I want to share the carnivore diet benefits I have experienced since I started dabbling a year ago, and went strict in the last month and a half.
Carnivore Diet Plan
What I Eat: My Carnivore Meal Plan
Meat. Eggs. The highest quality I can afford. I get most of my meat from a local grazier. It costs a little more but it’s so great to have a relationship with the person raising your food.
- I bring boiled eggs and meatloaf to work for lunch.
- I scramble eggs in butter to go with my dinner.
Intermittent Fasting
I like the idea of giving my body a break from digesting food to focus on rebuilding cells and clearing out the gunk.
I started with 16 hours off and an 8-hour eating window. It wasn’t that difficult. I skipped breakfast. I felt it for a few weeks, but it wasn’t debilitating. I was able to do my job. Now, it’s normal. Recently, I moved my lunch later so now I’m at about 18-6. I start to feel it that last hour before lunch, but doable.
I’ve heard good things about one meal a day (OMAD). I get real spacey at about 21-22 hours. I can barely put a sentence together. With practice, my body should get used to this as well. So, I started doing OMAD on Saturday and Sunday. Weekend days offer me the chance to be in a daze for a few hours.
I’m not sure I could get enough calories eating OMAD on a daily basis. Doing it two days a week is cool because I don’t mind a calorie deficit a couple of times a week, since I still have some body fat to get rid of.
Dr. John Jaquish, in his book, Weight Lifting is a Waste of Time, So Is Cardio … says fasting gives your body a chance at total metabolic reset, autophagy, and regeneration of the immune system. It gives your body time to repair itself. Also, when you fast your body produces more growth hormone and testosterone.
So next up will be longer fasts. 48-72 hours. I’m not quite ready for this, but Jaquish says at 72 hours your immune system resets. I’m down for having a fully functioning immune system.
Carnivore Diet for Weight Loss: Getting Lean
I’ve been dabbling in low carb, slow carb, and keto for a while. I went carnivorish about 6 months ago. I eliminated nearly all plant foods about 45 days ago.
My body continues to shed the fat.
My goal is to be lean. I don’t need a lot of muscle. I’ll know I’m lean when I finally get rid of this gut. It’s way smaller than it was. I’ve lost about 12 pounds in 45 days. I’m 6’1” 190. I estimate about 5-10 more pounds and I’ll lose the gut completely.
I don’t know though. Not sure my body is ready for that. I’ve had that thing for 25 years at least. This is why I’m testing calorie deficit on the weekends. I try to make sure I’m still getting 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, so I don’t lose muscle. I can’t afford that.
In another 30-60 days if I’m not where I want to be on the lean scale, I’ll eliminate butter. Paul Saladino MD, in his book The Carnivore Code, says dairy is problematic for some people.
“The opiate-like qualities of dairy also make it slightly addicting, likely an evolutionary adaptation that encourages babies to drink a lot of milk so they get as many calories and nutrients as possible. As adults, we no longer need to gain weight rapidly and can get all the nutrients we need from solid foods. Milk also contains both sugar (lactose) and fat, a satiety-disrupting combination of macronutrients that occurs very uncommonly in the natural world.
The combination of fat and carbohydrates short-circuits our normal appetite-control mechanisms, a fact that junk food manufacturers picked up decades ago. As we’ve previously discussed, candy bars, ice cream, and many of the other foods that are difficult for us to stop eating are all composed of sugar and fat. These foods are hijacking our brains and triggering our ancestral programming in negative ways.”
One of my last food eliminations was cheese. As Saladino says, you don’t get satiety signals from dairy. And, I cannot stop eating the stuff. I’d love to add it back in the future (ah … cheesy scrambled eggs), but not right now.
Carnivore Diet Side Effects
I’m happy I discovered the carnivore diet. Beyond getting lean, there are a ton of benefits. It took a while to commit. And there were bumps along the way, but overall there isn’t a downside.
