"These Five Words I Swear to You:" "Now, Don't Dream It's Over"

Saturday, July 27, 2024

Usually, I'll listen to music as I write. Occasionally, it'll inspire me thematically to interweave them into a blog post. Today was different. This time around, I had already wanted to combine two songs for the title. Unsure about the second selection and its fit, I turned toward Spotify. I THEN saw it generate before me those very same two songs within the first 5 songs in Daily Mix 4. That settles it: I'm riding with Bon Jovi and Crowded House.

Last night, I watched a YouTube stream that features both Dr. Ken Berry and my favorite, Kelly Hogan: ANIMAL FAT MAKES WOMAN LOSE WEIGHT with Kelly Hogan

From the show notes:

Kelly Hogan struggled with weight her entire life. At age 25, she suffered from frequent boils and cellulitis, weighed 262 pounds, and was at a loss of what more to do. Her family physician saved her life by telling her to avoid carbs and to eat meat. She lost 130 pounds, was able to conceive and deliver three children. Her mission for the past 14 years has been to share the same message that was shared with her by her doctor and to offer hope to those that suffer from inflammation, sugar addiction, obesity, and diet-related illnesses.

Kelly’s Coaching Groups: https://myzerocarblife.com/
YouTube Channel: / @myzerocarblife
Kelly’s Instagram: / kelly_hogan91

The YouTube stream is a refreshing dialog; Kelly brings a lot of joy to this world. It's so...weird that she does because there's just so many hatemongers in the world, people who tear down and clamor toward the top...who fling gravel behind onto people below them in this foolish climb. I absolutely love her approach of "Hey, this worked for me; see if it works for you; keep doing whatever if it's working for you." And despite 14 years on a carnivore diet with a 5'9 133-lb frame, she continues to seek what she can do to experiment and improve her diet. That's INTJ level stuff!

As I write this, Kelly released this rubber-meets-the-road video:

Fat-fasts, Lean Days, Bone broth, and Carnivore tricks that give RESULTS

(I bet her ears were burnin' a plenty with me talkin' about her!)

I've done my share of fat fasts, as my Fat Focus days were twice a week. I find Kelly's application of every other day for 12 weeks to be intriguing, though that would be a spirit-challenging achievement! She lifted during that same span to gain muscle as her body fat numbers dropped.

Simply remarkable.

As for me, my new approach toward sardines totally works for...I'M NOT SENSORY WRECKED. Win? That 3 or 4 day sardine fast where I ate four sardine cans a day could have been sustained further even six weeks with how I approach them now.

See, I throw a can in a Ziploc bag, toss in a tbsp of bacon fat, dump in a tsp of my 1:1:2 black pepper, salt, cayenne mix, and then just a packet's worth of mustard. Shred it up, let it hang out in the fridge for 1-2 days, and then throw it on a skillet for a few minutes.

That sort of preparation has enabled me to add another can to my day!

But, I find that I'm drifting away from what I've done since October—I'm a little nervous. Yes, now there's the black pepper and cayenne reward for hitting the 199 mark; I'm not a purist anymore (as if I ever was with this coffee). There is a lot of little things that I hope won't build up into a monster.

Still, there's another: I use Cronometer's access to NCCDB (Nutrition Coordinating Center) and in doing so, I find the beef liver I eat each day gives me a whopping 8-10 carbs a day compared with the 0.8-1.6 daily average I've had for all of these months. Not all databases jack it up so high.

Today is also my first full day of supplements:

  • Iodine (~300 mcg)
  • Potassium (2000 mg) via a tsp of NoSalt
  • Cayenne extract (1600 mg) + cayenne powder (1.5 tsp)
  • Ginko biloba extract (400 mg)
  • Turmeric curcumin extract (1000 mg)
  • Caffiene (400 mg) via 32 oz of coffee

Lastly, I finalized the rewards to my small victory conditions. There's some special elements that I didn't reference in that recent post. On my Fit page, I list these:

