Scott F.

As normal, I'm the dumbest guy in the room. I started off not counting anything. I just ate til I was full and then ate when I was hungry which morphed into OMAD. The weight peeled off at a rapid rate. I dropped down 92lbs in just shy of 9 months. The last month or so, maybe longer, I have switched my approach and have "semi-counted' grams of protein trying to hit a target for muscle growth. I shoot for 1 gram per pound of lean body weight which puts me around the 200-gram mark, give or take. I would say I eat like a horse to get to that mark, but it feels more like two horses. Most days I am around the .7 to .8 per pound mark as it hard for me to eat that much in one day. On Thursday I ate 4 eggs and a maybe 6-7 ounces of a leftover ribeye for breakfast (maybe 60-65 grams of protein). I ate another 4 eggs at lunch time (20-25 grams) and at supper I did all I could do to eat a 1/2 chicken. I simply could not do it. Like I said, two horses. I still have love handles and visceral fat that 'could be lost'. I no longer have tons of fat to be burned so there may be some efficiency issues as well. I eat a lot of fat and maybe even at a higher percentage per ounce of meat than most. (I like it so I eat it, maybe even to excess). I'm on a zero-carb/zero-sugar approach with the exception of a glass a milk once a week maybe, once every two weeks. I drink only water. The last month I have gained 8-9 pounds. The daily number fluctuates a pound or two each way, but it has been a solid 9-pound gain. I'm lifting harder and I am stronger now at 55 than 25. (always really weak for my size). On an occasional glimpse I see some muscle and some growth but definitely not 9 pounds in a month. Although I feel like I am eating the right things I know I am eating the 'wrong' amounts and in turn my weight has increased. For the first time in ten months, I had to move my belt in the other direction. The weight, the eating and that entailed was not near the punch in the gut as letting the work belt out. That sucked. I believe wholeheartedly that what I eat is more important that how much I eat, but the "how much" factors too. If I had the time or the inclination, I could convert the grams of proteins and fats to their respective calorie amounts and then use that number to define the deficit, maintenance and surplus lines that help sell 'CICO'. I can almost see maintenance and I can see surplus, but I don't think any of us ever really get into a deficit because a deficit is called starvation, and that takes time. Most everyone carries enough bodyfat to not go into deficit regardless of how much they eat. I agree with Orweller, "calories" is one of the biggest and most profitable businesses in the world. I don't see much of that changing. Scott

I haven't up until recently. I am trying to hit a protein target each day so I do count grams of protein. Other than that I don't keep up with calories or amounts of fat. I too use an occasional protein shake as some days I simply don't feel like I can eat that much protein. Scott

Covid and taste/smell issues is weird all by itself. I didn't lose taste or smell as I posted but it did make anything with sugar, even trace amounts of sugar taste like garbage. Looking back, I drank Mountain Dew and Pepsi by the five-gallon bucket. I ate snack cakes religiously. Frozen grocery store Keylime pie by the boxes. Then, all of a sudden, they all tasted horrible, almost like rusty metal (not sure how I know how that tastes but.....). Just bad. Meats and vegetables were fine. No issues. A carnivore lesson I learned long before carnivore was how much sugar goes into sauces. Sauces tasted bad as well. It took me a few days/weeks to figure out and nail it down to sugar. It lasted for awhile and just like any addict I kept going back. Yep, taste like crap, kept it moving. At some point months later, it faded, and the sugars tasted good again and I was back on the sugar train again. It was weird how sugar became a target. It was an excellent means of weight loss but I would recommend it as a good way to go. Scott

I'm more of a content guy so the platform or display seldom resonates with me. That is no discredit to the time and effort you put into the upgrade or the change. I had this very conversation with our code/programming guys as we automate our 'older' production plant. "This is what I need it to do but what color or font or graphics you use does not mean that much to me". However, I did learn and have a new understanding for what a 'busy and too busy' screen looks like. Whatever you need to do is way above my head but as long as I get the benefit of having access to the knowledge and experience floating around in here, I'm good. Thanks for providing that. Scott

Looks good. I'm going to give it a go this weekend. Thanks for the tips. Scott

I have not done a dry fast, just water fasts. I hit the gym this morning about 4AM and lifted pretty hard. I came home and did my walk which was just shy of 4 miles today. I managed to get 90 pushups along the walk and maybe ran a 1/4 mile of it. I came home and ate 5 eggs, with a 1/4 pound of sausage and maybe a 1/2 stick of butter. I'm going to get the meter later in the morning. I'm sort of excited about seeing some numbers. Scott

How long do you typically fast? Funny just seeing your numbers move make want to run out this morning and get the meter. Interested in your results. Thanks for sharing. Scott

