OXtoberFest ZC Challenge

#1

Here it is, OXtoberFest. Come one, come all zero carb eaters and join in and chat up how you are doing and post any goals you personally want to address for this month.

A hearty thanks to Cheryl for starting our challenge thread long long ago and us guys are still zero carb and we are still chatting our lifestyle and sharing our great results and experiences!

This is a zero carb eating plan thread for like minded people on this plan and we support each other in our lifestyle!

Take it away ZC’ers…

#2

Oct 1: I have started OXtober Fest as I live in the future (as does @Polly1). And I feel crap.

11am - cold beef rib baked two days ago. Didn’t feel hungry but was talking with a builder who was taking a big chunk of my savings… and building a house with it. So that was a stress eat off the bat.
5.30pm - beef bone broth. Next will be Scotch fillet cooked in suet.

My best diagnosis for feeling low is that I’m giving this elimination style diet a go. So I stopped coffee cold turkey today. I wonder if when vegans stop coffee, if they do it cold broccoli? I don’t think my brain likes that. I’m hoping salt might take the edge off the screaming neurons.

Cheese started to disappear out of my eating during Slaptember, so I’ll aim for no butter nor cheeses (a day at a time). Another big step is to go without eggs (and bring them back in as a test food), and go without fish (mackerel and shrimp). So, my first day is spent thinking about what foods I can bring back in.

I will keep up the magnesium and Vitamin B3 supplements. I’m to scared to let the magnesium falter as I don’t want to end up with heart problems (again). The B3 is on medical advise as a skin cancer treatment, so that will keep going.

As in developing illness from trying the beef, salt, water elimination style carnivore. If I put numbers in to Cronometer there are so many micronutrients lacking in the calculations. Those micronutrients drive important metabolic processes.

I’m not messin’ about. I’ve had blood tests in September and two doctors appointments. Now I’ll track things along with the help of a nurse practitioner.

Yes, and socially safe. Feasts with the Oxtober Fest. We are safe here, I think, as we do not have Thanks Giving, and I give thanks for that, nor Halloween. Then Christmas is the next gathering. There are a few birthdays to navigate. But the main challenge is there are weekly dinner dates where I am cooked for by my mum and by my mother-in-law. There are elderly Germans and Italians involved in the family and they do not like change (despite their history of emigrating to a new country on the other side of the world).

I took body measurements today and a start photo - People say you only need to take a photo of your face (preferably with your tongue sticking out). But I’ll take some body shots as well.

This morning. Fasting blood glucose: 5.1mmol/L (92mg/dl). Fasting blood ketones: 0.2mmol/L
just now (5:30pm): Fasting blood glucose: 4.0 mmol/L (72mg/dl). Fasting blood ketones: 0.3mmol/L

I have a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) still in the box. I’ll crank that up once I get as far as I can on the elimination diet and start adding other foods back in.

@Fangs notes a 90-day trial. I know that a 42-day trial for an elimination diet is usually sufficient. But, as we all might imagine, both those goals look a long way off. But again, we can see how fast these challenges fly past.

9pm. I still feel unwell as I detox from coffee and possibly my brain does not understand the steady lower blood glucose. I’m going to drink plenty of water, have some more salt and aim at a good night’s sleep.

Blood glucose: 4.7mmol/L (84) Blood ketones: 0.2mmol/L

#3

HEYA PEEPS!!!
ZC time here is again!!! Started it off early (yesterday) with a bang! Thanks to Steak and Butter Girl on Youtube, with that insanely good egg pudding… I ate 11 eggs yesterday. And a pack of tuna. And some bacon. And some chicken. And a wee bit of cheese. And butter. What an amazing, energetic, happy day! Feeling great this morning.
I gotta work an early one- and be punched in and ready to unload truck at 730am…so gonna get ready. But dang! What a great feeling it is to wake up and know my body is back on track, and I have energy to spare.
You all have a wonderful, blessed, happy, pretend- its- not- 2020, kind of day! LOL! SB

#4

Yes you are safe. But of course it boils down to any person’s real medical issues they are dealing with and the extent of those. An elimination menu to beef and water is the most basic way to enter zero carb. One might easily feel adaption happening and YOU are dropping coffee too? wow you are goin’ all in! I hate coffee and never drink it so I was exempt from dealing with ‘the coffee issues’ in my life.