Rewards for Achieving Small Victory Conditions

  1. @199 lbs (2005 & 2021)
    • Black pepper
    • Cayenne
    • Mustard
    • To do: Develop my own spice mix base.
  2. ★★ @189 lbs (2021)
    • All pepper powders
    • Vinegars
    • Green/white teas
    • To do: Develop my own hot sauce base.
  3. ★★★ @179 lbs (1997)
    • All seasonings
    • Flavored water
    • Black/oolong teas
    • To do: Augment my spice mixes and hot sauces.
  4. ★★★★ @169 lbs (1996)
    • Limited heavy whipping cream
    • Limited cheese
    • Herbal teas
    • To do: Develop my own jerky.
  5. ★★★★★ @163 lbs (1995)
    • Something from 1995's 163:
      Raise a Snapple Zero Sugar Peach Tea to celebrate life at 17. Cherish the memories of that world and honor the people whose presence remains in my heart.
    • To do: Tell December '03: "We did it!"

"Broken Halos," the "Warm Machine," and the "Knight Rider"

Friday, July 26, 2024

Writing in this weblog is always a curious thing for there's no audience beyond posterity. It is somewhere between a textual photo album and landscaping.

There are interests out there that subscribe to the use of the word blog, food blogs, for example, but this conveyor belt of dates format is not appropriate. What they really want is a series of pages irrespective of the date. But lack of education funnels them into using a popular CMS that was built for weblogs and *TADA*, there is a whole industry of "bloggers" who don't blog.

And how did weblog become a verb anyway?

Curiously, photo posting services like Instagram play the weblog role, which is a HORRIBLE vehicle to express ideas!

I miss the way things used to be. Oh the appreciation I would have behind the wheel of a DeLorean and down the hallways and stairways of my life!

Past memories, days of old:
Seesaws, slides, the monkey bars,
Dances, dating, and first cars;

I wish I could bring the world back to Fall '95, my senior year of high school. Yeah, I was dialed into the Internet with my 28.8 baud modem which my 2021 fiber was 34,722 times faster. But it wasn't 34,722 times better.

I miss a world where the Internet was just something geeky we did on the side, not unlike my running this Jekyll/Markdown site.

Work, and times of fun and play:
Tests, teachers, big papers due,
People, pests, and "How 'bout you?"

The Internet was hardly life! Today, it is our relationships, our news, what we're told what we should think, what we should do. If we do not follow the mainstream collective, then the response to us is rage, rage, rage. They The machine knows no other.

She was sittin' beside the ocean
Looking out at the waves
Watching how they keep on rollin'
But always seem the same

She called and said she'd been thinkin' about
All those quiet country nights
And whatever she thought was so wrong with me
Suddenly seemed all right

-Montgomery Gentry, She Couldn't Change Me (2001)

We drive through the tech noir; our cities are seemingly abandoned. People have become mindless NPCs. They even share the same dialogue.

I remember a time when we had our quiet spaces. We didn't run from ourselves. We had to face ourselves in the mirror to the silence of an electric hum.

Aside from my favorite author Anne Jacobsen's Nuclear War: a Scenario (2024) annihilation aside, I suppose for most of us on this planet, a world before a commercialized/monetized Internet will never be a reality again. Just think, the Mosaic Internet was given away for free to break out from CompuServe and dial-in bulletin boards. Today we pay-to-play with paywalls, ads, and our personal data. And just maybe we shoved our souls across the counter.

Have we lost ourselves?

True individualism is lost to stamped labels. For all the uniqueness people claim, it's all tedium.

As what was once sung at a hazy coffeehouse for me, "For all the things you're losing, you might as well resign yourself to try and make a change."


Breakfast of This Champion: Rocking Like a Hurricane

Thursday, July 25, 2024

Supplemental

It's 2018 all over again, for today I purchased again, a two-a-day pill case. But, not for prescriptions—no, I'll never need THAT in my life, but I'm rolling on the supplement game!

"And the crowd erupts in a thunderous roar of elation!"

Now By the Power of Meat, I Have the Power, what I already eat is effective, but I want to see if I can enhance myself further.

Gentlemen we can rebuild him
We have the technology.
We have the capability to make the world's first bionic man.
Better than he was before.
Better. Stronger. Faster.

The Six-Million Dollar Man

This list is incomplete, but this is the opening salvo of my campaign:

  • NoSalt® Original Sodium-Free Salt Alternative - for increased potassium.

