Carnivore Diet? How Did That Happen?

Approx. Reading Time: 4 minutes First off, I would like to mention that I prefer to call this the carnivore way of eating, but for this article’s sake I will stick with “carnivore diet.”

Finding the Carnivore diet

My husband and I both suffer from long-term weight problems and annoying health issues related to food. Processed foods, chemicals, and other food modifications took their toll on our bodies. Hormonal imbalances, food allergies and intolerances, rapid weight fluctuations, skin issues, inflammation, and chronic pain. Long ago, we realized the medical community offered us no help and only increased symptoms. For years, we focused on finding a proper diet that we enjoyed, improved our health, and was able to be maintained long-term.

Boy, was that a battle?

Gluten, soy, chemicals went away first. Then, added sugars (of all types), fake sugars, with limited carbs. For a while, we followed paleo. With lacking results, we moved to Bulletproof and then to a standard ketogenic program. Through all of this, we struggled endlessly with cravings and extended cheat periods. After extensive research, I completed 12-day water only fast. This process changed my entire mindset on food, hunger, and nourishment while resetting my body. I returned to ketogenic for several months then decided another short fast was in order. During this fast still symptomatic, I considered going vegan and even began the process once the fast ended.

An Almost Vegan

After completing a 3-day fast, I reintroduced food using pureed vegetable juice and soups. In the following days, I experienced bloating and gas, a visible increase in size, joint pain, and the onset of depression. Meanwhile, Nelson suffered worsening skin issues.

I’ll admit I happened upon a Dr. Jordan B. Peterson discussion on the Joe Rogan Experience on a Friday afternoon. He began sharing his families’ stories while following an all-meat diet. He isn’t an expert, but his story struck a chord with me. I decided to research this way of eating more and quickly found terrific stories of healing. The diet wasn’t much different than what I had been doing so I understood much of the available science. By the time my husband arrived home from work, I had made up my mind that I would try this elimination type diet starting Monday. I shared what I had learned with my husband, who agreed to give it a try. We spent the weekend finishing off the non-carnivore diet food we just purchased.

Getting Started on the Carnivore Diet

On the carnivore diet, you eat –  Meat. Salt. Water. Food preparation consists of selecting the cuts you want from the refrigerator. I highly recommend proper cooking techniques, usually lower temp for more extended periods, for the most delicious results.

Mentally, I was all-in and ready to eat some meat!

I rank nutrition pretty high on the importance scale, so I chose to start with a ribeye-full meal plan. It worked well for me, and I quickly entered a state of ketosis. All along, I have easily stuck to carnivore diet friendly meats and products, like eggs, butter, and cheese. I do keep the non-meat products very limited. My husband prefers a bit of variety and prefers less steak (I think it is weird too, no worries), but he does enjoy organ meat which provides plentiful vitamins. Initially, he struggled with sticking entirely to the carnivore diet foods, but it is tough, and he is making progress. As former Bulletproof-er’s, we consumed butter coffee daily. By week 11, our energy increased to the point where the morning caffeine hurt out nighttime sleep. We officially quit our last bean! This also significantly decreased our butter intake (and budget).

Feeling Good

It’s been just over 90 days on the carnivore diet, and I have zero complaints. I could not have imagined feeling this much better in such a short period. I am grateful for stumbling upon this way of eating. At this time, I believe the carnivore diet is the best diet for me and my needs. Each of us will have our variances. Food companies use us as guinea pigs for their processed foods. Considering that, if you are unhealthy or overweight, you owe yourself a health experiment. They say nutrition is 80-90% of health and healthy weight. More likely than not, the food you eat dictates how you feel much more than you expect. Be responsible for your choices. Decide which foods and beverages enter your body. Understand the role of macronutrients, micronutrients, and anti-nutrients. Remove obscurely named sugars and chemicals from your diet. What do you have to lose? Each week, I provide an update on my carnivore journey and information relevant to those curious. Subscribe to our email list for notifications on the latest articles. We’d love to hear some of our reader’s questions or about their efforts in their weight loss journey, carnivore or otherwise. Share with us in the comments below or email us at emails@dirtywindshield.com.

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