All Animal April

[Azi]

Yeah our pool is heated still… often it’s sitting at about between 88 degrees - 90-93 degrees so it’s like getting in a fairly warm bath. So only a couple of days if it’s been pouring or exceptionally windy haven’t got in…we bought a out door propane heater for the colder temps… as it gets hotter we will dial down the temp for summer

[Septimius]

Nothing better than bone in, I wish we had more bone in here.

Agreed. I’ve been eating exclusively t-bone steak of late. I’ve also been enjoying lamb breast too.

The increased fat has been going well for me for the most part. It’s accidentally pushed me into OMAD more often than not, whereas I always ate 2-3 meals a day.

However, I have occasionally run into problems with immediate fatigue / semi-nausea after eating.

I’ve read a bunch of stuff; some say it’s natural (a confused satiety signal from the brain, and if you rest, it’ll disappear - which it does), some say it’s a bit too much fat, or just too much food altogether.

So I figure it’s either - I’m too hungry after OMAD and my stomach can’t take such a big meal despite being hungry, or it’s the side-effects from this medication withdrawal that I’m doing, or the medication is making me feel hungrier than my body truly is (which I’ve suspected for a while) so I’m technically overeating…so the satiety signal isn’t kicking in until too late if the medication is messing with it.

Never mind. Will see what happens going forward. Fortunately, I’ve not been at work when it’s happened, so I just lay down for 30-45 minutes, and then I felt fine again. It actually feels like those early days of carnivore again - although I never needed to lie down back then; I just yawned a lot!

[Karen18]

@Fangs our mornings are the same … been frosty last couple of days but sunny and warming up in time for the sun going down!!

Reasonable nights sleep, not quite as good as previous 2 nights but I guessed I might be up weeing more with having started the diuretics in the morning and I was up maybe 4 times from getting into bed and actually went properly instead of pushing out a dribble in the hopes I would get rid of the feeling of wanting to go just so I could get back to sleep. No trouble drifting off again. Bit late going to bed after thinking I would go up early and so I went back at 8am for another hour. Only dozed though. About 7 hours in all from midnight to 9.20am so can’t grumble really. Sat on edge of bed with feet on floor for a few secs before getting up but still went dizzy. Started stair running and it was a real struggle this morning. I was struggling with tired legs from yesterdays biking at CF and also my breath just wasn’t there and felt quite dizzy. I felt that bad that after 18 flights I went to monitor my BP thinking it might be too low but it was up at my normal high of 167/73. Went back to the stairs and thought, mind over matter, plod on. Took quite a bit longer than my usual 35mins but I managed to do it. So I checked BP about 40 mins after first check and it was 137/63, my OT and pharmacist would have been very happy with that.

When I finished the stair running I needed the loo and sorry everyone but I did a big ‘big jobs’ and thought then that my feeling so bad could have been down to those pork medalion chops yesterday as they weren’t 100% defrosted (probably about 77%) not like me to cook them like that but I needed food in a hurry and today I have paid the price.

Took Raymond to the G/C for a cuppa and chat but it was quite noisy in there today and my head was starting to go. Bought some loamy soil for my plants and took him home then stopped on my way home at Pound Stretchers. So glad I wasn’t feeling 100% because I was going to head into town to The Range for planters … Pound Stretcher is at my neighbouring retail park which I could walk to… just as well I drove there as the shop had a promotion on … total basket half price if you spend £5! Got straight down to that planter aisle and there was a guy ramming his trolley full of planters, fortunately he was choosing all the fancy ones that I didn’t want as I like my pretty flowers to be centre stage, not the planter! Had things been different i would have had to show him my guns lol

Of course I only bought what I needed

I was definitely ready for something to eat when I got home… it was about 3pm so the oven went on for the chicken wings and while that was heating up the rump steak went in the pan. Blimey it was so delish and then I just had enough time to water the planters and the chicken wings were just perfectly ready so i ate them too. I got them just right this time as I kept checking on them, still crispy but not completely charred.

I think maybe if I am hungry later I will have a couple of scrambled duck eggs before an early night. Work tomorrow hope the computer issues have been resolved !

[Shinita]

Pancake batter in IHOP scrambled eggs and omelets? but you can ask for it to not be used…its supposed to make them fluffier

Whipping the whites make things fluffier - though it always deflates, indeed (still fluffier than without! just not so very big :D)… Oh well it’s fun while frying
It’s good our thin pancakes aren’t fluffy at all so skipping the flour just makes them better. If you ask me. Alvaro still doesn’t like my carni pancakes (But his still contain, like, 1/20 flour compared to “normal” ones.)

