January in upper lower Michigan (as opposed to the Upper Peninsula). We hang with the trolls these days.
This post is primarily diet related. As many will be. I know many of you are thinking about diet right now. And I know you are expecting this post to be about losing weight. But my New Year’s Resolution is about not dieting.
I’ve been dieting nearly all my life from the time I was about 14. I recently ran across a woman who made sense. She looked like a body builder, maybe a bit too much for me. She’d been heavy at one point and of course changed her life. Her main point is: people need to stop dieting. They need to spend most of their time at maintenance and reduce no more than 3-4 months at a time. That our bodies adjust to this constant dieting and we can’t heal and build muscle that way.
This is difficult for me to do. It’s a lot more food than I’m used to. But I’m planning on doing it until May or June even if I gain a bit. Which I should if I add muscle. About six months ago I raised my protein up to 100 grams and now will aim for 129 grams, 1700 calories. I gained about 8 pounds when I did that, so my weight gain might not be quite as dramatic.
This woman also emphasized cutting back on coffee and alcohol and getting 8 hours of sleep. And she advocates mostly weight lifting for exercise. And walking, yoga type things. At least three rest days from weights. Not much cardio.
So that is what I plan to do. I’ll be posting diet updates and maybe photos on WordPress as well as some family and home posts. If you want to see what else I’ll be up to, please join me here:
I love words so I write them. I’ve been doing that since I was old enough to read. I am a published literary writer and I was an adjunct English professor at Northern Michigan University for many years. I write and live and love off the grid on 35 acres and a trout stream in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with my son, Joshua, who has Down Syndrome, and with an English Shepherd dog named Maggie, and with my husband when he can make it here which isn’t often. This blog started out being about my work, and it will continue to be. ( I’m working on a novel about premonitions and dreams.) But this blog is also about living off the grid and about my experimentation with diet—most recently the Carnivore Diet. I started on the Ketogenic diet, but have moved into Carnivore. How long, I don’t know. But I’ve become interest in the effects of diet on not just my health, but on creativity. And I’m interested in the effects of the diet on my dreams.
Ah, dreams... The day before my son was born, my mother “dreamed” or was told my son would have Down Syndrome, something she told my brother ahead of time. I’ve never known what to make of that. So I’m interested in prophetic dreams, lucid dreaming, creativity and dreams, night terrors. Who isn't interested in that? I’m interested in Freud (more Jung) and Einstein’s theories of time and how their ideas inform my dreams. I’m interested in mining a deeper relationship with a dream world not confined to daytime experiences, and how the night might inform a more fully imagined daytime “reality.” And vice-versa. Which is the dream?? I’m exploring dreams of all sorts. Come explore with me…
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6 thoughts on “Carnivore Dreams – Diet Update”
Howdy, LYNNFAY73 ~
I just read your interesting comments at John Holton’s blog.
I am so politically conservative that I abandoned the “Conservative” label many years ago. Uhm… I mean, almost three decades ago.
Diet? I’m all over the map. But one thing I do is a 24-hour fast one day a week. As I type these words, I’m about 11 hours into this week’s fast. I think the body works best when it gets “a day of rest” — at least from digestion, anyway.
The primary reason I’m commenting is because I was intrigued by your interest in dreams. I’ve always had extremely vivid dreams. Many of them seem to become ongoing stories where one plot segues into another and a single dream seems as if it can go on for hours.
By coincidence, earlier today I Emailed a friend of mine, telling him part of the dream I had last night. I found it so humorous that thinking back on it has entertained me all day. Hopefully this brief excerpt below will also tickle your funny bone:
I was very young when I had my first lucid dream. At the time I was probably in 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade. Since that time, I’ve only had maybe a couple of lucid dreams. But I had a memorable one last night. Here’s the nutshell description of it:
I had found myself on some sort of difficult quest. There was a bunch of stuff happening – this, that, and the other thing – a lot of bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. I was trying to get somewhere within a certain time frame. So I was running down stairs, climbing over fences, etc.
But I seemed to notice after awhile that I was seeing everything from a unique perspective. Like, I was seeing things at interesting angles, seeing things framed between trees in a seemingly creative way, etc. And then suddenly, I mentally said to myself (my subconscious mind speaking to itself)…
“Wow! This is the best cinematography I’ve ever had in a dream!”
Even now, every time I think about that, it makes me COL! (Chuckle-Out-Loud!)
Ha. I have gotten some of my most fascinating followers from John’s blog! Do you write one? Hope you follow along. I’ll be posting a lot more about dreams soon (as I believe they synchronistic-ly inform our lives (and my writing!) Much of the writing blogs will be on Substack as well, sometimes they will be double posted, sometimes not. lekimball.substack.com. You might join me there as well. Your dream sounds pretty amazing! COL (Don’t you love John’s blog? He’s picked up my days in some of the toughest ones in my life lately!) Welcome.
