Carnivore Diet

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

It sure works if you can handle the routine, I actually bought a Carnivore cook book but man let me tell you, nevee trust a fart on this diet.....

 

[fwafwow]

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.

I just finished week 4 and I think #1 is my hardest issue. I wake up full and eventually eat a meal by ~2pm and force myself to eat another meal for dinner. I keep a detailed spreadsheet and even though I'm pounding protein, I'm often short of the 1gr of protein for my ~195lbs, and I always fall a bit short on the fat in a 1:1 ratio. On the plus side, I feel great, have lots more energy and I *think* that the new diet may have helped out my post-TBI smell issues (although it could have been a coincidence).

 

[JDBAK]

I just finished week 4 and I think #1 is my hardest issue. I wake up full and eventually eat a meal by ~2pm and force myself to eat another meal for dinner. I keep a detailed spreadsheet and even though I'm pounding protein, I'm often short of the 1gr of protein for my ~195lbs, and I always fall a bit short on the fat in a 1:1 ratio. On the plus side, I feel great, have lots more energy and I *think* that the new diet may have helped out my post-TBI smell issues (although it could have been a coincidence).

If you really need to up your food intake, might try eating smaller meals more often. Likely you're getting really full from fat. Most of us can only eat so much fat at one time (especially early in the adaptation). So spreading it out over more doses could help. Or you could eat a little bit leaner meat in greater quantity.

If you feel good though and have enough energy, then it might not be a problem. Guess it depends on what you're trying to accomplish...if you're trying to lose weight fast, eating less calories will make it go faster. Total calories in does matter (though it isn't everything...I'd say insulin matters more).
If you feel good, have good energy for whatever you're doing, and are gaining strength and losing fat, then that sounds like a win.

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

The only way I can do it is to constantly eat small meals every couple hours or chew on jerky all day. Without the carbs I am hungry as soon as I stop eating. It's annoying honestly, but I have faith it will pass with time.

Week 6 and still got the wonder gut toilet buster side effects.......

 

[*zap*]

so, I eat during an 8 hour window each day (mostly). 65 yoa and dropping body fat/gaining strength-muscle mass-endurance.

At least 1 hr of fasted liss daily before any food. I usually eat from 1pm till 9 pm or so, maybe 2800 calories daily (approximate).

6' and right now 185#. Looking for high 170's but the last few % of body fat seems like it will take longer than the rest has to fade away or maybe I am adding muscle weight. All my abs are finally starting to show if I lean back a bit, I imagine skin needs to shrink down and that probably takes a while after 50 years.

Primary foods:
1 cup oatmeal with ground almonds/walnuts, foil pack tuna with olive oil, protein drink = meal #1.
1/3 cup rice, small can of black beans, can of Swanson chicken, eat 75% of that= meal #2.
4 eggs with grated cheese, 1/2 cup oatmeal with ground almonds, protein drink = meal #3.
remaining portion of meal #2 for meal #4.
4 eggs with grated cheese, protein drink = meal #5.

 

[fwafwow]

The only way I can do it is to constantly eat small meals every couple hours or chew on jerky all day. Without the carbs I am hungry as soon as I stop eating. It's annoying honestly, but I have faith it will pass with time.

Week 6 and still got the wonder gut toilet buster side effects.......

I've been thinking about the smaller meals concept since the reply from @JDBAK, so I have a few questions. And fyi/fwiw, I'm the "nose to tail"/Saladino version of carnivore, so no vegetables (except an avocado per day), and until recently I've avoided dairy but just recently added whole milk plain yogurt 1x per day.

