If you have been carnivore for less than 7 weeks, post all your questions and experience reports here. It is almost certain that your experience is a frequently asked or low-effort question.

It is also true that the adaptation period for this way of eating is a lot like going through puberty. Everyone feels like things are weird and wrong and no one else has experienced what they are going through. Everyone is worried about changes in their body and thinks it might not be normal. In truth, it's all perfectly normal. Your body might do weird things, but it's going through changes. After you get through adaptation, you'll wonder why you worried at all.

So, go ahead and ask your questions about getting started here. Post about your experiences here. Post about your worries and how you don't think this is working for you here. Don't give advice that encourages people to give up. Don't give people advice to cheat or consume plant foods. Don't give advice to take supplements or drugs to treat temporary struggles.

Hello lovely people, i'm relatively new to the carnivore diet. Decided to take it on after my father said it definitely helps with losing weight and generally feeling "refreshed" as he puts it.

One problem with me is I can't really keep down food that is unseasoned, I come from a middle eastern background and we are a little TOO generous with seasonings.

I thought about making my "Chicken Fried Rice" but without the rice part which is pretty simple. My question is will it defeat the purpose of the carnivore diet if i added a teaspoon each of Paprika, Garlic Powder & Chili Flakes?

I swapped the olive oil for butter and the taste is relatively the same if not better.

Thanks in advanced!

Best in terms of satiety, nutrients density, energy etc. dont need to be in a caloric deficit that can negatively impact hormones etc apparently.

If you want to lose weight, it’s as easy as eating meat until you’re full, twice a day. There is no better way to lose weight. You will stay satiated 24/7, eat one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet, feel good energy wise and shred weight with ease.

Is there even anecdotes where someone did NOT manage to lose weight from eating only meat, salt and water?

If you have been carnivore for less than 7 weeks, post all your questions and experience reports here. It is almost certain that your experience is a frequently asked or low-effort question.

It is also true that the adaptation period for this way of eating is a lot like going through puberty. Everyone feels like things are weird and wrong and no one else has experienced what they are going through. Everyone is worried about changes in their body and thinks it might not be normal. In truth, it's all perfectly normal. Your body might do weird things, but it's going through changes. After you get through adaptation, you'll wonder why you worried at all.

So, go ahead and ask your questions about getting started here. Post about your experiences here. Post about your worries and how you don't think this is working for you here. Don't give advice that encourages people to give up. Don't give people advice to cheat or consume plant foods. Don't give advice to take supplements or drugs to treat temporary struggles.

Hello Goodmorning
out of circumstance where im not able to choose my food myself nor cook i needed to go back to a diet with carbs.. its just for a month and after im back and can start over again.
but my question now: first time i ate a bit carb i felt super sick and hangover the next day..
but now 2 weeks with carbs is way worse! I have pain in my knuckles on the hands, elbows, shoulders, feet and all my joints feel "dry" if i straighten my arms elbows badly crack even my shoulders if i rasie may hands up.

after every meal and i feel nausea, my stomach aches and the stomach feels like inflamed, after eating and even water feels like weird.
i feel overall not well since tired, sometimes dizzy, my legs and arms feel restless and i need to move them..
so overall i feel like trash, and hope that will subside after when im out here.
somebody else have an experience like that?
thanks and regards

Sometime during this last summer, I passed my 10 year mark of successfully completing my first month of eating this way. Back then, that mattered because we didn't count from our first attempt at eating this way. If we could, I would be able to date my tenure several months earlier. It was a different world back then. This way of eating was virtually unknown. The downside was that you really were going off into the wilderness almost on your own. The upside was that the information was limited to what was known to work. These days, everyone is talking about "carnivore," even though it seems like the majority aren't doing it and don't understand it. In this post, I am going to take you back. I am going to take you back to the basics. This will tell you what carnivore is and how it is supposed to be done. I'm going to use the words of "The Bear" for structure, because he was a modern contemporary example of actually doing it.

Who is the Bear? That's an interesting question. He's not a one-dimensional figure. For our purposes, I will allow him to introduce himself as he did:

I have been eating the natural human dietary regime for over 47 years now. I do not eat anything whatsoever from vegetable sources. The only things veggie I use are spices. My diet is usually 60% fat and 40% protein by calories. I used to eat 80/20 when younger and about twice as much quantity of meat also, but that seems too much energy at my age, which is 71- even though I am very active.

