GASTROPARESIS

Hello Everyone,

It's been a little while since I posted.  I am having some dental work done.  This will be an ongoing for the next month or so.  I want to talk a little bit about it and the cause.

About 3 years ago I was diagnosed with level two Gastroparesis.  I know that I spoke of this before but for those who are unaware this is what it is. 

Gastroparesis is the delayed emptying of the stomach. It's a disorder that slows or stops the movement of food from your stomach to the small intestines.  It is nerve damage to the stomach which is how I was told.  

One in 100,000 people have this condition.  I went undiagnosed for years thinking it was other things like GERD or my gall bladder.  I finally found the right doctor and had a nuclear test study done which revealed the condition. There are 4 levels I have level 2. When you eat food generally moves out of the stomach within about 3 hours. For me I still have almost 50% of my food still remaining. 

I had great discomfort when I ate and pain that would leave me bedridden. Now I know it was because food was pulling up and not able to move out so I had loss of appetite and other issues like IBS.

I of course asked what has caused this condition. Mostly people who have diabetes, hypothyroidism, nervous system disorders and so on get this condition. I don't fall into any of these categories except for having damaged nerves from an injury. I suspect I have had some form of this for years. The doctors don't seem to know why I have it.

I take medication to help with stomach motility and acid build up. It helps and I have discovered that the carnivore diet aids with managing the acid in my stomach and I no longer have issue with IBS. It turns out that low fiber diets help with may gastrointestinal conditions and contrary to popular belief you don't need fiber in your diet.  My  husband and I do just fine without it.

Because meat, especially, red meat, is the most nutrient dense food I am able to maintain my health better with a healthy weight ,lower blood pressure, and lower cholesterol. I still find it difficult to eat enough protein some days because of this condition but I am getting better at it. 

One of the sad results of having this is the deterioration of my teeth.  I had no idea this would cause so much harm to them.  The acid reflux and vomiting over the years has really taken a toll on my mouth. I am fortunate to have found a good dentist who says it's her job to save my teeth and not judge me. What a breath of fresh air.  So I am currently moving forward to do all that can be done because oral health is important to overall health.  I want to continue to enjoy steak, chuck roast and other meats as we are meeting our health goals.

Remember Jesus is Lord, God is in control and only Him do we serve.

Rock on carnivores!! 

INFLAMMATION

 Hello Everyone,

Today I am going to touch on the subject of inflammation. What is it and how it affected myself and my husband and how carnivore lifestyle is helping it.  You may find similarities between our experience and yours.

The definition of inflammation is: a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot,and often painful, especially as a reaction to injury or infection.

That's a pretty complete definition but inflammation also affects the gut and weight fluctuation. Joint pain is another area of inflammation that many of us suffer with. Having had 3 back surgeries my  spine is often in pain.  This past year my husband experienced terrible knee and shoulder pain.

Last year I noticed my weight having big fluctuations of 2-4 lbs on different days.  I was counting my calories back then and couldn't account for this.  I knew I was not over eating and I was walking regularly. I felt like a 2-4 lb weight gain overnight didn't make sense to me since I tracked what I ate and how much to only lose it the next day or two. 

I started searching YouTube for other carnivores who experienced the same thing. My Zero Carb Life is an excellent channel ato follow. Kelly Hogan has been a carnivore for over 13 years and she is a coach who collaborated with other doctors and coaches. Go check her out .She has a wealth of knowledge. There are many others like Belle the steak and butter gal.

This is when I started to learn how food can cause inflammation in your body. I can show up as weight gain, swollen hands, feet and so on. 

I started tracking the what food I ate and how I felt and what the scale said the next day. I know that many people say weighing yourself daily is not good. This time it was because now I have working knowledge of the effects of different foods on me.

Now, food affects everybody differently. What you can eat I may not be able to and visa versa. I discovered that grains, sugars, all carbs and nuts inflamed me. Eliminating these foods led me to the carnivore diet. I believe this is the ultimate elimination diet.  As I started to remove foods I thought I just can't give up peanut butter. Well, I noticed big weight gain the days I had it. finally February 2022 I said ok no more peanut butter or anything else that's not meat based. 

Now I was in a stall at this time. Up and down even as much as 5 lbs overnight!! That month I dropped 7 lbs of pure inflammation.  I didn't change my calories just the type of calories I was eating.

My husband started carnivore this past year and so much inflammation came off of him that his wedding ring slipped right off his finger. Fortunately, he was in the house when that happened. He also noticed his knee pain greatly improved.

Give it a try. start eliminating processed foods and sugar and see if you experienced any benefits like we have.

Remember, Jesus is Lord, God is in control and only Him do we serve.

Rock on carnivores!!! 

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!

Hello Everyone,

Happy Valentines Day fellow carnivores.  We will be celebrating at home tonight.  We did go out for breakfast and I enjoyed a meat only omelette.  I did not have any of the sides as they were bread and potatoes.  

