Scott F.

Yep. Polar opposites in our house. My wife eats every kind and flavor of pickle there is out there. Me? Not so much. She does a baked chicken dish with a pickle brine of sorts so when I mentioned it with wings she was all about it. Post away. Scott

I have used mustard to fight off cramps and lots of people swear pickle juice works even better. I'd choose the cramps. Just saying. Scott

I do the same but use an air fryer. The 'leftovers' taste amazing and the rendered fat I use for cooking. You sort of lost me with pickles and sardines but now you are speaking my lingo. LOL The only problem I found with eating this fat, regardless of the amount, it tends to be a single serving. It is that good. Scott

That is pretty much your call. Most doctors will push the statins or other cholesterol type medicines. Mine will re-explain his point when I see him. My numbers are similar. My first blood test after six months on carnivore (strict-no carbs-no sugars) my LDL dropped from 187 to 152 and then three months later a slight bump up to 164. My panel did not include non-HDL nor Lipoprotein. I eat a lot of fat. I am pretty sure my fat to protein ratio is a bit high compared to most and in turn I expect my numbers to elevate some. At the same time the bloodwork is a snap-shot of one particular time and the numbers could vary either way the next day/next week. Based on how much weight I was losing (fat adapted) plus the amount of fats i was eating it would only be natural to have more cholesterol in my system at any given time. Tough call. I'm adamant about statins but I can see where medications may work for others. Scott

Welcome. Congrats on the switch. This is a good place to read and learn and share your experiences. I'm about 14 months in myself and have had some amazing 'health turnarounds' myself. I will check out the video as the night goes on. I'm paid to watch youtube videos related to carnivore and fasting as they relate to autoimmune disease. (Technically true and not true, as I am at work and watching videos to pass the time). Welcome. Scott

My wife says this sounds amazing as she is a big fan of pickles. Me, not so much. If ever there was a way to ruin a piece of chicken, pickles would be the way. LOL But we will be having (she) these within a few days. Thanks. LOL Scott

Congrats and welcome. This is a great place to read, learn and share your experiences. In a sense, there are no rules, just you. Once you figure out what works best for you and those become your rules. In a gist, stay hydrated which can include salts and electrolytes. From there it is more of an elimination diet. The positivity comes from as much what you will not be eating, from there, it is higher fats and moderate proteins. Getting your medical degree from the Youtube College of Medicine also helps. LOL Scott

I have been straight meats for the first 12-13 months of my 14-months on carnivore. last month I had BBQ chicken and the week before I ate a leftover steak that had steak sauce. I use salt liberally but hardly ever use pepper. I am sure the recipes will go over very well as variety/fighting the boredom of just meats is a big thing for a lot of people. The Carnivore Police might stop by to make sure you are following the "rules". LOL Welcome and look forward to something new. Scott

A pound of hamburger, three eggs and some cheddar cheese in there somewhere. A night shift quickie,

Advertising and marketing will make this the new health drink. Let's skip past the phosphoric acid that cuts the enamel off your teeth and get to the cane sugar that makes it "healthy". (I am just about sure when I stopped drinking Mountain Dew on May 8th of last year someone in the Pepsi corporate offices said, "we see a downward shift in sales in the southeastern region, what's going on?") I drank that many. Scott

Copied the following from Bon on another post (sugar diet thread)...... "This makes sense. Carbs can be utilized for energy almost immediately. This is why some people will be carnivore until it's time to hit the gym, and then they will load up on fruit or a sweet potato or something." I have not tried to time the protein drinks with the gym to see if I see if I can feel an increase in energy. Bob's comment clicked because there is a guy in the gym who does just that with sweet potatoes on Thursday nights before lifting heavy/high volume on Fridays. He is strict carnivore the other 6 days per week. I would imagine the protein drink could serve the same purpose. Sometimes it takes me some time to put 2 and 2 together. Scott

