Scott F.

I'm at 14 months or so. I have been strict carnivore since the start. I have found I do better/feel better on long stretches of red meat. I do have some variety when we cook for the two of us so it is some occasional chicken or pork or fish. If I was cooking/buying for one it would be red meat all the time. The last few months I have done some deep dives into the things that affect me most (NMO/SD and inflammation) and most of that centered around fasting. Still tons to learn but I guess I'm getting there. Scott

All the better. Welcome. Scott

Welcome. I'm at 14 months. Interested to hear your experiences and insights. Scott

Sort of a coincidence as today I watched several Norton videos followed by Horwitz (sp?) videos on this very subject. Although I do know what is working for me, I don't have the background nor the education to challenge either of their opinions. But I do find it comical that there is enough information supporting both their thought processes with their thought processes being polar opposites. I never gave seed oils much thought and fried most everything in one seed oil/processed oil or another. I went 8-9 months without using any seed oils. We were cooking and my wife just flipped my steak in the pan her chicken had come from and I thought it would mean nothing. It didn't take long and after a couple trips to the bathroom I found me and seed oils could no longer be friends. On one trip to my wife's favorite Mexican restaurant I asked the grill be scraped, cleaned and my steak/chicken cooked in butter. The did and I had no issues. On our next trip there I asked the same but they didn't. Again, me and seed oils do not see eye to eye. They won both times. Nice article. It was my very subject of interest this morning at work. Scott

I can relate as we have similar stories. Maybe the age differences stand out but coming out of the service and then eating our ways to unhealthiness. Maybe another difference is I made a weight loss choice and the 'side effect' (LOL) has been a path toward more optimal health. We got to similar places with similar choices and changed courses with better decisions. Nice read. Scott

His information coupled with Mike Mentzer's bodybuilding philosophy was way ahead of its time. It is an age-old battle between load and volume. Interesting subject as there are strong proponents n both sides. This guy is credited with the use of/invention of nautilus type equipment. One of the interesting things is in one of his videos he talks about the leg muscles being the key to life longevity. The squat is by far the most important exercise everyone should do, most every day. If using weights or resistance there can be rest days in between but air squats should be done every day. He called it the 'key to long life'. He was putting this out there in the 60's and 70's. Way ahead of his time. Scott

Yes. Most any mystery in life can be solved when the money is followed. LOL Scott

Nice job on the fasting. It is a 'who-da ever thunk it? sort of revelation. I will eat the once or twice a day this weekend and then fast Tuesday thru Friday, maybe Saturday, depending on work and how I feel. Post the results (not prying) How you feel? during/afterwards? Interested in how others break their longer fasts. I have tried all different ways and I still get loose after the eating for the first time in 4-5 days. I don't have that part down just yet. Scott

It feeds Big Food, Big Pharma and Big Tech all at the same time. All governments feed the machine in one way or another. Scott

I have had a ton of the condescending looks. LOL I don't let it bother me at all because there was a time when if carnivore was explained, especially the healing effects, I would be an 'eye-roller' too. There are times when I think my results from carnivore are too good to be true, but I have had the benefit of the personal experience. I see that same 'questioning' in a lot of people. Now if they are doubters, but open minded and want to hear more, that is as natural as anything. There is nothing wrong with doubt. It is having the closed mind but all the answers it what helps me walk away. Scott

The same. As of late I have been on a predominantly red meat diet. Food Lio and the local butcher shop has had rib eyes for $8.99 a pound, and even 'gotta get rid of it' sale at $7.99/lb. I have been sort of stocking up. It also works out as I have been on an over time tear at work as of late. I can lay a frozen rib eye out in the morning and cook it in the cast iron skillet that afternoon as I get ready for work. I was a really boring eater prior to carnivore so with a rib eye and a skillet I am perfectly happy. Plus, it's work, so nothing elaborate needed. I haven't really eaten heavy seafood, maybe a large serving of shrimp, but nothing I would consider heavy. I have eaten a lot of chicken several days in a row and my weight does go up a tad more. My heavy and my 'a lot' seems to be different than some. I am in awe of the amounts of food people can eat in a given meal. In times past I could eat twice the amounts but since carnivore I simply don't have the appetite to finish the 2-3 pounds others eat in a given meal. Tonight, I had two rib eyes that were 1.7lbs total. I'm down to the last three pieces and it has been (almost) a struggle to eat 1.7lbs. Grams of protein per pound wise I wish I could eat more. The lack of appetite has helped with the weight loss and probably played a role in fasting being sort of easy. With all that babbling it seems insulin is one of the primary keys, if not the key) to good health. Moving the needle from resistance to sensitivity is one of the best things that has happened to me. In case you guys didn't already know there might be something to this carnivore thing. LOL Scott

