Ioanna's Journal

[Ioanna]

I really need help on this one...

My mom is coming next week, and I'm not worried about this one.  I'm going to cover my meat (aging) in cheesecloth so at least the fridge is not so barbaric looking. We always ate a different times and never really ate together anyway.  So I can easily eat on my own as I always do, and she will have no idea that the meat in the fridge is not being cooked.

However, a dear friend of mine wants to visit... now what?!?  She wants to stay for a few days, so how am I going to get through this one??  I don't want the way I eat to hinder my social life any more than I've already allowed that. 

I know!, I'll have to try some fantastic presentation like Inger    

[Paleo Donk]

It seems perhaps that you have an unreasonable fear of what others might think of your way of eating and you are rewarding yourself with your invisibility cloaking. If not, then maybe you could explain why its reasonable. I mean what is the worst thing that can happen to you if your invisibility cloak fails?

Of course now that you've hid your diet so well from everyone you could really surprise the hell out of them which would be great especially if you got in on camera. Are you superstitious when it comes to other things? Did you learn these things from yiayia?

[KD]

I tend to agree. Your relationship with your mother may be complicated so I won't comment on that, but especially since you are feeling your best, and assuming your friend knows where you've come from and your desire for health, it should be the perfect opportunity to share with another human being if that is what you have been avoiding. I have some of the same issues so I understand completely, but this is still my opinion. I had roommates once and I tried avoided the issue and ate all my meals outside. eventually I had to account for my missing chicken and I'd have to admit that I ate it and that was that. In that case, maybe that tactic worked better, but perhaps not. When it comes to someone else's home its way trickier, and any fears confronted that are mostly in your control can only make things better for future situations. If you were feeling crummy it would be a different story, inner confidence and sense of well being goes along way in the face of arguments or concerns.

It definitely could not hurt to work in some kind of garnish or presentation with your meals, but hiding in a corner somewhere and eating and avoiding other questions about what or why you arn't eating and things will ultimately not yield the best interaction either. If it ever gets uncomfortable there is always: nodding and saying "I hear your concerns, thank you."

[ForTheHunt]

Hi I

I caught up with an old friend recently who was a severe IBS sufferer. We lost contact but the last time we were hanging out he got so skinny due to the IBS that his lung collapsed and was hospitalised.

Now five years later I ended up at his 'World Cup Party'  he's married now to a cool chick, owns 3 houses, eats KFC and is really happy. All IBS free. He tells me it's because he stopped caring about what people thought and also stop stressing about IBS.

Your cure from diet his from finding peace. Interesting.

That's what I was hoping for, and I think I've found a very small level of certain fruits that I can handle reasonably well, but fruit still gives me problems nearly a year after starting VLC. Are you able to eat large quantities of fruit without problems?

Yes. I can eat massive amounts of fruit with out any problems what so ever.

Interesting Wodgina. A guy I know who had pretty bad skin lesions and IBS told me the same thing. He said he just made sure he didn't over eat and stopped worrying about it. He said less stress was key.

[Ioanna]

It seems perhaps that you have an unreasonable fear of what others might think of your way of eating and you are rewarding yourself with your invisibility cloaking.

Grinning PD, this is exactly what I do!  

[Ioanna]

... but especially since you are feeling your best, and assuming your friend knows where you've come from and your desire for health, it should be the perfect opportunity to share with another human being if that is what you have been avoiding. .... If you were feeling crummy it would be a different story, inner confidence and sense of well being goes along way in the face of arguments or concerns.

I'm still scared, but this gives me a lot of confidence -  TY! 

As for friends knowing where I've come from - no one knows (except mom mostly knows), I sorta hid that whole thing too. 

[wodgina]

I.

Let us know how you go!

My cured friend went on medication after the lung collaspe but I'm almost certain he's off it now because he made a point to tell me the cure came from not caring what people thought of him anymore (not that he should of worried he is a good looking charasmatic character) he eat's what ever he wants now. I've had a few friends cure CFS/OCD etc by just changing their lives.