I'm trying out the Pure Supplements brand. They offer the supplements you want. Just that. Throw it into a gelatin capsule. Done. Seems like an obvious thing,

  • Ginkgo Biloba (10:1 400 mg)
  • Turmeric Curcumin (1000 mg)
  • Cayenne Pepper (400 mg)

Then there's some old stuff that shies away from a serving suggestion:

  • J.CROW'S® Lugol's Solution of Iodine 2% 2oz

This stuff appears to be powerful. I ran ChatGPT to figure out my dose:

Weekly Iodine Requirement

  • Daily Iodine Requirement for Adult Men: 150 mcg
  • Weekly Iodine Requirement: 1050 mcg

Steps to Achieve Weekly Iodine Intake

  1. Dilute One Drop:
    • Mix 1 drop of Lugol's 2% solution in 3.38 oz (100 ml) of water.
  2. Daily Dosage:
    • To meet the weekly requirement of 1050 mcg, drink approximately 0.203 oz (about 1.2 teaspoons) of the diluted solution daily.

Though, research seems to indicate I could go with a whopping tablespoon of the dilution.

And perhaps I'm just spinning my wheels here with these supplements, but these are some of the targets I'm hitting as whipped up by ChatGPT:

  1. Blood Pressure:
    • Helps maintain normal blood pressure (NoSalt® Original Sodium-Free Salt Alternative, Cayenne Pepper).
  2. Muscle Function:
    • Supports proper muscle function (NoSalt® Original Sodium-Free Salt Alternative).
  3. Electrolyte Balance:
    • Aids in maintaining electrolyte balance (NoSalt® Original Sodium-Free Salt Alternative).
  4. Heart Health:
    • Contributes to cardiovascular health (NoSalt® Original Sodium-Free Salt Alternative, Turmeric Curcumin, Cayenne Pepper).
  5. Cognitive Function:
    • May improve memory, concentration, and mental clarity (Ginkgo Biloba, Lugol's Solution).
    • Protects overall brain health (Ginkgo Biloba, Turmeric Curcumin).
    • May prevent cognitive decline (Lugol's Solution).
  6. Circulation:
    • Enhances blood flow, especially to the brain and extremities (Ginkgo Biloba, Cayenne Pepper).
  7. Antioxidant:
    • Protects against oxidative damage (Ginkgo Biloba, Turmeric Curcumin).
  8. Mood Support:
    • May help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression (Ginkgo Biloba).
  9. Eye Health:
    • Supports vision and may help with age-related macular degeneration (Ginkgo Biloba).
  10. Anti-Inflammatory:
    • Reduces inflammation and joint pain (Turmeric Curcumin).
  11. Digestive Health:
    • Supports digestive function and reduces symptoms of bloating and gas (Turmeric Curcumin, Cayenne Pepper).
  12. Pain Relief:
    • Provides natural pain relief for various conditions (Turmeric Curcumin, Cayenne Pepper).
  13. Metabolism Boost:
    • Enhances metabolic rate and aids in fat burning (Cayenne Pepper).
  14. Appetite Suppression:
    • Can reduce appetite and aid in weight management (Cayenne Pepper).
  15. Thyroid Health:
    • Supports thyroid function and hormone production (Lugol's Solution).
  16. Immune Support:
    • Enhances immune system function (Lugol's Solution).
  17. Detoxification:
    • Assists in detoxifying the body by supporting healthy thyroid function and overall metabolism (Lugol's Solution).
  18. Skin Health:
    • Can improve skin conditions and overall skin health (Lugol's Solution).
  19. Energy Levels:
    • Helps maintain energy levels by supporting proper thyroid function (Lugol's Solution).

(Are ya starting to see why I pay $20/month for ChatGPT?)

Fundamental

Am I no longer a carnivore? I know I haven't seen too many cayenne coyotes howlin' at night!

That's been a debate in the carnivore community. Spices, coffee, etc. I suppose every diet has its denominations and sects. Of course in broader terms, there are many religions for sure! Atheists are SAD, of course, with their standard American diets. Agnostics count calories. Then there are the other religions: Carnivore, Pescatarian, South Beach, Mediterranean, Paleo, Zone, DASH, Whole30, Flexitarian, Low-FODMAP, Macrobiotic, Raw Food, Ketogenic (Keto), Intermittent Fasting, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Vegan, and Fruitarian.

