I wrestled a bit with myself about whether or not I wanted to share what my current diet and nutrition looks like, but I ultimately decided that it may help some people out, so here goes.
I have been straight-up “carnivore” for the past 47 days (yes, I keep track).
Prior to this, I had been doing Intermittent Fasting (IF) for about a year, with a 5-6 hour eating window, and I had been eating mostly lean meat. Bison, chicken breasts, the occasional ribeye and small amounts of white rice were the bulk of my diet. I haven’t had any sugar (save for a piece of pie at Thanksgiving dinner) for almost a year, and before that, it was pretty rare.
I got fairly lean eating this way, but I still had chronic achiness in my knees and back. I haven’t lifted any weights for a long time (due to injury) and was mainly doing isometric movements, calisthenics that fit within my current physical restrictions, and lots of walking.
Many years ago, I had tried the famous Vince Gironda “Steak and Eggs Diet” and got pretty lean and remember feeling great on it. Energy levels were high, and I remember just feeling really good while doing it. Unfortunately, sugar and carb cravings got the better of me and I only lasted a month or so on it.
Within the past few months, I had been seeing people posting on social media about the “Carnivore Diet” and touting its benefits. It seemed a lot like the Gironda Diet, and since this diet and nutrition stuff is one of my main interests and I’m always looking to learn more, I decided to read up on it.
I picked up The Carnivore Diet (my affiliate link) by Shawn Baker, MD and devoured it (pun intended).
I figured I’d give this a go and see if I’d notice any dramatic changes.
So now, I’m still on my IF schedule, and I am only eating red meat and eggs with some butter here and there. I’ll occasionally have some bacon, too.
Dr. Baker says you don’t have to count calories on the diet, just eat when you’re hungry and satiated. That alone will probably make the diet appealing to some people.
The IF eating schedule works for me, my body responds well to it, and I have always been a proponent of tracking calories just to make sure I account for everything I’m putting into my body. So I continued to do both while changing the food I was eating.
My results have been remarkable. I dropped down another 5lbs, which I didn’t think was possible without losing more muscle and strength,
I’m the leanest I’ve ever been in my life at 175lbs (down from 228 a year and a half ago).
The greatest achievement though is the chronic soreness and achiness I have had in my knees and back is virtually gone. Apparently most of the inflammation in my body that was contributing to these aches, pains, and soreness is responding well to this style of eating.
My energy levels are stable throughout the day, I don’t get hunger pangs or pains, and I seem to fall asleep a lot easier at night.
It’s not all roses though, right? There has to be some bad… right?
I can’t say anything in that regard right now. I look great, I feel great (most important), and I like the foods I’m eating. So I plan to continue eating this way for the foreseeable future.
I plan on getting blood work done to keep an eye on everything, in retrospect something I should have done prior to beginning the diet to compare, but I suspect I’ll be alright in that regard. I will update here when I know.
So if trying out the Carnivore Diet, the antithesis to the current “Plant-Based Diet” craze that seems to be taking over everywhere, is something you were on the fence about, I’d highly recommend giving it an honest effort.
Like any other diet, in order to see any kind of tangible results, it’s important to follow it to the letter and give it a MINIMUM 30 days before you make up your mind one way or another. Like I said in yesterday’s post, consistency consistency consistency.
In other news, I will be releasing a new calisthenics style workout in the next week or so. It’s an ass-kicker and one you can do anywhere, you don’t need a gym. So be on the lookout for that.
Until tomorrow,
Always Activate. Get Going.
