Tag Archives: Constipation

Zero Carb Interview: Yuri Morgunov

Posted on by
8

Yuri in his favorite spot!

1. How long have you been eating a Zero Carb (No Plant Foods) diet?

I have been testing and eating it from April 2016 to the present time.

2. What motivated you to try this way of eating? Weight? Health? 

Like many other people, I’ve started to have a growing number of chronic, degenerative diseases and health problems related to bad diet and aging.

3. How long did it take you to adapt to a Zero Carb diet, both physically and psychologically?

My adaptation lasted 3-4 months.

4. What books or people were most influential in guiding you to this way of eating?

Many books and people were influential on my search and eventually finding this way of eating.

5. Do you eat only meat, or do you include eggs, cheese, and cream in your diet?

I eat mainly raw beef and raw fish on my Zero Carb diet and nothing else. Wild raw sea fish has vital fatty acids and micro-elements that terrestrial meat does not always have enough of at the present times.

6. What percentage of your diet is beef verses other types of meats?

About 80% beef and 20% fish.

7. When you eat beef, do you cook it rare, medium, or well done?

I eat only raw beef and fish. Raw because the raw food gives stronger immunity, gradually increases the production of more stomach acid (HCl), breaks itself down with its own enzymes, digests faster and more easily. Actually, genetically we aren’t designed for cooked food and many years of evolution did not adapt us to cooked food completely.

8. Do you add extra fat to your meat? (i.e. butter, lard, tallow)

No, but I always choose more fatty pieces when I buy beef.

9. Do you limit your meat consumption or do you eat until satisfied?

Usually I eat the same amount of food daily at almost the same time and don’t think about it. The body and brain can accustom to these changes quite easy during some period of time. They start to get really hungry just before I start to eat. Food is just fuel not entertainment.

10. Do you eat liver or other organ meats? If so, how often?

No, for me it’s quite enough and satisfying to eat only raw meat and raw fish without organs.

11. Do you consume bone broth? If so, how often?

No

12. How many meals do you eat per day on average?

I eat two times a day.

13. How much meat do you eat per day on average?

Now I eat 700-800g daily portions – half at the morning and half at the evening (I’m quite slim – 70 kg weight and 180 cm tall).

14. Do you eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat, or regular commercially produced meat?

I eat mostly regular commercially produced meat.

Raw fatty sirloin – with the lean meat on one side of the plate and the fat on the other – cut into 1/2 inch bite-sized pieces.

15. Do you drink any beverages besides water? (i.e. coffee, tea)

I drink only pure water.

16. Do you use salt? 

No

17. Do you use spices?

No

18. Do you take any supplements?

No

19. How much money do you spend on food each month?

It depends on seasonal prices in Costco ($450-$650 CAN).

20. Do you have any tips for making this diet more affordable?

You may buy fat trimmings separately from more cheap lean meat and eat them together.

21. Do you exercise regularly? If so, how often and how vigorously?

Not regularly. I don’t see too much sense in having a mountain of muscles or to run 10 miles every day in behalf of health if I already have quite good health and live without diseases at all (I’m 66 years old).

However, I will add that with the raw Zero Carb diet your muscles may start to grow and adjust according to your genetically predisposed body type even if you are not active or do not exercise. If you do exercise, the shape of your body can change according to your chosen plan. 

22. What benefits have you experienced since beginning a Zero Carb diet? (i.e. recovery from illness, overall health, body composition, exercise performance, hormonal, mental or psychological, etc.)

I have experienced many benefits since beginning a Zero Carb diet. After the adaptation, my overall health has been improving gradually. 

I have started to have mostly a good mood, feeling more alive, better sleep (no insomnia at all), good lightness in the body, my memory stopped diminishing and improved, and increasing clearness of my mind. 

My mind became more organized and my mental and physical reactions became faster.

I don’t have any headaches or diseases anymore! 

For long periods of time I can be around people who have the cold or flu and yet stay healthy and not contaminated. 

My back pain, which would last a few days at a time after lifting something very heavy, stopped occuring after half a year of the diet. 

My joints don’t have any pain and aren’t swollen anymore and they have become more flexible without any exercise. 

Small red spots, acne, and pimples on my body and face, as well as chronic shingles, have disappeared. 

My skin has become better and many brown (liver) spots and keratomas on my head have disappeared.

