Zero Carb beyond 30 days

I have been eating meat and drinking water for a month. 

Do i want to go back to eating other things? Not really. 

Has anything changed since my last post a couple of days ago? Not really. 

Well, a little. Yesterday I had cravings. Not cravings for something sweet or starchy but I just wanted to snack. Wasn't exactly hungry but wanted to chew on jerky. I did eat jerky but it also filled me so i didn't eat dinner. The jerky turned out as my lunch and dinner. 
I also had a very bad mood, felt kind of down and irritated as well as tired. 
I believe all these are connected to my upcoming period. 

My face is still clear and the old marks are slowly disappearing. 

My tummy seems to be shrinking. I don't feel the same with other body parts but that's how my body is, tummy is the first to shrink or last to grow while thighs and behind last to shrink and first to grow. 

I finally stepped on the scale this morning and am down 0.2 since last time. i am not really excited about it as at this point I just want to let my body to do it's thing. 

I haven't been trying to lose weight. I just want to be at peace with food. I am tired of the addiction and pre-occupation with food. 
It will take few months for my body to change, the fast changes I was used to from carb/calorie controlled eating will not happen here. The changes from this way of eating feel different. I have a feeling that my body composition is changing. 

I am guessing that in 6 months if i look at before/after photo there will be a difference. A big difference. We shall see......

I have finished the antibiotics and didn't have any severe reaction like some people said on FB, I have been a bit more tired and actually still am. I went to sleep before 10pm last night and was still dragging at 7am. 
I do not have tons of energy. I hope that this will improve with time. 

The other thing that is happening with me is that I am not very excited about my food. I am not particularly enjoying it or the taste. The only 'food' that I do enjoy and like is the beef jerky. I also really like the chicken wings that I make. I do eat beef, ground beef and about once a week hamburger and it really fills me up for a long time but i do not enjoy the taste even though I still put spices in my food. 
I do like my eggs and eat a little bit mozzarella cheese approximately every other day. That is filling for only about 3-4 hours, not as long as meat. I also use about 1tbs HWC in my coffee once a day. 
I have 1 or 2 plain cups of coffee and plenty of water as I still do get thirsty. 

I hope that my taste will change and i will acquire the taste for natural meat and it's texture. Sometimes i just gag on certain bites. Not even sure why? The jerky sometimes has fat in it and i do eat it but i don't like the texture.  

3 weeks on zero carb

It has been 3 weeks. I will need to change the title and description of my blog pretty soon.

My life is just so much better. Simplicity.

I cleared my fridge and pantry. Gave away protein powder, Quest bars, Psyllium husk, coconut milk. No need to make mayo or sauces any more. No need to make veggies. They are not rotting in my fridge any more. Packs of greens are not keeping me busy buying, washing, storing, sorting and then throwing away.
My fridge looks neat and clean. When I want to eat it is very simple. There is meat in the fridge.
If I am really unprepared, I make an omlette or just have hard boiled eggs. I also have sardines in water in pantry just for emergency. There's also beef jerky from www.grassfedjerkychews.com

I love it!

Yesterday was my birthday and for some reason I wanted variety so I had 2 eggs scrambled with French version of sour cream  (something I got at TJ). It was filling but not for as long as meat. I also felt bloated. My tummy was grumbling most of the day, especially after I ate anything including meat.

I spent the day looking up the process of cheese making as I got curious about it. I really didn't know anything about how it was made. Seems like the hard cheeses are more processed and have more bacteria and salt. From what I understand for now, cream and mozzarella are least processed.
I live in Bay Area and would really like to go see a cheese artisan. Perhaps will organize a family trip.

I think that my desserts on zc would be cheese once in a while.

My face is still pretty clear. Yesterday night I started to feel a little new breakout on my chin, it is under my skin small bump. A little painful. I put sulfur for the night and tea tree for the day It seems under control. I hope it will subside. It might be from cheese or just time of month. I was wearing concealer yesterday. Might be related or not. I will have to stop with cheese to really know for sure. I also think it will take the full 30 days if not 90 to know better about my acne. Maybe it is the eggs?

I will test some more with time.

I also think that once or twice a week will not affect me as much as few days in a row.

Yesterday I made chicken wings and the girls loved them. Duck fat, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, coriander. Simple ant tasty. 30 min at 450 then flip and 30 more min.
They didn't want any rice or pasta. Yey!
Hope they like chicken thighs too. Will make them same way this week. In meanwhile I am defrosting a duck I got at Costco. Will roast it tomorrow.

