I'm a few days away from completing one month of the carnivore diet.
(Wanted to wait until the full month was in, but I'll be traveling soon and won't have time to write up a longer post.)
I've been hardcore paleo the last six years, so transitioning to the carnivore diet wasn't that difficult, and my experience the last four weeks has been consistent enough to where I feel like a few more days/weeks probably won't drastically change my results.
Some background:
-Late twenties
-Went from shitty standard american diet to paleo in 2012: mostly grass-fed/wild caught/pastured meat/fish/fowl/eggs, lots of vegetables, healthy fats like avocado/coconut/olive/macadamia, small amounts of fruits, nuts, minor vices like extremely dark chocolate or half a teaspoon of honey in my green tea
-Rarely drink (maybe one glass of red wine a week at most); will have a cigar once in a blue moon but don't smoke
-Extremely active; heavy lifting every other day, swim laps or do yoga on "rest" days
-Intermittent fast every day (break my fast at 4pm, eat until ~11), 36 hour fast once or twice a month prior to a solid lifting session
-Consistent high-quality sleep; I work for myself and for the last several years have woken up without an alarm just based on my circadian rhythm
-I get a solid 40 minutes of bright sunlight each day on my walks to and from the gym (often more, but that's my daily minimum)
-My emotional and spiritual life seems quite balanced. I have loving friends and family, my game is good enough to keep a consistent fuck buddy or two around, I have a solid career path/plan for the future, and generally am quite content with both my life's planned trajectory and current position.
Peterson was definitely the motivation for giving carnivory a shot. Part of my takeaway from
Maps of Meaning was the value inherent in not becoming too attached to a belief system. I spent the first two decades of my life thinking whole grains were good and fat was bad; who's to say my current beliefs, like fiber is necessary for proper bowel movements or vegetables are an essential dietary component, aren't flawed as well?
I also believe that personal genetics determine a large part of an individual's proper diet, and that while you can make generalities based on humanity's evolutionary history, personal ancestral legacy is an important consideration.
For example, if your ancestors were Dutch and domesticated cattle thousands of years ago, you may be more genetically adapted towards lactose digestion - the same can't be said for most Africans or Japanese, the majority of whom remain lactose intolerant.
Given the range of human biodiversity, it seems to me empirical experimentation is the best way for individuals today to sort out for themselves a diet that will work for them.
So, for the last four weeks I've consumed only meat, fish, fowl, eggs, and small amounts of butter and cream (the former used in cooking and the latter in my daily egg coffee). I spared no expense in making sure I had the highest quality meat, so everything was grass-fed, pastured, wild-caught, etc. I aimed for fatty cuts when possible and the majority of the fish I ate was canned tuna/sardines in olive oil (which I didn't drink, but thought I'd mention for completeness's sake).
My major takeaways:
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I feel just as good (perhaps slightly better) on the carnivore diet as I did on a varied paleo/omnivore diet.
I had no health problems whatsoever prior to going carnivore; all minor issues (random assorted headaches, heartburn, aches & pains, acne, etc.) immediately went away when I initially went paleo and cut out grains, legumes, vegetable oils, sugar, etc. So I wasn't expecting much of a change on carnivory.
Energy levels, sleep quality, sexual appetite, mood/enthusiasm, cognitive function, workout intensity, skin/hair/nail quality...they all continue to function at the high levels they were at prior to going all-meat.
My dreams have become a bit more vivid (although I started a dream journal two weeks ago so it could be that I'm simply remembering them better now), and I find my energy levels a bit more stable than before - but I would attribute that more to the ketosis than the meat specifically.
The usual post-meal crash I used to experience after a big sandwich or bowl of pasta disappeared once I cut out the carbs, and my energy levels remain just as constant after an omelet filled with cheese and avocado as they do with a large ribeye. I only ever get that post-meal nap craving when I happen to consume too many carbs.
Workout intensity may have suffered a small bit, but again, I attribute that more to keto than carnivory. If I eat a bowl of rice three hours before lifting I'll definitely have more energy, but I'm not into super-crazy crossfit stuff and prefer remaining in or close to ketosis whenever possible. Slightly better workouts, to me, aren't worth the high-low yo-yoing that comes along with carb intake (although if I felt like paying closer attention to my macros I could probably get back into a nice LeanGains-style carb eating schedule).
I've lost a noticeable amount of body fat (went from about 10% to 6-7% - enough for my girl to comment on it), but again, that's probably more related to zero-carb/ketosis than something unique to meat. I wasn't eating a ton of carbs on the paleo diet, but I'd occasionally have a bowl of blueberries for dessert, a sweet potato with my steak, or a few squares of 80% dark chocolate while watching a movie...I'd expect a similar fat loss after cutting carbs even if I was eating cheese or avocado along with meat.
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My daily juicing habit, in hindsight, seems superfluous.
For the last three years I've been juicing daily (always vegetables, never fruit). I have a unique living situation where I don't always have access to a kitchen, so I'd focus on consuming my meat/protein throughout the day and then juice a bunch of vegetables at night to make up for not being able to eat any. My go-to was carrot/beet/celery/kale/ginger/turmeric, with a small lemon to make it palatable.
