I did strict carnivore for 9 months (strict meaning meat/animal fat, pure salt, and water only - so no bacon (preservatives))
Benefits I noticed:
- I immediately lost weight, about 25 pounds per month for 2 months. I went from obese 198 (I'm 5'8") to probably a little too skinny 143. I added some muscle weight from there but putting on fat would be hard.
- inflammation problems I had seemed to go away or lessen, it didn't completely resolve joint problems or do anything miraculous like the people online will tell you but it was noticeable
- I did feel more alert, didn't feel a need for coffee, again nothing miraculous
- After awhile I felt no addiction or desire for sugar, coffee, or alcohol
- Less brain fog for sure
- Probably the biggest benefit I noticed is I used to have to eat constantly or I would get sugar shakes, I am not diabetic or anything but I am high strung and ate normal high carb diet. My doctor recommended eating more donuts (slams head into wall). This completely went away and I could go 2 days easy without eating and not feel any weird blood sugar issues.
The bad:
- At first I tried to follow what other people were doing, many recommended like 2 to 1 fat to meat. This was too much and just pure diarrhea the whole time I tried (for months). Once I gave up on that I just ate above average fat meat or added a little tallow and poops were fine and I felt much better.
- People thought I was weird
- Eating at restaurants was basically not an option, which didn't really bother me. But family dinners and stuff like that were awkward especially for someone who hates being a burden. Many times I would bring a bowl of meat and go eat it in the car shamefully when no one noticed.
After:
- Hard to explain but when I was eating like this everything just felt grey and kind of blah. Not depression or anything in fact I think I had less lows. But also less highs. After 9 months I ate a potato and everything became more colorful again it was weird.
- after 9 months I tried a little piece of candy and it tasted like I took a drink out of an oil drum, pretty much everything with sugar just tasted like chemicals at first. Quickly my body went back to craving it.
- I don't think my body is more affected by bad food now but I think I notice it a lot more. Certain preservatives and any kind of vegetable oil especially make me feel terrible.
- I started getting a belly again as soon as I added carbs back in
Some notes:
- scurvy argument: doesn't seem to happen, I believe it is thought the lack of sugar in the diet makes the requirement significantly lower (natural high sugar food is usually high in vitamin C)
- low vitamin D/other vitamins and minerals: it is argued that most of the vitamins from vegetables are not well absorbed. Vitamins from vegetables are usually in different forms and less absorb-able. Vitamin D from vegetables is D2 where as Vitamin D from animal fat is D3. So even if you are getting less the ones you are getting your body can actually use. If you dive into how they determine daily minimum values and all that stuff it will make you question whether anyone, scientist or otherwise really knows much of anything about this stuff. It really seems to me like none of them have any idea.
- people are doing raw carnivore with ground meat from the grocery store and they are insane
- a lot of the people who do carnivore are ex-vegans, I don't know if it is an attention thing or what for them
- I think a lot of the people who are saying they are doing it are full of crap, even some of the bigger names. But they will sell you a book about it.
- I don't think I will ever do it strictly again but I do feel much better with meat as the primary staple in my diet with other food that I feel is healthy and doesn't make me feel junky.
- my research showed that a very low carb diet like this is hard on the liver
