Carnivore diet

RobAS355 · February 2020

Hi everyone,

I have been thinking of trying the carnivore diet.

I have managed to lose 60lb, from 240lb to 180lb on conventional dieting and exercise. I tried keto, and fasting, both were good. Now I just track macros and do intermittent fasting. Want to try the carnivore diet to see what all the rage is about. Just a 30day trial.

Anyone have any advice they would like to share? Macro ratio, types of meats and sourcing said meat (factory farming vs nom factory farming )

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you

girlwithcurls2 · February 2020

If eating what you want and counting calories was working for you, why on earth would you change things up to try some fad diet? Stick with what works. Trust that it will continue. Somebody after me is sure to post the graphic about "diets" and "why they work." Meet your calorie goal. Plain and simple. Exercise to be strong and fit. Don't mess with a good thing. You're doing great!

cmriverside · February 2020

Niche "diet" plans like Carnivore generally don't get a lot of positive replies in these main forums, where 99% of the members are just eating less but eating the same foods they always ate...things like low carb and vegan generally have special groups set up where people can discuss their preferred eating without the static from genpop.

Here is the (only) Carnivore Group link: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/120342-low-carber-carnivore-club

...and here is the very popular Low Carber Daily Forum (where you might find other carnivore-diet practitioners.) It's an active group: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/group/394-low-carber-daily-forum

cmriverside · February 2020

Tagging @FIT_Goat who seems to be the one who's mostly involved with the carnivore stuff. Hopefully s/he will reply here. I see there are Carnivore threads started by Fit_Goat in that LCDF.

:flowerforyou:

RobAS355 · February 2020

Thanks cmriveraide I'll take a look at those threads.

Girlwithcurls2. Thanks for the kind words and encouragement. I know what I am doing is working, just exploring diets, that's all, for no other purpose but to satisfy my curiosity about the diet. I am not 100% sold on it yet and not even sure that I will try it once I get the info I am looking for. But there has to be something there worth researching.

Again, thank you all for the advice. Have a great day.

debtay123 · February 2020

They have tons of stuff about it on youtube as well- don't know much about it- but it is certainly posted about a lot on youtube as well- good luck!

MikePTY · February 2020

I agree with not stopping what is working just to try a nice shiny diet. In a carnivore diet, you are depriving your body of a lot of important nutrients. That could have negative health effects, so switching to it could potentially be harmful. It's not a registered dietician designed diet. The guy who popularized it is an orthopedic surgeon, not a nutrition specialist.

nighthawk584 · February 2020

A long time ago I looked up carnivore diet, and found this video on youtube of a dude sitting at his kitchen table chowing down on RAW steaks. Yeah, no thanks! These fad diets are ridicules!

RobAS355 · February 2020

I dont think it's a fad, and I think you may have found a video of some who isnt all there.

There must be merit to the diet. I found a very informative article on onnit. Worth a read.

Look I have a specific reason to which I am looking into it. My profession takes me away from home a lot, sometimes to other communities for weeks at a time and sometimes to mining camps for weeks at a time. When living in crew housing in communities it's easy to eat right and maintain a balanced macro diet. When in a camp, in the Baffin Island for example there is a cook, cooking for hundreds of people. The quality is poor and maintaining a balanced macro diet becomes extremely difficult especially when work 12hrs or more a day. With a diet such as carnivore it easy and straight forward, just eat meat and animal products. So, this is my reason for asking and exploring the option because in June I will be such a camp till October, with only 18days out in total, 9 days a piece.

It's not a matter of jumping on the latest fad diet but a matter of maintaining my body composition in which I worked like a dog to achieve.

Anyway, thank you all for your valuable input, I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to pass along your info and opinions.

alyssa0061 · February 2020

I find Reddit to have the best carnivore community. R/carnivorediet and r/zerocarb

gothchiq · February 2020

Human kidneys are not designed for an all protein diet and you will also become vitamin deficient. I would not do it.

AlabasterVerve · February 2020

If you responded well to a keto diet I don't see any reason why you couldn't eat carnivore for a period of time. My only concern would be making sure you weren't relying solely on canned or dried meat the entire 5 months you were away--if fresh meat isn't available I'd supplement if it were me.

I tried eating only meat for a month last year but there just wasn't any reason for me to stick with it--but I didn't have any issues either. From another carnivore thread:

AlabasterVerve wrote: »

I respond exceedingly well to a fairly strict low carb diet so tried an all meat diet back in January I think (whatever world carnivore month was). I didn't experience any benefit -- other than deeper ketosis if that can be considered a benefit which I do not like. So of course I didn't stick with it.

