Day 9

I got around 7 hours of sleep last night and felt better than yesterday, but still fatigued. A really poor night's sleep like I got on Monday night can mess me up for a couple days. The stress response from being under rested can and will make a person crave carbs. I was just craving food.

I had packed a small chicken and broccoli breakfast that satisfied me in the morning, but by the late afternoon I needed more! 

Being stuck at work means I can't go out and find food. To make things worse I work in an area where finding plain old steamed vegetables and meat without a bunch of odd additives and cooked in oils I don't want to be consuming right now (GMO canola, soy and "vegetable" oils) is an unachievable task. 

One of the downsides to this diet is that unless you're cooking it yourself there's a strong chance it's not in line with the diet. Once I surpass the 21 days I'll ease up a little bit. As a lifestyle and not a diet having to consume a small amount of ingredients that aren't ideal every now and then is a better option that completely secluding yourself from the society you live in and starving yourself when that's not your intent (ie. when you're not intentionally fasting).

So I ate breakfast at about 6:15 pm (I rarely eat this early) and waited until 7:00 pm to eat dinner. During that time I became pretty tired and hungry. If I would have had another meal packed I think I would have been fine. So I learned my lesson... again. Make MORE food in advance!

For dinner I had some amazing chicken soup that my girlfriend cooked up using 1 whole pastured chicken, garlic, onions, zucchini, carrots, celery and parsnips along with the regular sea salt and pepper. It was amazing! And I'll probably have some for breakfast in the morning as well.

Things I noticed today...

1. Scalp/hair feel better

My scalp is starting to feel different. It just feels calmer. I'm becoming way less inclined to dandruff outbreaks, my hair feels stronger and my scalp feels kind of relaxed... like it's healing. I've always had great results with the health of my scalp and hair with certain dietary adherence so this is not surprise, but it's always welcomed. 

Note: If you're interested I'll be documenting my attempt at hair regrowth over the next few months on another blog of mine at http://ineedmorehair.blogspot.com/

2. Skin tone seems different

My skin tone seems a little bit darker. Who knows... maybe I'm jaundiced lol. Possible, but I don't feel that way and it's not a yellowish tint, but more of an oxygenated look. Call me crazy. I suppose it's tough to be objective about something like this (I mean it's not like having tan lines to use for comparison) , but I am noticing a difference my skin tone.

3. Fatigue revisited

As I stated earlier... I'm tired! I have to start making sure I get enough carbs. Going very low carb was certainly not the intent of this experiment, but it has been a result to some degree. I don't want to stuff my face with food just to avoid low carb'ing because I may just overstuff myself and miss out on some of the benefits of this diet. However, I have to make sure I'm getting more carbs. My solution may be winter squash. Winter squash varieties are heavier on the carbs without the insulin spike really starchy vegetables like potatoes bring (and still in line with SCD rules). Oh and did I mention winter squash is absolutely delicious? Acorn squash, spaghetti squash, butternut squash... nom nom? Yes... nom nom.

Oh! And one more update! I excluded almost all vitamins, supplements and pills of any kind in the beginning of the diet (I took a daily probiotic and betaine HCL one time) in order to avoid skewing the blood results (I had my blood drawn Monday, day 7) and to see what the effects would be like from strictly diet. However, I'm bringing back in a few at this point.

Tonight I took:

1 wide spectrum vitamin E sofgel (Tocosorb by Jarrows)

200 mg Magnesium Malate (AOR bran)

25,000 IU Vitamin A (Thorne Research brand)

1,000 mg Lypo-spheric Vitamin C (LivON Laboratories brand)

The reason for taking this particular combination is because I was going to be playing music... LOUD music and there have been studies showing that the combination of vitamin E, C and A (in the form of beta carotene in the study which is NOT what I took) can protect against noise related hearing damage.  Magnesium on its own has also been showing to be hearing protective.

Because of my issue with hearing loss, tinnitus and hyperacusis over the past year and a few months I have to take all precautions I can to protect my ears and help improve the condition.

Another reason for taking magnesium is that I'm inclined to having hard stools. Along with the unmeasurable amount of biological processes it supports and conditions it can improve, magnesium will help to improve constipation. Some forms, more than others, will have a laxative effect. So if you're ever having an issue with constipation and increased water intake, or some good quality fat intake both aren't working try taking a small amount of epsom salts (magnesium sulfate - One of the 3 main ingredients in the method I used to rid me of my ridiculously stubborn plantar wart) in water. It should help.