The Bear found "The Fat of the Land" in his early days and started to eat that way. He ate this way until he died in a car accident. While he was still around, he shared his experience and his rules. He had what is normally summed up as 7 rules. At different times, he shared different rules. But, they usually included the same ideas.

From his original thread:

Eat only from the animal kingdom. Avoid eating carby animal food, like lactose (dairy) and more than a very small, occasional, few ounces of liver.

Do not measure what you eat and do not worry about variety.

Do as little cooking of your food as you can tolerate.

Eat the fatty part preferentially in each meal first, then finish as much of the lean as you want. Leftovers will keep.

You do not need 'recipes' or 'sample meals' to follow.

When away from home, no matter if it is a restaurant, family or friends, or business meal, eat only from the animal kingdom, avoid the rest, practice doing this unassumingly and make pleasant, distracting comments if bailed up on it. Learn to politely refuse alcohol.

From ZIOH:

1- Eat only from the animal world (eggs, fish, red meat and fowl and some dairy are all animal-sourced foods, i.e.: meat).

2- Eat nothing from the vegetable world whatsoever. (Very small amounts of flavourings such as garlic/chillies/spices/herbs which may be added, are not ‘food’).

3- On diary: avoid milk and yoghurt (heavy carbs- lactose), use only pure (not ‘thickened’- heavy) cream (read the label), cheese and unsalted butter.

4- Don’t cook your meat very much- just a little bit on the outside- for flavour- blood-rare or bleu. For this reason I advise against eating pork.

5- Eat liver and brains only very infrequently- they are full of carbs.

6- Be sure to have plenty of fat of animal origin at each meal and eat mostly of the fat until you feel you have had enough- you can eat more lean at this point if you like- calories are not important, nor is the number of meals/day. Vegetable oils are not good food.

7- You do not need any supplements of any kind. Drink a lot of water and do not add salt to anything.

From "Bear's Words of Wisdom"

• Eat only food from animals

• No vegetables
• Limit liver intake
• Avoid liquid milk (except for butter and cheese)
• Eat as much fat as you like
• Don’t cook your food much
• Avoid salt
And the most important one: Eat your meals as a matter of course, don’t waste any time thinking about food–it is merely a way to stay alive, and must not rule your life.
By the way, for many obese people low carb does not work–only zero carb does (defined as less than 5 g/day).

So, there it is. If it's not in the above rules, it isn't carnivore or it doesn't matter. Now look carefully, do you see how these rules differ from a lot of the "carnivore" plans that people are promoting? Do you see a difference in attitude and approach?

First, "don't waste time thinking about food." No recipes or sample meals or daily food guides. Don't measure shit, don't track stuff, don't obsess about purity and details. If you're out to eat, do your best to stick to pure meat, but don't obsess about trace amounts of impurities. That's the path to an eating disorder. Eat like an animal, you are one. If you happen to end up consuming a trace amount of sugar or flour, while eating out, it's not a huge deal for most people. You move on and your body will be fine.

Second, limit liver and salt consumption. The modern "gurus" almost universally try and push over-consumption of both of these up to and way past the point of causing illness. You don't need either, ever. The people pushing these items are making their inexperience and ignorance obvious by putting it on display.

Third, dairy isn't a free food that you can just consume tons of. No milk. Creams and cheeses are more like seasonings than full foods. And butter is fine, but it's not something to cram down your gullet or hide in your coffee to consume extra.

Fourth, seasonings are fine. At least in the trivial amounts you should be using them. It doesn't take a lot to add flavor to meat. So often, I see people freaking out about how they are bored and can't eat. Then I also find out they are doing some super-weird and super-restrictive diet like only beef without any seasonings. That's silly. That's not required. There's no award for dumbest way to be carnivore or hardest time adapting. Actually, the award for hardest time adapting seems to be complete failure to adapt.

That's it folks. It really is. Eat fatty animal meat. Eat often and as much as you want. Stop thinking too much about it. Don't freak out about a little seasoning. Avoid vegetable oils and salt, but you also don't need to freak out and obsess about perfectly avoiding them. If you're thinking about this, you're making it harder than it is. And, yeah, carbs do still count. That's especially true for obese people. And, that means 0-5 g/day or you're going to have a bad time.

