Tried carnivore?
rebekahstrachan3
Posts: 30 Member
Has anybody tried the carnivore diet and what were your results?
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Replies
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Sounds like a boring, limited, pointless diet that would still require you to count the calories in order to lose weight.
If I'm going to count calories I might as well just eat everything.21 -
What's the carnivore diet? Meat/animal products only with nothing else? Sounds very.... unhealthy.14
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What's the carnivore diet? Meat/animal products only with nothing else? Sounds very.... unhealthy.
My understanding is that some of them will supplement the meat with things like butter, salt, or coffee (but I get the impression maybe the coffee isn't very approved), but yeah . . . it's pretty much all meat.3 -
I have two online acquaintances who are on carnivore plans, not for weight management but for mental health reasons and they both think it is the *thing* they need...
Good luck if you do try it, let us know how it goes.3 -
KrissDotCom wrote: »Sounds like a boring, limited, pointless diet that would still require you to count the calories in order to lose weight.
If I'm going to count calories I might as well just eat everything.
I kind of like the new “Take No Prisoners” @KrissDotCom I hope you are doing well!3 -
Having tried it I couldn't stick to it. My body wanted more variety. The one benefit was it was great for feeling satiated almost all of the time. Personal suggestion if you are going to do it make sure you take supplement fiber in your diet. You aren't going to like life if you don't. Overall though I'd rate it 2/10. Just not sustainable at least for me.9
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It sounds like another variation on atkins/ radically low/ zero carb diets.
You might lose weight but it's probably not healthy. Also pretty horrendous for the environment.
I think if you are physically OK to eat a varied diet then that is the best way - to include things from as many food groups as possible.8 -
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A diet that recommends all meat is developed by a physician so bad he loses his license.
Oh, yeah, why not try it?
No, eat a healthy, well balanced diet -- just less of it -- and you will lose weight.16 -
Thanks for the mention. There are variations of carnivore ranging from a more lax (dairy, including high-carb milk is ok, sauces/seasonings ok, coffee/tea ok) to a more strict lion diet (beef, eater, salt). Many principles from keto will apply - electrolyte needs, for example. I did keto for a year and then switched to carnivore. I notice much less bloating and feel better without all the fiber from plants.
After 3 years on a keto carnivore approach that included more lax items (sauces/seasonings, coffee, zero or near zero carb drinks), I've been almost at the lion diet since Feb. I'm still trying to give up caffeine / coffee and haven't figured out electrolyte supplememts because bathing meat in salt still doesn't do enough for my sodium levels especially when running a lot.
Also, I originally lost weight, but have been maintaining for years. I probably should try to cut back and lose a bit someday.5 -
rebekahstrachan3 wrote: »Has anybody tried the carnivore diet and what were your results?
What results are you looking for? If it is weight loss then all diets that create a calorie deficit will work but not all of them will be sustainable for you. What is sustainable for one person will not necessarily be sustainable for you so whatever results someone eating this diet or any other diet for more than a year will have are not guaranteed for you.
Weight loss does not require a specific style of eating it only requires portion/calorie control. The inflexibility and lack of variety of the carnivore diet makes it unappealing to me. It also goes against my personal conviction of replacing a portion of my meat protein each week with plant based sources. If my health required this diet I would do it but I am thankful it does not.
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springlering62 wrote: »KrissDotCom wrote: »Sounds like a boring, limited, pointless diet that would still require you to count the calories in order to lose weight.
If I'm going to count calories I might as well just eat everything.
I kind of like the new “Take No Prisoners” @KrissDotCom I hope you are doing well!
Lol. I dunno how new it is, I think I'm like the moon and have phases where I'm a bit more direct haha..
Call me a bluntwolf? Instead of a werewolf? Lol
Im doing good tho! Thank you. Hope you are as well1 -
Is it sustainable? No. So why would you do it?
Read ‘eat to live’ by Jeremy Sherman, ‘in defence of food’ by Michael Polson or ‘the China study ‘ by Thomas Collins.
Another good source is Canada’s new food guide.
Don’t want to read, then there is a documentary of interest defence of food’ that is available on Netflix.
