Need advice- 3 months on carnivore while breastfeeding

[LupineMama]

Hello everyone, 

I am seeking help/advice/encouragement for how to keep going with my carnivore journey, as I feel alone and overwhelmed. I am exclusively breastfeeding as well.

I had a baby in June 2024, after a couple months I noticed I didn't feel as good as during my pregnancy. After doing some research I learnt that during pregnancy your body can suppress certain autoimmune disorders, which can make you feel better and then once you are postpartum the symptoms can come back and hit you hard. I don't have diagnosed autoimmune disorders but I related with this. I felt good during pregnancy and then postpartum I started experiencing fatigue, inflammation, brain fog, joint pain, and overall body heaviness, it's hard to explain that feeling, it felt like I had to drag myself around. 

I removed 95% carbs and sugar on Sept 1, 2024. I still had a dash of raw honey/pure maple syrup in my coffees. And probably a couple meals that had carbs. I stuck to it for one month. Then October 5, 2024 I decided to jump into eating carnivore. 

It was good the first week, I noticed I had a bit more energy. The following few weeks were very hard, especially mentally, I had to push myself to keep going, I was averse to eating the meat, I felt like giving up so many times. Previously I was used to eating lots throughout the day, lots of carbs, fruit and dairy. If I didn't eat I would feel like I was starving. So this was a tough adaptation period, trying to figure out if I was eating enough and enough fat. 

The weight started to come off quickly, I lost 25 pounds in about 2 months. I started feeling less inflammation, no more bloating/gas/burps, my milk supply increased and bowels were consistent and normal which all felt amazing. But still symptoms like joint pain and fatigue reoccur, I understand that can take time to heal the years of damage.

I did really well with sticking to only animal products, only a few cheat meals and I would notice bloating right away. I was eating eggs, mostly beef, pork, and once in a while chicken and dairy. My baby was getting acne on his face so i decided to quit drinking coffee and dairy. The acne went away and I reintroduced some dairy mostly cheese and it has not bothered him. 

I finally started to feel adapted, enjoying the taste of meat again, eating more and feeling satiated longer. A typical day of eating would be:

Breakfast: 7-8 scrambled eggs and 10 strips of bacon or pack of pork sausages
Lunch: usually not that hungry, I will eat some cheese and maybe leftover cooked chicken shred with butter or farmers sausage, sometimes I don't eat midday
Dinner: 1lb of ground beef or a steak both cooked in butter 

Currently It's been 3 months eating carnivore and the last couple weeks I am struggling...I am experiencing fatigue more than usual, that body heaviness feeling i mentioned earlier, sometimes woozy/dizzy, gassier, and in the evenings I've been having diarrhea. I haven't really changed much in my diet, aside from having a bit of non carnivore foods during the holidays, like potatoes and meat pie, the tiniest bites of chocolate and a couple sips of my husbands coffee.

My baby is thriving, happy and healthy fat, my milk supply is still good. I thought potentially I could be pregnant as some of the symptoms align but the tests have been negative.

I have seen and felt the benefits of this way of eating but with these symptoms coming at me hard when I felt I had progressed it feels really hard to keep going fully carnivore. Some days are  more difficult than others and as a busy mom I want to thrive and have the energy to fully take care of my children. 

So I guess here are some of my questions...

-Could it be the non carnivore foods that I ate affecting me still?
-Could I be eating too much fat, even though I haven't increased my intake?
-Could drinking too much water cause the diarrhea?
-Should I try ketogenic or ketovore instead?
-Is it normal to have these periods of setbacks and I just have to push through?
-How do you know how much to eat, especially if breastfeeding?
 

I appreciate your time and any advice. Please feel free to ask if you need more details. 

Thank you!! 

 

 

 

[Scott F.]

Welcome and good luck as you move forward. And most of congrats on the new baby and him thriving. Nothing really tops that.

