Carnivore Plus Lifestyle

...Ghost...

Hello everyone.

I never thought I would be writing to a sub-forum like this one, but here I am, laying myself bare and hoping to get info from others and give my lived experience. Maybe others can benefit from this, no matter the diet or lifestyle they choose. Some family members had dabbled in the carnivore diet and I decided to do some research on it. Like anything else, the data seemed to be very left and right with positive reports and negative reports. I noted the vast majority of the negatives were from sources and people who had not undertaken the diet themselves and verifiable scientific data seemed sparse.

OK, so let me get the health and stats out of the way and to also say that I am under the watchful eye of my GP, because I was having health concerns for several months. I think this is important, because it is an elimination diet and one which has quite a few variations from only eating beef and salt, to eating any beef, poultry and fish, to also eating animal produce like dairy and eggs. Some even allow fruit and coffee.

From research and knowing myself and what I could stick to, I opted for the no processed meat option with animal produce. I decided to allow all meats, poultry and fish including eggs and dairy (sparingly). I decided to do this for one month strictly.

Starting Feb 1st:

Age: 40

Activity Level: Sedentary (Lazy B@stard)

Height: 182cm

Weight: 110kg

Tummy: 114cm

Waist: 101cm

Previous Diet Makeup:

Breakfast - Cereal or sausage, beans and a slice of bread.

Lunch/Dinner - Anything from a healthier home cooked meal (pasta dish, fish dish, meat and potatoes etc) to McDonalds or BurgerKing meal.

Snacks - Most days I would eat something like a Boost bar and drink a coke, lucozade, or occasionally a RedBull. Curse of the vending machine. Once per week on average, I would get a chipper…chips, battered sausage, SF breast of chicken.

Reasons for change of diet and hopes I would reduce/eliminate some of the below:

Very low energy. Sleeping as soon as I got home from work.

Weekly abdominal pain and diarrhea. I carried immodium in my pocket, my car and my work locker.

Acid reflux/indigestion weekly. Always have Gaviscon at home.

Scalp sores (red, sore skin and scabs around the crown).

Brain fog - almost constant, regularly forgetting words mid sentence.

Neck and shoulder pain. Possible poor posture issue.

Mid back pain from injury. No changes expected.

Lower back pain from injury. No changes expected.

Chest/Heart Pain. Irregular pattern, but weekly at least.

Quarterly chest infections. Daily mucus/sputum. Reaching every time I brushed teeth.

Pins and needles if arms raised.

That's it for the most part and I hoped for positive changes in some areas while expecting no change, or to be worse in other areas. It was an experiment, but I needed to do something. I visited my GP on January 31st to report my gastro and energy issues and I had bloods taken, my height and weight recorded. Suffice to say there was nothing say on my weight, it was clear that was high. My blood results later revealed high cholesterol, but due to age and the fact it was just over the threshold, no concern was issued and no meds required. He would refer me to have tests later for my digestive system, plus liver, kidney and pancreas.

You have probably noticed that weight loss was not a goal, or even an expectation. My expectation was to maintain my calorie intake, but to reduce some of my ailments caused by eating shítty food. However, If I was to be in anyway scientific about this, then it would be prudent to keep track of my weight and measurements.

...Ghost...

Preparation:

This is key for any diet or lifestyle changes. You can’t wake up on a Monday and decide, hey I am going to change X,Y,Z to A,B,C right away and expect to last. I knew I would need a few things.

I knew I would need salt to keep my body conductive. The main electrolyte and flavour control. I got myself pink salt in Dunnes. I also got some dissolvable electrolytes from Holland & Barrett. Finally I got vitamin C dissolvable tabs in Lidl.

Next, I ordered myself a meat mincer, a meat slicer and a vacuum sealer so I could prep my own meat. I purchase kilos of chuck beef and pork shoulder from the butcher/wholesaler and I even make my own sausages and burger patties. Doing all this made the process easier to stick to, but it did create work and it takes hours prepping meat and making sausages, which I tend to do every fortnight.