I can eat omelette fluffy or flat but not so keen on them plain and since abstaining from cheese it looks like they won’t be on the menu for a while!

I often drowned them in sour cream as a kid… But I am a huge sour cream fan. And I have zillion other ideas. It’s good as I really don’t want cheese now. I will have some if it’s my best option for variety but I am very fine without.
But eggs can be eaten in so many different ways

@Karen18, I think you are very fortunate with your addictions and binges I am sorry my empathy just refuses to work but I had already a cheerful mood and it was so funny and adorable to read about you and your plants
I only need soil now And some flower seeds, I have some but I have more place in the garden…

By the way, garden. It was sunny, it had rain, it is sunny again, I went out and realized I need to mow the grass (more like the most determined weeds) next week… I need to do some weeding even before, I started but there will be a round 2 as well.
Plants, even trees really started to live again Cool.

The beef stew is just awesome, even (especially?) cold. It has much juice(?) now and it becomes a very powerful jelly I sooo live jellied things especially really flavorful ones.
I lost some interest in eggs but I have quark again.

[JJFiddle]

@Karen18 your Fitbit does a nice sleep readout! The Fossil isn’t as complete, I mainly see total, light and deep sleep and a generalized record. I agree though, if I lie quietly it thinks I’ve slept love fooling mother nature!
The speech contests are events in Toastmasters International, which I joined back in 1992, and took a long hiatus until they started meeting online in 2020 - no more traffic

@Azi I didn’t realize you could order a no flour omelet at IHOP-I’ll remember that.
I’ve avoided iHop omelets for 20 years! And your brisket - beautiful! I somehow forgot to pack my Joule from Texas. Now I have to look up recipes to roast my whole chicken to cook tomorrow morning.

We went to ikea to look at kitchen cabinets this morning. This tiny 1946 house needs a 24"stove and microwave, 18"dishwasher and 28"fridge. This has been a long time coming but with my daughter moving in here this summer it has to have a kitchen.
When we got home we were hungry, I cooked his veggies and just hamburger and eggs and a slice of cheese for me. The jarlsberg tasted like vinegar. Can’t trust my taste buds these days!

I keep trying to give sour cream another chance but it still tastes like covid, lol. So not sure if the jarlsberg change is covid or Carni, because both have changed the flavors of things!

And the little bitty piece of meat is because I ate most of it raw

[Ketodaisy]

Brazilian steakhouse today for my husband’s birthday. ate too much of course. 3 of many, many, many plates

[FrankoBear]

4 years on Keto - finding weight gain is harder to stop - tired of fasting

I look forward to the day when doctors realize that body weight is a poor measure of health. I have been taking monthly photos of my face and body. With digital photography the cost and effort is hardly more than stepping on a scale. A photo reveals a lot and a slide show of photos over time is a record of changing health. Even without medical training most anyone can look at photos and instantly sense if someone is doing well or headed for trouble. I think it has more meaning than most of…

I this bio-marker comment by @brownfat Todd Allen. I’m still taking regular photos, particularly face selfies. About twice per challenge month.

---

------------keeping today very simple
NY Strip steak and burger. I do have some chicken breasts for more back up if required along with shrimp…well, duh, my usual

Carnivore international language barrier busting:

Delmonico’s Restaurant, an operation opened in New York City in 1827, offered as one of its signature dishes a cut from the short loin called a Delmonico steak . Due to its association with the city, it is often referred to as a New York strip steak… The New York strip is cut from the beef short loin , sometimes with the bone attached but most often as a boneless steak. If the butcher leaves the strip loin and tenderloin intact through the short loin , the short loin will transform into T-bone and porterhouse steaks… Subsequently, question is, what is a New York strip called in Australia? Americans call it the New York strip , in Australia it’s called a porterhouse .

One can see the short loin region on this map (I’ve been touring the rib region most recently, just across the border to the west):

[Fangs]

@Azi
you must love that pool of yours SO much! It just sounds so wonderful! Enjoy the heck out of it!!

@Ketodaisy
Happy Bday to your hubby and a Brazilian steakhouse. WOW. what a nice treat

@Karen18
nice wings, I am one who loves them ‘done very well and very dark’ actually so yours are looking very delish to me

@FrankoBear
hey cool, very interesting info on it all being ‘named’ for diff. situations in certain regional areas and all that!!

