I had to quit using my usual rubs when I cook a brisket when I went carnivore. Every one had sugar and other junk in them.
All I use now is salt and white pepper. Turns out I like it better.
Today’s food was smoked venison and eggs with a little carnivore steak sauce on top.
It is possible to get Egg Life Wraps in many places now, you can even order them from Amazon. I agree that xantham gum, “natural flavors” and nisin probably aren’t ingredients I’d seek out, but I think they’re still a great option versus low carb tortillas.
After years of resisting, I finally ordered a hamburger with a lettuce wrap the other day. I assumed it would be something like a stuffed grape leaf, I could never understand how a burger could be wrapped in a lettuce leaf, but it was actually a significant part of a wedge of iceberg lettuce on either side of a patty, relatively bun-shaped, very fresh and crunchy and juicy. I realize it’s not carnivore, but I have always thought of iceberg lettuce as a neutral plant food, this was an enjoyable change from just a patty on a plate.
“The Grid” usually means the public electrical supply, so “off grid” refers to spaces where people are somehow producing their own electricity, or doing without it altogether.
But “off grid” can be anything from this, my upstate mouse
to this, my Arizona straw bale home.
Gloomy, unmotivated day, Alvaro came home angry, stupid, cooling workplace with jerk bosses…
It’s nice when it happens 
I never used rubs or ready made sauces but then I looked at bottles, OMG, some BBQ sauce had honey AND sugar and of course, lots of sugar from plants too… It can’t be palatable for me! 
But I really hate sugar in my meat dishes (with one exception. or maybe two, once we made a wonderful deer roast with potatoes and apples and some herb… way before I realized I can have a carnivore week earlier than a vegan one… my record at plant-based is 5 days, it was low-carb. I would need some HUGE motivation to do one now… I can imagine a meatless day if I try. but I still would eat lard… 
) so of course not…
I made a peasant’s breakfast again. I put these into it (minus some fried meat I ate. it still got quite meaty):
No matter how I looked at it, the not-smoked pork belly (it had brine and liquid smoke while I prefer proper smoked stuff but it’s quite edible and one can buy it in a supermarket…) couldn’t substitute the smoked meat so I added some smoked pork ribs too. And 2 eggs. The pork belly provided the fat as I lack lard now as I just can’t get the usual fatty pork to render lard and the hock gave us very very little. By the way, the hock skin finally got crunchy. Mostly. I ate half, the cats ate the parts I didn’t like.
And in the end - I didn’t eat it. Maybe later. I had some bites very early and could skip lunch but wasn’t very hungry for dinner either - and I jumped the crunchy skins and they are pretty satiating when I am not seriously hungry… So I ate those today, my soup with pork in it, 2 eggs and some cheese whisps and some Greek yogurt for dessert. Not much food so I expect a second dinner. Let’s call it supper. But it’s still an odd name to me, it’s amazing how clingy one can be to the system they learned first… Dinner instead of lunch is still a strange concept to me and I can’t use that wording especially that my readers may use the words like I do.
I have all the notes for the last 3 days but I still don’t feel like to track. I am pleased with my eating, it should be good…? Maybe a bit fatty but it won’t be like this all the time… At least it is super easy to stay real close to carnivore now No temptation whatsoever. Except regarding drinks. Maybe I quit coffee one day. Maybe not. I keep trying. So I had creamy coffees too, I forgot it before. Very little cream, I didn’t even touch the whipped cream…
Isn’t it? I liked it for the crunch and water content. It was pretty tasteless to me. It was the base of the only mixed salad I liked (2 times a year). Now it has a tiny bitter grass taste. It became one of the several green leaves I dislike. So I just grow it. Alvaro likes it but he likes spinach too so his tastes are very far from even my old one.
But I can relate to liking some juicy plant with some rich meat. I have those moments myself but as time passes, it gets more and more rare. And it’s usually radish for me. I wouldn’t buy it but Alvaro does (and I grow colorful ones) so it’s already there.
I keep forgetting weighing myself. I don’t even know what my morning weight is, 76? 77? Can I go back quickly to my usual 75? But it’s only interesting if a miracle happens and I start to lose, I am sure I have time… And even if I go back to 75, those things are easier than going below something I had since ages.
wow like 30 posts in a few days when I didn’t check…my goodness I got behind fast on this one LOL
us carnivores can chat HA
kiddo home from Uni, just all over me for this and that, we are filling out grant papers and other stuff and doing a bunch of things, just ended up being super busy.
zc going very well. relying as usual on steak and pork as mains, ate some chicken and bacon in there too. I doubt much will ever change in what I write about what I eat from now on 
UPDATE:
I have been beef only and water for about 2 weeks. For the first time in a few years I have no discernible bowel pain (sensitive, constipation, urge to poop, etc). I am thrilled!