I feel pretty good. My energy is balanced. I don't have tons of energy but I am not tired.  Just good energy to go about my day and reasonably tired at night. I sleep well,based usual. This morning woke up at 5am with a cramp in my right hamstring. Oouch.

I am not crazy thirsty anymore. I do get thirsty, especially after I eat but it is reasonable thirst.

I haven't stepped on the scale. I don't think I lost any weight. My tummy feels tight but my legs and but feel the same. My clothes feel the same.
I think I might drop some weight after I get my period.

I also want to learn to make steaks. I am totally clueless.

Two Weeks on Zero Carb Carnivore eating

It has been 2 weeks. It seems like a long time. It was a pretty easy transition for me. 
Made my life really simple. 

Physically it is really simple. Psychologically it is a little more complicated.  

I think. That's a problem. 

I have all kinds of thoughts. Fortunately I also have counter thoughts. 

When I started 2 weeks ago, I figured i'll just remove everything but keep the 100% dark chocolate and a tiny amount of macadamia and brazil nuts. I didn't eat them every day. But them I started eating them every day. I'd think about food and reach out to them. 
They didn't fill me up. They didn't satiate me. It was just an indulgence. Just so I am not bored with just meat. 

Initially my skin cleared. I have hormonal acne, my chin always had breakouts. Sometimes they were big, under skin and sometimes small. when I switched to ZC even with the nuts and chocolate, my skin cleared but then when i indulged daily I still had a breakout. Seemed smaller but still breakout. 

People on the ZIOH forum suggested I remove the nuts and chocolate. I did. 3 days ago. 
My skin is clearing and fast! I am not using anything on my skin. I used to put sulfur during the night and/or tea tree oil. But now i do not apply anything. 
I haven't had any new breakouts and my skin seems to be healing nicely. 

Now that's really great as I was really puzzled about it. Just 3 weeks ago I was researching hormonal acne, considering I had PCOS and trying to figure out what products to buy to clear my skin. Oil cleanse, vitamins, creams bla bla bla bla....... 
It is funny how i don't need to spend ANY money (or time!) to clear my skin. 

I did the Whole 30 in January and was hoping my skin would clear but it didn't. I also didn't lose any weight even though I was keeping my carbs low. 

In the past couple days my mind is playing tricks with me. I want to eat but I think I am tired of eating meat. I don't feel like eating anything I have. It kind of seems boring. 
I made lamb roast on Friday and I really don't like it. It doesn't taste good to me. The only thing I think is ok for me is ground beef or burger. I kind of want store food and not meat that I made. Not sure why. Like I really feel like going to Safeway and buying their chicken wings. I don't know what they put in them or what fat they cook them in. 
Last week I had Wendy's and Burger King burger patties. I didn't care much for Wendy's but BK tasted good. I wonder if those fast foods have some sugar in them and are causing my funny mind tricks. 

Beef seems to be good for me. I think I will just buy Trader Joe's clean frozen burgers and 80/20 ground beef and stick to them for a while. 

People on ZIOH talk about steaks. I never fancied steaks. Who knows maybe my taste will change? 

I am thinking of quitting cheese for a while and sticking with just beef and chicken until my body settles down with this WOE. The only dairy I am keeping is ~1tbs of Heavy Whipping Cream in my coffee  once or twice a day. 

Zero Carb journey second week

I am still doing zero carb. Even though I have entertained thoughts of stopping or actually eating something non meat after the 30 days I don't really want to do it. when I think about what specifically I want to have there is absolutely NOTHING! 

Yesterday I had to take breakfast with me, in 5 minutes I heated Applegate breakfast chicken sausages with a couple of eggs and put in a thermos container to go. I made 2 cups of coffee in to go cups and took my kid to figure skating practice. 

I didn't have time for lunch so stopped at Burger King drive through and got 2 patties in a bowl. They were much better than Wendy's but not as good as Five Guys. 
I also quickly took out of the fridge salmon. 
Got home around 7pm and popped salmon with butter and lemon pepper into oven for like 18 minutes at 430. It came out delicious! The kids licked it. ;-) 

Also shopped at Costco, got a ton of meat but didn't buy any salmon. The frozen one is super expensive (like over $30) and the fresh one is farm raised. 

I bought lamb and plan on roasting it tomorrow for our guests for dinner. Also go a big pack of ground beef. Beef seems to be very satisfying and easy to make. I'l just throw it in pan with duck fat or beef tallow (which I ordered on Amazon) and some spices. 
I am not yet sure but I think that the days that I have more beef I am less hungry or more accurately I am full for longer and think less about food. 

