Hi everyone, I’m new here. 27 days into my carnivore journey and could use some support and insight.

Started almost a month ago — no cheats, no plant foods — but I’m still dealing with what feels like a very slow and bumpy digestive adaptation.

To keep it affordable in the beginning, I started with eggs and ground beef. I don’t like the taste of ground beef on its own, so I added eggs to make it more tolerable. Eventually, ground beef became even harder to eat, so I tried bone broth to help it go down, which actually worked for a bit. At one point I switched to slow-cooked chuck roast.

But around week 2, I started getting diarrhea. Thinking it might be histamine sensitivity, I switched to freshly cooked ribeye only, hoping that once digestion improves, I can return to cheaper meats and save ribeye as an occasional “treat.” The diarrhea did stop, but stools are still sometimes loose or liquid.

Even after almost a month of strictly carnivore here’s what else I’ve been going through:

• Very low appetite — rarely feel real hunger, and the thought of meat still doesn’t excite me. 

• Can only eat small amounts at a time before I feel full or slightly nauseated. (May be I’m not eating enough)

• Still kind of fatigued most days. (Though energy level is much better than before)

• No “wellness” or mental clarity boost yet. Still lots of mental chatter, irritability, and emotional heaviness.

• Weight loss has stalled, and I’ve noticed sunken cheeks and a general sense of physical stress. (Lost 10 lbs the first 2 weeks and only 2 lbs since then)

• Sleep is okay, but I still sometimes have uneasy dreams instead of the deep, dreamless sleep I’ve heard others describe.

I’ve been researching possible digestive support like digestive enzymes with ox bile, betaine HCL, DAO enzymes and magnesium glycinate just to help bridge this difficult adaptation phase. But I’m torn:

• Will supplements slow down or interfere with my body’s natural reset?

• Or are they genuinely helpful and worth trying?

So I’m reaching out to ask:

• Has anyone else experienced a rough digestive transition like this, especially around the 3–4 week mark?

• How long did it take before things improved for you?

• What helped the most?

• Should I ride it out or get support in the form of targeted supplements?

I really want to do this clean and right

but I also want to heal, and I feel like I’m in this weird in-between place.

Thanks so much in advance for reading this and sharing your experience. I’m grateful to be here and to learn from all of you who’ve been on this path longer than me. 🙏

50 minutes ago, Norbu said:

Has anyone else experienced a rough digestive transition like this, especially around the 3–4 week mark?

Of course. It’s very normal especially if you just jumped right in rather than easing into it. You could be eating too much fat but more than likely it’s just your gut biome going through the adaptation stage of rebuilding itself to digest fats and proteins instead of carbs. This phase can last anywhere from a couple of weeks to two months. For me it lasted 30 days.

55 minutes ago, Norbu said:

Very low appetite — rarely feel real hunger, and the thought of meat still doesn’t excite me. 

That’s common. Fat is very satiating so we stay satisfied much longer. We do t get that rollercoaster ride like we do with carbs. Just eat when you are hungry and eat until you are full. Just make sure you are getting enough fat.

1 hour ago, Norbu said:

Still kind of fatigued most days. (Though energy level is much better than before)

Again, normal. In the beginning your body is having to change its source of energy from glucose to fats. This can take some time so it’s important to just keep eating plenty of fat ( but not to the point of diarrhea). Give it time and it will turn around as your body adapts.

1 hour ago, Norbu said:

No “wellness” or mental clarity boost yet. Still lots of mental chatter, irritability, and emotional heaviness.

Be aware that what some people experience others may not. I can’t say that my mental clarity has improved any but my irritability has improved greatly. I’ve never had depression so I can’t relate to that.

1 hour ago, Norbu said:

Weight loss has stalled, and I’ve noticed sunken cheeks and a general sense of physical stress. (Lost 10 lbs the first 2 weeks and only 2 lbs since then)

That first ten pounds were probably just water weight. You haven’t stalled, you probably haven’t even started losing any fat yet. Until your body adapts to using fat for fuel you won’t lose any. A little advice for you would be to not be too concerned with the scale. Instead get you a tailors tape measure, the cloth kind. Measure every part of your body. Neck, shoulders, chest, waist, hips, butt, thighs, calves, biceps and forearms. Write them down in a journal and then remeasure every thirty days. This will be a better metric of your weight loss than the scale.