[miles]

he....  said.... that... he... relaxed... about.... what.... he.... was.... eating.....

he.... was.... 'cured'.... through.... diet.... as well.....

even... one... of... the... things... you... mentioned... that... he... allowed... himself... to.... eat... was.... kfc.... chicken....

he... probably... restricted... him... self... from... eating... fatty... and meaty... foods....

he... relaxed... and... stopped... worrying... about... what... he... was... eating... which... meant... he... was... eating... a... more... balanced... diet... and... less... of... the... foods... which... were... causing... him... problems...

... =O liek fo'ril!?!?!?!?...

[Ioanna]

I ate yesterday a cut of beef that my farmer calls 'stew beef', he uses it for the ground beef so it's really cheap.  It's kind of like a really fatty ribeye with a bone in it.  I aged it for almost a month in the fridge, and omg it's so delicious!!!  And the fat in it is soft (and maybe fluffy?)... almost like a marshmallow but a little but firmer... so good!!!  And when I cut off what I wanted, I then gave the bone to my dog.  I thought she'd gnaw on it for an hour or so (like marrow bones), but she just crunched it right up and ate it all in about ten minutes!  I wasn't expecting that. She's a happy dog

[miles]

She ate the whole bone?

[Ioanna]

yep

[PaleoPhil]

Wow, I thought only hyenas and big cats could do that. That's very eye-opening. Combined with the story of the African man who can crack open marrow bones with his teeth, it suggests to me that scientists may need to modify their views on the amount of marrow, bone and tough meat that Stone Age proto-humans and canids were capable of eating. Perhaps ingesting bone accounted for a much higher amount of calcium intake than scientists assume?

[Ioanna]

well, I really don't know what makes me brave sometimes to try 'new' (for me) foods cuz if they don't work they are horrible. However, I did try egg yolk and did just great!  I don't know if it's my farmer, or if I can just tolerate egg yolk now?  But a year ago (different farmer) egg yolks were not at all agreeing with me.

I've also been sneaking in tiny amounts of my dogs organ/meat mix.  I find the smell (kinda strong) entirely appealing, but brain is still opposing. But, it's a start! 

Oh, and I've eaten some fresh meat and marrow and had no problem... also disaster in the past to eat wo aging a few days first.

This is progress?  What to try next??  

[Cinna]

well, I really don't know what makes me brave sometimes to try 'new' (for me) foods cuz if they don't work they are horrible. However, I did try egg yolk and did just great!  I don't know if it's my farmer, or if I can just tolerate egg yolk now?  But a year ago (different farmer) egg yolks were not at all agreeing with me.

I've also been sneaking in tiny amounts of my dogs organ/meat mix.  I find the smell (kinda strong) entirely appealing, but brain is still opposing. But, it's a start! 

Oh, and I've eaten some fresh meat and marrow and had no problem... also disaster in the past to eat wo aging a few days first.

This is progress?  What to try next??  

Ioanna, that definitely sounds like progress!

[djr_81]

well, I really don't know what makes me brave sometimes to try 'new' (for me) foods cuz if they don't work they are horrible. However, I did try egg yolk and did just great!  I don't know if it's my farmer, or if I can just tolerate egg yolk now?  But a year ago (different farmer) egg yolks were not at all agreeing with me.

I've also been sneaking in tiny amounts of my dogs organ/meat mix.  I find the smell (kinda strong) entirely appealing, but brain is still opposing. But, it's a start! 

Oh, and I've eaten some fresh meat and marrow and had no problem... also disaster in the past to eat wo aging a few days first.

This is progress?  What to try next??  

Awesome. It sounds like your body is healing itself up some.

[Ioanna]

I'm so disappointed! The farmer I have been going to has informed me that he has changed from 100% grass-fed to 97% grass-fed.  He let me know so that if I wanted to buy any of the remaining 100% that I still could.  This is the best/freshest tasting beef I've ever had, so I know they were doing something right.  Oh well, I'll have to find another source around here.

[djr_81]

Did he say why Ioanna? Is it easier to winter them on something other than hay? Or is it something worse?

