Scott F.

I never totally gave up milk (some dairy) except for in the very beginning of switching to carnivore. I learned about the diet on one evening and started a strict carnivore approach the next morning. So much so, I didn't realize that the majority of the salt in my diet was coming from the processed crap I was eating. I got off on both hydration and electrolytes the first week or so. The first videos I watched trying to learn a little more were somewhere between "anti-milk to every so often but not recommended". I ditched the milk altogether for a stretch. Then over time I started back with a glass here and a glass there. For me, if I were losing weight between a 1/2 to 1 pound per day all it would take was a glass or two of milk and I was immediately in a "stall". Back when weight loss was the only real goal I had with carnivore I spaced the milk out when I did drink a glass. One glass I would get a lull in the weight loss and a second glass during that lull put the brakes on any weight loss, and at times adding a pound or so back. Fast forward to trying to build muscle while still on the carnivore diet I started drinking more milk. I use it to mix protein powder to get the protein grams per pound up. I'm still strict on what I eat with zero fruits and zero vegetables and the sugar I eat is limited to the milk and the protein supplements. I sort of semi-cycle on and off the protein supplements, somewhere around monthly. The milk goes along with that. I have added some muscle and lost a lot of fat but still have some visceral fat I would like to lose but feel like I am in a pretty good spot. In early '24 I was over 320 and have been as low as 210 and now bounce around between 215 and 221. (with milk and protein). The monthly fasting drops my weight several pounds close to the 210 mark and then I eat, supplement and drink milk back to >215. Some muscle and some fat. I feel like milk is working for me. Scott

CARNIVORE PARADOX: WHY HUMANS CANNOT BE CARNIVORE LIFE LONG

Keep going. In the first month you are still adjusting. Increasing the proteins in your diet and removing the carbs probably moved you into ketosis. Mine made a jump in the early months but fell back to normal. Then recently it pushed just outside the normal limit but I have been eating a lot of protein as of late. I don't do organ meats and I make sure I hydrate throughout the day. When I eat normal amounts of protein and hydrate my number drops back. Not sure if this helps but I have seen my uric number inch up and down over the last 18-19 months. Scott

I'm neither diabetic nor do I have kidney related issues. Hopefully Bob sees this and responds. Kidney issues are in his wheelhouse. Several members of the board have discussed the positive effects of the carnivore way of eating. Hopefully they chime in as well. Scott

Welcome. Good luck with their schooling. Scott

Let's start off with saying in August of 2018 I was simply fat, dumb and happy. I was in the 320's, never really had blood sugar nor blood pressure issues but the cholesterol had been ever increasing thru my upper forties. Around the time I turned 49 the doctor convinced me to give the statins a try, I forget which one, but I picked up the prescription. About the third day I started to feel funny, and by the fourth to the fifth day I had every side effect listed. When I googled the medicine it listed the five more common side effects and I had all five by day five. I stopped taking them that day but the symptoms continued, and some even worsened. I fought the symptoms for a month or more. The doctor offered another version of the statin, maybe another name brand, but I declined. By mid-September I had cramps behind my eyes and pains in my neck and spine that would drive me to my knees. On Monday morning, Labor Day 2018, I woke up as blind as a bat. Zero sight. Everything was as the same color as a computer screen when turned off. I freaked out. The pain in my neck/spine was crippling. On the way to the emergency room some of sight returned in my left eye almost like a curtain was being peeled back. By noon I could see again but the pain was even more intense. Over the next three months it was CAT scan after CAT scan, blood draw after blood draw, multiple MRI's, a couple EMG's, a lumbar puncture (spinal tap), some visual evoke type tests, some cognizance exams, probably in stroke protocol 10-15 times when the left side showed weakness or no mobility. In late December I was diagnosed with Neuromyelitis Optica Spectrum Disorder. During the explanations of the disease the neurologist said something triggered the autoimmune response and your body reacted. By then I was well onto my Google Medical degree and was near graduating from the Youtube College of Medicine and based on my newfound medical expertise (LOL) my trigger was the statins. I have no medical background to say that was the case and it could have been a complete coincidence; I simply could not prove it one way or the other. But in my brain (and in my heart) it was the statins. From that point til now, I doubt statins will ever be an option. Scott

