Yesterday and this morning I got to experience life on the road as a carnivore. Instead of having my usual homemade goodness, I had to seek it out elsewhere. It wasn’t too bad, but can pose a few challenges.
One challenge is financial. Last night I went out to dinner with a friend, and the only thing that could have really adequately satisfied the wolfman was the 12-ounce ribeye. At $38 plus tax n? tip, that’s quite a price tag, especially considering that I bought an 8 pound chunk of ribeye at the grocery store tonight for $57.
Another challenge is finding something that has been cooked but not adulterated. This morning I went on a walk to find some food, having stayed at a friend’s house overnight. I walked down the street to the local grocery store and ended up buying cheese and proscuitto for $11. All other deli meats and prepared foods were chock full of dextrose and other foods fit only for a monkey as Charles Washington might say. This was still a pretty spendy breakfast, but did me quite well aside from breaking records for salt consumption in one sitting.
The third challenge is overcoming shyness about being on what most would consider to be just about the freakiest most bass ackward diet in the world. Although some might enjoy flaunting such a thing, and I certainly do when it comes to writing about it ? where I can give a good and lively explanation for my strange behavior, no such opportunities arise in real life.
At dinner, at the end of the meal, the waiter said, ?not a fry guy huh?? as the ginormous pile of fries sat on the plate untouched, only the steak missing. Then of course my dinner partner chimed in, ?he’s trying to avoid polyunsaturated fat. This of course made me feel like an idiot (I get really self-conscious about looking like some kind of health nut ? plus, after working in the food industry for many years, I know very well that announcing some kind of voluntary dietary restriction is probably the best way to have someone’s nuts intentionally rubbed on your meal), and it also made the waiter chuckle, as I had just choked down fatty ribeye covered in butter which he made a little ?ironic? joke about. (Note: his belly did jiggle during aforementioned laughter).
Anyway, to make a short story long?
I’m still plant free after leaving the safety of my kitchen for a few meals.
Day 20
Breakfast: 25 shrimp with 5T butter
Lunch: 4 ounces cheddar cheese, 16 ounces lean cut of steak, medium-ish (restaurant)
Dinner: 12 ounce fatty ribeye with 1T butter and 1T mayonnaise-based sauce (aioli)
Day 21
Breakfast: 7 ounces jack cheese, 3 ounces proscuitto
Lunch: 4 ounces cheddar cheese, 4 ounces cream cheese
Dinner: 12 ounce bone-in pan-seared ribeye (rare), 2T butter, 6 medium shrimp with heads
Man! That’s a lot of cheese!
Yes, way too much cheese. Cheese is like the only close-to-zero carb convenience food that hasn’t been too adulterated. That was sort of my point with this post. Leaving the kitchen on a diet like this can be pretty limiting.
Yes you are at somewhat of a disadvantage in Hawaii. I had a friend whose parents lived on the big island and I remember him telling me that when they went to Hawaii they used to bring meat products in a cooler as meat is expensive there.
LOL!
I think you have to learn to be more…*creative* with ZC–most places that serve ribeyes also serve monster burgers, and if you ask for two or three patties without the bun, fries, or veggies, it fills you up and doesn’t waste food (and doesn’t anger the food service people). It’s also cheaper than ribeye.
I’m kicking the cheese habit but once you get adjusted to ZC, people report being able to go longer between meals without feeling they’re starving to death.
Catin (from ZOIH)
Meat isn’t that expensive here, it was just a very pricey restaurant — my friend’s pick (Mala in Lahaina). Yes, I could have ordered a measly half-pound burger, but that’s not much food. Plus, ground beef doesn’t always agree with me that well, nor does it taste anything like a fatty-grilled ribeye.
I’m only hungry in the morning when I wake up. Hence the need to eat that much g.d. cheese. It agrees with me very well though, especially the cream cheese, which I took great pleasure in walking around and eating like it was an ice cream sandwich.
Here are a couple of interesting blog posts by the same person about dietary changes.
1. Vegetable Oil and Weight Gain:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/12/vegetable-oil-and-weight-gain.html
2. US Weight, Lifestyle, and Diet Trends 1970-2007:
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/12/us-weight-lifestyle-and-diet-trends.html
Great site J.D.