Alexander McKinney's Blog, page 4

Carnivore – Day 17

Hanger steaks for the win. I’m focusing on how much I enjoy hanger steaks and ignoring how far supermarket bacon has fallen in my eyes. If all goes well I’ll be curing my own bacon again on Thursday or Friday. Not the greatest of tragedies, but when you’re not eating a huge variety of food, I think it’s important that you like the food that you are eating. For morale if nothing else.

That aside, I stayed below 220, my sleep was better, and my gastro adjustments didn’t rear their ugly heads today. Overall I’m feeling pretty positive about this situation. I’m trying to gauge what would be a realistic weightless to hope for going forward, and what a realistic weight would be. I’m about 6’2″ and I’m aiming for under 200 lbs, but I’m very curious to see what this way of eating does to me. I’ve got sunlight induced migraines, and sleep apnea, I’ll be delighted if either of these conditions improve.

SW: 229.4 lbs

CW: 218.2 lbs

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Carnivore – Day 16

Under 220. That’s a nice feeling. Granted I’ve seen enough gentle ups and downs in the last two weeks to expect it to be erased tomorrow, but it will stay under eventually.

Still struggling a bit with sleep, and mild gastro issues, but nothing unexpected. All told my adjustment symptoms have been milder than I’d expected before I started.

Finished the last of the homemade bacon for breakfast… and am now sadly contemplating store-bought for breakfast. Homemade really is that much better. I need to get more pork bellies to solve this little problem.

SW: 229.4

CW: 219.8

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Carnivore – Day 15

I think my taste buds are shifting. I had some cold leftover piranha for breakfast, and the fat tasted… fine. Not delicious, but much better than large streaks of cold hard fat usually taste. This was expected, but is another factor that will probably improve my enjoyment of the lifestyle

I also had my first gastro issues today. I was wondering when they’d crop up. Hopefully that phase will be short-lived as there’s nothing nice to say about it.

My weight went up for my two weekiversary, and it was nice to see it back down today. I’ve read that the body focuses more on healing that on weight loss at first, so I’m trying to focus on things like migraines, joint pains, and other miscellaneous injuries that I’ve picked up in my 37 years. I can say that my skin seems nicer, I had a few blotchy marks on my left hand that are gone.

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Carnivore Diet – Day 14

Two weeks! A small victory, but a victory nonetheless. Today hasn’t been much different than any other day, but there’s only 52 weeks in a year, and I’ve made it through 2 of them. I really do feel like I’ll be able to go the whole circuit.

Yes, I’m still struggling a bit with sleep, and yes, I have felt a bit of a malaise towards my food, but this is okay. I feel confident that my sleep will improve, and that my interest in steak will resurface. I think the disinterest comes about more because I’m full from breakfast as much as from anything else.

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Carnivore Diet – Day 13

Sleep was again disrupted, but slightly better than before. I’d planned on reading a book, but just as I got to bed a wave of exhaustion hit, and I rode it to sleep. I also found that when I woke through the night, it was easier to get back to bed. It might have been the magnesium glycinate that I took, so I’ll stick with that for a few days and see how I feel.

Apart from that, 13 days, and not quite 9 lbs. That’s pretty good, for zero effort and no feelings of restrictions. I’ve never had so much flatiron steak in my life. Tomorrow I think I might mix it up with some picanha. It is worth noting, that I was somewhat, disinterested in food today. I ate more because I felt that I should, rather than because I felt I needed to.

SW: 229.4 lbs

CW: 220.6 lbs

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Carnivore Diet – Day 12

Sleep. Sleep last night was odd. Specifically it should have been poor. The kids had me up, as did the “Electrolyte Imbalance” I’ve read about afflicting people in the early stages of carnivore, so between the kids room and the bathroom, I must have been out of bed 4-5 times between midnight (roughly when I managed to fall asleep) and 6:07, when the kids decided to be awake for the day… but I woke up oddly refreshed.

This was not unwelcome.

Perhaps I’m going through some adjustment that makes me need a little less sleep.

…or perhaps it was a fluke.

I’ll know soon.

Also, I made cookies for a friend’s son’s birthday. 80 of them. You’d think that after 12 carb free days that the cookies would have been unbelievably tempting, but they weren’t. I’m getting increasingly optimistic that I can do this for a year. Hopefully I’ll feel that way next week.

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Carnivore Diet – Day 11

Hunger up. Intake up. Weight down. I was surprised by the first two, but if the extra hunger and eating are accompanied by weight loss, I assume this is just more of my adjustment period. My sleep continues to be rough, but it’s a survivable problem, for now.

Apart from that, I’m enjoying the bacon that I cured, smoked and fried, I’m not sure I can go back to store-bought.

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Carnivore Diet – Day 10

My sleep has deteriorated. I struggle with insomnia, so this might not be the diet… but I’m hoping it is, because if it is I can expect my sleep to improve within a week or three, otherwise it might be trickier.

The scale also jumped this morning, but this isn’t a weightless diet, it’s an elimination diet that happens to help you regulate your weight. I was expecting ups and downs on this journey.

Nuisances aside, today I finished curing some bacon and was able to enjoy the fruits of my labours after throwing a 6 lb slab of pork belly on the smoker for two hours.

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Carnivore Diet – 9 Days In

I woke up today and wondered, “Where are my sugar cravings?”

As someone who has spent time in ketosis, and even water fasted I’m no stranger to a low carb lifestyle, but I’ve found that even on a low carb diet I hear the siren call of carbs chipping away at my will, but on carnivore, it’s almost weird, I’m just not feeling the temptations. Long may this period of ease last.

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Carnivore Diet – 8 Days In

I’ve decided to embark on the carnivore diet for one year. I’m still feeling this process out. There’s a lack of clear information on how other people execute the carnivore diet. At its simplest, the diet is literally meat, fat and water.

I’m not going to do that.

I like condiments and spices. At the very least salt and pepper are a must. I see hot sauces in my future, and I’m not giving up egg yolks, if only for the hollandaise.

Still, that’s all besides the point. 8 days in, and I’m not feeling hemmed in, tired or frustrated. This lifestyle is satiating, satisfying and easy. I’ve already cut out dinner, not as a conscious choice, but because I’m full from breakfast and lunch. It’s only 8 days in, less than 2% of a year, but for now, I feel like I can do this.

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