New year, lessons learned, staying very low carb

I have been abstaining from grains for over 2 years now. It seems like it has been longer as it has become a way of life for me. I just cannot bring myself to put grains in my mouth.

In the past month I have allowed more and more carbs into my diet on various occasions. Some tiramisu, a couple of blintzes with condensed milk. Full fat yogurt, chocolate, pistachios on a regular basis. I even ate a couple of almond flour muffins, only because my kids didn't eat them, I didn't eat enough real food and i didn't want to throw them away.

Really good reasons..... not!

I know I have gained weight. I feel my clothes getting tighter.
My face is breaking out almost daily.
My energy level is actually ok but few weeks ago I was feeling tired.
I have food cravings again. Not as severe as they were when I was consuming artificial sweeteners but still, I will feel like wanting something. A feeling i didn't have when i was eating enough meat. That satiety and fullness are really life changing.

I don't like gaining weight again. I don't want to buy new clothes. I definitely don't like having pimples and discovering something new on my face almost every day. I don't like obsessing about food.

To state it positively, I really liked not slaving in the kitchen, eating once or twice a day and feeling full for a long time, having a clear skin and a stable body composition.

I know how to eat in order to feel like this.

But I also learned that I am human. I get tempted, still after all this time.

Rash

Still ZC most time

I haven't blogged at all. Summer Break was very hectic and I had my challenges. 
As I did mention I had my challenges through the summer. 
Strawberries. Restaurant meals. Veggies and even fried zucchini in a restaurant.

I have been eating pretty clean ZC for the past few weeks. Mainly ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, chicken drumsticks, beef jerky, brisket. 
I have not been eating many eggs, just the eggs I cook my ground meet with. I used to eat 3-4 eggs a day I don't do it any more. I am pretty full from just meat. 
I am still not fond of fatty beef cuts. Cannot tolerate fat. I just eat what I can tolerate and relate to.  It is pretty simple and economic. 
I have not eaten cheese too. The past week-10 days have been pretty clean ZC. My only deviation is Heavy Whipping Cream. I take about 2 TBS twice a day with my coffee. I drink 1 cup in the morning and 1 decaf in the afternoon. 
If i add another cup i try to drink it without HWC but sometimes I actually do add about 1 TBS to it. 

I haven't weigh in yet but my body feels back to normal. Bloating is over. Acne is mostly gone. My face pretty much cleared, FINALLY!!!! It took a while but finally my face is back to normal, that is acne free. I have no cravings at all! I know when I am hungry and when I am not hungry. It is no longer confusing. 
I usually eat twice a day late morning and either afternoon or evening. 

I did eat few raw veggies, like tomatoes, olives, cucumbers last weekend and even few pieces of cheese but it didn't seem to affect me, neither bloating, acne or appetite.    

Back on Track

I finally got a grip on my strawberries and clean ice cream slippery slope. 

Back to meat, eggs, HWC in my coffee and a little cheese few times a week. 

My weight and body measurements have crept up, to alarming state for me. I'm back to where I've started this journey. 

Not happy.....

Back to square one. Learned an important lesson. It seems harmless. What can a few strawberries do? It's from nature. But seems like they actually can. 

Sliding down the strawberry roller coaster

I am still here, although haven't been blogging due to being busy with the kiddos during summer break.

I am still into eating meat but i cannot resist strawberries. I eat them daily. Some days i eat  A LOT of strawberries. More then i'd eat when i was eating low carb or even when i was eating carbs.

I am still eating meat mainly but these strawberries are my soft spot.

My wight crept up. The 6 lbs I dropped are back.
My energy level is great. I don't have cravings. My acne is pretty much ok.

I am really not happy with my weight and how my clothes fit me but i am not doing anything about it.

I am not particularly enjoying eating meat.
I like the meat sliders that i make from Sophia's recipe and need to make them in few minutes. I'll probably experiment with some flavors as i have a ton of ground meat.

My ZC experience is still on. Almost 6 month.....still at 5 months. I hope to level myself with the meat only and start losing weight after 6 months.

Out of control ..... back on track

For the past couple weeks I was a little out of control. After my detour with berried the week before this past weekend I had some more berries AND a Tiramisu plus a lemon custard. The next day I had some veggies too. 

It wasn't horrible but it wasn't great. 