It will be wonderful to track your progress along with you. Reason we mention 90 days for zero carb is cause of healing time. It takes alot of time to heal each of us individually sometimes, more need TIME on this plan to show bigger results and internal healing changes. So that is why the 3 month plan to head into zc before adding stuff back is important for many, but also, you have eliminated SO much already ya know and have been experimenting on you and a 30 day trial is very understandable for you.

Micronutrients are more about plant based life ya know. All our nutrients are supplied by meat/seafood/fish/animal kingdom food and water in our lives, don’t worry about that truly. For all those plant based micronutrients you think the body requires, you have to remember that low level plant toxins, allergy sensitivity and how plants take from your body comes into play for each of us. Plants actually take more than they give your body. Will that be more personal on what veg effects who? Sure. We are all different but in the end, the beef and water zc way of eating is very safe from ‘nutritional standpoint’.

When someone takes a monster chunk of my life savings I would have to stress eat a bit also but geez, you are getting your home built, your personal castle! A good parting of the ways in sending your money off for a great reward!!

You use some supplements you know you need thru your medical situations as needed. Can’t wait to go along for the ride with you!!

#5

I am so there with you! What ZC gives us is wonderful! Happy you got a great day going and don’t work too hard on unloading that truck! :slight_smile:

#6

Happy OXtoberFest

My little goals for this month. Just eat well and just be aware.

I saw a little blurb out on the internet from a zero carb facebook group and I like. So simple.

Comfort Is Your Addiction.

So much truth in that ya know. Why we do what we do and when we do want change, can we do it? Is it cause it leads us out of our comfort zones we are ‘ohh too scared and find excuse after excuse’ to not make great changes in our lives that could benefit us greatly?

You know for me I can see that as a fit. I am very adventurous in my life ‘to a point’ type person. I always loved my ‘personal comfort zone’ but the only way forward in life to grow and change is to get out of our comfort zones and DO. Not try :slight_smile: We have to do! Take action toward what we want and leave our comfort zones and push forward toward goals and changes we desire in our lives. Think of it in terms of zc, while some must go thru adaption changes, and they can be very uncomfortable for some and a longer timeframe than we want…we must be uncomfortable and get thru our adaption time to come out the other side and find new benefits for our health improvements.

Time to walk out of our comfort zones!

Oh well…just reading that Comfort Is Your Addiction just kinda rang with me on that one when I read it.

Today I have alot of errands to run and visit my 92 yr old mom to take her out shopping and all----when home later I got a big old ribeye to eat with my name on it :slight_smile: 2nd meal later will probably be chicken, maybe some burgers or shrimp but I am never worried about what to eat truly. I have my meat/seafood in the house at all times and always know I have my food around when required.

Lets rock into OxtoberFest full on zero carb eaters! We carnivores know how to eat well, feel great and improve day by day!

(Elizabeth ) #7

I’m with you :slight_smile: I’ve got a pound of burgers I cooked last night, 7327 rare so nice and fatty for my first meal at work today when I get hungry. Second meal is about a pound and a half of picanha that’s defrosting in the fridge right now. I cook that in the oven so it makes it so easy for dinner.:woman_shrugging:
I can’t believe we’re in the last quarter of the year already. This hot mess of a year has challenged and strained so many people in so many ways: physically, spiritually, emotionally, mentally. I actually lost a couple pounds during the lockdown and for that I give all the credit to the carnivore way of eating. I can’t imagine what my health would be like if I wasn’t eating this way. Praise God I don’t have to :slight_smile: Make wise choices today everybody and God bless you :slight_smile:

#8

Is there an adequate spectrum of nutrients in the strict carnivore diet?

Dr. Cwes has a go at answering. Video is time-stamped for the nutrient question.

#9

Okay, are we actually required to eat ox, for OXtoberFest?

Because I’m not sure where I can get ahold of any. :man_shrugging:

:slight_smile:

#10

We’ll see if Fangsy can bring down a bison. Then we will all feast.

(I think a lot of beef we eat may be ox. Well, at least steer)

(Edith) #11

My goals for this month are to keep seasoning to a minimum and no Diet Coke.