At one time, I was nearly a Top 1,000 Reviewer at Amazon. I started blogging in 2008 after I got banned by Amazon for telling people too much truth (and because liberals kept getting clobbered by me in debates that they themselves had started).
Just before I got booted from Amazon, Arlee Bird (real name: Lee) discovered me there and started following me. After a liberal got me removed via whining, I began blogging. Lee found my blog and decided to begin blogging also, and thus his blog ‘Tossing It Out’ was born, and with it, his popular blogfest idea of blogging from ‘A To Z’ in April. And I eventually found John Holton’s blog due to his comments on Arlee Bird’s blog. EVERYTHING is connected.
I have a few different blogs but the only one I post on with any regularity is my ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog. {http://stmccpresentsbattleofthebands.blogspot.com/} This one is just for fun and good music. It’s full o’ silliness with little to no Spiritual or political content (which are actually my primary subjects of interest). I started the BOTB Blogfest in 2013, which Lee and John Holton eventually joined.
What I find particularly curious about the dream I described here is this:
While I know from firsthand experience that God does occasionally speak to me in my dreams, I believe that ordinarily my dreams are stories constructed by my subconscious mind. Often I can pick out little details and clearly see how my mind has taken disparate items (people, events, brief thoughts) and woven them all together into a pretty complex storyline.
So, what seems so odd to me about this dream is that my own subconscious mind was surprised & impressed by the imagery being presented in my sleeping brain. If it’s the subconscious mind which creates these dreams, why would my subconscious mind be impressed by the “cinematography” of this particular dream? And if it’s so impressed by it, why isn’t my subconscious mind producing and directing dreams with this level of creative imagery on a regular basis? In other words, why is it impressed by what it did and what it could duplicate on a nightly basis?
Questions, questions and mo’ questions!
In my previous comment I stated that my diet is “all over the map”. That was perhaps a bit misleading, because it’s all over the map WITHIN THE CONFINES of lacto-ovo vegetarianism. I converted to that in late 1985 and have never deviated from it since then. As you’d correctly assume, the “Carnivore” half of your blog’s title I can’t really relate to. ;^D
~ STMcC (a.k.a. D-FensDogG)
There really is something to the “correct” balance of proteins, fats, carbs. I’m back to eating keto a few times a week but indeed, the sleep aspect plays a huge role. I wish I could be more consistent about eight hours. These days, lucky to get six, uninterrupted. When we were all home because of Covid, I was getting so much sleep, it was amazing! It contributed to my overall weight loss.
Stephen–well, I have tried a lot of diets in my lifetime. Right now, I’m sort of low carb rather than carnivore, stay under 50 carbs, usually under 30. I felt terrible when I ate a lot of carbs. I hurt all over especially my stomach. I’m trying to build muscle and I’m pretty certain you can’t do that very well on that diet, especially if you’re older at all. 🙂 But to each his own.
Interesting background, I know about being cancelled. John’s blog is so nice, I’ll take a look at yours. Definitely need a break from politics!
Dreams are mystical to me. Many cultures believe it is more real than our perceived awake “reality.” I wonder if they aren’t a portal into Einstein’s alternative universes. My thoughts on them would jive more with your experiences with them. But you were definitely lucid dreaming because you were aware it was a dream and you were participating within it. I need to get back to dream incubation and get better rest — and dreams. At least that’s how I want to view it. Many people who are interested in this think they can contact dead relatives and I’m actually trying to do that–they wonder if the dead person might block the interaction or the dreamer. All interesting thoughts to me.
And dreams inform my writing like daily life does – sychronistically. I like Jung as well. Ha. I’ll take a look at your blog in the morning over my coffee. Dream well. Cheers.
L.E.K. 
Howdy, LYNNFAY73 ~
I just read your interesting comments at John Holton’s blog.
I am so politically conservative that I abandoned the “Conservative” label many years ago. Uhm… I mean, almost three decades ago.
Diet? I’m all over the map. But one thing I do is a 24-hour fast one day a week. As I type these words, I’m about 11 hours into this week’s fast. I think the body works best when it gets “a day of rest” — at least from digestion, anyway.
The primary reason I’m commenting is because I was intrigued by your interest in dreams. I’ve always had extremely vivid dreams. Many of them seem to become ongoing stories where one plot segues into another and a single dream seems as if it can go on for hours.
By coincidence, earlier today I Emailed a friend of mine, telling him part of the dream I had last night. I found it so humorous that thinking back on it has entertained me all day. Hopefully this brief excerpt below will also tickle your funny bone:
I was very young when I had my first lucid dream. At the time I was probably in 1st, 2nd or 3rd grade. Since that time, I’ve only had maybe a couple of lucid dreams. But I had a memorable one last night. Here’s the nutshell description of it:
I had found myself on some sort of difficult quest. There was a bunch of stuff happening – this, that, and the other thing – a lot of bibbidi-bobbidi-boo. I was trying to get somewhere within a certain time frame. So I was running down stairs, climbing over fences, etc.