I am still eating 100% Grenada Chocolate (yesterday had like 3 squares!!!!) and some days macadamia nuts. Yesterday I as also hungry in evening and had some pure mozzarella cheese. I really like the fact that I do not count my macros any more and I don't feel guilty about eating any more. When I am thinking about food I eat meat (or macadamia nuts....sigh). I wish I would just eat meat and not macadamia nuts but I am not even 2 weeks into it and am giving myself more time. 

My skin is getting gradually better. Yesterday I still had a new breakout on my chin, it was small although a little under skin and a tiny bit painful. I forgot to put my sulfur cream but nevertheless this morning it is improving on it's own. 

I am not waking up with tons of energy and some days I am tired in the evening by 8pm. Unlike some people on the forum Zeroing In On Health I am not experiencing bursts of energy but I am feeling better in terms of food addiction or more precisely lack of it. No cravings. If i want to eat or am thinking about food I eat. I made hard baked eggs today and have purchased beef jerky http://grassfedjerkychews.com/ and have them with me on the go. I also can always stop at Burger King and buy some burger patties if i am hungry. 

I know that this is a journey and will take time. I am not expecting immediate results. My body and mind will take time to heal. 
I am not going to weigh myself until next week. In the meanwhile my jeans I fitting much better, they are a bit roomier. I hope to fit into my small jeans by the end of March but if it doesn't happen that's ok. I also hope that the acne will be gone but suspect that as long as I am eating those macadamia nuts (even though it's only about 5-10 of them a day) I cannot really expect my skin to clear. 
I think that when my skin cleared I wasn't eating them or eating them only 1-2 times a week. Time shall say. 

Finally the scale is moving in the right direction!!!!!!

I stepped on the scale this morning and it is finally moving in the right direction. 

I could feel it in the past few days, my tummy is tighter and my jeans are getting more loose. 

I am at a very nice weight of 144.4 lbs...... I have not been under 145.4 for quite a while and even that weight was very temporary. I have been mostly hovering around 146 + for months now. With all my Low Carb, very low carb (20g net carbs) moderate protein and lower fat, precise measuring of macros, tracking, exercising and having mild cravings or just wanting to eat, looking up recipes, shopping for fresh veggies at least twice a week. 
I am very happy to finally see results. 

With this way of eating I have none of that. I just eat meat and drink water/coffee/tea. I am not hungry. I am not emotionally hungry. I do not have cravings. I do not spend a lot of time on cooking and shopping. I am not spending time on tracking my macros. 
If i am hungry or thinking of food I just eat meat and drink water. WOW! Just WOW! Well sometimes i eat few macadamia/brazil nuts and 1-2 squares of 100% dark chocolate. I am not super happy with it. I wonder if anything would change if i wouldn't do it. My problem is they are a weakness. I have them in the house. If i wouldn't have them in the house or in my purse I wouldn't eat them. But I am not feeling deprived and that's good. Even with all that and the few days of eggs and cheese I am still moving in the right direction. 

I feel pretty good. I have good energy level during the day. I have been getting tired in afternoon and evening and am not waking up with high energy these past few days.
I attribute it to late nights and a couple of days of not eating enough meet (ate eggs and cheese on the go). 

I think that when I eat mostly beef I feel the best. I will have to eat beef for few days and see how I am doing. I love chicken but seems like beef is really satisfying my body.

I am so full today

Yesterday I put on a pair of jeans that I didn't wear for few days only and were lying around, have not been in washer or dryer. They felt very tight! My legs and butt were squeezed in. I panicked. these are my comfy jeans. 

I weigh in the day before and was still the same. 
During the day I found out it was that TOM. Perhaps the body change has something to do with it or perhaps it is my new way of eating. 
Most likely it is both. 

I had ground beef scrambled with 2 eggs for breakfast and then for lunch I stopped at Five Guys for the first time in my life and ordered 2 bunless burgers. To my surprise I actually got 4 patties as apparently each burger has 2 patties. I wasn't able to finish all 4, I ate about 2.5 patties and saved the rest. 

I cooked in crock pot a beef bone in rib and it turned out really good. The girls LOVED it! It came out soft and tasty. I made it with cocoa nibs and cinnamon. I was too full to actually eat dinner. 

Yesterday was the first day I didn't want or have any nuts (macadamia or brazil)  or 100% chocolate. The only non meat I had was about 2 tbs of heavy whipping cream in my afternoon coffee. 

I had plenty of energy during the day but was tired  in the evening around 8pm. Went to bed early (like 9:30). 

This morning I woke up with a headache. Still not hungry. Had a little bit of the rib beef from yesterday but am still feeling full and do not want to eat. Drinking tea and am still constantly thirsty. 

