Scott F.

Sort of in the same boat. I'm 55 and went on the carnivore diet back in May. Thus far I have lost 86lbs over 8 months. I feel like the majority of the weight lost was fat, and I am sure there was some muscle loss as well. I started walking and working out June about a month in and the weight was coming off on what average out to a pound a day for the first 30-40 days. The last couple months I have increased the lifting in intensity, weight and volume. I have did a mix and match on the approach. Some days I lift heavier with less sets/less reps and go to failure. On other days I don't lift as heavy and add in both sets and reps. I do splits on most days but at the end of the week I try to do at least one total body workout. After leaving the gym I walk anywhere from 3-4 miles. In the beginning I ate once per day. I was simply not hungry thus I was in a deficit most every day. As of late I am trying to off set some of the weight loss by eating more as well as hit protein targets to build muscle. I eat a big egg/meat breakfast in the morning, sometimes a meat lunch and then a big meat dinner. My weight loss has tapered off for the most part. I have been right around 85lbs lost for a month or more. I'd like to think the muscle is building under the fat that is remaining. I'm not sure. I am getting stronger as getting to failure is taking more weight, more sets and reps as the days go by. My best guess will be this will be individualistic. A lot is based on work, home and family so what is working for me might not be the best plan for others. I would say get your workout set and then adjust food intake up and down and see if your needle moves as you wish. Then adjust. One thing for me, it is now really hard to eat enough to hit the protein targets. The breakfast meal is not so bad. The evening meal I'm seldom hungry so I am eating just to be eating. Constantly adjusting. Scott

It is on our way to the North Carolina area. Scott

Great comment. There is the difference between weight loss and fat loss. For me, in the beginning of Carnivore the overwhelming majority of weight I lost was fat. At some point I am sure there was some muscle loss as well. I'm lifting now trying to gain muscle, off-set the loss of muscle due to age, off-set some of the muscle atrophy issues with the medical issue I have and off-set the muscle that is being lost with the fat. Maybe I need to count some calories. Not sure. I have, however, counted grams of protein on occasion to see if I am eating enough protein for muscle growth. Even at 220lbs it is a hard go to eat that much protein. Great post. Appreciate the information. Scott

Agree with the carbs/sugars got me fat (maybe us, but I will only speak for me). I have never counted calories, before carnivore nor since. Two end results. One, I went from 205 in 1993 to 306 in 2024 going on proteins, carbs/sugars and fat. Then in 2024 I went from 306 and now down to 220 over the last 8 months. One path I am sure I was in a calories surplus, maybe even all of them. Since carnivore and a large chunk of that has been OMAD, I am sure I have been in a calorie deficit. For me, the real difference is the quality and the need for which calorie, more so, that the quantity. We had a weight loss contest once at work. It was for 60 days. I started around the 50 day mark and lost 32 to pounds for the win. I ate a bowl of Grape Nuts in the morning with 2% milk and another bowl in the evening for about 40 days. No added sugars other than the milk and no animal protein or fat. I walked about 2-3 miles per day. I celebrated the victory by stopping at the store on the way home for a 20oz. Mountain Dew, a Little Debbie cake and side of the road pork chop biscuit. (not the sharpest knife in the drawer). A year later we had the same contest. This time I dropped 29lbs by eating Grape Nuts in the morning and a normal meal at night (one of the 'balanced' meals we were all taught to eat based on the food pyramid). I walked about the same amounts and won again. And, just as before I celebrated with the same foods that blew me up from the start. Different calories carry different qualities and serve the body differently. But when you commented about weight-loss comes from the kitchen, no truer words have been spoken. Scott

Welcome and good luck as you move forward. I am guessing most of what you are going thru is the healing and detox of sorts. Hydration and electrolytes are ultra important, always, but especially in the very beginning. I started off eating similar to the plan you described. It didn't take long, and I felt like I was forcing myself to eat. Within a couple weeks I had dropped the afternoon meal and was eating breakfast and dinner. Soon after that I started eating only when I was hungry and that evolved into one meal a day, and sometimes slightly less than that. I was lucky as I didn't experience cravings or mood swings. Looking back I think it was my ignorance going in and maybe even plain dumb luck. I had just bought a 12 pack of Moutain Dew and a tub of ice cream. I finished those off as I started eating carnivore. Definitely not by intent, but I eased into the diet vs. going cold turkey on carbs and sugars. I also was never a big water drinker, so I used flavor packets the first couple months. They were advertised as carb and sugar free but sort of doubt it. I unknowingly eased into the diet although I said at the time "I dove right in". I am thinking you are in 'the adjustment phase' and your body is signaling to you the abrupt change, basically a detox of sorts. The stools vary. Looking back (I was heavy at 306) I can just about trend my stools. Constipation, followed by several days of loose to really loose then normal. From loose to normal I would drop weight which almost averaged a pound a day for a long time. Today is 8 months for me and that has been my pattern. I hit the scales at 220 yesterday. Good luck. Be patient. And this is not good advice, but it is what I would do, I would re-introduce some sugars or some carbs in small amounts and then wean myself to a better place. I'm really not into really feeling like crap and hoping for a better tomorrow. I think I would split the difference today and prep for a better tomorrow. Again, just me. I am sure the Carnivore Police just threw a penalty flag. LOL Again, best of luck. Scott

