Beefbelly

Hey, here's an interesting observation. When I eat refined carbs, my face and neck immediately balloon—it's noticeable. The next day, they look even puffier.
I've gone back and forth with the carnivore diet, mainly because I'm a food addict and eventually give in to carbs. But I'm not quitting. I'm not giving in. So, I've started back, feeling really motivated, strong, and trying to listen to my body.
This time, I've doubled my fat intake—more than I've ever done on carnivore before. I expected some puffiness in my face and neck, but surprisingly, it hasn’t happened. I find that really interesting and encouraging.
This isn’t what I plan to stick with long-term, but as my body adjusts and I get used to the diet again, I'm craving fat, so I’m just going with it and seeing what happens. Maybe I'll dial it back in a couple of weeks—or just follow what my body tells me.

Okay, I just wanted to share a bit of my personal journey so far. What I'm discovering and coming to terms with is that, for me personally, my diet and eating habits fall much more into the category of addiction. I'm realizing that I can make the transition, be disciplined, and do really well, and honestly, it’s not even that hard to stay on track.
But all it takes is one meal to completely derail me. It’s wild. I’ve tested this a few times, and the results are always the same. I can do great on my carnivore diet, eating clean, and then get lured into having some junk food. Every time I do, it throws me off for a week.
Then I get back on track, start eating healthy again, things are going great, and I decide to have just one meal of junk. Boom. Derailed again.
So here we go... no more “cheating.” Or maybe I don’t even need to call it cheating. Just be "strict" because its actually so much easier than the journey back from falling off. 
I'm happy to learn and figure it out. It’s better than beating myself up and getting depressed about it. When I take that perspective, the learning perspective, maybe even a more scientific, objective approach to my diet, it really helps. I can compare what life is like when I’m eating well versus when I’m on a junk food binge, and the difference is huge.
My mental health is so much better. My physical health is so much better.
So, here I go again, getting back on track, going through that transition process once more. Let’s see how it goes. Hopefully, I can make the right choices and not let my addiction take over my mental and physical health this time around.
Ultimately, the big takeaway from all this, for me, is that staying on track is so much easier than recovering from a week of binge eating.

Okay, I just wanted to share a bit of my personal journey so far. What I'm discovering and coming to terms with is that, for me personally, my diet and eating habits fall much more into the category of addiction. I'm realizing that I can make the transition, be disciplined, and do really well, and honestly, it’s not even that hard to stay on track.
But all it takes is one meal to completely derail me. It’s wild. I’ve tested this a few times, and the results are always the same. I can do great on my carnivore diet, eating clean, and then get lured into having some junk food. Every time I do, it throws me off for a week.
Then I get back on track, start eating healthy again, things are going great, and I decide to have just one meal of junk. Boom. Derailed again.
So here we go... no more “cheating.” Or maybe I don’t even need to call it cheating. Just be "strict" because its actually so much easier than the journey back from falling off. 
I'm happy to learn and figure it out. It’s better than beating myself up and getting depressed about it. When I take that perspective, the learning perspective, maybe even a more scientific, objective approach to my diet, it really helps. I can compare what life is like when I’m eating well versus when I’m on a junk food binge, and the difference is huge.
My mental health is so much better. My physical health is so much better.
So, here I go again, getting back on track, going through that transition process once more. Let’s see how it goes. Hopefully, I can make the right choices and not let my addiction take over my mental and physical health this time around.
Ultimately, the big takeaway from all this, for me, is that staying on track is so much easier than recovering from a week of binge eating.