Starting Xmas 2023, I gave up bread and sweets, then alcohol, then cheese, then coffee and tea. I plan to go until end of April with beef and water, then may add back some foods such as soft cheese. I feel great, and have lost about 15# of the 20# I gained over my 3 year sourdough and wine detour.
I now step on the scales most days and that keeps me on track.
I normally eat ground beef at 5:30 am, then a big steak at noon, then nothing more until the next morning. I love having calm bowels.
@Matamoros: Great! Glad to hear you got health and fat-loss success as well!
As for my evening… Yep, of course I got hungry so I ate at 5pm and at 8pm today - and some bites elsewhere as well. I had my very meaty peasant’s breakfast, I needed 2 more eggs with it, 4 in total… It was satiating! I love this dish now, not for the great fun as now I was hungry and cared moderately about that (and it had too much older freezer fried pork and not freshly made so it wasn’t as good as sometimes. but it was still good ) but because it’s so easy to eat, it has everything in it, not boring in the slightest! I can base one of my 2 main meals on fried/roasted meat but for the other, I need some eggs but I usually need more meat too and I can eat this when I don’t fancy a biggish, mostly meat dish.
And I had some whipped cream. So good, I am quite into it currently. It doesn’t mean I eat much just that I enjoy the (not very very) little I do eat It’s SO sweet to me now!
So I have really good days food wise. No boredom, enjoyable food, variety (I happen to have more than I need, I didn’t touch the meatballs today but that way I don’t need to worry about tomorrow’s lunch for Alvaro! Good as I need to fry and bake for myself), easy satiation and exactly ZERO temptation. Just wonderful. I wonder how long I will last…
So cool to see the houses!
Long day out at homeschool class day, so I tried OMAD. Enjoyed my coffee while socializing at the picnic lunch table. Maybe fasting actually makes this demanding day easier - typically I get home nearly frantic to decompress and get a proper meal, but today I feel calm and unrushed.
Came home to the pork shoulder that has been roasting at 200 all day and night. Slightly burnt the top on the last minute broil, but no one is complaining
finding the new carnivore you…feels fine don’t it rock on, great post and happy you are doing so well!
good post S…I bet you last longer and longer each time cause it seems like carnivore is suiting you more and more, You hold strong!
not burnt, perfect taste right 
yummy pic
-----------still a bit busy on my plate.
keeping zc super simple. defrosted a package of those ‘ribeye end cuts’ for first meal today. I am so hoping it is super tender like that other pack, cant wait to dig in. Will pair that with shrimp, in the mood.
second meal I am on fence for just eating some chicken or maybe putting some country pork ribs into oven.
but right now I am feeling less hungry,…setting that first big meal of surf n turf makes me so wanna eat a less dense meaty second meal so I will see how it goes down after surf n turf and adjust 2nd meal then,
plus weather is turning warmer, that early spring has kicked in and for me being warmer means want of heavy meals goes down so, might be seasonal time meal change intake time for me…I feel it naturally coming at me.
Hi all! All out newbie here, currently 5 days in on my ZC/Carnivore diet. I went straight into Carnivore from an unhealthy lifestyle, even had a lot of “last meals” last week, so I was prepared for having a couple of ■■■■■■ weeks first, so to speak…
However, aside from some keto flu symptoms I feel fine, except for some back pains that started occurring after my main meal on day 3. A lot of googling since then, which led me to several great threads in this forum made me create a user - and I was hoping to see if other people recognize this.
So, everything started on day 3, after I ate some strips of pork belly cuts. About 400 grams, and 130 grams of pork fat. Very soon after, I started having some pains in my lower back, spreading through the hips and thighs, eventually reaching the knee joints. It is a constant discomfort, which is worst when I lie down and sit still.
I tried rectifying this with upping salt intake and drinking more water. Eventually I tried out eating a couple pieces of 86% dark chocolate and some squeezed lemon juice, that maybe helped a little bit but not a lot.
On day 4 my last meal of the day was eggs and some low-fat bacon I had in my fridge from before starting. The pain was quite bad yesterday, up-and-down, but throughout the night it felt pretty god damn awful at times with this pain spreading down my legs.
