Maybe the difference is a person's end goal, maybe make a mission statement to kick the diet off to which ever path the person chooses. "I want to step on the scale and see a lesser number over the next 90-120 days". "My goal is to lose X amount of pounds" With these two statements probably 99% of all diets are effective. These statements will lead to the 'calories and calories out' conversation and before the definition of calories pops up, we can change it to 'total mass in and total mass out'. This approach makes all diets really close to 100% effective. Next mission statement would be, "I would like to lose X number of pounds and improve my metabolic health at the same time". This wipes out a really large chunk of most diets. They are effective but the metabolic health, which is probably not up to snuff in the first place, will take a further hit as the weight goal is approached or attained'. I can see this approach for someone really big who needs to drop X number of pounds to be able to go under a knee or hip replacement, or similar surgeries. Getting the weight down can be by any means necessary. The plan would be weight comes down, surgery takes place, mobility is returned and then a better meal plan can be coupled with mobility for a healthier life. I can see this being an option for a lot of people. Then maybe the last mission statement would be "I want to improve my metabolic health, and in time drop some weight, and at the same time develop a sustainable long-term way of eating". This narrows the field. And if I added "without the required need of daily supplementation" we get down to the animal-based versions of carnivore and a minimal number of the keto versions with a carb/sugar level fairly low. Over the past three to four months, I have both gained and lost weight on a strict carnivore diet purely based on the mass I am eating, the timing in which I eat even coupled with several 96-hour water fasts. Last week I laid off the eating to hit the protein target, pretty much ate when I was hungry (which turned into OMD, if that) and dropped from 219 to 212 in 7 days. As always, there is some daily fluctuation and four pretty good days in the gym. I also walked a couple days 3.5 miles with at least 100 pushups along the walk. The weeks before that with the same out-put, I crammed 200 grams of protein per day in via the same strict carnivore diet, and I gained 8-9 pounds. I am the only control subject in my study (LOL) but my approach 'will both lose and gain weight dependent on food intake', it has been proven to improve my metabolic health (numerous blood tests from BP, to glucose, to lipid panel, to kidney function, to immunoglobulin/autoimmune response) and I have shown it is completely sustainable for me over time. 100% of all diets will work and 100% of all diets will fail. Diet success is pounds in the short-term, but that success is all too often short-lived. Diets that evolve into sustainable lifestyles is where the true successes land. And with that said, I can see the need and the point of 'losing weight' by any means necessary. Scott
The wife and I are fanatics about Mexican Food and we simply refuse to give up on it. Also, over the last three decades, we have learned to cook our own. We just have to be creative on carnivore, so here is how we make extremely low carb, Beef enchiladas, perfect for the Carnivore diet.
The only carb is see in this whole recipe is 1 gram in the Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 1/2 a gram in the Garlic Powder and 1/2 a gram in the Cumin. So 2 grams total and the sauce serves two-three people.... so very, very little carb, maybe less than 2 grams for the whole plate. (By the way, zero carb in the dried chili's.)
1. Make your own Enchilada Sauce, because we have not been able to find zero carb Enchilada Sauce and homemade is better. Start out with a bag of dried chili's and toast them in a dry Iron Skillet for 5 minutes. Then put them in hot water for 30 minutes, and into the blender with salt, garlic powder and cumin. (very small amount of garlic and cumin). Once blended, strain the sauce and pour in a skillet to simmer.
2. For two plates, crack three eggs and whip, adding about a 1/4 cup of water to make it more runny. Thinly coat a large skillet with butter, leaving very little oil and pour 1/2 the eggs in... (This is the one place I have to use a non-stick skillet). Rotate the pan handle, allowing the egg to flow all around the pan, making something that looks like a crepe...... very thin. You have to flip and cook the other side, or you can cheat like I do and have an oven cook the top with the broiler.
3. Brown a pound of hamburger meat and salt to taste.
4. Now you can build your enchilada. Lightly coat an oven safe plate with melted butter and place the egg crepe on the plate. On the crepe place your hamburger and a little sharp cheddar cheese and then drizzle some of the enchilada sauce on the inside and roll up. Drizzle the outside with more sauce and put a little cheese on top and put the plate in an oven on 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
5. We put a dish towel on the table, as a hot plate is about to come out of the oven.
If you called this a splurge or a meal on a cheat day...... you are cheating very little. I need this meal once a week.
I suppose you should stay away from this recipe if you have determined that chili's and/or enchilada sauce mess with your body. I was eating EVERY chili and hot peppers since I was a child and my body loves it. By the way, chili's are rich in vitamins and minerals - a good source of Vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin B12, Vitamin E, Phosphorus, Calcium, Potassium, Zinc and Selenium.
PS. If you wanted zero carb enchiladas, just eliminate the cheese, garlic and cumin. They will still be darn good.