Ferocious Fix February - Carnivore Challenge (Fit it In - Fit in It! ) Feb 2022

zerocarb
carnivore
(Robin) #273

Being retired has an extra perk…no food at work and few unplanned meals. And yes, there is definitely snack inducing about traveling.

#274

Would love to see the ingredients. I am intrigued how the cheese is lactose-free?

(Judy Thompson) #275

It’s just cheese. Probably terrible. My main judgement of dairy is whether it has a disgusting metallic smell, courtesy of covid back in August. This doesn’t. I think the smell and taste are from lactose, however. Small amounts of cheddar seem acceptable.
I’ll check the ingredients in the morning.

#276

Hey Fangsy. Thanks for checking in on us. Hope things go as best that they can in you life happening moments. Stay strong.

Regarding the LION diet, is part of it testing yourself physically? So that you could sprint away from a lion, if you needed to?

I made a Low Carb Biomarker Quiz. One question is about the ability to sprint.

Body weight scale measurement tracking is good as long as the goal is weight loss and the numbers are dropping. The mental uppercut happens when there is a stall or there is up-creep. (I’m waging a campaign against bathroom body weight scales)

(Alec) #277

I love getting the instant feedback on progress. If what I am doing isn’t working, I can instantly see it. I realise that weight loss is not everything, but for me if the weight is going in the right direction everything else is as well. It is an excellent proxy marker for me for overall health.

#278

Interestingly, a spammer bumped a thread earlier that I’ve been reading this morning - and in it, the OP says that they only lost 15lbs. The before/after pics appear to show more of a loss: Doctor Goes Keto

Weight measurement can be a really useful tool - but it’s just being mindful if/when you stall or gain that it’s not the only tool, and not to get disheartened if the scale doesn’t reflect what you think it should.

I think it can be more distressing in those who have less to lose, or are near goal, or who experience wild swings due to hormones. If you’re only 5lbs from goal, a big meal and some water retention can push you up a couple of lbs and it can feel like the world is ending.

(Alec) #279

I can’t agree more with this…. Judging progress on weight loss when you are close to goal is just a hiding to nothing. When close to goal, my experience is you judge progress on the tape measure and gut feel (literally!!).

But I am approximately 30kg (70lbs) above target weight… the above subtlety is lost on me. If I am not losing weight I am not winning.

#280

I have to admit, I think I come at this from a very female-centric standpoint, which is obviously very different from your circumstances - so I 100% appreciate that what you’re doing is working for you, especially at this stage. :grinning:

Some of this is the Kevin Stock logic - the difference between a John and a Sally: https://www.kevinstock.io/health/fat-loss-and-the-carnivore-diet/

But some of it is the ordinary dieting thing of losses generally being lower for women. I know so many partners who have embarked on a diet together and the men lose a massive amount and keep losing consistently week on week, whilst the women drop a couple of lbs and then stall out - and it’s incredibly discouraging for them.

I also think that - in very very broad and general terms - most women have a history of restrictive eating. We’re taught from an early age that we should exist on a small number of calories, and so many of us ate nutritionally empty foods (in line with recommended guidance) - and I think this can mean that our lean mass is not where it should be.

Suddenly, on carnivore, you’re getting the nutrition you need - so you might find things like bone density or muscle mass increases. This is amazing and exactly what you need, but it shows on the scale as an increase or a stall - and that can really mess with your mind. It is likely not as big a deal for some men in some circumstances because they might increase lean mass whilst still losing a massive amount of fat, so they don’t notice the increase - but for women, if you’re only losing a small amount of weight and then your lean mass goes up as well, all you see is the stall.

Let alone the general hormonal cycle that a woman goes through - and this is something that I have a massive amount of interest in at the moment because eating carnivore has revolutionised this for me.

What I am astounded at is that I did carnivore for fat loss predominantly, but it’s actually fixing things. I have long thought that what I experience each month is normal - reinforced by views in society - and I am utterly astonished that it’s been completely changed and improved beyond measure.

I did not think it was fixable - and it took many months to fix, and I think I’ve said previously, it got worse before it got better. If I’d just been watching the scale, even with a lot to lose, I might’ve given up because I thought it wasn’t working - but in reality, my body was prioritising fixing what was wrong and not working on the fat loss as much at that moment in time.

For me, I am ravenously hungry at certain points - and if I was worried about what the scale would say the next day, I might fear eating to satiety because of the volume of food. Let alone the fact that you do retain water etc at points - I think it’s easy to become disheartened, especially if your mood is low.

I realise all of this is not particularly relevant to you or your circumstances! I just thought I’d mention it all in case there are others lurking and debating starting carnivore and these things may not be obvious to them. :grinning:

(Alec) #281

All excellent points. I can absolutely see there are some real challenges there. KCCO!

