Question and Answer Page!
I thought it might be nice to set up a Question and Answer page for people that might have questions, comments, or support regarding following a zero carb keto diet!
Note that I am not a doctor, this is not medical advice, just my own personal opinion!
And of course, please keep comments respectful and civil!
To participate, please click "Enter Your Comment" under the Comments area below on this page. Then I will get a notification and can reply to you! You will be given an option to receive notification by email of any followup replies to your comment.
Thank you for reading!
Note that I am not a doctor, this is not medical advice, just my own personal opinion!
And of course, please keep comments respectful and civil!
To participate, please click "Enter Your Comment" under the Comments area below on this page. Then I will get a notification and can reply to you! You will be given an option to receive notification by email of any followup replies to your comment.
Thank you for reading!
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Grassfed lamb ribs with sea salt |
Hi Mellie. I really enjoy reading your blog and all the information that you provided. You said you eat three times a day. What amounts specifically do you eat at each meal? How do I make sure my fat to protein ratio is right? Grassfed beef is very expensive. I can only afford grassfed ground beef on sale and it is 85% lean. How can I increase the fat? I have adding lard and tallow. If not grassfed, is commercial beef ok? What is ballet barre?
ReplyDeleteHello! Thank you for commenting! If you are not already using one, I recommend using a nutrition tracker like Cronometer.com. You can get a gram food scale and weigh your foods. Then Cronometer will show a pie chart with your fat ratios. I also use a calorie restriction calculator online, and practice between 15-20 percent calorie restriction. For my age and weight, that comes to about 100g of fatty meat per meal. You can try finding grass fed beef and lamb through local farmers at farmers markets or through eatwild.org (and sometimes realmilk.org though it is for milk, some also sell meat). If you cannot find grassfed, then prime or choice beef would be fatty enough, but the fats would not be as healthy and it does not reflect the animal's natural behavior. You can try buying a whole lamb share, for me that was just $6.70 (US ) per pound. Also grassfed beef tongue is fatty and usually only $4 per pound. Oxtail can be fatty (you have to check though) and is usually cheap too. Ballet Barre are exercises that you do at the bar (I just place my hand on a piece of furniture), such as plie, battement, fondue, rond de jambe. It is fun and really builds strength and balance without equipment and develops a lean, graceful physique. Please let me know if you have any other questions! Thank you again for visiting!
DeleteI have used Cronometer, but how can you be sure that the nutritional information is accurate? I usually go off the label on the package of meat. In each serving of 100g of meat, the fat to protein ratio is different. Each piece of meat varies. How much of the 100g is fat and how much is protein? Do you add additional fat to the 100g of meat and if so, how much? I have also been weighing my food for years now so I have a scale. Do you divide up your portions of meat ahead of time? Is it 100g weighed of raw meat or cooked meat? I am trying to eat more fat and moderate protein but I still feel hungry often. Also, my lips are dry, my mouth is dry, and I am always thirsty. But when I want to drink water, my stomach is still full of the fat and meat and it gives me a stomach ache. What about raw meat? I might be around the same age and weight as you. I am 40 years old and between 95 to 100 pounds. Do you take height into consideration? Do you suggest I try to following what you are doing? I took at look at the restriction calculator and found it to be confusing. Are tongue and sweetbreads hard to cook? What about fatty steaks like rib eye? Is lamb fattier than beef? I have been sticking to ground because it is the cheapest grassfed I can find and the fat is already combined in there.
DeleteSince you are careful about what you eat, what about beauty products? What do you use for makeup, shampoo/conditioner, lotion, lip balm, etc.?
DeleteWhen you weigh out the 100g does that include the fat and the bones? 100g is about 3.5 ounces, so do you only eat about 10.5 ounces a day? I'm sorry for all the questions. I appreciate your advice.
