Carnivore newbie

[Macca]

Hi guys, I've been doing the carnivore diet for just over a week and for the first 6 days had no issues. However, the last few days I've been feeling stress and anxiety pretty strongly, something I never had an issue with previously.

I've been having electrolytes in all my water I drink, eating the fat on my meat and salting generously. I realized that I may need to up my fat intake so been having ground beef with eggs and steaks with ghee on. 

Because I started with the heart racing and anxiety, I assumed it was the ghee and switched to tallow (as I think I have a dairy intolerance) but after having ground beef again yesterday, the heart racing and anxiety returned.

I'm not sure which way to turn, any ideas would be appreciated  

[Scott F.]

Welcome.

I tend to steer clear of the heart related questions and leave it to people with actual experience.

The first weeks and even months can be a constant adjustment as your body 'heals'. I think everyone has to do some experimenting to see what works for them as an individual. Carnivore is as much about what you are not eating as what you are eating. It is more of an elimination process.

I would think it is a part of the adjustment. 

Best of luck, and again, welcome.

Scott

[Geezy]

I’ve come across a few people that experience this during their transition stage. I believe it’s generally associated with low electrolytes. Since you are already taking electrolytes you may just need to wait it out. Everyone I know that has encountered this has gotten over it in time. 
I doubt it’s the ground beef but it’s possible that you may be sensitive to grain finished beef and maybe grass finished may be better for you. You could try eating something other than the ground and try eating steak. I say that because maybe your ground has something added to it. Probably not but still a consideration. 
Are you eating a lot of eggs. Many people can have a histamine intolerance to egg whites and can only eat the yolks. 
At this early stage in your journey I’d give it more time and see if it improves as your body heals. 

[Macca]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback. I'll definitely carry on experimenting to see what the problem is. I have already tried cutting the ground beef the last couple of days but am still getting the feeling.

However, I'm doing eggs with each meal, so that's my next elimination to try!

Thanks again and Merry Christmas  

[Scott F.]

Best of luck.

Once you find what works for you it will be well worth the effort, at least, I know it has been for me. 

I have an auto-immune disease called NMO/SD which is pretty much the same as MS but it attacks the eyes. I had been on medicine for both pain and inflammation since 2018. After a month or so, maybe slightly less, I was able to stop taking medicine. The best, funniest part, is that I went into Carnivore not having any idea of its "medicinal/health" impacts. I went in solely as a 'weight loss' diet. After a month in I read a couple articles about Carnivore and MS, and the effects on inflammation. I read them (watched videos) and thought it was just a ploy to 'make me spend my money on whatever they were selling'. A month or so in I realized I had not taken, nor needed, the medicine that kept me going since 2018. 

I went in with a lot of ignorance about the big picture and only seen it as a weight loss diet. Who knew? (not me, LOL)

I have gained a ton in both knowledge and personal experience. I have lost 84lbs in less than 8 months. 

Best of luck. I think it is worth the efforts required.

Scott

[Macca]

Wow, that's an amazing journey Scott. You've come a long way in a short time.

I'll keep searching and hopefully find the answers.

Cheers buddy,

Ian

[Nemo]

Yep, i would love to hear other people opinions about this topic cause i also never had problems with anxiety and i'm currently experiencing a feeling of imminent doom and constant anxiety, but nothing as bad as the eczema i got. I didn't use dairy in first place and my next try will be to avoid also egg yolks and no just the white. that's all i can think about, any other ideas?

[Scott F.]

I try not to preach or stand up on a pedestal about how I see things.....but, I'm still blown away with how much a change in diet has meant.

I only wish I had 'stumbled' upon it years earlier. 

Scott

[Macca]

If I had a story like yours, I'd be shouting it from the rooftops! That's the real deal.

I hope it does even half of that to change my story.

Ian 

[Scott F.]

8 months ago, odds are I wouldn't believe the story I'm telling now. Go figure.

Your story may end up being better than mine, who knows? as we are all individuals and respond differently.

I'm guessing when you find your combination it will be well worth the time and efforts. 

Best of luck.