[Cinna]

Hi, Ioanna! What a pretty avatar pic - are those butterfly flowers?!?

What kind/brand of food do you feed your doggy? I'm wondering if you buy it online or in-store. (Sorry if you already mentioned it somewhere in your journal.)

I hope your play is going well.

[Ioanna]

Dan, he just said "the difficulty of finding beef feeders without any grain is extreme"... what does that mean??  He has been in the process of moving his farm, and now is settling into a new area.  This is his first 'new' news.  He says the grain is 100% organic... oh, now i'm relieved     does that mean there could be soy in there??   I live in the midwest... as in open stretches of land forever... what is/why the feeder??  Actually, now I remember he said it would take a year to get them back to 100% grass-fed, so maybe he has to tend to the land he just bought first??

Thanks Cinna!  They are called 'common blue-butterfly'.  I actually put a real pic of me at first for about 10min that lasted, but I am such a wimp... I like butterflies

I get a ground beef organ mix for my dog from my farmer as well. They are dog people, so they make a dog mix.  And I can't believe, but I started eating tiny little pieces of it and now I love the stuff.  The smell is stronger, but I found it appealing.  I was just having issues because it's not entirely homogenous.. I can see chunks of stuff in there, lol.  But now I eat almost just fine.  Some bites are really bitter tasting to me.. is this the liver??  If so, I don't like it at all.  The rest is tasty though.. gosh, I eat my dog's food    Slankers sells something similar though if you're interested. I've not found anything like this in any stores.  If my farmer didn't sell this, I'd probably just buy meat, fat, organs from him and grind my own.  I age her (dog) food too, lol. 

And thanks about the play!!.. you're so kind! It's going great, and just a few weeks until opening night.. I can't wait!

[TylerDurden]

2 points:- some farmers seem to think that, nutritionally speaking,cattle that are fed only on grains in the winter months become effectively 100% grassfed between August and November, once they're off the grains in early March. Not sure if that's true, but maybe it is.

Also, you could always add mercola's krill-oil supplement to these raw meats as the extra omega-3s would offset the negative effect of a little grainfeeding on the omega-3 levels.

[djr_81]

Also, you could always add mercola's krill-oil supplement to these raw meats as the extra omega-3s would offset the negative effect of a little grainfeeding on the omega-3 levels.

It won't help though if you're hyper-sensitive to the grain.

[Raw Kyle]

I don't think 3% grain is going to make a big deal. In the wild ruminants would be eating some seeds anyway as plants (grass, whatever other leaves they eat) go to seed.

[Ioanna]

Do you think there could be soy in there though? 

I get so ill when I eat soy, I see at as so cruel to feed to any living creature that I wouldn't buy from them just for that.

[Cinna]

Thanks Cinna!  They are called 'common blue-butterfly'.  I actually put a real pic of me at first for about 10min that lasted, but I am such a wimp... I like butterflies

Haha, I thought they were actual flowers! That looked like gorgeous blue butterflies! I was, like, "WOW. You so have to hand it to Mother Nature... that she could make such an incredible-looking flower!" Haha, I'm still laughing at myself.  Aw, I missed your real pic avatar - hey, post a pic of you in your play costume! We'll all pretend that it's some other beautiful character and that it's not really you if that makes you feel better.

I get a ground beef organ mix for my dog from my farmer as well. They are dog people, so they make a dog mix.  And I can't believe, but I started eating tiny little pieces of it and now I love the stuff.  The smell is stronger, but I found it appealing.  I was just having issues because it's not entirely homogenous.. I can see chunks of stuff in there, lol.  But now I eat almost just fine.  Some bites are really bitter tasting to me.. is this the liver??  If so, I don't like it at all.  The rest is tasty though.. gosh, I eat my dog's food    Slankers sells something similar though if you're interested. I've not found anything like this in any stores.  If my farmer didn't sell this, I'd probably just buy meat, fat, organs from him and grind my own.  I age her (dog) food too, lol.