Okay, I just wanted to share a bit of my personal journey so far. What I'm discovering and coming to terms with is that, for me personally, my diet and eating habits fall much more into the category of addiction. I'm realizing that I can make the transition, be disciplined, and do really well, and honestly, it’s not even that hard to stay on track.
But all it takes is one meal to completely derail me. It’s wild. I’ve tested this a few times, and the results are always the same. I can do great on my carnivore diet, eating clean, and then get lured into having some junk food. Every time I do, it throws me off for a week.
Then I get back on track, start eating healthy again, things are going great, and I decide to have just one meal of junk. Boom. Derailed again.
So here we go... no more “cheating.” Or maybe I don’t even need to call it cheating. Just be "strict" because its actually so much easier than the journey back from falling off. 
I'm happy to learn and figure it out. It’s better than beating myself up and getting depressed about it. When I take that perspective, the learning perspective, maybe even a more scientific, objective approach to my diet, it really helps. I can compare what life is like when I’m eating well versus when I’m on a junk food binge, and the difference is huge.
My mental health is so much better. My physical health is so much better.
So, here I go again, getting back on track, going through that transition process once more. Let’s see how it goes. Hopefully, I can make the right choices and not let my addiction take over my mental and physical health this time around.
Ultimately, the big takeaway from all this, for me, is that staying on track is so much easier than recovering from a week of binge eating.

Great read and a great topic.
As long as you are learning you will better and better at it. Maybe don't purposely test yourself if you feel like you already know the outcome. Anytime a person spends years on sugars and carbs at some point there is some correlation to addiction. Everyone depth is different, all the ones that come off the addiction and get past it, all do so in differing ways and differing times.
Since you identified the learning, I would also recommend you celebrate the wins, all the time eating strict. And go one step further, celebrate 'getting up off the ground, dusting yourself off and digging in again. I think that is the measure. 
Good luck as you move forward and staying on track.
Again, great topic as most can relate.
Scott

That's great advice for where I'm at currently. Thanks much appreciated 
 

Hi Robert,  I don't know what type of fat that is, but I don't think you can target a certain type of fat anyways. If you stick to beef it is difficult to impossible to "over eat". If you are still experiencing that rate of weight lose keep doing what you're doing.  Don't weigh yourself everyday, there is to much daily fluctuation to be useful, maybe twice a month or so. While the scale doesn't lie, it doesn't tell the whole truth either.  Take pictures  every month and use those for positive reinforcement. Most importantly IMO develop sustainable exercise habits you can live with the rest of your life, like walking, rucking  and lifting etc.  Don't count on your current rate of weight lose to continue, but you can continue to loose weight.  Have fun learning about your body, nutrition and exercise!

Yeah, Bob, I'm in a very similar situation. I'm worried about my future health. I'll be turning 40 this year, and I'm right on the edge of being classified as obese. I'm highly motivated to make a change. My wife wants to be healthy too, but she's not ready to give up her eating habits. Believe me, I've tried many times, but she’s just not ready, and that's OK. Just an hour ago, my wife was sitting on the couch eating her Panda Express, and I was struggling with hunger signals and cravings. But I stayed motivated, so I got up, scrambled three eggs, drank a tall glass of water, and now that she's at work, my cravings are gone. It's a battle, but my hope and prayer are that she sees me getting healthier and it motivates her to want to be healthy as well.

Thank you! Those are all great points and very helpful.
I've had experience with addiction in other areas and have successfully overcome them by removing them completely from my life. But now, I’m in a situation where that’s not an option, and I have to develop more discipline—if that makes sense. It’s really tough.
It’s like living in a home where two people smoke cigarettes, but one person wants to quit. How much harder is it going to be for that person when cigarettes are still around? It can absolutely be done, but it makes the process much tougher. That’s what I’m wrestling with—trying to push myself to dig deep and grow more discipline.
I've also been thinking about logging everything I’m doing. I actually have a waist circumference tape—the kind used for sewing—that I can wrap around my waist, along with a scale. I think tracking those metrics over the coming weeks and months would be really encouraging. Should I do that daily or weekly? Weekly seems like the better approach, right?
 
