Scott F.

I was talking to a retired doctor at the gym on Sunday. I am a big fan of experience and knowledge and those being based on time. We were talking kids and doctors and prescriptions and the internet and some of everything. One of the older guys mentioned that doctors were once held in a much higher regard. And another mentioned pills seem to be the answer for everything. The retired doctor chimed in and I thought what he said was sort of enlightening. I was the youngest in the group at 56 so he was talking to my age group and older. In so many words.....there is only one generation that has been born in the internet age with any and all information at their finger tips. For the most part, anyone 30 and under was born with the same access to medical information as their doctors. We never had that. In the 70's and 80's we had a set of the 1978 World Book Encyclopedias, the school library and the public library. Our medicinal knowledge was limited to those resources. The person that went off to medical school had accesses we did not have and thus were on another level. When someone knows something you don't, and uses that knowledge to help you, especially in a time of need, they get to another level really quickly. Once the doctor gets to that next level his word is not only golden but it becomes the gospel. Then overtime Big Pharma and Big Insurance starts their version of "practicing medicine" and that money started to dictate patient care. When their world is the gospel and the newer method is to prescribe pills the unknowing went with what they have trusted. To refer to those people as 'sheep' is really an unfair criticism. Fast forward to the groups (around age 40's and up) who have internet access for a large portion of their lives there is the movements away from the norm (carnivore being one). Doctors in turn trained new doctors, kids trusted their parents/grandparents and in most cases learned to trust the people (doctors) that their parents trusted. It was almost the perfect storm. As the internet becomes more and more of a factor in everyday life there is a break from the norms and people are challenging doctors and medicine because they now have access to the very same information as everyone else. Taht has not always been the case. The playing field is more level now than ever and people can now arm themselves with knowledge and information that actually rivals that of their doctors. It was an interesting conversation. Sort of a new perspective. Scott

LMNT is a good product. )Personally I could not find one that I liked the taste). On youtube there are several videos on how to make your own. Much cheaper. Bob is spot on with his advice. I made the hydration and electrolytes when I first got started. I went from electrolyte in my water, to using the mixture as 'my table salt' and now I use salt every so often. It took 14+ months to work thru all that and I have read where some get there sooner than others. The best thing is that you are listening to your body. Most of time the body will tell/show you most everything we need to know. Congrats on two months/good luck as you continue. Welcome. Scott

Almost a pound of beef bacon and part of a T-Bone steak. I buy beef bacon from a local farm guy and I would eat it every day but at $9 it adds up. Tastes awesome though. Scott

I haven't tried fruits since I switched. The protein drinks/shakes were my first 'sugar on purpose' since I switched to carnivore. One, it made me hungrier and then that ice cram in the freezer was sort of calling me. I ranked the effects. Sugar in the diet can be more powerful that the satiety of meats. And the fact I am cheap as ell get out overpowers the both of them. I think I wanted the ice cream because I chipped in $$$ and didn't have any. Like most issues in our world the almighty dollar is the root cause. LOL Scott

I have eaten some steaks that even a sub-par veterinarian could have saved, but never intentionally raw. LOL Scott

I'm a meat and heat guy. I can't eat it raw. Scott

Nope. Maybe 2lbs of it, give or take. I had to re-group and finish it off the next day. 2 pounds was more than I have at in one setting in what seems like forever. Most of the time I'm a pound at a time guy. Scott

The value comes in knowing where your meat comes from and sometimes that off sets a few extra dollars and a little more time here and there. At times you may not be able to put a price on having/doing your own. Scott

I guess we are what we eat, LOL Scott

2.98lbs of carnivore appetizer, main course and dessert all rolled into one. Scott

Congrats on the six months. I think my first step would be to get it checked elsewhere with another machine. I'm no sure about your Walmart but i see kids playing and tugging on the cuffs quite a bit. I'd get it checked again somewhere, one you have had some dizziness, and two, I'm not sure I would put a lot of faith in that cuff. It could be accurate but I would want to be sure. My mom is going thru some of the same things. her blood pressure was dropping to very ow numbers and then started to rise to where it has been somewhat high as of late. She has some kidney issues and the medicine she was taking for her kidneys has been either impacting her blood pressure or conflicting with her heart medicine. Between the two they have made a couple of adjustments her blood pressure is much closer to normal. Six months carnivore is a lot of time for healing (for most) and you may not be the same patient today you were six months ago. If you are on any kind of medicine there may need to be some adjustment. You may be taking something you no longer need or do no need as much of. I'm not much on heart health as @Geezy is our resident 'cardiologist'. He has far more knowledge and experience than me in this area and will do a much better job commenting/helping. Again, congrats on the 6 months. Scott

