Scott F.

I'm drinking just water but eating some salt here and there. I have never been much on coffee and I'm from the south, we "thicken" our teas with sugar. Close to syrup in some places. LOL Just water and slat during the fast. Scott

I understand the fatigue. I had the same symptoms for several years but they would come and go. By the time I got to the doctor they were gone and diagnosing an autoimmune disease is difficult enough and trying to do so with symptoms that go away is even more difficult. I had loss of motor skills in my left arm that sent me into stroke protocol what felt like a hundred times. Explaining the issue and then trying to convince a doctor I am not having a stroke was always quite difficult. In Sept 2018 I woke up on Labor Day and I was as blind as a bat. I was freaking out. I tried to get out of bed and my left arm was just hanging there and then the pains in my neck and spine started. It was like nothing I had ever experienced. After a few hours my vision started to return but the pain and lack of mobility remained. Soon after that my right thigh and right shoulder felt like my skin was on fire. I am not sure a cutting torch would have been any hotter. The cat scans started, followed by MRI's, visual evoked testing, spinal taps, bloodwork, etc., etc, and I got a diagnosis in late December. Those three-four months were a tough go. I do a rituxin/rituxamab infusion every six months. Other than my right forearm always tingles with a burn sensation I have been OK. Fatigue and lack of energy was on again off again and it sort of happened regardless of my approach or whatever I had going on with work/life. I was basically always either tired or getting tired. My son tried carnivore and lost 12-14lbs or so rather quickly so I saw carnivore as another hack to lose weight. I am a boring eater so 'just meats' sounded easy. I didn't read anything or research or ask, I just started eating meat. The weight started falling off almost immediately. After three or so weeks I started watching videos and reading carnivore articles, and I will admit I was thinking most of them were quacks or hacks because they all stopped mid-stream and asked me to either subscribe or buy something. There is a lady from England who stopped all her MS medicine and as I was not believing her it dawned on my I had missed my taking my medicine. (I took the pain and inflammation medicine as necessary because the gabapentin made me zombie like). I chalked it up as a coincidence. Then a few days later I realized I had not needed it again, and again being a nay-sayer at heart, I thought coincidence. By week 5-6-7 I had not taking any of the gabapentin-Neurontin or prednisone. And from there I have not taking any of the medicine since late May/early June of last year. I still do the infusions but since Carnivore my immunoglobulin number are inching back toward normal. Really low on one test and really high/overactive on another since 2018 and the last couple show signs both needles are moving back toward the middle. I try not to say what I am going to do tomorrow, as inevitably the intentions crash, but I don't really see me coming off carnivore, even to a lesser carb/sugar diet. I ate a trash diet my entire life and I am not sure exactly what built up/did enough damage to trigger the onset of NMO/SD. I am sure there are any number of things I could re-introduce and be OK. Finding out which ones is a bigger gamble for me that I am willing to take right now. I am hanging out on the carnivore side of the fence and choosing not to rock the boat. LOL I'm glad the good Lord showed me this light. Scott

During the first two fasts my weight didn't drop all that much but once I started eating I had a fall of 4-6lbs over the next few days. This time at around 32 hours I was down 4lbs and I just went over 50 hours and I am down six. I just woke up from working last night. I got 4-5 hours of good sleep and I feel pretty good. One of the things that has happened since early on with carnivore is that when I wake up, I wake up. No dragging, or lagging around trying to get going. When my eyes open I am ready to go. Most days after night shift I sleep 6-7 hours. I am not sure if the fasting altered that or I just happened to wake up a tad early today. With the fasting I am seeming to pay attention to everything, all the details. Scott

The crash at 71 hours I still don't understand. Then the next one just afterwards I had super levels of energy for four or five days afterwards. I still wish the ketone meter had come in this time. I'm sort of itching to know the "numbers" vs. just seeing excess with the strips. 8 hours in and my first glucose reading was 70 and then at 18 hours in it was 85. At about 32 hours in it was 82 and about 40 hours in I am down to 72. The 70 and 72 numbers are mid-shift and tonight it was mid-shift replacing a 2" valve up in the overhead. Sort of strenuous. At 40 hours I feel good, have plenty of energy and all seems well. Hopefully it continues. Scott

