Carnivore - I want to love it!

hjackson1226

I know several folks on this group follow a carnivore WOE. I have really considered going carnivore lately. I am a self professed carb addict. I have been eating low carb for almost two years but that desire has not gone away. Part of it is my fault. Heck, most of it is my fault. Something has to change and I am ready to make that happen. I am tired of feeling like I have to have something (even if it is something low carb with artificial sweeteners) and then immediately regret it.

What in your experiences has been the most trying part of going carnivore and what has been the most rewarding?

Do you still eat cheese, eggs, HWC, etc?

1thankful_momma

@FIT_Goat sounds like a good question for you...

gettinthere

I tried going carnivore in May with the group that did all meat May. I lasted until day 17 and went away to visit friends and ended up eating vegetables. But it seems I have been on a steady slope downhill ever since. It's the sugar substitutes as well that seem to get me every time. I'm with you in that I feel I need to change and get back to it.
While carnivore I felt fantastic!! No bloating, I lost over 3 inches off my waist (and I had been Keto mostly for nearly 1 year prior), 2 inches off my hips! I was able to power through my workouts and never felt hungry!
I highly recommend it! Give it a try and see if it works for you!
I did continue to eat dairy and eggs.

GaleHawkins

I was always a meat and potatoes type guy. In 2014 I cut out all added sweeteners and all forms of all grains on a hunch that it would manage my joint and muscle pain. It worked in just 30 days. Most days since I keep my carbs <50 grams daily but not by much.

The funny part the longer I walk death backwards (in 2014 I was sinking fast) I have cut out most of red meats unplanned that I lived on for 60 years. It has not been an overt effort on my part but just a taste change as my health recovers. I do eat a ton of fish and pickled eggs and some red meat from time to time. The only things that I do not eat are foods containing any type of sweeteners or any form of grains.

I totally stay stuffed all of the time while maintaining in the 200-210 range.

Best of success and welcome to MFP forums.

Some here love Carnivore WOE but on LCHF my body when more plant based and now at 66 I expect that trend may be for life.

nvmomketo

II would say to try it. If it doesn't work for you then you can quit, but if it works then keep going.

I tried carnivore a year ago. I didn't like it. At all. And then I ate too much when I went back to veggies. It was like I felt deprived so I ate too much to make up for it. Weird.

This time it fit really well although I am not super strict. I have had spices and some tomato sauce in some meat, and a bowl of nuts last week. And I have coconut cream in coffee some days. But overall I am sticking with greatly reduced plant matter for the time being. I mostly eat meats, full fat dairy, and just a few eggs.

I feel really good eating this way. Better than with plants, which is a bit of a shame as I LOVE nuts, and crunchy veggies. They just mess with my stomach and seem to drive my appetite more.

FIT_Goat

Being carnivore is the only thing that finally killed my cravings for sweets and carbs. When I was keto and eating the faux foods, they just made me want more. I would overeat on them, or be overcome by temptation to cheat. It was hard, at first, but it was worth it. The biggest thing is just not giving yourself a choice to fail, at least for a set period of time.

Cheese and HWC, yeah I eat a fair amount of those. Not as much as people might think, but I like some cheese. I don't like eggs without cheese, usually.

Sunny_Bunny_

I am carnivore that still caves in to a little stevia sweetened tea a couple times a week. I got myself off sweetened coffee and need to really buckle down on the stevia. I actually did great all month of May but as soon as that challenge ended I had a cup of stevia tea... dumb!
Anyway, I think if I just nibbled some cheese or had a little meat when the thought hits me, which is how I did it in May, that I can kick it once and for all. I honestly don't feel like it's a craving anymore as much as stubbornness thinking "it's no big deal"
It's a journey...

AlexandraCarlyle

I have absolutely no idea why (probably 60 ears of conditioning!) but I find it really, really difficult to get my head round eating nothing but meat. I'm not saying it's wrong. I appreciate there is much in evidence to commend it. But even my H, who is a self-confessed carnivore, can't go through the mind-set of 'a few veggies are good for you, and you should eat them'.
If I were to present him with a nothing-but-meat-laden dish, he would definitely wonder where the 'pre-requisite' vegetables were.

