Topic: Carnivore Diet

[Jake]

On our way back home from the last Thanksgiving holiday I decided to start moving - mainly to lose some weight. So that Sunday night, I went to the gym for the first time in many years. At the same time I also cut my caloric intake - I didn't count, but just ate less and cut out things like pop and other similar crap. All in all, I probably cut out 30 to 40% of my calories. I exercised 6 days a week, anywhere from an hour to an hour and 20 minutes. This consisted of 20 minutes of cardio, and the rest was resistance/weight training. First week was great, dropped like 8 pounds! woo

and then, nothing. 2 weeks, 3, 4, 6, 10 - the scale did not move much at all. Some weeks I gained weight! Huge difference from the last time I did this - and I think it is because of my age.

Fast forward to February 4th - I was still only down about 10 pounds since Thanksgiving. Still exercising 6 days a week - mostly at night, between 10pm and midnight. Saw changes in the body, but still felt about the same. We went out to a nice dinner for my wife's bday - italian, carb loaded - deliciousness. Feb 5th, I went on a protein only diet.

Meat - mostly beef and venison. But chicken and pork also. Eggs. eggs. lots of eggs. Aged cheese. Butter. Duck Fat. Heavy whipping cream - and a shit ton of water. Goal was to sustain this until Easter. Within 2 weeks, I noticed significant changes in my mood and energy level - for the better! I started going to the gym earlier. Within 3 weeks I was waking up at 5:30am and going to the gym between 6 and 8am. Those first weeks I dropped another 15 or so pounds.

Come Easter I was down 35 pounds. But my body has transformed quite a bit. I put on significant muscle mass.
That week I added carbs into my diet - some bread, some pasta, some sweets. And in those 7 to 10 days, I started feeling worse. there were highs, there were lows - both in energy and mood. I suspect insulin was out of whack.

So I said fuck that noise, and went back to the carnivore diet but slightly modified it: I added in fruit and some veggies. At this point, I would estimate my diet consists of about 80-90% protein. I drink alcohol one time a week - usually on Saturday, since Sunday is my rest day. And again, I feel great. I'm loosing 0-3 pounds per week and 3 weeks ago I was 50 pounds down from my starting weight. And adding more and more muscle.

I feel great. I'm addicted to the morning exercise.

Sometime in October I will go on another strict carnivore diet for a couple of months.

My blood pressure was getting pretty high before I started exercising - as high as 145/80. Now I am consistently less than 110/70

My typical daily meals:

wake up drink .5L of water with 2 scoops of CHCL
after gym drink another .5L of water with 2 scoops
Breakfast - it is either 6 pieces of thinly cut steak (like 1/4 of inch) and 3 or 4 eggs or 4 hardboiled eggs mixed with a can of sardines and a can of tuna, tbsp of mayo and 2tsp spicy mustard
Lunch - around 11am - banana or raspberries - but not everyday - only when I'm hungry
12pm-2pm - 3 cups of coffee with half a cup of heavy whipping cream
dinner - various protein. Organ meet twice a week - like beef heart or liver.
About 3L of water daily

This is not for everyone, but it works for me. I has blood work done in December and again a couple of weeks ago. All was in norm in December, and is even better now - including cholesterol. The thing that improved tremendously is inflammation - I had elevated inflammation in the body in December, and now it is gone.

Since I could remember I had an allergy to whatever protein is in egg whites - Whenever I ate eggs, within a couple hours I would be on the toilet. That is completely gone now. 

So yeah.

Meat.

[ober]

Kudos.  Thanks for posting your daily meals.  It's interesting to see that kind of stuff from someone that it's working for.  Are you worried about the extra cholesterol from the steak/or all of those eggs?

I gained weight since the beginning of the pandemic.  Up about 10 pounds that I cannot lose.  I feel like I'm eating less but I WFH at least 4 days a week now and barely move during the day.  I think that's most of it.

[Jake]

Are you worried about the extra cholesterol from the steak/or all of those eggs?

I was, even after reading and listening to many people on a similar diet that have been doing it for years without experiencing any of the "dangers" that we are told about. That's why I had blood work done before and a few months into the diet. I will get another, at the end of the year. I think the risks of cholesterol, blood pressure, etc etc, are all valid, but are mainly driven by very high intakes of simple carbs, refined sugars, highly processed foods, and seed/veg oils and what those things do to our insulin levels, hormones, and  gut health.

I don't want to say that I'm sure this diet will do wonders for everyone - I think you have to learn to listen to what your body is telling you that you need. A few weeks into the Easter phase, I craved raspberries - and that was my only cheat - I would eat 8oz or so of raspberries when my body asked for them. That's just an example.

I don't have cravings anymore.

It is really quite amazing.

[Jake]

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0r7MbKFhtLf9RLOahCT1gU

This is a very informative episode. Listen to it when you get some time

[Perspective]

Awesome that you're seeing such great results, but that much red meat would worry me. I'd focus more on lean chicken breast and fish for protein.

Also, don't discount the value of fat and carbs. Instead of going all-in on protein you should consider tracking all three macros (carbs, fat, protein) and aim for a specific ratio within a calorie target. I tracked everything I ate (I mean *everything*) in an app for about a year with a target ratio for macros and had great results. My goal was also to be protein heavy, but with a balance of fat and carbs. Lot's of veggies also helps with digestion.

As I mentioned in the other thread, I gained about 25 pounds in 2 years (my goal was to gain 20). It made a huge difference in my appearance. Pretty much every person I know made a comment about how my body had changed.

[charlie]

I gained weight since the beginning of the pandemic.  Up about 10 pounds that I cannot lose.  I feel like I'm eating less but I WFH at least 4 days a week now and barely move during the day.  I think that's most of it.

literally me... I thought it was because of a binge of sweets and baked goods when everybody was home and cooking but just recently I looked at the history of my steps over the last several years on my phone and there was a obvious drop at the exact same time I gained the weight.

[ober]

My wife and I are intentionally taking more walks now and I'm actively trying to eat less than I used to.  I think it's also that I'm in my 40s now and my body ain't what it used to be.