Hi,

My name is Robert...I've been doing Carnivore for almost 3 weeks now and a question popped up that you might be able to help me with.

I did Atkins Low carb for 5 years...I lost 80 lbs and kept it off without a blip on the radar....but a bite of pie derailed that...then 5 years of gaining weight...and then calorie counting and doing a LOT of bike riding and working out; weight came back down....then covid hit and my momentum died...I don't do a lot of exercise now...it's hard to get going.

I noticed one thing about me....when I have the option to eat crap....the urge frequently wins....a handful of (even low carb) chips or other treat turns into a lot more ...the whole bag of chips...etc. I do better when there is a clear line that isn't to be crossed.

So here is my observation/question:

I frequently eat something sweet at the end of the day...sugar free jell-o with some reddi-whip (sugar free) on top or something similar, I have a craving for something sweet after all my meals.
I also think that this isn't a good thing...somehow it's derailing me. I've gained a few lbs while doing carnivore and suspect that this might have something to do with it though I really don't know.

Is it BEST to cut out all "sweet tasting" things while on carnivore? Does that inhibit ketosis and fat burning even though it's sugar free?

 

Edited August 5, 20241 yr by rpavich

I must say I am envious of those who have broke their soda habits, lol. I love my bubbles so much. I even purchased a DrinkMate (comparable to Soda Stream) to make my own fizzy drinks, but I usually make some sort of diet soda. I can drink a San Pelligrino just fine, but carbonating my tap water is not very palatable. 

Regarding artificial sweeteners for taste - for some people it's a trigger and they will go off plan and binge. For others, it causes a cephalic phase insulin response and raises their insulin, hampering weight loss. I'm lucky in that I don't seem to struggle with either issue.

Report:
it may be a coincidence, but I just realized that my beardruff and my flaky scalp is gone.
I might not have already mentioned that my blood pressure is now mostly in the normal range, it was HIGH (200/100) and i was on BP meds, i’m not taking any blood pressure meds and my blood pressure goes from either acceptable or just barely above. (it was 117/72 yesterday morning)
 
im feeling very optimistic…

Probably not a coincidence. I’ve had dandruff ever since I first grew my hair out in 68. I had always gotten a butch haircut but I was going into junior high and thought it was time to grow my hair out.
Anyways, after 56 years I no longer have dandruff and mine was bad. I had to use the most powerful commercial dandruff shampoo available and I had to use it every day. Well a few months back I went on a long motorcycle ride down to New Orleans with some buddies and didn’t take my shampoo. After four days I noticed that my scalp didn’t itch and there were no flakes. I haven’t used dandruff shampoo since. My dandruff is gone.
It makes sense. Dandruff is a skin disease and skin diseases are an autoimmune disease that are brought on by inflammation and are cured by reducing that inflammation through carnivore.


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ok… report

This might be disgusting, but I had a horrible belt with constipation yesterday.

 

this might be disgusting, but I had a horrible bout with constipation yesterday...Worse than I’ve ever had.

it was so bad…I felt so plugged up that I didn’t even eat until dinner yesterday and didn’t really want to eat then.

I’m not sure what brought it on, but I had eaten seven salmon patties for dinner and then had a dessert of three hotdogs with bacon…

but other than that, everything is great, my cravings are gone, the closer I stick to just fatty meat the better things get…

 

I had had some really loose stools the past few weeks and really couldn't pinpoint the cause. My best guess is I was over doing the butter a bit when cooking but not sure.

Other than occasional shredded cheese I have not done any dairy. When I first started I drank some chocolate milk and the stool was bad enough and smelled bad enough to support the myths around red meat staying your system for months on end. Like, I had to be rotting from the inside out. That bad.

Milk sort of fell off the menu. 

This past week I drank a glass of milk on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I locked up like Fort Knox. I didn't go from Tuesday til Saturday. 

Even after 90 days I am still trying to figure things out. 

Scott

10 hours ago, rpavich said:

... I had eaten seven salmon patties for dinner and then had a dessert of three hotdogs...