I will take a stab at a few of your questions all the way down to the breast feeding. That screeching sound you hear in the background is me hitting the brakes and trying to stay over in my lane. LOL 

Could it be the non carnivore foods that I ate affecting me still? Yes. Carnivore is an elimination diet. It can be as much about what you are not eating that what you do eat. If you have re-introduced something it may be your body saying 'this is one of the original culprits' Fortunately you can, and unfortunately you will have to experiment on yourself with what works for you. If that makes any sense at all?

-Could I be eating too much fat, even though I haven't increased my intake? For me my stool swings from really loose to constipation. Most of the time it centers around my fat intake. If I eat a lot of fat, cooking the eggs in a lot of butter, or using the beef fat to cook, my stool gets really loose. If I add a glass of milk here and there with a heavier fat intake it gets pretty bad. I can skip the milk for a few days and not quite as much butter and things sort of normalize. 

-Could drinking too much water cause the diarrhea? I would guess not and I would be careful with water intake. Diarrhea is one of the faster ways to dehydrate. It is important to ensure electrolytes are consumed and not 'just water'. 

-Should I try ketogenic or ketovore instead? Again, this will be based on your experiment. Using food to heal you is more important than fitting your diet based on another's criteria. If ketogenic, ketovore or versions of carnivore works for you, then that works for you. 

-Is it normal to have these periods of setbacks and I just have to push through? I am only 8 months in so I shy away from giving advice. I don't think I know enough. If it were me, I would make some adjustments and push through fully understanding more adjustments will be needed to dial me into a good place. 

Hopefully there is a member with experience on that last question. 

Best of luck. 

Scott

[Bob]

9 hours ago, LupineMama said:

Currently It's been 3 months eating carnivore and the last couple weeks I am struggling...I am experiencing fatigue more than usual, that body heaviness feeling i mentioned earlier, sometimes woozy/dizzy, gassier, and in the evenings I've been having diarrhea. I haven't really changed much in my diet, aside from having a bit of non carnivore foods during the holidays, like potatoes and meat pie, the tiniest bites of chocolate and a couple sips of my husbands coffee.

So the comment about the last couple weeks and you deviating line up. This could be related. How long did you deviate and how long have you been back on track with the plan?

9 hours ago, LupineMama said:

I thought potentially I could be pregnant as some of the symptoms align but the tests have been negative.

And if the tests are wrong because it's too soon and you're not excreting enough human chorionic gonadotrpin yet to be detected in the urine, this could be your answer too.

It's also virus season for us having winter right now. You could have caught a bug.

9 hours ago, LupineMama said:

Could I be eating too much fat, even though I haven't increased my intake?

Too much fat, especially liquid fats, can cause loose stools. But since you haven't really changed your fat consumption (are you sure?) you should be fine.

9 hours ago, LupineMama said:

Could drinking too much water cause the diarrhea?

Maybe, but not likely.....
https://www.healthline.com/health/diarrhea/instant-diarrhea-after-drinking-water

9 hours ago, LupineMama said:

-Should I try ketogenic or ketovore instead?
-Is it normal to have these periods of setbacks and I just have to push through?
-How do you know how much to eat, especially if breastfeeding?

Switching to keto/vore is a personal choice. For most that would be quite harmless. For some, it would depend on their individual and unique physiology and food sensitivities. You would want to remain carnivore-centric for sure. 

As far as how much should you eat? I would eat until I felt comfortably full. As long as your satisfied and your milk production continues as needed, you're fine. If you feel like you are losing too much weight, then you can either eat more or reintroduce carbs.
 

[LupineMama]

14 hours ago, Scott F. said:

Welcome and good luck as you move forward. And most of congrats on the new baby and him thriving. Nothing really tops that.

I will take a stab at a few of your questions all the way down to the breast feeding. That screeching sound you hear in the background is me hitting the brakes and trying to stay over in my lane. LOL 

Could it be the non carnivore foods that I ate affecting me still? Yes. Carnivore is an elimination diet. It can be as much about what you are not eating that what you do eat. If you have re-introduced something it may be your body saying 'this is one of the original culprits' Fortunately you can, and unfortunately you will have to experiment on yourself with what works for you. If that makes any sense at all?

