Why go carnivore? (aka zero carb)
By popular demand, it was requested that I get a six-pack. I don’t believe a six-pack is possible without extremely difficult to achieve body fat levels. But, I started doing my research anyway. Based on my past reading, it seemed keto was the way to go.
I never considered starting keto before because I didn’t feel like counting carbs to stay under the 30 gram per day limit. Then I discovered carnivore.
The promise of Carnivore / Zero Carb
Unlike any other way of eating I’d previously heard of, carnivore seemed to have some uniquely easy to follow properties:
- Eat as much as you want until full (eat the fat first)
- Lose weight (despite the above!)
- Gain strength (I weight lift)
And, the kicker, which I discovered during my three day trial of carnivore: I felt so amazingly 10x happy. I hadn’t felt that excited about a meal in years. And that happened once on day two and once on day three.
Since then, my mood has reached a new much higher baseline, which I love. As I write this, I’ve been carnivore for 7 months (update: 1y 2mo total). My max weight before I started was 215 lbs, and lately I’ve been hovering between 194-197 185-189 pounds, with similar strength. My doctor approves of my bloodwork.
My weight lifting continues to go well, although I don’t lift in the morning while fasted anymore.
Is Carnivore Worth Trying for You?
Many people report great benefits from eating zero carb / carnivore. You can read some of the success stories here (and some research here). A three day trial seems pretty low risk to me. If you want any of the benefits listed above, I’d say it’s worth a try.
If you are still liking it after three days, consider extending it to a month to see how it feels. Week two is when you get into keto adaption (flu-like symptoms which go away after a few days).
There are definitely some downsides, which may temper your enthusiasm:
- Social pressure to eat carbs
- It’s harder to find food that hits the quality/price sweet spot. You’ll end up cooking at home because of its dependability. Burger patties can be good, at the right place.
- My sleep changed: I sleep a bit less and it feels a bit harder to sleep in
I recommend researching carnivore for yourself before starting, to give yourself a better chance of success.
What I eat
For the first ~9 months I primarily ate pastured ribeye steaks from Whole Foods, and wild salmon when I was in the mood.
I try to eat only fresh and freshly cooked meat (histamines can make me react).
I realized early on that I didn’t want to drink pasteurized milk (too much sugar). Later on, I stopped eating cheese because I suspected it made me feel really tired.
I don’t eat any olive oil nor other vegetable oils (ghee is higher smoke point than olive oil anyway).
If you don’t know how to buy and cook steak, then read my article on it 🙂. Lately though, I’ve been loving pan-fried grass fed lamb, especially the fatty cuts.
I‘m very optimistic about this way of eating—meat seems to have some remarkable healing abilities for others as well.
To our health!
David Trejo
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