On my face I have had a big thick flat grey mole that appeared during my experiments with diets. After about year being on the raw Zero Carb diet the mole has started to crack and fell off (all other diets I have used before this diet just helped the mole to grow up). 

Small white lipomas under the lower eyelids have disappeared.

The process of balding on my head has stopped and my hair stopped graying more. 

The feeling of being permanently thirsty, needing lots of water, and then making frequent visits to the bathroom has disappeared.

A hot feeling inside the body after eating sweet fruits no longer happens because I don’t eat them anymore.

All of my allergies have vanished.

My past frequent constipation, diarrhea and bloating do not appear anymore, and I have a normal bowel movement mostly every day. 

My gums and remaining teeth have become clean, healthy, and strong. The dental tartar does not appear anymore after being 1.5 years on the diet. I brush my teeth only with water and use dental floss. I don’t have bad breath anymore and it’s always fresh. 

My sex drive and sexual abilities are increased. 

I do not know how long I will have my great healthy condition, but I hope it may compare to that of wild animals. In the wild, if animals eat the species-appropriate, genetically-proper raw food, they age significantly less visibly than humans do. The wild animals keep their health, energy, and strength until they die from natural causes.

23. What do you enjoy most about eating a Zero Carb diet?

Simplicity and affordability, in addition to all of the great health benefits. It’s definitely better than suffering from the myriad illnesses that plagued me for the rest of my life.

24. Do you have any advice for someone who is just beginning a Zero Carb diet? 

I encourage you to try the raw Zero Carb diet. At the beginning when you start to eat only raw food you can protect yourself from parasites and pathogens by buying products from reliable sources at least for half a year. 

It’s best to freeze your raw fish and raw meat previously and then thaw it out during 1-2 days in the refrigerator before eating It. This is a precaution to kill any parasites.

You can decrease the symptoms of adaptation if you divide your daily meat or fish into 3-5 small portions because your stomach still doesn’t excrete enough the stomach acid and the acid is still not strong enough for efficient digestion of a large amount of meat or fish. Moreover, it’s better when you first start this way of eating not to use ground meat due to the bad effects it has on digestion. 

Also due to unpredictable results, it’s not a good idea if you continue to use some of your favorite cooked foods and beverages instead of only pure water. 

During this half year your stomach acid will become stronger and its ability to kill parasites and dangerous pathogens will be significantly increased. Your body will be cleaned from collected toxins, build ups of waste, and some collected by-products (which are staple foods for parasites) usually created during cooking.

25. Are your friends and family supportive of your Zero Carb lifestyle? If not, how do you handle this?

My two daughters have started to eat more meat and one of them now eats part of her meat raw.

26. Is there anything you would like share about this way of eating that I have not already asked you? 

This way of eating doesn’t decrease your spirituality and sensitivity as many vegans like to claim. My experience has been just the opposite!

For  additional  information about raw Zero Carb diet, please visit my blog: Raw Diets

A meal of wild, raw salmon!

If you would like to connect with other like-minded Zero Carb Carnivores, please join us in our Facebook group Principia Carnivora.

 

Zero Carb Testimonial: Stephany

Posted on by
4

image

How long have you been eating a Zero Carb (No Plant Foods) diet?

I stated on January 1, 2016 and, after just 45 days, I feel fantastic! After going low carb/low fat (HCQ) in March of last year 2015, then low carb paleo and keto after that, I have finally found what really works for me: Zero Carb aka All animal foods and zero plant foods.

What motivated you to try this way of eating? Weight? Health?

Health. And curiosity! As I said before, I discovered lowcarb in March last year. I was suffering from many health issues: obesity, extreme fatigue, bouts of depression, allergies, asthma-like symptoms, migraine attacks, panic attacks to name just a few.

I did some research, and soon found out that I was probably pre-diabetic – if not yet type 2 diabetes. I did not dare go to the doctor because I knew he would just give me drugs. Also, food became more and more of a problem. No matter what I ate, I felt miserable afterwards, extremely tired and I’d have the strangest allergic reactions.

At that time I was eating a high carb low fat diet: masses of whole grains, lots of fruit and veggies, no butter, some meat and fish. Coffee with sugar and mostly low-fat snacks to finish. I did not understand it because I thought I was eating a healthy diet. I never thought of questioning my diet choices and I thought it was just me.