This is my newest reading topic. I had read months ago that gluconeogenesis could lead to sugar being made and would be stored. I was watching a Bart Kay video the other day and he was pretty adamant (I guess he is about every topic) and that the body would only make the sugar it needed via gluconeogenesis. I have had a couple stints where I ate a higher protein/lesser fat approach and gained weight. I attributed it to the conversion of protein to sugar and already being fat adapted. Now I am reading that is not the case, or at least a few of the leaders in the field say so. I don't have the background to argue the point either way. I was lifting consistently and somewhat heavy and one article referenced weight gain in this scenario is muscle. I don't think I gained 4-5-6 pounds of muscle over a couple three weeks. One thing I have noticed is that when I am on a higher fat/moderate protein approach my daily weight swings are not more then a couple pounds here and there. When I first started and had yet to dial in my eating habits my weight could swing as much as five pounds over the course of a day or so. And all of this seems to land at insulin sensitivity/insulin resistance. My glucose number is in the 70's when I eat once per day and when I eat twice per day it can land int he 80's and even into the low 90's. Still have lots to learn. Scott

Yep. I had some of those same experiences. I don't mind sharing my thoughts and my story when people are willing to listen or thinking about giving carnivore a try. When they balk, or start giving me medical/nutritional advice that it is obvious they are not adhering to themselves it becomes a quick disconnect. From there, I just move on. I have a guy that works with me that is a Type II diabetic with glucose numbers that are high enough for hospitalization at times. The food he bring is crazy in both type and amounts. He is eating three or four times in a 12 hour shift because his doctor has told him that smaller more frequent meals would be his best practice. I explained I understand this is youtube, but check out these videos and when they reference medical studies follow up with research of your own. He said his glucose had been as high as 300 the week before and then asked about mine. I told him mostly it is in the 70's but every now and then it gets into the 80's, especially coming off a fast. His words nor his sentences called me a liar, but his grunt, rolling of the eyes and the , "yeah, right" all but did. Great conversational topic. I think all of us have experienced this is some shape, form or fashion. It is like a brick is falling out of the sky and I say, stand over here with me under this shelter, and they say, "Nope, my doctor says standing in the sunshine is better for me". I guess sometimes people can't see the forest for all the trees in the way. LOL. Scott

As long as you do your due diligence it is his job to listen to your spiel as much as it is yours to listen to him. Just take his inputs under advisement, make your own decisions and move forward with whatever benefits you best. Scott

Enjoyed the conversation last night. I forgot the cord for the laptop, and it dropped from 30% to zero unexpectedly. Apologies for the abrupt exit. I thought about 'carnivores lying' for a stretch last night afterwards. Did they mean carnivores are lying in general about the positives of carnivore? Did they mean the individual carnivores are lying about their personal health? Good conversation on the topic. Like said from the beginning, going into carnivore I had no idea of the health benefits other than from the weight loss. On the day I started carnivore was nothing more than another weight loss hack, the latest in the yo-yo dieting approach. I was going to drop 15-20 pounds (if it actually worked) and then go back to eating like normal people. I had already lost 10-12 pounds before I watched my first video or read my first article about carnivore. The weight came off so fast (averaged about a pound per day the first thirty days) when I was asked if I thought it was healthy to just eat meat and drink water I pretty much said, " I don't know, but the weight is falling off so I'm going to roll with it for now". I started reading and watching videos and one of the first videos that popped up was by Cabana Chronicles and her using carnivore for her MS. My autoimmune disease is really similar and that triggered me to watch a ton of videos that evening. Over the next few days I was in constant research mode. I never used the term lying but I was skeptical, even a nay-sayer, about the results people were sharing. As soon as I would start seeing the light (LOL) they would ask me to subscribe, or hit the LIKE button, or buy this product, and that became the catch/the automatic disconnect. I was on gabapentin/Neurontin and prednisone for pain and inflammation and there is no way those can be replaced with a rib eye. As Mrs. Cabana Chronicles talked about not taking medicine I was waiting for the hook, "what is for sale today?". Then it sort of dawned on me that I had come off my long stretch of nights (six 12-13 hours shifts) and I didn't take the medicine for pain and inflammation. I immediately tagged it as a coincidence. The following week I pulled my four shifts and then two more slots of overtime and no medicine during or after the six shifts. Then there was third week and (I'm sort of slow) it started to resonate that there may actually be a connection to carnivore and inflammation. I think my first true lesson in carnivore was that it is not the rib eye nearly as much as it is the elimination of the carbs and sugars. Withing 5-6 weeks of eating strict carnivore (other than the drink mixers to help with drinking water) I was off medicine I had been on for six years. From there I was 'curious' maybe even 'intrigued' by the effects of the elimination diet. I scheduled blood work, both my regular blood work for NMO/SD and my HAZMAT physicals for work. I staggered them to get bloodwork every 3 months or so to check my immunoglobulin numbers. Within three months on carnivore the lower numbers were inching up and the higher numbers were inching down. After 12 months as a strict carnivore my immunoglobulin numbers have returned to what is considered normal. I have one number that is just a few points high but nothing like the previous six years. When the post was made about lying I wonder if it is suggesting I am one of the people lying about my individual successes. I am no longer taking medicine for pain nor inflammation. I have lost between 90-95 pounds. My energy levels are not super human but they have returned to levels that I had as a much younger man but coupled with regular fasting (longer fasting 72 to 96 hours) the energy levels are super crazy high. Do people think I only lost 75 pounds and exaggerated my claims so it sounds better? Do I secretly take medicine and just claim I do not? I get it. I was that guy too. I was skeptical/didn't believe from the very beginning. Carnivore was just another weight loss hack, nothing more/nothing less. It was the same as any other hack that used large weight loss as click bait to get me to buy something. I would never use the term 'lying' but I can see where I came from that same sentiment for a stretch. If you look at each of our stories, how far we have come, I won't say we have all experienced miracles, but I will say for me, I've headed down that path. Sometimes, stories like these are hard to believe. babbling, waiting for the gym to open. Great conversation last night. Enjoyed it. Scott

