Carnivore Diary
About Me
Hello! My name is Curtis and I'm super happy you're here...
I can be long winded... (you're warned)
An About Me Section?
As if I am THAT important???
Truth is, I am not- but I think getting to understand who I am and how I came to this space might help at least some folks...
I've been around, but I'm here now...
Hi all...
My name is Curtis.
I wanted to share a bit of my history so that there could be some context for those folks that might be looking for answers in the same or similar way that I was.
Actually, you will see a theme with me that not only recognizes, but celebrates the idea that we are all different and we all come from our own unique situations and backgrounds.
While there are hard truths in many disciplines (math, physics, biology, etc.), people embrace those truths coming from different backgrounds of experience, foundations, beliefs, perspectives, etc.
The overall point is this:
People make sense of, and relate to, the world around them through stories. Often, there is one story that dominates a person's mind- and they tend to see everything through the perspective of that story.
My only hope is to provide a different 'story' to see things with.
That said, what follows below are a bunch of random topics about me and where I come from regarding the topic of health and diet...
Probably too much info- but...
Here I am - Warts and all.
30+ years in the Nuclear Navy
I am as salty and crusty as they come...
Not that it means or matters much, I spent 30+ years in the Navy's Nuclear Power Program.
While some have told me that some of my stories and my career are 'interesting'...
That confers no special honor or importance to me or my opinions.
That said, I'm arrogantly competitive- I competed with the Navy Nukes...
And won.
Alcohol
Gold Medalist- Drunkest Guy In Guam 2008 & 2009
Actually, not proud of this at all...
I 1000% believe I was a top 1% 'steamer'. (A 'steamer' is a Navy slang for someone who can really put down the booze... 'That dude was steaming hard last night! He put down as many drinks as the rest of us combined!')
I'll skip to the end point- I was averaging a bottle of Johnie Walker Black and a bottle of Goldschlager ever two to three nights.
You read that correctly- I was drinking about a full bottle per day of some of the hardest alcohol available...
And doing it only at night after work and on weekends.
I towered above the rest...
And then I discovered something that instantly- in a snap of the fingers- changed my perspective and I quit drinking alcohol COLD.
There's a significant bunch of lessons I have to teach about alcohol, heavy drinking, and quitting.
But, that's not this website... so I'll leave it at this:
If you are struggling with alcohol and feel comfortable- send me an email and I'll share with you what I did, where I got my 'new perspective' and more.
(This may well be far more valuable than ANYTHING I have to say about ANY other topic)
Diabetes
The struggle is real and seemingly never ends...
Once I managed to quit drinking alcohol, I gained clarity like I had not felt in decades.
And as the diabetes progressed, I dug more and more into what was going on.
It is a shame in one sense- I have a family history on 'both sides' of diabetes...
I should have been looking into it decades earlier. Instead I simply adopted a 'wait till it gets here then deal with it' kind of brain-dead approach to the subject.Â
Oh boy, was I dumb, in fact...
I beat on the Dumb-Gong like Will beat his Cow Bell
This entire website is based on, in part, documenting my struggle with diabetes so we won't spend much time here on it.
(Spoiler Alert- I still make big fat Brain-Dead decisions on a regular basis... Just ask the Admiral- she'll tell you...)
Tobacco
Well, another not-so-fun topic...
I wasn't a saint.
I got busted in Junior High School for chewing tobacco. I must have been what, maybe 13?
Fast forward, I finally quit in 2017 at around the age of 47.
Yeah, not proud, but can say this:
Of all the 'things' I managed to quit- this was the most difficult. Stopping was incredibly difficult and I'll be happy to share some of it, but like the Alcohol subject- this is a subject better suited for another time in another place.
Still, if you need it, hit me up and I can share what I did and what I found that worked...
Intermittent Fasting
Among my saviors- Dr. Fung and Intermittent Fasting...
I don't want to get into it too much here, I will dive into this in much greater detail elsewhere.
Suffice it to say, when I found Dr. Fung and fasting- it was like discovering FIRE for me.
I will feel forever in-debt to Him, his videos, books, and more.
For certain- this unlocked and opened the door for the pathway that lead to low-carb and eventually carnivore which, for me, finally 'solved' my greatest struggle of controlling my blood sugar and weight.
Low Carb
The Smarter Science of Slim by Jonathan Bailor...
Early on, due to my struggles with 'making weight' for the semi-annual Navy fitness testing, I got a hold of and tried to follow the diet prescribed in 'Protein Power'. Essentially a low carb diet much related to the Atkins Diet.
I bought the stories that it might not be 'heart healthy' and fell off of the diet. But the real truth is the raging alcohol consumption was probably negating any benefits a low card diet could provide.
Fast forward a few years and I found, and fell in love with, Jonathan Bailor's Smarter Science of Slim.
