Wow! 16 Weeks Carnivore. Next week, I will hit my 120-day mark as a carnivore and will post measurements and new photos. This week I will share this month’s modifications.
Disclaimer:
The following is intended as a discussion and exploration of our personal health and our experience with a carnivorous way of eating and is not meant to be taken as medical advice or to suggest a cure or treatment for any disease or illness. The positive benefits listed are not guaranteed and should not be expected. This is an n=1 experiment. All bodyweight exercises discussion is for informational purposes only. If interested in this practice, please educate yourself thoroughly. Also, seek advice from a qualified holistic or medical professional. We do not accept liability for damage or injury that may allegedly arise from any information or suggestions herein. As with anything, taking yourself to extremes can be very dangerous unless you are well trained and know what you’re doing.
Modifications with Food
Over the past 16 weeks, I consumed beef daily to maximize nutrient intake. I transitioned from eating primarily steaks to more ground and shaved steak choices. As summer turned to fall, we reduced our consumption of chicken wings which we ate to supplement more meals during the summer.
With my amazing results over the first 90 days, I decided to include some cheese with my meat meals. Initially, I eliminated cheese knowing it triggered cravings for me. Now, I never eat it standalone. However, I find that it enhances my shaved ribeye like nothing else.
Honestly, I want to see if cheese negatively impacts my weight loss for the month. Cheese does seem to trigger cravings still, but not to the point where I can’t reset my mind to something else.
For about a week, we attempted to eliminate coffee. Then the weather started to get cold and dark in the morning. So, we returned to drinking morning coffees, but use much less butter than before.
16 Weeks in – Adjusting Our Water Source
We have non-palatable tap water in our present living situation (soon to change). Due to this, we drink 100% bottled water. We maintain a fluoride free household, so we have always been limited on options as well. For the most part, we have been drinking the mainstream alkaline, and electrolyte type waters supplemented with non-fluoridated spring water. We experimented with several varieties of unflavored carbonated water over the past 16 weeks as well. The mineral content of each water type and brand varies.
My husband mentioned that after drinking water, he often felt more and more thirsty. I recognized that I experience the same issue. So, we tracked the different combinations to see if we could narrow down to a solution. Calcium chloride seemed to be a common denominator. We looked into the data on this additive, and it has drying qualities.
In search of new water, we found that our local store’s generic brand of club soda has a better mineral content than the other brands we used prior. Our non-carbonated water continually resulted in calcium chloride roadblocks. Ultimately, we decided to switch to distilled water as our primary drinking water.
The distillation process removes the minerals and impurities from the water. This will rob the body of some minerals while processing, so worth keeping an eye on for now. Considering our all-meat diet is mineral rich, we don’t have initial concerns. But, we will monitor our success with distilled water.
At first sip, we noticed that distilled water is less drying than other types. With winter coming, maybe removing calcium chloride will eliminate dry skin. Guess we will see. 🙂
To be clear, I am not recommending distilled water. The decision lies in your personal situation and what is necessary for your best health. We share our personal experiments for informational purposes only.
16 Weeks in – New Digestive Supplements
Starting this past week, we began to include ox bile supplementation with each meal. I had my gallbladder out six years ago, so for me, this should be standard practice anyway. My husband suffers from some chronic issues related to a late Celiac diagnosis. Ox bile supplementation has been shown to help some of those symptoms. Hopefully, with our increased ability to break down all of the healthy fats we are eating, we will see even more improvements.
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