blue artichoke

An all-meat diet makes me feel great, until I don't, anymore.

Not long after the last post, I had a sudden and swift energy depletion. Felt like crap. Next morning, I woke up early and made bacon to eat on my way to work. I had 2 pieces (my commute is really short) and had a grumbly tummy by lunchtime. I took the new girl out to lunch at a cheery French bistro down the street, and we had crepes. Buckwheat crepe with Black Forest ham, melted leeks, tomatoes and gobs of cheese. It was delicious, but not the "meat, topped with meat" meal I had hoped for.

I felt fantastic after lunch. It is difficult for me to get enough calories on a meat-only diet, because meat is so darn filling that I rarely felt like eating. Today was better, but not by much: bacon for breakfast again, handful of pecans for a snack, a ThinkThin protein bar, and a southwest turkey soup for dinner, with some raisins and walnuts and almonds for dessert. I should probably have done without the after-dinner snack, but I was hungry and couldn't face the thought of a meaty dessert.

I've been a terrible sleeper this week, and I don't know if it is because of my diet, the time change, stress, something else, or a combination of all of the above. I'm exhausted by the time my head hits the pillow, and just as I'm about to fall deeply asleep... bam! I'm alert, fidgety, and thinking of to do lists in my head.

"Write a blog entry" can now be crossed off my list.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 11:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Image: http://www.mcphee.com/

Back on track!

Derailed by my birthday/Valentine's Day/Scotch tasting dinner/work stress/road trip to Tennessee, the last month has been a delightful exercise in gluttony, with only a smattering of guilt. Just about every cheat was worth it, except for the dark night I found myself eating a stale Kit Kat. It was gross, but I ate it anyway. I also ate at least a dozen peanut butter cookies that weren't that good, and a slice of chocolate-peanut butter pie that was sadly lacking in both chocolate and peanut butter flavor. I gained 4 pounds.

Now that I'm back home, with just ordinary amounts of stress, I'm gung-ho to climb back on top of this diet. I'm kicking off my return to primal eating with Meat Week! All meat, all week.

I started yesterday.

Saturday breakfast:
Bacon and eggs

Saturday lunch:
2 grass fed uncured hot dogs (no bun or condiments)

Saturday dinner:
Dry aged porterhouse

Sunday brunch:
Sausage and egg scramble

Sunday snack:
2 bites of pemmican

Sunday dinner:
Leftover porterhouse

I'm trying to kickstart my fat-burning by eating really low carb for at least 48-hours. (Achieved). I think I had ~30 g. carbs on Saturday (mainly from drinks - a bottle of kombucha (2 servings @ 7 g. carbs/serving) and a glass of red wine with dinner). Even fewer carbs today.

I'm trying for a whole week of only meat, but I'm not sure that that is possible, or even reasonable. It will be much more difficult to find meat-only options for lunch when I'm not working from home anymore.

I know that there is no real reason for a meat-only diet. The benefits come from eating low carb (under 50 grams), which easily can be achieved on a meat-and-vegetable rich Paleo diet. I just really like eating meat, and think a week of steak, chicken, bacon, eggs, turkey, pork, etc. would be awesome. Plus, I need to break this sugar craving.

My husband isn't so keen on Meat Week, though he also delights in carnivory. (I know carnivory was not a real word. I made it up, and now it exists). He eats what I prepare, but also supplements with condiments and vegetables.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 05:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)