I will say that between a plant based low carb diet (that still includes meat just the majority of food coming from plants) and a meat based diet (that still includes plants) I do better on a meat based diet eating less vegetables. I still eat them with every meal -- I love fruits, vegetables, nuts and all of that so it's not a hardship -- but I no longer eat them with a "more is better" mindset and feel better for it.

Excellent resource if anyone is interested:

The Ultimate Guide to the Carnivore Diet

Table of Contents

1. What is the carnivore diet?
Keto vs Paleo vs Carnivore: just a new trend?

2. How can carnivore diets be ketogenic when they have so much protein?
3. Are there any dangers to carnivore diets?
4. Humans: carnivores or omnivores?
Humans need meat

Don't humans need plants?

Anti-nutrients and metabolic changes

Potassium

Magnesium

Vitamin C

5. Won’t I need supplements on the carnivore diet?
6. Won’t the carnivore diet leave me fiber deficient?
7. Can a carnivore diet be healthy?
8. Are carnivores just as crazy as vegans?
9. Why are so many carnivores into Bitcoin?
10. Conclusion

Co-Written by L. Amber O’Hearn and Raphael Sirtoli
Scientifically Reviewed by Sarah Neidler, PhD

ETA: If you were going to give it a try definitely start before you leave. Apparently loose stools/diarrhea is a fairly common issue the first few weeks for some.

gothchiq · February 2020

OK so when you say carnivore you don't actually mean "meat only"?

RobAS355 · February 2020

That's exactly what carnivore is. Meat and animal products only.

Would have to supplement with multi vitamins to keep micro nutrient levels normal, but this is important part of any diet, especially while training.

And thanks for the warning in the first week or two haha.

lemurcat2 · February 2020

I understand your reasoning for deciding that eating mostly just the meat in the situations you talked about might be the best way to maintain your weight (I'm not keto, but at some restaurant situations eating nothing but meat and vegetables cooked without added carbs seems to be the easy and best choice for finding something that will fit easily in my day, and I've been on extended work trips where I ate like that a lot). I don't understand why going to a diet that excludes veg and avoiding veg (and fruit) even when available is somehow seen as a good thing. Diets that push the message that eating vegetables, fruit, beans and lentils are somehow bad for you or non optimal do strike me as rather fad-like and not beneficial in general, but I also have the view that experimenting with something for a while is unlikely to cause any major issues barring prior health problems or ED tendencies, and so I figure if you want to try it, try it. My main issue is with the pushers of the diet and, especially, those spreading the view to the general public that eating veg is somehow bad, when the fact is that most people in the US, for sure, eat too few veg. The idea that the problem with their diets is too many whole plant foods is just nuts.

But go for it and see if you enjoy it. Some people like eating no vegetables, and if they are grown ups, that's their business, not mine.

FIT_Goat · February 2020

Thanks @cmriverside for tagging me. I almost never venture into the main forums. It is very easy for me to miss a thread.

As has been mentioned, I tend to be the most vocal of the carnivore eaters in the Low Carb groups on here. And, I have been doing it way longer than it has been popular. When I first started, I didn't talk about it for months, or even a year, because it was so strange back then. No one did it. I did start talking about it eventually, found some interest, and started the carnivore group. The carnivore group is probably the best place to answer these questions, but I can try and address most of them.

Macros? Roughly 80% fat and 20% protein. I really don't measure this any more, when I feel like the meat is a bit too lean, I just add some melted butter or other fat source. 90-95% of my diet is beef recently. And most of that is cheaper cuts or ground beef. I rarely eat grass-finished as I don't enjoy the taste and find it is almost always too lean to eat without added fats. I don't weigh my food daily, but I shop around the "idea" that I eat about two pounds a day. If I run out a little sooner, I shop earlier. But, two pounds is a pretty safe bet for most days.

You're not going to miss out on any nutrients, especially over a 30 day period and eating fresh meat. You might have an issue if you tried to live only on canned corned beef, but I doubt that is your plan. You won't be eating too much protein or hurt your kidneys, assuming you don't already have kidney disease. Protein doesn't cause kidney disease, and the protein levels aren't as high as it might seem anyway.

The reddit communities are awesome resources, but they are very different than the forums here. I have seen people's posts removed for CICO information before. They treat it much more like a lifestyle than a diet. For many people there, they don't see the difference between hitting your goal weight in six months or two years, since you're going to eat this way forever. Great sources of information, and a great community. But, understand that the attitudes are very different.

