Ruminant Meats now dominate my diet
After 18 months or so on ZERO CARB, it was time to get some more blood-work done. My first post after 8 months ZC goes into much greater detail about the background of how & why I started ZC and its compatibility with LIHF. If you haven’t already read this I encourage you to do so. This will provide some important context that is not provided in this, much shorter post. You can read it here.
The switch to ruminant meats
As per my last post, I explained the reason why I switched to a diet consisting almost exclusively of ruminant meats in the 2 months or so prior to when the current set of bloods were taken. I occasionally have some eggs and fish in the form of salmon, but they are now very much the exception & not the rule.
Supplements
The only supplement I now take is Vitamin D and only between the autumnal & spring equinoxes.
The Results
Again, I have tabulated ALL my bloods over the last 5-6 years since going LIHF in 2012 and ZERO CARB (ZC) at the beginning of 2017:
Results Interpretation
The immediate stand-outs for me are the reduction in overall cholesterol, down to 7.6 from 8.4 mmol/L and the drop in LDL, so-called “bad cholesterol”, down to 4.7 from 5.6 mmol/L.
For the first time ever, I had my fasting insulin taken which allowed me to calculate my HOMA-IR score, an insulin resistance assessment. Common reference levels for HOMA-IR insulin resistance range from 0.7 – 2.0. My score of 0.8 indicates that I’m highly insulin sensitive. In line with that, my fasting blood sugar has dropped to 5.5 mmol/L and my HbA1C is stable at 5.5%.
My waist and weight have also dropped since the last set of bloods but apart from that, everything else is more or less the same, including my training regime.
Conclusions
I’m very pleased with these results, in particular the reduction in LDL, the reduction in weight & waist [waist now much lower than it was on LC in 2013 for same weight!], and the the fact that trig/ HDL remains as good as ever. Blood sugars also appear to be stabilizing nicely and my HOMA-IR score even suggests that I have some “headroom” for increasing carb intake again should I ever choose to do so.
The ONLY significant change to my diet between the 8 and 18 month samples is the switch to ruminant meats i.e. dropping pork & bacon altogether. What these results tell me is that not all meats are the same and it really does matter which ones you choose to eat. I feel & look better than ever and I continue to enjoy the delightful simplicity of the carnivore diet – eat when hungry, as much as you like, no need to count a thing.
For me, for now at least, it’s a case of “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON!”
Wow, very encouraging Nick. Thanks for sharing your labs and reminding me why I’m doing this. I’ve only been zero carb for just under a month, but I feel that this will always be my WOE from here on. All the best.
Thx Terri. Glad that this was of interest. Good luck with your ZC endeavours. I’m sure there will be no regrets!
Nick, what is the LIHF answer on the question of “adding versus not adding salt to meat” in the context of a meat+water way of eating? Thank you.
Don’t fear salt on an LI diet, either with food or in water. It’s important to maintain plasma volume, especially when training in order to not feel light headed.
Way to go; very inspirational to see others sticking to this woe, too. I love the simplicity of a carnivore diet, as well, and have never felt better. Best..