I will be taking other supplements as I move forward as well to support general health and possibly and specific issues I've had ongoing. The diet should help everything to work better if it doesn't heal things on its own. For instance, the health of my hair is more reliant on my diet than anything else I've ever done to improve it. If I'm not eating right almost nothing will have a noticeably positive effect on my scalp or hair. Even minoxidil (Rogaine) barely worked until I got my diet and health moving in the right direction.

I've heard it stated a certain way before that has resonated with me ever since...

Pouring a gallon of chlorine (supplements) in a pool won't do much to make the water clear until you pull out the tree branches, leaves and plastic garbage bags. 

...Not the most elegant analogy, but I think you get the point... : )

Til tomorrow!

-Rob

Day 8 - The start of week 2

Now that I'm over a week in, cravings seem to have diminished more. I've still got quite the appetite, but when I think of satisfying food I'm thinking of tasty meat and veggie dishes and not so much candy bars or even fruit for that matter. Sure I still think about grabbing an apple when I'm hungry because it's quick and easy, but I can do without it, no problem.

Today is also the day I stop eating hot dogs! Keep in mind when I say "hot dog" I mean Applegate's The Great Organic Hot  Dog, made with grass fed beef and no added nitrates (there are still going to be naturally occurring nitrates), and not your typical hot dog you'd get at a baseball game. And of course I eat them without the bun. Nonetheless, there are still some downsides to higher quality ingredient based processed meats and I'm pretty sure my body will do better without them right now. I may still reach for one in a pinch, but I hope to avoid hot dogs way more than I did this past weekend!

Today's highlights... I was tired. Not from the diet though! I was tired because I didn't get to sleep until about 1:00 am and was up at 4:15 am. I've always been one who needs more sleep and nights like this really drain me. Since I've improved my health I've needed less sleep to function well, but there's nothing like getting a good eight hours. Especially when I get sleep like that consistently.

I really didn't notice any paramount changes in my body or mind one way or the other today. Perhaps I've plateaued a bit. As I mentioned my skin has been clearer with exception of my scalp. the skin improvements have continued and my scalp has cleared up some as well. Those are really the only things I noticed.

Here's what I ate today...

Breakfast: -Leftover veggie stir fry from last night
                 -Mashed cabbage with olive oil, sea salt, pepper and diced chives

No lunch (busy day)

Dinner: -Spicy pan fried (without oil) chicken with sea salt, pepper, white pepper, turmeric, ginger, cayenne                 pepper and some added coconut oil after the fact
            -Steamed broccoli, carrots and cauliflower with coconut oil, sea salt and pepper

So that's my day 8! Time to catch up on some much needed sleep! See you tomorrow!

-Rob

Day 7 - One Week Complete!

I made it a week! There were a couple rough days there, but it really wasn't that bad. It seems to me that my body was just adjusting to the diet and the lack of sugar.

Last night I was feeling much better and although I was craving foods that I can't eat right now I attribute that to the fact that my girlfriend and I went to see "Chef". It's the latest Jon Favreau flick all about a top notch chef in L.A. decides to start a food truck when he's down and out after a terrible critic review. The film highlights some of the most mouth watering food I've ever seen and will surely inspire one to refine their culinary skills. Although it was a very well done, enjoyable, feel good film I highly suggest NOT watching while on an all Meat and Vegetable Diet! I can't even begin to describe how badly I wanted a Cubano Sandwich last night.

Today, the cravings subsided and the fatigue has passed. I'm starting to really feel myself again, but optimized. The energy and focus are increasing again (although the focus never really diminished even while I was very fatigued), I feel strong even though I haven't lifted weights in weeks, and I have an overall sense of well being that's come on.

As I had mentioned in an earlier post I had a little skin flare up on my scalp. It seems better today, but I will keep an eye on it. The rest of my skin is fine and actually a little bit clearer than normal.

I took a trip to doctor today and had some blood drawn. I'm curious to see the results to make sure I'm doing alright. I should get them by the end of the week and I'll be sure to post them up here for anyone who's curious how a week of eating all meat and veggies could affect blood results. Unfortunately, I did not take my blood at the very beginning of the diet to compare against, but I do have blood work from 1 year ago which will do some good. Not exactly a double blind study, but insightful nonetheless. Keep in mind all our bodies are a little different.

