Scott F.

I have read where it can happen in weeks and sometimes months. It depends on how heavy the diet was prior to the change, and how abrupt the change is from say, Standard American Diet to Carnivore. I had some redness along my lower back about 2-3 months in and I can't say it was oxalate dumping or just something that simply irritated my skin. I dove in headfirst from SAD to carnivore in one day. I didn't cheat or have cheat days, and have not had bread, fruits or vegetables in pushing 13 months. My change was 'abrupt' and if I dumped oxalates I didn't recognize it as a thing til much later. It could be. Welcome to the board and welcome to this way of eating. Maybe one of the more experienced carnivores will have more insight. Scott

Why You DON'T Want to Stay In Ketosis 24/7 | Prof. Bart Kay Another one. This one is more what I was trying to say but after re-reading my post it sounds like I'm n ketosis all the time. I didn't go into enough detail. This video does a much better job of explaining where I was headed. Scott

Professor Bart Kay - Fat consumption on a Carnivore Diet - YouTube This is a pretty good video that touches on some of the topics in this thread. Scott

I'm guessing since you found it on the internet it has to be true. Scott

Welcome. And welcome back to this way of eating. Ketosis and ketones and the 'depth' at which you get into ketosis can have several variables. I am a strict carnivore eater, but I do drink a glass of milk here and there. I only check my ketone levels when I am fasting and have only done it a few times on a normal non-fasting day. On a normal day I am also in the .7 to .9. After 48 hours of fasting, I was at 2.0 and at 72 hours I was at 3.4, which is fairly deep. A daily of .7 or so is pretty good. As complex as the body can be, it will take the easy route when it is available. Even if you are zero carb and zero sugars your body still needs sugar. When your fat content gets low or is not in the higher fat/moderate protein model your body will turn to the protein, use a process called gluconeogenesis, and convert that protein to sugar, which is a good thing. The issue is that if it chooses the protein due to its abundance and the "absence" of fat (not enough fat) there will be excess sugars. Those excess sugars can off-set depth of ketosis. If you are in ketosis at all your fat to protein ratio is close. If you fast to whereas your body fat is the only source of fuel, you will travel deeper into ketosis. Deeper runs into ketosis requires a high fat/moderate protein diet going in, and then some longer fasts for whatever period works for you. Good luck. Scott

That will be based on you. I prefer to eat after going to the gym. I go really early in the morning, come home for a walk and then eat later in the morning, closer to noon. I'm not sure eating before or after will change being sore. I have found that keeping my fat content up helps me with energy and being fat adaptive the protein is there for repair and recovery, at least most of it. The energy helps me push thru and I don't think I feel as sore as I remember from way back when (and maybe doing less work in the gym way back when). Interesting topic. Scott

Orweller is spot. You can actually thrive on burgers and eggs. Sort of combing an answer to several of your questions but with burgers, the fat content is there but more of the time it is cooked away. If you grill a lot of the fat is the drippings than land below. If you fry then you have the grease in the pan. That fat in the pan can be the different between making carnivore work and not. We had burgers last night off the grill. The best tasting part of the meal and the most important part to a carnivore landed in the fire. When eating burger I make it a point to eat three or for slices of butter-sometimes a 1/4 stick, maybe even more at times. I can only speak for me, but I have found that my fat content is the absolute key for me one carnivore. I experimented with leaner meats in attempt to "be carnivore" yet be in line with 'traditional medicine' and its views on heart health and cholesterol. My numbers and my weight all went in the opposite direction of my goals. It took a me minute or two to figure that out. Then in an attempt to hit a protein goal for muscle growth I allowed the fat content to drop as I struggled to eat the amount required to get to 1 gram per pound of ideal body weight. When I choked down enough protein to hit the target the fat content got lost in the shuffle. I gained weight, maybe some muscle as I am lifting consistently with volume and intensity, but mostly body fat. As strange as it sounds to most, on the carnivore diet you have to eat the fat in order to lose the fat. If you are stalling or not pulling down to your ideal weight (or relatively close) I would think the fat content is low. Your body is making the sugar it needs from your protein intake, and then without the fat, it is using the protein to make some more sugar, and the equals the stall and the weight gain. Best of luck. I hadn't heard Sao Paulo in years. I served in the Navy with a guy from Sao Paulo in the 80's and then in the late 90's I imported a Fila Brasiliero from there. Not a name you hear everyday. Good luck. Burger and eggs will do you just fine. Scott