At the end of February I was at my deepest point and looked for help. I asked my pharmacist if he could recommend a nutritional expert. He smiled and said, he was just working on something new and asked if I could wait a couple of weeks. I thought, why not? I really trust him because a couple of years before he helped me heal my gut. Back then, we both did not know about the benefits of lowcarb.

Anyway, mid-March 2015 my journey started. First of all, let me be clear about this: I did not expect to lose any weight and weight loss has never been my first goal. I wanted to be fitter and healthier. I never felt really bad about being obese – at least not until I started developing the above mentioned symptoms.

First I did HCQ: 3 weeks of low carb and low fat to reset the body, then 3 weeks of low carb and high fat. The idea of HCQ is that you can return to your normal eating pattern eating after 6 weeks because the body has been reset.

Well, the first 3 days of HCQ were hell. I had such a headache, and I was so nauseous and dizzy I thought I would faint. But I stayed the course and lo and behold: After 3 days I felt like new. Within a week many of my health issues were gone. Just like that! I was energized, had no more brain fog and simply felt fine. I remember waking up one morning and feeling awake and not tired. That was a completely new experience after years of being tired all the time. Also, the weight simply dropped off.

Picture: Before Beginning My Journey and Today

image

It was soon clear to me that I would not return to my old way of eating. So I started reading books and searching the web. I was so surprised when I saw all the information on low carb. It did not take me long to stumble across paleo and keto. I did a couple of months of low carb paleo. When I re-introduced the so-called safe starches, many of my health issues came back.

At around that time I also discovered your blog for the first time and was really fascinated. But somehow, I did not really go for it and instead went keto. However, on keto I stopped losing weight and I noticed that I was returning to bad eating habits: lots of keto treats and so-called “healthified” keto food (e.g. coconut cookies with sweetener, coconut pancakes with sweetener, etc.).

Also, I started to obsess over food. I was counting macros and weighing my food. And I developed a funny kind of rash and some allergic reactions again (probably because of all the nut flours). So, at the end of December I decided this was getting out of hand and did the full monty: zero carb – all animal and no plants. I have not regretted it one second.

How long did it take you to adapt to a Zero Carb diet, both physically and psychologically?

Psychologically: right away. I knew instinctively that this was the right way of eating for me.

Physically: The first 2 weeks I felt a bit weak and had some keto flu symptoms which surprised me because I thought I was keto-adapted. Looking back I now realize I probably was not really adapted yet.

What books or people were most influential in guiding you to this way of eating?

In the beginning of my lowcarb experience I read a lot of books by Dr. Strunz (a German doctor) and a lot of the paleo books.

I liked Chris Kresser’s “The Paleo Cure” a lot, even though I do not agree with all his views (e.g. on safe starches – I think for some people like myself the body is so broken that even safe starches are not an option anymore. In fact, I think there is no such thing as a safe starch). But his 30 day reset really helped me. I did a very strict version of the 30 day reset: lots of meat, fish, good fats and veggies. No fruit, no nuts, no seeds, and other stuff that was allowed. In fact, this 30 day reset was better than the crap I ate afterwards on keto.

Another good source for getting started was Mark Sisson. I know many people do not like him because he is too commercial but his basic ideas are pretty ok: lots of fat, enough meat, some veggies, some fruit and nuts. The thing is, he wants to reach as many people as possible so he is very lenient. But I’m ok with that.

I also read this Zero Carb Zen blog from beginning to end and back again, as well as both of L. Amber O’Hearn’s blogs (Empiri.ca and Ketotic.org), and Keto Clarity by Jimmy Moore. Even though I was really fascinated by the zero carb concept I could not yet bring myself to try it. I’d have a couple of zero carb days and then I’d eat a keto treat or lots of veggies again.

Right now I’m reading Primal Body, Primal Mind by Nora Gedgaudas. Next on my reading list is The Fat of the Land by Vilhjalmur Stefansson. I guess I should have started with those, but well, it is a journey and I learn every day.

When I decided to go Zero Carb, I also joined the Zero Carb Facebook group Principia Carnivora. This group has been a blessing. The people in this group are the kindest, most helpful and most intelligent people ever! I am learning constantly from them.