The Reality from Feb 1st:

During the month of February, I was very strict with my food intake. I did not let myself go hungry, but I did not stray at all. I genuinely found it very easy to stick to and I noticed a massive increase in my energy levels from day 2. I was expecting to have diarrhea for a week because this was well reported online. However, I had no problem and my usual diarrhea had gone. I was eating scrambled egg with cheese and bacon. Burger patties and steak, making sure to eat the fat on the steak. My steak preference moved from a medium-well done fillet, to a medium rare rib-eye. I noticed the smell of the bakery at Lidl and the Orange dispensing machine made my mouth water when I passed by. It was crazy! I was enjoying it.

Results for Feb:

My lower back pain remained.

My mid back pain was intermittent anyway, but the problem was less frequent. Surprise, but maybe coincidental.

Neck and shoulder pain reduced dramatically.

ALL OTHER AILMENTS GONE OR MASSIVELY REDUCED. I could not believe it. Never felt better!!

I promised to keep a watchful eye on my weight and measurements, so not everything was based on feelings, or possible placebo effect. I find it kind of awkward to take my measurements, so take those with a pinch of salt. The weight though is taken by the scales and I can’t mess that part up.

Weight: 102.6kg (down 7.4kg)

Tummy: not recorded

Waist: not recorded

Results for March:

During March, I relaxed a little and wanted to see what would change. I allowed myself have a small bar of 85% dark chocolate from Aldi. I have also eaten about 6 battered sausages and a southern fried chicken breast. Yesterday I was stuck and I had a southern fried chicken wrap with butter and cheese. Aside from that, I have been sticking to the diet and mainly have been eating steak. In the morning, at work, I have a cheese and ham omelette.

The ailments are still gone or reduced to a level I don’t notice them. For example, my crown is a little dry (very mild dandruff), but no sores, spots, or scabs. I haven’t had any bowel issues, which is amazing and for me is the real win here. My mood is improved and that’s because I am not tired all the time. I still have lower back pain to contend with, but as that is due to nerve damage, I don’t expect that to disappear and will manage that as I usually do. Overall, I am super happy with this.

I won’t recommend it to anyone other than to say if you have any similar ailments, to check with your GP and consider a diet change. Cutting out sugar is obviously a big positive. Cutting out the carbs means my body has to use up the fat stores and that is a consistent energy supply in my current state. For me, it was important that I choose a diet I could stick to and one which doesn’t require a cabinet of supplements. I couldn't do vegetarian and Vegan is alien to me. I like eating meat, so it works for me.

I take official results on the 1st of a month, but for this thread, I took results just now, so you get a sneak preview.

Weight: 96kg (down 14kg in 2 months)

Tummy: 108cm

Waist: 96cm

I think I might have taken my tummy and waist measurements wrong in February, because I am sure I lost more than todays recorded result. On my belt, I was 2 notches away from the last hole. A few days ago, my Wife commented that I needed new jeans because they were falling down to reveal some crack. I am constantly pulling my trousers up 😆. I had to add new hole to my belt….i'm not buying new jeans as I only bought 3 pairs in December!

Difficulties of the diet:

There aren’t many. I used to eat out with my Wife every other week, but now that is more difficult, We have been out for a meal once since I started the diet. Went to FX Buckleys. I must say, my own steak purchased from Lidl is better, but it was a nice experience. The canteen at work is OK for breakfast, but I can’t trust lunch/dinner because I don’t know what is in the food, or how it is cooked, assuming the meat is not slathered in a sugary sauce. I can either bring in prepped food (I never do) or pop over to the local supermarket and get some sliced beef. I pick the salt only option. I can also go to McDonalds and order a burger patty. A triple cheese burger with only patties and cheese ties me over if stuck. They don't fry the patties in oil.

So what now?

