Being a testosterone-fueled gym rat in my twenties, Carnivore Diet sounded like the perfect plan. Fortunately, I also have a background in physiology and nutrition able to see that this aggressive style of eating does come with some downsides. Nevertheless, my curiosity got the best of me and I decided to give this diet a try. To satisfy both the meathead and the scientist within me I carefully outlined the best course of action for moving forward.
Before any formal thoughts as to how or even if I should do this diet came about I was intrigued. Listening to the Joe Rogan Experience and further reading about it, people offered firsthand accounts on how it increased their energy, helped them lose fat, and increased dozens of other health markers. Anecdotally these seemed to make sense, especially the idea that eating only meat triggered primal genes.
Supposedly, these genes were responsible for ramping up our energy systems to prepare us for the physically arduous process that hunting used to be. On the surface, that made sense. If I had to go hunt a 22,000-pound mammoth with a pointy stick, I sure as hell would want a little extra juice in the tank. Unfortunately, my typical dive into PubMed to find some peer-reviewed research data to back this up left me empty-handed.
From here, the scientist took over and some glaring flaws started to emerge with this diet. The first issue I saw was the potential to become severely micro-nutrient depleted when only eating meat. Many webpage warriors (who honestly looked more like vegans than carnivores) were quick to assure me and the rest of the internet that meat (especially organ meat) contained all the micronutrients you need. With a few minor exceptions, this is true. The issue for most is that current standards for raising animals are causing large amounts of these nutrients to be severely diminished. Unless you are eating local beef or wild elk, venison, or salmon, the chances are that you are not getting all the micronutrients you need from meat alone. Micro-nutrients aside, my next worry was gut health. Cutting fiber and carbohydrates completely can wreak havoc on your GI system. Or as Rogan so quaintly put it, “The atomic shits”.
This left me at a crossroads, I wanted to do this diet the way it was intended but didn't want to cause extra damage along the way. Ultimately, I decided it was not worth trashing my gut and nutrient levels to be 100% strict with this diet.
The Plan
With worries noted I decide to try Carnivore Diet for a month with the following exceptions:
- 2-4 Servings of fermented food (I used Sauerkraut) every day.
This has been shown clinically to not only strengthen your gut health but to heal the mucosal lining along your gut. The addition of some fiber here was a bonus.
- Multi-Vitamin & Cal+Mag+Zink Supplement.
While I did try to eat the highest quality of meat that I could with the addition of organ meat, I saw no downside to adding in this extra support for my micro-nutrient levels.
- Coffee
Jumping into a month of nothing but meat, eggs, salt, and water I knew coffee would be the difference in keeping my sanity. (2 cups per morning)
The First Month
Week one:
Before this, I was using a carb cycling protocol and was adapted to very low carbohydrate days. I believe this helped me not go through a massive crash right away. This being said, I was still maintaining 10-12 training sessions a week and was dragging in comparison to my normal energy levels. I felt this most in my morning sessions where I was completing 30-40 minutes of zone 2 cardio completely fasted.
About 4-5 days into week one all my biometrics (HRV, Resting HR, Restorative sleep, Respiratory Rate, etc) made massive jumps in the positive direction. When I say massive, I mean massive, my average HRV jumped from about 120ms up to 180ms and stayed up there. I have tried dozens of diets and recovery protocols over the years and nothing has ever caused a consistent jump of that magnitude.
I was definitely craving carbs all week, but it was more of the idea of them than an actual craving. Just for the connivence of cooking I was eating 3 MASSIVE meals a day and was rarely hungry outside of that. This was a welcomed change as I typically spend my entire day with some level of hunger.
Week two:
My energy fucking flatlined. I would wake up in the morning and have the same energy all day until I went to bed. This was absolutely amazing and was what I was looking for when I started this diet. In the past I relied heavily on simple carbs, pre-workout, and energy drinks to maintain high energy levels in the gym and while working. With nothing other than 2 cups of coffee in the morning I was feeling the same high energy I experienced before without relying on outside sources.
Another added benefit was skin health. I had a dozen people walk up and tell me that my skin looked incredible (this has never happened before). Not surprisingly, I was noticing a massive reduction in body fat. What was surprising was that my weight was staying the same. This meant that I was managing to increase muscle mass while simultaneously dropping fat. This is not a combination you see frequently in the world of nutrition.
Weeks Three & Four:
At this point, I was completely fat and protein adapted, and my energy levels were constant throughout the day. I did notice however that 2-3 hours after every meal was my optimal period to workout. I seemed to obtain higher energy workouts within this window.