Do you eat only meat, or do you include eggs, cheese, and cream in your diet?

I eat porc, beef, chicken, fish, rabbit, eggs, and butter. In the beginning of zero carb I went a bit wild on dairy, esp. heavy cream and cream cheese and also on bacon and ham. After two weeks I cut those out and felt an improvement again.

What percentage of your diet is beef verses other types of meats?

Hmm, I do not really know. I’d say 50% beef, 50% other meat. But I want to eat more beef. I notice that on pure beef days I feel even better.

When you eat beef, do you cook it rare, medium, or well done?

Steak is rare to medium. I used to eat ground beef well-done but meanwhile I have tried some raw ground beef and absolutely loved it.

Do you add extra fat to your meat? (i.e. butter, lard, tallow)

Yes, most of the meat I get is pretty lean, so I slather it in butter. I use the beef fat that I get from my meat broth to cook my steaks and I use lard for porc.

Do you limit your meat consumption or do you eat until satisfied?

I eat until satisfied. But it was something I had to learn: to eat enough, not to over-eat and not to stop too early. It is a pity how we forget to listen to the signals our bodies give us.

Do you eat liver or other organ meats? If so, how often?

Yes, once or twice a week: liver, tongue, heart, lung. I believe in the concept of eating the animal from nose to tail. I find especially beef tongue very nourishing.

Do you consume bone or meat broth? If so, how often?

Yes, once a week I cook a meat/bone broth. I do not drink it that often anymore. I use the fat for cooking steak and my husband uses the broth for cooking his veggies.

Picture: Delicious, healing broth.

image

How many meals do you eat per day on average?

I’m down to two meals, but my aim is to eat one meal a day. However, I have learned not too hurry anything. On keto I tried to do intermittent fasting but it did not work out (so much for the idea of thinking I was keto-adapted). On Zero Carb it just happened. I’d have breakfast and a late lunch and at dinner time I found out I was not hungry so I did not eat. I notice now that I’m not even really hungry in the morning, but I still have breakfast. I think this is more a psychological thing. But as I said, I’m not hurrying anything. I trust that I’ll know when the time has come 🙂

How much meat do you eat per day on average?

No idea. I do not count any calories, do not weigh any meat, do not worry about macros. I did that on keto and it drove me crazy. I’m no longer occupied with “healthified” treats and carb substitutes. The credo is indeed simple. Eat meat. Drink water. Be happy 🙂

A normal day looks like this: breakfast (at about 6.30 a.m.) is some eggs, and/or some steaks, and a very weak coffee blended with butter. Lunch (at about 2.30 p.m.) is meat with butter, sometimes some extra eggs. I no longer need dinner – I cannot believe this myself.

Picture: Beef is very lean so I slather it in butter.

imageDo you eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat, or regular commercially produced meat?

Both. Porc is mostly from my local butcher, beef is mostly from a local farmer, rabbit and chicken are self-raised. Except for the butter, I do not buy or eat anything with a barcode anymore.

Do you drink any beverages besides water? (i.e. coffee, tea)

I drink one cup of freshly ground coffee blended with lots of butter in the morning. I have not been able to drink coffee for a long time, so I am very happy I can drink this one cup again. I am forever grateful to a good friend who gave me a coffee grinder as a Christmas present.

Do you use salt?

Yes, but less and less.

Do you use spices?

No. I have never liked them.

Do you take any supplements?

I do, but I’m ready to let them go. I take a multi-vitamin, omega 3 and magnesium. But as I said, as soon as I find fattier cuts of beef, I’ll let them go. Again, I trust that I’ll know when the time has come.

How much money do you spend on food each month?

Not as much as when I was eating high carb and low fat.

Do you have any tips for making this diet more affordable?

I do not think this way of eating is expensive at all. I’d say: Buy the fattier cuts, try to buy in bulk. I live in a rural area where I can buy high-quality food at a reasonable price. I am grateful for this every single day.

Do you exercise regularly? If so, how often and how vigorously?

Yes, 3 to 4 times a week since going zerocarb. Not because I have to but because I want to. Nothing big, but it is fun and I am becoming more muscular. In the beginning of Zero Carb I did not workout because I felt a bit weak but the last couple of days I had so much energy that I started some body weight lifting.