-Could I be eating too much fat, even though I haven't increased my intake? For me my stool swings from really loose to constipation. Most of the time it centers around my fat intake. If I eat a lot of fat, cooking the eggs in a lot of butter, or using the beef fat to cook, my stool gets really loose. If I add a glass of milk here and there with a heavier fat intake it gets pretty bad. I can skip the milk for a few days and not quite as much butter and things sort of normalize. 

-Could drinking too much water cause the diarrhea? I would guess not and I would be careful with water intake. Diarrhea is one of the faster ways to dehydrate. It is important to ensure electrolytes are consumed and not 'just water'. 

-Should I try ketogenic or ketovore instead? Again, this will be based on your experiment. Using food to heal you is more important than fitting your diet based on another's criteria. If ketogenic, ketovore or versions of carnivore works for you, then that works for you. 

-Is it normal to have these periods of setbacks and I just have to push through? I am only 8 months in so I shy away from giving advice. I don't think I know enough. If it were me, I would make some adjustments and push through fully understanding more adjustments will be needed to dial me into a good place. 

Hopefully there is a member with experience on that last question. 

Best of luck. 

Scott

Thank you for your reply. 

Yes I am thrilled my baby boy is doing so well. I intend to raise him carnivore to give him a great start. My other son is almost two and I am slowly transitioning him to carnivore. He loves meat, eggs and especially liver pate but still wants to eat his favorite foods like grapes and bread, so I just limit those. When he was starting to eat around 8 months he would get constipated and had such a hard time passing stools. It was awful watching him cry and struggle. I didn't know better back then and thought he needed more fiber. Now it all makes sense!!!! Real nutrient dense food and fat, So simple but there I was stressing making sure he's eating a variety of foods. Such a revelation for me, thought I would share.

My stools had regulated and seemed like the perfect carnivore poops lol, condensed, not loose, easy to pass, every couple days. So the diarrhea really threw me off. Maybe I ate too much fat without realizing it. When I think of fat I first think of grease and butter, I don't think of milk and cheese as high fat. Maybe I've been eating more cheese of milk than usual and didn't notice. I will have to track more closely. Maybe cutting out dairy again could help. 

I will push through these hard times and listen to my body to adjust what it needs. I find it difficult to pinpoint the food triggers. Do you eat the same thing everyday or eat lots of variety?

 

[LupineMama]

On 1/11/2025 at 9:40 AM, Bob said:

So the comment about the last couple weeks and you deviating line up. This could be related. How long did you deviate and how long have you been back on track with the plan? 

I had a couple family Christmas dinners where there wasn't many carnivore options and I hadn't planned ahead so I had potatoes, spring rolls with some meat and meat pie with crust. This was the 25th, 27th and Jan 1 dinners. I immediately went back to eating carnivore after every "cheat" meals. I felt symptoms like bloating and gas but after eating meat the next day I felt my body had readapted quickly. 

Quote

And if the tests are wrong because it's too soon and you're not excreting enough human chorionic gonadotrpin yet to be detected in the urine, this could be your answer too.

 That could be, I will have to give it a couple weeks and check again. I was hoping I would be pregnant that way it's a simple answer to all my concerns. I am looking forward to a carnivore pregnancy. Wondering how it will be different than my high carb SAD pregnancies. 

Quote

 

It's also virus season for us having winter right now. You could have caught a bug.

Too much fat, especially liquid fats, can cause loose stools. But since you haven't really changed your fat consumption (are you sure?) you should be fine.

 

 I will pay more attention to my fat consumption, sometimes I don't think of fat when I think of cheese and dairy products so maybe I had more dairy on those days but didn't notice. Maybe cutting out dairy again could help me overall. 

Quote

 

Maybe, but not likely.....
https://www.healthline.com/health/diarrhea/instant-diarrhea-after-drinking-water

Switching to keto/vore is a personal choice. For most that would be quite harmless. For some, it would depend on their individual and unique physiology and food sensitivities. You would want to remain carnivore-centric for sure.

