A place for Mommas to learn, share, grow, and vent.
Welcome to carnivore week.
From Monday to Friday, you will be eating meat, fish, and other animal foods such as eggs, hard cheeses, and certain dairy products (heavy whipping cream; hwc).
You should only consume foods that either walked, swam, or flew at some point in time.
Plant-based and processed foods are eliminated on the carnivore diet.
Refer to the Recipes – Preparation Week post for some carnivore meal ideas. You’ll also find additional recipes on the Carnivore Diet Recipes post.
Saturday and Sunday (on our 2 strict keto / macro tracking days), you will eat/drink anything that falls under the strict keto umbrella. You will carefully log and monitor all of your macros and calories.
I encourage you to try doing a 9-hour eating window on your strict keto / macro tracking days. Not necessary, just beneficial! Refer to the Intermittent Fasting post.
This week, the following topics will be addressed:
I can’t stress enough how important it is to do weekly meal planning and grocery shopping. Without a solid idea of what you will be eating each day, you may find yourself resorting to quick and easy … fast food, frozen processed meals, skip-the-dishes, etc.
Every Saturday, I plan out my meals for the upcoming week. I compile a shopping list and hit the grocery store. (Later in this post, I will provide a list of staple foods that I always have in my house).
A key feature of meal planning and preparation is to always make extras and freeze them. On those days when you just don’t feel like cooking, you can pull a keto-friendly meal from the freezer. As an example, I always have batches of crepini wraps (recipe coming next week) in my freezer. Not only are these an easy dinner, I also take these for lunch on days when last night’s dinner yielded no leftovers.
And soup … I love soup. Every few weeks, I make a huge batch of keto-friendly soup and freeze it in zip lock bags. My soup and crepini wraps have saved me countless times from caving in and picking up fast food or ordering pizza.
And here is another. I found this on Facebook; Keto Life Support group.
This visual is from Perfect Keto.
And another good visual that shows the condiments that are keto-friendly. I found this one on Pinterest.
When I first started the keto lifestyle, I cleared out 2 shelves in one of our kitchen cupboards and called it the ‘Keto Cupboard’. That space has expanded … significantly.
There are now many products that have become mainstay staples in my house. I’m going to list some of the key products that I always have on hand.
Over the past year, I have also worked off of printable ‘keto shopping lists’. I’ll share one of them after I list some of my personal ‘always have’ staple products.
The products will be listed in no particular order. I’m going to grab my laptop and wander through my cupboards.
If I list a store beside the product, this is because this is the cheapest place I’ve found the product at. I’ve also hyperlinked to Amazon if that’s the best deal that I’ve found.
A note about MCT oil. I use 1 tbs religiously with my morning coffee. It has no taste, but does make my coffee taste creamier.
Although 1 tbs is 130 calories (on a restricted calorie intake, that seems like a lot), it’s benefits are amazing.
MCTs (medium chain triglycerides) are transported right to your liver and are converted into ketones. MCTs can help you get into ketosis faster and stay in ketosis.
Bread Products (for lazy keto)
Sauces and Dressings, and Condiments
Dairy Products
I printed a bunch of these out when I first started keto. The result was that I ended up buying a lot that I didn’t use. My advice is to avoid buying everything on the list! Buy only what you need for your first week meal plan. But, keep the list handy.
You will notice that both berries and Greek yogurt are on this list. Pre-keto, I used to be a huge yogurt fan. I have yet to find a yogurt that is low enough in carbohydrates for me to want to consume it. Same with fruit. I have had no fruit or yogurt since June of 2020. Once I reach my goal weight and slip into maintenance mode, I plan on introducing both of those back into my diet. It’s your choice to eat yogurt and/or fruit. As long as they fit within your macros for the day, go ahead and eat them!
This great shopping list comes from Dr. Oz.
You will never be stuck for meal ideas that are keto friendly. If you haven’t already done so, google ‘keto recipes’ – the websites are endless. Here are a few of my favorites:
10,000 steps is what you need to strive for each and every day. That doesn’t sound like much, does it? Once you begin to track your daily steps, you may find 10,000 to be a pretty high number.
For the most part, my job is a desk job. In a typical day, my Apple watch logs between 3000 – 6000 work steps. As I always strive to reach the 10,000 step mark each day, my dogs get extra long walks, my treadmill has gone from being a clothes hanger to its intended use, and I can justify every single shopping trip!
Why 10,000? This number originated in the 1960s as a result of a Japanese pedometer, the manpo-kei. Manpo-kei’s literal translation is ’10,000-step meter’. When studies confirmed that people who take 10,000 steps each day have lower blood pressure, more stable glucose levels, and better moods, 10,000 steps became the magic number.
My Apple watch is another great investment that I made when I began keto. I started with a Fitbit, but had secretly always wanted an Apple watch. In my head, I justified spending the extra money (the numbers are bigger, I can get texts, take phone calls, listen to music) and am glad that I did.
There are hundreds of ‘step-trackers’ out there. If it’s within your budget, I would strongly encourage you to pick one up. You won’t regret it. My fiancé and I, both competitive, often share our steps throughout the day. If he’s even 1 step ahead of me, I lose my mind and immediately get up and moving. I’ve never walked more ever since I started tracking my daily steps.
How does one get in 10,000 steps each day?
Getting 10,000 + steps in each day can be as simple as making small changes to your routine:
Electrolytes are minerals in our bodies that are critical for almost every function; heart health, energy, brain functioning, bladder regulation, muscle contraction, and many more.
When following a keto lifestyle and consuming less carbs, our bodies produce less insulin and our glycogen stores are depleted.
When our carb stores are emptied, we stop retaining water and we excrete more of it through urine, breath, and sweat. (This explains why those who follow keto pee so often). Unfortunately, when we excrete water, we are also ridding our bodies of electrolytes (essential vitamins and minerals). The key electrolytes lost are sodium, potassium, calcium, and magnesium.
Did you read the post on How to Combat Keto Breath & Flu? Keto flu can be attributed to a loss of electrolytes.
A key complaint of people who first begin keto are middle of the night leg cramps. This can be directly attributed to depleted magnesium levels in the body. Personally, I take magnesium supplements every day.
Here are some ways to ensure that you are replenishing your electrolytes each day:
Sodium – pink Himalayan salt (put a pinch in your water, or use when cooking meals)
Potassium – green leafy vegetables, avocados, nuts, dark chocolate (although bananas are high in potassium, they are not keto friendly)
Calcium – dark leafy greens, broccoli, hard cheese, salmon
Magnesium – kale, spinach, seeds, nuts
Are there other Mommas you know who might enjoy this post? Share by clicking one of the icons below.
Mommas supporting Mommas!!!