Yep. True. We were all spokes in the wheel. Scott

I was wondering as well. Scott

Yep. It is odd that it takes a very little bit of sugar to trigger the hunger response. The drink has 11 grams of sugar only drink about half at the time. Within that hour I am hungry. I have been using the extra appetite to get in more fatty red meat. The sugar is minimal, the weight gain is not all that bad and the returns in the gym have been quite evident. I am not sure how long I will give this a go. It is working out right now. The sugar can be a powerful thing to deal with and it only takes a minimal amount. Scott

Like most 'numbers' 125 may seem high to some and then others would do just about anything to see those numbers. I think 111 is the highest I have ever seen and that jump came after being on carnivore for a stretch. I think either Dr. berry or Dr. Chaffee (maybe both) has a video on the subject. Scott

Yep. Carnivore has surprised me in a lot of ways. I hardly eat in comparison to others and then with a handful of sugar and carbs it is like I found an appetite. Now, I may have a clearer picture of how I came out of the military around 190-200 and found myself north of 320 years later. I'm not much on calories in and calories out but as of late I can see where ounces in and ounces out can be a thing. LOL Another pleasant surprise form carnivore. LOL Scott

Agree. Red meat is as satiating as it gets. Even on a diet of straight red meat the addition of sugar and carbs trumps that satiation. At least I have found that is how it works for me. As for carnivore this may be some affirmation and some addiction.

The numbers posted here are pretty much normal and those numbers move throughout the day from the dawn effect to insulin spiking after meals/snacks. I never had a glucose level over 100 until carnivore. Once or twice I hit 110 to 111. Most days I'm in the mid to upper 80's and maybe the low 90's. When I am fasting, after the second day I have seen the mid 70's to low 80's for the remainder of the fast. I sort of know it is low when I get the slight metallic taste in my mouth and I have read that is a sign of getting deeper into ketosis. When I checked my ketone blood level was 3.4 (fairly deep into ketosis) I lost weight incredibly fast and most people thought I was sick again. I did look skinny on the neck and face and it didn't look like a healthy weight loss. I am sure there was some mean muscle mass loss but I don't think it was substantial. Water weight to start and then fat to follow. I started lifting to offset the potential for muscle mass loss in general, to off set sarcopenia, and to off-set the debilitating portion of my autoimmune disease. I landed on one meal per day (OMAD) and then increased the protein to try to build more muscle. I have gained muscle and strength over time. I'm having to be creative to get in enough protein (or at least the recommended amount of .7 to 1 gram per pound of lean body mass). Of all things carnivore, my biggest struggle is eating enough to gain muscle. I struggle with only eating a steak a day. Another 'everyone is unique' I suppose. Scott

I'm still a fan of dairy and drink some milk which puts a stall on any weight loss I experienced. If I were trying to gain weight dairy would be an excellent option for me. Gaining lean muscle mass is different and the milk would sort of offset that. Maybe one of the lactose free brands like Fair Life would work and maybe even use that to mix the protein powder. But even the milk (lactose) didn't spur my appetite like the 11 grams of sugar in the protein drink. Again, spot on information. Thanks. Scott

Thanks for the advice bit i think you missed the point. I went strict carnivore 14 months ago, lost 95lbs over that span and at the same time lost most of my appetite. I gravitated to one meal per day. I tried to eat more fat and more protein but I am gorging myself to do so. I am comfortably full at one 14-16oz. steak. I am not one that eat 2-3lbs in a day. One steak and I am good for 24+hours. I used whey isolate protein powder from Bulk Supplements. it is a mid-tier product balancing the ingredients and the cost. I ran out of powder and used a store-bought protein drink from Sharmrock Farms. I had eaten my steak earlier and within an hour of the protein drink I was hungry again. That is not longer normal for me. I experimented again a few days later and the result was the same. Without the protein drink one steak holds me for 24 hours or more. With the protein drink (and the accompanying sugar) I am hungry an hour or so afterwards and then again later that day. For me sugar/carbs are triggering hunger that requires more fat and protein than I would normally eat. My question, maybe somewhat rhetorical, is the affirmation that the carnivore diet is an elimination diet. What we are not eating carries far more value than what we are eating. Sugar/carbs trigger hunger and the more we eat, the more we want, and then the more we eat. The health issues decline from there. It is not that I don't understand how the liquid protein works or eating the whole foods or what is suppose to be more satiating. My point was that the carnivore diet is an elimination diet and even a small amount of carbs and sugar can trump the satiating meats (fats/proteins) we eat. Now if I were able to eat two and three pounds of fats/meats per day like a lot of people can I would not have stumbled upon this little nugget of information as I would have not experimented/subsidized with protein, powder or drunk. But since going carnivore I simply can't eat like I use to, nor like others. Anything more than 14-16oz and I have to force the food down. Thank you for the input. Your post and information were spot on just a tad off the target I was discussing. But spot on otherwise. Thanks. Scott

