I apply my carnivore mindset throughout my life. My carnivore mindset resulted in a new healthier perspective on food which resulted in a shift from unhealthy to healthy eating habits resulting in dramatic weight loss. Ultimately, my efforts revolve around one daily goal.
Daily Goal: Be better and healthier than I was yesterday.
In other words, I strive to reach eudaimonia, or “human flourishing” – or a contented state of being happy, healthy, and prosperous.
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Carnivore Mindset: Do Not Dwell, Worry, or Self-Sabotage
When weight loss stalls, we focus on our past self, dwelling then critiquing actions and decisions, condemning our missteps. We ponder how we let ourselves get to this point. We look for answers and a place to point blame. These thoughts create stress in the body and may trigger a release of cortisol, further derailing our progress.
Fortunately, our tomorrow self is yet to be determined. With proper corrective actions, we easily overcome setbacks, mistakes, even total failures. When you consider this, it makes me wonder why so much energy is put into worrying about things that have not happened and may not happen? All too often, we treat ourselves worse than we would treat an enemy. Meanwhile, we miss our today self which is happening now.
We frequently ignore the present moment too busy with worries of the future and dwellings on the past.
When I consume, I think: Is this what the person I would like to be would consume? Then act accordingly. No regrets.
Once you start to regret something, you are acting against something which is out of your control. There is no practical reward from doing so. This useless practice only results in frustration and anger. However, we should learn from the past and our failures. Although, to regret, ponder and revisit those previous attempts or to look at them now with scorn is harmful to your mindset, carnivore or otherwise.
Carnivore Mindset: Food’s Function is not Pleasure, Rather Optimizing Health
A Roman stoic philosopher, Musonius Rufus, once said: ”That God who made man provided him food and drink for the sake of preserving his life and not for giving him pleasure, one can see very well from this: when food is performing its real function, it does not produce pleasure for man, that is in the process of digestion and assimilation.”
Essentially, this means that: Although we experience food pleasurably on the tongue, it is when the food assimilates with the body through the gut that the food reveals its actual purpose.
Food acts as the best test to self-control and temperance because it is in our lives daily. Between commercials, advertisements, delicious scents wafting through the air around stores and restaurants, and easy access to food whenever we want it, we are constantly bombarded. As a result, our self-control and temperance are constantly challenged.
What is Temperance?
Temperance is the ability to restrain yourself from good pleasures to benefit yourself or others and, also, the strength of will to use your resources in the best way you can rather than just wasting them. Essentially, temperance is a form of self-discipline where one makes voluntary sacrifices to train their self-discipline. As a moral virtue, temperance moderates the attraction of pleasure allowing the individual to balance their use of available goods.
Temperance is about how much control you have over the decisions of what you eat and drink – not necessarily about not over consuming – more about structuring one’s goods to make it easier to give them up. In some cases, people use more plain foods or restrict ingredients. While in other cases, they practice intermittent fasting.
In Stoicism, temperance is broken down into three parts: self-control, discipline, and modesty. But, to be honest, with discipline, everything else seemingly falls into place. Treats, sugar, junk food, and flavorings taste great in the moment, but this only results in temporary satisfaction. In the long term, the expectation of overly pleasing flavors results in disappointment.
More on Self-Control and Discipline
Your “self” is the only thing you have control over; all other circumstances throughout life are out of your control. When working on self-control, anything you do that is contradictory to what is right for you or others is what you should be concerned about. The emotional investment should be in things within yourself, for example, what you nurture versus what you abuse.
A mistake/setback does not mean failure, rather another opportunity to do better. When you accept circumstances as they are, you can reach greater equanimity/composure. Self-control means controlling your reaction to circumstances. Discipline is the muscle for self-control – it can be trained and grows stronger with on-going work. With discipline comes freedom and the appreciation of rest. Rest and relaxations can only be appreciated when you have accomplished something.
Eating this disciplined all-meat diet set me in the right direction for more discipline throughout my life. Even acting as the initial step that transitioned me from a time waster to a go-getter.
Assimilation of Food into the Body
I view assimilation as the bioavailability of the food you eat. Food should make you feel good (at peace) internally. It should nourish you and not harm you. Anti-nutrients are nutrients that do not always assimilate, but each human may vary on which nutrients do or do not assimilate.
The Physiology of human digestion:
- Ingestion
- Digestion
- Absorption
- Assimilation
- Egestion
Once absorbed into the bloodstream, different cells throughout the body will use (assimilate) the nutrients for energy, growth, and repair.
For me, a meat only diet works and seems necessary at this time (hence the carnivore mindset). However, for my husband, rice and more so beans are required to assimilate the meat he eats entirely. Rice and beans impact MSG (monosodium glutamate) in the body, which he needs for proper digestion.
Carnivore Mindset: Be Satisfied by Small Wins
We attain well-being little by little; the result, however, is quite a feat. Small accomplishments define the more important things in life. Results come from the changes we make. For example, on a diet, we value weight or inches lost. In reality, the dietary adjustment made the accomplishment possible.
Let small wins be satisfying.
Carnivore Mindset: Don’t Rely on Pre-existing Beliefs and Take Action
For me to start this carnivore journey, I needed to let go of my pre-existing beliefs against all meat diets. I had to rid my preconceptions of how I would feel and start paying attention to how I do feel after each meal. Most information available suggests things like fruits and vegetables are essential in the human diet; all-meat diets will cause heart issues, cancers, etc.; and, everything in moderation.
It is in your imagination that you need the motivation to do something you want. If you want something, do it.
Magic happens when you make a big decision effective immediately.
In the end, our choices impact our outcomes. Eating something that does not assimilate with your body to please others serves no benefit to you or them. Ultimately, you want both balance and health. Everything about my carnivore mindset applies to any diet that works for the individual. Do what is best for you and everyone around will benefit.
Each week, I provide an update on my carnivore journey and information relevant to those curious. Next Thursday, December 6th, I will be updating my measurements and progress photos for the 150-day progress point. Please 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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