14 Sep 1 Year On The Carnivore Diet! My Story
A year ago I went carnivore.
Initially I went hardcore – full on meat and suet only for 3 months. One of my drivers was weight loss but also wanted to boost my energy and continue to reduce inflammation in my body. I didn’t lose weight on that first 3 months but eating an 8oz steak for breakfast changed my life.. It literally sets me up for the day and I adore it.
It was a bumpy start, I definitely had “carnivore flu” when my gut microbiome had to reset and I felt horrendous. I was constipated after years of eating loads of fibre and omg did I have weird noises coming from my liver area. I found out this was my gall bladder learning to work and it stopped after a while.
What I noticed was:
- Huge change with the reduction of hunger
- Better metabolism
- Reduced reliance on supplements. I still take magnesium, zinc and adaptogens daily but I couldn’t go anywhere without digestive aid. Now I don’t eat inflammatory foods and my gall bladder works I don’t need them!
I do however take desiccated meat organs as a supplement as organs make me feel queasy (except for grilled lambs heart). I found I went off fish, pork and chicken. I can eat them and it’s a nice change but generally my body is much happier when I eat ruminant meat. Predominately beef.
In April I worked with a plan to crack the weight loss part and lost a stone in 10 weeks which felt really measured. Turns out I wasn’t eating enough meat. So now I eat 1kg of meat a day and some bone broth. I eat 4 meals of 250g as that’s what suits my body.
Breakfast is an 8oz steak cooked up in some suet. Lunch / foursies and dinner is 250g of some kind of slow cooked stewed meat or fried mince .
If I’m being more relaxed and “meat based” (not 100% meat only) I will add in some sauerkraut, fruit and honey with occasional courgettes or butternut squash. And I still enjoy going out for dinner and having a nice glass of red or even a margarita.
I’ve just come off the back of “festival season” and whilst I managed to eat mostly meat other carbs crept in alongside a lot of alcohol. To be honest I’ve felt really sluggish and foggy for the past 5 weeks and today was the first day I felt back on track after a week of being back on meat only and no alcohol at the weekend.
And that’s the thing. I feel better, I’ve not piled on weight this summer despite the festivaling which I usually would, my body has bounced back quickly.. and as an added bonus, my gut has healed so much that a 25 year allergy to avocados has abated and I can eat it.. miraculous!!
People often say “I couldn’t afford your diet”. I did a cost analysis. Yes my breakfast steak is £6-7 a day. I get it cheaper sometimes when I buy in bulk from a butcher, but the stewed meat tends to be cuts such as ox cheek, beef shin, brisket or cheap stewing beef.
A kilo of ox cheek is £8 and lasts me 4 meals.. so I’m averaging about £12 a day and I used to spend about the same. I use ethically sourced meat from amazing butchers and I buy in bulk to benefit from the discounts.
So one year in and I’ve never felt so well, so happy about a way of eating and so satisfied, it’s been quite the experiment!