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**Catin** · (This post was last modified: 11-18-2009 03:38 PM by Catin.)

Hi! I've decided to post a table of progress and bare bones facts on the top of this post since it's the first one visitors will see.

In short:
*I was LC/Atkins '72 Induction from summer 2008.
*I started ZC in August 2008. I kept having cravings and falling off, and while it might have been adaptation pangs, I decided to buck up:
*I went beef, fat, and water on December 26, 2008 (it was a weird date to pick but I kept it up).

I used to eat 3, then 2 times a day. I currently eat once, at most two times a day.

11/17/09 update:
I'm at 13 months after starting ZC, and about 38 days shy of 12 months of meat and water.

My current meats: mostly beef, but with some pork belly (fried/baked crisp) added on for the crunch factor. Right now I'm on a ground beef ("GB", the 73/27 or ground myself from chuck pot roast shoulder) and ribeye steak combo (I get the whole slabs from Costco).

Pork ribs don't make me nauseated or give me digestive trouble any more, but they don't fill me up quite the same way as beef, so pork overall is back in as an option but in the "explore" category, not a staple.

I tried chicken and I can't make it work--thighs, legs, doesn't matter, it's just leaving me hollow, lol.

I was pretty low-energy for the first 8 or so months of ZC, and now am feeling much better. No significant weight loss (yet) but I've seen too many other benefits to stop now, or ever.

That's it for now!

**********************************************************************
...a lot of the questions low-carbers and starting ZCers ask remind me of the psychological stages of death and dying by Kubler-Ross that also apply to major changes in life and loss:

1. Denial "I'm not addicted to carbohydrates. I can take them or leave them. I don't have a problem with carbohydrates/sweets/starches." (JM for one, and those who don't think the taste of sweet and insulin control matters)

2. Anger "Why do I have to do this? Why can't I just keep doing what I was doing? Why are you in my face about this? I hate you! You're wrong about me and carbs!" (JM again, and a lot of low carbers confronted with "ZC may be the only way to save your health")

3. Bargaining "Can I have one taste? One food item? I can't give up my diet soda. I can't give up my coffee and cream. I'll just have one a day. When I get to goal, I'm going to eat ______ again. When I lose ____ lbs I'm going to have _____ again. I'll just drink alcohol/eat carbs when it's a social event, so I fit in."

4. Depression "I'll never have ____favorite food again! Live is too short to deprive myself of my favorite (carby) foods, isn't it?"

5. Acceptance "Hey, I feel really good on ZC. I may never need to eat anything else ever again....and like it!"

6. My corollary: Love "I love eating meat and water. I love the way it makes me feel. I love my ZC life."

*****************************************************************************

10-13-08
Hey everyone! Congrats to Charles and the mods for their hard work in getting this board up and running! Looks great.

About me: tried everything out there--calorie restriction, low fat, lots of exercise, fasting (aka starving), etc. I used to binge eat carbs and well, it wasn't pretty. Veggies always made me gassy, and starch always made me bloated and lethargic, but I was brought up to eat "all things in moderation" and lots of veggies. and to go easy on the meat even though as a kid I loved to eat meat and even used to go straight for the fatty bits of pork.

I was reading Taubes's GCBC during Atkins Induction a couple of months ago and closed the book thinking that since I seemed to have high insulin resistance and high sensitivity to the slightest bit of carbs in the diet, why not go ZC? And I looked up ZC...found the old forum...and now I'm here.

So far, I've noticed that some of the foods that suck me away from ZC and thus are forbidden (at least until I get to target bodyfat) are:

*Figs. - I've been thrown off my ZC-adaptation twice now, once by fresh figs and more recently by innocent-looking dried figs. Which pack about 10-30 carbs of mostly *sugar* per fig, and I'd start with one, then five, then seven... Ouch.

*ice cream - I used to love this, but now I've tried it a couple of times since starting ZC, and every time I like the taste of it less than I thought I would have.

*chocolate - I also used to love this, but I don't crave it any more like I used to. That said, I still find the conditioned memory of liking it hard to overcome.

and of course everyone's favorite,

*bread/cake - bad news all around.

I'm on day two or three (have to look in my journal) of ZC, back on track after derailing myself with two of the three above in most recent days. I've been falling off and getting back on the past six weeks, and now I'm determined to stay on ZC.

The hardest part is still the eating out/eating with others thing, and I've yet to be settled into ZC enough to turn down some food in front of me.

The good news is that when I do "fall", I eat much less and stop sooner because the carby stuff isn't as satisfying as fat and meat.

Also, I notice that lately, I prefer beef fat *cold* better than *warm* now. It goes down better. Weird!

con · 10-13-2008, 10:28 AM

Hi Catin,
We have a fig tree in our yard we've been trying to kill for years--finally gave up--it's here to stay. I should learn to like FIGS-- in case of an earthquake they may just keep me alive!! LOL
CON

Living_healthy · 10-13-2008, 10:48 AM

Haven't had a fig in years. Use to love the mock strawberry fig jelly.

10-13-2008, 11:01 AM

Hi Catin,

Figs...we used to mainline dried figs and dates, with a raisin chaser. With hindsight, I could probably almost feel the insulin climbing even as I ate, but I didn't know any better then. I banished anything like that from my life as soon as I started on LC, but my wife still buys them for herself. If I catch sight of them in the pantry, I can almost feel myself reacting, but fortunately, I have not been tempted.

Fresh figs are slightly different, and perhaps in moderation might be ok, but I know that I could not do them in moderation. Or indeed any fruit.

10-13-2008, 12:21 PM

It really does get a lot easier with time, at least for me. But, I am still human. Every so often something still looks tempting, like candy corn!

***Charles*** · 10-13-2008, 01:15 PM

Welcome to the forum, Catin! Thanks for the kind words. We look forward to helping you on your journey.

Regards,

Charles

10-13-2008, 01:25 PM

(10-13-2008 12:21 PM)suzanneyea Wrote: It really does get a lot easier with time, at least for me. But, I am still human. Every so often something still looks tempting, like candy corn!

Oh, yeah, I hear ya on the candy corn! It's everywhere right now, and I (used to) love the stuff! Undecided

***Charles*** · 10-13-2008, 01:26 PM

Hey, Jenn! Welcome to the forum,

Charles

**Nyteez** · 10-13-2008, 01:58 PM

(10-13-2008 12:21 PM)suzanneyea Wrote: It really does get a lot easier with time, at least for me. But, I am still human. Every so often something still looks tempting, like candy corn!

Candy corn was my favorite candy, but as I got older they must have changed something because they don't seem as good anymore. Has anybody else noticed this? Dodgy

MAC · 10-13-2008, 02:07 PM

(10-13-2008 01:58 PM)Nyteez Wrote:
(10-13-2008 12:21 PM)suzanneyea Wrote: It really does get a lot easier with time, at least for me. But, I am still human. Every so often something still looks tempting, like candy corn!

Candy corn was my favorite candy, but as I got older they must have changed something because they don't seem as good anymore. Has anybody else noticed this?

Yes. Even before I went low carb I noticed these things are TOO SWEET!!