1. How are you doing smaller more frequent meals? (Thanks @*zap* - saw your reply as I was drafting this.) Part of my issue is laziness, as cooking and eating a pound of ground beef, or 6 eggs and 8 slices of bacon, is much easier than trying to split those up over the course of a day. Cans of sardines may be one approach. But I'm also trying to keep my meals into a window to fast the rest of the time.
2. What jerky are you eating? It seemed to me that most have a bunch of junk in them, or at least sugar. I found People's Choice Old Fashioned Original (beef, water & seasoning - no sugar), but haven't ordered any yet.
3. I did hit my protein goal yesterday (195, but I was over - 217g), but I also re-read Saladino's recommendation and I think his 1g of protein for your ideal body weight is for really active people, and at 50 yo following a TBI, I'm not yet as active as he's probably referencing.
4. My goals are very similar to @*zap* - and I went from 6'2" and 210#+ to 195 pretty easily in the first few weeks, but now I need to swap some of the remaining lard for muscle. Body fat is below 15% (to the extent I believe the gym's machines), so still above where I have been able to get within the last few years (admittedly on diets that left me quite hungry during the day).
5. BTW, I have never had the "disaster pants" side effects at all. I had read that the avocado might mitigate that downside, so I went with that and have stuck to it - as they provide some decent fat content, and I'm not sure I want to risk it now!

 

[*zap*]

I make my first few meals for the day in the morning before I leave. Keep foil packed tuna/olive oil in the vehicles for snacks, and I have put some whole grain cooked pasta in a container to snack on.
I switched from pasta to rice recently to change things up.

 

[Glory]

Well, after reading this thread I decided to go carnivore from keto that I was starting to wander from. Ending day 3. So far so good and definitely feeling the diet change. Will reevaluate at day 60. Trying to get the electrolytes figured out. Am taking a salt/potassium shot in the morning but is giving me some stomach issues. Maybe move it back to lunch when I am eating.

 

[fwafwow]

Well, after reading this thread I decided to go carnivore from keto that I was starting to wander from. Ending day 3. So far so good and definitely feeling the diet change. Will reevaluate at day 60. Trying to get the electrolytes figured out. Am taking a salt/potassium shot in the morning but is giving me some stomach issues. Maybe move it back to lunch when I am eating.

Let me know if you do anything else with respect to electrolytes. I've been using lots of the Redmond Real salt on food. At one point I thought I was getting a bit dizzy when suddenly standing and started to get the Liquid I.V. but then it wasn't easy to find, and I sort of backed off after seeing it had sugar and some other stuff that I was too lazy to research. And I've been pretty fine after the first week or so.

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

I've been thinking about the smaller meals concept since the reply from @JDBAK, so I have a few questions. And fyi/fwiw, I'm the "nose to tail"/Saladino version of carnivore, so no vegetables (except an avocado per day), and until recently I've avoided dairy but just recently added whole milk plain yogurt 1x per day.

1. How are you doing smaller more frequent meals? (Thanks @*zap* - saw your reply as I was drafting this.) Part of my issue is laziness, as cooking and eating a pound of ground beef, or 6 eggs and 8 slices of bacon, is much easier than trying to split those up over the course of a day. Cans of sardines may be one approach. But I'm also trying to keep my meals into a window to fast the rest of the time.
2. What jerky are you eating? It seemed to me that most have a bunch of junk in them, or at least sugar. I found People's Choice Old Fashioned Original (beef, water & seasoning - no sugar), but haven't ordered any yet.
3. I did hit my protein goal yesterday (195, but I was over - 217g), but I also re-read Saladino's recommendation and I think his 1g of protein for your ideal body weight is for really active people, and at 50 yo following a TBI, I'm not yet as active as he's probably referencing.
4. My goals are very similar to @*zap* - and I went from 6'2" and 210#+ to 195 pretty easily in the first few weeks, but now I need to swap some of the remaining lard for muscle. Body fat is below 15% (to the extent I believe the gym's machines), so still above where I have been able to get within the last few years (admittedly on diets that left me quite hungry during the day).
5. BTW, I have never had the "disaster pants" side effects at all. I had read that the avocado might mitigate that downside, so I went with that and have stuck to it - as they provide some decent fat content, and I'm not sure I want to risk it now!