That is what I am thinking as well. I think 'thriving' would be an understatement starting with a younger and much healthier person. The more it works for me the more I wish I had started earlier, much earlier. When I look around and see the way most young people eat part of me wants to say, "Hey, you should look into this". Then the next topic is how most think we fell off the bed and bumped our head at some point. Scott

I worked last night and then lifted this morning. My plan was to go light and just get in some work. This would get me at least three days in the gym this week. I bumped into one of my dad's friends from way back. He is in his late 70's and when I was kid he was a lifting monster, benching around 500lbs. He is still at it dropping knowledge on the younger lifters. As we talked and caught up as we moved thru the workouts before I knew it I had put in a super hard session. I did the 3 mile walk when I got home from the gym managed to run maybe a 1/4 to half mile of that. I only had enough gas to get in about 40 pushups today. I crashed around lunch time and just got up. I'm already sore and tight from the 'light session' I had in mind. I guess motivation can come from almost anything. Scott

Great read. I have always wondered about carnivore and kids. Most of us do many years of damage prior to the diet and have all sort of healing to be done. How well would kids do with their blank canvas? Again, great read. Scott

Interested in your results around how you feel at certain levels. "Like i feel normal and my readings are XX but when my ketones/ketosis XXXX my energy levels are _____________". I'm off the next couple days and I think I will buy the meter whenever I go into town. Scott

I am not sure about all strips but the ones I bought just show excess ketones in the urine. There is a correlating number with the color chart. For me, the strips just showed I had excess ketones in my urine. I could have had an over abundance and not using all of them or a smaller amount and using slightly less than a smaller amount. I am planning to buy a meter for my next fast. From what I read the glucose meter and the ketone meter are far better data points than the bathroom scale. Interesting thread. I am interesting to see if I am deep in ketosis or lingering around the edges. I'm mostly interested in the week after the fast. I had boat loads of energy coming off the fast that lasted for a week or more. I'm only on meats, salts and water. I do eat a lot of fat. I wish I had bought the meter for the last fast because whatever the energy source, I felt like I was wired with focus. Scott

I'm sort of in the same boat. I eat a lot of fat. In fact, fat is my favorite thing to eat. I purposely pick the fattiest cut of meats even when it may push the recommended ratio off kilter. Pork belly and fatty cuts of pork have been my go to's as of late. The other day I bought a couple packs of chuck steaks and there were 'more white than red'. I just like the fat a lot. I am not sure if it is an actual craving or not. Maybe, maybe not. I have lost about 90lbs so far and have eaten higher fat content from the start. There have been times it dropped but those were usually when I was eating what my wife was eating and it may not have been all that fatty. I'm not sure about how much is too much, or if there is a too much. Scott

I consider in its own food group and it lands up high on the pedestal of things to eat. Maybe even at the top. Scott

Me neither. @Geezy, I basically re-worded his very post when I posted the same. Good luck. I will say that finding your individual path is the object of the game and odds are yours may be different than mine. What I felt worked for me was eating a higher fat content (probably higher than most). I have always liked butter and 'abused' it when I thought the amount I was eating was frowned upon. Even before carnivore grits and mashed potatoes had to be yellow for me to enjoy them. I use butter and bacon grease like most would gravy. Good luck as you adjust and find your path. Scott

She was rude. And obviously more passionate about berating than the subject matter at hand. "I don't agree. Please explain" would have went tons further. The doctor/nutritionist to his left made valid points on what she believes to be true but she was respectful and professional with her opinions. Then the male doctor toward the end had to hyper play his opinion for television. I'm currently carnivore and have eliminated a lot of things that I didn't know was killing me. Literally. Now I know how I feel so I doubt I reintroduce anything that I have eliminated. Mostly because maybe carnivore can't correct it next time. Just somewhat afraid of rocking the boat. But with that said, if someone chooses to reintroduce sugars and carbs, more power to them. he won't be the first person to use the flavor of the month as a means to boost income. If I had issue with him I think it would be leading off with, "I'm a doctor", as that gives him credibility with the masses regardless of his content. That part I do struggle with. Scott