Congrats. Sometimes the 'eating Holidays' can be a challenge (Thanksgiving and Christmas). Sounds like you nailed this one. Congrats. Happy Holidays. Scott

As our families have grown and expanded there is just not enough time in one day. Here is our plan and Thanksgiving has turned into a 3-4 day event. Some plans changed and my son and daughter-in-law will be here for Thanksgiving. A really close friend's mom passed a few months ago and he and his sister are doing separate things this year. My mom's lunch is still on tap for today so we will: Eat with my mom at lunch. Come home and we are doing a low-country boil tonight with my wife, my son, his wife and our new grandchild (one month yesterday) after watching football all day to day in the cabin. Tomorrow night my buddy, his wife, kids and grandkid are coming over to the cabin with us and my mom for another 'traditional turkey led Thanksgiving'. Then on Saturday night my son and his friends do a 'Friendsgiving'. That can be anything from Thanksgiving leftovers as well as the two smoked pork shoulders he is prepping. Then Sunday will be some sort of pork approach for Football Sunday in the cabin. I will go carnivore weaving thru the dishes to get to the meats. Hectic, but enjoyable. Scott

I'm good with it. It just was a bigger jump on total than I thought over the 4-5-6-month span. I felt like it would move up some, just not as much as it did. I have been eating a lot as of late. When I brought in the protein drinks I think that little bit of sugar not only increased my appetite at mealtime it also brought back some cravings during the day. Some days I would snack on left over meats and other days I'd eat a stab of butter. I now think butteris an amazing snack, almost too good. LOL I feel good and I am sure if I targeted or actively pursued a lower number I could adjust what I am eating get there in time. I have ditched the protein drinks for now and will let things sort of settle out. Although I don't see anything wrong with pursuing a protein target for muscle gain I do see where it does not fit as naturally as 'eat when hungry-eat til full' approach. That little bit of sugar manipulates/stokes the hunger/appetite. Scott

Ours has changed as well. My grandma had five children and all their children and grandchildren managed to pack into a 12-1300 square foot house. She cooked half the night and half the day. Everyone brought dishes, the women folk hit the kitchen to pitch in and the men folk sat around 'sneak drinking' waiting for football. My wife's family much the same. Her mother and her older sister were from way back, right off the farm. My wife was the first kid in their family to go off to college. If you picked your tea glass up and the ice 'almost rattled' they would be there to top off your glass. I remember teasing my wife about that and how college had ruined her. I rattled my glass to let her know it was empty, and she said if I were waiting on her for the re-fill I would eventually perish to death. Now our son is married with his first child, and everyone is doing things with branches of the families but neither family altogether like days gone by. I'm 56, not 86 or 96, but things sure have changed. My wife's banana pudding is world class. My mom's sweet potato pie is top notch. My great aunt's country ham with red eye gravy is superb. My grandma's fresh hams were awesome (and this is when their cousins were still oinking in the bottom). It is not hard to see how I topped out in the 320's. LOL Scott

Happy Holidays. Good luck in the next 30 days or so. Hopefully your numbers fall to your liking. Scott