Like most, prior to carnivore I ate a dumpster diet. And within that dumpster diet I could eat five-gallon buckets at the time. And then do it again and again. After starting carnivore and gradually ending up on one meal per day (OMAD) I have found I can't eat at that volume anymore. I'm totally impressed with the amounts I hear others can eat. In the past I could eat a big steak, half my wife's steak with a loaded potato, several glasses of sweet tea and then dessert. Follow that with a snack before I went to bed. Now it is just about all I can do to eat the large steak. And with that one steak I am good for at least 24 hours. No hunger whatsoever. Recently in an attempt to hit a protein target I started with protein powder and then an occasional pre-mixed protein drink. The pre-mixed drink got 50 grams within the day, but it had 11 grams of sugar and carbs (but I forget how many). Soon after putting two and two together I found within an hour of drinking the protein/sugar infused drink I was actually hungry. I tried to offset it with drinking water to proof it was hunger and indeed, it was hunger. So, I ate. I repeated it a few days/week later and it was the same. In the past three to four weeks the only thing that has changed is the addition of 11 grams of sugar maybe twice per week. My appetite has increased drastically to the point I have gained 12 pounds this month. The intent was to get improvements in the gym and the last month or so I have seen a lot of progress, both in the mirror and counting plates. Since carnivore is more of an elimination diet than it is a fats/protein diet I am starting to wonder about the 'meat is satiating' references. Before carnivore I could eat twice as much meat with all the other stuff and since eliminating sugar one big steak is my limit. As I have re-introduced some sugar/carbs my appetite has drastically increased. Which one is carrying the biggest stick? Is it the satiating meat or the triggers from sugars/carbs. My "individual/just me" experiment indicates sugar/carbs are more powerful to in the body, and maybe the mind than fats and proteins. Scott

Try floating for a few hours then sinking under the water for six months. That makes floating not seem so bad. I pulled out of Norfolk once, submerged and surfaced 63 days later to enter the Strait of Gibraltar. Scott

Welcome. Just over 14 months for me. I had the loose stools in the beginning as I went cold turkey/hard switch. It eased up within a few weeks to a month. Like Geezy, mine will get loos when I up the fat content and probably surpass whatever "my number" for fat happens to be. I'm guessing that is a floating number as it will factor with the protein for a ratio. For the last few months, I have been somewhat forcing myself to eat close to 200 grams of protein. When I eat a lot my stools are solid and finished off sort of loose. Then it is 4-5 days before I go again. I'd check out the videos by Dr. Chaffee and Dr. Berry on the subject and their advice on using Magnesium as a supplement. I used it early on and I think it worked. Best of luck. Scott

Yep. I left the east coast on a submarine, got to the Mediterranean, small boat transfer to a LPH, a helo-transfer to a carrier and then a puddle jumping plane to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and then to Kuwait. I was there to repair an oxygen generator in a make-shift hospital/aid station. Some branches do not have the same sense of humor. When I arrived I was handed and M-16 rifle and I said, "don't need that dude, I brought my own screwdrivers". It went over like a lead balloon. But yep. Go Navy. Scott

4 boiled eggs, left over pork BBQ and maybe six or eight chicken tenders. Sort of a 'clean the fridge-hodge podge' for work today. Scott