Scott F.

Congrats. Any move forward is a move forward, regardless of size. Scott

Without the nicotine and caffeine your six hours may increase, maybe not a full 1.5 to 2 hours you are looking for, but I would guess it would be an increase. Our sleep is nearly identical. I am a lifelong shift worker. I always have slept from around 9 to around 3AM when sleeping at night. If I am sleeping the daytime (which I sleep better during the day) I sleep from 9AM til about 4PM. The difference for on carnivore is that when I wake, I am up. There is no rolling over and going back to sleep. Even my days off start about 4AM. I am one of those "weirdos" in the gym at 4:30AM. My sleep is solid and I awake feeling well rested. I am probably in that 6-hour range as well. As far as the pizza and the nine hours, that is well beyond me. Other than the stomach yelling at the brain saying, "I'm going to be here awhile with this extra stuff-keep him down for a couple extra hours". I too drink milk. I don't drink a gallon a day and don't drink it every day but three to four times per week. When I was losing weight (95lbs over 12-13 months or so) anytime I drank milk it was like an automatic stall. One glass of milk seemed to stop my weight loss in its tracks. Once I started hovering around 95lbs lost I picked back up on the milk. Good luck. Hopefully you can find those other two hours of sleep. Scott

Agreed. The results vary from person-to-person and everything is dependent upon the individual. I'm one of the lucky ones I guess. The only two negatives I had with carnivore is a couple bouts with really loose stools and with all the weight I lost my new boots didn't fit anymore. Other than those two things I have had all positives. I'm a big fan of the longer fasts. I made some strides with my NMO/SD once I started fasting longer than OMAD. Once I got into the 72-96 hour range the issues disappeared altogether and my bloodwork showed the same. So, I'm not pushing or suggesting longer fasting but I do think they are more effective, as well as easier, than most think. Good luck. Hope you figure out how to get where to want to be. Scott

Wish you the best. Hopefully you can figure out what works for you. Maybe some longer fasts? The combination of carnivore, fasting and lifting (not sure which one, which two or maybe all three) has moved my autoimmune blood numbers back into range and I believe my NMO/SD is no more. Again, best of luck. Thoughts and prayers. Scott

Got it. Hopefully you can beat the addiction and get them totally eliminated. Are they replaceable with a meat type snack? Can you make some of the carnivore dishes that mimic the carbs. I made a carnivore pizza and used chicken and eggs for the crust. (youtube) It turned out great. I am sure my Mountain Dew and Little Debbie cakes were addictions as it was 4-5-6 of each a day. I made hamburger patties/bacon/left over meats in a bowl in the fridge in case the 'snack monster' grabbed me. I used them sparingly, but so infrequently I stopped. Somewhere there is a fine line between habit and addiction. Maybe mine were closer to habits. Scott

I'm the guiltiest but carnivore is automatically associated with weight loss and tons of people (like me) see it as another weight loss hack. If the lead off was the health benefits that come from carnivore and not just health benefits from just losing weight, but carnivore itself, it would move even faster into the mainstream. I still find myself leading off with "I'm on carnivore and lost........" when I should be talking about "I'm on carnivore and I have not taken medicine for NMO/SD for pain and inflammation since June of 24. My blood sugar is around 80 every day and my energy levels are constant throughout the day even as the work load increases, the ability to continue remains". But, it is the weight loss that rings the loudest. Scott

Welcome. Ditching one addiction is hard enough but ditching multiple is a huge undertaking. Go slow if you need to do do and small wins are much better than any loss. Good luck.

If the carbs are minimal can you switch to a different carb to see if your body reacts differently? Totally different but prior to carnivore I used seed oils for everything. Since going away from them I have stool issues with anything cooked in those oils. The mount from one meat cooked in seed oil is minimal at best but after my “cleanse” I can’t handle them. Maybe switching carbs would help? Best of luck.