(Karen) #282

@FrankoBear oh my goodness what an up and down trip! I can remember many long journeys, before carnivore, when I was stopping at service stations en route. I would spend ages trying to find something that was in my eating remit of the day, I always ended up buying something that was off plan (generally carby) and that always sent me spiralling out of control one way or the other. Plus you could guarantee you would eat crap and want more crap and then feel crap. So glad you spun it around again and to feel good as soon as you did is just a credit to this woe. Loving your photo. Your expression of words change immediately when you talk of that wonderful beach.

@JJFiddle What is DC? Did you enjoy your time in the service? I was 7 years in the Military Police though I can’t say it was the best of times. I would have enjoyed it more had I done that time later in life … older and wiser lol. Cheese wraps? Do they not have potato starch in them ? I noticed the other day that the pre grated cheese i was buying regularly has it in the ingredients along with a host of other stuff. I was surprised though I don’t know why really, I had just not bothered checking… when it says cheddar i believe thats all thats in it hahah … stupid girl! I will be grating my own in future… I only bought it for convenience! I usually read all ingredients and carbs … I know if its flavoured there will be plenty additives/carbs. I bought some ‘cheddar’ yesterday and it promptly went in the bin. It tasted wrong … like ‘cheddar style’ fake cheese… Read the ingredients and the list was as long as your arm!!!:astonished: your wraps do look nice though.

@Alecmcq I think it is harder for women to judge by scales because a women’s weight fluctuates so much, not just daily but also throughout the day. Scales can become such an obsession and dependancy … once a month is acceptable if you really have to use that guage. I chucked mine out years ago and got off that roller coaster … Best thing I ever did … FREEDOM :upside_down_face:

@Septimius I second everything you’ve said especially about restricting our calories and fear of eating to satiety because of how much food might pass our lips! That has been me a zillion times, I would restrict then binge eat and then would feel terribly depressed that m weight had gone up, appearing to undo and sabotage all my hard work … of restricting my calories and putting a clamp on my eating … mind games​:unamused::crazy_face: Oh how wonderful it feels to be totally free of all that! This forum and carnivore has been totally liberating for me

Went to bed too late last night probably because I ate too late but then didn’t settle to go off to sleep till maybe 1am. Still up twice in the night for a wee trip. Then awake early this morning so was up and stair running my 100 flights. The sun was shining and I knew it wasn’t going to be for long as we are due storm Dudley today.

The cardiologist called me for my tel appt, (over an hour early so was taken by surprise, they are usually late rather than early lol!) Anyway he talked me through the therapies my Occupatiinal Health consultant had mentioned and neither are any good for me. One was not for my type of AF and the other was only funded and offered to people who can’t tolerate blood thinners. They were both intrusive therapies. Anyway he is going to write me and my GP a letter outlining what he has told me. Well I have done what the OH suggested in his report and in turn approached cardiologist for answers. Cant do any more that that. I have been given an appt with OH for next month for the first stage of the process for Medical Retirement. I can foresee the stages to be ongoing for some time, will probably only have about 8 or 9 months left before actual retirement by the time a decision is made! Hey ho … and then I may not get it but I think I could hack a further 8/9 months in admin role if need be.

Brunch was cooked chicken sauted in butter with the remaining packet of prawns which were fine this morning… no funny ‘off’ taste lol. Wasn’t all that, I think they would have tasted better with a steak or the burgers I have in the fridge but they went down :wink:

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Thought I would pop this photo up … yesterdays CrossFit class… I am on the bike in pink leggings … love pink haahah but here i am with a class full of youngsters lol they are all 30 plus years younger but not necessarily 30 plus years fitter. Proud of my achievements. 20220216_123252

(Heather) #284

I feel this is where I am right now. I would like to lose another 10-15 pounds, but my weight has been stuck for the past year or so. I bounce up and down between 165-171, but lately it seems to be creeping higher.

I’m doing my weight routine every-other-day, which consists of slow burn lifting for my arms, until failure (at least my definition of failure :grin:) interspersed with 9 sets of 12 reps of sumo squats, for a total of 108. The whole thing takes me about 30 minutes. I would like to think the weight increase is due to building muscle mass, but my clothes actually feel like their getting tighter, not looser and my measurements are increasing, not decreasing. :worried:

I don’t think I’m over training. I’m definitely seeing definition in my arms and shoulders, but my thighs seem to be the same flabby blogs they’ve always been. I am also very rarely able to increase the heaviness of my weights.

I eat around 2100-2700 calories per day of mainly beef. I have coffee with ghee in the morning and then my big meal at dinnertime. The fat percentage of my food is around 70%.

