Skipping dinner for the win


(Stickin' with mammoth) #1

Keto since 2016, coffee carnivore since 2019. Menopausal woman. Lightly active and take several short hikes a week. Don’t drink, don’t smoke, take no drugs of any kind. Have no health issues other than deranged metabolism. Weight barely budged in all this time.

Tried increasing and decreasing aerobic and anaerobic activity, calories, meat, fish, dairy, coffee, vitamins, minerals, stretching, meditation, fat, carbs, protein, ritual sacrifices over a copper bowl, you name it. Depression and horrific cravings returned every night like clockwork. Felt like a failure but knew at a gut level it wasn’t something a doctor could solve and sure enough…

Shifted my eating window to 9 AM - 3 PM and BAM! Pants are already looser after only 5 days.

(chews cheese triumphantly)


(Bob M) #2

To 9am-3pm, from what?


(KCKO, KCFO) #3

Congrats on finding a protocol that worked for you.

We have to just keep at it.

Did you stay carnivore w/coffee as well?


(Stickin' with mammoth) #4

From eating a few hours after waking to four hours before bed.


(Stickin' with mammoth) #5

Yup. I make quarter-caff cold brew French Roast at home and add Bourbon vanilla and 1 T. 40% cream.


(Bob M) #6

That’s good news.


(Stickin' with mammoth) #7

Thanks, it’s nice to finally have some after 6 years.


(Robin) #8

Ta-dah!


(Butter Withaspoon) #9

When I get back from this social holiday I’m going to try this! Every time I do earlier TRE even for one day I feel good


(Doug) #10

Cheese for the Win. :heart:


#11

Did you delay coffee until 9am as well?


#12

Good for you! :smiley: I see you had your hardships despite all the experiments (at least I had no depression or craving, just hunger and some compulsions but they were bad enough)!

Be 2022 our year, finally! :smiley:

I know since ages that timing is pretty important for me and many others. The size and time of the eating window is individual, though (and subject to change anyway). It’s very nice to find some good method (woe+timing) that is easy enough to hold… I am almost there…


(Stickin' with mammoth) #13

I rise at 6, have coffee about 6:30, and am hungry for the first meal around 9.


(Stickin' with mammoth) #14

Thanks, yes, it’s going to take a little tweaking. I learned an important lesson today, for instance. I didn’t eat enough before an intense hike that lasted past 3 PM. I had to eat something later because I actually felt shocky and sick. I don’t have a problem making the occasional exception for extraordinary circumstances.


(Kirk Wolak) #15

First Congratulations for sticking to it!
Keep trying various things until you find what YOUR body needs.

I will add that I know more and more people who had to give up the heavy cream, and sweeteners of any kind (especially in their coffee) to see better results. One friend finally did it, and those last 6-8 pounds dropped while he switched from OMAD to 2MAD, and feels he is actually eating more.

It’s about what the FOOD DOES (or triggers) in us. If it triggers insulin, it’s stalling. It it triggers inflammation it can be stalling. (Poor Sleep and Stress can ALSO be stalling, TRUST ME!)

it takes about a week (without), to know for sure if the stuff you are adding to the coffee is affecting you. try it… But for now, surf the current wave of success as far as it will take you!


(Stickin' with mammoth) #16

Thanks, sticking to carnivore was never really a challenge as the alternative would have decimated the long list of NSVs I’ve accrued over the years. It’s just been frustrating that the one thing I started down this path to solve remained an obdurate problem. Hard to sing low carb’s praises when people look you up and down and sneer.

Ongoing adjustments are easy. Right now, I’m allowing the fasting window to gravitate one hour earlier or later each day as needs allow while keeping it to 6 hours total as much as possible. As things heal, I’ll reassess protocols.

Like I said, I experimented around dairy with no results. Turns out, it’s not what I’m eating on carnivore, it’s when. Which is good because a dark roast with 40% cream is freakin’ amazing.

(sips coffee)


(Kirk Wolak) #17

Double Kudos to you!

I will recommend Dr. Ben’s approach to Weight Lifting. Hit the gym, develop some muscles, and more mitochondria to lift your metabolism. Once or Twice a week, you can get it down to 15 minutes each visit. 1 Set each muscle. Give it a go.

I call it the KETO version of Exercise! (He has a book, 15 minutes to fitness)
https://drbenbo.com/

Good luck, and ENJOY whatever you can enjoy!


(Stickin' with mammoth) #18

Thanks for the advice, I was a bodybuilder/powerlifter for 24 years. Muscle memory is definitely a thing.


(Stickin' with mammoth) #19

Update: Falling asleep and staying asleep have been a challenge.

My cortisol spikes whenever I fast so I’m very alert and almost hyper in the evenings now. I’ll go to bed and stare at the inside of my eyelids for hours sometimes, wondering when I’ll be able to go down. I’m waking in the mornings a bit strung out from lack of sleep. Exercise does not affect this pattern.

Fasting affects my serotonin levels, too. I often feel disembodied, ungrounded, and in a state of sensitive hyperarousal. Strangely enough, it becomes extremely difficult to fantasize about solutions to problems during this time, like my imagination is switched off. It’s almost as if my brain is locked in beta waves and cannot dip into deeper realms where creativity rests. I must say, for an artist and a writer, this sucks.

I’m hoping this will work itself out over time. I’m not the medicating/herbal cure/pill popping type.


(Robin) #20

Ugh. Nothing worse. Why is it that when our brain goes into high gear, it’s never about good things like solutions or projects. It’s about mundane junk, over and over.
I have finally given in to an RX and it has changed my life. Like flipping off the switch. A quiet brain at night is a thing of beauty.

I hope your issue is transitory. Good luck!