32 day ZC Variable Protein Test

[MableSyrup]

What a fabulous test plan. Huzzah!

[Fiorella]

Day 3 - Beef

Again, feeling very good and energetic today

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Great! No issues
2. Hunger level? Honestly, I didn’t want to eat…AGAIN. But, this test must go on as planned. Otherwise, I would have fasted.
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start of test = +0.4 lbs (no change from yesterday).

Today, I went to a microbrewery/restaurant with friends at lunchtime. I ordered a burger (told waitress don’t bother putting a bun on it). Then she asked what I would like in the burger, I said “nothing please”. She looked perplexed. Then she insisted I get the side salad, to replace the bun. At the end of lunch, all I ate was the burger meat, and was left with a whole plate of salad. I didn’t want to go into a long explanation about the ZC test trial, so I had the waitress pack up the salad. I fed it to my garbage bin when I got home.

When I got home I made some meatballs. But, first I rendered some beef fat to make tallow. Here’s a beef fat scrap a local butcher donated (they throw all their fats away…crazy, I know).

Cubed fat goes In the pan (I should mention that it has a very thick bottom…this is important for heat control).

Crank up heat and it starts to render.

This grease spatter gizmo comes in handy. Or else my entire kitchen would be grease coated.

Cracklings removed, and then there is hot tallow ready for meatballs

Meanwhile, as the fat was rendering, I prepared the ground beef mix. Just salt, pepper and very small amount of dry thyme.

So, meatballs go into the smoking hot tallow.

Result is brown crispy crust, and raw meat core. I ate two, and they were OMG delicious!

[Fiorella]

Day 4 - Beef

Again, still feeling very good and energetic today.

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Still no problem, feels good
2. Hunger level? Not hungry. Had to eat for this test. Otherwise, I would have fasted.
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start of test = +0.8 lbs (increase of 0.4 lbs from yesterday).

Today I made beef cutlets with eye of round, and I re used the tallow from yesterday.

I started with two eye of round steaks that look like this

I pounded the heck out of it until it was pretty thin

Each side got a bit of salt, pepper, dried thyme and a squeeze of lemon

I let it marinate for about 15 minutes

I heated up the leftover tallow from yesterday and got it smoking hot, and then added the marinated steaks

Each side was fried for about one minute

The steaks came out and I let the tallow cool off a bit

I then mopped up the brown bits off the bottom of the pan (the best tasting part) creating a nice glaze on the fried steaks

This was the result

The steaks were tender with a pink center, and delicious brown glaze. The taste was something like fresh mozzarella cheese with balsamic glaze.

Since I will start the pork trial tomorrow, I had to filter the tallow and store it in the fridge. To do this, I set up a sieve over a clean jar.

I filtered the tallow

Jar set aside to cool before transferring to fridge

[Genevieve]

I’m drooling!!

[Jacquie]

Beautifully done! Love your sequencing. We use the same sea salt.

[Fiorella]

Day 5 - Pork…yay for pork

Again still feeling very good and energetic.

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Great! Just slight discomfort in gut when I started eating pork. It soon went away. I think my intestines were rejoicing “yay for pork!”
2. Hunger level? Today, I actually felt hungry. And I started to think of all my favorite vegetables I don’t get to eat. Like fennel, artichokes, rapini, escarole, endive, etc
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start = +2.0 lbs

Yesterday, I noticed a few dots of acne developing on my face. I didn’t think much of it. Today, the dots got a bit bigger. This is a bit shocking to me, because I seldom have acne issues. I tend to have clear skin everyday. Not sure why this is happening. Will see how it turns out on the pork trial.

For supper tonight, I had pork chops fried in lard I rendered from pork jowls. Also ate a small handful of crispy jowl lardons…yummers!

Lardon recipe here:
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/matchstick-bacon-an-alternative-for-purse-bacon/5467

Pork chops recipe here:
https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/fried-thick-pork-chops/5470

[Fiorella]

Day 6 - Pork

Again still feeling very good and energetic.

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Great! No discomfort.
2. Hunger level? Today, I was not hungry at all all day. At around dinner time, I started getting hungry.
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start = +0.6 lbs (which is 1.4 lbs loss from yesterday)

The few acne spots that came up two days ago on my face are getting smaller and going away. So, no concerns for now.