You can go out to eat and make good choices for yourself and enjoy the company of others while they enjoy their food. Like I said previously, being a carnivore for us is not a diet but a lifestyle. We do not push it on others but we also don't apologize for the way we eat.

We have run into people who say to us , oh, but you are missing out. The question is what am I missing out on? Being sick and vomiting all night? Being bloated and in more pain than usual? My husband is not missing being a type 2 diabetic nor does he miss having high cholesterol. 

Would I say these things to people? No, that would be rude.  We just say that we feel better eating this way.  I might have a talk with family members who persist in asking them to respect what we are doing to improve our health.

Let's face it family or friend gatherings shouldn't be about food but fellowship. So, we usually bring extra meat with us to eat because we don't expect others to cook to our dietary needs. We have never had any issues and if I find myself in a position where I was not able to bring or find carnivore foods I simply abstain.  A little fasting never hurts anyone.

This Valentines Day enjoy being with the ones you love.  We need to do that every day. We will be enjoying a Tomahawk steak for dinner tonight.

Remember, Jesus is Lord, God is in control and only Him do we serve.

Rock on carnivores!!

EATING MEAT

Hello Everyone,

After my attempt at being vegan I decided to add meat back into the equation.  I listened to people like Dr. Ken Berry, Dr. Anthony Chaffee. Dr. Shawn Baker. Dr Jason Fung and many others before going all in on carnivore.

It was during the second year of my journey that I stopped eating other foods.  I thought that I could not live without peanut butter.  I still had it on a limited basis but it was my Achilles heel.  I really thought that I could keep on eating it and lose weight and I did but boy did it slow me down and I finally gave it up.

Going on an all meat diet was not as hard as I thought.  I had some aversion to red meat having been eating  a SAD diet for so long.  I had no idea how sugar and processed food would dull your tongue. Actually, I believe those foods kept me addicted to them and caused me to crave them and not healthy food. 

I went through strong withdrawals about 2 weeks into my diet change.  I actually had the shakes!!! I found myself crawling into bed so sick I thought something was really wrong.  After a couple of days I started to feel better.  I stayed on course and after a month my cravings slowed.  

Two years in and now I don't have those cravings. If I slip and eat corn chips or something those cravings all come flooding back. Some people can moderate.  They have no trouble eating just a little and walking away.  I am not that person and I am not alone. It's all or nothing with me so I choose nothing and I feel better for it. As long as I don't taste it I can abstain from it.

I begane carnivore with eating a lot of bacon and eggs.  Hamburger was also on the menu as was pork and chicken. I still keep a few hard boiled eggs on hand if I feel the need for a snack. 

I still feel into the mindset that boneless and skinless was the way to go as was low fat.  I have learned otherwise.  Saturated fat is not our enemy polyunsaturated fats are. Going meat based is going whole foods. Any time you eliminate sugar and carbs you will feel better. The thing is to track how you are responding. Better sleep, reduced inflammation, better focus and of course weight loss are some of the benefits I have experienced eating only meat.

My husband has also gone carnivore this year and the changes in him are amazing.  He used to be type 2 diabetic, used to have high cholesterol and his high blood pressure is reduced.  He also lost weight and the inflammation that has come off of him is amazing. last year he had to get his wedding ring cut off because his hands were so inflamed.  We got him one of those rubber wedding bands people are wearing now. Well, so much inflammation came off of him that the ring slipped right off his finger and is now big for him to wear.

Our doctor was very skeptical when I told her how I was eating. My first seven months in she wanted to check my cholesterol. She thought I was going to have a bad number but it actually came down.  After 2 years she is looking forward to taking my husband off of more medicine. He is off 4 of his 7 medicines. 

I will be getting my yearly blood work done this coming week and will share those numbers.  

Remember, Jesus is Lord God is in control and only Him do we serve.

Rock on carnivores!!!!

IT'S BEEN THREE YEARS!!

 Hello Everyone,

Today marks 3 years since I started this journey to lose weight and regain my mobility. I have had my ups and downs but overall I feel blessed and successful.  

I began this journey realizing that I needed a change if I wanted to age gracefully and enjoy what years The Lord has left for me on this earth before joining Him in heaven. Being able to be up and about with my loving husband, children and grandchildren is priceless.

Three years ago I realized how bad my situation was. I was 59 and losing my mobility. I weigh 258 pounds and could believe that I had gotten that far gone. I needed help getting out of a chair, in and out of the bath.  Standing and cooking was a struggle. Doing household tasks was very difficult.  I felt like I was losing parts of my life.  Thank you Lord that I now have them back.

The first year I lost 30 lbs. I began walking and could not walk far. I persisted and started to walk my neighbor's dog and by the end of that year I was walking 3-5 miles a day.  Because of my three level fusion and nerve damage I should only have been able to walk 1/2 mile.  

Philippians 4:13

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

The second year I lost another 20 lbs and continued to walk daily. 

The third year I have lost another 24 lbs. My disability has decided to try and bring me down .  Long walks have been difficult but I am walking 2 miles. 