I'd say gradually. I would also get a check-up to see if there are underlying issues you could address, maybe even being addressed with carnivore. This is me personally, and by no means advice for anyone else, I do better when I eat afterwards. I get up and drink a large glass of cold water and go to the gym. As of late the intensity/weight and volume have increased. I come home and walk anywhere from 3-4 miles. I try to do this around my work schedule and it ends up averaging between three and four time per week. I come home and do the three-to-four-mile walk. (Treadmills are really boring to me. I like to walk outside so I can critique yesterday and sort of make a plan for today, sometimes even planning for tomorrow-but that seldom pans out-LOL) From there I eat a big egg/meat breakfast. Eating afterwards works for me. Go slow and hopefully you can figure out what is limiting your efforts and get better from there. Scott

I was never really strong. When someone is talking about a smaller guy they say "he is really strong for his size'. I have always been the opposite. "really weak for my size". In turn, gains were always hard for me and now at 55 I'm doing the best I can but things are slow. The carnivore diet and the lifting/walking has helped me lose a bunch of weight and as it peels off I'm hoping the muscles are growing underneath. LOL Time will tell. I'm a big fan of the diet and although I don't stand up on the pedestal and preach, but I will tell them about it if they are interested. It has done wonders for me. Scott

My loss of fat has continued since pretty much the beginning. I started at 306 in May and tipped the scales this morning at 220. I lift three to four times per week and on those lift days I walk between 3 and 4 miles. I think it boils down to whether you are in a calorie deficit or not. Being fat adaptive really helps with the visceral fat. I would venture to guess the fat will continue to drop in the situation you described. Scott

Welcome. I agree with Bob. Ease into it and make the changes gradually. That should help avoid some of the issues a lot of people have when they first start. Best of luck. Scott

I can remember eating cheese by the bucket, or at least it seemed that way. Now, not near as much, but on occasion. Once or twice a week I will brown sausage in a pan, toss in three or four eggs and then add a few chunks of block cheese. Back when I ate lasagna, I wanted the top layer of cheese to be as thick as the lasagna itself. Big fan. The grill cheese sandwiches were as much cheese as bread. Part of the recipe that got me to well over 300lbs. Scott

I'm not sure I ever really bought in to the need for a pill for this or that. I attribute that to mostly being just lucky. Until I got sick in 2018 I had filled only 7 prescriptions, and I was 49. Along the same lines, I never had to go the doctor for being sick or having an ailment. Lucky, I guess. I however had to have physicals every 12 months for my work and HAZMAT. Like most companies they were not smart enough to do them on the same day and had them spaced about six months apart. I can trend most of my blood work and panels over 20+ years on six months increments. I had a doctor come in once and tell me we needed to get started on medicine for pre-diabetes and possibly blood pressure medicine. I asked why? I have no issues with either. He had just seen me for the first time ever. What he saw was a 12 hour swing shift working stiff who was a hundred or so pounds overweight. He hadn't even looked at my chart. My glucose reading was 92 and my blood pressure was 110 over 60. He then tried to back track and say, "in time" you will need to be on medicine. I replied that when 'the time' arrived we could talk about it but I had no intentions of taking medicine for a problem I might have down the road. I asked since I would need them because of 'in time' was he already taking the same prescriptions. I said, "You didn't read my chart and you were ready to give me a prescription and you are fatter than I am. I have to assume the medicine is for what I look like, and we look alot a like". He was deeply offended. When I got back to the plant, I told the nurse that was my last trip to that quack. Babbling. I never reacted to the results but I have had access to them for a number of years. Just this morning I found out I actually have a rib cage. The last time I knew for sure I had one was around '93 when I got out of the service. I have kept them hidden ever since. And this morning I also took the second dose of 'gut dumper' for a colonoscopy later today. I'm not sure why they need another prescription for this procedure. If one were to go on a fairly strict carnivore diet of meat, salt and water then one day haphazardly drink a Nestle Kwik vanilla drink.....the results are absolutely the same. Maybe the only difference is the carnivore and Nestle Kwik is a tad more violent, and one would need to be a bit quicker on the draw when heading to the bathroom. Again, babbling as I am a bit nervous about today's procedure. My apologies. Scott