What are those salmon patties made from?  Consider this.  Also the hot dogs could be playing a role.

ok… report
This might be disgusting, but I had a horrible belt with constipation yesterday.
 
this might be disgusting, but I had a horrible bout with constipation yesterday...Worse than I’ve ever had.
it was so bad…I felt so plugged up that I didn’t even eat until dinner yesterday and didn’t really want to eat then.
I’m not sure what brought it on, but I had eaten seven salmon patties for dinner and then had a dessert of three hotdogs with bacon…
but other than that, everything is great, my cravings are gone, the closer I stick to just fatty meat the better things get…
 

I have chronic constipation. I’m not one of the fortunate ones who have great BMs on carnivore. I don’t know if it’s because I had IBS for over 30 years or because I don’t have a gallbladder or maybe my liver just doesn’t function the way it should.
Meat doesn’t stay in your intestinal track for months. That’s impossible. To test that out just take a laxative and you’ll see that there is not a months worth of waste in your bowels. The majority of all the meat you eat is absorbed into your body. That’s because it is so nutrient dense. According to Dr. Berry and Dr. Chaffee what we are expelling shed cells and bodily fluids. Actually, people who eat only meat tend to produce less waste, so they might find themselves pooping less or less frequently, but it isn't usually a sign of constipation.
Constipation on the carnivore diet can occur for different reasons. When you switch to this diet, your body has to adapt to digesting more proteins and fats, which can be challenging and may lead to constipation.

Also, there's often a significant loss of water as your body uses up stored glycogen, and this decrease in hydration can affect bowel movements. So, you need to drink enough water to prevent dehydration and constipation.

The change in your diet also alters your gut bacteria. When you move from a high-carb to a low-carb diet, the types of bacteria in your gut change, which can slow down the movement of food through your intestines.

Additionally, imbalances in essential minerals like magnesium, calcium, potassium, and sodium, vital for intestinal muscle function, can cause constipation. Consuming electrolyte drinks and taking supplements - after consulting a physician, of course - can help.

Certain foods common in the Carnivore diet, particularly processed meats and dairy, can induce constipation, especially if you're intolerant or allergic to them.

It is all because meat takes longer to digest than plant foods, so your bowel movements will probably be less frequent but regular and predictable.

What I have learned to to do is eat a lot of fat. My morning beverage is bulletproof with butter and MCT oil. Then everything is cooked in tallow or bacon grease. Any meat that is lean will be slathered in butter and or the grease it was cooked in.
Upping my fat intake has helped but hasn’t been a cure yet. So I was taking a magnesium citrate and that turned my stools into a peanut butter consistency. Better than constipation but far from ideal. So I’m now taking a magnesium complex supplement that has citrate in it. So far it it working ok for the most part. I’m hard but not constipated.
On those occasions when I feel like I’m going to be constipated I’ll use a suppository to get things moving. It generally works within a couple of hours and doesn’t go overboard. If it was looking like it was going to be severe then I would take a tea called Smooth Move. It contains Senna. That will clean you out.


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The stools are going to seem wonky for the first month or so. I would either drop pure liquid with the force of a fire hydrant, or I would go up to 8 days with no desire to sit down, only to drop a little rock when I did. It eventually evened out and returned to my new normal. 

I don't think the Salmon itself is the culprit. But Salmon, while considered a "fatty fish" is still kinda lean. You may have needed to add more fat.

The rule of thumb is to add more fat, in the form of butter, ghee, or tallow. Cheese may work, but many people report cheese being a natural constipator. Me included.

Bob,

you are probably right...I ate 6 small filet mignons the day before for dinner and then the salmon patties the next night...
I am good this morning...all is well in toilet-land...

I would either drop pure liquid with the force of a fire hydrant, or 

Nice.

I phrased it as "I could shit for distance" (with the Olympics and all)

 

Scott

2 hours ago, Scott F. said:

I would either drop pure liquid with the force of a fire hydrant, or 

Nice.

I phrased it as "I could shit for distance" (with the Olympics and all)

 

Scott

The other day at work I ate something that didn't totally agree. And hadda scurry off to the pot in a hurry. When I came out I told the old gals that I could've threaded a screen door at twenty paces and never hit a wire.  They said thanks for that mental picture. 🙂 

OK, this is too weird, this might be a coincidence but you won’t believe this

I’ve had neuropathy in both feet for several years now and no doctor could tell me what’s going on and why it’s happening or how to fix it so I’ve just lived with it.

 

for several years now and no doctor could tell me what’s going on and why it’s happening or how to fix it so I’ve just lived with it.

 

I realized a day or two ago that I could feel my feet, and just now I realized I can feel myself tickle my feet and it makes me jump, the only part that’s really numb now is the toes and they’re not even really that numb.

 

and just now I realized I can feel myself tickle my feet and it makes me jump, the only part that’s really numb now is the toes and they’re not even really that numb.