DeleteI like using Cronometer, because choosing "beef roast with visible fat" instead of "sirloin steak, lean only" will show different results for fat/protein ratio. So as long as I have entered the right type of cut, I feel like it is giving me a correct fat/protein percentage. I try not use any added fats at all, as much as possible. I just try to choose cuts that naturally have a lot of them in them on their own. The 100g of meat that I eat per meal is after cooking. If you are hungry, then you might need more fatty cuts. Yes, you are about the same age and weight as me! I am short (5' 2"), so if you are taller, you will need to eat more calories. The calorie restriction calculator should help you find out what baseline calories you need with no restriction, I use this one: http://scientificpsychic.com/health/cron1.html. Have you tried plain seltzer water? I find that refreshing sometimes! I have tried raw meat, making a kind of simple carpaccio with some sirloin steak. I just very lightly seared it on either side, then sliced it very thinly. But it still seemed too lean for me. Tongue is very easy to cook, I just put it in an empty crockpot for 12 hours. Then take it out, let it cool, and cut the skin off. Then you can slice it and reheat it for each meal. Great with some good salt! Sweetbreads are parboiled, cooled, then the membrane pulled off and torn into pieces, then you can roast it in a toaster oven till cooked through. I have tried rib eye but I still find it too lean. I find ground beef too lean, too. Lamb is fattier than beef. One other fat that is not quite zero carb, and is plant matter, but I seem to do okay with here and there, is this unsweetened coconut cream with no additives: http://tinyurl.com/y7kn3yn2 (I can't handle ones with gums in them though!). But that is just as a last resort, since it does not have the vitamins and minerals that animals fats do. Oh, and if you can eat eggs, egg yolks have a good fat/protein ratio on their own!
DeleteP.S. Re: quenching thirst; you might want to experiment with different waters. Sometimes certain spring waters can be more refreshing because of their mineral content. Also, keeping a carafe of water in the refrigerator makes it more refreshing too!
DeleteThank you for answering. I look forward to gleaning more from your experience.
Deleteif you don't mind my asking, about how many calories to you eat in a day? Also, I can't afford a glucose monitor or ketones testing monitor. How can I track those?
DeleteI usually have around 1100 calories per day. You should be able to find a glucose monitor fairly cheap, for example here is one at CVS that is just $8: http://www.cvs.com/shop/home-health-care/monitors/diabetes-monitors/cvs-health-true-metrix-go-meter-kit-prodid-1310077
DeleteSorry I did not get two of those comments until just now! Re: beauty products; for shampoo and lotion I use Alverde, a drugstore brand from Germany, which tends to have very high quality products with few chemicals. I order them through getsomebeauty.com. I use locally handmade soap. For makeup, I do not wear much, just a little eyeliner and lipstick, and for those I use Zuzu brand at the local health food store. Re: the 100g per meal; that includes the fat (which I eat), but not the bones (which I do not eat). And yes, I eat about 10 ounces of food per day altogether.
DeleteThank you. I will look into this brands. As far as the food, you feel full on just 10 ounces? Do you think that when you increase your exercise you will eat more?
DeleteDo you ever get negative comments from family and friends about they way you eat or comments about your size like, you're too skinny, or you're unhealthy, etc.?
DeleteYes I feel full on 10 ounces as long as it is fatty enough. If I do increase my exercise I would increase my calories some.
DeleteI have not had people say that I am too skinny or look unhealthy. People seem to understand that I am doing this for my gut health.
DeleteHi Mellie, do you have any suggestions for dealing with cravings when starting out this way of eating ?
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting, Jacinta! First, it helps to rid your home of any temptations. Also, be sure that you are getting enough fat, either by choosing really fatty cuts, or having extra fat on the side of lean cuts. Good quality fat will help you feel very satiated and content! I also find that sea salt is very satisfying with my fatty cuts. A nice small piece of fatty, succulent meat with a little sea salt is very fundamentally satisfying! The sea salt helps round out your micronutrient and electrolyte needs, so your body will be happy and satisfied! Thank you again for visiting and commenting!
DeleteI have my three children that live with me so it is very hard to get rid of all the temptations. It is difficult at times, but it gets easier to avoid all the other stuff.
DeleteIs your fat to protein ratio still 75/25 or 70/30? I have been trying to stay around 80/20 but it is hard to find meat cuts fatty enough. I end up adding tallow or lard on the side. Should I start out slow when doing calorie restriction like at 5% and then increase over time? Did you start at 20%? Why that percentage? Also, you said you still have menses and with a bodyfat % of 14. I am trying to get my menses back. I heard that a ketogenic way of eating could help bring my hormones back to normal levels. Have you read anything about that?
ReplyDeleteSo you have a busy lifestyle? On the restriction calculator do you select sedentary or lightly active since you do the ballet barre? I don't mean to get personal, but may I ask how much you weigh? I am 5'3'' so I realize my weight and calories will need to be a little more, but not by much. I am just trying figure out a good percentage of everything.