Less Anxiety
I have less anxiety. This is huge. I used to have low-grade anxiety all the time. It would spike if I had to make a presentation at work. To be honest, I’m still not super comfortable about presenting, but the anxiety has lessened. I attribute it to the carnivore diet. Dr. Saladino says taurine (a nutrient only found in animal foods) is an anxiety-reducing neurotransmitter.
There’s also a connection between inflammation and anxiety, and as Dr. Saladino writes, plant foods cause inflammation. An Australian study found vegetarians were twice as likely to suffer from depression and anxiety.
Better Digestion
My digestion is much better. Back when I was doing a high protein, low carb diet, but was eating a ton of nuts, I had loose stool, gas, and bloat. Going all carnivore fixed that. I still have diarrhea as I modulate fat and protein ratios, but my digestion is much better.
No More Brain Fog
Other than feeling fuzzy after 22+ hours of fasting, I feel much sharper now. The brain fog has cleared away. I have a better memory. Words come more fluid. I’m not a big talker and don’t express myself verbally in an eloquent way, but I have fewer episodes of struggling to string the right words together.
Skin Cleared Up
I used to have a lot of skin bumps on my sides, back, and butt. I didn’t know what it was. It wasn’t a bunch of pimples or a rash, but lots of bumps. That has cleared up. Obviously, something I was eating was causing my skin to break out. This doesn’t happen anymore. I still have zits every once in a while but my skin is much better.
Gross Toenails, Stink Foot, and Bad Breath
I used to have fungal infections around my toenails. Like annoying red, itchy, flakiness that never went away. Gone. My feet rarely smell bad. In the past, I cleared a room when the shoes came off.
I used to have chronic bad breath. Gone. No amount of mints, mouthwash, or teeth brushing, could cover up the stink breath, but now it’s gone for the most part. I still have my days, if I drink too much black tea, or slip and have a couple of cups of coffee. Or, if I go on a cheese bender. Overall, my breath is much better, and this, I have no doubt, is because my gut is healing.
Carnivore Diet for Beginners: How I Started
I have always been adventurous with my diet looking for optimal health. I was a vegetarian and to my shame even a raw vegan for about a year. I started low carb after seeing a friend of mine have success with the Atkins diet and then reading Tim Ferriss’s book The 4-Hour Body. I saw improvements with that, but never got super lean, nor felt 100%.
Doctors diagnosed my son with Crohn’s about seven years ago. It got really bad at one point. He’s 6’3”. His weight plummeted to 112 pounds. Skeleton. He couldn’t leave the house.
A few years ago he started eating meat and eggs only. He immediately started putting on weight. The gastrointestinal issues improved.
Now, he can leave the house. He moved into his own apartment. He has a normal life back. A miracle. I’m so happy for him.
It dawned on me that the carnivore diet could help my gut issues as well.
I started eliminating different plant-based foods and began losing weight and feeling better. Over the holidays in 2020, I went crazy with desserts, bread, wine, coffee, and all kinds of festive foods, and gained a lot of weight. It took me about two and a half months to get back to where I was.
After reading Saladino’s book, The Carnivore Code, I decided to go all in. Well, except for black tea. It wasn’t that hard. I started losing more weight and leaning out.
That’s where I am now.
What Supplements Do I Take?
I’m a big believer in getting most of my nutrition from the food I eat. Supplements always seemed suspect, but I still took certain stuff. Probiotics. Digestive enzymes. Vitamin C if I felt a sickness coming on. Vitamin D in the winter here in Wisconsin. Glutamine.
After reading Dr. Saladino’s book, I stopped doing all of that, because I trust him when he says I can get everything I need from a nose-to-tail animal foods diet. I started eating liver once a week. It’s my superfood to make sure I get the elusive nutrients:
Copper, biotin, CoQ10, riboflavin, folate, choline, anserine, carnosine, taurine, L-carnitine, and vitamins: A, D, E, K2, B12.