 

It feels funny to walk because it feels like I’m walking on pillows, I can feel the bottom of my feet now

Ok...I just realized something else...my 5x urinating a night has stopped. I can go a whole night's sleep and only pee 1 or 2 times....no emergencies.....
Normally if I have to pee...IT'S ON! I was driving home a couple of weeks ago and peed my pants because I couldn't hold it....now...I can say " I have to pee..." and if I don't immediately run to the bathroom...it's no big deal....

amazing.

On 8/13/2024 at 6:05 AM, rpavich said:

I can feel the bottom of my feet now

 

On 8/13/2024 at 7:16 AM, rpavich said:

 I can go a whole night's sleep and only pee 1 or 2 times....no emergencies..... amazing.

That's awesome. These are nice little milestones in your recovery. Remember every improvement, both big and small, as these will keep you motivated to stay the course.

I'm CONVINCED that there is and was a collusion in the food/drug industry to keep folks from eating like this. I've watched so many videos explaining the connections between the drug companies, the sugar and junk food industries and where the money-trails are....it's no accident that the diet advice from the powers that be have been wrong...it's not by accident...it's a calculated move to keep us coming back for pills and surgeries.

I don't think that they think of it that way exactly...but human greed being what it is...I think that they smell money to be made and we are the guinea pigs.

1 hour ago, rpavich said:

I'm CONVINCED that there is and was a collusion in the food/drug industry to keep folks from eating like this. I've watched so many videos explaining the connections between the drug companies, the sugar and junk food industries and where the money-trails are....it's no accident that the diet advice from the powers that be have been wrong...it's not by accident...it's a calculated move to keep us coming back for pills and surgeries.

I don't think that they think of it that way exactly...but human greed being what it is...I think that they smell money to be made and we are the guinea pigs.

I can't get this idea out of my head that, in the area of health care and education that there is a sort of planned obsolescence of "wisdom" Explaining it is complicated. When my daughter was in grade school I couldn't help her with math homework despite being a stellar math student. At that time they were teaching some convoluted new math. I felt it drove a wedge, made me look dumb in her eyes. Then when I think of childbirth and how my mother's generations wisdom was outdated as was my grandmothers when I was born. Heck in the 15 years between my two children being born thing were turned upside down again. It didn't always used to be like this. I feel like it's intentional somehow, because if you don't feel like you can rely on the wisdom of your elders, than you have to rely on the "annointed" forms of wisdom.

I’m not the least bit surprised that your neuropathy is getting better. When it comes to carnivore I’m surprised when it doesn’t help someone.
I too have noticed my urge to relieve my bladder has diminished. I can hold it for much longer than before. I’m also not having to get up several times a night to go to the bathroom. That’s saying a lot considering I have and enlarged prostrate and early signs of prostrate cancer.


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I definitely believe the entire system is corrupt, but many who are in it don't realize it. 

8 hours ago, Laura said:

I definitely believe the entire system is corrupt, but many who are in it don't realize it. 

This. The boots on the ground are just following orders. They were trained by a corrupt system.

On 8/5/2024 at 11:30 PM, Geezy said:

Robert, you are an addict. An addict must abstain from their drug of choice. It don matter if it’s alcohol, heroin, tobacco or sugar.
I once quit dipping snuff for two years but I though just one dip wouldn’t hurt. Bam! I was hooked all over again. It was nine years before I tried quitting again. I’ve been clean of tobacco for 18 years now but I know that I can never allow tobacco in any form ever touch me again or I’ll be hooked all over again
There’s no such thing as moderation. An alcoholic can’t just have a beer. A heroin addict can’t just smoke a joint.
You are a sugar addict so you should abstain from not just sugar but everything that’s sweet including all artificial sweeteners and milk products.
Be aware that there are 75 different names for sugar so read your food labels carefully for those hidden sugars.
There are those who are not addicts and can moderate but if you can’t then you must stay away from it.
I can drink one beer and not touch another one for several years. It doesn’t bother me but I’m not an alcoholic. I just choose not to drink anything that is loaded with carbs.
Make your choice what is best for you and your health. My choice was no sweeteners whatsoever. I don’t need the temptation.
If you’ll give it at least 30 days I think you could kick the addiction. I’ve heard some do it in two weeks.
Who’s stronger, you or the sugar?


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I need to brush up on the names of the hidden sugars you mentioned. Do you happen to know if there is a published list of them?