Still have plenty of meat in the fridge. Ground beef, burger patty leftover and of course the rib. 

Food is so simple right now. It is liberating! Making meat is so easy. I have a couple of recipes now, chicken wings, chicken drumsticks, whole chicken or even duck for roasting, beef bone rib, beef hamburger, ground beef, salmon (in oven with butter, can't wait to try it, until now only had it with olive oil!). I haven't investigated other beef parts as I already have enough variety and don't really want or need more. But in future I will venture into top sirloin and chuck. 
I also want to buy lamb chops and try to make them. I had a Paleo recipe for a while but never bought them as they seem expensive. 

My skin is totally cleared from acne! It is just amazing! In less than a week! I have done the Whole 30 and my acne didn't budge. Now in just few days it has cleared completely. I do not feel anything developing under my skin. I haven't been cleaning my face with wipes or doing any of the stuff I was trying to do before (and actually didn't help!). I stopped drinking ACV daily. I was trying to do it following some recommendations I saw online but yesterday on my ZV group they said the ACV damaged teeth, so I am glad I am not doing it any more. The only thing that happened since I started cleaning my face and drinking ACV was that my face was super dry. Now it is not dry and clean. I haven't used moisturizer today yet. My face feels great. I only used sulfur yesterday on 2 spots that haven't cleared yet but today they are clear. Now I only hope the old marks fade away. Not sure i I should apply anything on them or not. 
My skin feels really nice and soft. 

We are having dinner at the Rabbi's family today. They are vegetarians. Will serve salmon and a bunch of carbs, fruit and veggies for sure. 
I should probably go on a full stomach. It is almost noon and I am still not interested in food. Learning to listen to my body. 

Messed up, then balanced and now finding a new way

I have not been blogging. Last weekend went for a little day hiking trip with my family to Point Reyes. Beautiful nature and ocean. I realized I get an appetite when outdoors and walking. Probably all the fresh air .....

I brought good food with me. Beef Jerky (Sophia's Survival Food, I really like the Original flavor, just grass fed beef and salt), quest bars, cucumbers, canned tuna, hard boiled eggs, nuts, even had flax muffins with me!

I did not limit myself with food and didn't stress about it. But then in the evening we stopped in San Francisco for dinner. I went to a sushi place with my daughter. I sneaked 2 seaweed rolls and couldn't avoid the white rice. I also had cucumber salad and grilled chicken bowl. I am sure the soy and other sauces were not great for me. I did not feel full/satisfied after I ate and I was,having increased appetite for few days after. 

Problem is two days later we went again to Asian buffet and I couldn't resist buy try some dessers. I am sure I wouldn't have even contemplate trying them if I hadn't slipped with the sushi two,days before. 

In any case, I didn't dwell on it, I just returned to my eating and training. Two days later my weight is same as before. I am a bit disappointed I am not down but happy I am not up. 

My husband has been sick with flu since Tuesday. He's moping at home. Kids were off school and I have been shuffling them around all week. I only trained once,this whole week. It wasn't super hard. I think I am ready for week 3 day 1 do c25k. Really want to be moving but am just worn out from having kids 24/7 AND a sick DH who keeps moaning about how sick he is. I cannot help but think, if it was the other way I would still be driving kids around and arranging activities for them. He doesn't have to do it. He can just rest. I guess it is what it is. He didn't have to carry them, give birth or nurse them either.... :-)

I asked on the Ketogenic Dieters FB group about losing the last 10-15lbs and someone pointed me to a fabulous new blog My Zero Carb Life. It totally threw me into curiosity mode. I have been reading and joined the FB group Zeroing In On Health. I started reading about Vilhjalmur Stefansson experience with the Eskimo and got really intrigued. 

Since I don't have any success with the low carb and it doesn't seem like the 20g net carbs are making any difference for me I will go into 30 day zero carb. Just meat and water. It seems easier in many ways. From what I have read so far, it kind of let's body regulate everything by itself. Appetite and body composition.

I haven't gone zero carb just yet. For the past couple days I have reduced my veggies to just a bit of cabbage, spinach and some homemade Paleo bbq sauce. I only had shredded chicken breast in fridge but I understand it is lean meat and thus not suitable for this way of eating as you need to eat meat with fat. Not that you need added fat, you just need meat with its own natural fat. I will need to add some fat for cooking but not vegetable fat. 

So far, I seem to be doing well. My clothes feel loose. I have energy and so far no problem with #2, but I read that if I do happen to have problems just up the fat.

I am going to make Grinbenes/schmaltz it seems really nutritious, yummy, fulfilling and a really good snack. 

Will keep reporting on a more regular basis.