Thanks. I had just watched a few videos and read some articles about the carnivore diet and an increase in cholesterol numbers 'on average'. I was hoping the carnivore diet would help me lose the weight and drive the numbers down to prevent the need for medicine. The more I read the more I felt comfortable with where they were at, not great but not totally horrible either. When I eased into more than OMAD I was eating a lot of eggs, sometimes 6-8 a day. I was thinking more protein for muscle growth from lifting and off setting some of the weight loss. Several others have mentioned it and at times I catch a glimpse in the mirror, and I look sickly. With the increase in eating and especially the big jump in egg consumption I thought I might see the uptick in cholesterol and, all thing considered, I think I was going to be OK with that part of the diet/lifestyle approach. Once I accepted that as fact, or a part of the approach, my LDL dropped from the 180's to the 150's in just a hair over 3 months. I was more than pleasantly surprised but it did leave me with the WHY? and the HOW? questions. I have read some more and re-read a lot of posts on here and my best non-professional medical opinion seems to be the answer to most every question posted: Results are based on the individual. We can have a lot in common and can go down the really similar paths, but I have yet to read cookie-cutter type results from any two people. We may eat the same, but our daily lives differ from work to family to habits, etc., etc., etc. I think it all factors which provides enough variables to prevent cookie-cutter outcomes. Weird at times. Scott

Mine just dropped from the 180's to the 150's from late August to early January. I went into the diet basically ignorant and just thought my cholesterol would get better with weight loss. I will admit I was somewhat disappointed around three months when I had dropped a bunch of weight and the numbers really didn't change all that much. Then I did some reading and it is sort of the norm to see some numbers go up on meat, salt and water. I was expecting an uptick and for the most part they stayed the same but the LDL dropped for what I think is a pretty good chunk in three months or so. I was ignorant, read some stuff, thought I knew some things and now back to being ignorant. But all things considered, ignorance is bliss. Scott

I have tried it both ways, raw and cooked. I like it better when I do it raw. I cut it up in smaller pieces and then add it as I make the patties. It does not grind all that well. The Weston one was sort of free so I gave it a whirl. It didn't pan out. By the time I pay to ship it back and find out if they warranty their product I will have way more in it than it is worth to me. That is probably the gamble the manufacturer keeps as their ace in the hole. The Kitchenaid did much better than I expected. (And with creamed potatoes off the menu the Kitchenaid just sits in the corner looking sort of lonely) Scott

I'm not sure it is cheaper. I pick the cheaper cuts, especially the ones on Manager's special due to date. I will use most anything. They do taste good but they are really convenient. I make a bunch of patties and use them as snacks, either thru the day or a couple three to eat on the way home from the gym. Plus, you can control the fat content. I do 60-40 and even add sausage and bacon for a boost. I use the kitchen aid with the grinder attachment. Thus far it has worked really well. For the smaller grinders, it works better if you take your grinder parts (blades and plates) and put them in the freezer for about 30 minutes or so. The precut your meat into chunks that easily fit into the throat of your grinder attachment. About twenty minutes into the parts freezing place your meats in the freezer for a ten-fifteen minute freeze. This seems to work really well with the kitchen aid. I used some work points and bought a Weston meat grinder. It had great reviews. And the first time I used it outclassed the Kitchenaid by a mile. The second time the blade hub snapped off. Go figure. As far as the meaning of life? Wake up tomorrow so we can talk about it again. Scott

Glad you hit your target. I'm on a similar path. I started off much heavier at 306 and have lost 85lbs since May. I have moved away from OMAD. One meal was carrying me for more than a day I sort of added in another meal for two reasons. One, I often ate at dinner time with my wife and two, I started eating a big egg breakfast when the lifting picked up in volume and intensity. To some, I look sickly. Several think I have lost too much, maybe even too quickly. The last week or so I have been on one of the mini-stalls around 83-85lbs. Even during the stalls there is some composition change as the weight may hold steady but I end up maybe cinching my belt up a notch. The big difference could be I started off much heavier and at 223 I still have some visible fat to lose. As of late I have made the increase in eating around the breakfast time using eggs and whatever meat is available (mostly left overs). The eggs also get me a really good opportunity to work more butter in to the daily diet. I'm eating like a horse, or at least it feels that way, but the weight has continued to fall, and even when it slows, there is some re-compositioning. Similar paths with different start/stop points. Scott

I was 227 on January 1st and this morning I was 221. I'm on a semi-stall around 85 pounds lost. I just ate grilled chicken with just salt and last night was New York strips with just salt. I ventured off the reservation a bit a few weeks ago and paid for it to an extent. I'm not sure I need much more motivation than that. LOL I will check in as close to daily as I can. Scott

