Hi there, my name is Laura, I'm 26, and based in Tennessee. I've been aware of the carnivore diet for a few years, primarily the Lion Diet through Mikaela Peterson, but have only recently felt the sudden inspiration to try it about one week ago. Now this way of life is completely radical to me. I used to be vegan and felt great for a few months, but then gradually experienced the worst health of my life - severe cystic acne, anxiety, fear, panic attacks, fatigue, etc.. Unlike many, I only lasted about a year (fortunately) before I realized I had to start eating some meat and eggs again.

While I haven't been strictly vegan since that year (around 2016), I still never ate that much meat. I genuinely loved fruits and veggies as a kid and would actually prefer plant foods over meat. I never ever bought it from a grocery store and cooked it myself. Basically, I only ate meat if I was at a restaurant or it was offered to me. I suppose this was just enough to keep me afloat for the past 8 or so years. I had a very brief interest in the paleo diet in 2019 but that didn't go very far.

Fast forward to today. I was still eating meat maybe once or twice a week (usually just chicken, turkey, or salmon though), but I was definitely running hard on carbs, sugar, and caffeine (not even coffee - these sugary oat bars!). Don't get me wrong, I've always been health conscious, so these were primarily whole foods - oatmeal, bananas, apples, sprouted grain breads, edamame, chickpeas, quinoa, rice, beans, dates, etc., but OMG the BRAIN FOG and FATIGUE I've been having recently.

So this is my primary reason. I just know something is up. I don't feel vital (can't even remember the last time I did) and I cannot focus for long periods of time. I've even found myself struggling to articulate and communicate lately. The reason this is extremely important to me right now is that I'm 5 months in to my freelance writing & editing career (I want to be a digital nomad). I've been blessed with a lot of client work these last few months and I was doing great at first, but now I can barely keep up and it's really been hurting my income. With this job, it's just me so I HAVE to stay focused and productive. A big part of it is simply the distraction of craving a sugar or caffeine spike constantly throughout the day.

Anyway, I think I first stumbled upon a keto video on YT which led me down the carnivore rabbit hole. Again, I've been aware of these, but something just clicked last week and ever since, I've been consuming a lot of content about it. Now, I am quite convinced that there is really something to it and I am trying to transition to keto, but mainly carnivore. (It helps if I can still eat some 100% dark chocolate, tahini, and a few veggies without beating myself up yet). Anyway, I'm here to hopefully find some community, because it is quite difficult when you're on your own. I'm especially worried about the end of the month because I'm going to this hippie music festival and I know it's gonna be overflowing with vegans hahaha.

Anyway, hi, it's great to be here 🙂

Edited May 17, 20241 yr by lizalab

Welcome to the community. I tried wfpb for a stint, but I was never satisfied with the food no matter how creative I was in the kitchen. It's a weird sensation to feel stuffed yet hungry. Good luck with your hippie festival. I think you could talk up regenerative farming with that crew. You never know. They might be sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Edited May 17, 20241 yr by Miranda
Grammar

Hahaha, good point! Thank you, Miranda. And yes, that is a weird sensation indeed. I would eat a ginormous bowl of raw salad yet find myself binging on half a jar of almond butter 30 mins later.... To think how much guilt I felt when my body was simply demanding more protein and fat! Lol. I'm glad those days are over.

5 hours ago, lizalab said:

Anyway, I think I first stumbled upon a keto video on YT which led me down the carnivore rabbit hole. Again, I've been aware of these, but something just clicked last week and ever since, I've been consuming a lot of content about it. Now, I am quite convinced that there is really something to it and I am trying to transition to keto, but mainly carnivore. 

Keto is a good place to start, but we have to be careful how we define "keto". True keto is clean, whole, one-ingredient foods that God/nature provides. Aim to fill half your plate with fatty meat or eggs, and the other half with low-carbohydrate veggies. Gradually increase the meat and reduce the veggies over a set period of time until next thing you know you are fully carnivore. Try this for at least 30 days, preferably 90. A lot of people will experience the "keto flu" which is basically unpredictable stools, and then stop the diet and claim it doesn't work. You need to push past this transtion/adaptation phase. Took me 6 weeks. I've successfully reversed several of my issues, and my mental clarity and attitude has never been better. I think you will see the same results.

5 hours ago, lizalab said:

(It helps if I can still eat some 100% dark chocolate, tahini, and a few veggies without beating myself up yet).

So don't beat yourself up. Just be smart. Keep your actual carbs less than 20g a day to start. Avoid all sugar, grain, and vegetable seed oils.

