Hello everyone! I came here seeking inspiration and the opportunity to rely on other people’s experiences. I have done low-carb diets off and on for years and it’s always been the best for controlling my weight. I’m the type that likes to dig into and study the science behind these diets. Recently, I’ve learned about the many benefits of a carnivore diet besides just weight loss. So I decided to give it a try. It’s been great, but I’ve had a few hiccups. I’d greatly appreciate any advice. 

A little about myself. I’m 36 y.o., 5’8” tall. I work night shift three nights a week, grueling 12-hour shifts that mess with my routine. I started the carnivore diet end of last year. I dropped 15 lbs in two months. Holidays came around, though, and I slipped off track. Getting back on was rough, but I’ve been strict again for about 2 months now. Problem is, the scale’s barely moving this time. I started at 221, got down to 215 last week, but now I’m back at 217.

On the flip side, I’m seeing some wins off the scale. My headaches are gone, knee pain’s disappeared, and inflammation’s way down. My face looks leaner, and the brain fog I used to fight is minimal. I’m stoked about these changes, but I’m scratching my head about the weight. Last time, it fell off fast. What’s different now? Anyone else experience something similar? Any tips for getting the scale moving again? I know that sometimes our body just needs some time to adjust. One major issue I’m facing is I just have no appetite on this diet because of all the protein and fat. I know I’m not eating enough for a man of my weight. I get down maybe one pound of beef in the afternoon and a few eggs in the morning.

On 4/17/2025 at 2:29 AM, ViniVici said:

On the flip side, I’m seeing some wins off the scale. My headaches are gone, knee pain’s disappeared, and inflammation’s way down. My face looks leaner, and the brain fog I used to fight is minimal. I’m stoked about these changes, but I’m scratching my head about the weight.

Those NSV 's are great. Cherish them. Sometimes when we hit these plateaus it's because the body is focused on healing instead of losing weight. On the other hand...

On 4/17/2025 at 2:29 AM, ViniVici said:

One major issue I’m facing is I just have no appetite on this diet because of all the protein and fat. I know I’m not eating enough for a man of my weight. I get down maybe one pound of beef in the afternoon and a few eggs in the morning.

That does sound like you are not eating a lot. You're coming in less than 1500 "calories" a day provided it's 80/20 ground beef and you're slurping up all the grease from your plate. Your body may be adjusting it's metabolic rate to counter the low caloric intake (we only mention "calories" here in the sense that it gives you a rough idea how much or how little you are eating). I'm not sure how active you are, or how much sleep you are getting, but here's some ideas worth trying...

1. Increase your consumption. The 1lb of beef is a good meal but breakfast could be bigger if you are only eating 3 eggs.

2. Don't eat and then go to sleep on it.

3. Try to consolidate your eating into an 8-hour feeding window at most. Then fast the remaining 16+ hours.

4. Throw in an extended fast here and there.

Thank you for the response, Bob. I definitely try to not eat just before sleeping. The only time I have breakfast is around 10 am if I’m not going to sleep due to night shift. For the most part I’m intermittent fasting. I haven’t yet included a 36 hour or longer fast but plan to do so soon. Aside from that, do you recommend I try pushing through my lack of appetite to eat more than I feel I can? I’m not feeling stuffed in the stomach necessarily. I just lose all desire from the brain side and the food loses its appeal for me.

It is not always about how much you eat and sometimes what you eat plays second fiddle to when you eat. If you can skip the traditional breakfast and eat later in the morning it will give your glucose time to spike up and then drop back some. By then you are active in your day. I too work a lot of nights and it is really easy to get off work, eat and go to sleep. That is a bad combination for weight loss. Then couple that with eating the wrong foods. Double whammy. I lose faster when the fat content is up for a higher fat/moderate protein approach. I left home on Wednesday morning at 215. I am sure I will see a weight gain tomorrow when back at home. I have eaten the right things but have not had a meal since we left. I have been snacking on the meats throughout the day while we ride. I ate a lot of food but never let my body adjust/empty/make room before I was snacking again. Timing will be more my issue when I weigh tomorrow.

On 4/17/2025 at 1:29 AM, ViniVici said:

and I slipped off track. Getting back on was rough, but I’ve been strict again for about 2 months now. Problem is, the scale’s barely moving this time.

Welcome to Carnivore Talk Mathew.

I’ve seen this a lot in people who get off carnivore and then try to get back on track. I don’t know why this happens but it does seem like the body is saying “Fool me once, shame on me. Fool me twice, shame on you”.

On 4/17/2025 at 1:29 AM, ViniVici said:

I know I’m not eating enough for a man of my weight

There’s a common understanding in the carnivore community that you must eat enough to lose weight. If you don’t your body will go into starvation mode and retain fat as a hedge against leaner times. That may be why you aren’t seeing the weight loss you expect. You also may not be getting enough fat either. If your main food is hamburger and you are not pouring the rendered fat back over the burger as a sauce then I guarantee you aren’t getting enough fat. I don’t care how much fat is in the burger most of it renders out in the cooking.

Try to eat an equal amount of fat and protein. Shoot for 1 gm of fat to 1 gm of protein per your ideal body weight.

Another though also, with working shift work like you are do you get good sleep? I know I didn’t when I had to work nights. Poor sleep can raise cortisol levels and that can definitely have an effect on weight loss.

Hang in there and give it time. Focus on the benefits you are receiving and try to remember that nothing tastes as good as how you feel.