Michael Polson summarizes things well with these few words:
Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
The reality of it is, we get far more nutrition from plants than from animal based products.5 -
Basically, I asked if people had tried this diet and what it was like for them. I did not, however, ask for people's opinions on a diet they had never tried nor diet advice.
I feel carnivore would be a sustainable diet choice for myself as I am looking to reduce inflammation and depression as well as lose some weight while retaining muscle.
Diets high in carbohydrate do not work for me as I am always left feeling hungry and bloated with low energy. High protein worked for me but I was again always hungry even when consuming 1500+ calories a day.
Thank you to those whom have left helpful comments.13 -
rebekahstrachan3 wrote: »Basically, I asked if people had tried this diet and what it was like for them. I did not, however, ask for people's opinions on a diet they had never tried nor diet advice.
I feel carnivore would be a sustainable diet choice for myself as I am looking to reduce inflammation and depression as well as lose some weight while retaining muscle.
Diets high in carbohydrate do not work for me as I am always left feeling hungry and bloated with low energy. High protein worked for me but I was again always hungry even when consuming 1500+ calories a day.
The thing is it is an experiment for you. Once the experiment begins you under no obligation to continue to do it after the first meal, first day, first week, or first month. As such it doesn't matter what it has or has not done for other people which was part of my point. It only matters if you can do it and achieve the desired results. Assuming it is sustainable for more than a few months you should get some blood work done to make sure it is not having an adverse impact on your health. It is fine for some it may not be fine for you.
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tgillies003 wrote: »Is it sustainable? No. So why would you do it?
Read ‘eat to live’ by Jeremy Sherman, ‘in defence of food’ by Michael Polson or ‘the China study ‘ by Thomas Collins.
Another good source is Canada’s new food guide.
Don’t want to read, then there is a documentary of interest defence of food’ that is available on Netflix.
Michael Polson summarizes things well with these few words:
Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.
The reality of it is, we get far more nutrition from plants than from animal based products.
"Sustainability" is a very personal and subjective metric. I certainly wouldn't find it sustainable, but then I'm not contemplating it. There are people who report eating this way for extended periods of time and find it sustainable (either because they enjoy how it makes them feel or they find it helps with health conditions or it makes their weight management easier).
The name is Michael Pollan, by the way. And he's not a nutritional researcher, he's a food writer. He's a very good writer, but I don't know if we can assume he gets to be the final word on what people should eat.9 -
Joe Rogan Reports Back After a Month on Carnivore Diet
Around 5 minutes in he starts talking about the "explosive diarrhea" he had for the first two weeks. He says that phrase is not strong enough to convey what happened.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivMoNhjnhqw 5 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Joe Rogan Reports Back After a Month on Carnivore Diet
Around 5 minutes in he starts talking about the "explosive diarrhea" he had for the first two weeks. He says that phrase is not strong enough to convey what happened.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivMoNhjnhqw
And I am exactly immature and petty enough to find this hilarious BUT . . . .if OP decided to give it a try and experienced, um, Roganesque results, she can always bail and eat some broccoli or whatever it takes to get her digestive system back to normal.
Although I am very skeptical of diets that are put forward as the "one true way" and I am irked by those who tell others that they MUST follow a specific set of restrictions to achieve their weight management goals, I think we (not meaning YOU, just a general observation) can also get too worried about people trying out different plans just to see how it makes them feel.
I think the average person contemplating this way of life is going to give it a try, quickly get bored or realize they feel even worse, and then tap out without harming themselves. Finding out you hate a particular way of eating or that it doesn't make you feel good is, in itself, a pretty good piece of information to get.
(Note: I'm not saying that everyone is going to get bored or feel worse, I'm just saying that my perception is that the average person isn't going to stick with this style of eating for very long -- it's just too counter-intuitive to how many of us like to eat and there are powerful social, gustatory, financial, and probably physiological incentives to eat stuff other than meat).