--------------very simple food day again
have errands to handle and some other stuff around the home needs ‘doing’ but first meal will be some country pork ribs. Will put in oven to cook as I work around and second meal will probably end up being another steak. Gonna root around the bottom of the chest freezer and see what older frozen is down there and get it up for defrost and eat it up later

I am in that ‘middle’. I am not wanting big fatty meats, I am not wanting leaner proteins, kinda just want a plate of meat, whatever I desire and not thinking of needing more fat or more protein or anything like that just eating zc as usual and feeling fine. all zc auto cruise right now.

[Shinita]

I looked at cuts and their names and places again. I am even more lost than before and I was pretty clueless before… I say very different places called chuck. I just know we have several differently named cuts where you just say round…

I never will learn all this. Or not in the near future. Oh well.

Meanwhile my pork got better. I am at the last little bites of it and it’s awesome. Maybe because it wasn’t big? Or because I didn’t eat it quickly? I don’t normally am into it on the last day… Of course the beef is great too but the pork is older and I wanted to finish it.
I am heavier on cheese now but I find eggs mildly boring (no problems, I just stopped eating big scrambled eggs or boiled eggs. my fluffy sponge cake breads are still nice. I just need a bigger amount of other food than normal) so no wonder.
IDK if I ever will have stop to jump from one phase to the other all the time. But as long as I have supplies and I don’t get bored of everything at the same time, it’s okay.

@Ketodaisy: Happy (belated now, I guess) Birthday to your husband! It must have been a very nice meal I feel nostalgic, I visited some nice places in my life… But never a steakhouse, it’s on the list though for 2022

[Karen18]

Did i see 0 mins awake​:astonished: i think I have done well when mine reads 1hr12mins awake even though I know most times I have actually been awake longer. If I get 54 mins deep sleep I’m like yesssss and look at you nearly 4 hours deep. Thats the most important sleep for health. We should be aiming for a couple of hours before midnight and at least a couple after. And yes I must admit I prefer my fitbit for showing detailed readouts it also show oxygen levels during sleep. I only just noticed this with my new fitbit.

Regards your chicken if I cok a whole chicken I always cook it upside down as it cook better. I prefer to undercooked as I use it mainly for reheating in butter and if its slightly underdone I don’t end up with it getting too dry when it re heats.

[JJFiddle]

@Karen18 Yes it usually shows at least 75% as deep sleep. Very good because my total sleep is never as much as I wish it were! But also - I get up to pee at 4:30 almost every morning and then read for an hour and a half before drifting back to sleep, and I don’t see that reflected there.
Hubby is up by 2am (here in VA, because bathroom is downstairs and bed is upstairs) and sleeping on the couch, which gives me the freedom to read when I wake up at 4:30. If he were still in bed I’d probably lie there til I eventually feel asleep
And yes. The Fitbit software is cool. A student showed me hers once and it gave her stories! So you’re getting 100 stories on your stair runs!

[Karen18]

Super love that rare steak with the juicy fat … my coaster would have been green side up throughout the meal! makes me drool. Dont think I will get my steak out the fridge now, leave it for tomorrow cos it looks too weedy and small compared to that.

[Karen18]

Not too bad a night and had alarm set for 445am for work. Started the stair runs and Oh Lord it was an even bigger struggle than yesterday morning! Nauseous, dizzy and … I can’t really say I had difficulty breathing … just an exhausted feeling, really strange. I even thought maybe I had Covid … I didn’t as my work test revealed. We still have to take a daily test at work and mine was fine. I didn’t take a diuretic tab this morning as the pharmacist said not to take on a work day in case I fall at work. My BP before leaving the house was normal high and dropped only a tad bit when I got to work. I ended up going in and starting work at 6.30am as I had extra time from not doing all the stair runs. I hated not being able to complete them, i am such a determined character and hate to be defeated but I thought I might end up falling down them this morning if I didn’t give up the ghost!

The whole day was a heavy head and a nauseous,
giddy feeling inside so I was glad to leave at 2.30pm and I didn’t stop to chat to anyone as I left … well not strictly true one of the lads from my group stopped me to see when I would be returning to the group. Of course I won’t be returning now.

Was ready for a bite to eat at 1230pm and ate reheated cooked chicken with melted butter.
Got home at 3pm and had 2 duck eggs scrambled in butter. Then dinner about 6pm was 2 pork chops, one thick and one thin. I started munching the thin one while the fat one was still cooking. The fat on the thin one must have been a good 1.5inches wide and was lovely. Got through them both. I had a steak out to cook up too but was full enough with the porky chops. Won’t eat anything now till tomorrow.