Oh, and I still take an electrolyte supplement daily called LMNT – Raw Unflavored. No sugar and no carbs. This keeps my sodium levels in the right place (your body requires a ton more salt on a carnivore diet). Here’s what I get when I pour a “stick pack” of powder in water every morning.
- 1000 mg sodium
- 200 mg potassium
- 60 mg magnesium
I try to eat a lot of high-quality salt as well.
I want to try organ supplements to make sure I’m getting enough of those nutrients. Dr. Saladino started his own supplement company with desiccated (low-temperature dehydration to preserve as many nutrients as possible) organs.
Meat Eater Mindset
Getting over the hump and into full carnivore is a mental challenge, along with physical. Here are some tips for motivation and resolve.
The Art of Eating
Decouple eating from entertainment, and the notion of a life well-lived. Don’t use food as your artistic outlet. Don’t measure your happiness by the lavishness of your table.
A well-cooked ribeye is a masterpiece to me, but food is fuel in the carnivore diet. Look, meat is delicious so it’s not like you have to choke down your daily rations. Well, maybe liver. You might want to skip watching food shows or re-runs of Anthony Bourdain or marinate in movies like Chef, Like Water For Chocolate, or Big Night.
You need to switch to a health regime mentality. Say to yourself … “This is what I do to stay lean and mean. I express my artistic side and sensuality in other ways.”
I know that many folks derive pleasure eating fine foods with friends. So, this can be a tough one. Figure out how to plate steak and eggs 36 different ways or something.
I’m not a foodie and I have no friends (haha) so this isn’t an issue for me.
No Cheat Days
Don’t do cheat days. You can keep some plant foods in the diet at the beginning as you transition, but don’t go crazy at Five Guys every Saturday, or pizza with the family, or Sunday brunch pancakes, or happy hour drinks.
Mentally, cheat days break me. They morph into cheat weekends. And then cheat weeks. Your body has a lot of work to do to switch from a carb-burning machine to a fat-burning machine. Particularly in the beginning don’t confuse it.
Yeah, have that cake at your kid’s birthday. Or make a toast with the bubbly on New Year’s, but make these RARE occasions.
Go 100% – All In!
If possible remove non-carnivore stuff from your house. Less temptation.
Make 100% your goal. For some reason, this helped me mentally. There’s no carb dabbling anymore. I don’t eat anything but meat, fish, and eggs. This keeps me from sliding down the slippery slope.
Don’t Believe the Lies
The cattle industry is not the leading cause of greenhouse gas and climate change.
Now, let me be clear. I hate factory farming. It’s not respectful to the animals. It’s unhealthy for the animals, the workers, and the consumers alike. It’s a horrid practice and must stop.
But, I’m not a militant vegan that thinks meat is murder. Nor am I buying the bullshit about cow farts and grazing killing our planet.
In fact, if done right, grass-fed meat operations do more to heal the land and are more “sustainable” than any other type of food production. It’s a very natural cycle.
Grass grows with the sun and rain. Cows eat the grass, which, as ruminant animals, they are able to digest. They poop and trample grass building up the carbon in the soil. More grass grows. And the cycle continues.
It helps to know the way you are eating is good for the environment. There’s no guilt.
Helpful Carnivore Diet Resources
Reading stories of other people succeeding with the diet has been helpful. Reading books by MDs strengthened my resolve.
Books
Here are three books by super-smart dudes who all walk the talk. They all did their homework, tested on themselves, and reported on the results. Reading them cleared away any last remaining doubts that I was doing the right thing and that the carnivore diet was safe.
- The Carnivore Code by Paul Saladino, MD
- The Carnivore Diet by Shawn Baker, MD
- Weight Lifting is a Waste of Time, So Is Cardio, and There’s a Better Way to Have the Body You Want by Dr. John Jaquish
Websites
- Carnivore MD – Paul Saladino’s site.
- MeatRX – Shawn Baker’s site with a paid community of support.
Supplements
- Heart & Soil – organ meat supplements.
- Drink LMNT – electrolytes.
Food
- Eat Wild – find a local farmer.
- Redmond Salt