Beside the weight loss there are a number of non scale victories.  Being able to bend up and down easily, doing housework, riding in a car, cooking and enjoy the fresh air outside and my husband's company. These are only a few victories.  Yes, they are victories when you have felt like a burden.  No more, I participate in life and not watch it go by.

 Now, 62 I went from 258 pounds to 184 pounds. That's 74 pounds gone!!  I went from a  2-3X shirt to a large.  I wore 22 pants and now wear size 13/14.  I have more to go but I am getting there. 

Jesus is Lord, God is in control and only Him do we serve.

Rock on Carnivores!!

VEGAN OR NOT TO BE VEGAN

Hello Everyone,

When I decided to take more control of my health one item on that agenda to tackle was my digestive issues.  i knew that I had IBS but no diagnosis about what was going on with my stomach.  Over the years I saw different doctors with no answer.  Finally, we now have an internal medicine doctor who sent me to a GI doctor for further help. 

This doctor did not repeat the tests that were already done but looked them over and decided on a nuclear test. This turned out to be a 2-3 hour test.  I had some food that was sprinkled with a nuclear drug and they scanned my stomach to view the contents. Every half hour they would rescann my stomach to see how much of the contents my stomach was able to move out. This went on until the test was completed.

I returned to learn the results of that test and I was diagnosed with Gastroparesis level 2.  Normally when you eat your stomach has motility and moves all its contents out in about 2 hours. In my case I still have over 40% of the content still sitting there.  I have nerve damage to my stomach. She started me on 2 medications. One for stomach motility and another for overactive stomach acid.

She recommended that I eat very soft foods. So, I decided to try vegan and eat very cooked vegetables thinking that meat would be harsh on my stomach.  I was wrong. My daughter who is vegan was very happy for me to try this.  I did enjoy my food but my body didn't enjoy eating it.  The high fiber caused all kinds of trouble with my stomach and IBS. I did this diet for several months and became too sick to continue it.

I went back to Google and Youtube and watched videos from various doctors to get more answers. I found the carnivore diet.  Now most doctors and dietitians tell you not to eat to much meat.  These doctors said something else. Meat was part of the proper human diet. I went to The Bible to see what God had to say.

Genesis 9:3

Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you.  I have given you all things, even as the green herbs.

Here God gave the command to eat meat and plants.  No where did He ever rescind that.  I am not anti vegetable.  On the contrary if I could I would eat them. Having a diet of only meat had healed me of IBS and greatly helped my Gastroparesis.  It has also healed my husband of Type 2 Diabetes, and high cholesterol. He is off 5 of the 7 medications he was on.

Is a carnivore diet a cure? No, I don't know what is but this way of eating has made a positive impact on our health.

God Bless you.

Rock on carnivores!! 

THE BEGINNING

Hello Everyone,

In February of 2021 I really started my journey. This is how it looked for me at the beginning.  I did a lot of research on different diets.  Now, many people don't like the word diet because it connotes diet culture. I like to think of it as different ways of eating because that is what a diet is the way you eat. 

There's a lot of talk about calories in and calories out. to lose weight you need to eat in a calorie deficit. That word DEFICIT sounds a little scary to me but that is what it takes to lose weight. Well, I was not sure what my caloric intake was then and I wasn't sure what it should look like.

Thanks to Google and BMI calculator I discovered that I was morbidly obese!!! Yikes!! My BMI was 41.6!!  It was a wake up call and a good one.  I was never over weight until my injury and I still thought of myself as that smaller person even though I could see in the mirror that I wasn't.  Funny how we trick ourselves into justifying the things we do. 

I came back to reality of my situation and purposed to change.  I was getting myself into a position of being a burden to others because of my weight gain that inhibited my mobility and inability to take very good care of myself or others.  The realization that I need to lose weight to get around and function became stronger than the need to "look good".  We all get our whys which push us to change and I got mine.

The first thing I did was get a free app to track my calories since I didn't have a good idea of what 1200 calories looked like. I didn't start my journey as a carnivore. At first I just began eating less and tracking what I was putting into my mouth. All the food was on the table then. I cut out sugar and processed foods.  What a positive impact that had.  

I lost 11 pounds in the first 2 months and my doctor was concerned that I was sick.  I laughed at that and said I lost it on purpose.  I guess she had gotten used to people not wanting to change and was pleasantly surprised. 

 Looking back I can see now how people just want the doctor to fix them with medication and go on their merry way.  I wanted to change that and I hope you do too.  There are those out there who have been overweight their entire lives and think that is how it is I can't change nor do they want to.  I am not talking about people with extreme situations that are a challenge to live with. But, then again I am also challenged and am making the change.  You really have to get your head in the right place to make the switch from unhealthy to healthy.

 Having always been an active person I know how freeing it is to not have the extra weight.  I remembered those days and am working on getting back to them.  Not to worry I am winning and getting my mobility and life back.

God Bless you all and remember that Jesus is Lord, God is in control and only Him do we serve.

Rock on Carnivores!!!