100 Days of Carnivore (Part 1)

I have a sugar addiction.  I have known that for many years and have tried too quickly but have continually battled it.  So this summer, knowing that I needed to change my eating radically, I decided to do a hundred days of Carnivore. If you haven’t heard of it, it is simply eating meat (mainly beef), milk and eggs.  It’s eliminating all carbs.  So how did it go? It was simply amazing and helped bring a whole shift to my body and health.  Here is the story.

I know that I have ADHD (I will write on this soon) and that I run to things for excitement. I don’t like feeling dull or blah. Often then, food can be a comfort, especially desserts. My mom is a fantastic cook; we had many favorite treats and snacks growing up, such as chocolate-covered rice crispy desserts, cookies, oreo desserts, etc.  I loved drinking pop.  One thing, though, is that I have always battled my energy and feeling fatigued. I have researched over the years, and one of the consistent themes was to get off sugar. Ten years ago, I was at a conference praying more for healing in my body, driving, and asking the Lord about my health.  I felt this phrase enter my heart as strongly as I have heard anything. I will heal you if you get off sugar and coffee.  Both of those were potent stimulants that I used to pick me up.  

More often than not, I have failed at any attempts related to obeying that word. In 2019, I did Keto for a few months, and it felt amazing. I could exercise more. I knew then that it did something to my body when I had fewer carbs. But then COVID happened, and it was hard to sustain.  I would hear many lies. You can’t be radical with your food. You need to have a cheat day. Enjoy all the food.  So, I would keep giving in. Yet, I started to see that sugar and food were a legitimate addiction.  We wouldn’t ever say to a recovering alcoholic. Enjoy the beer on the weekends. Be reasonable five days a week, but then you celebrate and use it in moderation.  No one would suggest that, so why do we make excuses for food?

 One year ago, I was finally off sugar again. I did great until Ethan and Mollie’s wedding. I was conflicted as I wanted to celebrate with them, but I knew it could open a door.  Well, the temptation came. I first had a cookie at their dress rehearsal and pie at the wedding, and by Christmas, I was giving in to sugar.  The cravings were so intense, and it felt like a legitimate addiction I couldn’t control.  

I will share later in another post about my goals and dreams related to running. I am in the middle of training, but eating poorly affects my body. I feel sore and achy. By late spring, I needed to do something. A good friend, a pastor in the region, told me about how he lost 40 pounds on Carnivore. That didn’t make sense, but it planted seeds in me. 

I needed a radical change in June, so I committed to the Lord to do 100 days of Carnivore.  I watched many YouTube videos, read a book or two, and found a podcast with some testimonies about it. I listened to testimony after testimony of how once they got going; their aches went away, they had mental clarity, lost weight, and felt the best they ever had.  I couldn’t wrap my mind around what I was about to do.  100 days of steak, hamburger, sausage, raw milk, and eggs, and I was going to feel better about this?  Part 2 is coming soon to give more in-depth on how it went.

Restarting a Blog. New Name and New Focus.

 Over the past years, I have attempted to blog.  Yet, more often than not, I haven't written on it. Initially, the purpose was to have more personal connections when we were urban missionaries. Those old blogs will remain on the page for now.  

I have a love-hate relationship with writing. At one level, I can often have many words. But I find it much easier to use those words verbally than write them out. At times, creativity flows out, and I have ideas to write and think I would like to do this more. Then, other times, I get stuck.  I am also not good with grammar, and that makes me self-conscious. Also, I can sometimes feel unclear about what I am saying because of my quick and scattered brain (I will write a whole blog on this later). I am attempting to overcome those hurdles, and the invention of Grammarly Pro has immensely helped my ability to edit.  In August, I started my Master's in Spiritual Formation at Friends University, and it is forcing me to write consistently, and I am overcoming some barriers. 

My health has transformed quite a bit this summer, and I want to write about it. I have always been passionate about health but have had more "losses" than "wins" over the years. So, in the upcoming blogs, I will write about the changes I made to my health and how they have helped me.  

How long will I keep this going? I have no idea. Perhaps tomorrow, I will chase a squirrel and do something else. :)  However, with my running, I plan to keep this going and share my journey.  

As I close this intro blog, I wanted to briefly comment on the name Go Run Free. Part of my new health journey has been increasing my running, something I have dreamed of and longed to do for years. Running has become a big part of my life, and I will share more about that. That has been increasing over the last few years. A passion of mine is freedom. I love to pray with people and see them experience freedom from struggles and entanglements. Yet, in the middle of my desire to see people free, I have faced many obstacles that have kept me from feeling or living free. Those have been health and spiritual, and those will be topics I hope to cover here.  So, the words Go Run Free have a double meaning to me. First, I am discovering great freedom in running. Getting up each morning and running on my country roads by myself is special. There is incredible freedom in that. And yet, there is something in all of us that we are created to be free in all we do. And so many people feel trapped and stuck. Perhaps a few people will find more freedom in sharing some of my stories about what the Lord is teaching me.  

Lastly, I wanted to thank two special friends for their inspiration. If you have seen me on Facebook, you have seen my posts about Clay Shively and Sam Ferguson. I closely followed their high school running careers, prayed with them often, and loved encouraging them in their journeys.  As I did that, my love for running significantly increased. I loved watching them run. The beauty and grace they both run with did something to me. 

I have two favorite moments with both of them, first with Sam.  I came up to watch him run the 3200 meter his junior year. I hadn't talked with him and didn't know how he would do.  He ended up getting first in the state. I had so much joy watching him win; I was surprised he did it. Then, Clay had an extraordinary career. He set many records, and there were so many fun moments. But my favorite memory with him was at regionals his senior year. He had already run the 1600 and was getting ready for the 800. He didn't know how hard he would go. The first lap was fun to watch him, and then something happened the second lap. On the back turn, he flipped it into another gear. I was in awe watching him come around with that speed.  It stirred my heart.  Over the summer, I ran with them two times, which made my year. I had set that as a goal a year ago.  Thanks, Clay and Sam, for your inspiration. You both run with some grace and beauty, and I will always cheer you all on.  You both, indeed, Run Free!!

Until next time.