My son does a much better job than me. He is into the details. I'm more of toss it up on the grill and let's eat. When he cooks chicken thighs he will spend 45 minutes to an hour, or more, pulling the kin off, trimming them to where all the exact same size and then putting the skin back on to be cooked. He practices at home before he goes into one of the competitions. I struggle to see the point all the pre-work. Again, get it up on the grill and let's eat. Scott

Did you make the carnivore bread? Interested. Scott

I hadn't made these in a while. They turned out pretty good in the lard but the last time was in tallow. I'm leaning toward the lard. They came off the smoker and into the deep fat fryer and a handful of them came out of the fryer and dropped into a pan of BBQ sauce. I am not much on sauce anymore but they turned out really good. Scott

Smoked the ribs on the pellet grill and then dropped them in the deep fryer. Some of them right off the grease and into a a BBQ sauce. I'm not much on the sauce anymore but I did eat one and it was pretty good.

So today we are doing ribs on the smoker followed by a quick deep fry. As always, there is a bump in the road. I bought beef suet and fat last week to make more tallow. I got a call from work and time got away from me. I ended up feeding it to the dogs. Fast forward, I go for the tallow and it is not enough to do these ribs. I go to the grocery store to buy some lard. There are no tubs-1/2 gallon buckets. Just these very small packages. I usually shop in the Hispanic section and they no tubs of lard. I asked the store worker if they had any and she said they no longer carried the large tubs of lard or the tallow. She said they were discontinued as the store was trying to make room for the 'healthier' oils like Canola, Corn, and Peanut oil. I probably missed a great opportunity to educate but I pretty much left it at, "You may want to dive into that thought process a little deeper, as these oils are in the top two or three of the absolute worst things for your health that is sold in this store". And of course, she looked at me like I was some alien that had just fallen out of the sky. Anyway, a quick funny before I crawl back up under this Blazer and probably start using words that will offend most. This gas tank has put the beat down on me the last three or four days. Scott

As we roll thru the Holiday weekend, I'm especially thankful for the young men and women who didn't come home. I also try to remember the families of those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Understanding this is Memorial Day, I still like to give thanks for those who have served, those who are currently serving, and all of those families as well. Hoo-rah. Scott

We are going with pork ribs on the smoker with a slight twist. Just as they are done and come off the smoker I slice them and drop them into the deep fryer in lard. Just for a few seconds. For the sauce people they come right out of the grease and into the sauce pan. I pass on the sauce and just enjoy the meat and the grease. Scott

I do the same. I find a sale and buy up some meats and then it sort of 'not makes sense' to have it and not eat it. What has happened as of late is I am working a lot of OT and sometimes it is unexpected OT/last minute type stuff. If I am planning a meal then fasting, work interrupts my plan and that meal is still there the day after the OT, so the fast gets put off. I am planning another later this week when I go back on nights. Somewhere between 72 and 96 hours. I am reading a lot about going longer than 96 but for some things it gets into the point of diminishing returns. Still debating. I'm still trying to find what I feel works best for me. Right now I am leaning toward the 72-96 hour fast about once per month. But somehow my plans seldom come together. Scott

