Scott F.

Agreed. One of the funny things is looking back I could eat 200 grams of protein with ease, and that would be with all the other carbs and sugars and 'calories' combined. It was nothing to have a 16oz. steak, with double fries or a big backed potato, any number of sweet tea (down south sweet tea, which is first cousins to syrup, sometimes finishing up my wife's steak and then still do a big desert. That amount of food today could easily last three or four days. A lot of gluttony in my old approach to eating. The first time I gained the weight when I hit the protein target, I let the 'fat and protein' morph into 'protein to target and then some fat'. This time I hit the target consistently for six or seven days but I ensured the fat content was there which meant even more to eat. Both times I gained 7-8-9 pounds over a really short period of time. If there is a silver lining I have seen a couple pretty big strides in the gym as of late. What took me to failure in 6-8 reps a month ago is now, maybe three or four reps away before I get close to the failure point. (I lift alone so it is not to complete failure with assistance and maybe half the lifting is on machines). If there is a silver lining to the weight gain from the protein target it's that I did get a bit stronger and that should mean a fraction of the weight is muscle. Maybe it is a goal accomplished with a slight trade-off. My plan going forward is to get back to eating til 'comfortably full' most of the time, cycle in a week or so a month, maybe every other month where I specifically hit the protein target. I can couple that with some more intensity and more volume in the gym and then follow that with my monthly 96 hour water fast. I won't carve any of that into stone just yet, but mostly just go by how I feel. Scott

Health & Nutrition Are NOT What I Thought – 10 Truth Bombs that Changed My Life This is a more recent video. I watched one with this lady some months back and it was one of my first hints that carnivore was more than a weight loss hack. In her earlier videos I found her symptoms and issues were nearly identical to mine and for a stretch I doubted her story. It took a few eeks to figure some thigs out but soon after, she was spot on. I probably owe her an apology. LOL Scott

It happened once before and my proteins were mixed a little more whereas this time, it was straight red meat. I would have to do some more self-experimenting to see which proteins did what and I am sure there are differences. For me, I am leaning toward it being just the sheer amounts/total volume of food I was eating. The weight gain is not that big of a deal for me at this point, and I didn't really see or feel any changes, but I'm going to end up missing that target going forward. One of the rules of thumb is to eat til you are comfortably full. I hit that mark and kept on going trying to hit a 'target'. As I move forward with carnivore I am sure I will still experiment and try to figure out things that work for me, but at the same time I am not sure I will chase that protein per pound number. I am sure it helps in the gym but the chances of me being Mr. Olympia or Mr. Universe as sort of slim, and actualy, I think that ship has sailed. LOL But yes, I am sure dialing up different proteins will have different results. Scott

Mustard works for me. As far as the pickle juice goes, I'd have to fight thru the cramping. LOL Scott

@Bob and @Geezy Great job, I like the format. If nothing changes I will be off next Monday and will try to participate. Again, nice work. Scott

I hit the year mark on the 8th of this month tipping the scales at 213 that morning. I weigh just about daily but no longer looking for the weight loss in the numbers. It is almost habit now. A couple things factored. There was an incredible sale on rib eyes at the grocery store, the chuck rolls were on sale as well and as my luck would have it had just done a meat run the week before. I also sort of made a shift in the gym lifting somewhat heavier and the intensity increased (volume the same, maybe slightly less). I got back on the kick of trying to hit in the ballpark of 200 grams of protein per day. One big rib eye is about all I really feel like eating in any give day. From about the 6th of May til the night of the 11th I ate a 8-10oz rib eye mid to late morning with 4-6 eggs. That evening, I followed it up with another 14-16oz ribeye. A couple three of those nights I managed to push down another 8oz steak to push the protein content up. With each setting I added butter and some tallow. I don't really feel any different this morning than last week. The workouts are going fine, the walks are still going good and the energy levels are the same. I am not seeing much difference in any of those areas. However, I tipped the scale this morning at 221lbs. 8+ pounds in four days. This is the second time I gained 8-9 pounds in a week or less when I ate more than I wanted/more than I needed/more than I should trying to hit a target. This week I am headed into a fast over my three night shifts. I am sure the numbers will move back a tad. Weight gain is possible on carnivore. I am sure I have added some muscle but nowhere near 8 pounds worth and I have not moved my belt in or out over the past week. Feeling good so I am not all that concerned with the numbers but I do wonder where the weight is hiding. LOL Scott

I'm not a coffee drinker. It never really clicked for me. Funny, no big deal to me but I know some where it is only one step removed from actual life-support. Zero daily functionality until after the first cup. My only good experience with coffee is that as a small child my grandma would pour us a small amount and we would dip toast in it. That was like a breakfast time dessert. The next thing would be coffee to make red eye gravy. I always wondered who the guy/gal was that accidentally spilled the coffee into the grease, couldn't afford to waste it and discovered something pretty awesome. LOL Just babbling with little to no knowledge with coffee. Scott

I like a lot of his videos, but similar to Dr. Berry, they feel 'commercial' now. Sort of like, "I want you to be healthy, right after you buy this thing I am hawking this week". Information is still pertinent and needed by the masses, just feels different. Scott

