Carnivore Diet

Keto_Vampire

This seems to be trending currently. How it differs from keto: animal products only (meat, eggs, limited dairy, no fruits, grains, vegetables, etc.), no dietary fiber, no emphasis for ketosis, no targeted fat : protein ratio (just zero to residual carbohydrates)

@FIT_Goat for following this type of diet (or last I checked with him). I've also used this type of diet to make big kcal deficits & virtually eliminate bloating, gas, and reducing BM freq (convenient). What are yous' guys' thoughts on this diet? (Can't use "y'all", I'm currently living in the Yankee north...). Anyone else want to chime in with his/her experiences?

kirkor

I've done it for 30 days before and it was ok. I should give it another go for a longer period. And ya, ever since Shawn Baker was on Joe Rogan, it seems like carnivore has gone viral

T1DCarnivoreRunner

I did this for a good portion of 2017 and it worked very well. After a break from dieting completely, I'm trying to become fat adapted again and have been following it since Jan. 15. I have decided to make an exception for races and will try Generation Ucan once I'm fat adapted. I have type 1 diabetes and had some serious issues with low BG during my last marathon in 2017 because I started out at too fast of a pace for fat use.

Keto_Vampire

Yep, just to be clear this isn't a purposeful/hateful middle finger to vegans even though no plants are allowed
No coconut oil, MCT, EVOO, avocados (just tallow/lard, butter, HWC, etc.)

The lack of digestion issues is most appealing to myself as well as the lack of debating of how much protein is too much/enough?

T1DCarnivoreRunner

No, I still need to strive for enough protein. In fact, I'm thinking I'm going to go to lean sources soon... maybe every other day or for a few days per week. Either way, I put on 19 lbs. of fat during that diet break (and 32 lbs. total) and still need to lose almost all of that.

ladipoet

Currently doing a carnivore keto challenge with a co-worker and my boss fur the duration of this month. Still haven't made up my mind about it but perhaps that's because I'm failing at it. Haven't given up yet and will continue to try anew each day for the remainder of the challenge.

nvmomketo

I eat carnivore a few days a week now. I have been carnivore for a month or two at a time. I find it reduces hunger a lot and digestion is very good. I just don't seem to stick with it well. I don't love meat. I eat it but I don't enjoy it like I would other foods. I feel well doing it but not so much better that I seem to be able to stick with it, if that makes sense.

I do believe in it. I think it is a really good health option for people and not many people would be willing to try it because of the dogmas we were raised with. Maybe not carnivore all the time but I think it can help people.

The thing I found weird when I did it was that I gained weight for a while. I was up 10 lbs for a month even though I felt smaller and my clothes were getting looser. In my second month that extra weight plus a few pounds more fell off in a matter of a week or so. Not sure what was happening there but it was interesting.

FIT_Goat

Carnivore is still my way of eating. I am still around, but my life is very busy at the moment. I'm committed to 70-80 hour weeks for the next 9 months, or so, unless I fail at what I am attempting. I'm here, but not going to be posting very often.

baconslave

FIT_Goat wrote: »

Carnivore is still my way of eating. I am still around, but my life is very busy at the moment. I'm committed to 70-80 hour weeks for the next 9 months, or so, unless I fail at what I am attempting. I'm here, but not going to be posting very often.

But there's a Carnivore group @Rx_Keto that I'm helping mod while he's gone. It's not super active, because zero carbers don't have a lot of drama since they don't have to struggle with carbs, but if you post there they will come out of the woodwork.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/120342-low-carber-carnivore-club

@Sunny_Bunny_ as well as she gets gastric upset from veggies so she's pretty much carnivore if I'm not mistaken.

357girl

Thanks for bringing this topic up. I've been on Keto for two weeks now, so not looking to change at the moment, but this puts another tool in my pocket. I appreciate y'all (no stigma if you're not living in the south!) sharing your knowledge!