Today I’ve acquired baking soda and ate halv a teaspoon with some water, as well as some Potassium (which was delivered in vegan capsules, yuck, gotta find some other brand). Currently it seems to be working for me, I believe the baking soda almost instantly mitigated lets say 70% of the pain.
In addition I’ve taken Magnesium, Omega-3 through fish oil and Zinc. In addition there’s some A, C, D vitamins through those supplements.
I now think that I should stay off pork, obviously, but I also wonder about electrolytes and this stuff from what I’ve read so far.
Anyone got some advice and 2 cents for me about this?
Welcome to the forum @pase i suspect you will get plenty of support and advice from the great people on here. However i don’t think i would know where to start with the pains you have been having… not something that i have had to deal with.
So still sneezing constantly and getting through another roll of kitchen paper towels! Throat feels better though and hopefully that will continue to progressvely get better. Still haven’t really felt poorly. Staying in doors wrapped in fleece again.
Yesterdays food…and they do say feed a cold … cooked up 1kg chicken wings and munched through most of those for brunch and finshed them off late afternoon. Dinner was a small thin sirloin steak and later in the evening i ate another pack of 4 thinly cut slices of cooked pork spread with butter and finished with 3 rashers of bacon to finish the pack.
For brunch today i have just had a turkey leg and ate as much as i could before having to concede that it was disgusting and not another morsel should pass my lips!
@pase: Welcome! Sadly I can’t help with your problem… 
I am quite fine on carnivore myself.
I don’t feel strong I eat whatever I want It’s SO COOL now… Today is carni day #5 as I had a keto day after 2 carni days in the beginning (I didn’t even WANT the food, I just never skip tasting those specific dishes, my old favs. I almost did this time though as I lacked the desire. oh well). March is great this far, eating wise. And my attitude? Perfect. I want carni food and didn’t want non-carni food. At all. I can’t stop being amazed. It is a very drastic change, I wasn’t like this in February, to put it lightly. Yes, eating carnivore day after day helps a lot. But I usually am not THIS good even on carnivore. Not even a twinge of desire when I see something I normally very much enjoy even if it doesn’t necessary ends in eating it? And I do nothing, I just got it as a gift. Or reward as I still put effort into this whole things since years. As much as someone like I can in a comfortable enough way but still.
And Alvaro cooks cabbage soup in the weekend, nothing that could actually tempt me! I want to break my 2 week carni record already, it was years ago, in the first year!
I don’t do things fully “right” now though. But it’s timing. I ate way before noon. Freshly fried pork and a scrambled egg. Sometimes a little cream or butter is fine when I am not hungry, per se but want something… But it was more serious now.
I partially blame gloomy day #2. Where is my sunshine? (I know I was an idiot not being outside more when we had sunny days but I couldn’t bring myself to do it and I had garden work and that is being out too… It’s not like a proper walk though.)
I go for a long walk (didn’t check how I feel after 2+ hours of walking since ages. my foot isn’t aching lately, maybe it will be fine?), there is some unusually tempting pork chuck sale in the supermarket! And I do need my walks. I just would prefer them in sunshine… Won’t happen today. Sigh. 2 days without sunshine. Nothing extreme yet but I am in a state of mind and body where I really could use sunshine with all the positive effects it has on me.
[…]
I had my 2+ hour walk, my foot is a tad aching now but it’s better than ever in the last almost a year. I was a tad late so we had to walk a few mins back to the supermarket again…
Alvaro (who didn’t think I will go as there was a drizzle… I told him this tiny thing can’t keep me from a nice pork chuck sale) bought 2 small 70/30 pork for me (and some big apples for himself. he went for raw vegs but one gets what is available… he loves his fruit too. and I still have NO temptation. just perfect), mostly for lard, I have a very serious lack of it, the tiny one I had was used today’s food… And I bought 4 tiny pork chuck slabs! About 800g ones each, I can fry them up at once, I have some pretty big pans. I usually fill the pan with tiny pieces and put some slices on top, I can finish them later or eat basically steamed there…? It helps with figuring out if I ate a decent amount, I know the tiny pieces are 450 or 600g or whatever, perfect for a day and I have the extra slices… So it can make things easier. I don’t fancy measuring things after cooking too.
We had a somewhat late lunch (it takes time to go shopping and come home with me, Alvaro is alone is quicker when hungry. I wasn’t hungry. and there was some horrible muddy slope, way harder down than up), I wondered if I needed one but I was a bit wet and cold and my leftover soup sounded nice so I ended up eating some fried pork, a meatball and an egg as well. Smoked pork ribs and a bit of a yogurt too… So I had 2 small meals this far.