Thank you for visiting again! I am doing about 70/30 fat/protein. I started out at 15-20% calorie restriction. There is also intermittent fasting, some people prefer that over constant calorie restriction. Both are supposed to offer health benefits. Personally I find calorie restriction easier. I find it hard to eat bigger meals. I started at 20% calorie restriction because I read that is a good percentage to be able to still get the benefits, but be able to maintain for the long term. Yes, I have read that ketogenic eating should help regulate hormones. I definitely feel that it has for me. My menses is far, far easier than it was before. I have a fairly busy lifestyle. But I select sedentary on the restriction calculator. For "lightly active" it says you should be burning 590 calories a day with exercise, and Cronometer just shows 90 calories burned with the ballet barre. I weigh 95 lbs and am 5'2".
DeleteThank you for your response. I really appreciate how open and honest you are. I too find it hard to eat bigger meals. It just leaves me feeling uncomfortable like I have a brick in my stomach, sometimes in pain, and, this sounds crazy, but makes me want to eat more. I don't know why that is. I read that many zero carbers are eating just two or even one big meat meal a day. I will stick to three smaller meals. I will try to lower my fat/protein ratio from 80/20 to about 76/24 starting today and see how it goes. Maybe that will make the calorie restriction easier. Any thoughts?
DeleteI want to add that I really appreciate and enjoy your blog!
Thank you! Yes I know what you mean! And yes, try 75/25 or 70/30, that works better for me than 80/20. Thanks again for visiting!
DeleteIn your experience, and from what you have researched, what are the benefits to calorie restriction? Are there still benefits at just 10% or 5%?
ReplyDeleteThe studies seem to show that calorie restriction helps reduce inflammation and delay aging. They seem to show greater benefit as the restriction is increased.
DeleteYou probably already said this in one of your posts, but, what made you choose calorie restriction over intermittent fasting of eating in a shorter 6-8 hour window? Could both be combined?
ReplyDeleteWhen I tried intermittent fasting, I felt like it was too much food within too short a period. My gut seems happier to have the meals spaced out a bit. I keep my three meals within a 12 hour period though. I eat at roughly 5am, 12pm, and 5pm with no other snacks or anything.
DeleteThat makes sense. Would doing calorie restriction along with eating in a 6-8 hour window be too much? Does the smaller window equate to calorie restriction or would it be the same amount of calories? I'm a little confused.
DeleteI am trying to lower my fat to protein ratio but I am so worried that I am very insulin sensitive and that the increase in protein will have the same effect that carbs do. Do you think that could happen? Is the only way to check that by using a glucose monitor? I just seen angry and hungry and moody lately. Possibly low serotonin? Could it be that I am not eating enough? Are my ratios off? Any thoughts?
DeleteAlso, sorry about the previous question about IF. After reading back through my questions, I realized I had already asked about it. I think the question was a little different. Anyway, I am apologizing ahead of time if I re-ask a question. I appreciate your patience.
In regards to your first question, in my research it seems that calorie restriction equates with intermittent fasting. So you really only need to do one or the other to get the same benefits.
DeleteIn regards to your second question, yes, it is true that protein can have the same effect as carbs. In my personal experience, if I get hungry or irritable, it is usually because my meats are too lean and I am not getting enough quality fat. But yes, it could be too that you just need more calories. On the other side of it, if I get really drained and feel like I have no energy, it is usually because I do not have enough protein. So there is a happy medium in between. You could experiment with having a few carbs, such as in eggs or even trying the coconut cream that I have mentioned, and see how you feel after that.
Thank you for your thoughts and advice. You are right. I will have to do some experimenting. By the way, I am reading "The Vegetarian Myth", which I am glad you recommended. It is informative and enjoyable.
DeleteWhich do you think is more satiating, protein or fat? Have you ever gone onto other zero carb forums or facebook groups? If so, What is your opinion of them?
ReplyDeleteAlso, I realized after writing you a a bunch of questions yesterday, that you talked about some of it in a previous post. I must have missed all your comments on the days before. I apologize. I am still hoping that you will answers the questions. I would really appreciate it. I am so interested in what you are doing so I can figure it out for myself and heal. Thank you.
I think fat is definitely more satiating than protein. Yes, I have gone to some zero carb forums. They are usually a little different than me because I am also interested in staying in ketosis.
DeleteI do not see any questions from yesterday, please try posting again! Thank you!
Oh no. I wrote a really long post with tons of questions. I will try to remember what I asked. Some of the questions you kind of answered in todays post.