In this respect I noted an interesting development with my blood ketones: when I was on keto and in the beginning of Zero Carb I’d have blood ketones at 1.1 but my FBG would still be at 85 to 90. The last couple of days my blood ketones dropped to 0.6 to 0.9 but my FBG also dropped to 75. I feel much alerter and awake than ever before 🙂

What benefits have you experienced since beginning a Zero Carb diet? (i.e. recovery from illness, overall health, body composition, exercise performance, hormonal, mental or psychological, etc.)

LowCarb stopped many allergies and gave me more energy and mental clarity, but I still felt bloated and constipated most of the time.

With Zero Carb, I have no more allergies, stronger muscles, no fatigue, absolute mental clarity, and a deep calmness. Oh yes, I sleep wonderfully every night even though I have a lot of stress going on at work. Also, no more bloating and constipation.

What do you enjoy most about eating a Zero Carb diet?

The simplicity! And it is so delicious. The few people who know I am eating this way often ask me, if it does not get boring. I can say: No, it does not. I enjoy every meal without obsessing over it beforehand or afterwards. My taste buds get better and better.

Do you have any advice for someone who is just beginning a Zero Carb diet?

Eat meat. Drink water. Be happy. Be patient. Trust the process. Your body needs time to heal. I’ve been Zero Carb for one month, before that keto for about 2 months and low carb for about 8 months. My body is still healing and sometimes I think I’m still adapting.

Are your friends and family supportive of your Zero Carb lifestyle? If not, how do you handle this?

My husband was a bit worried in the beginning, but now he is okay with my choice. My closest relatives and friends are also ok with this. I do not really worry about what others think or say – I never did and I am not going to start doing this now.

If people ask me what I did to lose so much weight, I tell them that I went low carb. Depending on their reaction I might or might not say that I’m completely zero carb. I’m not being militant or anything about this way of eating. Everybody has to find what is correct for them. For some people it is enough to go low carb, for some primal or paleo is the solution, and for some it is zero carb. I did a lot of reading and research, and now even arguments about the moral aspects do not get me off track.

In fact, I think this way of eating is more sustainable for the planet than other diets. Which does not mean that I favor mass meat production, not at all. But I no longer believe that going meatless will save the planet. I recommend Ash Simmonds’ site highsteaks.com, the excellent book The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith, or Allan Savory’s project savory.global for more info.

Is there anything you would like to share about this way of eating that I have not already asked you?

No, I can only advise to everybody who is having health problems or feeling stuck in lowcarb limbo: Try zero carb for 30 days. I do not regret many things but I do regret that I did not start Zero Carb when I first learned about it which was last August when I discovered this blog. Instead of listening to my gut I listened to the voice of reason which said I would perish if I stopped eating veggies and fruit and that it would be boring to eat only meat. I was so wrong! So from now on, I’ll listen to my healthy gut. Others can eat veggies, I’m happy with meat and water 🙂

Not all of my health issues have been solved yet and I still have some weight to lose but steak by steak and egg by egg I’m getting there. This WOE rocks!

image

Please visit my “Interviews” and “Testimonials” pages linked at the top of this website to read the stories of other short and long term Zero Carb veterans.

If you are interested in meeting others who practice an All-Meat diet, please feel free to join us in the Facebook group “Principia Carnivora” for support.

 

Zero Carb Interview: Charles Washington

Posted on by
37
image

Charles with the baby of a Zero Carb friend – taken during a Zero Carb get together in Los Angeles.

1. How long have you been eating a Zero Carb (No Plant Foods) diet?

August makes 8 years of ZC. I actually began the Atkins Induction Diet in January of 2007 but I never “climbed the carb ladder.” In the interim, I discovered that I didn’t need vegetables and in August, I discarded them altogether. I went on to lose about 32 more lbs., in addition to the 46 lbs. I had already lost on a low carb Atkins-style diet.

