Just started zero carb, tell me your story :)

(Jessica Voss) #1

Just started zero carb and I’d love to hear stories/results from those who’ve tried it or are still following it. Good or bad I’d love to know, from both a weight loss/gain and health perspective. I’ve just started and am down 2.6kg in 4 days so very happy.

(Mary Ann) #2

Hey There! I’m a ZC newbie myself. I just started reading the ZC thread here on the forum and other websites and became curious. I started questioning if I “needed” the veggies. I have not experienced bad reactions to veggies so it wasn’t something that readily occurred to me.

I must admit that one of the most appealing things for me about ZC is the simplicity. I like eating the same things all the time and am not a “cook”. It’s been about 2 weeks for me on ZC. I consider myself experimenting. I am trying to vary my meats and make sure I get more organ meats/ offal to make sure I’m getting complete nutrition.

I had been Keto for a few months before ZC. I noticed that transitioning to ZC that I became much more satiated for longer (maybe my cravings went even further down?). I also noticed a change in bowel movements (ahem). I posted a thread on this board about it. They’ve become much less. Others have advised that this is because of the high octane nature of ZC and less waste produced.

I’m looking forward to hearing about your experiences. :grinning:

(James storie) #3

I’ve been drifting towards zero carb for a little while now and I’m going to dive in! I too like the simplicity of it! You just eat when your hungry, no tracking, no worry.

(Kristin Rogers) #4

I’m also considering zero carb. Trying to find the simplest option for continued weight loss during summer “vacation” (kids off from school is no break for Mom).
I have issues with some plants - sensitivities and allergies both - so no plants seems like a good option.
Except coffee.
And wine :slight_smile:

Actually toying with the option of starting with an egg fast.
Love to hear folks’ stories too

(Crow T. Robot) #5

I’ve been doing ZC for 18 days now of a 30-day trial and I’m kind of impressed with how it’s working out. I’m just eating all the red meat, eggs, bacon and cheese that I want and I’m feeling really good. Not incredible, but just consistently good – no ups and downs, good mood and energy. No post workout muscle soreness. Also, no carb cravings, which is brilliant. I stopped weighing myself so I don’t know if I’ve lost weight, but I’ve visibly lost fat around my middle and face.

(Jessica Voss) #6

When did you start, and any positive or negative results so far?

(Alex Peralta) #7

I did zero carb (low fat) for a couple of years. I found that I was always craving something. Never seemed satisfied. I found out about Keto off of a FB page and it lead me to 2ketodudes. I’ve been on keto for about two months now. Down 20lbs, feel better and can actually say this is a way of eating I can live with.

(Mary Ann) #8

I’ve been doing ZC for over 2 weeks now. It seems to have helped cravings. I also don’t use any artificial sweeteners (for many months) which I think used to make me hungrier. Anyways, I’m less hungry and easily do IF because of it. I eat two meals. I was worried that my protein might be too high. But, no, it’s not. I tracked my meals and macros and I’m still within my protein macro. I noticed my overall calories went down. I’m not eating as much because I feel satisfied.

The other benefit (for me) is the simplicity of meal prep. I’m still a little unnerved by the much less pooping (as compared to keto with more veggies).

(roxanna) #9

I dabbled in ZC starting in January, and have been doing it almost full time for a few months. I am doing all beef this month (with 1 coffee a day) to see how that goes. I love the ZC and feel great. The food is amazing, and I don’t get sick of it. I have gained 10 lbs. Interestingly, this was over the course of a month and the first 5 lbs I gained after a one night cookie binge. Usually after something like that the weight would drop again but it didn’t. The other 5 lbs were, I think, because although I was ZC, I was super hungry so eating a lot of food (hunger possibly as a result of that carb night). I’m not too worried about it and just staying the course and trying different things. The only thing that has been hard for me to give up are nuts/nut butter - but that’s always been the case! I actually don’t think I’m in ketosis because of the high protein, even though I eat very high fat.