DeleteI am wondering all about the lowering protein and going to two meat meals. Are the two meals still the same as before? Could it just be three small meals with meat? If the third meal is just a spoonful of marrow, how are you still eating the same amount of calories? So you are still eating about 1100 calories a day? How much at each meal? Still 100g of cooked fatty meat at two meals? I'm still trying to compute that in my head to add up to the same calories as before. Are you still doing a 20% calorie restriction? So you were going to aim for 50g of protein, but now 40g? How many grams of fat at each meal and in a day total are you having? Can you give me a complete rundown of your day and meals, in detail, so I can get a better picture? I'm trying to follow what you are doing. I get really confused trying to figure everything out. My body is all messed up and I can't read any signals.
If cancer does not run in my family, should I still do this and will I still benefit from it?
I'm sorry to hear about you losing your mother to cancer. That must have been very difficult for you.
I finished reading The Vegetarian Myth and now I am going to read Defending Beef by Nicolette Hahn Niman. Have you read it?
I am doing two fatty meat meals of about 100g or less, then the "dinner" I'd about 15g of beef marrow. It still comes to around 1100 calories because marrow is so calorie dense and the fatty meats are too. I am trying for 40g protein but it is really hard to be that low. Meats are often ust too lean. I will have to see if I can keep it that low. I might have to eat smaller portions then add marrow too. Three meals of meat makes the protein go too high. Even if cancer is not in the family, Dr Ron Rosedale recommends this lower protein intake for anti-aging and overall health. I do not think I have read that book, I will look for it!
DeleteP.S. Sorry for the typos, I am using a very small screen at the moment!
DeleteWhere do you get the bone marrow? Is it really expensive? Also, what would the 100g of meat be raw? Do you know? Is there a way to figure that out? I weigh all my meat raw and go by the protein/fat percentage that way. Are your meals each about 366 calories? Sorry for getting so specific.
DeleteFor me to stay at my same calorie intake (which I still haven't figured out what exactly that should be), for each meal and lower my protein to about 42-43g a day, my third meal would have to be 43g of lard or tallow. That would put me at a 86/14 fat to protein ratio. That would be with about a 15% calorie restriction. I am just nervous about it. I don't want to restrict too much (past eating disorders and body distortion) but I don't want to eat too much and put weight back on and loose health benefits. I am so frustrated! Any suggestions?
DeleteLately I have been ordering the marrow bones online. There is just one farmer two hours away that has it. Yes, it is kind of expensive, but I only eat small amounts at a time (15g). To find out what 100g would be raw, would really depend on how much fat or water is in it, so it is hard to say. When I was doing three equal meals a day, yes, they were around 366 calories each. But now with trying to do a lower protein intake, I am still tweaking it. Now the two meat meals are bigger and the "dinner" is just 15-20g of marrow. I would not find lard or tallow by itself very palatable and definitely would not be able to eat 40g of it all at once. Maybe coconut cream which is much more palatable.
DeleteMellie, I've watched the videos on your youtube channel and I'm looking forward to more - Great job!! I 'm 49 and carry all my weight in my gut, past diet and exercise routines yielded little to no results cutting the fat from my mid section so I decided to try this.. I've now been on a zero carb diet for 10 days and I've lost 5lbs. so far and have no problems sticking to this way of eating however I fear in time I will grow tired of the food options. Do you have any pointers on food preperation or recipies you plan to share on your youtube channel. I've found a few on youtube but they are scattered and not always zero carbs as they claim to be. Thanks, Joe
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joe! What great results! I do talk about some food prep ideas throughout this blog, but you are right, I should make a video. I am also thinking of self-publishing a "cookbook", and have gotten started on that. Main thing for me is that if the meat is good fatty beef or lamb, slow cooked, with some good quality salt on it, I never get bored with that!
DeleteThank You for the qucik response and details, I also browsed your blog and like you siad there was even more info that will help me. I'm excited to hear about the cookbook I think your book would be the only zero carb book that only conatins meat, something I've been looking for and I'm sure many more people are too , I wish you success and can't wait till it's done, Thanks Again!!
DeleteThank you, Joe, for the nice comments! You have inspired me to get moving on my cookbook and make a video too!