 

 I want to give it a fair shot to really heal and feel better. I had a goal to make it to 3 months without "cheating" as much as I can and then reassess if I want to reintroduce foods. I realize I don't really, most of the cravings have passed and I don't feel great if I eat other foods. But it can feel boring sometimes so the idea of having more options is appealing. I just have to push through on those hard days. 
 

Quote

As far as how much should you eat? I would eat until I felt comfortably full. As long as your satisfied and your milk production continues as needed, you're fine. If you feel like you are losing too much weight, then you can either eat more or reintroduce carbs.

Thank your for your reply. I appreciate your advice. It feels great to be able to share here openly. I realize I have to really tune into my body and listen.

Edited Monday at 09:55 PM by Bob
Fixed formatting

[Scott F.]

I have some variety amongst the meats. Mostly because my wife has not been on Carnivore. I eat a pretty good mix of chicken, pork and fish.

With that sad, I have found I do and feel much better on red meat. If I manage to eat red meat for four-five-six days in a row I can tell the different in satiety when I eat another meat. I think my energy level is a bit off, but it is minor, and it could be another variable as well such as life, work, sleep.

I'm sort of boring when it comes to food anyway. I could the same thing for days on end without any complaints. I think that sort of helped me get going with Carnivore in the beginning.

It seems everyone on Carnivore is 'of age'. I have wondered how well it would work for a child, especially since they would not have 15-20-25+ years of eating a 'trash' diet. I would have no input but would be interested in another's experience.

Scott

[Orweller]

On 1/11/2025 at 12:14 AM, LupineMama said:

-Could it be the non carnivore foods that I ate affecting me still?

I do not think so. Not likely. You're over the 90 day period and had time to adjust. Though coming from having a baby, hormone fluctuations may be still a factor. Recovery may take up to a year. 
 

On 1/11/2025 at 12:14 AM, LupineMama said:

-Could I be eating too much fat, even though I haven't increased my intake?

If you haven't changed your fat intake, and you felt good before, not likely. 

On 1/11/2025 at 12:14 AM, LupineMama said:

-Could drinking too much water cause the diarrhea?

That could be the case, it also depends on your electrolyte intake. Drink when you're thirsty, that's it. I'd take magnesium and potassium as you also mention fatigue. Just drinking water may not be enough. 

On 1/11/2025 at 12:14 AM, LupineMama said:

-Should I try ketogenic or ketovore instead?

Yes, you could. I'd recommend Ketovore, add avocados, for instance, and make an egg salad with those. I do on occasion. Carnivore is not for everyone. 

On 1/11/2025 at 12:14 AM, LupineMama said:

-Is it normal to have these periods of setbacks and I just have to push through?

Not in my case. As I am not a physician or expert, I can only refer to my personal experience and observation from others. I would assume that your eating pattern stayed roughly the same thus there may be a deficiency regarding electrolytes or nutrients. Noticing your diet, I would increase beef intake over chicken and pork. 

On 1/11/2025 at 12:14 AM, LupineMama said:

-How do you know how much to eat, especially if breastfeeding?

Eat until you're stuffed, and eat when you're hungry. On carnivore your body is more honest, if you will, and it allows you to listen to its needs. 

I am not as knowledgeable as some of the others on here but I hope it helped regardless. Since you're breastfeeding I would strongly recommend taking iodine, Dr. Berry on Youtube and others have mentioned this numerous times. I'd also look into taking potassium and magnesium as you mentioned fatigue. And if you don't already, I'd take D3 and K2 along with it, being in the winter. I've always done so regardless of diet I was on. Good luck. 

[Orweller]

7 hours ago, LupineMama said:

Maybe cutting out dairy again could help.

At least the milk, or anything high in lactose (sugar). Some cheeses will be fine. 

[Geezy]

Hey Mama, welcome to Carnivore Talk. We are glad you chose to join us. 
 

Everyone else has pretty much covered all the bases so I can’t add much to that but I will offer this…the carnivore diet is individual to each of us. There is no cookie cutter way of eating this WOE. You have to become your own N of 1 and find what works best for you. 
I would encourage you to go do a search on Utube about pregnancy and breastfeeding while eating carnivore.