We have a few, smaller-scale, "better," like health-food-store pet stores in my area that sell raw pet food. I've been feeding my kitties the Stella & Chewy's and Bravo brands lately - I feel like these brands don't go too crazy adding in additional veggies and other stuff. My cats have also eaten Nature's Variety and Primal brands as well, which sound good, but they add too many things - I think because it sounds good to humans. Actually... I am now remembering that the convenient "patties" or "nuggets" tend to have all this stuff in them. The ground mixes (that you have to cut up yourself) are much simpler. Wow, yeah, I got lazy.  Some of the formulas sound so yummy - but then I think, I don't think my cats should eat more carbs than I do!  I didn't study the percentages though (yet). My reactions were based on reading ingredients.

Here's an example of one product I can buy at a pet store:
Feline Venison Formula (Primal Pet Foods)
Ingredients: Venison, Venison Hearts, Venison Livers, Ground Venison Bones, Organic Collard Greens, Organic Green Beans, Organic Turnips, Papaya, Cranberries, Blueberries, Organic Apple Cider Vinegar, Organic Sunflower Seeds, Organic Cilantro, Organic Squash, Sardine Oil, Taurine, Spirulina, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Ginger, Organic Sage, Mixed Tocopherols (source of vitamin E).

So gourmet... so not mono-eating!

Anyways, Slankers pet food sounds great (being grassfed - most of the raw pet food I buy in the stores is antibiotic- and hormone-free, but not pastured), but it contains no ground bone. Does your dog mix contain bone? I read somewhere that it was really important for raw bone to balance out a pet's muscle/organ food mix... Actually, your doggy does eat raw whole bones (which are better than ground), so you have nothing to worry about... I'll figure something out. Bravo has some great products (some simple mixes with just meat, organ, and ground bone)... antibiotic/hormone-free, but not pastured.  

I prefer not to order online yet and to take advantage of what the various pet stores offer (they tend to offer different things and I'm known - well, only by me, no one else cares ...except for maybe my cats - to go by more than one or two pet store(s) to get what I want to get for my cats). I'm so particular. My kitties are lucky! I guess I will go back to cutting the simpler ground mix "logs," but when they defrosted too much, wow I made such a bloody mess! [I actually open the packages/logs - I prefer not to slice through the packaged logs while frozen so I don't add microscopic traces of plastic to their food (did I mention that I'm AR? I mean, so caring??)]. I'm still figuring out my favorite sources of RAF for myself and I'm doing the same for the kits.  Thanks for the info, girlie. And I'm so proud of you for eating your dog's food!

[Cinna]

Do you think there could be soy in there though?  

I get so ill when I eat soy, I see at as so cruel to feed to any living creature that I wouldn't buy from them just for that.

I would totally bet the money if I had it that the "grains" contain soy. My sis taught/teaches thousands of kids all over the country at dance conventions and one time several years ago, when her students went around the room saying what their farms grew (she was in farm territory), she said that so many (maybe even most of them, I don't remember) said "soybeans." Even back then - when I still consumed soy! - I found that scary.

I feel as you do - even a small amount, it just seems wrong and cruel. I have eaten some grain-finished buffalo (and ignorantly, some grainfed buffalo - my body is saying no to that now), but am totally transitioning to 100% pastured/grass-fed... even if I have to go without sometimes. Also, according to http://wildideabuffalo.com/didyouknow.html, "92% of all Buffalo raised in the US are raised in the cattle feedlot way, (confined for last 3 months, fed an unnatural diet)" and "eating feedlot / grain finished buffalo negates most of the positive effects of eating buffalo meat." The case may be different with some other grain-finished meats (from a smaller farm, for example, maybe?), but for me it's not worth the chance. If the last three months of life is confined and unnatural (grains/soy), I prefer not to eat it. I was a cooked foods snob, why wouldn't I be a raw foods snob damnit.

Thanks for being so inspiring, Ioanna!

P.S. Oh my gosh, I'm a Deer Hunter!  Today, I feel more like a Butterfly Catcher/Let-Goer, lol. Butterfly Chaser...