Carnivore Diet

[Frito]

I think fat adaptation and time is key. Most people are so metabolically deficient that often times blood sugar drops but insulin will not ebb enough for the enzymes in fat cells to break down the triglycerides and release fat, leaving your body with no fuel. At that point your body sends out some pretty hard signals to re-feed. Sometimes it takes months to get adapted.

I believe that carnivore diet is a very natural diet when you consider the state of modern produce, and the amount of it we created through hybridization and GM. Most of the fruit we think is so healthy didn't even exist in a very palatable form as little as 300 years ago. The meat we eat has changed as well, but not to the same drastic extent.

 

[nowicki2005]

Are any of you adding muscle mass actually?

What about strength?

I mainly powerlift and I could eat just meat all day and not blink an eye

 

[JDBAK]

Are any of you adding muscle mass actually?

What about strength?

I mainly powerlift and I could eat just meat all day and not blink an eye

I did, both. It could be a harder to to add muscle mass, depending on what sort of carnivore diet you're eating, and what you're coming from.
Some folks find it tough to eat enough....you just get full faster, satiety kicks in. May need to eat more fat to get enough calories. It's quite common to go into a calorie deficit eating this way, as you feel full earlier, so I'd advise eating more fat if that's the case.

I spent 9 months deployed and lifted heavily (eating carnivore...NATO chow hall and my grill allowed this). Gained significant strength and muscle, lost a bit of body fat. I was already an experienced lifter before this, yet managed to PR in all the power lifts that year.
I would manipulate fat content through cheese, butter and bacon depending on the goals.

 

[Frito]

Are any of you adding muscle mass actually?

What about strength?

I mainly powerlift and I could eat just meat all day and not blink an eye

I made small gains in strength, without a doubt. Took a few months to notice this where it's easily noticed like bench press. I'm also doing well over 20 pull-ups where before the diet I could only manage 20 on a really good day. That could be due to weighing slightly less. I can't tell that I've gained any size but I'm not a big lifter either. I just try to hit each major muscle group (legs, back/bi's, and Chest/Tri's) at most, twice in a 7 day period. I've just got a routine and rarely push my max. It's also worth noting that I'm not completely carnivorous like I'd like to be. I do eat vegetables from time to time.

 

[wesfromky]

This weeks Meateaters podcast had Dr, Paul Saladino on talking about the carnivore diet.

 

[jlaner0408]

This weeks Meateaters podcast had Dr, Paul Saladino on talking about the carnivore diet.

Was a pretty interesting listen

 

[marcjstevens]

I stopped worrying about which diet is best after I read Fat Loss Forever by Layne Norton. Basically choose whatever is easiest to sustain. You’ll lose weight as long as you’re in a caloric deficit. And eat high protein


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[Mrcrosno]

I started doing a carnivore-close diet on 10-4 after listening to the Meat Eater podcast about it being intrigued, and have lost 16 pounds as of today. So if you want to shed some quick weight it's an easy way to do it. I wasn't really overweight either, I am 6'4" and started at 224 and am currently at 208. I do think that just eating a good balanced diet is best, and I thought I had that, but when I really looked at my diet it was awful and had too many processed and packaged foods.

Meal planning for the first two weeks was a pretty big deal, without that I wouldn't have made it very long. Once you get the hang of it though it's pretty easy to do, even for me and I love breads and sugars. The lack of sugar and carbs the first week was pretty rough, but not awful, after 2 weeks there were still some cravings but not as bad as before. There can be some pretty rough transitions in the bowel movement area the first two weeks as well.

I have a cup of black coffee in the morning, then I eat leftovers from the previous nights dinner for lunch, then I typically grill or pan sear a beef steak of some type, bison steak of some type, do elk burgers, elk roast, chicken or fish for dinner. I typically have one small side vegetable like zucchini or roasted broccoli that the fiber cancels out the carbs as much as possible. I know you're not supposed to do that, and that is why I consider it carnivore-close, but that has kept me on it just having some variety. I will typically have a cup of tea after dinner as a "dessert" replacement.

I see a whole lot of people when they get to the month mark say that they feel better than ever and are thinking clearer and it's the best way to eat, I think its good but I am just not to that point yet, and that could definitely have something to do with the small amount of vegetables that I am eating.

I should also mention, if you do it make sure to drink the necessary amount of water, the first 2 weeks I felt like I had a dry mouth most of the time even though I was drinking enough water. You do have to pee a lot so be prepared of that, as a southern whitetail hunter I’ve never had to pee off the stand so much in my life.

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Rather then start my own thread, thought I'd bump this up. Does anyone have any clarity issuss doing extremely low carb? If so, how did you fix it?

I'm switching back to a very very low carb diet after having a rough year in 2020, but when I did keto in the past (worked great for fat loss) I was having some clarity issues. My brain just didn't seem to function fully on it. I could barely put my pants on while standing because my balance was horrible, headaches, ect.

Wondering if it's common and there's ways to fix it. Thanks fellas

 

[Seeknelk]

Make sure to up your electrolyte intake on super low carb, animal based diets. Salt is your friend. Also, eat plenty of organs and fat. Liver n heart are the obvious ones. Bone broth is easy to make and helps supply lots of stuff.

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Make sure to up your electrolyte intake on super low carb, animal based diets. Salt is your friend. Also, eat plenty of organs and fat. Liver n heart are the obvious ones. Bone broth is easy to make and helps supply lots of stuff.