 

Yeah, Bob, I'm in a very similar situation. I'm worried about my future health. I'll be turning 40 this year, and I'm right on the edge of being classified as obese. I'm highly motivated to make a change. My wife wants to be healthy too, but she's not ready to give up her eating habits. Believe me, I've tried many times, but she’s just not ready, and that's OK. Just an hour ago, my wife was sitting on the couch eating her Panda Express, and I was struggling with hunger signals and cravings. But I stayed motivated, so I got up, scrambled three eggs, drank a tall glass of water, and now that she's at work, my cravings are gone. It's a battle, but my hope and prayer are that she sees me getting healthier and it motivates her to want to be healthy as well.

Hey, here's an interesting observation. When I eat refined carbs, my face and neck immediately balloon—it's noticeable. The next day, they look even puffier.
I've gone back and forth with the carnivore diet, mainly because I'm a food addict and eventually give in to carbs. But I'm not quitting. I'm not giving in. So, I've started back, feeling really motivated, strong, and trying to listen to my body.
This time, I've doubled my fat intake—more than I've ever done on carnivore before. I expected some puffiness in my face and neck, but surprisingly, it hasn’t happened. I find that really interesting and encouraging.
This isn’t what I plan to stick with long-term, but as my body adjusts and I get used to the diet again, I'm craving fat, so I’m just going with it and seeing what happens. Maybe I'll dial it back in a couple of weeks—or just follow what my body tells me.

Your situation would make it much harder on me.  But I guess a person just has to hit a wall to really make a go at Carnivore.  My wall was hit a month ago and thankfully the wife was hitting her own wall.  We decided to give it a go together, which has been very helpful.
I think it comes down to a person's motivations.  If you just want to loose a few pounds, I don't think I could do it with Doritos, Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, and an endless supply of Bourbon and Coke waiting for me with a stroll into the kitchen.  But my horrible Blood Sugar and Blood Pressure and constant hangovers and the thoughts of my mortality were so overwhelming, I made the change and a house full of crap food wouldn't affect me.   I had to decide if I was going to live a good life or continue killing myself.
So a non-participating wife would be harder, but I could still do it.....   Now, don't ask me how an abscessed tooth will affect me, because I failed with that occurrence.

Yeah, Bob, I'm in a very similar situation. I'm worried about my future health. I'll be turning 40 this year, and I'm right on the edge of being classified as obese. I'm highly motivated to make a change. My wife wants to be healthy too, but she's not ready to give up her eating habits. Believe me, I've tried many times, but she’s just not ready, and that's OK. Just an hour ago, my wife was sitting on the couch eating her Panda Express, and I was struggling with hunger signals and cravings. But I stayed motivated, so I got up, scrambled three eggs, drank a tall glass of water, and now that she's at work, my cravings are gone. It's a battle, but my hope and prayer are that she sees me getting healthier and it motivates her to want to be healthy as well.

Me. I started carnivore in early 2023 and my wife, for whatever reason, intentionally started bringing even more than the usual amount of junk food into the house. She would gloat while she stuffed her face and brag "I can eat anything I want" and make "mmmm.... yum....." noises as she pigged out in front of me. I simply responded "I also can eat anything I want. The difference is, I don't want any of that garbage."
My immediate need to rectify and reverse my health issues were more important. I made a vow to never eat grains or refined sugar ever again that I have for the most part kept (save for the annual anniversary meal or rare special occasion).

I lost 60 pounds and she started to gain. My blood work improved, and hers got worse. The doctor even got on her case about the sugar because she became prediabetic. She has since been part-time keto, part-time animal-based, and has taken off the weight and improved her labs. But she still goes on benders once in a while.
Depends. I weigh in daily. BUT, some people get real frustrated if they don't see day to day results and then tend to give up. If this should be your personality, then weekly stats measurements would be better for you.

Has anyone experienced trying to go carnivore while your spouse isn’t interested in eating healthy and continues to keep all the addictive junk food in the house? I’ll start out strong, maybe for two weeks, but then I give in and eat the junk food because it’s always there. I want to be disciplined, but it’s tough. Any advice?