In no part of the following text should one assume an unspoken “you should.”

I began to move towards zero carbohydrate consumption earlier this year. It was not sudden and I had dallied and experimented with the concept for a while before that. I experienced periods of low-carb intake followed by periods of complete loss of appetite control. The intensity of the binge-eating was alarming and prompted me to be more serious about the experiment.

I have been as close to zero-carb as I can get for over three months now. Not that long, but long enough to make some observations. Do I ever cheat? Yes. I have on a few of occasions enjoyed a beer with a friend, limiting it to only one. Last year, I broke an eight year abstinence on drinking. When I stopped drinking I believe it was more of a lifestyle choice than a response to an addiction. Drinking an occasional beer now hasn’t put me in any sort of tailspin risk, but I will say that I do notice the unpleasant physical remnants of the experience afterwards, and I would just as soon skip them.

It took a while to give up bread. We have some pretty great bakeries here in Lawrence, KS. Hard to walk past. But for the most part, I consumed bread in the form of tortillas which I used to help me consume various combinations of meat, sour cream, and cheese. I do love Mexican food. I now use a bowl instead. If I’m feeling fancy I might add some salsa if I can determine it hasn’t had any sugar or other poisons added to it.

So I feel great.

Not perfectly great, but in comparison to preceding decades…freaking great.

These are the things:

• Improved Mood¹ - My mood has stabilized a lot. Around the time I started this experiment with diet, I lost a job which I loved. This would have typically caused…problems. I have grieved over it, and it still weighs on me, but I have not despaired and I remain forward-looking.

• Less anxiety, more focus.

• Night Sweats are gone. After years of soaking the pillow and sheets

• Sleep Improved. For a couple of reasons. One is that I am not constantly thirsty and consume less water. My middle of the night trips to the bathroom have stopped. Secondly, I fall asleep more easily. The pre-sleep, anxious thought, rabbit hole does not occur nearly as often now.

• Gums stopped bleeding. This was just normal for the longest time. When I brushed my teeth there was always blood. I now brush my teeth four times a day (no toothpaste) and there has been no bleeding. Zero. None.

• How shall I describe the way my gastrointestinal tract feels? Transparent? Invisible maybe. Never in my life has my digestive system been so quiet and unobtrusive. No rumbling, no complaining. No feelings of gas, bloating, or inflammation.

• I don’t wake up sore. For a long time I had been experiencing intense pain in my head, neck, and shoulders upon waking. Straight to the Ibuprofen every morning. Wrong pillow? Wrong posture? Something I ate? The last one apparently. That pain is gone now.

• Weight Loss. This is the one everyone wants to know about. I lost about 12 pounds pretty quickly when I got deliberate about zero-carb intake. Since then things have slowed in terms of weight loss, but my weight continues to go down. If I want a more dramatic weight drop, I will likely have to exercise more and reduce my calorie intake just like everyone else in the universe.

It doesn’t fix everything.

Regrettably, this food regimen has not done anything to improve my general character flaws and my hair has not become thicker and isn’t growing back. I do feel more open to the possibility of conquering some things about myself that have vexed me for a very long time. Even in this later stage of my life.