It's something beyond carnivore where people divide up over some interpretation in their religion and spit forth a new congregation. I like that sweet spot of 87% fat and logging macros, but there was a time when I just said "YOLO! Anything goes! Now gimme that basket of wings and a tall glass of heavy whipping cream!"

So these supplements are not from an animal. But in the spirit of carnivore, they're not a significant source of sugar. I'm not interested in being legalistic in this faith, but I do want proof in my pudding. And I recognize that outside of a handful of days, most of these past 270 days in a row on Carnivore, I've taken a daily supplement: coffee. So, I'm adding to the list, doing what I've already done.

Notice that I'm NOT taking a multivitamin; it's just unnecessary. Wonderful meat is LOADED with vitamins. When I was a vegan, you better believe I had to take a B-complex before I found Total Whole Grain Cereal. Once upon a time, this was my diet:

Breakfast Smoothie (post-workout)

  • Soybeans, 6.7 oz
  • Flax seed, 4 tbsp
  • Cinnamon, 1 tsp
  • Coffee, 16 oz
  • Cacao Powder, 2 tbsp
  • Total Whole Grain Cereal, 0.5 oz
  • Sunflower seeds, 0.5oz
  • Original No Salt Alternative, 1/4 tsp
  • iodine supplement

Lunch

  • Frozen broccoli, 6 oz
  • Frozen spinach, 6 oz
  • Eggs, 2

General

  • Coffee, 5 cups

Yes, an uninspiring, RDA-checked-off, 1006 kcal march into starvation.

July 25's life below 200 lbs?

  • A can of sardines
  • A half-package of beef liver
  • Nearly a half package of bacon
  • Almost a couple of sticks of butter
  • 4 cups of coffee
  • Seasoning: 1¼ tsp of potassium chloride a tsp of cayenne, ½ tsp of salt, ½ tsp of black pepper

I'm making a shift with my carnivore to focus on very enriching (and cheap) selections. It's more than a ground beef and eggs approach; I want beef liver to be a starter. Back to the Future to the max!

Beef liver has GOT to be one of the most healthy foods in the world. I just ran this by ChatGPT and this is the response I got:

How Beef Liver Ranks Among the World's Most Nutrient-Dense Foods

Mussels

  • Protein: ~8 grams per ounce
  • Rich in B Vitamins: Excellent source of vitamin B12, riboflavin, and folate.
  • Other Nutrients: High in iron, selenium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

Beef Heart

  • Protein: ~7 grams per ounce
  • Rich in B Vitamins: High in CoQ10, vitamin B12, riboflavin, and niacin.
  • Other Nutrients: Contains significant amounts of iron and zinc.

Sardines (with bones)

  • Protein: ~6.7 grams per ounce
  • Rich in B Vitamins: Good source of vitamin B12, niacin, and riboflavin.
  • Other Nutrients: High in omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, and vitamin D.

Beef Liver

  • Protein: ~6.5 grams per ounce
  • Rich in B Vitamins: Extremely high in vitamin A, B12, riboflavin, folate, and niacin.
  • Other Nutrients: Contains iron, copper, and zinc.

Oysters

  • Protein: ~6 grams per ounce
  • Rich in B Vitamins: Excellent source of vitamin B12, riboflavin, and niacin.
  • Other Nutrients: High in zinc, iron, and selenium.

These foods are considered among the top based on their exceptional nutrient profiles, providing a rich source of essential vitamins, minerals, and high-quality protein.

I gave it a follow-up question asking, "Which of these gives the widest range of vitamins and minerals?"

"Beef Liver."

Gotta agree with Dr. Ken Berry's take on liver.

And the price? Sardines is $0.98 a can. Beef liver is a dollar or more LESS per pound than the cheapest ground beef. $2.58 or something? Superior nutrition and budget-friendly, this carnivore way of life is inviting.

Especially when a ribeye comes my way...

But again, proof is in the pudding. And we'll just see just where I'm at on Facebook come New Year's Eve. I think I have a song that's about that...