'the gut all the way out. Lost of psi and the potential for distance records as well. Scott

I have been on a stretch as of late where my annual physical at work, my HAZMAT physical and my infusions leave me with bloodwork about every three months or so. It has given me some numbers to trend for health wise but are more interesting to me since Carnivore. I have the before carnivore numbers and then afterwards as well. August January Total 219 219 Tri 75 76 HDL 37 35 LDL 187 152 Nothing has really changed in the last three months. If I did the math on beef to other meats, I am probably a tad more beef than before. The egg count is up, and the total amount of intake is up. I sort of naturally fell into OMAD and then when the weight lost got into the 70's and 80's I eased into a big egg breakfast. Mostly for two reasons, I do feel better, but I am 'weaker' at the lesser weight and two, the lifting is getting a little more intense per session/pushing a little more. I think it was a really significant shift in the LDL. This upcoming week will be 8 months. I'm on a semi-stall the last couple of weeks around 82-85lbs lost as it bounces daily (I'm one of the not so smart people that tip the scales most every day). Still no pills for pain nor inflammation from the NMO/SD stuff. My first real cheat was by accident, but I was dumb enough to finish the bottle of Nestle Kwik. I used a lot of toilet paper of the next few days. I think my stomach/my body explained to my brain that I had made a bad decision, sort of like, " I can show you better than I can tell you" or the age old, "if you are gonna be dumb, you better learn to be tough". Either way, lesson learned. My wife makes an incredible red sauce when we cook ribs/pork and it is great on chicken as well. I tasted it the other night and maybe since it has been awhile, or maybe the body was reminding the brain about the sugar, it was OK, not all that appealing like it has been for 25+ years. Kinda sorta where I am at after 8 months. I think for the next little while it will be the constant adjustments of amounts throughout the day. Satiety wise I am good at OMAD but the weight is falling with that and at times I look a bit sickly. I need to eat more if I am off-setting the muscle loss with the auto-immune disease and the increases in lifting. I think I might be "one meal and a half per day" OMAHAD. (if copyright and royalties are applied I will forward my address) Appreciate the group. Appreciate the information exchange. Scott

I guess I am lucky on that one too. I don't have any allergies. An allergy to pork would be life altering. The lack of sausage would be brutal. Plus pork chops. Plus ham. Plus shoulders and butts. Plus whole hogs. There would be an empty spot to fill. If you have those allergies, thoughts and prayers. Scott

I sort of dove right in as well. I just started eating only meats. It took me a little bit to read and learn and understand. Luckily, I didn't have any negative experiences. I guess I just got lucky. Scott

No doubts. I think we are all different to a degree and a part of the problems with our medical system in general is the cookie cutter approach. True story. My mother-in-law didn't wear glasses much more than readers. She went to the doctor way back when and her glucose was high. She was immediately put on medicine to control her glucose. Her glucose remained low to very low for 20+ years of her latter life. When she needed glasses later in life my wife was going over her prescriptions and the optometrist as well as the ophthalmologist assured my wife by checking the eyes my mother-in-law did not have glucose issue and showed no signs of ever being diabetic. They consulted with a new doctor and weaned her off the medicine. She never had issue with the weaning or being off the medicine as her glucose stayed low to sometimes very low. Odds are she ate something before the blood test that day, her glucose spiked as normal and that was the number that was caught. The cookie cutter approach is to prescribe medicine. And to a point, I get it. The pills are prescribed because they work but seldom are pills the temporary solution while searching for the more permanent solution. In my mother-in-law's case she took medicine to unnecessarily control her blood glucose for 20+ years. Later, she passed with Dementia and Alzheimer's. I'm not a doctor, nor a researcher, but I want to think one played a significant role in the other. So, yes. Me on milk with my auto-immune disease is probably different than you on milk with your autoimmune disease. Hopefully the two us can work thru the issues and let the carnivore approach help us get to a better place.

I never really gave up milk but it was an off an on thing here and there. I felt like for me it played a part in some of the stalls. But the weight was falling and I like milk, so a glass here and there was not the end of the world. Last week I didn't have my glasses and grabbed what I thought was a 2% bottle and turned out to be a Nestle Quik. It tasted like melted ice cream and I am sure, probably straight sugar. I have had the bubble guts for going on a week. Not necessarily a resolution but I'm going dairy free for the next little while. If I had to choose a resolution it will be helping my wife with her 2nd attempt into the Carnivore diet. I think choosing to start just before the Holidays was not the best choice, but she wanted to start, and I was all for it. She is all geared up for January 2nd. Supporting her will be my resolution. I will have to check the resolution handbook to see if that counts. Scott

I guess some days it sucks to be the dog. Scott