Sorry I didn't see this, have not been on RS lately.

I wouldn't say I'm doing a full blown zero carb diet, because it was miserable and it was really hard on my body. I'm under 30g carbs a day easily though so I don't think it matters. I needed that for my brain to function and not feel sick, although I'm still hungry.

The jerky I was eating had like 1-2g carbs per day with how I was eating it, just some off brand from a local store here in North Idaho.

For food, I'm packing jerky and meal prepped meat. Usually ground elk burger in tupperware in 6oz portions or smoked burger patties (I eat a TON of these per week)

I keep the MTN OPS protien bars in my gym bag and with me at all times, which have some carbs but it's very minor. Believe it's 18g after fiber deductions? One of those will make me a real happy man if I'm craving something.

Walmart has a brand of sugar free BBQ sauce (G heughes?) I use sometimes, I've weined off it though. At first, eating all that meat I couldn't eat it plain with sslt and seasonings, now I can. As time goes by, it just becomes more of a prison routine then a happy time to eat, which works for weight loss. IMO eating has just because a "Have to do this, get it over with" type of thing for me. Not because the food is bad or anything, but I've been programming my mind to focus solely on body fat and fitness.

I'm still having stomach issues though, and my gas could literally knock a ox over. It's making me feel very awkward I'm actually starting to think the MTN OPS protien bars are causing that, because it was a non issue before those.

I think if you've got time to cook and you like a variety of meats, it's not difficult to stick to the diet unless you're someone who gets obsessive over finer foods. For me, personally, it's really jist a hassle at this point to eat for me lol.

I do have a Carnivore diet book I bought that came with a PDF version as well, it's 135 pages of recipes and such, and no where on the order does it say I can't send it to others


For electrolytes, LiquidIv work GREAT, but do have some sugar and carbs. I feel like they help a ton so I'm willing to accept the carbs anf sugar. I drink MTN OPS ignite all day long, and mix those in once a day.


Edit-What I meant by zero carb was hard on my body and brain was brain function, I was losing my balance and getting headaches on zero carb. 20-40g seems to make a massive difference.

 

[bridgermgmt]

Seems a bunch of people are all having the typical issues.

Scared to Fart: Dude, your not processing what your taking in. So why keep taking it in.

Sick feeling: Dude, your depleting electrolytes at a crazy rate and likely not replenishing. Replenish.

Eating Carbs Feels Better: Your not fat adapted yet. Or your not burning off what your eating. Adjust your glycogen loading to accommodate and this problem goes away.

Eating only bacon and jerky, and steak..... Not carnivore at all. Just a picky eater who likes fancy stuff lol. Nose to tail or nothing at all.

Been carnivore for x weeks: Very cool, it takes you around 6-9 months to adapt. So keep counting. **

*Cheat codes:
First month, 5 meals a day. then 4, then 3, then 2, etc.
Fasted workouts: NO NO NO. Glycogenic loading and easily processed proteins pre and post.
Ketosis: Loosing fat, looses water and minerals first, increase water and minerals to avoid the "flu" symptoms.
Protein Sickness: Eat all 3 at once per meal. No more issues.
Diarrhea: You need less fat and you need less protein until you can process it. This should not last more than 2-3 days.
Constipated: You need more fat and way more water with minerals.
** If you do enzyme protocol on this diet you cut the time down by 1/2. But at a cost.

Just my .02 cents. : )

 

[Glory]

Well, the good news is that I didn't almost crap my pants today. but I still have time. grin. Took my salt and potassium after I broke my fast, not before and didn't get sick.

 

[Idaho4x4Bronco]

Little update, I upped my salt intake and fat intake. Feel much better, way more satiated, no headaches and the bathroom is all normal. In basically 2 days. Interesting

 

[fwafwow]

This may be an obvious tip, but I made bone broth with beef marrow bones I found in the frozen section. I couldn't eat/drink it all that day, so the remainder was in the fridge and left a healthy 1/2" layer of fat at the top the next morning. It was hard enough that I took it off and kept it in the fridge. I know take chunks and put them on top of other meat - liver (at the moment), ground beef that is too lean, etc. I've even eaten a few chunks on their own. Pretty convenient source of fat, although my wife thinks it's disgusting.