When I had covid, I loss my sense of taste, so I had to restort to salting my food again (which I had totally gotten away from), in order to taste it. My taste still hasn’t completely returned.

I’m wondering if my change in scale/body composition is a result of–

A. My increased cortisol from exercising too much
B. Being peri-menopausal
C. Eating OMAD (with the exception of my coffee w/ ghee)
D. Eating too much/too little
E. My body is just happy where it is and it doesn’t want to move any lower

Or, all of the above. Any thoughts?

(Robin) #285

I would say “maybe” for any and all of the above. I also lost my sense of taste, but I can detect sweet and salt.

(Karen) #286

I’m no expert but I have been training quite a number of years. I got very into weight training for a while and thats all I did for the most part. Then moved to more reps less weight and eventually to where i am now doing a mixture of both at CrossFit, stair running daily, walking and dancing. Even before my blip and doing a combination of those exercises every single day i was only maintaining my weight. I may have once or twice eaten calories to 2700 but generally eating between 1500 and 2000. Having said that I only started tracking when I did keto and since changing to carnivore haven’t tracked at all in a long time. My point being, and I know we are all different, but unless you are doing competition level training I would be thinking that you may be going too high. What are you doing for exercise on the days you’re not doing 30 mins weight training? I don’t know your situation but are you physically able to throw some cardio into the mix?

I have been going through the menopause for about 8 years and still see no end to it :roll_eyes:

I do hope you manage to find the answers, I think it may be a case of trial and error.

(Edith) #287

You may want to try mixing up your strength training exercises and work a variety of body parts. I use the exercises from a book called “You Are Your Own Gym” by Mark Lauren. I quite enjoy trying the different exercises. I do a whole body workout three times a week with a few upper body, legs, and core exercises, 6 - 8 different exercises. It takes me about 30 minutes. The nice think about body weight exercises is that you are less likely to injure yourself with too heavy weights and you can see improvement by doing higher reps or making the exercise more challenging such as inclined pushups instead of regular pushups.

My weight has also been slowly creeping up over the past few years, and I have put it down to perimenopause.

I have heard Megan Ramos speak about the importance of keeping your body “off balance” by changing up the fasting schedule. Maybe you need to change up your schedule: OMAD some days, 2MAD other days?

I know you are not training every day, but since you are doing the same exercises all the time, maybe over training is an issue? :woman_shrugging:


(Alec) #288

My guess is E. I think we need to feed and train our bodies the best way we know how, but then respect what it wants to do, especially if the current state is not of itself unhealthy. It’s view may simply be “Right here is the best place to be”.

Having a reasonable amount of fat is perfectly OK. It is natural. What is not natural is driving our weight towards media hyped “ideal body shapes” that are in fact the product of some incredible genes and deliberate starvation.

(Heather) #289

Thanks, Karen, for all of your input. If I eat much less than that, I feel ravenous and my next workout session suffers. Plus, I’m trying to go by the idea that carnivore isn’t a CICO way of eating.

I tried doing cardio on my days off, but it resulted in me being exhausted and tired all of the time. I don’t know how you do what you do with your routine!

Since I have gone OMAD and eating the one big meal in the evening, I have been sleeping wonderfully, so that’s a plus!

I think part of me needs to just let go of what I should look like and be happy and accepting of where I am.

(Heather) #290

Thanks, Alec, I needed someone to tell me that.

Now, I need to accept it.

I am in a healthy weight range for my height and I feel better than I did when I was 50 pounds heavier. I need to focus on being thankful for that.

(Heather) #291

Great articles! Thank you!

#292

First things first - you’re right; being in a healthy weight range for your height, feeling better, and sleeping well are all real wins. Don’t let the goal of perfection ruin what you’ve achieved so far, which is brilliant.

Wow, I’m impressed - that’s a lot of squats! Squats are great, but on some programmes, they’re a lot. I’m surprised your thighs aren’t like steel with all that squatting!

How do you feel about your lifting programme? Are you enjoying it, or would you be open to trying something different? What equipment do you have available to you?

(Heather) #293

Thanks @Septimius!

Yeah, that’s part of my frustration - I see virtually no difference in my legs with the squats. Maybe I’m not doing them right. I carry the majority of my excess fat in my hips and thighs, so those are the areas I am trying to focus on.

I guess I don’t feel my weight progam is too difficult (for the most part), which I like. My muscles are sore for the next 24-36 hours after doing it, so I feel like I must be doing something right. Equipment-wise I have a Weider Home Gym, which has the adjustable weights and allows me to work out my arms and legs. I also have a treadmill and some kettlebells.