starts discarding the extra and you will be spending a lot of time in the bathroom...

AKTipsyCat

Glad to see this is working for you!

russellholtslander1

ccrdragon.. I am only taking a 250 mg tablet. I take diuretics, and of course ZC has a diuretic effect as well. I take a lot of potassium already, prescribed by my doctor, due to all the Lasix I take, but if I am excreting potassium, surely magnesium, and sodium are being depleted as well. I can add a bit of salt to take care of the sodium loss, but foods high in Mg, tend to not be on my diet. So I am taking the basic 250 mg pill, but not looking to add any more. I get probably half the magnesium I need from the meats & eggs I eat, simply due to eating 2 lbs. of food most days. This barely gets me to the RDA. I'll watch for diarrhea, and if it happens, I will know why, but I have not had any issues with low magnesium, so not doing more than the basic dose, just to get to my RDA.. the goal is to feel better, so this is sort of an experiment.. to add some of one of the few vitamins and minerals I know I am low in. Not sure it is necessary, but I'm exploring the nutrition of eating this way.. what I am high in, and what I am low in.. to see if the diet is OK nutrition-wise. Amazingly, many of the vitamins & minerals on this diet, are way above the RDA. Some just aren't possible. Doing the same with Vitamin C. I have to buy some, but 100 mg, should cover my basic needs, even if the upper limit is 2,000 mg. No food I consume, has a drop of Vitamin C.

If I find something else, I can't fix with diet, I'll post about it.

AKTipsyCat.. I too am glad this is working for me. Not just low carb.. which I know works, but more importantly, that I am coming up on a month, and still ON this WOE, which is my biggest issue. Consistency. Even small losses add up, if you don't stop doing the diet. This feels like something I could do permanently. Other LC plans tended to work great, but I felt deprived after a month or 2, and let myself be talked into eating off plan.

Also want to add in something else I discovered, watching videos.. tryptophan.. knew it was in turkey, but I rarely eat turkey.

Guess what it is in.. Chicken, Turkey, Beef, Fish, Pork, and eggs. I get my RDA of tryptophan just by eating my morning eggs. This amino acid, helps us sleep better, and improves your mood.. simply put, it is why eating meat makes us happy. I am sleeping a bit better too, but it was interesting to see that there is a scientific reason, people eating high protein foods, say they feel better.

I do have to wonder if so many depressed people in the world, are do to not enough tryptophan in there diets.. even though there are plenty of higher carbs sources, like milk, squash & pumpkin seeds, oatmeal, boiled soybeans, and firm tofu. I checked another source, and that added peanut butter. As a kid, I could see myself eating p.b. & j sandwiches, with a chocolate milk for lunch. Maybe that is why kids are happy.. BUT, the other things on the list, are not part of the average person's diet. Wonder if tryptophan might be a better choice than pills for anxiety, or depression.

russellholtslander1

Today, I only lost 2/10ths of a lb. 255.

I ate 4 XL eggs, with 3 Tbsp. salted butter. Lunch was leftover chicken. Yesterday I cooked up 4 thighs, and ate 2.5, including the skin from all 4 thighs.. planned for 2. So I had 1.5 thighs of shredded chicken, in a couple cups of broth. I drained all but maybe 2 Tbsp of the broth off, but left that, and added 3 Tbsp. of mayo, and stirred that up.. made the mayo into a creamy sauce.. it was delicious. Added 2 ozs. of extra sharp cheddar. Dinner is simple. Just 7 ozs. of GB.

This is 1980 calories for the day, but I'm following some advice, and eating more calories early, and stopping meals at 6 p.m., then eat breakfast at 7 a.m. Breakfast was 660 calories, lunch was 833, and dinner is only 487. Supposed to make a difference. I seem to lose no matter what I do, probably since I still have 100 lbs. to lose, so why not see if things make me feel better, or make a difference. I do feel hungrier at breakfast, which helps. I always eat breakfast, but sometimes, a plate of eggs at 7 a.m. is more than I want to eat. Not a problem today.

I think these experiments are basically to fight boredom, and because I am curious.. I don't really have any problem to overcome. just maybe help a little. These are issues a lot of LC'ers have, but I'm not sure if that is because they try to max out carbs, whereas I am down to basically none, so these things might be something I don't have as much of a problem with, because I am deeper in ketosis..??

Anyways, I'm bored, and experimenting. I might not see anything, but I'll give it a month on the meal shifts. It does feel weird to watch TV, and not eat at 9 or 10 p.m., but in a month, we'll see if it has ANY benefit. Or enough to continue the changes anyways.

russellholtslander1

Last 2 days I have gained 1.2 lbs. I had some sausage, which had a lot of Na., and some carbs.. so maybe that is why?? I have also had cheese more than I normally do. For some reason, if I eat cheese more than 1-2 times a week, I tend to stall.

My blood sugars are fine, and I am not hungry, or have cravings, so hopefully, I start losing again soon. 24.4 lbs. lost in 27 days is still good.

I got a few miles in walking yesterday, but today is rainy, so tomorrow, I start lifting weights in the gym.. 2 days on, 1 off, so I do 4 workouts in 6 days, for total body workout.. so 4 easy workouts, and I'll still walk when the weather is OK. Supposed to be nice the next 3 days.

Eggs again today for breakfast, then I had some tuna and mayo for lunch. Tonight I have some filet mignon. I wanted some red meat, but not any cheap, tough steak, since I have weak & damaged teeth from my diabetes. It was on sale for $15.99 a lb., so I splurged and got 2 lbs. My other option was lamb, but it was almost as expensive. When did lamb get expensive? Anyways, filet mignon tastes a lot better to me, so I got it. My grocery bill was low this week anyways, because I made some substitutions last week, so already had half the meat I needed in the freezer. Got a little extra butter, eggs, and mayo, and the bill was still under $100. At first I thought that $400 a month was a lot, but it's $15-20 a meal to go out to a restaurant, so I actually spend less to eat this way.