I would also make some adjustments now before waiting to see how much more it rises. Since your numbers have trended up, and not the result of a sudden shift, I would think you can make some adjustments and maybe lower it a few points. When I started carnivore, I went in headfirst with no foresight or insight. I had salt and electrolyte issues in several different ways. I made an electrolyte drink mix and went that route a couple days. It tasted like crap, so for me it was easier just to put a gram or two in my mouth and chase it with water. I would do that a couple three times per day. It corrected a lot of things. Not by intention, or for any particular reasoning, that sort of faded. Now I salt my food to taste with that same electrolyte mix and am finding I don't require near as much salt as I did during the transitioning (as Geezy said, the dumpster diet I was on had enormous amounts of sodium, and I am sure I had a sodium crash early in the change). My blood pressure has always been around 100/65, give or take a few numbers here and there. About 8 months in I got a 110/70, which for me was "high" and then I see a 120/75 for the first time ever. I had not linked salt and blood pressure for me, and it is not like I made a purposeful decision, but now I hardly use salt at all. I may salt my eggs but that is not every time, and I am nowhere near the 4g you mentioned. This past Monday while prepping for my infusion my blood pressure was 100/65 and once even 100/55 during the infusion. Again, I have no idea if there is a link between the two for me as an individual, and even less about your situation, but a daily 4g sounds like a lot. With all that said, I have always had a relatively low blood pressure and I am not sure if the rise over those few months was part of the carnivore healing phase, it was the first time I had ramped things up in the gym in years (and years) or if I hadn't totally dialed back in from the headfirst dive into carnivore. Interesting topic. I hadn't thought much about it til reading this post. Scott

Most everything in one way or another can be traced back to the almighty dollar. A buddy of mine who I worked with fro a lot of years told one of the funniest (saddest) stories ever. he and his brother butchered hogs since childhood. They both worked public jobs but kept the family 'business' going for a lot of years. Their sausage was some of the best I had ever eaten, their bacon was top notch, but their fat-back was absolutely world class. They packed their freezers and then killed hogs as long as the weather held up (cold). it got to the point maybe 90% of their business was here at work. Tons of pork sold over the years. He said one Sunday morning as they were grinding and packaging meat the local sheriff's department as well as the Health Department and one person from the USDA stormed in on them like they were running a crack house. He said the deputies gun's were not drawn but it was hands on the first five minutes. They even referred to it as a "raid". My buddy, nick named "Cowboy" said the USDA person was rude and hateful and asked if the meat was for sale, or did they plan to eat it all? Cowboy replied, "Every F""ing mouthful!" From there it went south. The moral to the story is that on Sunday morning you can operate the local crack house for profit or kill a few hogs for meat selling a portion to off-set costs. One of the brings fines and penalties and the other......they close up shop and move to the next vacant house a few blocks over. I often wonder who signs off on these situations. It is the dollar. Scott

I don't normally chime in on 'other people and their medicines' as that is between you and your doctor and becomes a personal choice, but..... I am assuming that after the accident there was shift in diet as well? I would think you have already seen the results of going carnivore once and I feel like you could expect the same, or at least similar results by giving it another try. Personally, I am not a fan of statins. I had adverse reactions, certain beliefs in what it did to me (no medical affirmation, but a strong personal opinion) and have not read hardly anything positive. I'd be hard-pressed to take a statin anyway, but if I already knew the positives of carnivore, I think I would go that way. best of luck and I hope you find what works best for you. Scott

Strict carnivore can remove some variety which is the exact reason my son has started/stopped several times. he and his wife like to eat out (a lot) and it is hard to stay within the "boundaries" of carnivore. My son uses carnivore in cycles. he will go strict for a month or so, then revert back to his old ways of eating. He loses 10-12-14 pounds and then gains 6-7 back over the next month. I think over the past 12 months he is about 20lbs or so lighter, but 20lbs via the yo-yo effect. Only being a carnivore for 12 months, and being an extremely boring eater, I don't have much advice other than find what works for you. I guess I would say stay "clean" for as long as you can and when you have that "weekend" don't dwell on the weekend, just start a new streak of "clean eating". Over time try to push those weekends further and further apart. I think you can find benefits with that approach. Celebrate your accomplishments and victories and move on from the set-backs. I ported in Naples in the early 90's. I am the furthest thing from a worldly eater. There was a market near the base and the first food stand served these cannoli type pizza rolls. They were packed with meats and cheese and I was hooked. After travelling from the US to Italy I was perfectly happy 30 yards from the base. Scott