@Bob Same thought process for me. Scott

Yep. There are trade-offs on everything. Every person has to weight their options and work within the confines. My wife is supportive of this way of eating although she is not a participant. If it were up to me I would go straight Lion's diet and only eat red meat. I actually feel better and feel more energetic when I go on stretches of just red meat. I eat mostly red meat and a couple times per week I eat whatever she is having. Thus far, this has worked for us. I am sure if I factored in family time, and especially if my son still lived at home, we may have to change some things up. The fasting works rather easily for me because I work night shift. I'm gone by 5PM and my wife does not get home til just about 5. Those three nights we have not eaten together for 25+ years. I take advantage of that disadvantage and make it work for fasting. Good luck. Keep pushing and I am sure you come up with a plan that works for you. Scott

Nice post. I was trying to explain blood sugar and the dawn effect to a co-worker that has shown interests. I used the 'circadian rhythm'. Guilty, as charged. Scott

@Terry Geezy was spot on with us being individuals. I upped my protein to build muscle and although it did not totally zap my energy I did gain some weight. What I have found that I do better with a higher fat content. I don't measure or track but if I make a concerted effort for fat intake I feel like my overall energy level is higher and I get in and out of fasting much better. That is a pretty good price on the suet. Around here is averages close to $2/lb. I buy a ten pound bag every week. I get some and the dogs get the rest. Me and the dogs get excited on that day. Scott

great story and welcome back. I think most of us travel down a similar path. I got lucky and just stumbled onto the health benefits. I was 306 the day I started and into the 320's before that. Once the health benefits started rolling in I used that as my motivation to keep going. For us, it is just my wife and I. She has been very supportive in my efforts and even tried carnivore a couple three times. I can't imagine if we had several in the house to feed and "short order cook" would be the apt title trying to make everyone happy. I commend you for the effort it takes with multiple family members eating from the same kitchen. I guess if you have gotten the family to lessen the carbs that can be considered a good start. I have evolved into a big fan of fasting. I am now trying to figure out what length works best for me and then fit that into my rotating shift schedule. I am sure the benefits from ketosis and autophagy and HGH and stem cells is there as advertised but I am most pleased with the energy levels toward the end of the fast and the two-three-four days afterward. It has become a bi-monthly rejuvenation of sorts. I just went over a year and I am starting to feel like I have a lifestyle over a diet plan. For me, I think that is a huge hump. Pretty much all diets work for a stretch but just about all diets fail over time. Successes are found in lifestyle changes. I think I am getting there. Again, nice re-introduction. Keep pushing. Wishing you the very best in your efforts. Scott

Not many wild boars per se but the feral pigs multiply faster than most anywhere can eradicate them. I went to SC once and a farmer showed me a field they had planted beans in a few weeks earlier. The feral pigs could drop their nose in like a plow, like a rooter, and dig the field up at night, almost as fast as it was planted during the day. The destruction is massive. I am no expert nor a connoisseur but the meat is different based on geographic location. The Texas pig I had was a bit 'gamier' than the South Carolina pig. I am guessing it was far more to eat in the bean fields and corn fields in SC than the west Texas area we visited way back when. In Texas I am told they cover much more ground, maybe slightly leaner, just guessing. In South Carolina they will latch onto an area and consider it a food plot til its gone and move just far enough to gorge again. Somewhat 'fattier'(Again, only four or five pigs from each area, so I am no expert) My buddy that turned us on to the hunt said we had to go to the easter part of Louisiana across the Gulf states and into Florida to get the Texas to Carolina cross. It wasn't exactly farm raised hogs/pigs but it was still pretty good. And again, its bacon. My Pops use to say someone could make a cardboard sandwich taste good with three strips of bacon. Scott

Funny. When I was a kid my best friend's dad would eat a chunk of raw hamburger while making patties for the grill. His wife use to tell him he was going to have worms as well. Scott

Good to know. The word polyproline jumped right out to me. We use polyproline glycol in the jackets of our tanks to cool them down and there are many forms of polyproline anti-freezes out there as well. Kinda makes you want to go back to clay pots. A little dirt never hurt anyone. LOL Scott

It is interesting to read the WHY's and HOW's when it comes to carnivore. My son also introduced it to me, but I only seen it as a logical means of weight loss. The health benefits were more of a shocker. Thus far it has had a pretty good 'bonus plan' on top of the weight loss. Scott

Left over rib eye, four fried eggs and maybe a 1/4 stick of butter. Weekend dayshifts usually are just whatever is left and whatever I can throw together. Not much thought goes into the weekend dayshifts. Scott

Just out of curiosity, how did you learn about carnivore? What made you think it would be the path forward? Scott

Agreed. I came to carnivore with zero health expectations other than losing weight and maybe the benefits from losing weight. I went from 'having no idea' to life changing results out of the blue. Talking about a pleasant surprise. When someone seems genuinely interested my spiel starts off with, "If you had told me this same story 12 months ago, I would be thinking you are full of it". Then lead into what it did for me in relative short order. I also direct them to the influencers and videos. Most continue on their path and in turn, I continue on mine. Scott