I was curious to see what my body would say. 

I was pretty lucky. Nothing horrible happened. I didn't get cravings or increased appetite. I even didn't get a flare of acne. 
My tummy is a little bloated. I decided not to weigh myself. I know I have gained back the 4lbs i dropped plus I still haven't gotten my period. So the numbers aint gonna be pretty. .... 

I'm just back on track, eating meat and drinking water. Plenty of water. With ice. We had a heat wave here in CA and it was HOT! 

My favorite food now is meat sliders made of ground beef, ground turkey and ground chicken, mixed with eggs and some spices and fried in duck fat. I don't like the work involved, mainly the cleaning but I really like the taste so I am willing to work. 

I also bought some beef bone marrow and tried making it yesterday on the skillet. I was afraid I won't like it but it actually tasted pretty good. 
Will try making them in the oven now that the crazy heat is over. 

I also made shredded beef yesterday in the slow cooker. Just put it a bunch of beef chuck roast, with some onion, garlic and spices for 6 hours on low and then shred it with 2 forks. Not bat. Very fatty. I still don't really like the fat..... 

My next challenge is liver. 

Eating some carbs and sugar ......

Yesterday i had some berries (strawberries and raspberries from farmers market), today for some reason I couldn't resist leftovers of tiramisu and lemon cream pie. Not the best choice but I will report later today and tomorrow about consequences. 

Yesterday and this morning my tummy was bloated. I didn't feel bad per se, just not exactly happy with the way my tummy looked. Pure vanity.

I don't think the relatively small amount of berries I had would throw me off. I wonder if the sugar in those cakes will though. 

It was a pleasure but not really very gratifying. 

Had some fruit and veggies

A week ago my husband took me out to lunch to Middeterenian restaurant. The meat was great of course. I had lamb since I don't normally make it at home. I skipped the rice. They also had salad and hummus on the plate and I couldn't resist but nibble at it a bit. It was great.
No big deal.

Then last Sunday I went to the farmers market and tasted some berries (strawberries, blueberries). I ended eating some raspberries at home the next day.

I didn't suffer any consequences. I'm glad. No crazy cravings, although I do think I had a little bit of more thoughts about what to eat.

Since yesterday I feel like cheese isn't best for me so haven't eaten it. I'm sticking to meat and eggs and 1-2 TBS HWC in my coffee twice a day.

My taste is still kind of funky. I am not tolerating fat. It makes me gag. I am not attracted at all to steaks. Chicken doesn't seem very appealing. I am not exactly sure what it is that I want to eat.
Today I made sliders/kotleti from 85% GB and 93% ground turkey (and 3 eggs). They came out delicious! Love them!!!!! I don't like all the work involved in making them and the splatter but they are good.
I also LOVED beef bacon that I bought at US Wellness Meats. It's pricey though...... I polished the whole package for breakfast and it was like $13. Turkey bacon is less expensive around $6 but doesn't taste as good, and is less fatty.

I love beef jerky but it's too lean and also expensive.

Made beef oxtails this week in the oven. 15 min in convection oven at 435 and then 15 more minutes on broil. It tasted great right out of the oven but when i warmed it up in skillet from the fridge they tasted like rocks. I will throw them in the crock pot for broth with chicken bones.
Next time I will make them in the crock pot to begin with.

I don't see myself going back to other way of eating any time soon. I still have 2 more month until i'm 6 month on ZC. I wonder if anything will change ?

Today I got some Vit. D capsules and started taking it. Maybe it will make a difference in my energy level.

Reply do my doctor's concern

I decided to seek a new doctor after my doctor always pushes pills on me. When I had a UTI few months ago she immediately prescribed antibiotics without even running a simple urine test. The new doctor I went to see indicated she believes in nutritional prevention and seemed more holistic. Boy, was I wrong. After I told her I was Paleo she wasn't happy. 

Here's what she wrote: "The good points of Paleo diet is that it encourages cutting out sugars, refined grains and oils, and processed foods. The bad part is it also cuts out beans and legumes which are a great source of lean protein, and depends too heavily on animal foods. There is overwhelming evidence that consuming large amounts of animal foods is bad for you. The caveman didn't generally live past 40 so the didn't have time to develop heart disease, stroke, roost of our modern disease which have been shown to be related to animal product consumption."  