If you have been carnivore for less than 7 weeks, post all your questions and experience reports here. It is almost certain that your experience is a frequently asked or low-effort question.

It is also true that the adaptation period for this way of eating is a lot like going through puberty. Everyone feels like things are weird and wrong and no one else has experienced what they are going through. Everyone is worried about changes in their body and thinks it might not be normal. In truth, it's all perfectly normal. Your body might do weird things, but it's going through changes. After you get through adaptation, you'll wonder why you worried at all.

So, go ahead and ask your questions about getting started here. Post about your experiences here. Post about your worries and how you don't think this is working for you here. Don't give advice that encourages people to give up. Don't give people advice to cheat or consume plant foods. Don't give advice to take supplements or drugs to treat temporary struggles.

Does anyone have any information or someone that might be a good contact to know if carnivore might have any positive effect on myelodysplasia? Thanks

Hey first off thanks for being a great and informative community!

So I am 35 male 6'4 240 lbs been doing carnivore for 7 months now. The first 5 months or so I REALLY struggled with hydration. Being dehydrated presents a lot of symptoms. I almost gave up until I came across Dr Anthony chaffee and Steak and butter gal talking about not adding salt anymore. I decided to give it a try.

It was like a light switched on I've never felt better. It does make me sad thought I can not add salt to any of my food with out having negative results.

How rare is it that people can't tolerate added salt? Because most knowledgeable people say salt to taste, but I can't even do that.

I drink when I'm thirsty and eat when I'm hungry usually 1 to 2 ribeyes with some ground beef.

Thanks.

If you have been carnivore for less than 7 weeks, post all your questions and experience reports here. It is almost certain that your experience is a frequently asked or low-effort question.

It is also true that the adaptation period for this way of eating is a lot like going through puberty. Everyone feels like things are weird and wrong and no one else has experienced what they are going through. Everyone is worried about changes in their body and thinks it might not be normal. In truth, it's all perfectly normal. Your body might do weird things, but it's going through changes. After you get through adaptation, you'll wonder why you worried at all.

So, go ahead and ask your questions about getting started here. Post about your experiences here. Post about your worries and how you don't think this is working for you here. Don't give advice that encourages people to give up. Don't give people advice to cheat or consume plant foods. Don't give advice to take supplements or drugs to treat temporary struggles.

I'm trying to do carnivore again. Did it in the past but had issues and stopped doing it. I've been having a bunch of health issues lately so I'm trying again. I want to try a more lion style as I suspect that part of my previous issue may have been that I don't tolerate certain foods which I perhaps didn't realise so much at the time. Lately it seems that butter makes my throat slightly wheezy.

The problem is that the meat I have access to is not incredibly fatty and it's leaving me hungry.

I have tallow and cooked with it but can't eat it plain as it's hard and waxy? I also don't want to drink totally liquid tallow. Find it off-putting.

So I'm considering trying cooked fat trimmings but I'd like to know what the texture is? Is it waxy like tallow or soft?

Also can anyone here vouch for the difference in texture between drippings/tallow made from suet (internal fat) and drippings made from external fat? Is it much less waxy/grainy?

Sorry I never post, but I’m hoping for some guidance. My husband and I have been doing carnivore for the past month, and we love it. But we leave for our honeymoon in two weeks for 20 days. We are going to Europe and really want to enjoy ourselves and not worry about what we eat or drink. When’s the best time to start introducing foods back into our diet so we aren’t sick to our stomachs there, but also what’s the best plan for when we are home? We are full carnivore right now, but probably going to switch to animal-based/zero-carb when we get home. Thanks!

hi everyone, hope you are all splendid.

In my country (brazil), every salt is fortified with iodine.

Since salt is something that over time we tend to use less (and some quit it),

My questions are:

• if i stop salt (as many did), will i have problems with iodine?
• meat alone has enough iodine? (since i eat mostly meat and tallow)
• i saw that cows in some places receive suplementation, but.. how we know? this means that if they dont receive, we get sick? since goiter (dont know if it is the right term. researched on google translate. In brazilian portuguese this disease is called bócio) is a thing.

EDIT: I tend to think we will be ok, when i look at the bear writings for example. But he use to eat dairy as far as i know. Stephansson use to eat lot of fish (and fish today is a concern cause of pollution).