It resonated with me so much I bought copies and sent to family members who also struggled with weight.
Thing is- when I got 'serious' I went right past low directly to zero-carb
It wasn't until I started getting really interesting results with intermittent fasting that I was able to 'get back into' low-carb, and I got some good results...
But I very quickly found myself taking on a 30 day Carnivore Challenge after reading the Carnivore Code...
I will be covering the low carb stuff quite a bit in this website, so let's just leave it here for now...
Carnivore - Finally Found Freedom
The name of this website and the newsletter is CARNIVORE Diary for a reason...
I was set to retire in April 2020- right when the BigVid was breaking out and causing fear across the land.
I started just before the end of February and called my official start March 1st, 2020.
It was horrible. The transition from such a horrible (ice cream, cookies, cakes, etc.) diet to strictly meat, butter, and eggs was abrupt. I had a devil of a time with what some folks might call the 'keto flu'.
I will detail all of it in other areas on the website, but for now, I'd like to say this:
Carnivore (Zero Carb) completely changed everything for me. And I mean pretty much EVERYTHING:
- weight control
- blood sugar control
- mood
- libido
- sleep
- blood pressure
- exercise
- mental clarity
- depression
- self image
- self worth
- self acceptance
- reduced grocery spend
- reduce grocery waste (no more rotten vegetables or moldy bread)
- and much, much more
Yup, I'll be a broken record about the Carnivore (Zero Carb) diet, for sure!
Scope out this video, it is pretty well put together...
Slaying my final boss: Diet Coke
I was easily, no doubt in my mind, the #1 largest consumer of Diet Coke you've met
I started drinking Diet Coke in high school.
1- I thought it was cool
2- I thought I liked the taste better than regular soda
3- I started during wrestling season while trying to 'cut' to 'make weight'
What started out innocently enough became the greatest final boss of final bosses for me.
For reference, I would stop by the store on the way to work and get between 6 and 8 (six to eight) 20ounce bottles of Diet Coke and take them to work. About half the time, I would RUN OUT before work ended and I would buy one or two more to finish the day.
On the way home, I would stop at the store and grab another 20ounce bottle and drink it on the drive home. (Oh, yes, I pulled one out of my fridge and drank it on the way to work...).
At home, I would EASILY drink upwards of 8 to 12 of the 12ounce cans- depending on how late I worked on the various internet projects I had going.
Fahget-aboud-it what happened on days off or weekends where I had unfettered access to ice, my big dumb cup, and a fridge that held (literally) half meat/eggs and half Diet Coke.
On multiple occasions I experienced something that I still find unbelievable.
The first time it happened, it went down like this:
- I went on vacation to Arizona for a week.
- I didn't think anything of it.
- Upon return, the manager (who knew me fairly well) complained
- He had no idea that I wasn't going to be there for a week, and wished I had let him know...
- And- the soda distribution guy was actually upset about it - very upset
Apparently, they ramp up and ramp down slowly when there's changes in demand. My going on vacation caused a sudden build up of 8 bottles per day times 7 days- 56 bottles. So the store owner had to start storing them outside the normal racks and the distributor guy had to dial back his orders.
Then, when I returned, I presented a huge demand swing that went the other way and caused churn again.
That has happened to me enough that I finally developed a bit of a communications plan with my favorite store where I got those morning soda purchases from.
Yes, I sucked down Diet Coke so quickly and incessantly that the local distributor knew about me.
I'm THAT guy.
Anyways, Diet Coke was my final beast.
I'd beaten alcohol, tobacco, carbs, gambling, carbs, and even (especially) diabetes- Diet Coke was the last, most difficult, 'vice' to shed.
By the time I was 'ready' - It was actually easy
My main problem with not having shed the Diet Coke vice was simply that I was unsure of what life would look like on the other side of it.
Grabbing a bottle and taking a swig was an activity. A bottle was nearly always in my hand. If I got up from my desk and went into the boss's office or took a tour of the building- I had a bottle in my hand or pocket.
I simply didn't know what I'd do with myself if I quit.
So, when the Admiral and I started our cross-country move from Mystic CT to Tucson AZ, I stopped drinking diet coke and attached myself to the new reality of driving for a period then staying in a hotel.
I began to drink much more coffee and tea and surprisingly- hot water.
Slowly, the change took place and now: I drink nothing but water, coffee, and tea. When I order water at the steak house, I get water with no ice. I don't even drink cold water any more.
I simply crave room temperature water now, which baffles me (but pleases the Admiral).
I'll share more on the subject elsewhere at some point as I do believe there is some cross-over discussion to be had about eliminating everything possible out of our diet and the results I've had with it from that perspective.
Internet and Email marketing
This is the only place I will speak of internet marketing in relation to the Carnivore Diary.
If you want info, need help, or are curious- email me and we can discuss 'off-site' so-to-speak...
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