Today, I woke up and realized that I was feeling free. Yesterday, I almost forgot to eat because I never got the urge. 16 Days on a Carnivorous Diet and my overall feeling is that this was the best dietary decision I have ever made.
My previous expedition with long-term water fasting repaired much of my broken mindset toward food. However, the return to food remains, as always, riddled with obstacles.
Disclaimer: The following is intended as a discussion and exploration of our personal health and our experience with a carnivorous (all meat) diet, and is not meant to be taken as medical advice, or to suggest a cure or treatment for any disease or illness. If you are interested in this practice, please educate yourself thoroughly. Also, seek advice from a qualified holistic or medical professional. We do not accept liability for damage or injury that may allegedly arise from any information or suggestions herein. As with anything, taking yourself to extremes can be very dangerous unless you are well trained and know what you’re doing.
Carbohydrates – Getting Rid of All of Them
Anyone who follows the health or diet trends has heard that there are good and bad carbs. In brief, “healthy” fruits and vegetables in one basket; sugars, syrups, and processed garbage in the other. Some experts classify good and bad as complex versus simple. You get the picture.
For four years, I had strictly removed the so-called “bad” carbs from my diet. Regularly, people would draw attention to how healthy I ate and how I never deterred. In the past few months, I’ll admit that even had burned out, not chaotically, but consumed more junk than I had in years.
Primarily, my husband and I had been following a ketogenic diet varying only the number of vegetables I ate from time to time (little to no fruit). Our cheat day was generally a lower carb, gluten-free pizza, not good, but well… PIZZA. We felt great, but weight loss… not so much. At least it wasn’t increasing like when on other diets. We aren’t talking vanity pounds; I am talking unhealthy weight.
Occasionally, we committed to increasing vegetables, which always seemed short-lived. We would be gassy, bloated, and even start craving junk food. I will be honest; I never attributed those symptoms to eating more vegetables until I took them out of my diet. In being carnivorous, I no longer get these feelings of discomfort. My only change – getting rid of carbohydrates, mostly vegetables I may add.
Feeling Abused by my Diet
Navigating the dietary waters had me feeling woozy and frustrated with the endless science and contradicting results. Each time, the diet starts off great then falls flat on its face. The mental anguish pokes at your willpower until you break.
A 2012 study by Diet Chef (Medical Daily article, not the actual research study), showed that women spend, on average, 17 years of their life on a diet. Also, over the course of their life, women will:
- Diet twice per year, losing an average of 11 pounds each time
- Lose her body weight over nine times
After dieting for any number of reasons and failing, these women blamed:
- General love of food
- Lack of willpower
- Cost of healthy food
Hmmm… We must be doing it wrong. I imagine the constant food-related advertisements we see everywhere doesn’t help much either. Even after years on the ketogenic diet, the cravings never subsided. Just over two weeks on carnivorous and I can’t remember the last time I wanted something besides meat. For the record, this happened insanely fast for me. My husband still has some cravings, far less than ever before, but he also hasn’t been as strict on just meat. From my personal research, many seem to feel this way after about 25 days.
A Carnivorous Reset – Exclude to Improve
In my opinion, the decision to go full carnivore should be a personal health decision rather than considering weight loss. The gut/digestive system dictates much of our health. For our gut to be healthy, we must, as individuals, determine which foods to intake to optimize it’s functioning.
The world is a vast and dynamic place. Our ancestors spread far and wide. No food plan or choice is perfect for everyone. With that said, limiting food intake to a small group of nutrient-rich food sustains life while giving the gut opportunity to heal. Or, in theory, reject the food(s) you’ve chosen for it. Meat, especially fatty meat, is inarguably nutrient-rich.
As of now, I’ve consumed approximately:
- 80% Grass-fed Beef (ribeyes and ground beef)
- 10% Pasture-Raised Organic Bacon
- 6% High-Quality Butter
- 2% Organic Pasture-Raised Eggs
- 2% Pepperonis/Salami type meats
- Salt, black pepper, and minimal amounts of cumin, cayenne, curry powder
Will I be all-out carnivorous forever? Well, forever is a very long time. However, for the foreseeable future, I am leaning this way with no opposition to permanence. In the future, for my knowledge, I may test a few choice special treats to see the effects. If this happens, I plan on doing this testing one food at a time giving up to four days to monitor reactions.
Considering a carnivorous diet, already a proud carnivore? Please share your comments or story below.
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