Sunny_Bunny_

I am carnivore now too. I originally tried it as a month long challenge in April 2017?? Or it may have even been 2016??? Not sure at this point. I think it may have been 2016 but my brain can’t seem to reconcile that I’ve actually been at this that long. Lol
I did that month, found that my remaining IBS issues that keto didn’t resolve went away completely but I had trouble sticking with I because I honestly really love some veggies. Especially a good ceasar salad. I kept trying to have a little here and there but eventually I came to terms with the reality that even a little bit made me feel really unwell and now the only craving I have to ward off is for that darn salad but it’s gotten easier and easier. I think I’ve been consistent now since July 2017, but I will tell you that I still drink no sugar liquor or dry red wine about once a week. Sometimes less often.
I have had weight gain but the most dramatic body changes

GaleHawkins

This does sound interesting but the coconut oil and coconut flakes taste so good every morning along with the 100% cacao bars.

It is a way to eat that should keep the total carbs under 50 grams daily.

melmerritt33

I’ve also done carnivore a couple of times. I loved the way it cleared up my stomach and bowel problems but find that after a while I just can’t eat enough meat, I do ok at first then eat less and less to the point where I lose all my energy and start becoming ill. Part of my problem may be psychological as I’ve been vegetarian and vegan in the past so it may be a mental issue for me.

I think it’s a way of eating that’s worth trying, especially if you have any digestive issues, it really simplifies meal planning as well!

Dragonwolf

Sunny_Bunny_ wrote: »

I am carnivore now too. I originally tried it as a month long challenge in April 2017?? Or it may have even been 2016??? Not sure at this point. I think it may have been 2016 but my brain can’t seem to reconcile that I’ve actually been at this that long. Lol
I did that month, found that my remaining IBS issues that keto didn’t resolve went away completely but I had trouble sticking with I because I honestly really love some veggies. Especially a good ceasar salad. I kept trying to have a little here and there but eventually I came to terms with the reality that even a little bit made me feel really unwell and now the only craving I have to ward off is for that darn salad but it’s gotten easier and easier. I think I’ve been consistent now since July 2017, but I will tell you that I still drink no sugar liquor or dry red wine about once a week. Sometimes less often.
I have had weight gain but the most dramatic body changes

The first carnivore monthly challenge was 2015. How time flies, right?!

OP, I'm also one that was part of the original challenge we did so long ago (perhaps we should do another one?) and have done it on and off since. I found it to be the best thing for me and did the best when I was completely carnivore. Unfortunately, a trial round of Metformin threw me off horribly due to food aversions and it's taken me forever to get back to that "golden age." For me, it's done wonders for insulin resistance, chronic heartburn, headaches, weight, and pain.

Eat meat, not too little, mostly fat.

Keto_Vampire

Agree with other posters; main challenge is eating enough meat...currently trying to keep kcals in check for a deficit (so not using overly fatty meats) but finding I do not like the even higher cost of the diet (you can only eat so much tuna fish...). Sure this would be a lot easier if not trying to lose like 5 lbs

Dragonwolf

Keto_Vampire wrote: »

Agree with other posters; main challenge is eating enough meat...currently trying to keep kcals in check for a deficit (so not using overly fatty meats) but finding I do not like the even higher cost of the diet (you can only eat so much tuna fish...). Sure this would be a lot easier if not trying to lose like 5 lbs

I highly recommend trying not to actively restrict while starting carnivore. Starting carnivore, even coming from keto, is like starting keto from the standard American diet (aka SAD). It sounds crazy, but it's true. Carnivore is notorious for being weight and composition normalizing (you'll gain weight if you need to and lose it if you need to, and you might gain weight for a little while and turn around and start losing, but look different at the same weight).

If you want to track, go for it, but try not restricting for a month and see where you land naturally. You may actually find that you eat right about where you should, naturally, and that you start slimming down (note: it might not show up as scale weight -- see @Sunny_Bunny_ 's pictures above -- but that's not what matters, so be sure to watch your measurements).

Pork is cheap, fatty ground hamburger is cheap, skin-on chicken is cheap, even bison and venison can be reasonably priced. Watch for sales. And remember that you're getting far more nutrition for your dollar than you would with the "cheap" SAD foods. Those foods are cheap for a reason.