Agreed. It is one thing to lead by example and an even better to share one's knowledge. I try not to make much about it when I get 'corrected' on my way of thinking/eating. I provide feedback when I can but if the wall has been built I don't spend an awful lot of time trying to break down barriers. I'm coming up on my semi-annual visit with my neurologist and our biggest conversation will be around my immunoglobulin numbers, my immune system and have I 'healed' enough to discontinue the infusions. My last bloodwork said I was really close to being 'normal'. I'm interested to see where we land. I have been lucky with the two Neurologists I see. Both are super-supportive of my carnivore efforts. My primary is pretty much 'if it is working for you, then it is working for me' approach. If you think the people in this group are anti-statins, you should listen to his spiel. If you didn't know him or have contact with him, you would think it was an all-out scare tactic. He is that much against them due to long term neurological and brain impact. I alternate visits between the two but my second is participating in research studies for MS at the Mayo clinic. The Mayo clinic is not onboard with the carnivore approach but the number of people in the MS community seeing positive results with carnivore is ever increasing. One of the interesting facts is that in the 50's one of the most successful treatments for MS was called the 'red meat diet'. It was basically the Lion diet before it got the catchy name. Dr. Chaffeee speaks to this in one of his carnivore-auto immune videos. My neurologist actually checks in on me and my progress in between visits. She asked if she could present my story to her colleagues even asking if another neurologist could sit in on my last appointment. I feel like I'm in a really good place with neurology. My primary family doctor is on board with the results and not totally against carnivore, but he is not a fan of my LDL. He is not a fan of the number of eggs I eat per day/per week. I also enjoy the board here. I am a much bigger fan of a person's personal story as I am 'study for this and study for that'. It is almost like there is a study to support whatever your persuasion is about just about any choice you make. I often chuckle at how two people from the same medical school, who received the same education/training on a 'scientific' subject can have such polar opposite opinions. And then can deliver 'scientific studies' to support whichever side of the fence they are standing. Like, 2=+2=4, regardless of what side of the fence one resides. I guess I amjust not smart like that. I can relate better to someone's personal experience. This type forum works well for me. Scott

Congrats. Thanks for all your input on the board. I have learned a lot from your posts. Continued successes. Scott

I went what I thought was cold turkey. My food selections were 'cold turkey' but I was using water flavoring packets as I was not a big water drinker prior to carnivore. In time I stopped using the water packets. I think I weaned myself into carnivore via the sugar in the packets. I didn't have a lot of issues with withdrawals/cravings. Muy issues were around the lack of salt/electrolytes. Once I got the salt/electrolytes in check, then adjusted the fat content up, it was a rather easy transition. Goodluck Carnovorenewbie. Hopefully today is better than yesterday. Take small steps and celebrate those smaller steps. The little accomplishments add up to big accomplishments. Best of luck. hang in there. Scott

Thanks for the replies. It has been quite the journey and most rewarding. I "celebrated" with back-to-back nights of big ol' honking rib eyes. Probably the best birthday cake I ever had (in more ways than one!) Thanks. Scott

Today marks one full year on carnivore. It has been quite the journey and more amazingly beneficial than anything I could have ever imagined. I started off with carnivore as being just a weight loss hack. I had no idea there would be benefits other than those associated with weight loss. I didn't bother with any of the research on carnivore, the best ways to go about things, I just plunged right in headfirst. It didn't take too long to start learning and figuring things out. (some even the hard way) I am extremely happy with the measurables. I started at 306lbs with my pant size 44-46. This morning, I weighed 213lbs, losing 93lbs in 12 months and a pant size of 38. If I hadn't started eating for grams of protein per pound the loss would have been well under 100 but I'm good with where and how I landed at 12 months. I have never had blood pressure or glucose issues and the only movement there is my blood sugar is now in the 80's most everyday whereas it was in the 90's before carnivore. My blood pressure has been a consistent 110/60. My cholesterol has improved some as my HDL is staying sort of constant, but my LDL dropped by 35 points on my last visit. The biggest benefit is that I have NMO/SD, an autoimmune disease that had me on pain and inflammation medicine for just over six years. The prednisone and Neurontin sort of got me thru some rough times when the pain/inflammation was slowing me down. After 4-6 weeks on a strict carnivore diet I found I didn't need the medicine anymore. By the end of that sixth week, I had stopped taking the pain and inflammation medicine altogether. Being pain free is an incredible thing to experience and to get there without a daily medication is really hard to describe. I could not have been any more surprised and could not have been any more pleased with the first six weeks of carnivore. I'm in the gym three to four times per week and the lifting is starting to grow both in weight and volume. It feels like I am performing better at 55 than 25. A big thanks to the members of the board and sharing their experiences and thoughts. I'm a bigger fan of hearing someone's personal experiences over a medical study where I have to wonder if the backer had a monetary interest in the outcome of the research or whether the control subjects were really controlled subjects. I can relate to another person's story more than that of a bunch of doctors and control subjects. I really appreciate the exchange of information as it has helped me get over some obstacles here and there. I'm still learning. After 12 months I think I am easing into carnivore becoming a life style vs. being a weight loss hack. Still, there is work to be done. Scott