1 hour ago, Norbu said:

Will supplements slow down or interfere with my body’s natural reset?

This early in the diet I wouldn’t mess with any digestive supplements. If after you’ve been doing this for 3-6 months, if you’re still having issues then ox bile might be a good choice. But give your system time to adapt and heal.

The only supplements you might concern yourself with at this time would be electrolytes of sodium, magnesium and potassium. This way of eating flushes water out of our system so it can affect your levels and might need to be replaced this can also affect your energy levels

1 hour ago, Norbu said:

Should I ride it out or get support in the form of targeted supplements?

I think you should just ride it out. Your body is going through a radical change and the transition is different for everyone so just take some vitamin P (patience) and give your body time to heal. You didn’t wreck your metabolism over night and you won’t fix it overnight.

Just KCCO (Keep Calm & Carnivore On)

Oh, and welcome to Carnivore Talk we are glad you joined us.

Welcome to the forum. This is a really good place to read and learn but at the same time bounce your questions, thoughts and experiences off the board members. All of us are different and all of us have unique experiences with carnivore. It won't be cookie-cutter between any two people.

Geezy is spot on with his response.

I will use your age and your carnivore time. You spent 27 years eating one way and odds are a lot of those foods created a lot of issues (any number of health issues) so odds are you will not correct them with 27 days of carnivore. Some heal faster, some slower. On average, for a carnivore, at 27 you are on the younger side, most start much later in life. I would suggest work thru the struggles because I spent 54 years pounding my body the wrong way and only have 14 months of eating the way I was designed. I have made great strides, but I truly believe I would have healed faster had I pounded less/healed more. So, good for you for making this decision much earlier than the average.

I went cold-turkey on the plants and the sugars form day 1. I had a lot of the same issues as you mentioned. It took me several months to get thru the loose issues in the bathroom.

1. I went cold-turkey so some call it healing and some call it de-toxing/withdrawals and whichever, the gut will react accordingly to sudden change.

2. Like mentioned, make sure your salt content is solid. The first ten pounds or so was water and with that water a lot of electrolytes and minerals left with it. You are probably depleted. Look into the electrolyte drinks like LMNT and such. (go to youtube and you can make your own for pennies on the dollar in comparison to store bought packets)\

3. Check your fat content. When cooking burger try to eat as much of the grease as you can. The advertised fat content of hamburger is often left in the pan. Those leftovers can be the key to your success. This is a higher fat/moderate protein approach. (I too use burger and chuck steak to off-set the cost of rib-eyes. There is a thread on here about carnivore costs and believe it or not, it is cheaper big picture but I still scoff/struggle with something that is 15-16-17 plus per pound. I'm cheap)

4. Move. Start walking or exercising. Carnivore will work either way (I believe) but the exercise, especially walking, will speed up the process. Coming off the plants and the sugars your body will use up the glycogen and you will become fat adapted. You will burn fat for energy and the more energy you expand the more fat you will burn. The process is accelerated because the body is not using food for storage near as much as when the sugars and carbs are being eaten.

5. Be patient. (and although I didn't and still do) Try not to use the scale as a measuring stick. You will find as you drop body fat and water content changes, your weight my stay the same or even increase a pound or two during that same time you have to cinch your belt up a notch or two. At the same weight the pants fit a tad looser. Body composition changes are far more beneficial than the number on the scale. (And with that I'm a total hypocrite as I weigh myself regularly-LOL maybe it is do as I say not as I do-LOL)

Best of luck. Bounce your experiences here. You will learn some things and better yet we will learn some things from you.

Scott

I wonder if there is histamine issue here. I have a hard time with ground beef and slow cooked meats. I like to get a chuck steak. It looks like a thinner version of the Chuck pot roast. I just grill it and eat it over three meals. I would look for cheap steaks rather than ground beef. Also try getting some plain gelatin. For diarrhea I take calcium supplements. They help.

I 've watched all 37,527 no carb life interviews and some people say they struggled for awhile. It seems pretty common for those with health problems to take longer to feel better. Low energy.. don't feel like beef? eat butter! We know here carnivore is cheaper than SAD. I can say you're on the right track, don't doubt your decision. Muscle through the discomfort you'll thank yourself later.