(Crow T. Robot) #10

I forgot to mention in my previous post that one of the surprising benefits is even less urge to eat. I already had been benefiting from the LCHF hunger suppression, but this was another level. I would still have occasional cravings for carbs in the form of nut butter or other keto allowable carbs, but now no cravings for anything. I really feel like when I want to eat, it’s because my body is clearly communicating that it is time for nourishment, not entertainment or to feed some bugs in my gut.

(Mary Ann) #11

I also noticed that my cravings for nuts/nut butter (which I SO enjoy) went away. I forgot them so much that I didn’t even think to mention them. :slight_smile:

(Chris Guadarrama) #12

The idea of ZC seems awesome, just not sure I can live without avocados, I eat a half avocado a day. However, meat, cheese and eggs are a 95% of my diet already. Might try it for a month, I’ve been Keto for 3 years, and have maintained my 90# loss for the last 18 months. However I would still like to drop these last 20# and get my BMI under 30%, I think ZC could help me break my plateau and get me to the promised land!

(What The Fast?!) #13

@Kristop how is it going?
@roxanna have you lost the 10lbs you gained? How are you doing with ZC?
@Chris_W that’s great! How did the month finish out?
@jamestorie are you still doing ZC?

(Chris Guadarrama) #14

Haven’t started yet, but is a reminder, so thanks Andrea!

(Crow T. Robot) #15

It was great the whole time! I lost probably around 12 lbs in the 40 or so days, and none of it water weight since I was keto already. There’s a good amount of plant food that is keto and I like, but honestly, I’m not sure there’s any point to it health-wise for me. I felt really well the whole time and I think looked better eating ZC. I went off it at this past weekend, but I got right back on it Monday. I think I’ll stay ZC for good, except for occasional celebrations.

(roxanna) #16

I haven’t, but I’ve also had a few days where I was eating nuts/nut butter. I’m still enjoying the ZC. Just did an egg fast last week because I had a ton of eggs and wanted to try it. It was delicious and I loved it, but then went away on the weekend and ate all the peanuts at this convention I went to. I just bought 12 dozen duck eggs 2 days ago (for $6!) so I think I might do that during the week and meat on the weekend. Egg fast is still technically ZC :slight_smile: I am still loving the ZC. Sometimes I think about adding in veggies, but I really really like the ZC so I haven’t.

(James storie) #17

I’m doing good! I’m not a purest though, I’m still enjoying my homemade mayo with avocado oil. But, I am enjoying the zero carb life so far!

(What The Fast?!) #18

@jamestorie Is that stuff not considered zero carb? I don’t really know much about ZC, I imagine there’s a spectrum?

(James storie) #19

Not technically, avocado oil does originate from a plant. Many in the zero carb community get very animated on this subject. Granted, many zero carbers are eating that way because they have so many food alergies that zero plant food is the only way they get relief. If I could afford to eat steak every day, I wouldn’t look back! But I like a little mayo and hot sauce on a hamburger! In my opinion, I don’t believe avocado oil is a problem. But I don’t have any food allergies or intolerances that I know of. I just like not having to keep track of anything!

(What The Fast?!) #20

Awesome thanks, I always love your input @jamestorie ! I’m just debating on if I need to watch protein intake or not - I don’t think it’s as important if you’re just eating animal products. Or maybe it does, but I think it will get driven down naturally after I get used to ZC eating. That seems to be what everyone says. Today is day one, coming off a 36 hour fast - I had bacon and eggs for breakfast (I was super hungry after an early morning yoga class) and then was hungry shortly after! I had an early lunch of 6oz grass fed burger, bacon, and an egg.

I’m debating on dairy as well - I LOVE cheese and don’t think I have an intolerance so it should be fine…but I think it might make me more hungry. I added a half oz of cheese and it definitely made me want to eat the whole block!

I’m already at 72g of protein for the day, which is more than I’d typically eat in a day! I’m not going to worry about protein for now.