Custom Keto Diet or How to Thrive on $100 a month in California

Imagine moving to California for 6 months with little to no money. That’s exactly what happened to me…but instead of going homeless & starving, I learned to survive & thrive on a budget custom keto diet all while regaining my health.

Here’s the story of how I went to Southern California broke & managed to survive on less than $100 per month.

Returning to California
The End of Civilization & No Income
Moving to the Countryside
Sourcing Food
Custom Keto Diet Plan
Beef Liver is True Superfood
Homeless for Christmas?

Returning to my Home State of California

Winters in Norther Europe are cold, dark & all around depressing.

Fed up, I bought a one-way ticket to California.

The plan was to stay there for 6 months, finish a course in regenerative agriculture, & begin the ground work of regenerating agriculture, planet & people.

Call it bad luck or poor planning – from the start, things did not go well.

Returning from the European countryside, I arrived back to the city to sort out my affairs & pack my belongings.

Checking in on the Steak Club sorting warehouse, I was informed the courier company had been bought by a large competitor – there was less than a week to move my fulfillment operations.

Problem was, I was flying to California in 2 days.

Quick thinking, I called a fellow entrepreneur & was recommended a new courier service.

While operations were being moved, I got on the plane and flew half way across the world, returning to my childhood home of California for the first time in 15 years.

Nothing could have prepared me for the shock of what I saw.

The End of Civilization + No Income

Landing in Los Angeles, I was witnessing the end of a civilization.

90%+ of the people I saw were overweight or obese, crumbling infrastructure was everywhere, air pollution was no surprise but the cost of living was insane…

Picked up at the airport by an old friend from University, my understanding was that I would be staying on the couch until I could figure things out.

Instead, I found out I was renting a room in the house my friend was also staying in for a “great price.“

$1350 for a single bedroom + and en-suite bathroom.

After living in the countryside, I had to remember…welcome to Los Angeles, one of the most expensive cities in the world!

On top of this, it was inflation (price gouging) was already skyrocketing.

In 2 weeks, I saw the price of bacon go from $8-$12.

Going to the supermarket was costing on average a minimum of $100 for less than a week’s food.

On top of this…the sorting warehouse issues had still not been fixed.

With no passive income & what turned out to be a huge mistake in switching couriers, I had to do something, and quick.

The solution?

It was time to move out to the countryside.

Moving to the Countryside

Luckily before coming to California, my friend in Los Angeles had introduced me to a non-profit organization.

The organisation was renting half of a hobby farm in San Diego county, complete with a tiny house, solar panels & compost toilet.

It was time to move.

The place was perfect: a tiny house all to myself, solar panels so I could work on my laptop, & on a farm where I could get physical work in.

Ironically, this was right next to Camp Pendleton military base, where I was born.

The problem was, with no money & no car (a necessity in the U.S.), I was totally stranded.

On top of this there was no hot water, no heating, nor compost for the toilet

The next two months were cold showers, digging holes…, listening to live ammunition fired daily (military exercises next door) & coyotes howling at night.

Luckily, whoever kitted out the tiny house was a Europhile, with a duvet to keep me warm at night.

I thus slept snuggly under the covers each night…one must always look at the positives in life.

Sourcing Food

Luckily, I was able to go into town once a week, to join Juan (the only local farmer), to help setup at the Fallbrook Farmer’s Market.

So what how did I manage my diet plan?

Having lived with a holistic doctor the previous winter, you can now say that I have an expertise in holistic medicine (see Holistic Health Playlist)

The first piece of advice? Only shop at Mexican Supermarkets.

With 40% lower prices, and an excellent beef butcher, I was amazed at the selection of beef.

This was nose-to-tail, the first time since Costa Rica, where I had seen such a wide variety of cuts, including beef liver, kidneys, beef cheeks, oxtail…you name it.

Custom Keto Diet Plan

So what did my diet plan look like? Put simply, I put myself on a cheap keto diet (see here to read more on the Carnivore diet)

In addition, I’ve long practiced intermittent fasting, eating once a day, and keeping my main mealtime between 10:00- 14:00.

The minimum amount of protein required for the average person is roughly 0.8g of protein per kg body weight.

Also keep in mind, you want 50/50 protein to fat + beef organs for your vitamins.

Here are the numbers:

Total Body Weight: 53kg (125lb)
Required Protein: 53g x 30 Days -> 1.59kg per month
Required Fat: 1.59kg per month

Food Item	Price per Unit	Quantity	Total Cost	Total Weight (grams)	Notes
Beef Liver	$1.89/lb	2 pounds	$7.56	907.2	Rich in vitamins
Eggs (12 pack)	$2.19	4 packs	$8.76	–	Vitamins, fat, protein
Flank Steak	$6.99/lb	4 pounds	$27.96	1814	High in protein
Butter (Fat)	$3.75/8oz	–	$3.75	1808	Rich source of fat

Monthly total Spend-> $76.04

From November to December on the farm, I was doing mostly computer work – keeping minimum energy expenditure, doing pull-ups, and going outside everyday to tan in the hot California sun.

With little to no money, I was on a strict keto/carnivore diet.

Within the first month (mid-Nov), I was barely getting by…but this had the advantage of limiting my options.

Thus no coffee or stimulants.

Just water, protein, fat, & beef organs.

Beef Liver is A True Superfood

The effects of the budget keto diet were immediate and nothing short of amazing!

Within 2 weeks, my six-pack of abs was back & I was gaining muscle mass.

Exercise? Nothing except pull-ups.

Even more amazing, my brain fog was gone, increasing mental clarity & my overall energy levels.

That, coupled with cold showers, clean food, fresh air & sunlight everyday, I had achieved optimal health in a very short period of time.

In under 1 week (having practiced keto diet for years & being fat adapted) I was feeling the best I had felt in years on a keto diet.

What was the difference this time? The no.1 super food beef liver.

This was the first time in my life I had introduced beef liver into my diet on a regular basis. I was slicing it up into pill sized chunks, freezing them, and taking some every morning & evening.

I normally track the hours I work (time is an entrepreneur’s absolute number 1 limited resource), and my work performance went from 6-7 hours a day on the computer, to 12 hours – without a real break.

Thanks to the boost in energy & mental clarity, I was finally able to fix the crisis with Steak Club in time for Xmas.

With this new mental clarity, I finally remembered to tap into my network back in Poland.

A quick phone call to the owner of Lokalny Rolnik, and we were allowed to move into their fulfilment operation.

In under 2 months and coming up to the middle of December, I had:
– Grown an e-mail list at the farmer’s market to 250 people,
– Put together a Regenerative Solutions Affiliate Program,
– Fixed Steak Club courier crisis (moved fulfilment operations to Lokalny Rolnik)
– Helped the non-profit identify & purchase an 80ha property in Santa Barbara

Homeless for Christmas?

However, all good things must come to an end …

On December 15th – my birthday & the same day I got my driver’s license – I was kicked off of the farm by the owner of the leased farm.

Why?

For visiting the chickens coop…literally.

Talk about egos.

I could now understand why the non-profit was moving.

However, coming close to the holidays, I would nearly be homeless for Xmas – this was the start of the process of getting kicked off 3 farms in 6 weeks.

This adventure was just getting started.