But I seemed to notice after awhile that I was seeing everything from a unique perspective. Like, I was seeing things at interesting angles, seeing things framed between trees in a seemingly creative way, etc. And then suddenly, I mentally said to myself (my subconscious mind speaking to itself)…
“Wow! This is the best cinematography I’ve ever had in a dream!”
Even now, every time I think about that, it makes me COL! (Chuckle-Out-Loud!)
~ D-FensDogG
STMcC Presents BATTLE OF THE BANDS
Ha. I have gotten some of my most fascinating followers from John’s blog! Do you write one? Hope you follow along. I’ll be posting a lot more about dreams soon (as I believe they synchronistic-ly inform our lives (and my writing!) Much of the writing blogs will be on Substack as well, sometimes they will be double posted, sometimes not. lekimball.substack.com. You might join me there as well. Your dream sounds pretty amazing! COL (Don’t you love John’s blog? He’s picked up my days in some of the toughest ones in my life lately!) Welcome.
Re-Howdy, lynnfay73 ~
At one time, I was nearly a Top 1,000 Reviewer at Amazon. I started blogging in 2008 after I got banned by Amazon for telling people too much truth (and because liberals kept getting clobbered by me in debates that they themselves had started).
Just before I got booted from Amazon, Arlee Bird (real name: Lee) discovered me there and started following me. After a liberal got me removed via whining, I began blogging. Lee found my blog and decided to begin blogging also, and thus his blog ‘Tossing It Out’ was born, and with it, his popular blogfest idea of blogging from ‘A To Z’ in April. And I eventually found John Holton’s blog due to his comments on Arlee Bird’s blog. EVERYTHING is connected.
I have a few different blogs but the only one I post on with any regularity is my ‘Battle Of The Bands’ blog. {http://stmccpresentsbattleofthebands.blogspot.com/} This one is just for fun and good music. It’s full o’ silliness with little to no Spiritual or political content (which are actually my primary subjects of interest). I started the BOTB Blogfest in 2013, which Lee and John Holton eventually joined.
What I find particularly curious about the dream I described here is this:
While I know from firsthand experience that God does occasionally speak to me in my dreams, I believe that ordinarily my dreams are stories constructed by my subconscious mind. Often I can pick out little details and clearly see how my mind has taken disparate items (people, events, brief thoughts) and woven them all together into a pretty complex storyline.
So, what seems so odd to me about this dream is that my own subconscious mind was surprised & impressed by the imagery being presented in my sleeping brain. If it’s the subconscious mind which creates these dreams, why would my subconscious mind be impressed by the “cinematography” of this particular dream? And if it’s so impressed by it, why isn’t my subconscious mind producing and directing dreams with this level of creative imagery on a regular basis? In other words, why is it impressed by what it did and what it could duplicate on a nightly basis?
Questions, questions and mo’ questions!
In my previous comment I stated that my diet is “all over the map”. That was perhaps a bit misleading, because it’s all over the map WITHIN THE CONFINES of lacto-ovo vegetarianism. I converted to that in late 1985 and have never deviated from it since then. As you’d correctly assume, the “Carnivore” half of your blog’s title I can’t really relate to. ;^D
~ STMcC (a.k.a. D-FensDogG)
There really is something to the “correct” balance of proteins, fats, carbs. I’m back to eating keto a few times a week but indeed, the sleep aspect plays a huge role. I wish I could be more consistent about eight hours. These days, lucky to get six, uninterrupted. When we were all home because of Covid, I was getting so much sleep, it was amazing! It contributed to my overall weight loss.
Yep, it’s crucial for sure! Harder when you have young kids, though.
Stephen–well, I have tried a lot of diets in my lifetime. Right now, I’m sort of low carb rather than carnivore, stay under 50 carbs, usually under 30. I felt terrible when I ate a lot of carbs. I hurt all over especially my stomach. I’m trying to build muscle and I’m pretty certain you can’t do that very well on that diet, especially if you’re older at all. 🙂 But to each his own.
Interesting background, I know about being cancelled. John’s blog is so nice, I’ll take a look at yours. Definitely need a break from politics!
Dreams are mystical to me. Many cultures believe it is more real than our perceived awake “reality.” I wonder if they aren’t a portal into Einstein’s alternative universes. My thoughts on them would jive more with your experiences with them. But you were definitely lucid dreaming because you were aware it was a dream and you were participating within it. I need to get back to dream incubation and get better rest — and dreams. At least that’s how I want to view it. Many people who are interested in this think they can contact dead relatives and I’m actually trying to do that–they wonder if the dead person might block the interaction or the dreamer. All interesting thoughts to me.
And dreams inform my writing like daily life does – sychronistically. I like Jung as well. Ha. I’ll take a look at your blog in the morning over my coffee. Dream well. Cheers.