As of today, I am officially nine months into my carnivore journey. Moving to a meat-centric way of eating is one of the best decisions I have made in my life. My health improved while my body fat decreased. Meanwhile, I made drastic improvements in my struggles with food addiction.
Nine Months of Improvement
In the past nine months, I grew significantly as a person. Overall, I feel amazing and made excellent progress in my physical abilities.
Last fall, I began working with bodyweight exercises and visiting calisthenics parks when weather permitted. Most of the winter, I focused on short daily workouts and more general movement throughout the day.
Now that spring has sprung – visits to the calisthenics park once again have become a weekly activity. In addition, I continue to use my QuietPunch (affiliate link) regularly. I also work on balance and other bodyweight exercises around the house. Also, my husband and I take walks around the neighborhood.
The Past Nine Weeks
Ok, so I have a confession to make. For the past nine weeks, I did not maintain a strict carnivore meal plan. Meat remained my primary sustenance, but on a somewhat regular basis, I made poor eating decisions.
After a series of events, my willpower lagged, and emotional eating reared its ugly head. From July 9th until February 9th, I held strong consuming a relaxed carnivore meal plan. Relaxed carnivore, to me, included: Meat, water, salt, some other spices, the occasional cheese, butter, and coffee. This way of eating worked great eliminating my pains, addressing hormonal imbalances that impacted my health – while shrinking my body.
What Happened Between Six and Nine Months
When I weighed myself for the six month Carnivore update, it impacted me on a deeper level. After ignoring the scale for quite some time, my urge to check it re-ignited after a single look. I don’t know the cause, cortisol or a plateau, but I stopped losing pounds and dropping inches once I checked my weight.
I held out as long as I could. But, once I decided to eat a pizza in Vegas on the first night of our last trip, I found it rather difficult to control cravings. Now, I didn’t fall back completely into old habits. But, I did eat non-meat based meals at least once per week ever since. I wish I could say I stayed within the realm of a ketogenic diet, but I would be lying. Lying serves no useful purpose in life.
For the first several non-meat meals, I did not suffer any noticeable issues. When I choose to eat carbohydrates, my body feels it. The non-meat foods I ate did not taste the same as I remember but still trigger constant cravings. On these occasions, I felt guilty, disappointed, and unsatisfied after eating. Yet, I continued to be drawn to those foods.
What I Ate
To be fair, I ate foods that I generally consider garbage. Most of my bad decisions were pizza, cookies, “keto” products, and other baked goods. I also had things like corn, salsa, and cucumbers. In the beginning, I expected to try different foods again eventually. However, I intended to try foods one at a time to determine how they affected me. This expectation and plan did not happen.
To give credit where due, I did not overeat these items as I would have in the past. So, I do recognize that I have come a very long way despite having these setbacks. You can’t learn from a mistake you never made.
I AM A CARNIVORE
Initially, the small amounts I would eat did not give me noticeable trouble. My first negative experience came after eating a “keto” product. The product made with five ingredients contained coconut butter, MCT oil, and monk fruit sugar. As a result, I suffered a week-long deep depression. My husband experienced the same so we immediately discontinued consumption of the product. Within days, the overwhelming feeling of depression cleared.
In the past few days, I felt my body begin to ache again. Significant back pain, a sniffling nose, and muscle soreness resulted from consuming carbs. I know these feelings well; they have plagued me for years. When they withered away, I almost forgot they ever existed. But here I am in pain with no physical cause beyond what I consumed.
What I Learned in the Past Nine Months
My body feels much better when I eat only meat. Carnivore is not a deprivation diet even if it feels that way in a weak moment. Regardless of how some may feel about my mistakes, I maintained a carnivore mindset for the past nine months. In fact, I believe in carnivore more now than ever.
I recognize that eating in a way that pleases my body allows it to heal and thrive. What excites the mouth does not generally satisfy the body unless it is meat of course. As a result, I learned to pay attention to the signs my body gives me.
Seeing how quickly my body began to suffer the consequences of poor eating choices, I know now more than ever that I must eat for health. The carnivore way of eating works for me. Meat allows me to thrive in a pain-free manner, so it will always remain as the core of my diet. In nine months, my life changed, and I am not looking to fall back. Going forward, I plan to continue following a relaxed carnivore way of eating. I will do my best, perfect or not.
Measurement and Weight at Nine Months
Between the six and nine months’ updates, I managed to keep my weight between 185 and 190 pounds. As of this morning, I am 189 pounds. Despite minor increases in some measurements and feeling like crap, I did not do too much damage to my progress. However, I will likely limit scale use going forward.
I am genuinely grateful that most of the impact of poor eating resulted in physical pain rather than weight gain. Physical pain motivates me quite a bit more. I very much enjoyed being pain-free for over
I only saw minor increases at my waist, thighs, and chest (highlighted in bold). Considering everything, I have no complaints.
My Measurements
| Female, 34 | 7/9/18 (start) | 1/7/19 (six months) | 4/9/19 (nine months) | Gain/loss in inches |
| Waist at BB | 50 | 38 | 39 | -11 |
| Hips | 45 | 39 | 38.5 | -6.5 |
| Bicep | 14 | 11 | 10.75 | -3.25 |
| Forearm | 11 | 10 | 10 | -1 |
| Neck | 17.75 | 15.25 | 15 | -2.75 |
| Thigh | 26 | 21 | 23 | -3 |
| Calf | 16 | 15 | 15 | -1 |
| Chest | 42 | 36 | 36.5 | -5.5 |
| Total | -34 inches |
My Husband’s Measurements
My husband maintained a similar diet to what he had been eating while also consuming the same cheats as I did. Part way through the past three months, he removed rice from his daily meals. We took his measurements at the end of the day after eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
| Male, 43 | 7/9/18 | 1/7/19 | 4/9/19 | Gain/loss in inches |
| Waist at BB | 46.25 | 38 | 39.5 | -6.75 |
| Hips | 41.75 | 40 | 39 | -2.75 |
| Bicep | 15 | 13.5 | 13.5 | -1.5 |
| Forearm | 13 | 11.5 | 12 | -1 |
| Neck | 17 | 16 | 16 | -1 |
| Thigh | 25.75 | 21 | 23 | -2.75 |
| Calf | 17 | 16 | 16.5 | -0.5 |
| Chest | 46 | 43.5 | 43.5 | -2.5 |
| Total | -18.75 |
Let Us Know What You Think
We’d love to hear from our readers. Have you struggled with cravings or food addiction during your carnivore or ketogenic journey? Share with us in the comments below or email us at emails@dirtywindshield.com.
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