Today was my egg whipping day, I have sponge cakes (some with cream and extra yolk), jellied fluff dessert and a small one person portion of ice cream (60g). I planned a bigger, less creamy ice cream too (my usual one. 20g cream for every yolk. the new versions use double whipped cream, it definitely makes the result sweeter and I do love cream… I just love yolks too) but I just didn’t want to whip 11 yolks for reasons. It was 7 whites and 8 yolks in the end, sometimes I almost lose the plot but I won’t whip things separately when I can do it together.
So I am very well stocked and prepared now. Except I don’t have sour cream as all we have is needed for Alvaro’s cabbage soup. No problem, I still have Greek yogurt. It would be very very strange without even that. Cream is nice but 1. I almost run out 2. it’s different, I can’t substitute cream with it, not even as my dessert. Sure, yogurt isn’t perfect instead of sour cream either but it often works and it’s even creamier! And always sure, the Greek one, at least. And 10% fat is lowish but not that bad. I can eat it on top of my scrambled eggs.
I probably wrote way too much so I stop.
No photo as I forgot and there is barely any light on this very gloomy day. Forecast says… Nothing good. Rain, rain, rain. Sigh. I hope there will be sunshine too. Rain is great but we had some already and sun is needed too.
That’s not even the half of it Robin. Those steaks I get are free because I’m her meat cutter. Once a week I travel to her restaurant (99 miles away) and I cut her ribeyes out of whole rib roasts, both beef and bison. My pay is a cooked ribeye for my lunch and I get to keep the end caps and fat trimmings. That’s where I get most of my fat for making tallow. Then I get to eat those trimmings and end caps throughout the week. Yes ma’am life is hard. 
Good paying job!!!
I go to a bbq place that has dry rubbed smoke brisket. When they see me in line, the carvers pull out the saved fat cap and ends for me.
I should be paying extra!
Needed to have something to get rid of the taste of the turkey so late afternoon i ate 2 fried eggs and 4 small black puddings. BP were from the freezer from a ready frozen bag, they are pretty cheap and nasty but together with the eggs tasted okayish. Just now, 8pm had a thin small sirloin steak. Wasn’t hungry but it had been sitting on worktop all day and needed cooking
BP’s are quite filling!
I tried to track. Nearly every day is missing one item somehow but even without that part, I apparently overate like crazy in the last 2 days (from my current viewpoint. it has nothing on those days when I ate 1000g pork shoulder and a lot of eggs and dairy).
I got >200g fat and >180g protein for yesterday and this is already happened without the significant amount of scratchings I ate… Nothing extraordinary, I have those days sometimes. Today is better despite my 4 meals (I got hungry after dinner) but I got ~190g for protein and ~180g for fat.
Way over a pound of meat for both days.
I still can eat, it’s very apparent. And I just satiate myself (not like I always wait for serious hunger…), I could eat so much more… Yep, I need a smaller eating window and not eating super fatty stuff willy-nilly…But it was nice while it lasted. I knew I ate fatty during the last days but I just had those items now… I focused on carnivore and easiness, not keeping my macros low. But today I ate ~470g lean pork… And much other stuff, yeah. Little from each but it adds up if they are fatty. Even my little amount of whipped cream was so much fat… And it’s only 30% cream… I could eat so much of it… Mmmm.
And some people can’t eat enough protein and/or fat on keto. FAR from it. It’s sooo surreal to me. I always eat much fat and protein, almost everything has little to no effect on it. Losing my will to live and days of unconsciousness could have a huge impact, probably a very serious accident too (Alvaro had that) and when I have no food and no way to get some, I don’t eat, obviously but most other things…? Nope. Not even a big shock or grief or sickness, anxiety or whatever. I mean, those have a temporal very serious impact but some hours pass and I can’t stay down enough not to want food (I may have zero appetite but hunger arrives)…
Okay so I will put some actual effort into it from now on. I had my fun, time to be a bit more careful. I don’t even know what it means but it would be nice if much tracking wouldn’t be involved. More like simplicity. Can I do it? Of course not but maybe I can get closer…
I am a bit displeased now. It’s hard because I feel so so well with all that meat in my belly And I am sure my rebellious inner self feels good too and it won’t run amok in the near future. Probably. So I feel quite far from being tired of carni as I had a very, very satisfying time with it this far… Maybe I will have a nice long streak! But one can never know. I am quite determined about March.
