The Great Zero Carb Experiment!

Truth in honesty …

Blogging is pretty weird. In essence, I’m writing words to total strangers in the blogosphere. I don’t know you, and you really don’t know me. In time, through interactivity, I hope to change that, but … for now … we remain distant.

In trying to determine how this would work, I needed to decide what to share and what not to share. I asked friends and family the following question, “Should I share about my personal foibles, ups, downs, feelings, fears and accomplishments or should I stick to food, cooking techniques and recipes?” I’d really hoped for some kind of general consensus, so that I wouldn’t have to decide on my own. No such luck. The responses were almost perfectly divided. I’d even try and pit two family members against one another, and they’d each change their mind to the opposing opinion, helping my situation… not at all.

In the end, I decided to share the scary moments and to be totally honest (you know, changing the names to protect the innocent, mind you). The idea being, someone out there probably feels the same way, and may latch onto these stories and ideas, because they can relate. Sure, it may also make me look like a failure some of the time, but… I’m human. I make mistakes. I do things wrong… OFTEN.

If I had to be brutally honest, I received some troubling news about 3 weeks ago. I baked, then devoured, more cookies than I care to count. Then, because I’d already screwed up, I ordered a bunch of shrimp tacos. Then, because… well, why not… I’m out to sea, right? Pizza sounds particularly good!

The news wasn’t as bad as all that. So, don’t worry. It’s just one of the little things I used to make excuses for myself. Another was, “Hey, you’re going to start your blog, next week. You’ll NEED to get serious when you start that, so… have a little fun while you still can!”

Pesky conniving demons…

This lasted for about 3 days (don’t tell anyone, though!). It was not worth it. I felt awful and packed on 12 lbs. in those 3 days. Since then, I’ve been following the rules of induction, and have lost 8 of those lbs., but I want to really kick start this new stretch of weight loss. It’s been about 18 months of steady maintenance. It’s time to finish what I started!

How low can I go? …

Decision time! I’m not a fit and trim guy, just yet. I’ve managed to lose near 140 lbs. by changing (not lessening) what I eat, but I still have about 30 to go.

My decision has been to try a zero carb way of eating, for 2 weeks. I’m scared, but also a little relieved. Zero carb is pretty low maintenance and is supposed to really kick start some loss. We will see!

I will post about my experience next week. I’ll also post what I’ve been eating, how it feels, was I successful, did the weight just “melt off”, etc.

What does this mean, exactly? Zero carb? Doesn’t everything have carbs?

Yes. Some.

Basically, I’ll eat meat and eggs. Broth made from bones. Chicken cooked in bacon fat. Steaks cooked in butter. Fish. There will be different spices used, like smoked ancho beef ribs, or gingery chicken broth, made with the bones of a roasted chicken, etc. The idea is to go very low, while still allowing for some variation in flavor and texture. As I understand it, this has a good way of resetting the metabolism, but also has psychological ramifications, as well. It should jump start me into a new era!

Long term, a zero carb diet will ultimately eliminate certain nutrients from the diet. Done poorly, scurvy is sure to follow. Yep … scurvy. A dedicated long term zero carber may start eating raw organ meats, in order to get a richer variety of nutrients and avoid the dreaded pirate scurvy. I’m personally planning to zero carb for 2 weeks, then go up to a clean induction, then back to ongoing weight loss (OWL).

Maybe I’m crazy. Many people swear by this, then they point their fingers at the Inuits who eat only meat and animal byproducts (and smoke like chimneys, apparently). I figure… I’ve never tried it, I’m curious about it, it’s a good time for me to try it, so… try it, I will!

This week’s recipes …

There’s a dessert! Check that out. Also, there’s a fried rice recipe that a friend raved about, when I told him about it. He was terribly excited about it, and… I gotta say… it’s REALLY delicious! Actually, they’re all really good!

Socially challenged …

I’ve been building websites for years and years. I’m not much of a designer, but I understand the technical aspects of them. Perhaps it’s because I live in Mexico, but… I managed to miss the whole social network bandwagon. I’m trying to learn!