Welcome. And welcome back to eating what I see as properly. It should be a bit easier this go around because you know the positive results out there. A first timer has to wonder in all the hooplah just a ploy to get you to buy something or watch something for the clicks. I am strict carnivore, or so they say. Meat, salt and water and quite a bit of butter. This has worked really well for me. Good luck as you continue. And again, welcome. Scott

I just completed a 96 hour fast. I did a dry fast from Monday night to Wednesday night, drank some water with some salt, then continued to Friday night with 48 more hours of a water fast. Energy levels stayed way up throughout the week. This is the first time fasting while working day shift. On Wednesday I did feel a little muscle fatigue/muscular endurance issues as I had to go from the first floor to the fourth floor and roof four or five time in an hour. I am sure being a little dehydrated played a part in that, having 56 birthdays probably contributed as well. I sat down to fill out some work orders and after that energy was solid the rest of the day. Once I started rehydrating on Wednesday the Thursday and Friday energy levels were really high. The days were hectic and fast paced at work but the energy levels remained, maybe somewhere between really high and the steady energy I have gained from carnivore. I am a little loose in the caboose after breaking the fast, again. But all in all, it went well. My bloodwork is coming up in a couple of weeks and I am coupling that with the way I feel and have felt the last year with no NMO/SD day symptoms/issues. I am leaning toward no longer taking the infusions every six months. That is six to eight hours I can find something else to do and $3500-$3900 I can buy more meats. LOL I credit my new found health to the carnivore lifestyle (I called it a carnivore diet for well over a year but I think now at 18-19 months it is a lifestyle now), fasting and working out. Just like anyone else, I might kick over graveyard dead at any time as nothing is promised, but these three things have me felling better than I have in 30+ years and in better health to boot. For me it is a really good combination. Scott

I'm as cheap as all get out. Last week I was pouting like someone stole my puppy as I was checking out prices at my local market. Then mumbling/complaining to myself the whole time I was filling my basket. Then complained all the way home and the only thing that offset the complaints was the amazing ribeye that came off the grill. The repeat. LOL I can remember watching the weather for rain and every day it didn't rain was one more bale we had to buy the following winter. (or thereabouts) A pasture with good grass is worth its weight in gold. I know Yellowstone was way over the top but I remember Kevin Costner saying 'we can only hope to break even so we can do it again next year' (in so many words). That's how we were for a lot of years. We would get three or four 'extras' and selling them bridged a lot of financial gaps. Most of the time the ones sold was as much we didn't have to feed them thru the winter as it was the price of the sale. Great post. I hadn't thought like this in a very long time. Sometimes I miss it. Scott

Great topic. I watched a video today that says creatine and HMB is a great combination to help with the same. The reviews are mixed and it pretty much lands that it is not as effective for experienced/advance type lifters, regardless of age. The flip side being it shows great improvements in strength by older people who don't lift regularly or who are just starting resistance type training. As always, I will dig a little deeper with this video. Scott

I think that is why it has grown on me. It is easy quick and convenient. Scott

We cook on wood most of the time. The pellet grill has grown on my but I'm still a wood guy at heart. We do chuck roasts and London broils similar to brisket and they turn out super. We have two London broils going for Football Sunday in the cabin. Nothing like wood cooked food. Scott

Sort of the same boat with my primary doctor. And it is sort of ironic. "I'm super happy with your positive results without medicine but I would still like you to try a statin on non-stating for cholesterol". My Neurologist is totally impressed with my results but not ready to use carnivore as a recommendation or a prescription for other patients similar to me. But he did say he wished a lot of his patients would contact me and try my path for their health. Maybe somewhat ironic too, the difference being he suggests I continue what I am doing. It is working and working well. Scott

WOW! on the 11 lbs in a week. I did 8 once but that included a fast as well but 11 is super impressive. I don't think there is any cookie-cutter advice on satiety and when someone will be hungry. We are different and our daily outputs are different. Hunger can come at just about anytime for anyone. What helped me during the early months was drinking water. If I felt the least bit hungry I would drink some water. Most of the time the hunger subsided with water. If the hunger persisted after the water I would eat. Those times varied and in time the hunger stretched to 24-30 hours. I didn't really snack after I started carnivore. Maybe the water counts? not sure. LOL. I would say a spoon of peanut butter is not going to be the end of the world as long as it does not trigger the cravings for more carbs/sugars. Almost like a gateway drug. I have read where people cook hamburger patties and leave them in the refrigerator for snacking purposes. Great progress. Good luck as you continue. Scott