Sold. Scott

We are in this current discussion. My wife just did a 30 day carnivore stint and for now, it is just not her cup of tea. My son does it on and off and his wife is not interested. We live next door to one another and share a common freezer. We are looking into going in halves between the household for a 1/2 cow and then go from there. We did the math and ours worked out to be in the $5.70 a pound range. I am sure that is dependent upon location. I agree with all the points you made and I feel like we will be heading that way soon. Our two households are 3/4 non-carnivore but we go thru a boat load of red meat. Scott

We have similar stories. I was diagnosed with NMO/SD in 2018 which is basically the same thing as MS but also attacks the optic nerves and the eyes. Symptoms and medical issues with lesions, motor control issues, pain and inflammation are pretty much the same. I started carnivore because my son did, and it just sounded like an easy way to lose weight. The weight peeled off quickly and the pain and inflammation I had experienced sort of disappeared. I stumbled upon videos of other MS patients claiming all the positive results from Carnivore and I didn't really think it would be all that. (Dr. Chaffe has a couple good ones) Then it dawned on me I had been a week without taking gabapentin/Neurontin or prednisone. Then another week without it and within 6-8 weeks of being on a carnivore diet I was no longer using the pain and inflammation medicine. My immunoglobulin numbers indicated part of my immune system that should react was completely overactive causing the lesions as it attacked proteins on the myelin and the other part was just hanging out not reacting to anything. In the last ten months both the overactive AQ4's/Img/Iga numbers have moved their need back toward the middle and the lay around parts are more active. I did a couple 72 hour fasts and the last one left me with crazy amount of energy. Like the ketones were on super charge. I'm currently on another fast about 32 hours deep. I feel great and was able to get in a fairly good workout this morning and then got in some solid sleep today. Do you feel a difference between 72 hours and 96 hours? I have read say there are some diminishing returns after 72 hours. Depending how I feel this time around I may stretch it out to 96. I think I am going to start using my TUES-WED-THURS night shift rotation as my monthly 72-96 hour fast. Welcome. Congrats on your progress. Thoughts and prayers with your continued success with MS. Scott

I slept most of the day and woke up sort of thinking on how I felt due to the current fast. That changed into the younger or better question. I think I sort of landed on mentally I feel younger with all the positive benefits from Carnivore and the working out and physically I feel better with all the benefits from eating Carnivore and working out. I am not sure I could have 'not answered the question' and straddle the proverbial fence any better than that. LOL Scott

Not that I am a pro nor a personal trainer. I would look into stretching and using bands vs. lifting weights or even machines. If it is a joint and bone issue that normally comes from current impact activity or the results of previous impact. Even swimming would be a good option. I'd still move some things around in the diet and move the needle with fats and electrolytes for the energy concerns. It has only been ten months for me and I have made a number of adjustments, some intentional and some not so much. Dialing the fats and the electrolytes up and down seem to be my triggers. At some point I hope I can be smart enough to settle down into a more consistent approach. I'm experimenting and learning so that might be a few months down the road. Good luck and I hope you find out what works best for you. Scott

I have never heard a correlation between carnivore and sun burn. I'm ten months in and did carnivore thru the summer last year. I'm a ginger guy and burn easily. If I were to go out shirtless (beach/lake) I burn, I hurt, I peel and then I think I am a shade whiter afterwards. Been like that since I was a kid. I am a 'shirt all the time guy' now. As my posts suggests, I like to experiment and find out. I will give it a whirl in a month or two and see if I have the same correlation between carnivore and the sun. If I show up in pain, with my shoulders hurting from the typing with my fingers, I will know I don't fall into this category. LOL I guess we learn something new everyday. Thanks for the input. Scott