No truer picture has been posted. Scott

@Meathead Yep. me the same. Like I knew the 'rules' but they didn't apply to me. I started off every day for years and years with two bacon, egg and cheese on white bread with two Little Debbie oatmeal cakes with a 20oz. Mountain Dew. Then multiple Mountain Dews throughout the day and then enough beer and liquor to float a boat. Just before I got out of the service I was 195-205 and could run just about around the world (or that is how I felt). Within two years I ate and drank myself into the 250's and within 8-10 years I was well over 300. I think maybe it is worse when you know better but choose not to do better. LOL Scott

Agreed. In a sense we all got to our unhealthy selves by following the rules set by others, 'food pyramid', 'eat all your vegetable', 'cholesterol kills', 'eat four to five times per day', ' seed oils are healthier than animal fats', 'statins are the better alternative to a rise in LDL'......the list goes on an and on. For me, I'm using the carnivore way of eating as a guideline, maybe even as a platform, but at the same time dialing it up for me as an individual. I feel like I do better on just red meats so I supplement red meats with bacon and eggs and chicken and pork, but red meat is my staple. I'm also on the plus side of the 70:30 ratio between fats and proteins. I purposely added salt for a long time, even eating a pinch or two throughout the day. As of late I have found salt does not taste good anymore and about the only thing it tastes good on is eggs. I do go sort of heavy on the salt with eggs. I have just about nailed down my fasting routine to one 72 hour stint and one 72-96 hour stint per month. This is where I am at right now but it feels like it is ever changing. For the first time in probably forever, my body is driving the bus. Scott

Anytime. Strict carnivore is working for me but I believe the operative words are 'working for me' not carnivore. The object is to find what is working and build from there. If it is carnivore great, if it is a modified version, then so be it. Our health should be the goalpost (and we all know in life the goalposts constantly change). Scott

I find it hard to say "you should try this or try that" but it is a bit easier to say "these are the positives I experienced". (if that makes any sense at all?) So far, and maybe it has been 7 or 8, but I have had only positive experiences from fasting. If added up all the fasts the weight loss was minimal but it was still some weight loss. The first couple three probably made more change in body composition than how I tipped the scale that week. The energy levels were crazy. I still struggle to wrap my head around how 'no food equals more energy'. I can say all the scientific words I learned getting my Batchelor's by Google and my Master's by You Tube but the first fifty years I was dispositioned that food equaled energy and had to be a part of that equation. This has been a pleasant surprise. I feel like it has given my immune system a boost, maybe even say making carnivore all the more effective. I wish I could do blood tests the day before and the day after each fast and then lay those numbers over top of one another. Fasting is not like the magic pill, no more so than carnivore, but the two of them together, with the gym tossed in the mix, has improved my health by leaps and bounds in the last 14 months. The most recent one did surprise me because of the drop in weight which goes unexplained as the fasts have all been pretty similar. I went six days and it was so much easier than "six days' sounds. I have seen the time when six hours without eating would have bene a real challenge. it is most definitely worth a try. Scott

It can be. I use fat, meat salt and water as my daily prescriptions. Only 14 months deep but it has been working for me. Best of luck going forward. Scott

Happy Birthday to our great nation. Much respect and much appreciation for those who ensured the birthdays of the past, the present and the future. Scott

My son cooked chicken thighs on the smoker last night. He puts them in a pan with a little of his homemade sauce and then cuts up a couple sticks of butter. Once done, he pulled the chicken from the bones and made a pulled chicken BBQ dish. I ate that for breakfast this morning at work. It actually looked better than the rib eyes I made last night for lunch today. Go figure. Scott

Congrats on fighting the good fight. Scott

Congrats on the progress. It is hard to be at bacon and eggs. I went that route yesterday as well. I had a ribeye last night. A new meat market opened in the town over from us and they had some pretty good specials. Rib eye steaks were $9.99/lb and they were just about giving the chicken away. Like said in another post this meat market is my nee pharmacy. LOL Scott