I also noticed today that I seem to have better hand eye coordination and agility and I feel generally stronger. Over the past week my sexual desire has also increased dramatically, leading me to believe that my testosterone levels are rising. I don't believe I'm getting them tested though. I usually do, but forgot to ask this time. In the past I was able to increase my T levels very significantly through the use of diet almost exclusively.


Breakfast: Chicken stir fry with green and yellow zucchini, bok choy, red bell peppers, sea salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, parsley and some gelatin for its healing and collagen rebuilding effects

Breakfast!

Lunch: Leftover crock pot chicken breast from yesterday
                            Steamed baby carrots with coconut oil and sea salt

In between lunch and dinner snack: Applegate Great Organic Hot Dogs (No more hotdogs for me this week...)

Dinner: Vegetable stir fry with zucchini, eggplant, kale, sea salt, pepper, red pepper, parsley (No meat???  Nope, not tonight.)

Dinner

     
One last thing I want to point out is that for the most part I'm using organic vegetables only. It's very difficult to avoid eating a conventional (or possibly not certified organic) veggie here and there, but I try to as much as I can. Some of the biggest pros of this diet is bringing down the amount of toxins you put into your body, improving digestions and thus absorption of nutrients, and increasing the amount of nutrients you put into your body. The overall result is detoxification (I'm very reluctant to call this a detox diet because of the recent emergence of fad detox diets aimed primarily at losing weight). So why wouldn't you want to avoid as many toxins in your food as you can?

So like I said if organic is an option I will opt for it. Although I've had only organic for the most part, I'm sure I'll end up eating a little conventional produce here and there. If you're going to try this diet I suggest trying to stick to organic too.

Anyway, that's a wrap! 1 whole week is in the books! I can't wait to see what 14 days brings!

Check back and comment below!

-Rob

Day 6

Today I was still fatigued, but not nearly as much as yesterday. I'm improving in that area. However, today I got hit with some pretty intense cravings for sugars. Not necessarily table sugar, but even a piece of fruit. Normally this would be a healthy option and I would simply grab a piece of fruit and bite into it guilt free. But I'm on a mission that I intend to finish! Meat and veggies all day!

In addition to the sugar cravings and fatigue that's still lingering around I noticed a big old pimple right on top of my scalp. In the past I've had issues with scalp pimples, but normally only when I eat a lot of sugar and dairy. Other times I've had reactions on my scalp like this have been during high dose MSM experiments and other methods of detoxifying. So I'm hoping this is a good sign.

Today's meals:

Breakfast: The leftovers from last nights gourmet meat and vegetable diet

Lunch: Applegate Great Organic American Hotdogs (I can't seem to stop eating these things. Maybe I should...)
           Steamed zucchini, green beans, onions, carrots, yellow summer squash with coconut oil and sea salt

Dinner: Crock pot chicken breast on the bone with basil, rosemary and sea salt
              Steamed yellow zucchini and steamed broccoli crowns

Post Dinner (I'm still hungry!): Another hot dog, a raw green juice and a steamed artichoke

Although I had a moment or two where I wanted to give in today, I fought past those craving and pushed ahead.. I'm hoping the craving pass soon and I can really start seeing some benefits moving forward. I'm sure I'll find out soon if meat and vegetables are as healthy as the only foods in my diet as opposed to as the foundation of my diet, with fruits, nuts and seeds eaten here and there as well.

That's all for tonight! Until tomorrow!

-Rob

5 Days in!

One thing I noticed when I woke up this morning is that my skin is clearer and feeling smoother. However I was very tired and fatigued today. I'm thinking that it may have something to do with getting over the hump of cutting out almost all sugar after being somewhat reliant on the sugar found in fruit as well as occasional use of raw honey and maple syrup as part of my normal diet.

Intermittent fasting the first two days of my meat and veggie diet and eating such low carb those days may very well have played a large roll as well.

I was also ravenously hungry today. Every time I finished eating I thought I would be satisfied, but an hour later, with fatigue rearing its ugly head again, I was craving another meal. It wasn't until I cooked a big gourmet meat and vegetable diet meal with my girlfriend tonight that I finally felt some satisfaction. I think I have to make sure I'm getting enough carbs and calories in general as I continue on through the diet.