I let it slide although I was very unhappy with her ignorance. But when my blood test results came back with a very high number of total cholesterol (421) she said:
"your cholesterol is incredibly high and it is imperative that you cut back on the meet, cheese and eggs in your diet. As we discussed, cholesterol is not the only factor involved in heart disease but it is certainly a big one and we need to get your down ASAP." 

I am still debating if I should even reply. In the meanwhile since I am very interested in the topic here's the draft that I prepared and researched. 

HI Dr. XXX,

Thank you for your note regarding my test results. What are your thoughts about my Vit. D levels? Any suggestions? Should I just spend more time in the sun?

Even though my total cholesterol number seems high I am not really concerned with them. I will explain below but according to Dr. Davis and Dr. Pinney, it might be related to body fat loss and low carb http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2012/06/i-lost-weight-and-my-cholesterol-went-up/

The recommended cholesterol number of 300 mg/d isn’t exactly backed up by science: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20683785

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/02/10/feds-poised-to-withdraw-longstanding-warnings-about-dietary-cholesterol/

Scientific Report of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee,  "Previously, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommended that cholesterol intake be limited to no more than 300 mg/day. The 2015 DGAC will not bring forward this recommendation because available evidence shows no appreciable relationship between consumption of dietary cholesterol and serum (blood) cholesterol, consistent with the AHA/ACC (American Heart Association / American College of Cardiology) report. Cholesterol is not a nutrient of concern for overconsumption." http://health.gov/dietaryguidelines/2015-scientific-report/06-chapter-1/d1-2.asp

There is plenty of more recent scientific information and growing body of scientists suggesting that dietary cholesterol is not something to be worried about. There have been many changes regarding nutritional recommendations in the past few years year and more official recommendations are in the works.   

As it seems, cholesterol levels are produced by the body and not related to intake from food. Eating cholesterol has very little impact on the cholesterol levels in your body.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19852882  

Years ago the Canadian Guidelines removed the limitation of dietary cholesterol as well as  Australia, New Zealand, Korea, Japan, the EU and other countries because the research no longer supports limiting it in your diet. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15640515  The United States should really catch up (and hopefully will do so by the end of the year). http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22037012 as indicated in the 2015 dietary guidelines mentioned above.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/panel-suggests-stop-warning-about-cholesterol-in-food-201502127713

Thank you for recommending Dr. Fuhrman’s work but as we discussed when we met we agree only on the removal of sugar, sweets and refined foods. I am very happy with Primal nutrition and it’s working well for me.

You and I seem to agree about prevention of illness through nutrition but we don’t see eye to eye regarding the rest of the picture. I and social science strongly disagree with your statement regarding the caveman not living past 40. Those who survived the childhood years had a very good chance to live a long life. They did not die of bad nutrition but more of environmental causes (battles, plaques, accidents etc.).

If you are interested I highly recommend reading the writings of Viljamur Stefansson in our modern day era (beginning of 1900s). The Eskimo lived on meat only in harsh environment and lived very long lives. The Native Americans and many African tribes did so too. Health and Rise of Civilization by Mark Nathan Cohen is one among many excellent accounts.

We can agree to disagree.

Not much to report still eating ZC it's simple

I haven't blogged at all for a while. Simply because there is nothing much to report and I didn't want to wrote boring blog posts.
I am still eating ZC. Meat, eggs, fish. 
My taste has changed. I am still not tolerating fat. Am not interested in steaks at all. 
I do not like ground beef like i did in the beginning. I got leaner ground beef a couple times but didn't exactly love it anyway. So I switched to other meats. 
Chicken wings (I cook them in duck fat), drumsticks (also in duck fat), brisket, shredded beef, salmon (in lots of butter).
I do drink about 2-3 TBS of Heavy Whipping Cream with my coffee once or twice a day. I still drink 2-3 cups of coffee (usually one of them decaf). I eat a little bit of cheese. I try not to do it every day although i had few days that I didn't want meat so had eggs and more cheese than usual. 

I really love not having cravings! It is just an amazing feeling!!!!!   

Time is doing it's thing. I feel like I am healing. 

My energy is getting better. I didn't notice it until I saw someone ask about it on FB group. I suddenly realized my energy level is much better. 