DeleteHi Mellie. I agree with Joe. An all meat cookbook would be so very helpful! I also would like to see more videos from you. Some requests for videos would be; a video of your ballet-barre routine, a video of when you purchase your lamb share, food prep from starting with the raw fatty meat, to cooking it, to the cooked meat and weighing it out on your scale, to sitting down and eating; a video showing how you track everything on cronometer and what items you choose; a video of how you use the various online calculators, etc. I really like all the pictures of the cooked meat on your website. They are very up close and I really can't tell what the actual portion looks like, so that in a video would be great. I am a very visual person so any helpful videos would be very much appreciated. Maybe even a video of "A day in the Life of Mellie". Your blog has been a life saver! Thanks so much for sharing your wealth of knowledge. I look forward to the cookbook and videos!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lori! Wow, so many ideas! That's great! I will work on putting these all together!
DeleteHi Mellie. Is your cholesterol high? I ask because I just had some lab work done and my total cholesterol was 308mg/dl, my HDL was 95.2mg/dl, and my LDL was 189mg/dl. Does that seem really bad? According to that it puts me at high risk of heart disease ( or so the results specify). My cholesterol/HDL ratio was 3.23mg/dl and the LDL/HDL ratio was 1.98mg/dl. What are your thoughts?
ReplyDeleteHi Lori! Yes, my LDL is high. My HDL is very good like yours. My triglycerides are very good. I also have very excellent parameters in all of my other blood markers. Just to be safe, I had a CT scan and a tri-vascular scan and I got perfect scores on both. So that alleviated my concerns!
DeleteThanks for the feedback. I'm not worried. I know that these numbers are good. They just might prevent me from getting a low premium on life insurance because the world sees the numbers as bad. Its so frustrating! Also, my glucose was 69 but my A1C was 4.5. Shouldn't my A1C be lower?
DeleteThat's a really good A1C! And your glucose is great!
DeleteThat's good to hear. I wasn't sure so I thought I would ask. Thank you Mellie.
DeleteHi Mellie. I need your advice, again. haha. Lately, my food doesn't taste good anymore, like it has no flavor. My mouth has also been really dry and kind of pastey feeling. Also, feeling a little bloated in between meals. I'm thirst, but can't drink too much water because my stomach is too full already. I have not changed anything that I eat. Has this ever happened to you? Any thoughts?
ReplyDeleteHi Lori! I wonder if you might just need to mix things up a little. Do you have an Asian grocery store nearby and do you like fish? I have found salted Atlantic mackerel fillets in the frozen section that are affordable and they have good amounts of fat. CJ brand is one that I like, the mackerel is usually from Norway and it is available at my local Korean market.
DeleteP.S. Here is a nice article on Atlantic mackerel: http://blog.grasslandbeef.com/bid/84538/The-Superfood-Fish-You-Should-Be-Eating
DeleteThanks Mellie. Maybe I do need to mix things up and use salt. What salt do you get and where do you buy it? I know you said there are several different salts you use, but do you have a favorite?
DeleteMy current favorite salt is Baleine Fine Sea Salt, and I find it at my local Lucky's Market.
DeleteMellie, This might be coincidence but since I started eating only meat I've had increased pain in my shoulder. I do have problems with it when working out but the pain will last for a day after an upper body workout then pass, the pain is now constant. I haven't changed my routine only my eating and I'm not sure if it's related. Have you had any experience like this??
ReplyDeleteHi Joe! Sounds like maybe something is causing some inflammation. What kinds of meat are you eating? For me, I think pork, poultry, dairy and eggs can cause inflammation.
DeleteP.S. I thought of two other possibilities! One is that your protein intake might be a little too high, causing glycation. So you might want to make sure your fat intake is a little higher and protein intake is lower. Another possibility is that you could be cooking at too-high heat, that can cause AGEs (advanced glycation end products).
DeleteI know since starting this I've been eating way more chicken than before and growing tired of it. I've read that you prefer red meats, I think I'll try that and cut out the poultry for a while and see if that helps. Thanks again and Happy Holidays!!!
DeleteHi Mellie. Ever since I have been reading your blog you have pretty much posted everyday. It's been almost two weeks since your last post. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not upset about it, just worried about you and wanted to check in and make sure your were ok. I hope all is well and that maybe you are just on a fun vacation. Thanks Mellie.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lori! How thoughtful! I have been involved in some conferences. Should be back to it soon! Hope you've been well!
DeleteHi Mellie! Just wondering if you are still doing carnivore and do you have any updates ?
ReplyDeleteThank you! I was doing great on carnivore, but recently had to go off because of budget constraints due to retiring early. My hope was to try raising geese for food out on my off-grid property, but it is a lot to take on by myself!
Delete