Keto_Vampire

Worked well up until about the 2 month point (lost about 10lbs, most in month 1; was currently about 5lbs above normal baseline) followed by the dreaded plateau (in which case I just decided best to go above maintenance slightly/non-carnivore low carb); just experimenting with it right now to avoid plateaus & boredom with diet (implementing 3-4 days of high carb/cyclical diet every 2 weeks (might cut this back to 2-3 days for fine tuning).

Used the previous strategy of not restricting fats during carnivore diet (5 days/week lower fat/drastic kcal deficit, 2 days/week high fat big kcal surplus whatever days I would start feeling lethargic). Plateaued after 2 month point (thought of trying cycling this in a different manner in the future, 2-3 weeks deficit, 1 week surplus, etc.).

ironmaidenchick

Just wondering what a days food consists of with meat? Am quite interested in this.

Dragonwolf

Keto_Vampire wrote: »

Worked well up until about the 2 month point (lost about 10lbs, most in month 1; was currently about 5lbs above normal baseline) followed by the dreaded plateau (in which case I just decided best to go above maintenance slightly/non-carnivore low carb); just experimenting with it right now to avoid plateaus & boredom with diet (implementing 3-4 days of high carb/cyclical diet every 2 weeks (might cut this back to 2-3 days for fine tuning).

Used the previous strategy of not restricting fats during carnivore diet (5 days/week lower fat/drastic kcal deficit, 2 days/week high fat big kcal surplus whatever days I would start feeling lethargic). Plateaued after 2 month point (thought of trying cycling this in a different manner in the future, 2-3 weeks deficit, 1 week surplus, etc.).

Pick something and stick with it for 6 months or more. Weight anything is not a sprint, it's a marathon. Consistency is the key. If you truly only need to lose 5lb, it's not going to come off fast.

ironmaidenchick wrote: »

Just wondering what a days food consists of with meat? Am quite interested in this.

Breakfast: meat. Lunch: meat. Dinner: meat.

Okay, more seriously, my days currently look like:

Breakfast: coffee with cream (heavy cream if I can get my hands on the only kind without additives, or half & half if not)
Lunch: Ground bison in some form, with or without cheese (today, it was leftover burgers from yesterday, so with cheese, it's often just a pound of ground cooked up in the skillet, with or without seasonings)
Dinner: whatever meat we decide to cook, sometimes more ground bison (hamburgers, especially now that it's warming up), sometimes pork chops

I've been finding myself snacking a bit more right now than I usually do (getting dialed back in at the moment), so I'll grab some string cheese when such a need/desire arises.

Sunny_Bunny_

ironmaidenchick wrote: »

Just wondering what a days food consists of with meat? Am quite interested in this.

I had black coffee until I was hungry for food which is usually afternoon. Today I didn’t have any meat ready to cook so I had 4 eggs. Later I had a pound of beef patties with cheese.

I eat a lot of ground beef because it’s cheap. I prefer the taste of 80/20 to 90/10 and I buy based on what’s on sale. Not a fan of anything more fatty mostly because I feel like it all cooks away and I’m left with less food.
Some days I will eat a rotisserie chicken and a little other meat of some sort too.
Occasionally eat fish and pork but I don’t find them as satisfying so I really consider them more of a side dish. Usually eggs are the same. I’m not as satisfied with just eggs but sometimes I have to make a meal of them due to budget or time.

ironmaidenchick

Cool thank you both. I think I will give this a go and see what I think. Sounds quite good!

camtosh

kirkor wrote: »

I've done it for 30 days before and it was ok. I should give it another go for a longer period. And ya, ever since Shawn Baker was on Joe Rogan, it seems like carnivore has gone viral

Here he is today on Robb Wolf's podcast, going over his lab results.
https://robbwolf.com/2018/03/13/episode-385-dr-shawn-baker-carnivore-diet-and-dr-bakers-blood-work/