Scott

[Geezy]

15 hours ago, Nemo said:

Yep, i would love to hear other people opinions about this topic cause i also never had problems with anxiety and i'm currently experiencing a feeling of imminent doom and constant anxiety, but nothing as bad as the eczema i got. I didn't use dairy in first place and my next try will be to avoid also egg yolks and no just the white. that's all i can think about, any other ideas?

You are one the right track. This is an elimination diet so getting down to basics of just animal fats and animal protein is a good starting point. Some even need to eliminate all meat except for ruminants. Some people react to poultry or pork because they are mono gastric animals. After a good washout period, about 30-60, days you can reintroduce one item for a couple of days and give it a week and see if there is any reaction. If there are none then you may continue using that item but if there is a reaction then it’s out forever. That happened to me with wine and also with chili. 
Eczema being an auto immune disorder can be healed by carnivore according to Dr. Ken Barry and numerous carnivores who have achieved healing. I had dandruff, which I know is not the same but still an autoimmune skin condition, that disappeared about 8 months into carnivore. I had had it all my life. 
I don’t know how long you’ve been but you just may need to give it more time simply because we did make our bodies unhealthy overnight and we can’t cure overnight. The good news is that it will heal much faster than we wrecked it. 

[Macca]

Just to update, I've cut back to just steak, Richmond's salt and tallow. Had this three times today and have drank around 3 litres of water.

And yet the chest palpitations and anxiety are still there.

I want to push through but is that wise?

[Nemo]

Is it possible that you are exceeding with electrolytes? Most electrolytes supplement have vitamin C inside, and some to a very very high dose. For example I have an electrolytes supplement that contains in 5gr 738% of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C. Now let's assume you reasonably take 3 scoops per day (like it's suggested on the packaging), that is a looot of vitamin C surplus that gets converted into oxalate by the body. By any chance do you 'feel your kidneys'? Like having a sore feeling in your lower back?

[Nemo]

10 minutes ago, Nemo said:

Is it possible that you are exceeding with electrolytes? Most electrolytes supplement have vitamin C inside, and some to a very very high dose. For example I have an electrolytes supplement that contains in 5gr 738% of the recommended daily dose of vitamin C. Now let's assume you reasonably take 3 scoops per day (like it's suggested on the packaging), that is a looot of vitamin C surplus that gets converted into oxalate by the body. By any chance do you 'feel your kidneys'? Like having a sore feeling in your lower back?

I'm by no mean an expert. I'm saying that just because I'm also experiencing the same issue. Never had mental issues, and yet after I started I got anxiety, depression, and a feeling of imminent doom. I realized that by not taking electrolytes supplement the situation improved considerably (still bad but better). In order not to run low on my electrolytes I'm making often bones broth (2h pressure pot, with just enough water to cover the bones), and eating some liver here and there.

Edited 12 hours ago by Nemo

[Macca]

Thanks for the insight Nemo but my electrolyte is pretty clean, with nothing else added. 

I can't decide if I'm having too much of it though, as I was drinking all my water with it in. Like 3 litres a day. 

Some people don't drink them at all some say take them but I'm never sure on quantity.

Ian

[Macca]

I already make the broth as described and had a some liver only yesterday

But will keep up the broth.

[Geezy]

3 hours ago, Macca said:

Some people don't drink them at all some say take them but I'm never sure on quantity.

Like everything else in this WOE we have to fit the diet to each of us individually. There is no set rules to this other than fatty meat, salt and water. 
It’s generally believed and there is evidence to show that in the beginning of eating a pure carnivore diet we can have an electrolyte imbalance because when eating just fatty meat there is nothing to absorb water in our systems like we did when we were eating carbs all of the time. As such we tend to flush out much needed electrolytes and it can be beneficial to supplement. After a time though, if we are eating right, we should be able get what we need from eating meat and only need to supplement during certain situations like when doing heavy workouts, long distance runs or working out in the heat all day. 
As far as quantity goes, if you use a supplement like LMNT it comes in individual pre measured packets or as with KetoChow the directions recommend the dosage. 
While I do think taking electrolytes in the beginning can be helpful one should really get some blood work done to see if they really have any imbalances. I quit taking them, except for certain situations, when a blood test showed that my potassium levels were getting into dangerous levels and for someone with a heart condition that could be fatal. On top of that the high potassium levels were reducing my sodium levels. So I caution people to only treat an issue with supplements when they actually have an issue to treat.