If there is an underlying medical issue it may be more than 'just starting carnivore again'. I'm ten months in and don't think I have enough experience to offer advice nor 'teach the way' LOL. In my personal experience, fat and electrolytes have been a constant process of dialing in to what suits me/works for me. If my fat intake drops low over a period of days I get constipated, but when I do go it is followed by several loose stools over that same day. Loose enough that what was enough water intake is now not enough water intake. From there I have some cramping. I dial it in, get a good stretch, and then inevitably I repeat. I am only ten months in and have tried different approaches within the 'meat, salt and water' eating. As of late I have increased eating trying to hit a protein target to go along with a lifting program. When I eat more, I go more. I think carnivore worked best for me when my approach was eat when I am hungry and then eat til I am full. Within a couple months I was eating once per day and I had incredible benefits and some normalcy with my stools. I don't think my body is as near as efficient eating more trying to hit a protein target. I am not sure it should work with excess. Good luck. Welcome back. Hopefully you can find your path. It is almost like I found mine, but intended and inadvertent tweaks leave me with bathroom issues. Scott

During the night my blood sugar inched back up from 70 to 85. That was about 18 hours into the fast. I went to the gym this morning after work. I got in a pretty good hour. This morning the gym was packed and it is hard enough for me to sit idle to rest between sets and just about impossible to wait for someone to finish my next machine/station. I sped up what I was doing but cut the lift short a bit. About to crash and sort of wondering how the fasting and the lifting are going to collide when I wake up this afternoon. Unchartered waters for me. Scott

Those were some of the things going thru my head. After a hard workout am I sore because I worked out hard or I am older. it is hard to go back in time and say I could have lifted or did this much and not be sore, so maybe I feel older. Then, my brain flips and I think back then it would have taken more to get to the sore/worn out point and I would have been much younger, so it is the load not the age. The it flips again and I am I feeling older after the gym or did I just not eat right or drink right leading up to the gym to make me 'feel older'? I was doing hamstring work last week and cramped so bad it felt like my hamstrings and claves were lifting the weight without me helping, just by contracting. it was all I could do to get off the machine. I walked like Tim Conway golfing' all the way to the water fountain. One of the gym guys says, "you are not as young as you use to be". That is very true, but if I had drank water and ate slat like I should have I would have not cramped at all so in my mind age didn't factor (except maybe I am old enough to know better which is an entirely different problem, LOL). Again, great question. I'm still undecided. LOL Scott

It has been for me. I came off pain and inflammation medicine for an autoimmune disease (NMO/SD) and lost a bunch of weight. Good luck and the positive outlook may be half the battle. Scott

I came out of the service in the 90's and I felt like I could not only lift the world but run around it a couple times if needed. I traded lean and fit for drunk and stupid. I quit drinking many years ago but ate a trash/dumpster diet my entire life. Babbling on to get to the point. I think the gym is all about habits and addictions. When I first started going to the gym about 8 months ago, I definitely felt old and most definitely felt out of shape. As the weight peeled off and the workouts picked up in volume and intensity, I felt sore but not old (if that makes any sense at all). Believe it or not at 55 I am stronger than I was when I was 25 or 35. I have more energy now than I have had in a really long time. Now some 8 months later I have changed my diet to hit a protein target and morphed off the 'only full body workout' and now targeting muscles in a split. The gym is my new 'habit' and I doubt I am addicted but it does bother me if I miss a scheduled day to workout. I am not sure if I feel better and younger, or just better. Great question. I have answered it ten different ways in my head as I type. I'm going to think on it a bit and re-visit the thread later. Scott

Sometimes stumbling upon the answer is better than a well thought out plan. I'm ten months in and I had no idea the benefits that were just sitting out there waiting for me to make better decisions. Welcome. And congrats on the first five days. Scott