Hopefully I restored some glycogen stores and the fatigue will be gone tomorrow!

Here's a quick rundown of what I ate today:


Breakfast - Freshly juiced cucumber juice
                    Applegate's Great Organic American Hotdogs (They're so good and so quick) an hour later

Lunch - Pan fried grass fed beef burgers with Great Lakes gelatin, sea salt and coconut oil
              Steamed zucchini, yellow squash, green beans, onions and carrots with coconut oil and sea salt

Dinner - Organic chicken breast cooked with gelatin, sea salt, pepper and parsley
               Steamed baby carrots with coconut, sea salt and pepper
               Mashed cauliflower with coconut oil, sea salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and parsley
               Sauteed bok choy, zucchini, onions and garlic topped with olive oil after cooking

Here's what this gourmet (at least gourmet to me) dinner looked like...

Meat and Vegetable Diet Gourmet Dinner

And that's it for day 5! I really upped the calories with dinner and expect to be feeling more energized in the morning. We'll see...

-Rob

Note: If you have any questions or input make sure to comment below! 
     

Day 4

I should mention that last night I had slight bit of nausea again, but it was less than Day 2 and more of a gas thing

Today was my day to sleep in. I didn't get to sleep until about 1:00 am and slept until around 8:45 am. I took a probiotic first thing when I got up. I took a different kind which I find to be one of the only probiotics I've ever taken that's had a noticeable effect. It's called Dr Ohirra's.

For breakfast I started with a green juice, consisting of kale, celery, ginger and dandelion. Not necessarily the most appetizing drink, but it will give you a nice feeling of wellness right after drinking it.

For lunch I had some steamed cauliflower, carrots and zucchini with coconut oil and some grass fed beef pan fried burgers with sea salt, pepper, parsley, cinnamon (amazing secret ingredient) and Great Lakes Gelatin for some awesome gut healing, stress reducing, collagen building goodness.

Grass Fed Cinnamon Burgers!

I had an early dinner which was quite similar to lunch. Grass fed beef with similar spices, but a little heavier on the gelatin and cinnamon and steamed carrots, zucchini, yellow squash and onions. I usually mix everything together in a bowl with coconut oil and some extra sea salt and it tastes awesome. you can think of it as a hot salad... sort of.

I also had a decently active evening and night and was very hungry when I got it. All I had to eat was a package of Applegate's Great Organic American Uncured Hot Dogs so I ate a couple of those. It was a late night meal and I don't particularly enjoy partaking in late night meals, but hey... a guy's gotta eat. The ingredients are actually very simple and in line with the all Meat and Vegetable Diet. And to top it off they're made with grass fed beef.

Applegate Great Organic American Uncured Hot Dog ingredients:

Organic Grass-Fed Beef, Water. Contains Less Than 2% Of The Following: Sea Salt, Organic Spices, Organic Dehydrated Garlic, Organic Dehydrated Onion, Organic Paprika, Celery Powder.


Some of the changes in my body I noticed today...

1. Small amount of scalp inflammation

This, like all the other negative effects I've noticed so far, was very minimal. It comes in the form of a few very small blemishes and is usually a sign of detoxifying for me. At the start of a new strict diet it usually comes on and then fades away. My scalp will become less prone to dandruff and itchiness and my hair will become stronger. I expect this to be the case this time as well.

2. Short lived fatigue

I had a period of about an hour in the afternoon when I was feeling extremely tired. Other than that I had great energy all day. I don't know why it came on, but the fatigue could have been due to 2 late nights in a row, not drinking enough water, not getting enough carbs in the past few days or possibly a blood sugar low from the green drink in the morning. Regardless, it passed quickly.

3. Almost no ringing in my ears

Even after a night filled with loud music exposure the ringing in my ears has gone down even more. I had a brief period today where my hyperacusis seemed to worsen, but that's how it goes with this issue. In fact it coincided with my fatigue. Anytime I get stressed it seems to get worse so that makes sense to me.

4. Teeth are feeling stronger

They seem to be looking whiter and are certainly feeling stronger, but that's all subjective.

5. Very thirsty

Due to my low carbing over the prior days I may have dehydrated myself a little bit. This is a common symptom of ketosis or very low carb diets. No worries. I just drank some more water and felt better.

