WOBO

So after feeling lost and out of control for a week, binging on raw beef ribs, drinking lots of heavy cream, and generally giving my body more than what I judged it needed in an attempt to raise my energy, I felt like I needed a reset. A grounding, if you well. What better to try than a WOBO?

WOBO, or week of burgers/beef only, is a term I heard thrown around by one mike davis, literally just a guy in austin, who created his own youtube channel to document his health experiements with going into a ketogenic diet, eating one meal a day, and transitioning into carnivorous way of eating. His videos are insightful and encouraging.

So, I went and bought 10 pounds of 73/27 ground beef from Winco, and set to it.

Day one, 600 grams of beef. A big meal. There was so much rendered fat, and drinking it was mildly terrible. My stomach protested. I had a nip of beef tallow later in the day for energy.

Day two, I upped to 775 grams. I honestly don’t remember if I split that over two meals or just one big one but again, I felt pretty gross in my belly. The 73 beef results in SO much fat. So I resolved to start cooking one pound batches, and setting in the fridge, so the fat would solidify.

Day three. Ate a pound of cold beef. Nothing added. It was better! A fine summer meal. I dared to eat a half pound of raw ground beef later in the evening. I felt tired, but my mood was good.

Day four. Feeling sluggish. Decided to add three ounces of beef tallow over my cold beef, and some salt, for electrolytes. Also, started couch to 5k. So after about 20 hours, I broke my fast with this large fatty meal, in a warm bath. I became very very tired. The tiredness persisted with me almost the entire day, and I ate another half pound of raw beef to bring back some energy, only to have my mood go through the floor abruptly, leaving me lower than ever. Thank goodness this was before therapy.

Day five. Up early to hit the gym for a deloaded deadlift day. Felt like moving through molasses. I added more beef tallow to my pound of beef, felt pretty unsettled after eating it, but still was hungry enough for a (cooked) half pound before the day was done. My stomach wasn’t too painful but it was very very loud.

Day six. Had my morning pound of beef and tallow after some AM yoga, and felt like I was dying inside. I got so tired and my stomach was just in knots. I was pretty done with this beef nonsense. So despite the stomach pain, I had a small meal of sardines, kimchi, saurerkraut, and an apple, before going out to see my family for an escape room. I felt great that night.

Day seven: Woke up with crazy energy. I was swinging kettlebells in the living room and feeling great. I still had 1.5 pounds of beef cooked in the fridge, so thats what I had that day, albiet with some added avocado and parmesan, and beef liver. Energy was low, but stomach was ok. Mood was up.

What did I learn? Cheap ground beef is not enough for me. The simplicity was nice, but by the end of the week, I felt like ground beef. Going forward, I resolve to be a whole primal cut of human.