#12

I think putting in the safety nets around the wagon consisting of pre-prepared foods in the style of dietary challenge goes a long way to improved success. It’s not a long way to fall if you fall on an ox.

After cooking my steak in suet, I added a kg (2.2lbs) of lean stirfry beef strips to the pan and cooked them up and cooled them down. They are transferred to a storage container and ready in the fridge.

I’ve moved to beef strips after successfully trialling chicken wings during September. That was from a chat with @VirginiaEdie.

#13

I’ve discovered one of my favorite ways to eat hamburger meat, is to just brown it, and add salt. Quick, simple, and tasty!

(Polly) #14

In the words [almost] of the immortal Mrs Beeton “First catch your ox”.

In England all bovine offal products are described by butchers as “ox”. Such as ox kidney, ox heart, oxtail, etc etc. I suspect that any beef product therefore equates to ox and there is no need to sneak next door to covet your neighbours oxen and steal one away in the early hours.

(Polly) #15

I had burgers with cheese and bacon for my breakfast today. I also had a spoonful of coleslaw which fails the test for both having veg and industrial seed oil in the mayo.. I did a good nine weeks of pure ZC and then had a few social things which tripped me up but I am now in it for Oxtober fest for the next thirty days.

Thanks for kicking the thread off @Fangs.

@FrankoBear
Stopping coffee cold turkey is very brave @FrankoBear . I don’t know whether you get the horrible headaches and other withdrawal symptoms (I do) when cutting out caffeine. I recently did it again by cutting back and cutting back until my black coffee had morphed into black decaf (weak) and tadah!! no withdrawal symptoms for me.

#16

FB that is already over in our ZC Info Video thread. But it is a great one!

#17

oh there ya go VE!!! you made your decision, cool. I just chatted with ya on the old thread on that LOL

very very wise statement here E! It is a chaotic world right now and my eating plan has saved me even more thru it all! I second you on this, Praise God we found our way to better health!
I am gonna hit burger meat sales that are happening. My steaks are not on good sale so I can’t buy alot at full price, but right now they got great burger prices so I will go load up some packs to have in the freezer as my go to. When steaks hit lower again I will buy. Boy this is the time I wish I was a lottery winner LOL alot of those $$s would be going into my meat buys HAHA

How is you bit of exercising experiment going for you? Have you fallen into a small exercise routine that is working well for you?

Oxtail…yummy actually but heck FB named the thread so he knows, he was all about the OX for this month :crazy_face:

yea I get that. Very important for me. Always was since I ever started an eating change. Never get very hungry ever! Never be without your food around you! Heck I traveled with coolers in the car full of meat when I started zc. Brought chicken wings cause I like them cold, brought salami, tuna and more all with me if I was away for any kinda longer time or might be unknown time, hubby thought I was nuts but in the end that darn cooler saved me many many times over. See I am not nuts, I am just very prepared HAHA

if this is all you have done, a few bites of this or that, a taste or nibble of something or a spoonful of an item…you pat yourself on the back big time and smile. You are doing wonderful. This is a monster eating change for life and we are all human! As long as we never go into a full on full carby junkier type big meal and suck it all down then we have won big battles on changing us and limiting the ick we do taste.

So you are OK and you will ONLY grow stronger longer you go on zc and with this thread, we all got each other’s backs for support! You keep on doing great and hold on for the wild ride :slight_smile:

------------So my bro Gregg got my Mom her flu shot yesterday and today she is tired…well age 92 could make one tired I think HAHA but she wants to cancel shopping today and go tomorrow…so instead of heading out I am now home and doing whatever.

So food stays the same tho. Eat ribeye later when I want it and then 2nd meal again will be probably burgers since I am gonna do a fast run to my local close store to hit some sales on burger. Fresh yummy burgers! Heck now I am ready to eat those babies up!!