Obviously, people should make sure they understand the nutritional implications before adopting a novel dietary pattern. My understanding is that there is not a great deal of evidence detailing outcomes on this type of diet, especially on a population level. Even people who traditionally eat close to a carnivore diet like the Intuit are still including berries, tubers, greens, and seaweed when they are available. As a vegan, I would never say that we shouldn't follow a certain diet just because it wasn't followed in the past. Obviously, we wouldn't have our current data on long-term nutritional/health outcomes associated with veganism if earlier generations hadn't gone first. But we can't ignore that there is a higher potential for risk associated with being an early adopter of a novel diet. Things go well, you're in the group that will help prove it. If things don't go well, you're in the group that provides a cautionary tale.5 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Joe Rogan Reports Back After a Month on Carnivore Diet
Around 5 minutes in he starts talking about the "explosive diarrhea" he had for the first two weeks. He says that phrase is not strong enough to convey what happened.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivMoNhjnhqw
This is the type of thing I've experienced when trying to eat plants again (which I did briefly a couple years ago). A lot of people don't realize that our gut biome takes time to adapt. Dietary changes are uncomfortable, in part, because our bodies haven't figured out how to optimize digestion with such big changes in materials. Try to put diesel in a car made for gasoline and you have problems. Unlike a car, we can adapt... but it takes time and will be uncomfortable in the interim.3 -
I'm a big fan of trying different things to see what works best for you. I don't like meat very much and struggle to eat enough protein (although I've learned I feel much better with more protein) so I haven't looked into the carnivore diet. I have read quite a few accounts from people who love it. My advice would be to try it if it sounds appealing to you. And maybe it will be something that benefits you even if only for a few months or years if not permanently. Some of the things that have worked best for me have been unconventional.
Ignore the myfitnesspal mob who feel they have to jump on every post with their negativity about everything except mainstream failed diet advice.7 -
I'm a big fan of trying different things to see what works best for you. I don't like meat very much and struggle to eat enough protein (although I've learned I feel much better with more protein) so I haven't looked into the carnivore diet. I have read quite a few accounts from people who love it. My advice would be to try it if it sounds appealing to you. And maybe it will be something that benefits you even if only for a few months or years if not permanently. Some of the things that have worked best for me have been unconventional.
Ignore the myfitnesspal mob who feel they have to jump on every post with their negativity about everything except mainstream failed diet advice.
"Failed diet advice" is a strong way to describe people pointing out that carnivorism is a diet that many people will find too restrictive and weight loss is a function of a calorie deficit. But okay . . .16 -
rebekahstrachan3 wrote: »Basically, I asked if people had tried this diet and what it was like for them. I did not, however, ask for people's opinions on a diet they had never tried nor diet advice.
I feel carnivore would be a sustainable diet choice for myself as I am looking to reduce inflammation and depression as well as lose some weight while retaining muscle.
Diets high in carbohydrate do not work for me as I am always left feeling hungry and bloated with low energy. High protein worked for me but I was again always hungry even when consuming 1500+ calories a day.
Thank you to those whom have left helpful comments.
Have you been tested for intolerances and allergies? Perhaps it isn’t the carbohydrates but an intolerance to lactose or a sugar.
There are many factors and a registered dietician can help you to identify why you feel lethargic on higher carbohydrates.5 -
I'm a big fan of trying different things to see what works best for you. I don't like meat very much and struggle to eat enough protein (although I've learned I feel much better with more protein) so I haven't looked into the carnivore diet. I have read quite a few accounts from people who love it. My advice would be to try it if it sounds appealing to you. And maybe it will be something that benefits you even if only for a few months or years if not permanently. Some of the things that have worked best for me have been unconventional.
Ignore the myfitnesspal mob who feel they have to jump on every post with their negativity about everything except mainstream failed diet advice.
I am not sure mainstream means what you think it means. Mainstream is only fad diets and losing weight fast. Not as much of that exists here now that keto worship is on the decline. Not that there is anything wrong with keto if you avoid all nonsense and just treat it like a possible eating plan. I am sure there will be a new flavor soon though.