Congrats. Scott

The last six months I have tried to eat to hit a protein target. Still strict carnivore (18-19 months) but eating pretty much more than I want each day to have enough protein for muscle growth. The proteins went up, and I didn't hit the fat targets, so I had some stiff and hard stools. I increased the fat to catch up to the proteins and help with the stools as well. In turn, so my diet has not been 'eat when hungry-eat til full' for the last six months or so. After six to 12 months on carnivore my cholesterol dropped a few points but took a significant bounce up at the 18-month mark. I was expecting an increase with the sheer amount of food I was eating but I didn't expect the numbers to jump this much. May thru November 2024 May 2025 November 2025 Total Cholesterol 239 212 274 LDL 185 150 164 HDL 37 39 55 Tri-G 49 43 41 My total weight loss of carnivore has been 95-96lbs and in the last couple months I gained 12-15 pounds bouncing around the 215-mark for the most part. The weight gain I expected as the lifting has become more and more a part of my day to day. I am stronger now than I can even remember (never was much on lifting) and the energy levels are still that constant/ability to keep going since early on with carnivore. I feel just as good now as I did six months ago. I had a great visit with my neurologist yesterday. (He is moving back home to Alabama so I quipped that carnivore was going to run him out of business. He replied, "I hope so".) He told me of all his NMO patients I have made the biggest turnaround and went from ho-hum numbers 18 months ago til now. All my markers are within limit is with the exception of one. I started carnivore 18 months ago, so I let people draw their own conclusions. (LOL, preaching to the choir in a forum such as this). My blood sugar crept up a little. My day-to-day over the last six months moved from the low 80's to touching the low 90's every now and then. Yesterday it was 94. Blood pressure was 100/58 before the infusion and 98/54 afterwards (laying in a recliner for five hours). Even with the cholesterol making a jump this is how I judge my health. When I first started the infusions I was 310+lbs and was on a dumpster diet. After each infusion I would be wiped completely out. The 45-minute ride home felt like hours. I hit the recliner for a stretch then to bed really early. restless sleep all night and pretty much flat the next day. Fast forward from 18 months ago, yesterday I saw the Neurologist at 8AM, started the infusion at 9AM (use to be six hours at 310 pounds but now 5 hours at 220) and I was home by 3PM. The ride home was a simple ride home and I ate bacon, sausage and eggs mid-afternoon. I went outside and busted/split just about a Toyota truck full of red oak from two trees we had taken down last week. Fed all the animals as it got dark and back in the house. I went to bed at 9 and now I am up at my normal 3AM time frame. I checked out the forum and now off to the gym to be one of those 4AM weirdos (LOL). I'm going to call that progress, maybe with a chunk more of fat running free in my bloodstream, but over the last 18 months, progress the same. I don't think we make progress over months/years without stacking up a bunch of day-to-day wins. Hope all is well with you and yours. Scott

Agreed. Since going to carnivore I have made some huge strides health wise but all those strides were built upon small victories, the day to day stuff. I am a fan of the 'continual improvement' approach. I think we are all trying to dial it in at some point. Scott

Smart man. Scott

I read some passages a few weeks ago. I enjoy his videos. Straight to the point. Scott

In sort of the same boat. First month in '24 I lost pretty much a pound a day for a month. Took me a few weeks to figure out milk created a stall but steadily lost weight until most people thought I was sick again like 2018 and just not telling. If I just ate when I was hungry it would be every 30 hours or so (even longer at times) but I have tried to hit my protein per pound requirements for building muscle, and it is very hard. After carnivore I have not had the appetite to hit those protein targets consistently. I have had considerable strength gains int he gym for a 56-year-old, but the size gains are noticeable but not what i would expect. I could stand to lose a few more pounds, and if I just ate when I was hungry, I am sure they would fall right off. I am hanging around 90-95 pounds lost since May '24. I am not complaining about my appetite as much as I am impressed by the amounts I hear others are able to eat. 2lbs of red meat for me is over two days of food and people are eating that in a sitting. Impressed and a bit jealous as well. LOL All in all, I'm in a good place. Scott

I am not sure how often I feel alone but I do understand the being alone with carnivore. And it is the little things that sort of give me a poke, things that never meant anything before. I cook for our shift usually once a month or to celebrate an employee's birthday. It feels like we are here together more than we are at home so we do some celebrating/eating together as often as we can. Everyone knows I eat carnivore, and it is a running joke amongst a lot of people. Any problem we have, mechanical, or chemistry, or process or anything, I explain if they were on the carnivore diet things would be much better in the plant. I even told my wife that if she went on the carnivore diet full time the check engine light would go off in her Jeep. I get a kick out of it. Babbling. Three times in the last two weeks we had breakroom celebrations. Dunkin donuts one morning, cupcakes another day and birthday cake another. I go in and do my spiel as a Supervisor, watch people eat and laugh. Sort of childish on my part but it does remind me we are in an extreme minority, although ever growing. So, it turn, I wrote on the communication board, "Sugar is the most oppressive chemical compound in the world, and yet it is still legal. Write that down". I then sign my name. I sort of get the being alone with carnivore. But at the same time, none of those things will ever taste as good as I feel. (and today was leg day at 4:30 in the morning before starting a 12 hour shift). LOL Good luck. Hopefully things brighten a bit. But as you stated, you have your WHY? and the WHY can be a very powerful tool. Scott

