Carnivore Challenge!

The Magic Bus, one of my favorite food forums, is holding a February Carnivore Contest. The aim of the contest is pretty obvious - to see how many days we can go eating carnivorously. The eating rules are as follows:

* any part of any animal (muscle, flesh, fat, organs, bone, whatever)
* VLC dairy (butter, cheese, cream, cream cheese, sour cream, etc.)
* eggs
* herbs, spices, seasonings, salt, VLC sauces (hot sauce, etc.)
* water, tea, coffee

* no vegetable oils, mayo, salsa, bbq sauce, etc.
* no half & half
* no coconut oil/milk
* no vegetation (except herbs, spices, seasonings, sauces)
* no artificial sweeteners
* no wine/alcohol

Since I was a bad gal over the holi-daze (and haven't been all that great this month either), this is a super-duper chance to get back on track and eat normally. I've been drinking way more diet pop than I'd like, and sneaking in too many non-food cheats (damn those Cheat-os and their zesty pseudo-cheeziness). So, it's meat, meat and more meat for me. Oh...and cheese, of course.

I'm elated to report that dairy products, at least so far, are sitting quite well with me. I suspect my gut has healed up. No more little dairy-related accidents for this gal ;)

So for the month of February, I'm going to eat and post meat! Menus, recipes, and hunks of carnivorous info. I just placed an order with a local farm so I'll have lots of flesh around - grass-fed beef, chicken wings, belly bacon. All easy stuff, because I want to make this as painless as possible and lately, I've been too damn lazy to do much grand cooking. Nitrate-free organic hot dogs? Sounds good to me. I just have to *gasp* skip the ketchup.

I am also going to track my calorie and macronutrient intake. Not that I really want to - I am so over weighing and recording every morsel that passes my lips - but I'm curious to see where I end up and what effect, if any, it has on my weight and/or body composition. As of this morning, I am 114lbs, my lowest adult weight ever (highest: 140lbs. Thank you, low carb!). Nothing wrong with that, but I still have excess body fat I'd love to shed and I am hoping that this, combined with some strength training and maybe a little HIIT, will melt the rest away for good. If I get around to it, that is. It's winter - and I'm a real bear in winter. As much as I love the snow, I tend to hibernate.

The time seems right to make changes, and that first involves a confession: after two years smoke-free, I relapsed over the holi-daze. I know, I know. I've been smoking again for almost two months, and bloody miserable about it.

I mean honestly, it's ridiculous. I avoid gluten, and other foods, like the plague and it's no problem. It's not as if I'm at a party and I see other people gathered outside on the patio eating buns and feel I have to join them. I don't keep a pita in my purse and eat little chunks of it every hour or so. But smoking? It doesn't even TASTE good. If I want to kill myself, I might as well do it with a croissant or Black Forest cake and get some enjoyment out of it. So as of tomorrow, that's done and over with. Cigarettes=gluten, in my mind. I am re-reading my Allen Carr book, and feeling positive and excited about breathing again. The only thing smoking in my house is gonna be my cast iron grill.