Oklahoma researchers find link between MS, diet - YouTube MS and Bipolar gone! just eating fatty meat. The true story of a life changing diet

Carnivore as "Carnivore" is relatively new in name but was a popular diet amongst the Multiple Sclerosis community in the 50' and 60's. And then dates back to the beginning of time. I'm coming off a 72 hour fast tonight and going to go 30-60 days on all red meat. Straight beef. Probably the hardest part will be passing up on eggs, and if I stray from straight beef it will be with eggs. My bloodwork/Neurologist appointment got pushed back a few weeks so I am going to go into that on a plan that worked int he 50's and 60's. I am not sure how much 40+ days will affect the bloodwork but I think it would have some impact. And hopefully that impact will be around my immune system/blood markers of anti-bodies and what not. As always, time will tell. Having discussions with guys at work about carnivore and fasting and my new approach to eating in general the guys at work think I have turned myself into a lab rat with all these self-experimentations. They may be onto something. LOL Starting tonight I am back in the lab. Scott

Breaking the fast tonight at work. Some shredded beef (I guess intended for nachos or tacos....it was marked down, and I cleaned out the marked down section of most everything on Manager's Special.) My wife is not a fan of the marked down items but in some stores it is called 'aged' and they jack the price up. LOL Scott

Yep. I have a friend from work going thru the same thing. 150-160 acres for his son to inherit on their farm, he will inherit another chunk adjacent to that from his uncle and then about the same from his grandmother. They grow hay to sell and feed their cows. At some point that farm will be solar panels and subdivisions. It is pretty much inevitable because his son has no interest in working the farm and the number of people willing to buy 400+ acres to farm/raise cows is close to zero. Most can't afford to buy it and the business plan does not suggest it will pay for itself. Geezy is spot on as it is a life and lifestyle that is dwindling. Scott

Most definitely agree with the last paragraph. I think I sort of re-visited this in a way when I re-introduced sugar. I immediately got hungry and I was able to eat. I feel like I ate the right things with the extra appetite but I can see the sugar as a trigger. Since the sugar can trigger my hunger maybe I am enslaved to the sugar, maybe not completely enslaved, but maybe an indentured servant, if we are going down that path. I can see the correlation. I like the veil comparison as well. I'm sure the majority of us has had the wool pulled over our eyes by Big Food and Big Pharma. Scott

That seems low for everyone but really low for a carnivore. A pound a day on the lion diet would be 365lbs. If we did an even split between beef, chicken, pork and seafood it would be around 90lbs each. Seldom if ever am I considered 'above average' but I think i finally got a good grade. LOL Scott

Just like gas, trigger words can change prices. "Drought" and "unrest in the middle east" send both prices soaring. "volunteer grass" can make cows profitable but once we start throwing hay we are lucky to break even. I can remember my Pops saying, "I really think it is cheaper at the grocery store". LOL Scott

Bacon fried pork rinds sounds pretty good. I'm going to give that a try. It was a nothing again today for me. Fasting again. Scott

I didn't read the entire article but the headline said 6 states outlawed 'junk food' from the SNAP program. This is sort of the same shift in approach by the government. I am not sure of the total impact because some of the programs allow the 'food cards' to be used for cash. Multiple transactions to get to the same results. I'm going to stick to the positive aspects. LOL Scott

Thanks. I have learned a ton in the last 14-15 months via the carnivore experience. Maybe the lesson that has "stuck' the most is that there is nothing 'cookie-cutter' about it. The principles and the practices may be the same, but not only do the results vary, but they can really vary. I enjoy the conversations around 'what is your why?' and I feel like they are important to ask/answer early on. With that said, I believe a person can have multiple "whys" and those "whys" can change/evolve over time. My first WHY was weight loss and weight loss alone. When I stumbled upon the health benefits carnivore slowly changed from a diet hack to a lifestyle change. And within that process some of my WHYS changed. I am mixing and intertwining some things that typically do not do well together. "Longer water fasts and muscle building" is not an ideal combination. At best, the resistance training while fasting will help maintain muscle. Eating sugar to increase appetite sounds like a disaster waiting for a place to happen, and for some I am sure that is the case. The increase in appetite allowed me to eat more of the right things (minus that sugar, of course) and I gained strength and some muscle with the side effect of gaining some fat/retaining water. My path from then to now has by no stretch of the imagination been straight. I have taken some detours, maybe some wrong turns but in the end, I have benefitted from the 'scenic route'. But still a work in progress. LOL Thanks. Scott