Of those things you listed, you may want to gradually wean yourself off the tahini. Sesame seeds contain a high amount of oxalic acid and phytic acid as well as other anti-nutrients like trypsin inhibitors, lectin, tannins, saponins. These anti-nutrients block mineral absorption and cause digestive distress when consumed. While hulling, toasting and cooking sesame seeds can reduce their anti-nutrient contents, it also lowers their nutrition value.

5 hours ago, lizalab said:

Anyway, I'm here to hopefully find some community, because it is quite difficult when you're on your own. I'm especially worried about the end of the month because I'm going to this hippie music festival and I know it's gonna be overflowing with vegans hahaha.

We're here to help. And don't get too nervous about the festival. Just don't tell them you're eating a mostly carnivore diet. If you have to eat with them it's not the end of the world.

I am going to a music festival in the morning - Sonic Temple in Columbus, Ohio. Once you're in, you can't leave, and you cannot bring anything in with you. I will probably have a massive breakfast and try to fast all day so I don't end up eating a $30 cheeseburger, lol. 

Bob pretty much covered it all so I’ll just welcome you lisalab.


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15 hours ago, Bob said:

I will probably have a massive breakfast and try to fast all day

Fasting is a great option, I find people have less of a problem with abstinence than they do observing my food choices.  It's like the saying, "you can't be misquoted, if you say nothing at all"

19 hours ago, Bob said:

A lot of people will experience the "keto flu" which is basically unpredictable stools, and then stop the diet and claim it doesn't work. You need to push past this transtion/adaptation phase. Took me 6 weeks. I've successfully reversed several of my issues, and my mental clarity and attitude has never been better. I think you will see the same results.

So glad to hear that for you!! Yes, I have already started experiencing this a bit. I don't think I've minimized my carbs enough yet to feel the full effects, but I can already feel that there is an adaptation phase. Thanks for pointing that out!

I know this is going to sound ridiculous but these caffeine oat bars are the only thing that's holding me back right now. It's a long story but basically these oat bars are the only caffeine I can have that doesn't give me a headache and nausea (green tea... no. coffee... definitely not). Once I get back from visiting family this week, I'm going to try to make my own low carb / fat bomb caffeine bars and see how that goes. 

19 hours ago, Bob said:

Of those things you listed, you may want to gradually wean yourself off the tahini. Sesame seeds contain a high amount of oxalic acid and phytic acid as well as other anti-nutrients like trypsin inhibitors, lectin, tannins, saponins. These anti-nutrients block mineral absorption and cause digestive distress when consumed. While hulling, toasting and cooking sesame seeds can reduce their anti-nutrient contents, it also lowers their nutrition value.

Nooo, not the tahini.... lol. Thank you for sharing that. I have honestly felt a bit off with it but nut/seed butters are my weakness. It's the closest thing that feels like a dessert food for me. I was thinking tahini was the "lesser evil" out of the nut butters (I know peanut and cashew are definitely a no), but I suppose I need to try to lay off it. Thank you for this insight!

19 hours ago, Bob said:

I am going to a music festival in the morning - Sonic Temple in Columbus, Ohio. Once you're in, you can't leave, and you cannot bring anything in with you. I will probably have a massive breakfast and try to fast all day so I don't end up eating a $30 cheeseburger, lol. 

Hahaha nice.. yea, luckily I can leave the festival I'm going to so that helps at least. But I hope it goes (or is going, I suppose) well for you!

Edited May 18, 20241 yr by lizalab

11 hours ago, Geezy said:

Bob pretty much covered it all so I’ll just welcome you lisalab.

Thank you so much Geoff 🙂 

4 hours ago, Miranda said:

Fasting is a great option, I find people have less of a problem with abstinence than they do observing my food choices.  It's like the saying, "you can't be misquoted, if you say nothing at all"

Haha, so true!! I will try to fast if I can.

12 hours ago, lizalab said:

basically these oat bars are the only caffeine I can have that doesn't give me a headache

Have you tried caffeine pills? 

On 5/18/2024 at 6:28 PM, lizalab said:

It's the closest thing that feels like a dessert food for me. I was thinking tahini was the "lesser evil" out of the nut butters (I know peanut and cashew are definitely a no), but I suppose I need to try to lay off it. Thank you for this insight!

Carnivore ice cream is my dessert. It's basically heavy cream and egg yolks. You can add a little artificial sweetener (or honey) if you want it a bit sweet and if you only have this once in a while it won't hurt you any (mind you, once in a while does not mean every day, lol).

Use up your tahini so it doesn't go to waste. Gradually transition to carnivore. Keto substitute recipes are a nice crutch as you make your way to healthy whole single ingredient foods or a stricter carnivore. But like regular crutches, they should be temporary until you can "walk" on your own 😉