Edit 2: thanks everyone for the answers!

Hi all. Suffer from mild rosacea (about a year now) I'm a 44 year old man. Been transitioning to carnivore over the last 6-7 weeks, only eating ground beef, steak, occasionally chicken and pork (beef 85% of the time) butter, eggs, some raw milk/cheese. Have definitely seen benefits (water weight loss, consistent energy, better sleep) but I've noticed my rosacea flare up this week. Cheeks/forehead flushed, horrible spots on cheeks. I'm trying to give my body as much time as it needs to fully adjust, the skin issue is just frustrating. Wondered if anyone had any advice for me etc. Many thanks.

If you have been carnivore for less than 7 weeks, post all your questions and experience reports here. It is almost certain that your experience is a frequently asked or low-effort question.

It is also true that the adaptation period for this way of eating is a lot like going through puberty. Everyone feels like things are weird and wrong and no one else has experienced what they are going through. Everyone is worried about changes in their body and thinks it might not be normal. In truth, it's all perfectly normal. Your body might do weird things, but it's going through changes. After you get through adaptation, you'll wonder why you worried at all.

So, go ahead and ask your questions about getting started here. Post about your experiences here. Post about your worries and how you don't think this is working for you here. Don't give advice that encourages people to give up. Don't give people advice to cheat or consume plant foods. Don't give advice to take supplements or drugs to treat temporary struggles.

When I refrigerate the rendered fat from my 80/20 ground beef, there is solid white fat that sits at the top, with a gelatinous brownish substance beneath it — it looks similar to bone broth. Is this collagen and/or other proteins, with a little bit of water, too? Or is this also fat?

Often, the gelatinous material liquifies while eating, so I don't consume it because I'm worried it'll mess up my stomach like liquid fat does — should I just toss that portion out, and consume the solid white fat, or will I be missing important nutrients if I do so?

I know it's not carnivore, but I found a little hack for those missing the texture/taste of potatoes.

Carnivore potato = Curry powder + Ghee

• Curry powder

  Ingredients: Coriander, Chilli, Cumin, Fennel, Turmeric, White Pepper, Cinnamon, Black Pepper, Cardamom, Star Anise, Nutmeg, Bay Leaf, Clove

**Make sure to check there is no added salt, flour and nasties.

**Can be obtained from the International food aisle at the grocery store. Or perhaps an Asian grocer.

Get the one specifically for Meat curry, if possible.

• Ghee

  Ingredients: 100% butter oil/ butter fat

**I recommend the brand Q.B.B as there's a cleaner, less-processed taste as compared to typical Indian ghee.

On to the actual Recipe:

1. Scoop a few tablespoons of room temperature ghee into a palm-sized dish.
2. Top off with a few pinches of curry powder. (maybe 2tsp?)
3. Mix with a teaspoon, until it reaches the consistency of mashed potato. (~3 seconds?)
4. Enjoy!

If you have been carnivore for less than 7 weeks, post all your questions and experience reports here. It is almost certain that your experience is a frequently asked or low-effort question.

It is also true that the adaptation period for this way of eating is a lot like going through puberty. Everyone feels like things are weird and wrong and no one else has experienced what they are going through. Everyone is worried about changes in their body and thinks it might not be normal. In truth, it's all perfectly normal. Your body might do weird things, but it's going through changes. After you get through adaptation, you'll wonder why you worried at all.

So, go ahead and ask your questions about getting started here. Post about your experiences here. Post about your worries and how you don't think this is working for you here. Don't give advice that encourages people to give up. Don't give people advice to cheat or consume plant foods. Don't give advice to take supplements or drugs to treat temporary struggles.

So from my time doing zero carb/carnivore people always talk about salt as one of the parts of the diet. However, I've been reading through some of the older zero-carb stuff e.g. https://www.zerocarbhealth.com/the-bear-on-salt/ and I've seen that a lot of the older long-term guys don't add salt and seem to do fine.

The other thing I noticed is that the same people don't seem to need electrolytes. Also, it got me thinking that the rise of everyone on carnivore needing electrolytes could be linked to adding all this salt? Perhaps adding extra salt sends everything out of whack? I have learned that everything in the body has a reaction when we do things in excess in one way.