I use Quest Diagnostics. As far as bloodwork I get tested every three months between work and my Neurologist. I see him every six months and work requires a physical every six months. For the longest they landed about three months apart. I would just ask the Neurologist to add the lipid panel and testosterone. When my immune system numbers started to improved, I wanted to see them more regularly, so I contacted Quest Diagnostics for my ImG and ImA numbers. It was pretty simple. We have two in a couple of WalMarts near me so access was easy enough. Good luck and continued successes. Scott

Activity level also plays a role. There is more fat in the blood at any given time but it is moving and being used for energy. Increase the activity with things as basic as walking and those numbers can adjust some but within the numbers there is a lot more efficiency of fat intake/fat used/fat stored. Scott

Me too, for the most part. I have adjusted my meal plan as my wife does not do carnivore so I eat a lot of chicken, pork and fish. I spent the last couple months overeating trying to hit protein targets. Since carnivore it is hard for me to eat a large meal. When I eat normal carnivore I eat every 24-36 hours and am simply not hungry in between. And when I do eat the amount is minimal in comparison to others. One 14-16oz ribeye and I am done. I am envious of those who eat 2+ pounds of meats at a sitting. Envious as well as impressed. Next week I will roll back into a month of red meat only for 30-40 days or so as this is old school medicine for my autoimmune disease that I think I no longer have. LOL Scott

I was not a fan of my son's pellet smoker when he first got it but it grew on me and now is sort of a got to for butts/roasts etc. Anything bigger it is the pig cooker and the fire barrel. I also will throw something extra on the grill when cooking to have for the following couple-three days. It helps me out a lot on the busy days between shift work and rushing home to feed all the animals in the dark. Scott

Solid plan. Scott

And you are spot on. I do the same. On the weeks/months when I am lifting more weight/more volume I do 6+ just about every day. When I am on my normal schedule it is 3 or so. About to do three in just a minute. My fast got broken up by a surprise dinner at work so I will regroup on that front, but that leads me to the egg carton this morning. Scott

I broke the dry fast at 48 hours. Legs starting to feel more normal. I had planned to go another 48 of water fasting but my shift surprised me with a steak dinner tonight. I had to break the fast with a nice sized T-Bone. Thankful for the group I have working with me. Scott

I have learned a ton since switching to carnivore. I probably have read more in the last year than in the previous 25 years (sad commentary, I know). Maybe the thing I have found most interesting is that we are all individuals. No two people respond the same to the same approach to eating. I had no idea carnivore had health benefits other than weight loss when I first started so after the pounds starting to fall everything else was like the bonus plan. I have been lucky enough (knocking on wood) as I have only seen the positives, and a lot of them, since switching. Maybe the only thing I considered a drawback was I paid $$$ for a pair of boots, dropped just about 100lbs and then the boots no longer fit. I was like, who loses weight in their feet? I'm cheap too, so it is now two pair of socks with those boots. But I have been amazed by the individuality when doing really similar things. Scott

Around 45-46 hours deep into my first dry fast. I am starting to feel it now in my legs. Feet a bit tingly and my thighs/quads feel rubbery/spongey. Thus far I haven't been hungry and really have not felt much different than a water fast. Urine has not really changed color, maybe a shade darker. I think I am going to drink water tonight at the 48 hour mark and then decide if I end it at 72 or 96 tomorrow. With the lifting and eating the extra protein I had gained from 211 to 222 over the last month or so. I lost about 7 1/2 pounds in 48 hours on this fast so far. Mostly water as I have been to the bathroom a lot, at least more than usual. Feeling the energy this time too just on somewhat wobbly legs, if that makes any sense at all. Still working on breaking the fast but I guess I will eventually get there. Big fan of the fast, even bigger fan of the fast being coupled with carnivore. Scott