I'll try that, I was only drinking mtn ops ignite and water last time. picked up a bunch of liquidIV today after I read this.

 

[Felix40]

I’ve been doing it about 6 weeks. I have had several cheat days though. I lost about 5 pounds and have continued to make small gains in the gym. My energy level through the day is more level. It’s not a super convenient way to eat but I have been getting it figured out. I took an elk liver and cut it into 4oz servings and froze it so I can just take one serving out to thaw every week. Also added heart and liver to my snack sticks. I can definitely tell I feel better now than 2 months ago. I can also tell I feel worse on days where I eat bread or pasta.

 

[jlaner0408]

About to start this next week- mainly only eating breakfast and lunch this way. Dinners will be a little more “normal” because my wife would kill me if she had to deal with me only eating meat at dinner with her. Curious to hear if there are any other tips you guys have that have been doing this longer than I have...

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

About to start this next week- mainly only eating breakfast and lunch this way. Dinners will be a little more “normal” because my wife would kill me if she had to deal with me only eating meat at dinner with her. Curious to hear if there are any other tips you guys have that have been doing this longer than I have...

Probably wont work if you deviate too much on dinner, I'd think you need to be "fat adapted" like keto for it to work, otherwise you'll probably be hungry all the time.

After 2-4 weeks your endless hunger goes away in my experience, that first adjustment month can be a little rough. I will say though, I was able to lose 78lbs in 3 months last year after gaining 100lbs playing the role of a depressed alcoholic by doing extremely low carb and crossfit.

Only real tip I could give is supplement, and don't be afraid to just snack on meat (jerky, ect) if you're starving. Traegers help too lol.

 

[mj23polaris]

I'll try that, I was only drinking mtn ops ignite and water last time. picked up a bunch of liquidIV today after I read this.

It's good stuff I take a packet everyday, get a subscription on their site use code drinkinbros gets you 25% off

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[jlaner0408]

Probably wont work if you deviate too much on dinner, I'd think you need to be "fat adapted" like keto for it to work, otherwise you'll probably be hungry all the time.

After 2-4 weeks your endless hunger goes away in my experience, that first adjustment month can be a little rough. I will say though, I was able to lose 78lbs in 3 months last year after gaining 100lbs playing the role of a depressed alcoholic by doing extremely low carb and crossfit.

Only real tip I could give is supplement, and don't be afraid to just snack on meat (jerky, ect) if you're starving. Traegers help too lol.

We eat pretty healthy as it is, but dinner would be the only carbs I’d be eating all day. And most of that should get expended during workouts (typically about 5 hours a week in fairly vigorous weight lifting).

Haha got a camp chef that is going to be smoking lots of roasts low and slow!

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

It's good stuff I take a packet everyday, get a subscription on their site use code drinkinbros gets you 25% off

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It's pretty good mixed with mtn ops

 

[fwafwow]

I started doing a carnivore-close diet on 10-4 after listening to the Meat Eater podcast about it being intrigued, and have lost 16 pounds as of today.

Any update? I was late to the party of listening to Saladino on MeatEater, but I've started to tentatively follow the recommendations. Bought the book and mostly done w/ the JRE podcast. So far the hardest part is dealing with my family and their thoughts on just another one of my hobbies/fads/infatuations. (Note - that's their POV, and while it's true in some respects, it's not true in all!)

Anyone using the desiccated organ supplements - Heart & Soil, Ancestral Supplements, or otherwise?

 

[Mrcrosno]

Any update? I was late to the party of listening to Saladino on MeatEater, but I've started to tentatively follow the recommendations. Bought the book and mostly done w/ the JRE podcast. So far the hardest part is dealing with my family and their thoughts on just another one of my hobbies/fads/infatuations. (Note - that's there POV, and while it's true in some respects, it's not true in all!)

Anyone using the desiccated organ supplements - Heart & Soil, Ancestral Supplements, or otherwise?

Still going strong and am down 24 pounds at this point from my original weight. I did have some additional foods outside of the diet over thanksgiving and a family vacation the week after thanksgiving. I could tell the week after thanksgiving I didn’t feel near as good as I do when I am on it. Again I still eat some vegetables but stick with certain ones that the fiber hopefully offsets the carbs.

 

[JDBAK]

About to start this next week- mainly only eating breakfast and lunch this way. Dinners will be a little more “normal” because my wife would kill me if she had to deal with me only eating meat at dinner with her. Curious to hear if there are any other tips you guys have that have been doing this longer than I have...

Tips:
1. Eat enough, and eat enough fat. Its easy to under-eat, as meat is pretty satiating. Don't be afraid of fatty meat (the stuff that tastes good). After awhile your taste in fat will be a pretty good guide.
2. Get enough salt/electrolite. If you're not already fat adapted (keto), this is often a problem.
3. Fat adaptation can take awhile. It could be a rough week or two, but eating enough and getting salt helps.
3.a - eating a normal meal at dinner will ease the transition symptoms, but also prolong the adaptation. If you want to eat non-carnivore at dinner, I'd do some fruit and maybe some vegetables (hopefully veg that agrees with you....which is a big caveat). Lessen the fruit over time and you'll get more fat adapted. Start removing the veg and you'll likely discover all sorts of interesting things about yourself (my skins problems went away, no more gas/bloating, etc, etc, etc).

4. Avoid sugar and refined carbs (like grains), and stay the F#@! away from vegetable/seed oils.