Anyone doing the Carnivore Diet?
 

Hi there,
As the title suggests, I am curious to know if anyone is doing the Carnivore Diet. If so, how are you feeling on it? Are you hungry, how is your energy? How are your joints feeling? I have been really looking into this lifestyle but I would like to hear some more information from people who are doing it. Thanks!

P.S What are you eating?

Some, and a newish thread was started But due to it being somewhat controversial, that thread is in the War Zone forum. Long thread, worth exploring.

https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=471960

My more recent post #174 has all the latest sources of good carnivore info.
The Just Meat link is a great start point, and MeatHeals has some amazing successes stories with details of what each person ate. Those links will give you answers to your questions.

Personally I also Fast, and that Dr. Fung thread is in Diabetes sub-forum. So to cover my bases on protein intake as an older woman, I often eat just meat and eggs in my eating window, but not exclusively. If I feel like a salad with steak, I'll add it. I feel great when I Fast and just eat meat, lots of energy, joints feel better, skin better...but what is most important? Is it the fasting or meat or both? And I have also felt great with a strict Dr Westman diet eating three meals a day (no nuts, alcohol, very limited dairy and added oils, and only 3 cups veg) You might try different combos and see what works best for you.

Thanks Jey100! Some good reading there.

Hi Pitfall! I'm primarily a meat eater. I don't consciously avoid other foods, I just don't like them very much. Well, that's not completely true. I love chocolate and bread, but if I satisfy my cravings for those with real chocolate and bread or fake food (e.g. Quest bars), I get cravings, and my joint pain comes back with a vengeance. I do indulge in real and fake chocolate from time to time but my carb and fake food hangovers (which I have right now) always send me back to a diet that consists primarily of meat. I also like cheese from which I go on and off abstaining. Cheese definitely causes some mild inflammation in me, but this is a way of life, not a diet and so I try to keep my dairy to weekends only.

So what do I eat? I'm a very plain eater. I like meat with salt. Many days I also eat chicken salad with mayo and a little chopped celery for crunch. I do eat whatever I feel like eating. Here are typical meals for me.

Hamburger (with or without cheese) with ~1/2 teaspoon ketchup
steak (I buy the cheap stuff and sous vide it)
chicken salad
eggs (with or wihout cheese)
chicken breast with ranch and bacon (and maybe cheese)
chicken breast with salt.
Bacon
roast beef
pork roast

Interestingly, I have found that Quest bars cause more cravings in me than Cadbury bars. Also, more immediate joint pain.

I'll second that! Janet is the best - I've learned so much from the links she provides. Thanks for sticking around here Janet!

Hi Tess9132,
I like that you are so casual if you make a mistake. It's also interesting about the immediate joint pain too from a Quest protein bar. Thanks for your reply.

The most important thing is to get rid of bread, macaroni. rice, spaghetti, potatoes, corn, donuts, pizza, cookies, cake, crackers, ice cream, oatmeal, cereal etc....

ps the sugar free candy makes me feel very sick, so there's that!

You are very welcome. :wave:
I also include canned wildcaught salmon, decided that some Omega 3 would be good too, quicker and cheaper than fresh salmon, and I never pass up smoked salmon.



So true, if you listen to the Carnivore success stories like Michaela Peterson, Amber OHearn and Dr Shawn Baker they are evolutions over many years, each step bringing some more pain relief e.g. regular LC, then no grains, then remove everything but small amount vege, then no veg. I look at Carnivore as more a therapuetic diet for auto-immune related disease like Peterson's severe Juvenille RA, not a quick weight loss diet. You can do that with vegetables. But Zero-Carb does make fasting easier, so there is that angle for weight loss. ;)

There are some new Carnivore followers jumping in feet first, but most people took years to be comfortable without vegetables, and that eating Carnivore will give you all the nutrients you need.

Pitfall, if your stats are correct and you are re-starting low carb eating after some time away, you might consider a standard clinic diet first. https://www.dietdoctor.com/se/wp-co...starch_diet.pdf

Back 2015, you commented about not being able to eat any more meat. Please pick a diet that you actually like :lol: Also consider going back to the beginning of Ken's LC journey, his family also ate high carb while he learned ways to cook around that. Ken's first year summary, other reports below his name. https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=465302

Janet makes a good point. When I first started low carbing I used to eat a side of the broccoli with cheese sauce Green Giant Steamers. Or I'd be making a chicken and broccoli alfredo or a chicken vegetable stir fry or I'd roast some asparagus in butter or olive oil to eat alongside my meat. As time went on and I got less and less hungry, I just started cutting out the vegetables because I really don't like them much. I don't miss them. What I like is meat, so that's what I eat.

Yikes! You might want to rethink trying a carnivore diet...

Yes, the Carnivore approach has had an evolution, as many who were following a ketogenic approach in the past were reluctant to eat carnivore due to the perceived issue of increased protein resulting in gluconeogenesis. Recent research from Bikman (video and podcast presentations below) and clinical findings by Ted Naiman have demonstrated that those eating a very low or no carb diet do not experience the rise in blood sugar that those eating SAD would with the same amount of protein.

Ben Bikman video and podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3fO5aTD6JU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsx03taW1Q0

Today, I eat more on the carnivore end with no impact on fat burning, as I can measure blood ketones despite increasing my protein. As others have stated, I feel better with more energy, workouts and physical activity are things I enjoy. I no longer worry about getting vegetables, as when the healthy and fresh ones are available, it's easy to add a small portion. If not, eating eggs and meat and the fat contained in the each works just fine. I find this is the easiest approach, and I like easy and simple. No measuring, no counting, no timing, just eat when hungry. Note that this is my n=1 experience, as in the beginning, I did measure and time, but over time, one can establish a routine that eliminates complexities and focuses on healthy, nutrient dense foods that work best.

Make sure to include organ meats like liver etc. :idea:

I never really thought about it but I think I must be on the carnivore train. Do eggs count on the carnivore diet? It is just easier for me to eat a grilled chicken breast or meatballs or fish and not bother with heating up green beans. Broccoli does not like me and I don't like cauliflower. Salad generally ends up as soup in my fridge. So I eat a lot of meat. After listening to Low Carb MD podcasts I see it is a whole other facet of low carb.