The advice here is typically to choose a sensible and sustainable approach for yourself which is hardly mainstream and often considered extremely boring.11 -
So many negative comments from people haven’t tried or researched this diet. LOL. I’ve been on a strict carnivore diet for nearly a month. So far, I lost 20.2 lbs. My pores have tightened up and I lost several skin tags. My hair has gotten very shiny and healthy looking. I haven’t felt depression. I have more energy to keep up with my child, and I don’t feel like I need to sleep as much. My teeth feel cleaner. I can fast for 24 hours without feeling hunger. I also no longer feel inflammation in my legs and feet. Someone earlier mentioned counting calories; I don’t do that. I have been eating steaks, burger patties, bacon, eggs, liver, cheese, and pork rinds as much as I want. I feel better than I have in years. I did have diarrhea for the first week, but that is normal for me since I no longer have a gallbladder. Now I go to the bathroom way less and it’s fine. The first couple of days were rough, but once I got past that it’s been pretty easy. Is it sustainable? No clue. I’m still going to continue as long as I see positive results.6
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martianvalkyrie wrote: »So many negative comments from people haven’t tried or researched this diet. LOL. I’ve been on a strict carnivore diet for nearly a month. So far, I lost 20.2 lbs. My pores have tightened up and I lost several skin tags. My hair has gotten very shiny and healthy looking. I haven’t felt depression. I have more energy to keep up with my child, and I don’t feel like I need to sleep as much. My teeth feel cleaner. I can fast for 24 hours without feeling hunger. I also no longer feel inflammation in my legs and feet. Someone earlier mentioned counting calories; I don’t do that. I have been eating steaks, burger patties, bacon, eggs, liver, cheese, and pork rinds as much as I want. I feel better than I have in years. I did have diarrhea for the first week, but that is normal for me since I no longer have a gallbladder. Now I go to the bathroom way less and it’s fine. The first couple of days were rough, but once I got past that it’s been pretty easy. Is it sustainable? No clue. I’m still going to continue as long as I see positive results.
I'm glad you're having good results, I'd just like to point out that it's very common for people to report great results after one month on all types of diets and some of these results can't realistically be accomplished with one month of a dietary change, no matter how great it is (your hair, for example, doesn't grow enough in a month to allow you to attribute a "healthier look" to this dietary change).8 -
janejellyroll wrote: »martianvalkyrie wrote: »I'm glad you're having good results, I'd just like to point out that it's very common for people to report great results after one month on all types of diets and some of these results can't realistically be accomplished with one month of a dietary change, no matter how great it is (your hair, for example, doesn't grow enough in a month to allow you to attribute a "healthier look" to this dietary change).
Fair enough. Hopefully I can report back in later on with continued positive results.1 -
Honest Question: What is the environmental impact of this sort of diet?
Also, it seems like the sort of diet you could only pursue if you live in a developed economy.8 -
How is it supposed to relieve depression? As someone who suffered it for years, I'm curious, albeit skeptical.
...ok. I've just answered my own question. I urge anyone interested in it to read this sensible article
https://medium.com/@pkslater/why-the-carnivore-diet-works-and-it-also-might-kill-you-c14ac468cb330 -
rebekahstrachan3 wrote: »Basically, I asked if people had tried this diet and what it was like for them. I did not, however, ask for people's opinions on a diet they had never tried nor diet advice.
I feel carnivore would be a sustainable diet choice for myself as I am looking to reduce inflammation and depression as well as lose some weight while retaining muscle.
Diets high in carbohydrate do not work for me as I am always left feeling hungry and bloated with low energy. High protein worked for me but I was again always hungry even when consuming 1500+ calories a day.
Thank you to those whom have left helpful comments.
Good for you for willing to try it , really silly so many people bash on keto/carnivore diet without trying themselves. It might not be a good diet for people who just want to lose weight but definitely worth trying to help with certain medical condition with help of doctor if possible. I have not done carnivore but just keto, it really helped me reduce hunger, inflammation, headaches However, I do find it is a bit hard to stick to and gave me constipation, so after a while, I slowly added a bit more carb, by experiment, I found my carb tolerance, now I am on a low carb diet that is very sustainable for me.
I would say definitely gave carnivore diet a try, then if you want to you can try adding a bit of other food one at a time and see if they causes any problem, and find out the best diet for you.
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https://youtu.be/9IiHRSBAMwU
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