My acne is not as great as I'd like it to be but i am suspecting hormones. I am giving it more time. Although I don't have huge breakouts as I used to in the past and no big under the skin volcanic pimples I still get smaller blemishes. On my chin, as usual. 

As to my weight, I am also not where I wish to be but I am still in a good place. My period is late so I am sure it is somehow related. I also believe that it will take me the whole 6 months to fully balance my body. 

I am keeping on with ZC. don't think that i'm ever going back to anything else. i definitely will not go back to grains. I was Paleo and LC before so that's not even a question. Veggies i don't really miss them. I've had a bite of veggie here and there in the past few days since i have been at events were i felt i couldn't avoid it. Just a bite or two. Perhaps that explains my acne outbreak..... it didn't exactly rock my world. 
I might try berries at some point but am not feeling i really need it right now. 

I was having hard time eating my meat so i used a little bit of tomato paste for my beef. I still consider myself ZC. 

Lost more lbs than I thought

I stepped on the scale this morning and I am at 141.8 !!! Yey! Dropped more than I thought. I started at a little over 146 hovering just below 147. That's why my pants are getting more comfortable. 

Meat and water.....l

Weight is slowly dropping, feeling stable

I have been zc almost 3 months now (2.5). Things are pretty good. I have a pretty balanced appetite, no craving usually. I eat 2-3 times a day. Life is much easier. I thought I got rid of hormonal acne but it seems like about 1.5 weeks before period I still get 1-2 breakouts and get a bit moody. It seems to be coming together. I get into this down mood, things that don't go the way i want bring me down. I also get these hormonal acne, not exactly pimples but a small painful 'hill' in various locations on my chin, it's under the skin condition. Relatively easy to hide with makeup as there no white head. The acne goes away after a day or 2, the mood evens up after few days to a week. My energy seems to have balanced. I have good energy and good sleep. I haven't had any dramatic change in weight but over the past 2.5 months I have dropped 3.5 lbs without any effort and with ease. It sort of happens by itself. I am fitting into my small jeans which i wasn't able to to when I started zc in Feb. I am very happy. I wish the acne would go away completely..... but it is what it is. Perhaps it will change with time, after like 6 months? I am sure I will have some interesting changes when I go through menopause but there's still few years to go until then..... wink emoticon

Update, still zc, eating challenges, weight slow but reducing

I have been quiet for a while. Not much new. I have struggled a little. 

Zero carb is not super hard but something happened to my taste buds. I,started to be repulsed by most beef and beef fat. I couldn't stand steaks, even rib eyes. I couldnt stand fatty ground beef (73%) I even don't like the lean ground beef anymore. I am not excited about eating meat at all. I do not want anything else though. It's not that I want veggies. I don't want carbs for sure. Here and there I do want chocolate or ice cream or strawberries. 

My face has been clear most of the time. I had a breakout during TOM, but it was small and went away fast. I suspect it also might have had to do with jerky with raisins that I had, very small quantity but still, I binged on like 2oz of it. 

I am now accepting what it is my body is taking me through. Eating what I can whether it is eggs, chicken wings, salmon, and even a little cheese. 

I try to eat whatever beef I can tolerate. I did try US Wellness Meat Pemmican and like it.

The weight seems to be heading down but very slowly. This week I am down to 143lbs and finally fit in my smallest jeans. 

Most of all I feel it is the right way of eating for me. Perhaps my taste craziness is designed to reduce my food consumption? I don't know, I know my body knows better than me and I hope to understand one day. 

Hormones, difficulties and a little balance

I haven't blogged, things were going well. I removed cream.  It was boring, nothing to report. Then few days ago I started gagging on fat, not liking steak, not liking any beef I made. Even my staple ground beef caused me to gag. I crave beef jetky, want eggs, salmon, butter, chicken.
After consulting with zc Facebook group zeroing in on health I stopped feeling guilty, bought turkey bacon and started eating what I wanted without guilt. Yesterday I had 2 pimples pop out of the blue. An unpleasant surprise and I also had cravings I think it is probably related to my period. Seems like about a week before it starts. Today I am better. One pimple is annoying, but not as big as previously. I will not touch it. My old marks are almost gone.
I am sticking with zc. It is an interesting experience.

Infection, a little weight loss, and zero carb on

I stopped counting the days I have been on ZC. I don't see myself eating any other way. 