I will continue as I am. After today, I will cut down on the daily chocolate intake and continue what I am doing. My Wife got me a dark chocolate egg for Easter, so it would be rude not to eat/share it. On holidays, I plan to relax and not be strict unless I can easily have good meat. I'll be in Germany next week for a few days and will see how I get on.

So far, it’s been a really positive experience and the challenges have been minor and beneficial in their own way. I’ve had an unhealthy diet for…well, as long as I can remember and certainly from my mid-teens. I’ve been technically overweight for half my life now and it’s great that I am falling to a healthy weight as a side effect of this change. The compliments are nice too from all quarters. Everyone has noticed I am slimming down and looking better. I feel better.

I updated my GP last week and he is happy to see I am getting positive results, but I am still scheduled for tests at the hospital, one of which I had this week for my organs, mainly liver (no, I’m not an alcoholic). Now that I say that, I should say I was never much of a drinker. Could go weeks and months without a drink. Also not a smoker, or any other addict. I think I will schedule another checkup as early as May 1st but no later than July 1st depending on how I am doing.

I also know I should change my lifestyle to become more active. It won't be as easy as the diet change due to pain and laziness. The results I have seen thus far are only based on diet change. I don't starve myself. I have only fell hungry on a couple of occasions and I don't get bothered if I stray a bit.

If anyone has any questions, if I can, I am happy to answer.

edited to fix a couple of typos

neris

On youtbe Watch Dr Ken Berry & Anthony Chaffe both very good when it comes to a carnivore way of eating

magicbastarder

Did you have covid? I'd talk to your doc about long covid too, whatever he or she can tell you about it. Some of your symptoms sound very long-covidy. Gastro intestinal upset is one of the symptoms too, apparently.

Just in case that's what triggered a lot of what you were going through.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122004670#Comment_122004670

I have heard the names, but not watched their content yet. I will have a look at their stuff.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122004693#Comment_122004693

Good observation. I did get Covid in 2021 and it knocked the cr@p out of me for a week. I lost my voice for about a month.

However, my listed symptoms pre-dated covid.

Last month, I allowed myself to eat small amount of dark chocolate with no noticeable negative impact.

This month, I have maintained this and I was also on a family holiday in Germany for 2 weeks where I largely stuck to my diet plan by eating meat. In a couple of cases, the meat had a sauce on it. In one case, I ate a full Fillet O'Fish in McDonalds with water. I had 1 beer at a restaurant. No intestinal, or any other issues.

Today I had the first bit of discomfort in my gut since starting the diet and I have it figured out as to why (or I think I know why). Yesterday, I cooked 1.5kg of of Lidl dry aged beef streak, same as the image below. I seared it in butter, ad seasoned with salt, pepper and dried rosemary before cooking in the oven to medium. I cut 3-4 slices for the family who ate theirs with mash. I must have eaten a good 600g which was delicious. It had a decent amount of rendered fat and it was filling.

This morning, I had slight discomfort before visiting the loo. I am grand now and figured I maybe just had too much rendered fat. I am not inclined to blame the small amount of rosemary I had, but will keep it in mind. Yesterday, I had also eaten a rib-eye steak and 4 squares of Lindt dark chocolate, both of which I have had no previous reaction to. So about 20 minutes of dull discomfort is all I have had. Much better than the daily aches I had before.

taxAHcruel

Very meat heavy myself too - and if I have any issues, including weight issues - I tend to go full on carnivore as part of my path to dealing with it. I am not stranger to making a Turduken or a Surf'n'turf or other meat eating extremes.

The target for everyone I guess should be finding what diet works for me. My diet might tank or kill another person in the same way theirs would me!

I am somewhat agnostic on the why it works for me though. It could be that it is just the right diet for me. It also could be that it is just an extreme elimination diet. For other reasons I am pretty much convinced it is the former (mainly because other extreme diets that would also be elimination diets did not have the same effect) but I remain open minded and agnostic all the same.

So if you are having issues and you are finding the carnivore diet is solving them all - it is good to see that you have also taken the decision to stay open to the notion that it might not be that diet so much as you having eliminated some thing (or some number of things) that is solving your issues.