2. What motivated you to try this way of eating? Weight? Health?

Prior to carbohydrate restriction, I was obese and diagnosed as pre-diabetic and my doctor threatened medication. I asked for three months to work it out and I went on a low-fat, portion-controlled plan. I began at 221 pounds and went down to 178. I was looking rather “skinny-fat”. I was skinny, non-muscular-looking, and I had love handles. I began lifting weights. The more I worked, out the hungrier I got and the bigger I got. I was gaining about 2 pounds per week. At first, I was told it was all muscle and I did indeed gain muscle, but I still got bigger and bigger. In my initial diagnosis, my doctor said that I ate too much starch but his words didn’t resonate. I traded white starch for brown starch and that helped, but it wasn’t enough. His words came back to me when the scale returned to 208 pounds. I stopped all starches and the weight gain stopped and started going the other way. The workouts stayed the same. I started to look into a starch-less diet and found “low carb” and Atkins. It was very successful beyond my wildest dreams.

3. How long did it take you to adapt to a Zero Carb diet, both physically and psychologically?

I took to carbohydrate restriction like a fish to water. I didn’t miss the things I was giving up because most of them made me feel bad after eating them anyway. I was never much of a soda drinker but I tried Diet Coke and became addicted to it. I didn’t like the way I pined after that drink so I gave it up and focused entirely on water. Best thing I ever did. I felt better almost instantly but in terms of running performance, that probably took a couple of weeks to feel comfortable.

4. What books or people were most influential in guiding you to this way of eating?

Two articles changed my life along with two books. The first, was a Men’s Health articled entitled, “The Cure to Diabetes” describing Dr. Mary Vernon and the way she treated her diabetic patients. The second was, “What if it’s all been a big fat lie?” by Taubes. For books, it was “Good Calories, Bad Calories” by Taubes and “Not by Bread Alone: The Fat of the Land” by Stefannson. I read many other books, but none had as much impact as those two. I also have credit Jimmy Moore. He made the statement once that if a person follows a particular diet, they should read the book and do exactly what it says. I took that advice and learned as much as I could about Dr. Atkins. That lead to learning about Dr. Blake Donaldson and, eventually, Stefansson.

I was a moderator on Jimmy Moore’s site for the Atkins Diet. There was a man named, Dave who was the moderator of the Zero Carb thread, which was very empty. By the time I understood that his group was not crazy, he kind of disappeared and I never got to really have the conversation with him I wanted to have. No one was particularly interested at the time. I took over that group and we had a single thread on that forum that went on to dominate all the traffic on the board. It wasn’t long before we were kicked out of that forum. That event spurred me to create a group called Zeroing In On Health where our way of eating (i.e. zero plant foods) would be the rule rather than the exception.

I was basically called out by all the low-carb experts of the day who said they did not support my way of eating. It was called “dangerous” and other adjectives. They were fearful because I held the opinion that a healthy woman who was adapted to a Zero Carb diet should have no trouble carrying a healthy baby to term. I was ridiculed and criticized by many. Over the past six years, we have seen several healthy Zero Carb babies born by members of our community. That has been very gratifying to witness.

5. Do you eat only meat, or do you include eggs, cheese, and cream in your diet?

I eat meat. I have cheese very occasionally and I might taste something or other at my wife’s insistence but mostly, I eat meat exclusively and I drink water.

image

Charles with his son Meir after a run on Biloxi Beach in Mississippi.

6. What percentage of your diet is beef verses other types of meats?

If I had my way, my diet would be 100% beef. However, I also cook for my wife so I have to mix it up. My diet consists of beef, pork, chicken in equal shares – and occasionally seafood.

7. When you eat beef, do you cook it rare, medium, or well done?

I prefer my beef cooked to medium.

8. Do you add extra fat to your meat? (i.e. butter, lard, tallow)

I do not add extra fat to meat as a general rule. However, there are times when it is appealing to eat from the pan drippings or have a little butter on a steak.

9. Do you limit your meat consumption or do you eat until satisfied?

I always eat until I’m full. That varies depending on my appetite, but I typically clean my plate regardless of the amount.

10. Do you eat liver or other organ meats? If so, how often?

I eat no organ meats.

11. Do you consume bone broth? If so, how often?

I don’t consume bone broth. Not because I have anything against it, it’s just not something I waste time with. I like short visits to the kitchen. I might make my wife something exotic but I keep my own eating extremely simple.

image

Charles enjoying himself at a running event.

12. How many meals do you eat per day on average?

I typically eat three times during the work week and once or twice daily on weekends and holidays.

13. How much meat do you eat per day on average?

I consume about 2 pounds of meat per day, maybe a little more, sometimes a little less.

14. Do you eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat, or regular commercially produced meat?

I eat regular, commercially-available meat one would find at a local, American supermarket.

15. Do you drink any beverages besides water? (i.e. coffee, tea, etc)

I drink water exclusively.

16. Do you use salt?

I use salt occasionally.

17. Do you use spices?

I use spices mostly because my wife likes them. If I’m cooking for us, I will use spices. If I’m cooking for myself, then the odds are about 20 percent that I would.

18. Do you take any supplements?

I take no supplements.

19. How much money do you spend on food each month?

For myself, my food bill would probably be about $50 per month, but because I have to buy other things for my wife, it’s higher. She tends to eat out half the time so it’s tough to know what our bill for food really looks like.

20. Do you have any tips for making this diet more affordable?

I like to think of ZC as a way of eating for life. It can be as simple as ground beef and water. One could conceivably spend $20 or $30 and eat three times per day for an entire month.

image

Charles dressed up for a night on the town.

21. Do you exercise regularly? If so, how often and how vigorously?

I enjoy running but I approach it as a boxer. A boxer sits idle until he has a fight planned. He enters training camp for about six weeks and he runs, lifts weight and focuses on his conditioning. Then, a few weeks out, the trainer comes and they begin to work on the technical aspects of the fight focusing on the opponent and the strategy they will employ. They participate in the fight and then they go back to idle, resting and recuperating until another fight. That is the way I believe exercise should be approached. Find an event, train for it, participate, and go back to life. Exercise is the function of a healthy body. One does not get healthy by exercising.

22. What benefits have you experienced since beginning a Zero Carb diet? (i.e. recovery from illness, overall health, body composition, exercise performance, hormonal, mental or psychological, etc.)

Zero Carb changed my life. I lost some 78 pounds (unfortunately, I did not keep any “before” pictures of myself), my blood pressure normalized, my lipid profile recovered, my skin cleared up, my libido returned, my hair loss slowed, my lazy eye straitened up considerably, my feet no longer smell, my bowel regularity returned, my strength returned, my abdominal muscles returned, and I can run faster than men half my age. I’m sure I’m skipping many things, but that’s how much of a change this was for me. Zero Carb for Life!

image

A mantra Charles often repeats to Zero Carb “newbies” in his Zeroing in on Health Facebook group.

23. Have you raised children on a Zero Carb diet? If so, what has been their experience? How difficult is it to keep carbs out of their diet in today’s world?

My children were raised to eat a low carb diet. They went through the various diet stages with me and adapted very well when meat was their primary option. They noticed how they were no longer hungry and craving snacks all the time. I no longer live with them, but they still report eating a low carb diet. By watching my own transformation, they have the knowledge they need to stay healthy.  If they ever run into trouble with their health, they have told me they would switch to meat-only diet without hesitation.

24. What do you enjoy most about eating a Zero Carb diet?

That’s hard to say, but the most rewarding thing has been the interaction with other people who eat like me. They are some of the sharpest, most intelligent, and deep-thinking people I’ve ever encountered. Zero Carb is responsible for many psychological changes as well. Zero Carb people tend to have a better outlook, a more critical eye and they tend to be very direct. I have come to value their opinions more than anyone else in life. If I want a straight-forward, unbiased opinion, I ask a Zero Carb person. I am very thankful for all of my Zero Carb friends I’ve had the pleasure of knowing over the past 7 years. I have eaten at their homes, at restaurants, etc. I have traveled the country meeting these people and I will forever be grateful to them for their counsel.

25. Do you have any advice for someone who is just beginning a Zero Carb diet?

Find a piece of meat you enjoy and eat it until you’re full. Don’t eat again until you’re hungry. Drink water.

26. Is there anything you would like share about this way of eating that I have not already asked you?

ZC is not the easiest thing for most people to do. However, there is great reward for the effort.

Charles has a Facebook group called Zeroing in on Health where he and other Zero Carb veterans provide support and information to others who are interested in this lifestyle.

image

Charles dressed for the office.

Please visit my Interviews page to read the stories of other long time Zero Carb veterans.

If you are interested in meeting others who practice an All-Meat diet, please feel free to join Charles Washington in his Facebook group Zeroing in on Health or Michael Frieze in his Facebook group Principia Carnivora for guidance and support. These two groups use different approaches, so if you find that one does not suit you, please check out the other one.