This morning he ate a cheese omelette, with four 98% meat sausages, a bacon steak and a portion of black pudding.
Admittedly no veg in sight - but eggs and cheese very much in evidence!

gcminton

Reading up on the subject and then actually joining in on May's challenge is the only way I finally broke free of that feeling that fruit and vegetables are required for a healthy diet. It truly is a freeing feeling. Veggies are good for you, generally speaking, and they're tasty, but they just aren't necessary.

Since the challenge ended I've still been at keto-level carbs, unintentionally, and mostly carnivore. We sometimes have a handful of mushrooms and onions as added deliciousness with our steaks, a couple of ounces of berries and HWC as desserts some nights, but that's about it. I do eat eggs and cheese, also. I think I had 6 or 7 eggs yesterday, and 5 today.

The hardest thing was really the mental struggle at the start, and for me that was mainly my own personal issues with restrictive challenges. I've fought hard to get away from the mindset that certain kinds of food are "bad" or that I'm not allowed to have something, and find that I easily slide back into that when faced with something like Meativore May. Thankfully the very few people in my life that know how I eat are supportive, even if they don't really get it, so the social aspect hasn't been an issue so far.

Now that the challenge itself is over... it's really all good. Very few cravings, and those get better every day, simplified shopping and cooking. If I do have a rough day and give in to a craving I find it much easier to get back on track with my goals, plus I'm just not as tempted by my old trigger foods as I used to be. I've also found that tracking calories and macros hasn't been necessary for me to continue seeing progress, and that alone has been huge for keeping my head in the game.

cstehansen

I am one who enjoys a steak with a side of bacon cheeseburger, so I did the Meativore May challenge. I did not expect a huge difference since 90% of my caloric intake was from animal products already. That said, I did find one significant difference. That is I lost about 4 lbs in about 4 days. I am in maintenance and went from the mid to high end of my range to the lower end of my range.

After re-introducing the small amount of non-animal products into my diet (some greens like spinach and celery being the primary ones), that 4 lbs came right back within about that same 4-5 day period.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MAY BE CONSIDERED TMI

Here is what I think happened. When eating carnivore, bowel movements were dramatically decreased to about 1 small one per week. Contrary to what most think, that excrement is not what is left of the food we eat, but rather it is the output of the bacteria in our gut along with some of that bacteria. When eating carnivore, my body was using nearly 100% of what I ate and not giving much to those bacteria, and therefore they had little waste to expel.

Actual human waste is primarily expelled in our breath and urine. The breath part is the part that most don't understand, so here is the simple version. Everyone knows we need oxygen (O2) and exhale carbon dioxide (CO2). This means every time we exhale, we are losing an atom of carbon (basic building block of life on this planet) that has been attached to the oxygen molecule. There are millions or more of these with every breath.

Therefore, if everything I was eating was being used, the contents of my gastric system was significantly lessened (by about 4 lbs in my case). This is corresponds with people who do extended fasts and afterwards will regain a portion of the weight right away after ending the fast. It is just that they have the extra weight in their gastric system, not that they magically added back some fat they had lost.

Another side "benefit" of carnivore is flatulence is reduced to almost zero. Again, the gas associated with this is a byproduct of the gut bacteria. If you are not feeding them, then they are not producing this gas.

Currently, I would like to be carnivore, but for a couple of things. The first is I really like peppers like jalepeño, serrano, habeño, cayenne, etc.. I think during gardening season, I will always want to have fresh peppers in my food.

The second is practicality. When eating out with family and friends, I can't always chose the location. Sometimes, the only viable option is something like a grilled chicken salad. In those cases, I will eat the most carnivore/keto option available. In some cases, I can get away without eating if it is not a sit down dinner type event. In some cases, I can eat beforehand so I can get something smaller. However, sometimes, I just have to make due as best I can.

hjackson1226

Thanks y'all!!! These responses have been great and I appreciate all of them. I think if I can get outside my head I can do it. I never mind a TMI post. I actually found the information interesting and quite useful.

This may have to begin sooner than I had planned.