Although I do not follow the advice myself, it is always best to not weigh yourself daily. Maybe once per week or so. With that said, I weigh almost daily. And I have had stalls and drops just about the entire 10 months I have been eating this way. Sometimes when I stalled or even added a pound or two, I had to cinch my belt loop. You can have changes in body composition and that change not be reflected when stepping on the scale. During my first month or so I also naturally eased into eating once per day. I used the rule of thumb 'eat til I was full and then eat again when I was hungry'. That approach moved me from 2-3 times per day to once per day. And as far as the fat to meat ratio goes with carnivore, I eat more fat than the basic ratio recommends/suggests. The stalls can come from any number of reasons. For me, if I drink milk I can just about guarantee a stall. I don't eat much cheese, but it feels the same. A stall can also come from meal timing. If I waited til I was hungry the once per day could get slightly past once per day and then a meal would approach later in the evening, or even first thing in the morning. Not the best two times to eat during the day. Life also plays a part. I am a 12-hour rotating shift worker. I can't really have a routine working both days and nights throughout the month. Meal timing also includes eating when someone else eats (like family dinners), especially if you are not hungry. It is a process, and the process time varies from person to person. I lost 30-31lbs in the first 31 days or so. Then the stalls happened, and I was just like you, trying to figure out what I was doing wrong to create/trigger the stall. I have now bounced around 85-92lbs lost for well over a month. At times I don't look at the 85-90 lost but wonder when the next three or four is going to drop. That's the wrong approach but totally natural. If I were to give advice it would to 'be patient' Eat the carnivore way, eat til you are full and eat again when you are hungry. The healing process is a different for every person. Be patient and trust your process. Congrats on the first month or so. Good luck. Scott

Totally butchered his name in the above post. Incredibly rude people. Scott

My first several months were just like that. Luckily, I didn't really have cravings. My wife is not against the plan and does not eat a ton of junk and crap, but she is a big fan of vegetables. She has tried carnivore a couple different times but it is not her cup of tea. She read an article about the cleansing and gut healing and she has been really strict carnivore the last two weeks. She lost 8lbs the first week and three the second. So right now, our house is almost free of non-carnivore food items. There are few stragglers of this and that in the cabinet but nothing to amount to anything. I think if I have had cravings in the beginning with my wife having other foods readily available in the house my first weeks/my first attempt would have been much more difficult. Scott

Yep. I'm about halfway thru Dr. Baker's book. I watched a video last night where Dr. Pauldinin (spelling?) was being grilled by the panel on "The Doctors". It was brutal, but mostly very rude. The appellate judge was sitting on the panel berating him on why he was an expert or not and she was in need of Carnivore, Atkins, Keto, something. I'm lucky my neurologist is totally onboard, and my primary doctor is close. He likes the results, but he gives me the cholesterol talk the last couple times I had appointments. I agree. At some point the medical field has to say, "Hey, wait a minute. Let me check that out", especially as more and more people report the positives. Maybe even more so when those positives are medical issues just not weight loss. Sort of bored at work waiting for our supply plant to catch up. Filling the time with carnivore research/reading. Scott

At some point Dr. Hampton is going to lose his membership card. I am sure many doctors are casting votes in private. Scott

How is your Vitamin D? Calcium? I'm reading about the kidneys on carnivore right now because my creatinine levels sort of jumped. Nothing all that alarming but it was a pretty good shift. I'm asking because Vitamin D helps with phosphorous and calcium absorption in the body to help maintain a metabolic balance between the two. I have read 2:1. Hopefully you figure it out. Congrats on the 112 days. Scott

I'm weird as I am not a fan of a treadmill. I either walk outside or skip it altogether. Music, reading, watching the TV, nothing keeps me going walking the mill on the inside. The same with push-up and squats and other perfectly beneficial indoor exercises. I am not a fan of doing those int he house. I would much rather do them roadside as a I walk. Funny how personal preferences can get weird. Scott

I hit the gym this morning and had plans for an end of the week-all out workout. Unfortunately, I missed the mark on salt, electrolytes and hydration yesterday, maybe one, or maybe a combination. I got thru squats with a solid lift and when I did the first hamstring exercise I cramped like I hadn't drank anything in months. I went to a slightly bent knee position and slide stepped to the water fountain. The cramps were as painful as any I have had. Ten minutes in and I'm shot. it took about ten minutes for it to pass. Then I was finished with legs but did more arms and chest than I had planned. Ended up with a pretty good workout but my legs got a pass today. I did my morning walk (just over 3 miles) and got it 85 pushups along the way. I picked two hills that were steep and somewhat long (felt long anyway) to ease back into running. During the walk I ran up the hills three or four times and out of the 3 miles maybe 1/2 mile or so was running. First time I have ran in many years. Followed that up with 5 eggs scrambled in butter. Back on nights so it will be rest days for the next couple three days. Scott

Definitely no experience here. From the outside looking in I would say keep eating the proper diet and let the priority be nursing. Sometimes stepping on the scales is for aesthetics and a shift up can be disheartening. I would say eat the proper diet, skip the scales and nurse. I feel like it will work out in time. Best of luck, and congratulations. Scott