Going nearly 100% full Carnivore works so well for me in fact - in terms of energy, concentration, strength, balance, performance, sleep, stress, libido, focus, motivation and much more - that the only reason I do not stick to it all year around is that I simply miss other foods too much :) So the rest of the year when I am not full carnivore I go for an extreme varied diet where I have as much variety on as wide a cycle as humanly possible.

But if I have my eye on weight loss, competition in martial arts or running, or anything like that I switch to Carnivore knowing that it will boost my performance to my personal extreme in the same way as I know if I switched full vegan my performance would tank entirely - if I was even able to get out of bed to even compete in the first place which given the effect attempting veganism had on me is extremely doubtful :)

...Ghost...

I don't often put myself on the scales, but this morning I did. I'm curious to see if I am still heading in the right direction. I am coming in at 96kg, so looking good. My regular jeans have been hanging off me, so I had to root out older ones I haven't been able wear since before we ever heard the word covid.

Looking at the UK NHS BMI calculator, my BMI previously at 33.2, now being 28.9, I have dropped from being in the OBESE category to the OVER WEIGHT category. At 182cm tall, my alleged ideal weight is 61-82kg. I think even at the highest end of that scale, I would be rather skinny. I guess I will see how I am going when I reach 90kg, which I predict to be before June on my current trajectory.

Mellor

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122013304#Comment_122013304

What you are doing is basically keto for weight loss. By going carnivore you are essentially cutting out carbs, intentionally or otherwise. The result is, even if eating a lot of meat, you are under your calories. I'd worry abut getting enough of various vitamins and minerals long term.
Food quality is very important when eating a meat and fat heavy diet. A triple cheeseburger (without bun?) is not ideal, but I understand the lack out last minute carnivore options on the go.

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122020853#Comment_122020853

Yes, unless I stray a little, carbs are cut out and the result is weight loss. I don't count calories at all, so I don't know where I am with regard to calorie deficit. I can only say that I rarely feel hungry and much less so than before I changed my diet.

I was initially concerned about vitamins and minerals, but what I have found (at least in the short term) is that I am not wanting for anything outside of what I am eating. I have read and watched video diaries of others mirroring these concerns and who have not had any issue in some cases many years on carnivore. For my part, I take an electrolyte tab most days and I take a vitamin C dissolvable as insurance. I haven't felt this healthy in years and I am still a sedentary person.

I agree that the quality of meat is very important. I mostly eat rib-eye steaks from Lidl and I ground my own mince and make my own sausages. I eat eggs regularly and I occasionally have some cheese. The triple cheese burger with no bun, sauce or veggies is OK when in a pinch. I wouldn't make a habit of it. Some more carnivore options would be nice for on the go, but I am not overly strict and will deviate somewhat if I need to. That's how I see it lasting for me.

If I have any concerns, or problems, i'll be having a chat with the doc. I'm thinking I will get bloods done after 6 months on the diet. I expect higher cholesterol, but I am learning that this isn't an issue because higher cholesterol is apparently not a concern if your triglycerides are high. There is a ratio and I need to look more into this. In the mean time, I will be carrying on and I will come back here monthly to update if there is an appetite for me to do so.

carrollsno1

I started a thread on similar last year thread got closed due to it being deemed harmful to myself....

...Ghost...

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122022143#Comment_122022143

I did see that thread actually. I thought maybe it was closed down because from memory, you were on and off the diet with some alcohol binges thrown in there and weight loss over the period of the thread didn't seem to last. The fact i'm liaising with my GP on this is maybe part of the reason it's active, but that's just speculation.

Have you continued on the carnivore diet since you last posted? If yes, what sort of results and experience can you share? I'm finding the whole experience to be pretty good and my results for what is a small sacrifice are well worth it. Losing weight was not a goal, but it is very welcome and I am down from 110kg to 96kg since Feb 1st.