Yes. There was not a lot of weight drop over the course of the fast but it did stoke a 3-4-5lb fall the first three or four days afterwards. This time I started at 222lbs. Scott

When I look at it on plate and I feel like an average to above average veterinarian could still save him, I'm good. Scott

Yep. Both of the others I ate that night when I got to work and the fast started afterwards. I can't remember what I ate the day of prior to the last one. I think by eating a lot as of late, skipping breakfast and letting the last meal be lunch vs. dinner is a bit different. My notes say and I don't remember being hungry during the fasts but I feel like I could eat tonight. I'm guessing most of it is the 'eating habits of late' and abruptly going to one meal day that leads into a fast. Probably not the best plan but I am about ten hours deep now. Damn the torpedoes.....and all that inspirational jargon. LOL Scott

The first time was easier than I thought, and all was well til the 71st hour of the 72 hours of the fast. My last meal had been just as I started night shift a couple nights before. I pulled into the parking lot and all felt well. I stepped out of the truck and hit a wall. I had barely enough energy to get across the parking lot. Completely and utterly zapped. I ate and then felt much better, but the energy levels just pretty much returned to normal. I am sure there were benefits but at the time I didn't feel them (if that makes any sense at all) In Feb I did a 72 hour fast and it was way easier than I ever imagined. I didn't get hungry, and I felt pretty good all the way til the end. I even considered stretching it out to 96 hours. I read a couple of articles, not necessarily conflicting, but differing opinions on the benefits of fasting past 72 hours. Coming out of that fast I felt like I could have easily done another 24 hours for a 96 hour fast. I ate Friday night and Saturday started off with some stool issues. Almost constipated followed by really loose for most of the morning. I probably should have eased back into eating with a smaller meal, but I didn't, and I think I had to pay for it. I felt pretty good that Sunday and had a really energetic workout. On Monday I started dayshift and I had energy to burn all four days. I woke up at 3AM and went to the gym for a really good workout, followed that with a 12-13 hour shift and when I got home that evening, I fed up everything with gas still in the tank. Energy levels after the second fast were crazy high. Almost weird. I am sure the ketones were bouncing around at a crazy rate, maybe even to a level I had not experienced. This is why I am bummed the ketone meter did not come in on time. I'm really interested in the ketones and depths of ketosis throughout the fast. (mostly 'just to know'). I don't think I am at a point to give out advice or recommend a fast to anyone but so far, I have one 71 hour fast that felt ho-hum afterwards and another that left me with energy to burn all week. It may have lasted five or six days before it planed back out to more normal. For me, it sounds harder to do than actually do. Scott

I planned the fast for these three nights. I am not sure how long it will las this time. I have been eating like a horse as of late and I think my body was getting use to the 'extra'. I had a pretty good lift this morning and skipped the breakfast meal I have had for the last several weeks. My meal at lunch today was six eggs. 8 hours in and my blood sugar is at 70. I started today at 222lbs which is up 8 in the last two weeks but still 84 down from last May. Totally bummed that my ketone meter did not arrive in time. I went to several places in town and none were available. Not knocking on the pharmacist but she assured me the strips provided me with all the information I needed. Sometimes we can choose our battles. Today I chose not to educate someone with more education than me. Maybe another day. 8 hours deep and I won't say I am hungry, but I will say I know I didn't eat three times today. (if that makes any sense at all). Scott

I'm glad to hear it. As of late, I would be in a lot of trouble. LOL Scott

I had a fairly good workout this morning and skipped breakfast to make an early morning appointment. I just got home and had 6 eggs for lunch. Crack them in the pan and wait for them to be just about ready to flip and then a light scramble. Hard to beat. Quick, easy and hits the sweet spot. Scott

I was with you til you said anchovies...... LOL Scott

Since bumping my protein grams per day up I am in the range of 6-10 per day. I like them most any way but mostly I crack them in the pan, and just about when they have cooked enough to flip, I do a soft scramble. But I like eggs just about any way they are cooked. Scott