The Next Logical Step

As a Health Coach, I want what’s best for my clients’ health. As a 61-year-old woman, I want what is best for my health. My pursuit (of health) has been quite varied through the years. For most of my younger years, it was actually a pursuit of being skinny or fitting in a certain size of clothes. You can hear more about my diet antics by listening to Episode #267 on Gin Stephens’ podcast, Intermittent Fasting Stories.

So, what does this pursuit of health look like in your 60’s?

For me, and for most of my clients, it includes Intermittent Fasting (IF). As Gin Stephens says, “It’s a health plan with a side effect of weight loss.” I absolutely agree! There is no “diet” that causes your body to get rid of and/or recycle damaged cells and old proteins, both contributing to chronic inflammation/chronic illness and cancer. Thanks to the increased autophagy from fasting, this is exactly what happens in my body.

And, IF is also simple. We don’t count anything and there’s no measuring. Just divide your day in two: eating/not eating or not eating/eating

But (you had to know a but was coming) it’s not as if you can eat whatever you want in your “window” and expect to be healthy in the long term. Sure, if you keep to a reasonable window of eating, you are likely to lose weight. The question then becomes, “What is going on inside of my (your) body?” The answer tends to lie in what you’re putting in it. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought. Based on my current health status and my age, I believe it’s time to shake things up a bit. I have Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (like SO MANY other American women), chronic tinnitus, some left foot, hip and back pain and I take a handful of supplements, daily. Looking to our future, I’ve made the decision, for me and my husband to go Carnivore. I spent the month of December educating us. Which actually means I’m getting educated and working hard not to overwhelm my husband with too much info! There is a ton of great information out there. One of my favorite docs to listen to is Dr. Ken Berry and when I have a question I go to the Steak and Butter Gal.Plus, my youngest sister has been at it for a full year and feels/looks great. She’s another terrific resource for me.

The odd thing is that I have never been drawn to meat, but lately it has sounded so good. I’ve always said, “Keto makes me feel barfy,” so I’ll be keeping my eye on that. 

The simplicity of carnivore really appeals to me.

Go ahead. Ask me. I know you want to.

Ok, I’ll tell you what we’re eating:

Meat (beef, pork, chicken)

Eggs (lots)

Fat (from our meat, butter, tallow)

Salt (on our food and in a homemade electrolyte blend)

Water

Looks pretty simple to me!

And if it’s simple, I’m more likely to follow through.

On Keto, I was counting macros, always wondering if they were in the right proportion. I had lists of foods taped to my kitchen cupboards. Plus, peeing on a strip just never gave me much information.

So- no thanks.

Another thing for me to consider is the low oxalate nature of carnivore. In 2017 I had the mother of all kidney stones. You know the pain scale of 1-10? I rated mine at 100+. Many of the vegetables that I eat are loaded with oxalates. I feel like a ticking time bomb. Sure, I have a printout of low oxalate foods that I can take to the grocery with me, but again, I don’t want to have to think about it.

I also have my husband to consider. He needs this. 

And while he doesn’t have the “stick to it-ness” that I have, I’m hoping that he feels so good after the first 30 days that he’s all in.

Here’s what we did to get ready:

Basic labs 

Extra filters for our Berkey water filter, as we will be increasing our water intake.

Gave away/threw away foods that don’t align with Carnivore. (My best friend Stacy got a windfall!)

We continue to observe and add to our list of “issues” we will monitor in the months to come.

Became acquainted with our new air fryer. Love it!

Kept (will keep) our eye out for sales on meat. Hello Costco! I also found that Jewel runs great meat specials.

I got a 21 pound rib roast for $128 on sale…usually sells for $320!

Engage with a local farmer to buy fresh eggs.

Plus our farmer heads to Florida twice/year so we get lots of Norwegian Salmon.

UPDATE: 

Today is our 6th day. 

We are currently Priming, so we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner until we feel “Thanksgiving full” or until we feel we may…no other way to say it….barf…whichever comes first. Ha!

But even still, so far, so good!

After 2 weeks we will return to IF, probably eating 2 meals/day

My husband has lost 3#

We are both sleeping better….like, MUCH better.

I made some amazing pork panko porkchops in the air fryer. 

We successfully cut up our huge roast. 

We’ve had several delicious ribeyes.

We are currently a little “gaggy” on ground beef, so we’ll back off on that a bit.

And in case you’re wondering yes, we will get all our nutrients from eating meat.

And in case the rest of you are wondering no, I won’t be pushing Carnivore on all my clients. 

But I will be available to answer questions. From my limited experience, maybe I can answer yours, too. Just reply to this email. Put Carnivore in the subject.

Thanks for your attention through this whole novella!
You're the best!

Talk soon!
Renee