I also noticed that in the older zero-carb stuff they talk about having patience with teething problems crossing over. e.g. not going straight to electrolytes but waiting things out for the body to adapt.

So I've decided to do a test and stop adding salt to my diet for the next 1-3 months and see what happens. Currently, my diet is beef, butter, salt, water and the odd egg yolk if i make burgers.

Am now getting regular beef trimmings from the butchers so moving to lion diet for next 3 months (and onwards if I feel good). But going to try doing it WITHOUT added salt as well.

I expect intiially I will find the meat tasting bland but I want to see if this changes and if it is just because I have gotten reliant on salt. Maybe I ill be fatigued in the cross -ver. But want to apply some patience and see.

This brand of ground lamb contains 4 grams of carbs and <1 gram of fiber in 4 oz. I thought it was a mistake because they have two different nutrition labels on the product page. The actual product label when it arrived had the info I posted above.

I eat 2 lbs per day, so that would be 32 grams of carbs; which is no good, as I'm doing zero carbs right now. Also, fiber messes up my stomach.

So, what's the deal? Does this brand contain a lot of cartilaginous material in it, which is fiber-like? Is there a lot of glycogen still in the muscle meat, which they are counting as carbs? Or is all ground lamb really like this, and this is actually the correct way they should all be labeled?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B088Y2N6WC?ref_=uff_od_product&almBrandId=QW1hem9uIEZyZXNo&fpw=alm

Hey guys, I know the ground beef vs steak nutrition has been asked a million times and the general consensus is that they're pretty much the same. I mostly eat ground beef due to budget with the occasional steak a couple times a month. However, I've noticed when eating steak my libido is much better, for example my morning wood is normally just OK maybe something like 80% strength. The morning after I eat steak though, usually ribeye, my erections and libido are much much stronger, not just a minor difference. I'd normally chalk it up to coincidence but it's happened every time I have a steak the night before. Is there any possible difference in vitamins/minerals whatever for this? I usually eat 20% fat ground beef as well.

Hey there,

40 y old guy here. Used to be a gym rat in college, basically was eating paleo without really knowing it. For the last few years to a decade I felt sick/drowsy everyday, no energy, always hungry and could not go more than 3-4 hours before having to wat or having hunger pain.

I just tried carnivore for the past 2 months because to me it was close to what I used to do in the past and I figured I had nothing to lose. Well I did lose something: excess weight. At this rate I'll be back to my college weight or better within 2-3 months.

My depression I carried for most of my life is gone.

I don't fall asleep all the time anymore.

I don't feel hungry all the time anymore. I eat once a day.

I basically eat what I always loved (meat).

Now I feel like I can lift a mountain and I'm getting my gym gear and equipment from my storage to start weight lifting and maybe even amateur bodybuilding as I did almost 20 years ago. I'd say my only issue atm are coworkers who tell me I'm going to kill myself following this diet (I don't call it a diet, I see it as a nutrition style), but the one thing they all have in common is they are severely overweight and many of them have diabetes. I don't want to point the obvious, but I figured in a few months to a year my apearence will speak louder than words.

Several days ago I had problems in my lower back. Muscle spasm and related inflammation from overdoing some work occurred. I doubt anything is torn, but the muscles were so tight and sore I could barely do anything for a couple of days.

Yesterday I did some light work and was pleased at the progression of healing, but after eating an evening meal of pork tenderloin cutlets fried in butter, the pain and stiffness flared up again. Was the flare up caused by the pork? If so what are the most anti-inflammatory meats and/or animal products I can eat to speed the healing?

This morning started out with great pain, but after eating a simple 3 egg omelet I feel much better.

29M, 1,88

So, I went carnivore a couple of years back and went from 127kg to 110kg in a couple of months. Due to stress and lack of money, I abstained from the diet until last month. Where I started carnivore again. I was at 135kg.

I ate mostly chuck beef, ribeyes, eggs, cheese, some yogurt, pork loin, some sausages. Two meals a day with at least a 12H fast. During the past month I lost 10kg, but I gained 1.5kg during the past week. My physical activity has increased during the past week. I've also been having problems with belching. Didn't have those before.

During my first time, I was eating the same stuff as I am now. I don't know what I might be doing wrong.

Just figured I would share my experience after flirting with carnivore over the last year and very strict of the last few months. This last month has been insanely successful.