Today, I made some pork meatballs with Chinese 5 Spice, accompanied with brown sauce from deglazing the pan. Link to recipe here:

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/chinese-5-spice-pork-meatballs/5560

[Fiorella]

Day 7 - Pork

Again still feeling very good and energetic.

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Great! No discomfort.
2. Hunger level? Around 5 pm was a bit hungry, but after half hour it vanished. Otherwise, not hungry all day. Good day for fasting actually.
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start = +1.4 lbs (I blame the delicious Chinese 5 spice meatballs yesterday, so good!)

Today I made some pork Saltimbocca. So nice to eat some prosciutto. Recipe here:

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/pork-and-sage-bundles-saltimbocca/5667

[Fiorella]

Day 8 - Pork

Again still feeling very good and energetic.

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Great! No discomfort.
2. Hunger level? No hunger. I could have fasted if it wasn’t for this test plan.
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start = +2.2 lbs (I blame the delicious pork Saltimbocca yesterday, so good!)

Today I went through some pork leftovers in the fridge, because I will be starting on fish tomorrow. I also made whipped bacon nectar crema to have with the leftovers…wow, it was really spectacular. I will be able to use it with fish and seafood, too. So, great last minute meal planning for the next few days!

Recipe of whipped bacon nectar crema found at this link.

[Fiorella]

Day 9 - Fish

Again still feeling very good and energetic.

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Great! No discomfort.
2. Hunger level? I felt a tad bit hungry in the afternoon before dinner today. After dinner, I still felt a bit hungry.
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start = +2.4 lbs

Today was first day eating fish. I defrosted some cod and made Cod Fish En Papillote (in parchment packet). It was sooooooo delicious

[DawnH]

If I’m seeing this correctly, you are eating nothing but the meat, correct? Are you taking any supplements? I ask because I was thinking of trying something like this after my next extended fast, not for 30 days, but testing a different meat for a week after each fast I do to see it’s effects on me.

[Fiorella]

Correct, no supplements or medications. The idea is to see if I get a reaction to any protein…looking for any sensitivities.

[Fiorella]

Day 10 - Fish

Again still feeling very good and energetic.

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Great! No discomfort.
2. Hunger level? I felt a tad bit hungry in the afternoon before dinner, again. After dinner, I was no longer hungry.
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start = +2.2 lbs

Today I had fresh BC snapper fish filet with tonnato sauce, link to recipe here.

[Genevieve]

All of your pictures are food porn!!

[Fiorella]

Haha …not my intention. I try to give pointers on how to cook, doneness of proteins, and other details, because words are just not enough to explain.

[Fiorella]

Day 11 - Fish

Again still feeling very good and energetic. Very even energy all day.

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Great! No discomfort.
2. Hunger level? Not hungry really. Ate because I had to for this test.
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start = +2.4 lbs

Today I had smoked salmon timbale (filled with pate made of snapper and tuna).

[Fiorella]

Day 12 - Fish

Again still feeling very good and energetic. Very even energy all day.

Daily Stats:

1. How does gut feel? Great! No discomfort.
2. Hunger level? Not hungry really. But, I am getting cravings to eat a treat of some sort…like a piece of +90% chocolate, or a couple of nuts. Even some crispy fresh vegetables would be a treat. I’m feeling a bit protein’ed out.
3. Mood? Awesome
4. Energy level? Pretty good!
5. Sleep? Good deep sleep.
6. Delta weight since start = +4.6 lbs

Today, I ate Cod wrapped in cured pork fat

[Joan_Hulvey]

I really appreciate all of the details. Why do you think you are gaining weight on this plan? Curious.

[Fiorella]

I started this ZC test right after a 7-day fast, where all I had was water, coffee and tea (and nothing else). I suspect that had a lot to do with it. When fasting, your body goes through autophagy. Then I suspect some rebuilding happens after refeeding. Just a guess.

[Fiorella]

Oh, by the way…I should also mention, that prior to this ZC test, I lost 12.8 lbs in the 7-day fast. So, regaining a few pounds upon refeed seems reasonable.