I just love not having any cravings. I eat, I am full for hours. I am not tempted by anything around me. It is just such a blessing. Some added bonuses are: less shopping, less cooking, less recipes, less time spent on food, shelves and fridge uncluttered. Not to mention saving money. 

I love not having ANY acne. I just love it. No more breakouts. 

On a different note, my urine test still shows blood. No bacteria shows in culture. My doctor wants me to see a urologist which I have an appointment with on Thursday. My back is starting to bother me more and more. Looks like I might have kidney infection but will see what urologist says. 

I stepped on the scale today after drinking coffee and water and looks like I am down 0.8 even with drinking. So looks like weight is coming off gradually. I hope to be under 140 soon...

Love Zero Carb, life is simple

I am done with antibiotic. I am finally feeling better and my energy is better. I still don't like getting up in the morning but once I get up my energy is good all day. 

My appetite is decent. I lowered my coffee intake to one caffeinated in the morning after breakfast and one decaf in afternoon after meal. 

I learned to make steak and am learning to make brisket. Got this great book from the library called Great Meat by Dave Kelly and others. Made pretty good rib eye yesterday, even the girls loved it. 

The breakout is over and I didn't have any new ones. My skin is still clearing. I still have small red marks from old breakouts. They are slowly disappearing. 

My food cost seems to be down this month, even without shopping at Costco for meat. If the kids would go off their crap food we could really save some money on grocery bills. All that bread costs a lot of money! 

Zero Carb eating is really simple. I make 2lbs ground beef and it lasts me for 2-3 days. It fills me up for hours and hours. Just amazing. Today I had Salmon baked in butter and 2 sunny side up eggs at 8am. I got hungry only at 3pm. At 3pm I ate some ground beef with my attempt at beef jerky (I.e. Some strips of flank beef) and it is now almost 9 pm and I am not exactly hungry. I did have decaf coffe during afternoon. I sip it for like 2 hours.....

I am not losing any weight so far but I seem steady. I have no cravings at all. I have no hassle with food. I want to eat, no problem. I am not trying to figure out if it is or isn't true hunger, like I used to do before with implementing mindful eating. If I want food or think about it, I eat meat. That's it. 

I am really happy.

Acne, appetite and meat

I am still on antibiotics. Still not feeling energetic. 

I do not have an appetite. I also don't have cravings. I don't particularly have desire to eat meat but I also don't have any desire to eat anything else. Well, maybe whipped cream or tiramisu......

I do not miss veggies or nuts or quest bars. 

I just don't really have interest in food in general. It might be related with the antibiotic and infection. 

I was at friends during weekend and had a little but of soup she made,miso had some tomatoe paste, garbanzo beans, spinach and probably some other plant foods in there. I did not have cravings but I do have a breakout right the next day. It is small and hopefully will go away soon but it is the under skin bulge type, the hormonal one. 

I don't see any other reason for the breakout but the soup. 

I am a little concerned with my lack of interest in food. The meat doesn't taste great to me. I am not really enjoying my food. While it is a relief not to eat for entertainment, staying full for longer time and not having cravings I would still like to enjoy my food and meal. Now I just eat for substance. I also suspect I don't eat quite enough. 

I am not experiencing the wonderful benefits others have experienced on zc. I was hoping for more energy, needing less sleep and weight loss or more precisely dropping one size of clothes. I will keep going at least for 3 months. Need to first heal the infection and be off antibiotics. Also need to figure out how to make meat that tastes good....

Infection seems better, ZC still working out well

It seems like the infection is getting better I am feeling much better since i started the new antibiotics. I have better energy. I didn't have any cheese, just eggs, water and once it twice a day a tbs of HWC with my coffee which I am trying to limit to one in am after breakfast and one decaf in afternoon. 

I was surprised to have a small pimple on my chin a couple days ago. It was above skin, not my typical bump under skin and it was very small. I thought it was reaction to cheese I had the day or two before and perhaps even antibiotics and infection. I didn't do anything with it, no cream or wash and it is almost gone now. The marks from my old ones are almost gone. I can't wait for them to be gone already and for my hair to grow....l

I bought different cuts of steak just to get familiar with tastes and texture. I just sear them in pan with some salt and TJ 21 seasoning and a tiny bit of tallow. I really like the rib eye taste and texture so far. I am not a big fan of meat. I hear all the ZCers talk about what they eat and I am not there, have a very long way to go yet. I am ok with burgers but the ground beef is just not tasting great. I really like sloppy joes but without tomatoes ground beef is just not the same for me. 