I will give the stair runs a go tomorrow morning and see whether missing the tab this morning makes any difference to the way I feel. At least I will be able to know one way or the other if it is the tablet of not. My daughter wants me to get a doctors appointment, she feels they should be reviewing me about now and I can tell them about the increase in dizziness. I know she’s right, i have been surprised that the Doctor hasn’t called me in for an appt since my Stroke
Early night tonight for me.

[Ketodaisy]

Mine was and I got offended because they assumed we were all done and stopped coming to our table. Finally my friend went and chased down the goucho to come back for me

@Shinita that hurts my heart for you! The only time I ever go to a restaurant is to a steakhouse and I’ve been to Brazilian steakhouses probably 8-10 times in the last 4 years! Hopefully some day soon you’ll get to go!

Today’s meal was the leftover (cold) beef bites from Saturday and some of the other roast raw today. I don’t usually eat grocery store meat (especially markdowns) raw, but I’m giving this one a go!

[FrankoBear]

Mrs. Bear and I spent 8 hours yesterday day stacking our winter firewood, we packed some extra firewood in storage bags in the shed, and made a pile to chop further. It was a sunny autumn day. I had extra magnesium and salt. A few months ago my day was a struggle to get from bed, to the toilet, and a short distance to sit in a chair. Yesterday I stacked firewood for 8 hours. I’d call that a non-scale victory.

We noticed while we were engaged in quite hard physical labour that we were not hungry. Mrs. Bear worked fasted and had an OMAD day. I had an eggs, bacon, and coffee breakfast during a short lunch break. Then had left over, cold ribeye, two boiled eggs, and a slice of pan fried halloumi cheese. Woke up this morning with only dull muscle aches, the good ones that say one has done some satisfying physical activity.

I was pretty tired last night and had a large mug of hot salty, beef bone broth. There was just enough to have that mug as Mrs. Bear (ex-vegetarian) has found a taste for beef bone broth and has a cup most mornings after yoga teaching or practicing while all the 20-somethings are sipping herb teas or drinking green smoothies.

[JJFiddle]

A few months ago my day was a struggle to get from bed, to the toilet, and a short distance to sit in a chair. Yesterday I stacked firewood for 8 hours. I’d call that a non-scale victory.

Wow, great testimony to the power of zc living! Beautiful pics too.

This morning we walked the puppy the mile or so from the car dealership where we had the car serviced, then walked back a couple hours later to pick it up. The puppy was thrilled at the long walk. Meanwhile I put the chicken in the roaster. It came out nice, crispy skin and all, and the other half of it is saved for tomorrow.
Between students I ate ¼ lb raw salted hamburger, then tonight had another ¼ lb fried with 2 eggs.
I steamed 7 eggs to wrap for scotch eggs which I’ll finish in the morning. Leaving the peeled eggs in the fridge to dry overnight.

@Karen18 I hope you do see your Dr about these strange spells! Glad you know it’s not covid, but still - mysterious!

[Fangs]

Great post FB! And that pic of Billie, darn I think that pooch is working TOO hard and ya best let that pooch off the hook making her put up all that wood for ya

---------fast post again
just busy
ugh

food extremely simple
steak today with some burger and got me some shrimp to add to that steak if wanted.

finding me going ‘more OMAD’ in a way. Eating a bit later which means I am ravenous when first meal hits and then I find second meal is not wanted, or very very smaller in more lean and just ‘to eat something’ so I don’t go off in any way

all good, normal into hot weather change for me since I know me on seaons and life changes on my zc lifestyle.

Rock on thru April all!

[Karen18]

@FrankoBear wow a good days graft for you and just a few of the good aches and pains to show you did a great workout. I am just the same i never feel hungry once I get busy doing something, must be the focus on the work that stops one focusing on the stomach! Lovely photos as per. Billie looks so chilled out, he’s a gorgeous pooch.
@JJFiddle yes we sort of got the mystery solved. I couldn’t manage more than 4 stair runs this morning … only 96 down from my norm in fact after one I was nauseous and dizzy. I had to cancel CrossFit which frustrated me as it looked a really good class today but needs must. Instead I called the health centre and asked for a face to face appt … blimey cant remember last time i had one of those… well before covid …and the Doctor called me back and then said yes he thought it best to see me face to face which I was glad about, and he got me in this morning!
So the results were that I’m okay im not having another stroke, he said my neck glands were both up and my throat was reddened and I have picked up a virus. Dont feel unwell as such, no sore throat so that came as a bit of a surprise. I also have exhaustion. I thought Thursdays head crash was a big one. He said too long working hours and high sensory imput have just tipped the balance. He said once you’ve had a stroke you can keep going and going (when you get fit like me) and then woosh its suddenly gone into overdrive and the brain starts having to fight it … and the virus, and thats where the nausea and dizziness come in … the virus isn’t helping that of course. He said your body becomes super sensitive to these things. I am to have complete rest for a couple of weeks to let the body heal. He also said he was okay with my BP as the average readings were ok… not massively great, just okay lol