As an aside, I love vegetables. I don't continue to eat this way because I am too immature to eat my veggies. That's a common slight against people eating this way.

Anyway, I am open to answering any questions you might have. You can also message me directly, or join the carnivore group on here. That might be easier, as I don't know how often I will check back to this thread.

janejellyroll · February 2020

gothchiq wrote: »

Human kidneys are not designed for an all protein diet and you will also become vitamin deficient. I would not do it.

The carnivore diet wouldn't be all protein -- it would be a combination of protein and fat.

NovusDies · February 2020

robertchatman812 wrote: »

I dont think it's a fad, and I think you may have found a video of some who isnt all there.

There must be merit to the diet. I found a very informative article on onnit. Worth a read.

Look I have a specific reason to which I am looking into it. My profession takes me away from home a lot, sometimes to other communities for weeks at a time and sometimes to mining camps for weeks at a time. When living in crew housing in communities it's easy to eat right and maintain a balanced macro diet. When in a camp, in the Baffin Island for example there is a cook, cooking for hundreds of people. The quality is poor and maintaining a balanced macro diet becomes extremely difficult especially when work 12hrs or more a day. With a diet such as carnivore it easy and straight forward, just eat meat and animal products. So, this is my reason for asking and exploring the option because in June I will be such a camp till October, with only 18days out in total, 9 days a piece.

It's not a matter of jumping on the latest fad diet but a matter of maintaining my body composition in which I worked like a dog to achieve.

Anyway, thank you all for your valuable input, I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to pass along your info and opinions.

Carnivores have to balance their nutrition with eating a certain amount of organ meat from what I understand. It is not like you can eat nothing but steaks and bacon. The more specialized you go the more you need to know.

I encourage people to experiment and I see nothing wrong with a 30 day trial. However, I think your ideas about it making things easier when you are not in control of your food may be a problem. More flexibility would serve you better in those situations not less.

janejellyroll · February 2020

NovusDies wrote: »

robertchatman812 wrote: »

I dont think it's a fad, and I think you may have found a video of some who isnt all there.

There must be merit to the diet. I found a very informative article on onnit. Worth a read.

Look I have a specific reason to which I am looking into it. My profession takes me away from home a lot, sometimes to other communities for weeks at a time and sometimes to mining camps for weeks at a time. When living in crew housing in communities it's easy to eat right and maintain a balanced macro diet. When in a camp, in the Baffin Island for example there is a cook, cooking for hundreds of people. The quality is poor and maintaining a balanced macro diet becomes extremely difficult especially when work 12hrs or more a day. With a diet such as carnivore it easy and straight forward, just eat meat and animal products. So, this is my reason for asking and exploring the option because in June I will be such a camp till October, with only 18days out in total, 9 days a piece.

It's not a matter of jumping on the latest fad diet but a matter of maintaining my body composition in which I worked like a dog to achieve.

Anyway, thank you all for your valuable input, I appreciate you taking the time out of your day to pass along your info and opinions.

Carnivores have to balance their nutrition with eating a certain amount of organ meat from what I understand. It is not like you can eat nothing but steaks and bacon. The more specialized you go the more you need to know.

I encourage people to experiment and I see nothing wrong with a 30 day trial. However, I think your ideas about it making things easier when you are not in control of your food may be a problem. More flexibility would serve you better in those situations not less.

Yes, I have no idea what particular foods are offered, but this may be a situation where it would be better to explore how diet that meets macronutrient needs can be achieved in a variety of different circumstances than it would be to eliminate the majority of foods from the diet.

OP, what does "balanced macro diet" mean to you?

I don't know if achieving a truly balanced carnivore diet (assuming such a thing is possible) in the work situation you're describing would be easier than learning how to meet your needs for protein and fat from a wider variety of foods in that situation. Let's say someone tells you that organ meats are needed for optimal health? Will you have regular access to those while working? What if someone tells you that non-factory farmed source meat does make a difference? Is that something that will be prepared for you in that situation?

Urun4me · February 2020

I'm pretty surprised that you go into camps that have poor quality food, and you want to eat more animal products... I enjoy a good cut of meat or some high quality raw fish when I visit certain places, but when I'm in less developed or poorer areas I try to stay away from meat (even before I went mostly vegan and I was eating 5 chicken thighs for lunch every day).

Urun4me · February 2020

Also, a lot of people smell a lot worse from eating meat, so if you're traveling a lot hopefully you have access to places with good showers.

Carnivore diet

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