Like I mentioned above, I feel just as good after four weeks of no juicing as I did juicing every day. I don't see myself continuing the habit, as it costs me ~$5/juice and takes up a few hours each week (between grocery store runs, the juicing itself, and machine cleanup).
In a similar vein, I also won't feel so guilty if I neglect to eat any vegetables on a particular day. I certainly enjoy the experience of eating brussels sprouts and bacon, spinach sauteed in butter, roast broccoli covered in parmesan, etc, but if I'm traveling or busy or just don't feel like cooking I won't feel like I'm missing the mark.
It seems that as long as I eat enough high-quality protein, I'll get the necessary vitamins/minerals/etc. and that additional plant matter is unnecessary/overkill.
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While the first week required some digestive readjustment, overall my bowel movements have been less frequent and consistently cleaner, with zero constipation.
I did experience several bouts of diarrhea the first week, which is apparently rather common when transitioning to the carnivore diet. I suspect this was a result of all my vegetable- or fiber-dependent gut flora dying off and being excreted (interestingly enough,
dead bacteria account for more than half of your total fecal matter).
After that first week I started having bowel movements only every two or three days (even after my usual strong cup of coffee each morning), and they were small but firm and easily excreted.
(I think it was Dr. Shawn Baker in his Rogan podcast who theorized that a proper, evolutionarily-adapted diet provides for these sorts of BMs - picture your dog dropping a solid turd and walking away with a clean asshole versus getting nasty wet shit stuck in its fur. Animals eating an improper diet would be that much more exposed to disease and would require more energy dedicated to grooming, a non-ideal situation to be in. It makes sense to me that if you're dumping nasty shits every day, or pushing and heaving to the point of hemorrhoids, that something is off with your diet.)
Contrary to what most people might say ("Aren't you constipated all the time? How can you poop without fiber?"), I felt MUCH better after eating 1-1.5 pounds of meat in one sitting that I did eating meat and lots of vegetables. Because your body absorbs nearly all the animal matter, there's not much left to pass through.
One of my pet peeves related to intermittent fasting was the protracted stomach ("food baby") I'd have after eating my first meal (often 1,500-2,000 calories' worth). While there's still a bit of distention after eating two pounds of ground beef, I've noticed my stomach slims back to normal MUCH quicker than when it has to also handle a head of cauliflower or bowl of berries. In the future, if I'm eating dinner with (or prior to seeing) a girl, it will probably be meat-only (or at least, veggie-minimized) in an effort to look as good as possible once I'm naked a few hours later.
I also just really enjoy that "empty" feeling of intermittent fasting, and carnivory seems to help me get back to that feeling much faster than when I'm packing my gut with a bunch of stuff it can't digest and is forced to process, store, and then excrete 6-12 hours later.
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Carnivory is an exceedingly efficient lifestyle for an individual, but it has its drawbacks, primarily its monotony and lack of social scalability.
Reducing my grocery list to a handful of proteins (and eliminating the sauces, spices, oils, and other complementary groceries required for more varied dishes) saves me a good chunk of time and money, makes for easier/simpler cooking, and reduces the amount of dishware usage and cleanup.
Travelling is a breeze, as I simply fast all day and then down a porterhouse, or if I can't find a steakhouse most diners will serve omelets, bacon and eggs, or some sort of grilled chicken/fish. It's also easy and convenient to pack items like canned fish, beef/salmon jerky, pork rinds, bone broth, or hard-boiled eggs that are calorie-dense and easily prepared.
While I don't find myself hungry or craving non-meat foods while alone at home, it's difficult to go out with friends - not just because of my limited options, but also because watching other people eat a delicious variety becomes frustrating when you're dealing with the same foods day in and day out.
It's primarily for that reason I plan on going back to being an omnivore once I wrap up my thirty days. I miss coconut and avocado; salads with nuts and berries; dark chocolate and red wine; putting cheese on everything; and just sampling the variety of delicious foods life has to offer in general.
That being said, I definitely will be incorporating aspects of carnivory into my diet going forward. Meat will go from being ~70% of my diet to 90+%, and I probably won't buy much else to eat when I'm by myself at home - vegetables will likely be a treat to be experienced when they happen to come alongside my restaurant meals. Fruit will become even scarcer than before, as I've found even small amounts of carbs kick me out of ketosis and mess with my newly constant energy levels.
For those on the fence, I highly recommend trying the carnivore diet. Make sure the rest of your life is in order - you won't be able to properly determine its effects if you're missing sleep, drinking a bottle of wine every night, or not getting any vitamin D.
And if you're coming from a carb-heavy diet, or something closer to the standard American diet, I'd recommend easing into it by moving towards something like the paleo diet first. Cut out everything but meat, healthy fats and (certain) plants, then once you're fat-adapted and weaned off sugar cut out the plants too.
Happy to answer questions if anyone here has them.