He said my OT and he would advocate it for work but I can’t take anymore sick as yet as I had that warning letter for the stroke! My line manager didn’t want anything to impede the Ill Health Retirement app I have submitted so I have taken his advice and taken 2 days leave which means (cos I am part time) that I go back to work a week on Friday, think thats the 22nd. I am only a small 5.5 hour shift that day and then the Sat and Sun in for 8 hours per shift. I am okay with that because it will be peaceful up where I work as no admin staff in over the weekends.

So straight home after the Dr’s and settled down for the afternoon. Put the Yorkshire Smoked Kippers i had bought from fishmonger on sat into oven and I was peckish so had 3 scrambly chick eggs while it was baking. Oh my Lord those Kippers were fantastic. I cooked them on some greaseproof paper and they pulled off without sticking to the pan. I cooked them upside down although that wasn’t intentional and the skin which had been upside during cooking was lovely and crispy.

I have a small sirloin out for dinner sitting on the side ready for the pan and I also got out some lamb chops and some lamb mince so thats defrosting in the fridge. Probably have those tomorrow now I’m not going to be at work. Oooooh don’t have to get up at silly o’clock!

Looks less than there was cos I started eating before taking the pic.

[Shinita]

@Ketodaisy: Oh it will happen and it’s a nice, not painful dream until then I am very, very pleased with my pork and turkey and it’s not like I never eat beef and other things

@Karen18: WOWW what pretty plates You are surrounded by beauty, house, plants and meat

Well back to very proper carnivore with a cute eating window instead of all the wild things I may do in weekends… I ate lunch but I got hungry and had freshly made pork, of course I ate. it was quite satiating, not the vaguest idea about the fat content though. And this label actually had info on it, 70/30. I didn’t know we have such labels. It’s a mixed cut, very cheap and fatty but sounded good to me.
Did you see hard fat in pork? Like beef fat, that hard. Well I never. Very very much white parts so I cut off the proper, mostly meat parts and made scotch eggs from it (Alvaro was very enthusiastic when I shared my plan with him and he isn’t the enthusiastic type normally) - and I had a big, 530g half-fat pile I fried. I got about 60g lard from it and cracklings Some fat is still soft but they became pretty good meaty cracklings in an hour I was pleased.
My photos got poor even in the sunshine, the original was LOADS prettier, oh well. Focus problems, I often have those.

This is my leftover as I ate first and thought about photos later.

So… Cracklings from about a pound of very fatty pork, it’s a lot. Satiating. I only ate 4 soft eggs first (they broke when peeled. they were supposed to become scotch eggs. but it was the second batch, the first was better but got almost totally hard when we ate it, oh well, I will improve) and got sooo satiated with the bigger part of my cracklings. And some sponge cakes as the cracklings were too fatty alone.

I got hungry 2 hours later and ate more cracklings.

And I didn’t get hungry but Alvaro had dinner an hour later so I ate my scotch egg and the rest of the cracklings except the soft fat parts, I will fry them tomorrow and add eggs.

So eating is well now, I just run out of pork at an almost alarming rate, well Alvaro had 2 scotch eggs. Original recipe so a bit above 220g pork.

Oh and I had some coffees, the ones in the non-fasting period has more and more icecream in them. It’s my normal style of luxurious coffee just has a potential to last longer. I didn’t want an open bag of cream so whipped it along with yolks and froze it. It has some flavorings especially rum to make it more dessert-y and it helps with not becoming an ice cube or rather cylinder now.

And I have tulips now.
And a kitten. She is horrible. She goes to the table licking my bowls if I let them there but if we don’t let her in, she climbs our damn fancy expensive near passive house door (well we had cats already so it saw better days :D). BUT friendly and pretty. No one can say she isn’t gorgeous. Very soft too.

Okay, not a tulip yet. These come out pretty late compared to normal daffodils.

Finally, my tulips.

[Karen18]

One lively tasty small rare steak

Just fancied these 2 fried Duck eggs straight after. Thought about them when I fried the steak but didn’t want to wait for eggs to cook to eat with the steak! They were delish and just an incy bit runny, some would say perfect lol