(Kellyn ) #18

I had 4 quarter pound beef patties from McDonalds around 5pm last night and woke up at 11:00pm with my stomach hurting and very nauseous. I ended up vomiting before going back to sleep. I’m not sure if it was bad meat or a touch of a virus. I just can’t eat hamburger today. I made a ribeye for lunch, but currently I just do not want to eat. I have just been drinking water and black coffee today. Tonight I will have some rib tips and soda water on our date night at Wings ETC tonight. I hope my aversion to ground beef doesn’t last long as I was really enjoying it before and it is so cheap to make. My goals this month is to stay away from Starbucks as since my birthday I have been addicted to Flat Whites made with HWC. They are so delicious but I need to beat the addiction before it gets out of hand. Other than that I am not putting restrictions on myself this month for the occasional dairy or seasoning. I know I am going to miss all the fall flavors and don’t want to restrict my dairy so I can have the occasional treat (HWC, cheese, and cream cheese) to avoid being tempted by other things.

(Laurie) #19

Hello friends. I won’t be contributing much here, because lifestyle and a minor health problem prevent me from eating as you do. However, there is room for improvement, even with these limitations.

I will say that even on lazy/dirty carnivore I feel great physically. I’m happy not to fool around with vegetables and “recipes” any more. I eat 2 simple meals a day and couldn’t eat more if I tried. I feel slightly hungry before meals, and that’s it.

I do read your threads every day, to see what I can learn. So, thank you and good luck!

#20

wow that sounded bad…could be either but my vote is more about the meat than you being sick. I tell ya KP that that fast food options we use as convenience get worse and worse for us as we live longer on this plan. I would vote like real restaurant vs. fast food ya know but in the end I hope you feel alot better this morning!!

And yes right now as we start ZC it is critical to dump addictions, to go thru real healing and more but later down the road, one little treat in our lives might easily happen, but key will then be all about the fact you ‘walked thru much time on plan’ and gained ‘that real control’ ya know where one can have something a tiny bit, enjoy it and move on easily and it won’t be that draw back thru addiction or that draw back to carb land out of control.

You know thru all the stuff I have given up…NOW I CAN barely justify having that stuff again. Like my birthday is just another zc day, I have a birthday and fun with family and all but food doesn’t come into play. That word treat is out of my life. I now CHOOSE to eat carbs when and if I can truly justify them in my mind. That is how my journey has gone.

Like I went shopping and got my burger. And yes you can have aversion to certain meats but it is ok, you will go thru that as we all do but in the end, ya like it again LOL so don’t worry on that…but I SAW my big old favorite bag of cheesey popcorn that is seasonal and there it was, in front of me and screaming my name. I was like GET IT NOW before it goes away LOL and then I said, EH ya know who needs that crap and I said let me go ‘treat’ myself to what is on sale at the meat/seafood counter instead.

AND I NAILED 2 lobsters on a big sale price. Yup and they are now hidden in my garage freezer from my family ALL FOR ME and I am psyched on that score. Rare to buy that but if I want popcorn or put a tad more money to better nutrition but I must roll that way.

So you do whatever it takes and think your food vs outside ‘sourced’ food which I swear makes us more ‘icky’ than if we cook ourselves. I am so into my own meat/seafood at home now.

just chatting, cause I walked thru all this and you will easily find your way thru the what suits you and how much do you want to eat that and how bad or get home and eat LOL I sometimes get caught later with my Mom (92 and we shop and move SO slowly LOL) but in the end I get home alot later sometimes and driving home I pass ALL kinds of fast food and I say I am gonna stop, nope, go home and eat, I am gonna get that with no bun, nope, keep driving, I am gonna get that roasted chicken and no fried from there, nope drive home, starving the whole way and home I fry up my meat and feel oh so darn good so sometimes we just have to walk that journey in our own good time and you get to a whole ‘nuther place’ on your food you will allow into your life. Some would say this is super restrictive and can’t fit into their life but I see so different, as in my food is my life and it must be a #1 priority for me to thrive. So it is just how we see how we need to roll for each of us and how we do with that journey!

I love reading your posts.

It is so fine you can’t go all in with the zero carb lifestyle right now but you made a monster insight into you. More ya come this way the better you do :slight_smile: So just make it work for you at all times to feel your best and you are doing so much internal healing thru even that step heading our way so I commend you on knowing it and just do as best as you can thru it all! I get ya, I had times where zc was impossible, but it wasn’t like a restricted kitchen or anything like that, I just was in super denial of eating choices so I struggled also, heck you are in a better place than I was so you hold your good eating as you can and just see what the future brings! We all get to where we are best and need to be eventually I think :slight_smile: