1. How long have you been eating a Zero Carb (No Plant Foods) diet?
3 years I failed my first carnivore diet in January and lasted 3 months before the ketoflu then tried again in September 2017, never stopped since.
2. What motivated you to try this way of eating? Weight? Health?
I was diagnosed pre diabetes through blood work and they let me know that I can “manage” it but it will steadily get worse and I may lose a leg, eyes, etc… from complications. They told me to manage it with diet and exercise.
Not willing to do the diet part so I took on exercise with OrangeTheory for 7 months and I gained one lb never lost so I decided to research and I found dietdoctor.com and tried the Low Carb High fat approach and lost 10 lbs within the first 2 weeks. I immediately knew there was something there but I tried it for 6 weeks and went back and gained weight.
So the next time around I did another 6 weeks challenge but I did not like the low carb option soI found websites like this one, Facebook Zeroing in on Health, the “Bear” Owsley, the Andersons, etc. and I was convinced to try this Way of Eating. I lasted 3 months and then got keto flu.
3. How long did it take you to adapt to a Zero Carb diet, both physically and psychologically?
The second time I was fully adapted after 3 months.
4. What books or people were most influential in guiding you to this way of eating?
Various authors like Gary Taubes, Dr. Jason Fung, Dr. Barry Groves, and many more.
5. Do you eat only meat, or do you include eggs, cheese, and cream in your diet?
I rarely eat eggs. I notice bloating with eggs, I did allow cheese, but I quit it again last month. I do no other dairy. I am lactose intolerant.
6. What percentage of your diet is beef versus other types of meats?
Beef Ribeyes are about 98% of my diet.
7. When you eat beef, do you cook it rare, medium, or well done?
Medium rare in an air fryer 7 minutes on one side and 5 minutes on the other.
8. Do you add extra fat to your meat? (i.e. butter, lard, tallow)
I eat untrimmed ribeye so I do no extra fats.
9. Do you limit your meat consumption or do you eat until satisfied?
I do not limit the amount I eat. When I eat I feast.
10. Do you eat liver or other organ meats? If so, how often?
Rarely eat liver but if I do it’s raw and about once every 3-6 months or so.
11. Do you consume bone broth? If so, how often?
I did consume bone broth early on, but not anymore.
12. How many meals do you eat per day on average?
The first 6 months of the year I will do Alternate Day Eating (ADE) and the last months I would eat One Meal a Day (OMAD).
13. How much meat do you eat per day on average?
I average anywhere from 2-3 lbs per day.
14. Do you eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat, or regular commercially produced meat?
Commercial meat from Costco.
15. Do you drink any beverages besides water? (i.e. coffee, tea)
I have carbonated water at times and sometimes ice water.
16. Do you use salt?
Early carnivore I did salt heavily, but since last month I do no salt.
17. Do you use spices?
Also early on I did, but I do not use any spices now.
18. Do you take any supplements?
Early on I took some Betaine HCL and vegetable enzymes, but now I do not take any supplements.
19. How much money do you spend on food each month?
Roughly I spend $200 per week for myself.
20. Do you have any tips for making this diet more affordable?
Yes, eat beef patties and bacon.
21. Do you exercise regularly? If so, how often and how vigorously?
Yes, I do OrangeTheory (HIIT), Shotokan Karate and Jiu Jitsu. I work out around 4 days per week.
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 used to have diverticulitis, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, and many more issues all healed.
I rarely get a cold (I hit my record without a cold over one year) I used to get colds every other month before.
Body composition changed drastically, exercise performance I hit many personal records on carnivore that even in my 20s I could not do. For example run a 7 min/mile or run a 10 mile in 10 min/mile.
I have this constant Zen about me now. Nothing seems to bother me anymore.
I can get a tan and I do not use sunscreen.
I stopped deodorants and I do not use soap or shampoo when I shower. I never smell.
I have not gotten any new cavities since the carnivore diet, I used to have several every 6 month checkup.
23. What do you enjoy most about eating a Zero Carb diet?
This is a very easy diet, I don’t have to think about what I have to eat. Shopping for it is so easy also.
24. Do you have any advice for someone who is just beginning a Zero Carb diet?
Yes, it’s hard at first but once you adapt the cravings begin to go away. Just give it 3 months, the benefits are so worth it.
25. Are your friends and family supportive of your Zero Carb lifestyle? If not, how do you handle this?
No they all think i’m crazy, but I have convinced some friends to try it and my wife though not one ever lasts.
26. Is there anything you would like to share about this way of eating that I have not already asked you?
Yes. feel free to contact me if you need help starting the carnivore diet.
1. How long have you been eating a Zero Carb (No Plant Foods) diet?
Since September, 2017.
2. What motivated you to try this way of eating? Weight? Health?
I stumbled into this way of eating during a severe bout of depression. It began in the middle of that month. At age 34, I had been living with major depressive disorder for at least two decades. Then my cat, who had been suffering with tumors, died at age 13.
To me, pets are family. So it was existentially painful to see him in that condition, let alone lose him. He was the first animal I took in myself, and he was a kitten. In a non-supernatural way, he was my familiar. He was and is a part of me.
My depression had been relatively manageable for some time at this point. I wasn’t down on myself, and never really had been. The depression I experienced was more like an Eeyore cloud over my heart, casting its shadow over every thought, every mood, and even every joy.
That period is a blur, but I remember about a week of barely eating. In retrospect, this was accidental fasting, which may have triggered ketosis. Within a couple of weeks, my appetite really started kicking in again. But instead of the usual desire for carbs, I craved fatty foods ― especially meat and cheese. Nothing else was appealing, and I had to eat something to prevent starvation. So I gave in.
At the beginning, I wasn’t following any kind of diet. For maybe another couple of weeks, I ate a lot of processed, but mostly animal-based foods: pepperoni, pasteurized cheddar, beef jerky. At some point, I started to feel a little better. That prompted me to search Google for the answer to something along the lines of, “Will eating fatty foods kill me?”
The first site I remember reading is Zero Carb Zen. Skimming through the information and interviews, I began my journey down this rabbit hole. Suddenly, my natural cravings pointed toward the potential for improved health! This was unexpected, but welcome news, and sparked the motivation that blossomed into my new life as a healthy carnivore.
3. How long did it take you to adapt to a Zero Carb diet, both physically and psychologically?
Again, my adaptation period occurred during one of the most distressing periods of my life, so I can’t remember how long it took to transition. But I do know that by Halloween, just two months later, I was looking considerably slimmer and feeling great. By that time, I was on track as a fledgling carnivore.
4. What books or people were most influential in guiding you to this way of eating?
Esmée La Fleur got me started with the concise information and interviews on Zero Carb Zen. This continues to be a valuable resource, especially for comparing experiences with other carnivores. This site helped me to establish a solid foundation of dietary habits.
Then I listened to the audiobook of The Big Fat Surprise: Why Butter, Meat and Cheese Belong in a Healthy Diet, by Nina Teicholz. It blew my mind! Learning about the industry-obfuscated science and scandalous history of nutritional propaganda, I felt everything from excitement to outrage. It awakened my head and heart to the reality of diet and health in today’s dietary climate.
My next book was Good Calories, Bad Calories: Fats, Carbs, and the Controversial Science of Diet and Health, by Gary Taubes. This fatter, more academic tome augmented my newfound commitment, saturating my brain with enough data to drown out any nagging doubts about my new lifestyle.
Those were the books that inspired my conversion. The two people who influenced me most were L. Amber O’Hearn and Dr. Shawn Baker. They are both highly pragmatic, and have distilled complex information that goes over my head into simple, straightforward messages. Amber has a way of clarifying the scientific nuances, while Dr. Baker reminds me to “Just eat a damn steak!”
5. Do you eat only meat, or do you include eggs, cheese, and cream in your diet?
For the first year and a half, I usually included eggs and dairy. I quickly slowed down with eggs when they began to upset my stomach. Even duck eggs make me nauseous after a couple.
I also enjoyed a lot of heavy cream near the beginning. Pasteurized dairy was less problematic for me as a carnivore, but still made me feel suboptimal.
I now eat grass-fed and raw dairy ― specifically, grass-fed butter and raw-milk cheese. Raw cheese was a revelation, as I’d always assumed I was sensitive to dairy. Turns out I was “allergic” to the unnatural results of pasteurization! Reintroducing cheese in its raw form has been wonderful on every level.
6. What percentage of your diet is beef versus other types of meats?
My diet is 75% to 90% beef. The rest is mostly seafood, and sometimes other meats like lamb. I rarely eat poultry.
I used to eat a lot of pork. But bacon was another migraine trigger, along with pork rinds. When I cut those out, I stopped eating pork altogether and felt even better.
I think that commercial pork and poultry can be risky, depending on the quality. Ruminant meats are much better for health, in my opinion. Even grain-finished!
7. When you eat beef, do you cook it rare, medium, or well done?
This has changed a few times over the past couple of years, and depends greatly on the cooking method.
Deep frying was my favorite until Dr. Paul Saladino’s work convinced me to limit the advanced glycation end products (AGEs) formed when meat burns.
Now I seem to be gravitating toward slow-cooking, which has been a past favorite. The “wellness” is less defined in that case, but I try to keep the temperature and duration as low as possible.
At a good restaurant, I’ll order steaks rare.
When I eat grass-fed beef liver, it’s raw!
8. Do you add extra fat to your meat? (i.e. butter, lard, tallow)
I’ve been adding grass-fed butter. When I was avoiding dairy, I used tallow.
It has become increasingly important to me to choose the highest-quality fats possible, especially when I can’t afford grass-finished meat.
One of my latest experiments has been to pair lean conventional meats with grass-fed fats.
9. Do you limit your meat consumption or do you eat until satisfied?
I usually eat until satisfied. Fasting was a helpful practice for the first year. Now, I eat a few times a day, with two full-size meals on most days.
10. Do you eat liver or other organ meats? If so, how often?
Every day, I eat up to about 4 ounces of raw, 100% grass-fed liver. In the past, this has been on and off. Now, it’s an essential part of my day.
I also enjoy beef heart, which I try to incorporate every so often.
I’m frequently on the hunt for other organ meats, and enjoy trying new ones. I recently tried tripe, which was good. Back when I was eating eggs, I enjoyed an occasional scramble with pork brains.
My increasing focus on nutrient density keeps me researching, shopping, and cooking my way from nose to tail. I prefer to eat grass-finished beef organs.
And while it’s not an organ, I have to mention salmon roe. If I could find it cheap, I’d eat it by the shovelful!
I think organ meats are essential for optimal health, and that most people who feel fine without them would feel even better with at least some daily liver.
11. Do you consume bone broth? If so, how often?
I’ve never been a big soup guy, so I sneak bone broth into my meals through slow cooking. The meat is swimming in it! The result is more like a stew, and I get a bit of broth even if I just eat the meat.
12. How many meals do you eat per day on average?
I usually eat two meals per day. For a long time, it was basically lunch and dinner. More recently, I’ve been experimenting with breakfast. I may continue that and skip lunch instead.
I work overnight, so these meal names are relative!
13. How much meat do you eat per day on average?
I don’t measure my meals anymore, but probably average 2 to 2 ½ pounds of meat per day. That includes any organ meats and seafood. I rarely eat less, and sometimes eat much more!
I recently quit caffeine, and found that my hitherto suppressed appetite has been readjusting. That’s probably why breakfast is back in the picture!
14. Do you eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat, or regular commercially produced meat?
Most of my meat is grain-finished. It fits my budget, and I enjoy the taste. However, I would prefer to support regenerative farming practices. For now, I am thriving on standard meats from supermarkets and butchers.
I have tried one full week of meat and dairy exclusively from grass-fed, pastured beef. I found it fulfilling, but also found my wallet emptying!
Both grass-finished and conventional meats feel healthy to me. However, I consistently include grass-fed fats to support and benefit from healthier farming as much as possible.
15. Do you drink any beverages besides water? (i.e. coffee, tea)
I only drink water: tap, purified, sparkling, and spring.
Coffee tended to upset my stomach. I used to take a caffeine supplement instead, but decided to remove that final plant toxin from my diet altogether.
I also enjoyed tea, especially oolong. However, it gave me congestion that began as a sniffle and eventually made it difficult to breathe. As a carnivore, it was relatively easy to single out this otherwise unsuspicious element.
I experienced a similar problem years ago and figured it was an environmental allergy. Thanks to experts like Sally Norton and Drs. Georgia Ede and Paul Saladino, I understand that it was probably due to the oxalates and other phytochemicals accumulating in my body.
Within about a day of quitting caffeine entirely, my mind and emotions were already calmer. My energy was almost the same. By day three, I wondered why I ever “needed” it! Caffeine is a plant-based, neurotoxic pesticide, and I’m glad to be done with it.
16. Do you use salt?
I use and enjoy plenty of sea salt, but avoid table salt.
17. Do you use spices?
For over a year, I did use spices in my carnivorous diet. The last to go were curry and cayenne pepper. Eliminating them was part of a slow recognition of the potential dangers of ingesting any plant material, including spices.
18. Do you take any supplements?
I don’t supplement with anything, but seek out sources of micronutrients in meat, seafood, and spring water. The natural balance of bioavailable vitamins and minerals in actual food is far superior, in my opinion. I would only supplement in a medically-diagnosed emergency, and that has not been necessary!
19. How much money do you spend on food each month?
I think I spend about $200 per month on food. It varies, but I find carnivory much more affordable than omnivory!
20. Do you have any tips for making this diet more affordable?
I think it’s already affordable to be a carnivore. People spend way more than they realize on fruits and veggies that spoil, all kinds of snacks, and even coffee! Anyone interested in carnivory can probably afford something healthier than the food they’re buying today. Even if it is more expensive, you’re choosing to pay with either your wallet or your health.
With that said, I do have a few practical tips:
1. Eat the meat that brings you pleasure and health without breaking the bank. If necessary, seek out sales. A great resource is https://www.mygrocerydeals.com/.
2. Organ meats can be an acquired taste, but are often more affordable and nutrient-dense. Eat some liver, save some money, and feel even healthier! Even grass-finished organs are priced lower than the muscle meat, so that’s a good way to sneak in some small-farm goodness on the cheap.
3. Walk around! Meet your local butcher, check the other shops, and talk to people. You may find unlisted bargains, discover new stores, and unlock secret menus. Regardless, you’re getting exercise! You can’t lose.
21. Do you exercise regularly? If so, how often and how vigorously?
Since I dislike gyms and find long exercise sessions boring, I just try to stay active in daily life. I walk briskly through New York City, taking the sunny side of the street when possible. Almost every day, I walk for at least two hours. At work, I take the stairs most of the time, avoiding the elevators. On my days off, one of my favorite activities is yet more walking! According to my smartwatch, I average well over 10,000 steps per day.
Other than that, I’ll take an occasional spin on my little rowing machine, play with weights or resistance bands, or experiment with other exercises.
I’m interested in heavy weights, and plan to start lifting heavier at home when I can find and afford the right setup. But my current physique suits my needs perfectly. The rest is for experimentation and optimization.
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.)
This could be its own interview! For the sake of brevity, I’ll list as many conditions I’ve overcome as I can remember:
While I can’t prove that carnivory cured all of the above, I have either reversed or kept these conditions from returning by eating meat and avoiding plant foods.
I started this lifestyle at over 230 pounds and a waist over 40 inches wide. My height is about five feet and ten inches. My appearance didn’t bother me much, but I was very heavy and had a huge gut. Now I average just under 160 pounds, and the waist under my unprecedented six-pack is 10 inches smaller! All with nearly no loose skin.
My weight loss was accompanied by an elevated mood and many other improvements that I now attribute to decreased inflammation. From clinical depression to the common cold, I am now free of inflammatory maladies that aren’t usually recognized as such. Along with others that are, such as the knee pain I experienced from my mid-twenties until I healed at 34. Going on 36, I feel younger than I did as a teenager!
Since going carnivore, I haven’t caught a single cold! That’s one of the most surprising benefits for me. It could probably still happen, but hasn’t yet! In the past, I had them all the time, and they tended to last a week or more. What a difference! Now I don’t even worry when someone sneezes nearby.
Carnivory has been very good to me!
23. What do you enjoy most about eating a Zero Carb diet?
My favorite aspect of Zero Carb is its roots in ancestral living.
As I continue to learn more, I am increasingly convinced that this diet is healthy precisely because we evolved to eat animals, with the flexibility to resort to plants as backup foods or medicine.
Humans are animals, too, and this lifestyle brings me closer to that truth on every level. Other animals seem to know who they are. It’s time for humans to catch up. I feel the carnivore movement can help to get us there again. Even if we just serve as an example.
24. Do you have any advice for someone who is just beginning a Zero Carb diet?
Enjoy yourself! It can be hard to believe that some of our favorite “naughty” foods are actually healthy. It can be even harder to admit that plant-based foods and beverages, ubiquitous and upheld as the saviors of mankind, may be inherently toxic! But if you really give this a proper try, chances are something good will happen. One symptom will probably clear before you know it. Then another. And another, until you see improvements where you didn’t even know you had a problem! This happens every day to all types of new human carnivores with many different conditions.
My one caveat is that an adaptation phase may be necessary. I was too severely depressed to notice any transitional symptoms, but you might not feel great right away. I have learned that this may be due to oxalate dumping and other processes by which the body eliminates stored plant toxins. If you eat a lot of plant foods, or even drink a lot of tea, you might need to decrease your intake gradually. Otherwise, you might feel terrible at first! Sally Norton explains this best.
25. Are your friends and family supportive of your Zero Carb lifestyle? If not, how do you handle this?
Friends, family, and co-workers have been very supportive for the most part. At first, their concerns ping-ponged between my rapid weight loss and all that red meat. But I’ve kept the weight off and continued to look and feel healthier. Now the naysayers are silent while others ask me for advice!
Luckily, I haven’t experienced any extreme reactions to my lifestyle. When disagreements arise, I don’t argue or debate. This stuff didn’t make sense to me at first, either!
Everyone has to learn the truth about nutrition at their own pace. Especially in a world that tells us to eat those deceptively toxic veggies for good health, but also to “live a little” with processed junk that provides fleeting entertainment while slowly killing us.
26. Is there anything you would like to share about this way of eating that I have not already asked you?
I could go on forever, so I’ll stop here. But I will say that sharing our stories is the most important thing we can do as carnivory establishes itself amid this “Beyond Meat” madness.
Zero Carb Zen was central to my transformation and continues to aid my personal research. It feels good to share my story here, and I encourage others to continue doing the same wherever the opportunity arises. One story at a time, we are changing each other’s lives!
You can follow Michaelanthony’s Zero Carb journey via his YouTube channel. In this video, he shares how the diet has profoundly affected his mind for the better:
Please note: “Charlie Lyon” is a pseudonym, as the interviewee prefers to remain anonymous.
1. How long have you been eating a Zero Carb (No Plant Foods) diet?
Eight years, went full on with it in 2010 and for the first three years ate only fatty ground beef and the occasional ribeye. Sometime in year four I started branching out and testing other meats, incorporating them into my daily supply to see what happened. It was fine.
2. What motivated you to try this way of eating? Weight? Health?
In 2007 I had a massive coronary event that killed me (yes yes, they brought me back so as Miracle Max said, I was only mostly dead) At the time I was also pre-diabetic, weighed over 210 pounds (I’m 5’9″), had severe IBS, severe arthritis, had lost most of my teeth (no idea I was unable to metabolize plant-sourced calcium) and had chronic GERD and chronic tendonitis, among other less obvious health issues.
3. How long did it take you to adapt to a Zero Carb diet, both physically and psychologically?
Couple different points on this – I had been a strict vegetarian for over 40 years. Others might call me vegan but I never thought of myself in that way. And when I say vegetarian I wasn’t merely plant-based, I was very knowledgeable about it. I worked in health food stores for years, read nutrition books, did the math for complete proteins, avoided fat, watched calories, avoided sugar as an ingredient, ate only whole grains and lots of raw fresh fruits and veggies and so on. I wasn’t a junk food junkie at all. Vegans have often tried to tell me I must have been “doing it wrong…” I have to agree – I was eating plants instead of meat and that is NOT the response they were looking for. oops…
For me the vegetarianism was a byproduct of a meditation path that had an ethical and moral objection to the killing of animals. Psychologically it was very very difficult for me to take that first bite of meat. It was bacon from a neighbor’s farm, and given our friendship it was probably a pig whose name I knew, that I had fed on occasion, and petted. I hadn’t cooked, smelled, or eaten bacon since I was in my late teens. Let me tell you, I felt like one of Pavlov’s dogs at the bell – that first bite was an amazing experience. I licked it and there was a deluge of saliva in my mouth – I took one bite and – CLICK/THUMP – the plate was empty. A half pound of bacon devoured faster than I could blink, and then I sat on the couch in a state of post-prandial bliss that was as good as any sex I’ve ever had. I had no idea how starved my body was for those nutrients. That experience – the complex ecstatic sensations throughout my entire body and the impact on my attention and awareness – was utterly astonishing, especially since I had expected to get sick from my first exposure to meat. That experience immediately demonstrated to me the error of my ways: in fact, and contrary to 40 years of belief in an ideology, meat and fat are very good for the body.
So part one in answer to that question, after the first bite of meat I knew what the reality was and have never had trouble eating it since, regardless of the particular source – beef, pork, lamb, goat, any of the birds, seafood, and so on. Without exception meat always tastes amazingly delicious to me, and the fattier the better. A big thick chunk of pure pork belly fat properly cooked tastes better than candy to me.
Part two in answer to that question is more complicated – I was extremely insulin resistant, and looking back I would say I was actually diabetic instead of only pre-diabetic, although I didn’t have those distinctions at the time. It took me nearly three months of seriously difficult body issues before I converted. I was tired all the time, really exhausted, full of muscle cramps, my bowels were giving me no end of grief, I had headaches, I wasn’t sleeping well and so on.
On the other side, my chronic GERD vanished within 3 days of starting to eat only meat and drinking only water. I had been on and off meds for that for 10 years. Within 3 weeks my chronic arthritis really got small and it was completely gone within 6 weeks. I started losing lots of weight but I didn’t really notice that specifically other than that I kept having to tighten the belt on my pants. I wasn’t doing this to lose weight anyway so I paid little attention to that. My heart arrhythmias vanished. My blood pressure dropped significantly. My blood glucose normalized.
Right around the start of the fourth month I was done with feeling lousy, and was just about to give zero carb up as an unworkable solution. I went to bed one night, zonked out completely in the best night’s sleep I’d had in months, and woke up the next morning feeling great. The odd thing was that I didn’t notice immediately how good I felt. I just got up, started my day, and was halfway through a mid-morning session with a client when it suddenly dawned on me that nothing was wrong. In fact, I felt flat out terrific. I was wide awake at 10 AM still – didn’t need a nap. Didn’t feel like resting or distracting. Nothing hurt, I was full of energy. I felt fully alive physically for the first time in decades. That was another watereshed moment much like the first time I ate bacon. Everything was suddenly really different. Later I realized my metabolism had shifted to the new regime. I had fully adapted to the meat-only diet and my body LOVED it.
4. What books or people were most influential in guiding you to this way of eating?
First off was Lierre Keith’s marvelous book, “The Vegetarian Myth: Food, Justice, and Sustainability”. I’ve told her directly that she literally saved my life. I didn’t recognize that at the time, but it’s clear from this perspective now.She was the first awakening for me after the heart attack – another person who shared my experience of a plant-based diet being catastrophic for human health. Then I read Dr. Mary Enig’s great book, “Eat Fat, Lose Fat” which killed off the lipid hypothesis for me. That was one of the most difficult aspects of this for me – realizing that there is no correlation between cholesterol in the diet, serum lipid levels, and cardiovascular disease. None. Zip. Zero. The Weston Price Foundation was helpful but they were a transition stage for me on the way to the all-meat diet. Certainly Charles Washington and his group ZIOH on Facebook, but we connected long before that group got so crowded and crazy. Eventually I encountered folks like Nora Gedgaudas and Esmée.
It took me about 3 years of reading, talking, researching and testing foods through inclusion and exclusion to discover the effect on my body and health – from the cardiac event to full metabolic conversion. I love warm fuzzies, but at heart I’m a science guy – show me the data – what’s the evidence for your assertions? I’m not going to just believe something because you say so. Prove it to me in the real world.
5. Do you eat only meat, or do you include eggs, cheese, and cream in your diet?
I eat anything from an animal. I’d love to eat more cheese and dairy if I could but it doesn’t agree with me. My partner does. We eat tons of eggs we get from a neighbor who has chickens – four to six eggs per day each. I do eat butter. We also eat seafood. We live in a state with a huge commercial fishery so we eat lobster, scallops, fresh fish, clams, crab. These are mostly easy to catch or easy to forage. Clams, crabs, striped bass, bluefish and so on, all free for the taking with a little time and effort. Smelts in the spring, venison, wild turkey, goose, bass, trout and so on. I have some friends who have fishing boats or lobster boats so I can get those direct and fresh off the boat for a reasonable price. We consider these fairly expensive purchased seafoods to be treats and only have them occasionally.
6. What percentage of your diet is beef verses other types of meats?
I don’t really keep track of percentages, but we do eat lots of beef, probably mostly beef. When we have the money we will buy half a cow (or a steer). We also buy whole chickens, half a pig. We have a couple freezers that we keep rotating.
7. When you eat beef, do you cook it rare, medium, or well done?
Rare – seared well on the outside and bloody in the middle. Beef is far and away the most filling, satisfying and nutritious food we eat. It is always tasty and always filling. When I eat a ribeye for instance, I won’t get hungry again for a long time.
8. Do you add extra fat to your meat? (i.e. butter, lard, tallow)
Yes, frequently – especially if we’ve got a very lean animal. Unfortunately lots of growers believe the low-fat nonsense so calves born in March or April get butchered sometime in Oct/Nov. Nine months is not sufficient a lifespan for an animal to build healthy fat reserves. We prefer very fatty, marbled meat but too many times we see extremely lean, young beef. We would rather buy fatty grocery store meat than too-lean grass-fed. The ideal is slaughter somewhere between 24 and 48 months. That gives the animal a reasonable experience of life and provides exceptional fatty meat on grass. We often add either butter, tallow or bacon fat when we are cooking. All eggs are cooked in bacon fat, or if they are poached, then they are drowned in butter.
9. Do you limit your meat consumption or do you eat until satisfied?
Just like The Lady says (winkwink) When hungry, eat meat until full. When thirsty, drink water. Rinse and repeat.
10. Do you eat liver or other organ meats? If so, how often?
If they are included when we buy half a cow or steer yes, beef heart, liver, tongue and etc. but we don’t seek them out.
11. Do you consume bone broth? If so, how often?
Not usually. We have some frozen but I suspect it’s been in there a couple years. I prefer water.
12. How many meals do you eat per day on average?
Usually two, but occasionally three. It usually depends on physical activity. If I’m doing a lot of work, say cutting, splitting and stacking 6 cords of firewood for the winter then I may get hungry in the evenings. I just listen to my body. If it wants more I give it more.
13. How much meat do you eat per day on average?
I eat about 2 pounds, maybe a little less. My partner typically eats about a third more than I do per day, but she has a high-burn metabolism. We find this both interesting and amusing. I’m in my late 60s and she is in her mid-50s. I out-mass her by maybe 3 inches and 20 pounds and I do a ton more physical labor than she does. She’s a writer, so that bizzy brain of hers is shredding calories far more efficiently than my big ole manly muscles are. LOL
14. Do you eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat, or regular commercially produced meat?
We prefer to buy locally sourced whole animals (in either halfs or quarters) from farmers we know. Most of our meat is raised within about 20 miles from our house, and much of it within 5 miles. However if we run short we will absolutely buy grocery meat. Our complaint isn’t so much about grass-fed or not, it’s about oil for transport and the damage to animals and environment from CAFOs.
15. Do you drink any beverages besides water? (i.e. coffee, tea)
She drinks lots of teas and tons of water. I drink nearly all water except for one cup of black coffee in the morning. If I could tolerate it I would gladly drink a couple quarts of raw whole milk per day but it raises hell with my GI system.
16. Do you use salt?
Yes, to taste. Sometimes that’s not very much, other times lots. I tend to use more when working outside in hot weather. Here again I trust my body.
17. Do you use spices?
Occasionally – very occasionally – maybe only a few times a year, but they are all things grown here at the house – thyme, rosemary, dill, basil. I view plants as either medicines or garnish, and only useful in very small amounts.
18. Do you take any supplements?
I don’t take dietary supplements but she does – magnesium. I do take cannabis tincture occasionally at night to help with sleep. I have a medical card for PTSD. I grow my own plants and make my own tinctures. I use MCT oil as the carrier.
19. How much money do you spend on food each month?
I haven’t done the math and I don’t really keep track. Half a cow is about $1,500, and we buy maybe 3 a year. Eggs are 4 bucks a dozen and we go through 6 dozen a week between us, but we often trade eggs and some cheeses for her for work. I’m guessing an approximate average is between $220 and $250 a month each, but that can vary year to year. Bulk beef can run between 3.75 a pound and 4.25 a pound. Pork in bulk is similar.
20. Do you have any tips for making this diet more affordable?
No idea. If you buy grocery meat then watch for sales and buy in bulk then and freeze it. Ground beef is usually less if you get them to add more fat. For instance we do a 2 to 1 ratio at our butcher’s place. 15 pounds of ground beef made from 10 pounds meat to 5 pounds fat trimmings – offcuts from other meat they sell to the low-fat customers, added in and mixed well. That’s often as low as $3.45 a pound. If you buy from farmer folks you know then barter is a real lifesaver. But if you know farmers personally then you know how hard they work. They deserve to be well paid for what they do. Be fair.
21. Do you exercise regularly? If so, how often and how vigorously?
Yes, I try to walk at least 45 minutes every day. This is in the country, so it’s uphill and over dale. I practice Irish Stick fighting with a heavy bag (and other close-infighting combat skills) at least 4 times a week – 1 hour sessions. I literally chop wood, carry water, mow lawns (often with a scythe which I flat out love), shovel driveways and 4 times a week lift free weights. My partner does Tai Chi four times a week, lifts free weights, is a part-time lifeguard at a rehab pool so she swims several times a week, and we try to do our daily walks together whenever our schedules match.
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.)
Yeah, all that and more. I haven’t been this healthy since I was in my late teens and early 20s. Mentally and physically I feel unbelievably great all the time. Mood is good, mind is clear, lots of physical energy. On those rare occasions when I injure myself I heal very quickly. It’s so sad how for most of my life I had no idea that one could feel such physical joy day-to-day and be in a body this way.
23. What do you enjoy most about eating a Zero Carb diet?
Never having to waste time or energy thinking about what to eat. It’s simple and direct. Takes 10 minutes to prep and maybe another 10 to eat and – done. Unless I’m doing a roast or something, but even that, do maybe 15 minutes of prep, into the oven, out, let it rest – carve and eat. It always tastes amazingly delicious and I never get bored.
24. Do you have any advice for someone who is just beginning a Zero Carb diet?
Your body is the lab – do your homework, do the reading and research, do the science and figure out what works best for you, but when you finally do commit – just do it. Listen to your body, not your mind. You cannot do this by halves. Go thirty days and see how you feel. Then another thirty. And so on. Before you know it two years will have slipped by and you will feel great.
25. Are your friends and family supportive of your Zero Carb lifestyle? If not, how do you handle this?
Pretty much, I guess. I’m not particularly plugged into the opinions of others. If folks ask I explain. If they are resistant I shut up. If they are curious I will explain more and point them to other resources.
To add to that, I’m a fairly public figure, so I’m doing this questionnaire as an anonymous contributor. The reason is that I’m too visible and I have no interest in fielding a ton of crap from radical vegans. It’s just a waste of my time, attention, and energy. I don’t really care what others eat unless it’s damaging ecosystems. Most people have no idea that holistic managment of grazers on grass sequesters more carbon in the soil faster than any other technology we know, even more than replanting entire forests. You wanna fix climate change, increase ecosystem resilience and species diversity? We cannot accomplish that without millions of grazers on grass. I do what I can, but you know, I’m mortal and I’ve got work to do. I want to get as much done as possible before I’m gone. What’s the old joke? Lead, follow, or get out of my way.
26. Is there anything you would like share about this way of eating that I have not already asked you?
Yeah, couple other pieces that I think are relevant. I live in a particular place with it’s own local ecosystem. Many things grow wild on this land including micro-life. There are wild strawberries, wild raspberries, wild blueberries, wild grapes, and many kinds of edible mushrooms. In season I will eat several handfulls of each of those. Wild foraged foods are nothing like what we buy in a store – for starters they have very little sugar and are usually tart enough to pucker your mouth. However I eat these things with specific intent.
The surfaces of these local plants living on my place are covered with wild yeasts and beneficial bacteria that are specific to this ecosystem – just like me. I want those wee beasties living in my gut as part of my natural microbiome. With the berries, I usually only get a handfull or two before the berry eaters like the cedar waxwings show up and gobble them all down. The strawberries are insanely tiny, very tart and amazingly flavored. Two of them are about the size of my pinkie fingernail. One day this summer I was walking down to the river when I noticed they were ripe and I had about 20 of them. Before I got back from the canoe ride a large flock of waxwings had come and eaten every one. Never saw another berry there this year. LOL
I also will gather and eat mushrooms. The interesting thing about those is that they are not plants, but are their own separate kingdom – one of the five great kingdoms of life – bacteria, protoctists, plants, animals, and fungi. I suspect they are the symbiotic ancestors of all complex life on land. I know many of them have psychotropic and entheogenic value, but I also suspect all edible species have medicinal qualities just as they are. Nothing on the planet is quite as delicious to me as sliced mushrooms sauteed in butter on a perfectly cooked ribeye. I only get them in season, only from my own land, and only a few times a year. Some years there are none to be found.
Those are my only exceptions and I consider them not as food, but as good medicine. If you are a purist and wanna argue then please feel free to take that up with Gaia herself. I don’t mind, and I’m not suggesting that you do what I do. Figure out what works best for you and do that more. LOL!
Jennifer Before & After her weight loss journey, using both a standard low carb diet and then a zero carb diet.
1. How long have you been eating a Zero Carb diet?
Over three years now, I started April 23, 2015.
2. What motivated you to try this way of eating? Weight? Health?
My entire life I was morbidly obese. I remember being very young at the doctor, maybe kindergarten checkup, my mother was asking about my weight. He told her to watch my portions and I would grow into it. Growing up, we tried everything!Portion control, Slim Fast while I was still in daycare, Fen-Phen in middle and high school, Atkins, low fat, food pyramid, diabetic, just everything. I saw dietitians multiple times and followed their plans as well but I was never successful and neverwas able to stick to anythingvery long.
By the time I was 15, I weighed 350 lbs. Iwas a type two diabetic with migraines, PCOS, depression, and social anxiety. I would count every single carb, exercise, take my medications and was on insulin. I did all of this and my blood sugar was still out of control with readings in the 2-300’s sometimes higher. It was bad. After I graduated high school and I was more on my own, I ignored it all together.I also ballooned up to 420+ lbs. I wanted to have gastric bypass but insurance wouldn’t approve and I needed to lose weight for them to even consider me. I’m not exactly sure what happened then, but I just started losing weight without trying. I had my appendix removed and after that I steadily lost, but my blood sugars remained out of control. I did eventually diet again and got myself down to around 250 lbs. by my late 20’s, mostly by watching carbohydrate intake.
Then an accident that nearly took my life really shook my world. I remember very little of the following years besides highlights, like getting married and buying our house. I slept nearly all the time, ate what was convenient and gained back 75 pounds of what I had lost. Then in January of 2015, weighing in at 325 lbs. after two days of no food and cleaning my bowels out, I had surgery to remove a fibroid from my uterus. It was a rough surgery. I lost a considerable amount of blood and it took a lot longer than anticipated. Afterwards I was just sick. I needed multiple blood transfusions. I had a home health nurse coming in to pack my huge open wound. She was putting a roll and a half of gauze in my abdomen every day! I wasn’t healing at all.
Then the bad news hit. As I was lying on a trauma table in the local ER, where I had to meet my OB for him to clean my wound, he told me that the pathology had come back from my fibroid. He was wrong, it was a tumor. He explained that it was called a STUMP tumor and that it was very rare. STUMP stands for smooth muscle tumor of uncertain malignant potential. In other words, it is cancer without quite being cancer.And because it is so rare they haven’t done much research on it. Laying there looking up at those bright lights, after all I had been through I just lost it. He says quit cryingDodds!Your going to live!
A week later my husband and I made the trek to the oncology department two hours away. His news was just as grim. There is no way my OB could have gotten all of the cells from the tumor and I would have to have my uterus removed. I was devastated! always thought that someday I would be a motherI called my OB on the way home and he came on the phone and told me that having my uterus removed was my decision to make. That it was ok to ask questions and research before I made a final decision. So that’s exactly what I did!
My aunt had a friend who had lived decades with cancer. I started researching and I decided that the best thing I could do for myself was to get rid of all sugar. So I started with a low carb high fat diet sometime in February of 15. But I could not get my blood sugars where I wanted them to be. I think it was around this time that I found Esmee’s website Zero Carb Zen and began reading all the information here. I was doing an egg fast when I decided to never go back to carbohydrates. And that’s it. Something clicked. It only took a few days and I knew this was the magic key I had been searching for my whole life! I had never felt satisfied before, and now I was. On a carb-based diet, I was always full, but still hungry! I was morbidly obese, and yet malnourished.
Jennifer’s mother, little sister, and herself when she was about 6 years old.
3. How long did it take you to adapt to a Zero Carb diet, both physically and psychologically?
It was still a serious mental struggle. Overcoming a lifetime of using food as comfort in every situation isn’t easy. I didn’t realize just how much I ate in social situations like family parties. I just ate constantly because of nerves! I remember having a panic attack and wondering what the heck was going on and it was because I wasn’t allowing myself to eat for comfort that evening. The physical adaptation was a lot quicker than the mental, probably 6 months initially although I continue to heal. Mental adaptation took a lot longer, probably a full year. Lifetime mental habits are hard to break. I still look in the fridge whenever I walk into my parent’s house!
4. What books or people were most influential in guiding you to this way of eating?
I remember reading the Anderson Family interview, probably sometime in late 2014. I had already resolved myself to lose weight before I went in for surgery and was already doing some research on how to fix my hormones. I remember thinking, low carb yes, but there is no way that can be healthy! Like what I was doing to myself was healthy! I remember finding Esmee’s website fairly early on in my journey. I also read about Owsley Stanley (a.k.a. “The Bear”) and Vilhjalmur Stefansson. If you’re readingthis with the same skepticism I had, one month isn’t going to hurt you! Give it a try!
5. Do you eat only meat, or do you include eggs, cheese, and cream in your diet?
It has varied over the years. I ditched the eggs fairly early on. I did try and add them back in a couple of times. I even tried fresh from the farm eggs, and yolks only, but my body still reacts. I was eating butter, bacon and occasionally cheese for about a year until I realized they were contributing to my headaches. For the first six months or so, it was all fare game! Then naturally over time, I went to beef only. At first, I was fine with ground beef, even frozen beef patties. Now my husband calls me a “meat snob” because I will only eat fatty, fresh beef. I will eat leftovers if absolutely necessary but they have to be made from super fresh beef and eaten the next day.If I am going on a day trip, I cook my meat let it cool then vacuum seal it. But only if I’m going to be eating it the next day.
Jennifer as a teenager with her little sister.
6. What percentage of your diet is beef verses other types of meats?
100%
7. When you eat beef, do you cook it rare, medium, or well done?
Very rare. I sear my meat then put it in the oven at 270 degrees until warm through, the opposite works too. Lately, I have been eating a bite or two raw. I like it, it tastes very sweet! But I’m not quite ready to eat a full meal like that!
8. Do you add extra fat to your meat? (i.e. butter, lard, tallow)
Not currently, but I have been toying with the idea of finding a constant source of beef trimmings. The meat around here seems to be getting more and more lean and I have been hungry.
9. Do you limit your meat consumption or do you eat until satisfied?
I eat until satisfied, but I do realize when I am eating more than I should and then try to see if there is a reason. I typically eat only once a day unless I feel I am truly hungry.
10. Do you eat liver or other organ meats? If so, how often?
No, but Ido enjoy it. There is something in it called tyramine which can cause increase in pressure and the brain and lead to headaches for some people. I realized I was reacting to beef liver as well as cheese and bacon because of the tyramine.
Jennifer and her little sister as young adults.
11. Do you consume bone broth? If so, how often?
No, I have never liked it.
12. How many meals do you eat per day on average?
One, sometimes two. I do really well on one meal a day unless my pain is flared up, then I tend to eat more.
13. How much meat do you eat per day on average?
I’d say roughly 2 lbs.Some days it’s a lot more, some a lot less.I eat to hunger.
14. Do you eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat, or regular commercially-produced meat?
Regular grocery store meat.I am interested to see what locally raised beef would do for me, but that is costly!
15. Do you drink any beverages besides water? (i.e. coffee, tea)
I only drink water. We purchased a reverse osmosis filtration system for under the sink. I was seeing an oily surface on my drinking water and when you boil it there was a lot of sediment.My husband drinks coffee and I was having to clean the build up on the coffee pot nearly every week. I noticed a difference as soon as I quit drinking the tap water and my husband also noticed a difference! I did have a couple brief flings with coffee that turned out bad for me. If you haven’t tried giving it up yet, I highly suggest it!
Jennifer’s little sister and herself after they had both lost significant weight on a very low carb diet.
16. Do you use salt?
Yes, I have several different kinds of salts I use!My favorite is grey Celtic sea salt. I also use pink Hawaiian and have some others.
17. Do you use spices?
No.
18. Do you take any supplements?
Magnesium, vitamin D, vitamin K and small amounts of calcium and vitamin C
19. How much money do you spend on food each month?
Roughly $200-$250
20. Do you have any tips for making this diet more affordable?
I managed to find a source of whole New York Strip for $3-4/ lb. That is what I have been eating lately. Otherwise it is the fattiest chuck roast I can find.
My husband eats what I call “Crappy Keto,” so here is what I have found to keep it less expensive. Chicken thighs are $.99 a lb on average. I cut the bone out and fry them skin side down in bacon grease till brown and crispy. They are the best! I always have chicken thighs ready to go in the fridge.
Liver is super cheap and is packed with nutrients.
Chuck roast tends to be the best priced beef with good fat and fries up good in chunks. I buy a couple big roasts and cut it into strips.
Salting beforehand also makes cheaper cuts more tender and flavorful.
If you have an Aldi’s, it is your friend!
Get yourself a vacuum sealer and buy when sales are good.Summer sales are great for doing this! Meat prices tend to go up in January when everyone is trying to “diet.” Then I tend to only find lean meats on sale and what I really prefer is super expensive. That is when the frozen stuff comes in handy.
Make friends with the dairy/deli/meat department!They will sell you the past date stuff super cheep!
21. Do you exercise regularly? If so, how often and how vigorously?
I have physical therapy routines that I have to do in order to keep moving but nothing strenuous. I also do a bit of light yoga.I also walk quite a bit but not as much as I feel I should.
Jennifer today after a total weight loss of 270 lbs.!
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 noticed improvement in the time it takes wounds to heal and I just don’t pick up bacteria and viruses like everyone else.
I do still occasionally have seasonal allergies but nothing like before.
After my surgery, I went through three months of little to no improvement and being on constant antibiotics. But within a week of switching to Zero Carb, both my home care nurse and I noticed a huge difference in the healing of my incision. The infection cleared up soon after.
Zero carb also made my blood sugars steady for the first time and got rid of the estrogen dominance that had plagued me my entire life.
It took quite a few months for my weight to go down. I even gained back 10 pounds of what I had lost between surgery and my time on a low carb high fat diet.In fact, it was a good six months before I started to see steady weight loss. But now I am down to 150 lbs. which is 270 lbs. less than my all-time high of 420 lbs. I do, however, still have a fair amount of excess skin to deal with, but I am not surprised since I was so over weight all my life.
I also suspect I have a connective tissue disorder holding me back. After two severe traumas to my head and neck, I have developed some pretty severe symptoms that have continued to increase. I have been diagnosed with Arnold Chiari malformation and told that I have Complex Regional Pain Syndrome of the head and neck.But I suspect otherwise and am sending my information to yet another specialist. But I am still trying my best in physical therapy and at home to avoid any serious surgery.
Before I lost the weight, it was hard to find a doctor who would take my symptoms seriously. I heard from most of them that I simply needed to lose weight and that my MRIs were completely normal — which they weren’t. (Side tip: always ask for the report and a CD of any tests you have done.)
Well, it’s really sad, but since I have lost the excess body fat, the doctors are taking me and my symptoms more seriously. Ironically, though, some of them are now trying to blame my symptoms on the weight loss itself! As far as I’m concerned, I still don’t have an accurate diagnosis, but I feel we’re closer than ever to figuring it out. I will say that a Zero Carb diet has helped tremendously with chronic pain, by eliminating practically all of the inflammation. If not for this, I don’t know how I would have coped.
During the year and a half following my surgery, I went through a time of severe anxiety and stress. My Zero Carb way of eating was a constant in my life that I could hold on to. It was a way for me to control at least some part of my body when the rest of it seemed so totally out of control. Even though my physical problems often make it hard to think and remember things, Zero Carb provides a clarity in my mind and spirit, like a fog has been lifted from me. Also, I find it much easier to calm myself when I do start to feel some anxiety. Through Zero Carb, I feel that I have come more fully into who I truly am.
23. What do you enjoy most about eating a Zero Carb diet?
The freedom!All my life I felt trapped, not only by my own body, but by the food I ate. I am no longer constantly hungry. I see food for what it truly is, fuel not entertainment.
24. Do you have any advice for someone who is just beginning a Zero Carb diet?
Prepare your food ahead of time. Have snacks on hand like cooked bacon. The time I spent eating a very low carb diet before I started a Zero Carb diet really helped the transition both mentally and physically. Mentally, I was able to see that even on a very low carb diet I wasn’t able to control my eating, even with such strict rules. Physically, I was able to transition from a standard American diet to a very low carb diet to a Zero Carb diet slowly, in stages, making ita little less jarring to my system. Find a good support system. Even though I was a lurker for the most part, and rarely posted comments, I was a passive participant in various Zero Carb groups on Facebook that kept me going.
25. Are your friends and family supportive of your Zero Carb lifestyle? If not, how do you handle this?
I believe so!They have all seen me struggle my entire life with my weight and health, and now they are really happy for me.
26. Is there anything you would like share about this way of eating that I have not already asked you?
Do your best to get off of any medications you are taking. One medication I had been taking for years I finally ditched and lost 30 lbs. very quickly. I continued with another and messed up my stomach and digestion. It is healing now that I have stopped it, but I was making myself miserable in the meantime. If you have any chronic health problems, a Zero Carb diet is an excellent way to help yourselfget a grasp of what is truly going on. It helped me connect to my body and truly understand it in ways I have never experienced before.
Jennifer and her husband who follows a low carbohydrate diet and has also lost a significant amount of weight.
If you are interested in connecting with other like-minded carnivores, please join us in our Zero Carb Facebook group Principia Carnivora.
1. How long have you been eating a Zero Carb (No Plant Foods) diet?
Since December 2012
2. What motivated you to try this way of eating? Weight? Health?
Primarily weight. I started on Low Carb (Atkins), then transitioned to ZC within a month.
3. How long did it take you to adapt to a Zero Carb diet, both physically and psychologically?
Physically I felt great within a week. The carb detox headaches subsided and I felt better than I ever had. Psychologically I adapted fairly quickly once I went full ZC partly due to loss of appetite. Within a couple weeks I had zero cravings.
4. What books or people were most influential in guiding you to this way of eating?
I did A LOT of reading of various websites, read people’s stories, etc. There was no one specific source…I started out learning by trial and error. It’s definitely not a one size fits all way of eating.
5. Do you eat only meat, or do you include eggs, cheese, and cream in your diet?
I eat meat and eggs. I also allow myself one teaspoon of HWC in my coffee daily. I don’t eat any cheese.
6. What percentage of your diet is beef versus other types of meats?
Approximately 70% beef.
7. When you eat beef, do you cook it rare, medium, or well done?
Medium Rare
8. Do you add extra fat to your meat? (i.e. butter, lard, tallow)
Butter!
9. Do you limit your meat consumption or do you eat until satisfied?
I eat until I’m comfortably full.
10. Do you eat liver or other organ meats? If so, how often?
No. I tried them but I’m too squeamish!
11. Do you consume bone broth? If so, how often?
No
12. How many meals do you eat per day on average?
Usually one meal. I occasionally fast as well (longest fast was ten days, most recent was eight).
13. How much meat do you eat per day on average?
Anywhere from one-half to one pound. If I eat eggs, I eat 3-4.
14. Do you eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat, or regular commercially produced meat?
Grass-fed pasture-raised. I buy a half cow at a time.
Stephanie with her beloved husband in 2014, part way through her Zeri Cab journey.
15. Do you drink any beverages besides water? (i.e. coffee, tea)
I drink one cup of coffee per day and occasionally an iced green tea. I also allow myself one diet coke per day, but I typically only drink three per week.
16. Do you use salt?
Yes.
17. Do you use spices?
No. I was very surprised to discover the amounts of hidden carbs in a lot of popular spices. Garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika are some of the higher carb count spices. Occasionally I’ll use one clove of fresh garlic.
18. Do you take any supplements?
No
19. How much money do you spend on food each month?
400-450$ (for groceries for two people)
20. Do you have any tips for making this diet more affordable?
Buy in bulk and separate into single portions, hit the meat department when they’re marking down prices, and the best, but not feasible for everyone, buy fresh, locally raised meat in bulk.
21. Do you exercise regularly? If so, how often and how vigorously?
Not regularly. I used to walk a lot. I keep busy and still walk/jog on my treadmill but not often.
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.)
Huge weight loss (appx. 100 lbs.), skin looks better, teeth appear healthier, and my blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose levels are all perfect, no more joint pain from a past injury, overall happier feeling, tons of energy.
23. What do you enjoy most about eating a Zero Carb diet?
It’s so easy. I never have to figure out what to make for dinner! I take meat out of the freezer and toss it on the grill.
24. Do you have any advice for someone who is just beginning a Zero Carb diet?
Stick with it and measure yourself!! I regret not taking measurements at the very beginning. There are times when my scale doesn’t move but I know I’ve lost inches.
25. Are your friends and family supportive of your Zero Carb lifestyle? If not, how do you handle this?
In the beginning they were not. They thought if I ate just meat that I would get sick. They constantly tried pushing veggies on me. Once they saw how healthy I was becoming they wanted to be a cavewoman too!
26. Is there anything you would like share about this way of eating that I have not already asked you?
Give it a try. Research it. There are SO many health benefits to this WOE. Diabetics no longer being dependant on insulin, stomach issues that disappear, blood pressure lowers, etc. It’s amazing!!
Stephanie today.
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.
Hi, My name is Reza and I am from Indonesia (South East Asia), I used to eat every meal with rice. Breakfast with rice porridge, coconut milk steamed rice, rice cake, lunch and dinner with rice as a staple food beside fish, meat, chicken, eggs, and vegetables. I would eat fruit occasionally. I was skinny in my childhood and teenage years. Then I gain weight after I started working and got married. I ate snack foods a lot and drank so many sweet sodas. My highest weight was 105 kilograms (230 lbs.), and my triglyceride level was at 279. I knew I had to do something because my late mom died from kidney failure due to her decades long struggle with diabetes. Our family had also has a history of heart attack and strokes.
I know I must take care of my health as a family man for my wife, my son, and my parents in law. I live with them and must be healthy enough to take care of them. And I don’t want to end up like my mom and my grandparents, suffering from strokes and diabetes. So I read a lot and tried many diets, from high protein, vegetarian, juice fasting, etc. Actually, I gained weight when I was vegetarian, and I hate fasting with raw vegetable juice. I thrive whenever I eat steak.
Once, I was successfully losing weight by doing water fasting for a few days in a row periodically. But sometimes I felt nauseous and had a thumping headache. Then I heard about dry fasting. As a Moslem, we dry fasting from dawn until dusk for a month every year during Ramadan, but I did not know it had therapeutic value for one’s physical health. I find dry fasting to be much easier than water fasting because I am less cold and I don’t get dizzy during the fasting period. Then I try to search about dry fasting and I found Esmée’s Zero Carb Zen blog. This is how I discovered the “Eat Meat Drink Water” way of eating, and so I decide too give it a try. I had already heard of low carb eating and was practicing that, but zero carb or all meat was a new concept for me. I had also been doing one day fasts here and there.
My transition to Zero Carb was wonderful, as I enjoy eating meat and steak everyday. Sometimes I eat chicken, eggs, and fish, but mostly it is beef. What I don’t like about it is whenever I try to explain this way of eating to my colleagues, they are not that receptive even ridiculed me a lot. Luckily my family and close friends try to be more understanding and some want to hear about this Zero Carb thing.
Now I have had tremendous results from Zero Carb in a very short period of time. My blood test showed improvement and my triglyceride are back to normal. I had been following a low carb diet, along with occasional intermittent fasts, for about a year or so, and I had lost about 8 kilograms doing that. But since I started the Zero Carb diet 2.5 months ago, I have lost an additional 10 kilograms of weight and 10 centimeters off my waistline. I also notice the I have not been sick, felt bad, or gotten a headache during this time. Usually I have headache every two weeks or so. I don’t know why, but it probably has something to do with the carbs I was consuming, even on a low carb diet, before I went to a total Zero Carb way of eating.
Everyday I eat steak (I seared the steak on my iron skillet or dining in at the restaurant). I also make meat soup with my slow cooker. I eat beef, chicken, fish, oxtail, and liver. I don’t eat vegetables at all anymore, but I do use butter and sometimes milk or heavy cream whenever I feel it has been a long time to squat in the toilet 😉
For Zero Carb newbies like me, I strongly recommend trying Zero Carb for a full 30 days. Even better…try everyday, choose to be Zero Carb for this hour to the next hour, every single day decide to go Zero Carb. If you stumble and fail (I’ve been there), just get up and get back to Zero Carb. I hope I can be Zero Carb moment-by-moment, and someday when I look back, I will find that I have been Zero Carb for years and eventually for the rest of my life (I hope).
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.
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
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.
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.
Do 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!
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.
This article is an addendum to my last post Optimal Protein on a Zero Carb Diet – Part 1. If you have not read that article, please do so before proceeding. I intended to discuss the information below in that post, but I forgot. Special thanks to Raymund Edwards of the Facebook group Optimal Ketogenic Living for bringing it to my attention.
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Okay, so I want to be absolutely clear: I am not recommending that anyone practicing a Zero Carb diet should eat only their minimum requirement for protein. Eating too little protein on a Zero Carb diet can be just as detrimental as eating too much protein.
While Dr. Ron Rosedale is a proponent of eating only your minimum daily requirement, it is important to understand that he prescribes a Low Carb High Fat diet, not a Zero Carb diet. This means that his patients can get part of their nutrients from very low carb fruits and vegetables. However, people who eat a Zero Carb diet must get all of their nutrients from meat and other animal products.
There are very few nutrients in the fat portion of meat. While fat does have some fat soluble vitamins, it has no appreciable amount of water soluble B vitamins or minerals. It is the lean portion of the meat that contains most of the nutrients. So, restricting protein too much will also restrict total nutrient intake and, thus, compromise overall health and nutritional status.
This is why children who eat a very High Fat Ketogenic diet to manage their epilepsy are given vitamin and mineral supplements. 90% of their calories come from fat, and it is impossible for them get enough essential nutrients from the other foods they eat to meet their nutritional needs. But, in their case, the benefits of the high fat diet outweigh the nutrient shortfall, so supplements are used to make up the difference.
It is important, therefore, to find a happy medium with your protein intake. Again, I believe that our best examples for optimal protein consumption on a Zero Carb diet was provided by Stefansson and Donaldson. Both of these men ate and recommended a protein intake of between 100-140 gm per day.
During the year long Bellvue study, Stefansson showed no sign of nutritional deficiencies, not even for vitamin C. And Donaldson never once mentions the need to prescribe nutritional supplements to his patients while they followed his dietary program.
So, optimal protein on a Zero Carb diet is not about eating the least amount of protein that your body needs to function because – to reiterate – if you restrict protein too much, you restrict the lean portion of meat; and if you restrict the lean portion of meat too much, you restrict essential nutrients; and if you restrict essential nutrients too much, you risk compromising your total health profile.
But, optimal protein on a Zero Carb diet is also not about eating unlimited quantities of protein. Too much protein is no better than too little. You do not need 200+ grams of protein per day, and eating that much on a regular basis has its own set of potentially negative effects. Like everything else in life, it is about finding balance.
This is why fat consumption is the key to being successful on a Zero Carb diet long term. If 75-80% of your calories come from fat, like it did for Stefansson and Donaldson, it is unlikely that you will eat too much protein. Fat is the macronutrient that provides satiety. If you eat enough fat with your lean, you will not be so inclined to overeat protein.
Just don’t go overboard in the opposite direction either unless you have a really good medical reason such as epilepsy, diabetes, or cancer management. And if you do need to keep your protein at the bare minimum due to a serious medical condition, then it probably would be wise to incorporate nutritional supplements into your program.
If you following a Zero Carb diet and would like support, please join us in Principia Carnivora on Facebook.
Prior to discovering the Zero Carb way of eating, I had been following a Ketogenic diet for about two years. I experienced good results with the ketogenic diet and so I started a blog about my experience of eating that way called Eat Fat Lose Fat. I also wrote an eBook about how to implement a Ketogenic diet called Kick the Weight with Keto. As you can see, I was a big fan of of the Ketogenic diet.
But then one day, I came across The Andersen Family interview that was published through this website and was introduced to the concept of Zero Carb for the first time. When I read their interview, I was like WHAT? THAT’S CRAZY! Who can eat only meat for 17 years?! But then I read the personal blogs of Amber Wilcox O’Hearn and Kelly Williams Hogan. Both of these women had eat an all-meat diet for over 5 years. After that, I was interested enough to check out the Facebook groups Zeroing in on Health and Principia Carnivora as well as the Reddit Zero Carb subforum. The more I read, the less bizarre this way of eating sounded, and I finally decided that I had nothing to lose by giving it a try.
The reason that I was interested in trying a Zero Carb diet is because I was still experiencing significant cravings for carbohydrates and I found myself letting more and more carbs creep back into my diet. I was really into creating and sharing recipes for Ketogenic “fun” foods, which only served to keep my sweet-tooth alive. This caused me to eat more than I wanted to and regain some of the weight I initially lost. Prior to adopting a Ketogenic diet, I weighed 400 lbs and opted to have bariatric surgery. I lost 190 lbs. as a result of the surgery, but then I gained back 50 lbs.
By the time I discovered and started the Ketogenic diet, I weighed 260 lbs. I was able to lose the 50 lbs I had regained after a year and a half of following the Ketogenic diet. The weight came off, but the process was painstakingly slow. Then, as the carbohydrate cravings started to get the best of me, I regained 20 lbs. which was really frustrating. So, when The Andersen Family interview came through my Facebook feed, I was definitely open to exploring new ideas. On April 6, 2015, I introduced the Zero Carb diet to my blog readers and embarked upon this unique dietary adventure. I have written a total of 5 posts for my own blog about my first 30 days: 1) Beginning, 2) Days 1 – 4, 3) Days 5 – 9, 4) Days 10 – 22, 5) Days 23- 30.
Even though I had been eating a very low carbohydrate diet for 2 years, I still experienced a fairly rough transition to Zero Carb. I felt really lousy for the first 5 days, but it took about 2 full weeks before I started to feel normal again. To learn more about this, please read the page on this website which explains The Adaptation Process.
When I first began Zero Carb, I included meat, eggs, and full fat dairy products. However, by the end of my second week, I discontinued all dairy products and began limiting my egg consumption because they caused my blood sugar to rise. When I eat them, my fasting blood glucose level will increase by 20 points the next morning.
After a full month on Zero Carb, I have settled into a diet comprised of about 60% beef, 20% fish/seafood, 15% chicken, and 5% lamb. However, I am planning to do less chicken and more lamb into the future. I am experimenting with organ meats, like heart and liver, but I am not sure yet how often I will be including them. I also eat some bacon.
I used to need 3 meals and 2 snacks every day because I was always hungry. Now, I am usually only hungry for two meals a day. I no longer have any desire to snack after my evening meal which is practically a miracle. I eat when I am hungry, and I eat until I am completely and utterly satisfied. I consume between 1 – 2 lbs of meat each day. I cook my beef medium rare, but I am also experimenting with raw steak tartare. I eat as much fat as I want from my meat and only rarely add extra.
One of my favorite aspects of Zero Carb is the incredible freedom from food! I just don’t think about food nearly as often. I love the simplicity of this way of eating. I am free from constant thoughts of eating for the first time in my life. Being someone who likes to cook, I must admit that this is a bit weird for me. I’m used to spending time with the planning, shopping, preparing, eating cycle of my food. Obviously, the health benefits are very important too, but the freedom from food I think is the foundation of the benefits for me.
I love bone broth! When I moved away from home for the first time in my early 20s, my dad showed me how to make bone broth. I have been making it ever since. I find it funny that it has now become a sort of “fad.” I do not consider it a necessary part of my Zero Carb diet, but I enjoy it and will make it whenever I have an upset stomach or just feel a desire for it. I did find it particularly helpful during the the first two weeks while I was adapting to this way of eating. I like to add broth to my meat while it is cooking also, as it seems to help my digestion.
The ground beef I buy is grass-fed and grass-finished, but the rest of the meat I currently purchase is grain-finished. I do add salt to my meat, either Himalayan pink salt or Celtic sea salt. I used a lot of salt during the first two weeks of Adaptation, but then my desire lessened somewhat. I just use as much as I want according to taste. I still enjoy being creative with my food, so I have continued to experiment with different spices. I often use the Montreal steak seasoning, as well as a variety of different Penzey brand mixtures that do not have sugar.
As far as nutritional supplements are concerned, I am not currently taking any. I am planning to go for new blood work after completing my first 60 days. If anything shows deficient, I will consider adding supplements. But, if everything looks good, then I will continue on with just real food.
I know a lot of people are concerned about the cost of eating this way, and I estimate that my monthly food expenses for me alone are around $500 a month. I am sure it can be done for less money, but I consider my health to be important and am willing to spend a little extra to purchase the meats I prefer. Interestingly, I am now spending less per month on food than I was during my last two years on a Ketogenic diet. This discovery surprised me, but with and all-meat diet there is little-to-no waste. I am no longer buying fake Keto “specialty” foods which are actually quite expensive and not very healthy in the long run.
I also use some strategies to keep costs down. For example, I purchase all my ground beef directly from a local rancher, and I watch for sales on meat and then buy it and freeze it for future use. Additionally, I have a Costco membership and I belong to a local buying co-operative that allows me to purchase certain meats in bulk. Costco has excellent prices on certain seasonal items like Copper River Salmon, as well as regular items like beef roasts.
On the subject of exercise, I have always hated “working out” and never got into the gym environment. I always felt judged and very out of place. Plus, when I was at my sickest I just didn’t feel good while exercising, and it didn’t make me feel good afterward as well. Right now, I do better with walking and general activity – cooking, working around the house and yard, taking a brisk walk at work when I feel good and I need a break.
I feel society has been very punitive against heavy people always telling them to “eat less and exercise more” – which for me turned out to be the worst advice ever. My goals in this area are many though. I used to do Volks-walking, which are 5 – 10k arranged walks that take in local scenery and are all over the world. I also want to get strong enough to do some backpacking. One goal of mine is to hike the length of Oregon on the PCT (Pacific Crest Trail).
I’ve had a lot of improvements in just 30 days!
Lost 17 pounds (it took me 4 months of keto to lose this same amount).
Lost 3.7% of my body fat.
Lost 3.5 inches off of my waist (sadly, I didn’t take any other measurements).
Cravings are non-existent, however I’m still sensitive to pictures of foods and the mention of certain foods. I can see that this sensitivity will gradually disappear the longer I’m on Zero Carb.
Reduced thyroid medications from 120 mg Armour to 60 mg (at day 15).
Fasting blood sugar down to 90 consistently (it was 100-120 before).
My joint and muscle pain has reduced by 90%. I was always at a pain level of 2-3 before and took 6 Advil at least 3 times/week. I only took Advil twice since beginning Zero Carb and they were both in the first two weeks.
I relied on caffeine for mental clarity before, but now I barely need any caffeine
My digestion was very bad before (diarrhea and malabsorption of food) – this area has improved by 50%. Also I used to have bad gas, now I hardly have any! My family loves this benefit, haha!
I used to be fatigued most of the time, but now my energy levels are stable, I can wake up in the morning and get up right away, and I don’t take naps any more.
Sleep – I used to sleep 9-10 hours a night, now I only sleep 7-8.
Depression – I had bouts of depression before, but these have been reduced by half, and they don’t last nearly as long when I do have them.
Headaches – I used to get what I call headaches but were like shoulder/neck/head throbbing tension. They completely knock me out until the next day. I had only two occurrences of this in 30 days (75% reduction), and I recovered from them quicker than before.
Allergies – it’s an early spring here, everyone has allergies even when they’re taking medications. Most of the time I don’t even need medications, but when I do feel a need for them, they work really well.
Physically – I’m more energetic, able to move around more without getting tired. Getting a lot of stuff done at home without procrastinating.
Eyesight – night blindness and evening vision has improved by 20%. I don’t wear glasses currently and am trying to avoid having to wear them.
My family and friends are very supportive. My husband said on the celebratory evening of my 30th day of this WOE (while we were eating prime rib) – “It’s like you finally found the way you should have been eating your whole life!” With the health results I’ve had, how could anyone close to me argue? They see the changes. With other people in my life, I’m not as open in talking about it yet, but I imagine that will change in the future as people notice my weight loss. I’m sure I’ll be blogging on this topic as I figure things out. Right now I just say I’m eating low carb if anyone comments on me just eating meat only.
Just commit to it for 30 days. If you don’t think you can do just meat and water at first, don’t worry, just start with meat, full fat dairy (sprinkles of it, not hunks) and eggs and your body will lead you in the right direction. Your abilities will surprise you! Be prepared for your life to change – and not just in the physical sense. My brain has changed too. During these 30 days I was grieving for food. I wasn’t having any physical cravings, but it’s like muscle memory – I wanted to eat at certain times (like in the evening) for comfort. You’re going to have to live with your feelings and not have a way to comfort yourself. But it’s worth it – the bad feelings do not last long. If I can do this, so can you!!
Kim with her supportive husband and daughters.
Please visit my Testimonials page to read the stories of others following a Zero Carb diet.
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.
Eat Meat. Drink Water. 