X-mas Day Food Eaten
A Pictorial of Everything I ate On Christmas Day, 2024
Mr. Skeptical sees the title of this post, and his nose and lips pucker up as if he smells something bad. “Why should anyone care what you ate for Christmas?”
I give him the dirtiest look I can in response but add, “People should read and look at what I ate because I’m an all-natural 55-year-old who’s in shape and with a 6-pack. I’ve spent my whole life studying health and nutrition and how people eat. Most people accept that one must gain weight during the Holidays, but I’m here to prove you don’t need to gain weight during the Holidays while enjoying yourself.”
Mr. Skeptical yawns as if he’s bored, ignoring me. It motivates me to add, “And if you don’t like me writing about this, then you can kiss my ass.”
The final remark gets his attention, and he gives me a wounded look, making me feel better.
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 feet
In the picture above, I mixed protein with amino acids and creatine. This gave me about 39 grams of protein.
Mr. Skeptical puts his hands up. “But wait, what about the carbohydrate and fat amounts?”
“I don’t bother counting that because I find it’s simply not needed. As a man over 40, I have found that the most important thing to get daily is my body weight in grams of protein. I make sure to include lots of healthy fats, so I add coconut oil and beef tallow to my coffee.”
“I thought you added butter to your coffee?”
“I did, but then I experimented with beef tallow and found that adds a better flavor to the coffee, so I’m going with that. I also drink the above ingredients (protein, amino acids, and creatine) with coconut milk, pictured below.
Mr. Skeptical folds his arms. “Why not drink it with almond milk or oat milk?”
“I’ve explained oat milk here. Almond milk is often sweetened with lots of sugar, is terrible for the environment, and has many oxalates, frequently linked to kidney stones and other health issues.
“My mom and sister came over. They ate breaded empanadas, as you can see in the picture below. I skipped that because I avoid wheat and ate the bacon.”
Mr. Skeptical squints his eyes at me. “But weren’t you tempted to try a bite?”
“No. And it’s easy for me because when I think of eating wheat, I associate it with a stomach ache. I don’t crave it at all. Besides, look at the bacon; it looks freaking amazing. I want the bacon. There were also three hard-boiled eggs, too. I ate all three, bringing my total protein intake to about 65 grams.”
“That’s a lot of protein to get started.”
“Yes, it is. And my body needs it because I want to maintain my muscle mass.”
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
Around 4 PM, I get to my father’s house, and I’m already quite hungry, so I snack on the appetizers seen below.
I ate a fair amount of cheese and sausages, adding about 20 grams of protein.
“What other temptations were around?”
“There was shrimp avocado salad, which I did try.”
“Aha, with the chips, of course,” says Mr. Skeptical triumphantly.
I suppress a smile and add, “No. I ate my shrimp avocado salad with cheese and sausage. I won’t eat the cheap filler food that potato chips are. See the pic below.”
Mr. Skeptical points at me. “Well, I’d argue that the salad would taste better with a chip instead of a sausage.”
“Perhaps. But remember, I live by the formula food = fuel + taste. I want the fuel that dense protein- and fat-rich food gives me. I still tasted the shrimp salad but skipped the carb-loaded chips.”
“Whatever, what happened after the appetizers.”
“My first plate of food is shown below.”
Mr. Skeptical smiles. “I see you fell for something sweet, cranberry slices.”
“Yes, I put one slice on my food plate but didn’t eat it yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m strategic about my eating. Rule number one for losing weight at Holiday parties is to eat nutrient-dense food first. I went and got my second plate of food, shown below.”
Mr. Skeptical looks closely at the picture above. “That’s the same piece of cranberry on your plate?”
“Yes, it is. And I still didn’t eat it. I went and got my third plate of food shown below.”
Mr. Skeptical keeps looking closely at the pictures. “Hmmph, I don’t know.”
“I have no reason to lie about this. If you look at the first picture with the cranberry and compare it to the third, you can see that it’s the same piece of cranberry. In the second picture, the ham covers part of the cranberry.”
Mr. Skeptical puts on his fowl smell face again. “I’m just ensuring you live up to your real-deal persona.”
The pic above shows apple pie served for dessert. I didn’t have any. After eating one piece of cranberry and so much meat, I was too stuffed to eat anything else.
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
A few hours later, I got to my friend's place, where he cooked a lot of meat. I wasn't that hungry but did eat two blood sausages, which I love, as shown below.
Then I saw prosciutto, and I couldn’t help myself. I’m a sucker for prosciutto. See below.
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
Mr. Skeptical shakes his head and folds his arms. “I don’t know. I would have eaten the shrimp salad with the chips.”
“And that’s where the rubber meets the road. Because had you done that, it could have changed everything. Your body would have produced different gastric juices to properly digest the chips. Those gastric juices are different than whats needed to digest protein. You would have likely felt more full.”
“So I would have felt more full and then eaten less. What’s wrong with that?”
“If you add up all the protein I ate for the day, it was about 180-200 grams. Barely enough for what I need to maintain muscle mass. Because I keep eating meats and proteins, the gastric juices involved are similar for digestion. Eating carbohydrates and starches would produce different gastric juices, making me feel fuller earlier, and I wouldn’t have gotten enough protein.”
“So you're saying most men don’t eat enough protein.”
“Yes, this is what happens. Most men mix in some rice and beans, a few crackers here and there, and they get full quickly, likely eating less. But then the belly gets bigger and the muscles smaller, and they wonder why.”
“But it’s hard to resist trying other stuff.”
“It’s not hard for me, and it’s not hard for most men after they’ve been on a carnivore diet for a while, and the body has adapted to using fat for fuel.”
“Well, you certainly ate a lot of food.”
“Oh, and I almost forgot. One final thing later at home. I drank a glass of raw milk before going to bed.”
Be aware.
PS Links on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.