As briefly mentioned earlier, this could also explain the fatigue issue I was having this afternoon.


Anyway, I'm off to bed. I'll check in with you tomorrow!

-Rob

Here's the wrap up on Day 3...

I feel highly energetic and even more focused than the last two days!

Yesterday I probably only took in around 15 grams of carbs tops after a 22 hours fast. So I've been on a really, really low carb diet. I don't like doing that, even though it does have some benefits.However, I've been incredibly busy and haven't planned well for my meals.

Today I didn't start eating until 11:30 am which is somewhat typical for me. I had some bone broth (tremendous benefit from this) more crock pot chicken breast on the bone which was leftover from last night and some steamed zucchini and yellow squash with coconut oil and Celtic Sea Salt (I should have mentioned this before, but Celtic Sea Salt is by far my favorite tasting sea salt and it's unrefined, just as sea salt should be, meaning you get a bunch of other minerals with the sodium chloride you take in).

Tell me this isn't the happiest zucchini you've ever seen...

Smiling Zucchini

That was all I had until dinner at 5:45 pm. I started with another fresh pressed cucumber and celery juice and then had some steamed carrots and the rest of the leftover chicken from last night. I can't wait to change it up tomorrow and cook something a little more interesting.


So now for an update on how my body is reacting...

1. My stank is gone

If you read yesterday's post then you probably took note of the fact that I STUNK yesterday (maybe it wasn't that bad, but I smelled to some degree for sure). Honestly, if I would have used some good deodorant I probably would have been fine, but I haven't used regular deodorant in a while and I don't really need it a lot of the time so long as I'm eating healthy. Regardless, the body odor part of the transition seems to have passed for me. That may change if I eat a head of garlic, but for now I'm good.

2. My itchy nose is gone

I didn't notice one urge to scratch my nose all day. I think I made it past that little die off effect. I'll report if it comes back.

3. No nausea or diarrhea at all

I don't think I really need to expand too much on this, but I had a very short run in with the two yesterday. I seem to be passed these as well.

4. Zero congestion

I had a little yesterday morning. Today I was completely clear. What's significant about this is I spent late last night vacuuming an old dusty, cat hair ridden couch and the rest of an enclose room with no windows and I really didn't react at all. The last time I did this in the same room (about a month and a half ago), I had a horrible asthma attack.

5. My TMJ jaw felt better

Yesterday I had an issue with a sensitive side of my jaw due to long lived TMJ. It was gone today and I feel much better. I hope it gets even better as inflammation in my body comes down further into this diet.

6. Ringing in the ears and hyperacusis have improved

This is big for me. It was somewhat expected, but I didn't think I'd notice such an improvement so fast. My ringing is very, very low and only noticeable if I plug my ears with my fingers and listen for it for a second or two. My hyperacusis (sensitivity to sound) is doing better too, but still there for sure. Now, I can easily take a step backward again just by eating the wrong thing once or exposing myself to too much sound so I'm still going to be very cautious, but this is really encouraging.


And here are some new negative changes...

1. Small amount of anxiety (late night didn't help)

This is a new one. I woke up feeling really tired and somewhat anxious. I was up late last night (Wednesdays are always late for me) and woke up early, only getting around 5 1/2 hours of sleep. I can usually do ok with that amount of sleep, but it's in no way ideal and seeing as I've been eating so low carb I think my body could have used a little more sleep. Anyway that passed by 8 am or so and I ended up very energetic and focused all day. Once I ate I felt even better.

2. Odd vibration sensation on left side of tongue

This was weird. I had never encountered this before. It only lasted for an hour or two in the afternoon and came on intermittently during that time. Of course, I Googled it quickly and the first thing I read about it is that it can be indicative of some sort of central nervous system damage. I took a fall this past Friday hitting my head very hard (I believe I had a concussion) and getting pretty bothersome whiplash, so that may have something to do with it. I seem to have recovered quite quickly as I have no headache or neck pain and it's only been 6 days at this point and it was after I started the diet that my progress really took off. However, I can't make any real connection between the two other than interesting observations. I'll keep an eye on the tongue vibration thing.


So all of these changes in my body have taken place after only 3 days of this diet. This just goes to show how much what you eat affects you. I hope things start to get even more interesting in the coming days! Stay tuned!

-Rob