New to the forum but not to carnivore

[The S.]

Hi everyone 

I'm new here so my apologies in case I'm not doing this right. This is going to be a long one. I have a problem, a crisis actually, and I was hoping I could get some help here. So about 3 years ago I went off birth control pills (I was on them for 6 years) which destroyed my hormones. I started getting cystic acne like I'd never experienced before. The scars are still there and they're so bad that I've been getting laser treatment. It was horrific. I started missing my cycles. Extreme mood swings and uncontrollable weight gain. My hair fell out in clumps (still haven't recovered after 3 years). I looked for a solution. I already knew about Dr. Lustig's work on sugar but even cutting out sugar didn't help much. That's when I stumbled on Dr. Ken Berry's content. He talked about keto so that's what I tried and the results were ok but not enough to fix me. He also talked about carnivore so I tried it. It worked like magic. 3 months in and my acne was reduced and my weight started going down. I was on the lion diet for 2 years. Everything but my hair fall was fixed. Then something happened in my life that threw me off balance a bit and I had one bite of cake. One small bite and then all hell broke loose on me. In a matter of weeks I developed bulimia. Binging and purging. And one year later, right now, I've been trying to get back on carnivore without success. The binge continues but I had to stop the purge due to recurring blood in my vomit (pardon the graphic description), and fasting and exercise just make me binge even worse. I didn't have this problem before. I have severe meat aversion. I can't stand it even though before, it used to be my favorite food in the world. I've tried fasting, going cold turkey, keto to ketovore to carnivore, all without success. I'm at the end of my rope. I've put on 20 kg and my acne is coming back. Does anyone have a similar experience? Meat aversion is my main problem. I just can't stand red meat anymore or eggs or anything. I just want to get back on carnivore but I don't understand why I cannot. My apologies for the super long post and thank you for reading.

[Geezy]

Wow! Thats a dilemma. 
I can’t imagine what could cause you to suddenly have an aversion to meat. 
Some people can get a disease called Alfa Gal syndrome from a tick bite but that usually just gives them an aversion to red meat not all meats. 
I wonder if you don’t need to go see a doctor for some blood work and an exam. 
I hope someone comes along with some advice that will help you. 

[Bob]

On 4/8/2025 at 3:07 PM, The S. said:

fasting and exercise just make me binge even worse

There's some science to this. When you fast and exercise you are using more energy. More energy expenditure will increase appetite. Then when you do break your fast, you can't stop inhaling everything around you. 

With carnivore, this isn't usually a problem. We very much advocate eat until you are comfortably full. But then you bring up this...

On 4/8/2025 at 3:07 PM, The S. said:

I have severe meat aversion. I can't stand it even though before, it used to be my favorite food in the world. ... Meat aversion is my main problem. I just can't stand red meat anymore or eggs or anything. I just want to get back on carnivore but I don't understand why I cannot.

It does sound like the Alpha Gal Syndrome that you can get from a tick bite. But that usually only gives you a reaction to red meat. Poultry and fish are often still manageable. We have a member here who reports that he occasionally struggles with meat and eggs due to long-COVID symptoms. Maybe you are dealing with a similar issue?

My only suggestion would be to make the food as palatable as you possibly can. Start with an all-natural whole foods approach, such as keto/ketvore. Take advantage of seasonings and sauces for now. And then slowly and gradually try to transition things to more of a strict carnivore diet. And when I say slow, I mean take your time. We're hoping you can train your palate to learn to love these foods again.

Also try to think what specifically could be behind the acne. I would definitely swear off grains and refined sugars. And then beyond that try eliminating lectin-heavy foods for a while. If that doesn't work then switch it up and try eliminating oxylate heavy foods for a while, etc. Work your way through the common plant toxins to try and determine if one of these is your specific trigger.

[The S.]

Thank you @Geezy and @Bob. I think I'll start with keto like you said and give it another try. I can add some veg and definitely some seasoning. I know this will sound incredibly silly and we're all online strangers and all, but it does feel great to have permission to start with a whole foods approach and not be shamed for not being carnivore anymore as can happen with more strict communities and being told to just eat meat. I hope this works. Thanks again

[Skeptic]

I was stumped as far as any advice, but I agree with the above posts!  Shakes and smoothies, sauces and seasonings... if you can.  I always tell people to take it slow if starting a diet change.  It took this guy YEARS to give up coffee. 
I can definitely say that this forum is a great place.  I came for the info, but have stayed for the nice folks.   Good camaraderie here, with a pleasant helping of understanding.  I certainly am hoping you can get some relief.  Are you journaling any of your diet / symptoms?  I find that to be a big help, as a lot of times the weeks all roll together in hindsight.