Here’s a Pinterest Board that I’ve started. Check it out and follow along! As I see new recipes, I’ll add them to my board. I’ll also mix in my own favorite recipes. My main drive is photographs that look tantalizing! So many… and I mean SOOO MANY low carb recipes just bore me to tears. I want to enjoy my meals, so I want to present ideas and recipes that are interesting to me, pretty, exceedingly healthy, etc. In the end, I want to help you and inspire you to cut out the sugar and refined carbs, live longer and lose weight while doing it!

Finally, don’t forget to follow my facebook page. Comment on the blog, or any recipes you like, too! Email me if you have any questions. I’ll respond. I promise!

Until next week!

DJ

P.S. I also plan to experiment with a raw foods diet and a vegan diet in the future. I hear so many great things about so many great things, I feel I should experience them all and share what I’ve learned.

ALL NEW Weekly Recipes!

	Cauli-Rice When going to a low carb way of eating, one of the very first things to go is “rice”. I love rice. It’s delicious and comforting! What now?! Cauli-Rice is a rice substitute, made out of cauliflower. When I first read about Cauli-Rice, I thought, “That’s silly. It won’t taste like rice!” I avoided it for the longest time, simply because I didn’t believe it could be a good substitute …
	I Can’t Believe It’s Not Fried Rice This is one of those low carb, low glycemic miracles of flavor and texture. The “rice” used is “Cauli-Rice”, or Miracle Rice (or a blend, which I’m prone to doing). A standard fried rice, is usually a lot of rice with a small amount of “stuff” in it. In this recipe, there’s a much higher “stuff” to “rice” ratio. I assure you that it doesn’t diminish the quality, whatsoever! …
	Sausages with Stuff n’ Stuff This is another “un” recipe. It’s more just a suggestion, permission or a recommendation to snack on sausages. When reading about a low carb diet, there are many forms in which it can take. There’s a zero carb diet, there are vegetarian low carbers, there are people in induction, maintenance, etc. This is something that fits …
	Sopa sin Tortillas I live at the tip of Baja California Sur, in Mexico. There are hundreds of restaurants, here. They pretty much all have some variation on the following dishes: Caesar Salad, Tortilla Soup and Fish Tacos. Tortilla Soup is one of my favorite things to eat, on this here Earth. Unfortunately, in a land of tortillas, alas… I cannot eat them. Thus, this soup has been renamed “Soup without Tortillas”, but… in Spanish. Sopa sin Tortillas! …
	Red Chicken and Andouille Jambalaya Jambalaya is whole big thing. It’s this and that, with a touch of the other. It’s a big gurgling hot cauldron of anything from alligator and rabbit to ham, shrimp and tomatoes. It’s got its roots in the Caribbean, Africa, Spain, France and/or The Southern United States, etc. depending who you ask… There is literally no end to the way this can be made. No set combination of ingredients is defined as “Jambalaya”. It’s more a concept… and a delicious one, at that! …
	Roasted Peppers and Artichoke Stuffed Salmon Yep, I wrapped something in bacon, again! It’s interesting. As I assemble my recipes and display them, quite publicly, I’m becoming keenly aware of how much bacon I actually do eat! Yes, I buy bacon in a variety of forms. Yes, I have multiple T-Shirts proclaiming my love for bacon. I have a big bowl of solid bacon fat in my fridge. There’s no question that I love bacon, but… WOW! I REALLY LOVE BACON! …
	Pot de Crème Pot de Crème ( … meaning “Pot of Cream” is pronounced “POH DEH KREM”) is basically an old French custard. Put another way… it’s chocolate pudding! This is a nice little dessert. Chocolaty, low in carbs and can be eaten during induction! It’s baked in a water bath, in the oven. While it’s usually done in little ceramic “ramekins”, you can just as easily use a ceramic soup bowl, or even a mismatched set of coffee mugs!

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