I will check it out later. I was a boring eater prior to carnivore so I could eat the same thing every day and not have issues/complaints. The only time I got away from 'boring meat' was when we made the carnivore pizza. It turned out really nice and I enjoyed it a lot. As said before, I have become a big fan of fasting. I had some struggles coming off my first dry fast. I went 48 hours dry fasting and followed it up with 48 hours of water fasting. I felt pretty good toward the end but not near as good as when I do a regular water fast. I ate on Friday and on Saturday I was absolutely flat, flat all day. babbling, but off the top of my head th egg drop soup sounds like something that would help me ease out of the fast. Gonna check it out. Scott

I'm the same. It seems like I am constantly dialing. I have not had a vegetable since May of '24, tried BBQ sauces three or four times and the protein drinks I use here and there have a few grams of sugar. In that dialing I found that, for me, just a few grams of sugar boosts my appetite. If I drink the protein shake I can eat twice per day for a couple three days in a row and then that morphs back to once per day. If I waited til I was actually hungry it would be closer to 30-36 hours between meals. Ilike Kay and Chaffee, Berry and Baker as well. I also watch the Dr. Tony Hampton videos as well. Scott

I held on to my flip phone with nothing but text and calls, and didn't so texting for the longest. Once I get past email and youtube my tech skills fade fast. Good luck. Scott

Welcome. I have read about long term bouts with oxalate dumping but only experienced a short bout, and not all that sure it was actually dumping. I was about six months into carnivore, maybe fall of '24, and I had some dry skin and patch itch around my waist and love handles. it was hit and miss over several weeks. Just as it was noticeable it would go away. If I had a vegetable crutch it was green beans/snap beans. I could eat them by the five-gallon bucket (and some of plates back then probably looked like a five-gallon bucket. I didn't really do anything other than continue with carnivore. If it were oxalate dumping it sort of passed on its own. I have an autoimmune disease and had some skin issues with that and I could bever really tell if it were one or the other. Welcome. (and hit the search engine as there was a pretty long thread on the subject sometime back. It might be something more helpful than me in those exchanges). Scott

In the past 18-19 months I have moved my fat to protein ratios all over the place. I have had a couple dilemmas along the way. The biggest being, I can't simply eat 2lbs of meat in a day. it is a struggle. If i eat a 14-16oz steak or that much fatty meat it is difficult to get the rest in for the day. I am healthier from an autoimmune disease and lost a bunch of weight so I can't really complain about not being able to eat to his a numbered target. The last six or seven months I have/had focused on hitting a gram of protein per lb of lean body mass to build muscle. I am around 215 now and I am guessing I could stand to lose another 15-20lbs. I targeted 200 grams of protein in a day and I found that to be difficult. For a stretch I concentrated too much on protein and let the fat content slip to hit the target/offset the lack of hunger or being able to eat enough. I gained some weight, didn't feel as well and had some stool issues with the high protein/lower fat approach. Also, I'm very cheap and when I see the marked down meats in the grocery store I pick them up regardless of fat content. On the leaner cuts of meat I eat butter to get my fat content back up closer to a 70/30 ratio. What I have learned for me is to pretty much ditch the numbers and measurements. I sort of eyeball the meats and the fattier the better. If it is a leaner cut, I add a few chunks of butter. With trying to build a little muscle at 56, I am coming up protein short. I compensate with protein shakes on occasion. Maybe the answer is that you have to figure those things out as an individual. I doubt my numbers are your numbers. I am strict carnivore but the protein shake falls outside most 'boundaries' but for the last few months I feel like it is working. Maybe you can use butter as a fat source and maybe you can handle it a bit better than tallow/rendered fat. Maybe even a combination of the two. Good luck. Hopefully you can figure out your plan. Scott

Congrats on the five days. Scott

Hopefully I can be off on a Monday night soon and stop by. Been over a month now. Hope all is well. I will more than likely rewatch Tuesday morning. Scott