I’m back for another try

SixCrazyPants

I’ve been trying to lose weight off and on for the last 15 years, doing all the fad diets, programs, “100% guaranteed“ products, and failed every single time. My wife’s cousin has been doing carnivore, and has lost a significant amount of weight, and he suggested I give it a try. I’m one week into this, and I’m just not sure how to properly do it. But I’m 52 years old, 280 pounds and I got grandchildren to be there for, so I’ve gotta make this work.

AnnPT77

Carnivore is helpful for some people, definitely. If it makes losing weight easier for you, then it's perfect. If it makes losing weight harder, it's just another fad diet, program, or guaranteed product . . . or might as well be, y'know?

Honestly, what's required for weight loss is eating fewer calories than we burn. We don't even necessarily need to count the calories to do that, counting just makes it somewhat more data-based and predictable.

We burn calories just being alive, plus more from job and home chores and that sort of daily life stuff, plus maybe a few more from intentional exercise. They all matter.

Eat less than that total, lose weight. What we eat, and when we eat it, only matters indirectly. How? Food choices or timing can affect energy level or appetite. If energy level tanks, we'll move less, burn fewer calories than expected. If appetite spikes, we'll find it punitively hard to keep calories low, so eat more. Either way, the direct mechanism is still calories. Manage the calories reasonably, you'll lose weight.

I'm even older than you, 69 now and maintaining a healthy weight, 59-60 when I lost weight from class 1 obese to a healthy weight. Back when I was a young adult, there weren't apps like MFP, so it wasn't practical to calorie count. People still lost weight by working at it, by eating fewer calories, some combination of smaller portions or eating high-calorie things less often (like fried foods, baked goods, candy, etc.). That still works. Counting the calories just makes it predictable and more easily adjustable.

If carnivore gets you eating fewer calories while staying mostly full and happy, and you can see yourself continuing that long enough to reach a healthy weight (and ideally stay there), you're golden. If it doesn't do that, it's not going to work, at least not long enough to accomplish your goals.

From my experience, the quality of life improvement from reaching a healthy weight is more than worth the effort. I wish you success in accomplishing that!