[Miranda]

On 4/8/2025 at 10:45 PM, Geezy said:

I can’t imagine

Well, I can. The taste of meat has now been tainted with the vomiting. I can't even smell tropical fruit punch without thinking about how sick I got after drinking a quart of it then riding my bike on a hot summer day. I also had a shrimp aversion for several years after on Thanksgiving where I ate to many. 

S, have you sought out help for the bulimia?

Lately I have been following Dr Jack Kruse and have shifted my eating window to earlier in the day and I feel less bingey in the evening now. I eat 4 eggs and 2 quarter pounders.

Dr Kruse, really focuses more on light affecting the circadian rhythm than on food, but he does recommend paleo.

Adequate protein prevents binges for me especially if I eat earlier in the day 

Edited Friday at 09:29 PM by Miranda

[ketomonster]

Without enough protein you are going to get worse. there is probably some type of protein you'll find palatable, lamb, duck, turkey, yogurt, kefir, cheese etc. anything.  also maybe look into a protein powder isolate or concentrate.  Me myself, I would stop eating everything until I had a desire for some type of protein. But Im not an expert. best wishes.

[Scott F.]

My buddy had a tick bite that turned to Lyme disease. He couldn't eat any meats for a really long time. For him, it was not the taste nor the aversion to eating them but the fact he would swell, break out in hives and his joints ached to the point movement was difficult. 

Before being diagnosed he had eaten a burger, jumped on his motorcycle and his first attack hit him at 40mph. Luckily, he brought it to stop and fell over against the roll-up door at the Fire Department. If he had dumped it anywhere else, it would be a different story.

Over time he eased back into fish and chicken, and he is still not eating red meat. Pork is a 'gamble', sometimes he breaks out and sometimes he does not. 

I agree with the posts above. If it were all of a sudden I would get checked out for a tick related illness.

Hopefully you can figure some things out. Best of luck.

Scott

[Miranda]

Have you tried gelatin? I made some with the juice of half a lemon and some re-lyte.

[Geezy]

7 hours ago, The S. said:

and not be shamed for not being carnivore anymore

We do not judge around here. None of us are 100% pure carnivore. Each of us are different with different physiology and as such we all have our own unique path to travel. We cannot judge ourselves against anyone else either or we will only be disappointed. 
Find your way and we will support you in it. 

[Scott F.]

10 hours ago, Geezy said:

We do not judge around here. None of us are 100% pure carnivore. Each of us are different with different physiology and as such we all have our own unique path to travel. We cannot judge ourselves against anyone else either or we will only be disappointed. 
Find your way and we will support you in it. 

Well said.

The only thing cookie-cutter in life is actual cookie-cutting. 

Keep searching to find what works for you and once it is working for you, that becomes "your" plan.

Best of luck.

Scott

[The S.]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I really appreciate the help!

I did manage to eat some chicken after doing a 30 hour fast which wasn't on purpose, but the prospect of chicken wasn't inviting. It was fine, no nausea like with red meat. It was a small amount, just a few wings (fried in butter), but it's better than the junk I've been eating. I'll just do that again tomorrow. I did see a thread here where everyone recorded what they ate? I think that's a great idea, to write things down. And I will also journal this time to figure this out in case it happens again in the future.

@Skeptic I do really like the idea of giving it time. I'm so tired of deciding to go back to carnivore overnight and then failing in a few days. I mean, when I keep doing that it makes a bad record and at some point it only makes sense to give up since failing seems like the only outcome. But it didn't occur to me at all that I could take my time, no pressure (THE PRESSURE!!), just add a bit more meat and other animal products everyday until it becomes the majority of what I eat and I just stop eating other whole foods altogether. It's a very sensible approach. Thank you so much!

@Geezy Thank you so much! Virtual bacon:  

@Miranda I haven't tried the gelatin, but I can try it. I haven't seen anyone for the binging and purging. I don't see how they can help me. I suppose, to them, using carnivore to recover would just be another extreme diet. I also don't really like non carnivore doctors and I don't know any carnivore ones. My doctor is the one who assured me that the pill was one hundred percent safe. He actually said that to me! He didn't tell me that I'd lose my hair, my mental stability, my hormonal balance, my figure, etc. Honestly the only time I'll go near a doctor now is if I break an arm or something. I'd rather hug an angry grizzly. 

Thank you so much for the suggestions, for your support, and for taking the time!

@Scott F. What happened to your friend sounds terrifying! So glad he's ok now. If he can go through all of that then surely I can do this which is a much smaller problem compared to what he experienced! I just get nausea. It does put things in perspective. Thank you for sharing that and for your support  

@ketomonster I do like cheese. I'll add some to a little bit of beef tomorrow and see what happens. Thank you for the suggestion