 

[bridgermgmt]

This may be an obvious tip, but I made bone broth with beef marrow bones I found in the frozen section. I couldn't eat/drink it all that day, so the remainder was in the fridge and left a healthy 1/2" layer of fat at the top the next morning. It was hard enough that I took it off and kept it in the fridge. I know take chunks and put them on top of other meat - liver (at the moment), ground beef that is too lean, etc. I've even eaten a few chunks on their own. Pretty convenient source of fat, although my wife thinks it's disgusting.

Have you tried cubing the fat from organs? To some it sounds and looks disgusting. But one plus side is you can digest it much easier when eaten this way. And it taste pretty amazing if you just sear each side and then eat with your meal. Its basically a marshmallow that's going to taste amazing.

 

[fwafwow]

Have you tried cubing the fat from organs? To some it sounds and looks disgusting. But one plus side is you can digest it much easier when eaten this way. And it taste pretty amazing if you just sear each side and then eat with your meal. Its basically a marshmallow that's going to taste amazing.

I have not done that, but I just got some kidney suet in the mail and have some more on the way. For some reason I have a problem eating a giant glob of fat on the side of a steak, but the "white chocolate" looking stuff I skimmed from the bone broth goes down like candy. I will give this approach a try.

 

[bridgermgmt]

I have not done that, but I just got some kidney suet in the mail and have some more on the way. For some reason I have a problem eating a giant glob of fat on the side of a steak, but the "white chocolate" looking stuff I skimmed from the bone broth goes down like candy. I will give this approach a try.

ITs going to sound a little odd, but you should try eating a small slice (think sandwich meat thin) of fat (frozen). If you can palate that, then try and thicker cut. Figure out what size you think works best. Then try quickly searing the sides and adding them to your food. I think you'll be surprised. Hopefully in a good way haha.

 

[fwafwow]

ITs going to sound a little odd, but you should try eating a small slice (think sandwich meat thin) of fat (frozen). If you can palate that, then try and thicker cut. Figure out what size you think works best. Then try quickly searing the sides and adding them to your food. I think you'll be surprised. Hopefully in a good way haha.

Thanks. It sounds fine, and may try it tonight. I need to get over the thought about how I'm pretty hesitant to eat raw beef generally, so raw fat makes me wonder. But freezing kills everything, right! Right?

 

[Titan_Bow]

I tried a very carnivore based keto diet for a while, and I did feel good, but eventually started to get gout pain in my foot and noticed my blood pressure going up pretty high.
I think everyone is different, and you really have to try some of these different ways of eating to understand what’s best for your body.
Now, I actually eat a pretty heavy plant based diet, and exclusively eat wild game and wild caught fish. I don’t eat any processed foods, very little sugar aside from what’s in fruits, and pretty low carbs. I don’t shy away from butter or fat but I’m also not seeking it out like I was doing Keto. For me, this seems to be the best for my body as I feel better than ever, am not worrying about my weight or blood pressure. Another thing that I’ve seen, especially with guys who are doing carnivore or keto for weight loss, is that guys will start it and stick with it for a few months, lose weight, but then invariably gain a ton of weight back when they ultimately stray from the diet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JDBAK]

Little update, I upped my salt intake and fat intake. Feel much better, way more satiated, no headaches and the bathroom is all normal. In basically 2 days. Interesting

That's awesome. Your experience with salt and fat jives with most of what I see ,hear and read. It seems the salt need goes down some after time though. I don't think the increase is salt is necessarily a problem, eating this way you probably get less overall salt than average guy eating processed food.

Funny, when you get used to eating real food long enough, taste and cravings start working in your favor, and you can just eat intuitively.