• My relationship with my wife is 10x better.
• Chronic sinusitis is GONE. I rarely get sick anymore. If I do, I get over it quick. I used to be sick all the time.
• I can actually focus and read things.
• Misophonia is vastly improved, (please chew with your mouth closed)
• Depression.
• Anxiety.
• Tinnitus.
• Don't need as much sleep.
• Allergies
• I have been in a fantastic mood.
• Forearm tightness is gone.
• Dandruff is gone.
• GERD is gone
• Much leaner, can do more pushups

Advice if you are trying this:

• I have slow gallbladder and sludge, magnesium citrate as soon as I am done eating helps me tremendously. I got an ultrasound and it looks like there is not a whole lot left thank God.

• I still had quite a bit of inflammation and issues with dairy, so I cut out dairy.

I’ve been carnivore since Jan 2023. After seeing all the positive benefits, this is a lifestyle change. However, a bucket list item is to do a thru hike of the Appalachian Trail. Any hikers and/or backpackers have advice? Is it possible to hike the entire trail while remaining carnivore?

Hey guys,

I'm curious whether or not you guys exercise? Exercise is supposed to be so beneficial and important for people.

However I found out that since I've gone carnivore, my body composition is just nicer than 90% of people anyways. IDK my bodyfat percentage, but I'm quite lean and I don't have a ripped 6pack but you can definitely see an outline of my abs and no fat around lower back etc and more muscular than average. I'm not trying to be a bodybuilder so I don't see much point in doing exercise... I guess it is important to note I was a highschool athlete and in my twenties I did some powerlifting and had a pretty serious gym routine (I'm currently 34). Only exercise I get is my 10,000 steps a day right now by walking with my dog twice a day.

If you have been carnivore for less than 7 weeks, post all your questions and experience reports here. It is almost certain that your experience is a frequently asked or low-effort question.

It is also true that the adaptation period for this way of eating is a lot like going through puberty. Everyone feels like things are weird and wrong and no one else has experienced what they are going through. Everyone is worried about changes in their body and thinks it might not be normal. In truth, it's all perfectly normal. Your body might do weird things, but it's going through changes. After you get through adaptation, you'll wonder why you worried at all.

So, go ahead and ask your questions about getting started here. Post about your experiences here. Post about your worries and how you don't think this is working for you here. Don't give advice that encourages people to give up. Don't give people advice to cheat or consume plant foods. Don't give advice to take supplements or drugs to treat temporary struggles.

TLDR: Started carnivore a few days ago (four I think) but no keto flu symptoms.

Perhaps I misunderstood the deal with the carnivore diet but I thought that by eliminating all carbohydrates from my diet I would thus enter ketosis. I haven't measured my ketone levels (and won't be, simply due to the cost) but am almost certain that I am not in ketosis (at least not yet). I have no symptoms that are expected from keto flu. I honestly feel basically the same overall as I did before I started, although I have had a mild headache since beginning and have noticed that I felt worse as time went on until earlier today and I've been improving since then.

Am I doing something wrong? Should I have started keto before switching to carnivore or would that not have made a difference? Any advice, tips, or tricks helps a lot. I'm also pretty new to the ketogenic and carnivore diets so if I misunderstood something, please point it out.

I'm 73 and need to lose about 40 lbs. My doctor suggested the Mediterranean Diet, but it is making me sicker. I found I feel better when I eat more meat.

I had tried Carnivore before, but just jumped into it with no transition, and it made me very,very sick (DUH!), so I just surmised it wasn't for me. I'm ready to try again, but I need to transition very slowly, since my body is used to eating just about all carbs all day long, I have lupus, and because at my age, my body takes longer to adjust to things.

What do you think of this plan?

I want to start at 100 carbs a day, which is much lower than I'm doing now, but probably won't mess me up too much.

Every 4 days I will drop down 10 carbs - don't know where I got that number, but I remember reading somewhere that it takes 4 days for your body to start to adjust to a new food, so it sounded about right.

Once I get to 20 carbs, I'll drop one carb a day until I get to zero.

So that's 2 months of transitioning. I feel like doing this very slowly, I can avoid most of the worst "keto flu" symptoms, and not go through what I did on my first try.

Feel free to tell me what is right or wrong with this, and what I need to tweak. TIA