The largest change in these last two weeks was the massive shedding of body fat. Every time I looked in the mirror I felt to be noticeably leaner. The incredible thing about this was that I was maintaining my weight from where I started (within 5 lbs). This means that I had reached a state where I was maintaining net anabolic signaling while still eating in a caloric deficit.
The taste of food as I rounded into the last week of this diet was becoming an issue. Eating the same meats with nothing but salt on them was getting old. That said, I do believe that cutting all sauces and seasonings was worth it to eliminate any possible digestive irritant or allergen.
My Takeaways
Before jumping into Carnivore Diet, I considered myself a clean eater. I was constantly checking labels and counting calories, but the complete elimination of everything from my diet allowed me to realize how much shit I was shoveling into my body. Things that before I didn’t even realize were an issue because I had become so adapted to having them in my life.
- Nut butter (almost all are filled with some sort of vegetable oil)
- Zevia sodas (sweetened with stevia)
- Alcohol
- Bread, grains, and oatmeal, rice
- Sauces filled with sugars and vegetable oils
- Energy drinks with artificial sweeteners
- Pre-workout supplements filled with all sorts of chemicals
While all of these can be a part of a healthy balanced diet it was no coincidence that the second I cut all of these things my skin cleared up, my health markers spiked, and my cognition shot through the roof. I don’t plan to cut these forever, but realizing how my body operated while not being weighed down by all of these unnecessary extras was one of the most valuable health lessons I’ve ever learned.
The ability of this diet to burn fat while maintaining muscle was like nothing I have ever seen. Several studies point to the fact that anabolic signaling can be maintained while in a caloric deficit if 1.6-2.4g/lb/day are consumed. I was eating well over 300g of protein every day while staying in a caloric deficit which is what I attribute this success to. I will state for the record that I was doing 30-40 minutes of fasted cardio 5-6 days a week and resistance training 6 days a week while on this diet. Rigorous exercise is necessary if you want to see the speed of results that I saw.
The elimination of needing things to maintain energy was a blessing in disguise. While I kind of knew it at the time, I now have a clear picture of how much caffeine I was consuming every day. On top of my 4-5 cups of coffee throughout the day and double+ scoop of pre-workout, I would frequently throw an energy drink in as well. While this is not only unhealthy it made me completely reliant on a foreign substance to function. Having the freedom to not need that has been a game-changer. My other go-to was usually something sweet before my workout for the energy and the glycemic spike (really liked gummy bears). Not only did this help me cut more sugar out of my diet but it again gave me the freedom to workout without “needing” food first. Humans evolved to be able to do incredible things while starving and without caffeine, if you think you need those things to get a good workout or simply function you are lying to yourself.
Current Version
This diet was perfect for the allotted time period, but I knew I needed to make some changes if it was to stay sustainable. First and foremost was the inclusion of sauces and seasonings. Before dipping into this wonderful world, I knew 2 things were important: avoid added sugars, ingredients with a high GI, and vegetable oils. While this did immediately knock off 90% of the options at Whole Foods there were still a handful of options that have made a world of difference.
While the studies mentioned above did show that metabolic signaling could be maintained with high levels of protein consumption none of them were looking at adaptive thermogenesis (a condition where your metabolism resets during chronic caloric restriction). Slightly worried about this I’ve incorporated 2 refeed meals a week. Saturday morning, I have a big breakfast with 150-250g CHO and Tuesday nights I have 75-100g CHO with dinner. These not only prevent adaptive thermogenesis but are timed to my training schedule to maximize muscle growth.
Should You Do Carnivore Diet?
For 90% of the population, I would say no. This was a massively restrictive diet, and I think the vast majority of people would have trouble adhering to it long enough to see the actual results.
If you think you are that 10% my answer to this is a resounding yes. This has less to do with the carnivore side of the diet and more so the elimination aspect of it. Diet is one of those things that is so routine that is extremely easy to normalize what you're doing. My caffeine addiction is a prime example of this. This insane regiment described above had been a part of who I was for so long that it didn't even feel excessive. It took going back to the basics to realize this and now it's a weight off my shoulders that I didn't even know was there.
In a world where our vegetables are being stripped of nutrients and food manufacturers are sneaking in "hidden sugars" to make food more addicting, it felt REALLY good to go back to the basics. As restrictive as this diet was, narrowing my ingredients list down to a handful of things felt freeing. There was no need to track Macros or time certain foods around activities, I simply ate to fuel myself. While I'm happy to be in the second stage of this diet my experience with the Carnivore Diet was a 10/10.
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