Nothing as the main course with zilch and notta as sides. Fasting the next few days. Scott

Yep and yep and yep. Thanks., Scott

The goals have changed/the goal posts have moved for me. In May of '24 the goal was strictly to lose weight. I started carnivore with the idea it was nothing more than a weight loss hack. I didn't have any health benefits in mind, and if there were, it would be related to the weight loss. This goal was accomplished. Early on I lost 30-31lbs in the first 31-32 days. I hit 95lbs after just over a year. In 2018 when I was diagnosed with NMO/SD the doctor suggested weights and resistance training as it will debilitate over time. Like most of us, I ignored his advice. As the weight peeled off, I started walking, then pushups along the way, and after a couple months I joined the gym. I made some progress the first three or four months. The goal was never to build muscle for aesthetics, or big biceps or big legs. It was to build muscle to fight back from debilitation and sarcopenia. Agreed with the food amounts and the concepts. Before carnivore if I were working out like this total protein would be easy. (heck total anything was not an issue as I could eat meals by the five-gallon bucket) Since carnivore I can no longer eat large amounts of food. If I eat a 14-16oz ribeye I'm full til the next day. In order to eat to a protein level, I would have to gorge myself. I tried protein powders to hit a protein target of .7-1grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. I was around 215 with some visceral fat to go so I figured around 190 or so. I can't eat 200 grams of protein in a day. Just not hungry. I ran out of my protein powder and substituted with a store bought 50gram of protein drink by Shamrock Farms. It has 11-12 grams of sugar. I drank half and within an hour I was hungry. I drank some water, walked around the plant, all the things I would do to check to see if it is actually hunger and I was truly hungry. I used the newfound appetite to eat another steak/burger, etc. etc. When I used the second half of the bottle it had the same effect. What I did notice is in a month or so using the sugar to boost hunger the progress in the gym made a shift upward. The sets and reps the week before took me just short of failure were not getting me anywhere close that following week. Since I was eating more (maybe closer to being properly fueled for lifting/gaining muscle) I made gym progress. All the push exercises went up in weight. I was down on the little end of the barbells and now I am just past the middle toward the heavier ones. I'm pulling just about the whole stack with reverse grip pull downs. Actual weight loss is no longer a real concern. It moves up and down. The mentioning of 12lbs in a month and half/now closer to 2 months was a result of eating more than I had been eating before I reintroduced sugar. Maybe they were coming along, and I didn't notice but I can now see the weightlifting in my biceps and triceps and chest. I didn't realize there were actually muscles under that 306lbs I was carrying. The point of this particular post was to show how powerful sugar can be to some, especially early on in carnivore. Big Food and Big Pharma truly understand its power and it is used as one of the most powerful "drugs" in the world. For me, six grams at a time over-powers the satiety of fats and proteins as well as allows the brain to trick the body into hunger. As far as fasting. Zero weight loss considered while fasting. I believe fasting played a huge role in my autoimmune issues. My numbers have come from off the overactive end of the chart on one test and off the other end of the chart in another test. What should be active part of my immune system was doing nothing (less than nothing) and the part that should be assisting was attacking proteins (myelin) like a sociopath. In only 14 months I have tried several different approaches to health via carnivore. I have yet to dial in exactly where I need to be. Mid-month I go for MRI's and bloodwork. My last bloodwork suggests I no longer have an auto-immune disease. The next test could remove me from my six-hour infusions every six months. Yes, the 12lbs was some muscle but mostly fat and water. Yes, my approach has not been dialed in, per se, to proven methods for weight loss or muscle gain over long periods of time. I'm still working on the combination that fits me and benefits me and sometimes tailoring to the individual goes against the grain/gets outside of the norm. And yes, your observations were spot on. It does look like a yo-yo approach within the confines of carnivore-fasting-muscle building. As weird as it sounds, I feel like it is coming together. LOL Scott

Agreed. The bigger issue is when the pendulum swings one way it swings in the other direction a little bit further. Both sides get further and further away from the middle where most people can communicate, live together and be prosperous. I'm riding this wave and hope it can continue. Scott