The common advice that is often heard during the carnivore diet is to eat fatty cuts of meat. Now I'd say that both for ethical and health reasons I'd like to go for venison meat (mostly raindeer, moose and dear), but i wonder if it's sustainable long term or if it's generally too lean. Does any of you base their diet on Venison?
On a side note, even tho i understnad the tip about fatty meat, evolutionary-wise i feel that we evolved eating hunted animals and therefore maybe the amount of fat found in a wild animal is what happens to be just the right amount for us.
What are your opinions, is venison meat sustainable on the long run?

You're OK telling all the kids Christmas is cancelled because you ate Santa's raindeer?

18 minutes ago, ketomonster said:

You're OK telling all the kids Christmas is cancelled because you ate Santa's raindeer?

Santa changes raindeers every year. the old ones get butchered, i buy the meat directly from santa's market.

If you were eating the lean meat alone there would probably not be any sustainability issues but more than likely would not see the true benefits of going carnivore.

I tried to morph the carnivore concept to another way of thinking and went with some leaner cuts and allowed the fat content to drop. (in my early stages of carnivore, I was only concerned with weight loss and only saw carnivore as a weight loss hack). I thought I could get into a calorie deficit by cutting the fats and still be eating carnivore. The weight loss stalled, and I actually gained some weight back. Once I adjusted the fat content back up, so the diet was higher fat/moderate protein, the weight began to fall again.

The second thing I found, and this may just me personally, but when I am heavy on the lean proteins and don't 'add fat' the stools are still further between but going to the bathroom is a longer and can be somewhat constipated. The higher fat content for me helps keep me regular.

If the venison is readily available, it is one of the better sources of meat protein. I would take advantage of that at every opportunity. One of the kicks/hacks I have been on lately since I switched to an all-red meat diet is that I melt butter and dip my meats, using the butter like a 'steak sauce'. In the case of venison, this would help bring the fat content up while eating lean protein.

Babbling on. Good luck.

Scott

As a hunter who eats a lot of venison throughout the year I can tell you that it is definitely too lean.

Now when we speak of our ancestors eating what they killed we must remember that they ate the whole animal not just the muscle meat.

They ate almost all of the internal organs including the diet fat around the kidneys. They also ate many parts that are mostly fat such as the brains and the bone marrow. So unless you are killing your own game you are not getting what they ate.

I do eat some of the organs from my kills but I don’t go to the same extent that our ancestors did.

When I eat venison, Wild game or any lean meats I make sure to cook it in animal fats and eat it with plenty of butter.

On 8/21/2025 at 11:15 PM, Nemo said:

Now I'd say that both for ethical and health reasons I'd like to go for venison meat (mostly raindeer, moose and dear), but i wonder if it's sustainable long term or if it's generally too lean. Does any of you base their diet on Venison?
On a side note, even tho i understnad the tip about fatty meat, evolutionary-wise i feel that we evolved eating hunted animals and therefore maybe the amount of fat found in a wild animal is what happens to be just the right amount for us.
What are your opinions, is venison meat sustainable on the long run?

Eat all the venison you want. But it cannot be your sole source of food or you will risk "rabbit starvation" also known as "mal de caribou". This happens when you solely rely on lean meats for an extended period of time in the absense of either fat or carbohydrates.

The solution is to eat a varied diet that includes fattier options, like fatty fish, eggs with the yolk, as well as cooking with animal fats or drizzling with sauces made from animal fats (tallow, yolk, etc), if you want to remain carnivore. Other solutions include just having a more varied diet overall.