I hope that the steaks will make it better for me. 

I like chicken wings but they are not as satisfying as beef. 

There is also the matter of smell in the house. cooking beef leaves a smell in the house and while I don't mind my husband really doesn't like it. 

I hope to figure these things out along the way. 

I am not missing cheese and my food cravings and funky appetite or just wanting something to chew/eat is gone. 

I am suspecting I am not eating enough and will need to somehow to eat more beef. I still have a couple more steak cuts in fridge to try but if I am not excited about them I will just go with rib eyes, burgers and ground beef and probably couple times a week chicken wings as my kids love them. 

I love not being entertained by food anymore. I was at a lunch yesterday and just wasn't tempted by anything since I was still full from my breakfast of eggs and ground beef. 

I took my daughter to a birthday party yesterday, the theme was candy land. The amounts of candy was INSANE!!!!!!!! I just saw a huge buffet of drugs. It is absolutely criminal! Chocolate fountain, various candy, sugar sticks, mousse, Oreos, marshmallows and of course 'healthy fruit' to dip in fountain or just eat plain. I am really torn with this as I don't want to not let my kids have it but I also truly believe it is horrible, addicting and not just plain unhealthy for our body it is horrible for our teeth. I really do not feed them the way I believe they should eat, I cannot do that mainly because my husband is not on board. He will never give up bread. 

I am hoping that if I make meat in a way they like, such as chicken wings they will eat it and be too full for anything else (like rice or pasta). I haven't figured out yet what meat to give them for school lunch. I got Applegate beef hotdogs last week, my 8yr old loved them but my 11yr old didn't like them. Perhaps another brand? I need another alternatives of fatty meat. The lunch turkey I can buy all have sugar and/carrageenan and while I still get it I hate it. 

Will try to tackle it and research the topic. 

I don't think I lost any more weight. Did not step on the scale and am not eager to do so. My clothes are feeling comfortable. I am hoping to drop a clothes size to fit back into my size 4 jeans which are still a bit tight for me. For that to happen I will probably need to be under 140. At least 4-5lbs to drop....but I will not focus on that but rather on healing my body. Need to get rid of the infection first and then let my body heal with meat and water. 

Fiber Menace, back on antibiotics, removing cheese

Heard about this book on FB, Fiber Menace and finally downloaded it on Kindle. Right from the start was shocked! I remember knowing that corn flakes where discovered by accident but I never knew the real origins of Kellogg cereal. 

 http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Harvey_Kellogg

I was amazed to learn that the whole Fiber and whole grains trends are based on vegetarianism and conservatism. 

Even Graham cracker have origins is this nonsense.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graham_cracker

I am still digesting how harmful fiber is for our body. I don't know why most shocking for me is how much damage it does to our teeth and gums, cavities and gingivitis. It totally makes sense since fiber is present in carby food and carbs basically turn into sugar in our body. 

For few months before zc I was living and calculating net carbs hoping to lose weight but with no success at all and with cravings and wanting to eat. All these mathematical calculations.....it is so much easier just eating meat. If I ever do go back to other foods it will just be vegetables and I will never count net carbs! 

I am too scared to have nuts now since I really like not having acne. Having a clear face every day without doing anything is such a blessing! I still wake up every morning and look in the mirror with disbelief. I keep touching my face trying to feel if there is any new breakout forming under the skin (which would always happen and I would try to tackle it with sulfur or tea tree oil before it grows). 

I did urine test on Tuesday but still have some sort of infection. I am taking another round of different antibiotic for 10 days, I am not supposed to have milk with it. I suspect that dairy isn't doing much for me but create cravings and wanted to eliminate it anyway. I don't really need it. Meat is completely satisfying. There is no reason for me to have any cheese, I don't eat it much anyway and it is a snack for me. Plus I really want to drop a size and will never know until I really give meat and water a try.

I am still clinging to my coffe an really want to have HWC once a day but I will give up the cream once I finish the one I just bought and probably will make whip cream for my daughters to finish it faster. 

I will stick to coffee and have it after I eat just to make sure I am not suppressing my appetite. 

I might ditch the coffee in a month.....who knows? 

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.