I have found as of late I skip around vs. sticking to a task, competing it and then moving on. I was off this week and had big plans. One was getting the cab set on my 50 model truck for the next to the last time and the other was to get the gas tank back in my Blazer. Each time I was interrupted by anything from a phone call, to both my Mom and my buddy having car trouble, I would come back and start on the Blazer if I had been on the 50 model truck. And vice-versa. I'm not sure if it is NMO/SD related or not. Sometimes I think it is somewhat related to the energy I have from carnivore and fasting. For years I didn't have enough energy to fill what free time I had and now I have way more energy than I do free time. It is like I'm now trying to get all done at once. My wife says it is because they stamped my birth certificate "MALE". Who knows? Scott

Welcome. Geezy is spot. Pretty much any sudden or drastic change in diet will result in some gastrointestinal issues, carnivore no different. The plus is that carnivore is an elimination diet and the very things that lead to GI issues are no longer a part of the equation. With the elimination of the carbs and sugars the healing begins which is a transition period of sorts. The transitional period varies dependent on the individual. It can vary in length and 'severity'. (Severity is a strong term as it is mostly bouts of diarrhea or loose stools). Another set of strong terms, but the transition period and the start of healing is triggered by your body going thru detox and withdrawals. I am not a fan of using 'detox' and 'withdrawals' because of all the negative annotations that go with them, but there are really no better terms to use. And as Geezy said, the trips to the bathroom get back closer to normal, but it will your new normal, slightly smaller and a couple three days in between. Basically, on the Standard American Diet if you put ingest XXXXX you will use XX for normal bodily function, XX will make its way down the tract and be your next dump and the last X will hang around until the next batch pushes it out. The SAD is nowhere near being efficient whereas carnivore is the polar opposite. Over time, your current intake of XXXXX will become XXX. Two XX's will supply your body with every thing you need (fats and proteins) and the last X will make its way down and empty tract until you go to the bathroom. You don't eat as much, and what you do eat is completely nutrient dense, so the overwhelming majority is used and only a small portion becomes waste. The volume and length of time in between comes from the efficiency carnivore provides. Best of luck. Scott

No big plans. I'm working OT today and tomorrow. I'm off Sunday thru Wednesday. Probably do a prime rib roast. More of a play it by ear than an actual plan. LOL Scott

I like this 'style' of video. I think flaky is most of the time authentic. There is nothing wrong with a well edited, fact-filled video but that feels like they are reading from Q-cards. Mostly I am watching for the jist of the video and secondly, I especially like the ones that don't try sell me something, or stop mid-sentence to ask me to click down below. I may have some attention deficit issues because I quickly lose interest when it jumps off topic. Scott

Another book is "Eat Bacon, Don't Jog". I forget the author's name but it is on ebay for around $5. Can't really beat it at that price. Great post by Geezy. He may need to write his own book. I will chime in on one of the topics. I am not sure which diet would be best or most optimal within the realm of carnivore. The individual needs of the person will make that decision but I would venture a guess to say anything remotely close to carnivore will be better than the SAD. I saw a pyramid the other day that indicated I am a Tier 1 carnivore as all I eat is meats, salt and water. I do eat most any meats but I have found the Lion Diet suits me best. Just red meat/beef, salt and water. And as Dr, Chaffee mentions I am not using near the amount of salt I was five or six months ago. Now it is an occasional salt to taste and I do just fine. My next venture will be to go straight red meats for, hopefully a month, then into my 72 or 96 hour fast and then come out of it with straight red meat for a month or so. Off topic about the book. My apologies. But I am choosing the carnivore diet I think will best drive the healing for me around my immunoglobulin numbers (auto-immune disease). Scott

That's nothing, back when I was a kid........................ Ouch!. Good luck with the shower. Blood, sweat and tears is just a saying. People do not really mean it. Scott