Starting The Carnivore Diet

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#3502117 11-Jun-2026 16:48

I've been on Keto (not super strict) for around 4 months, taking a week off every other month. I'm weighing myself monthly. Currently 10% of my bodyweight down, and my target (to hit the top of my healthy weight range) is 25%. I've found it surprisingly easy, have had bloods done, and take a multivitamin just in case.

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Paul1977

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#3502137 11-Jun-2026 18:29

GarryP:

I suggest going into carnivore gradually over 4 weeks or so. Reduce carbs to near zero over that time ie 25% reduction per week.

Any sudden change in diet will upset your system, but I guess since you have done keto in the past you know about "keto flu".

Take electrolytes ( sodium, potassium, magnesium) since you will be probably losing water which takes them with it.

You Tube has some great info from practicing and registered doctors Eg Ken Berry, Anthony Chaffee, Paul Mason, and Prof Bart Kay from NZ. Beware of influencers using clickbait.

Research the debunking of lipid- heart disease hypothesis, your liver is not trying to kill your heart by overproducing LDL. Plaques occur where there has been damage to the endothelial layer from things like high blood pressure or oxidative stress. A Korean study showed that people with higher LDL had lower all cause mortality. Remember that cholesterol is not the same as LDL or HDL.

Beef, butter, bacon, eggs. Dairy if you can tolerate it.

There is so much good info out there regarding things like oxalate dumping which may occur if you were eating oxalate plants and have now stopped. You will probably have to tweak the macros a bit to what suits eg loose stools then reduce fat intake, constipation then increase fat.

Over several weeks, food cravings will stop or reduce a lot.

I’ve never had digestive or other issues with a sudden change of diet, for me it’s all mental. 4 weeks transition is good general advice, but I do better with a hard switch over.

Paul1977

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#3502138 11-Jun-2026 18:38

Eva888:

Relative did the carnivore and lost some weight. He spent most of his life on some new diet all of which worked for a short time until he cheated. He ate constantly including getting up at nights for a sandwhich, However he also developed a serious heart issue that needed major surgery. Not saying there is a connection to the diet, but definitely the weight contributed to his health issues.

My suggestion is to eat a full variety of food but drastically cut down the amounts. The amount you eat is what puts on the weight. You don’t see starving people overweight. Eat what you enjoy but serve all food on a bread and butter plate. Don’t cheat, enjoy treats now and then but only small amounts, one chocolate not the pack. Half a scone, third of a steak, one potatoe, one slice of toast, one egg etc.

Every meal just covering the small plate. Stomach gets used to smaller amounts and you won’t crave forbidden foods this way. Clear soups or bouillon and a cracker in between so it feels like food, or a piece of fruit. Lots of liquids, coffee, tea, water. No alcohol or sugar drinks.

Sensible advice, but sounds like torture to me. I can’t do moderation. Having no chocolate is far easier than for me than having only one piece.

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#3502142 11-Jun-2026 19:41

Interesting thing I learned about a while back... gluconeogenesis.

"Gluconeogenesis is the metabolic pathway through which the body creates new glucose from non-carbohydrate sources. When you eat meat, your body uses specific glucogenic amino acids such as alanine and glutamine derived from breaking down dietary protein"

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#3502664 13-Jun-2026 17:20

cshwone:

I eat a lot of homemade Indian, Chinese and Thai food and find that the balance of ingrediants makes for a healthy life. There is a lot to be said for non-European cuisine.

Ever since we took a cooking class in Laos—initially just for fun—we have come to believe that Asian (Indian) cuisine, when prepared with the right ingredients, offers an effective approach to nutrition in today's world. Once you really delve into it, you discover just how quick, simple, and balanced—as well as healthy—this style of cooking can be.

The cooking class was just the beginning; nowadays, I buy rice in 10kg bags and always keep a stock of miso, mirin, soy sauce (in 1 liter bottles), fish sauce, oyster sauce, fresh ginger, dashi, wakame, Thai curry paste, coconut milk, canned chopped tomatoes, red lentils, and homemade spice blends (togarashi, five-spice, garam masala, etc.). To this, I add fresh ingredients—ginger, spring onions, some organic chicken, tiger prawns, bok choy, and, of course, familiar local vegetables—bought fresh. Once everything is chopped and prepped, a traditional Asian dish rarely takes longer than 20 minutes to make. The rice in the rice cooker usually takes the longest.

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Paul1977

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#3502786 14-Jun-2026 10:29

Nearly at the one week mark on carnivore. One night I used a little too much butter and didn’t feel super afterwards, but overall has been fine.

I didn’t weigh myself before starting as most weight lost in the first week would be water, so doesn’t really count. So initial weigh in was 5 days into the diet.

I haven’t been starving, and may have even been sleeping a little better the last few nights. Considering I’ve essentially cold turkeyed sugar, carbs, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, sauces, and spices; I haven’t found it overly difficult so far. But still very early days, and lack of variety may well turn into a problem mentally.

I do miss snacking while watching TV though…

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Dynamic

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#3502824 14-Jun-2026 14:55

Paul1977:

I do miss snacking while watching TV though…

So did I for a few weeks. It did pass.

In the past, if I popped some chips into a bowl I was fine. If I took the whole bag to the couch... there were often regrets.

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Eva888

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#3502830 14-Jun-2026 15:26

Paul1977:

Nearly at the one week mark on carnivore. One night I used a little too much butter and didn’t feel super afterwards, but overall has been fine.

I didn’t weigh myself before starting as most weight lost in the first week would be water, so doesn’t really count. So initial weigh in was 5 days into the diet.

I haven’t been starving, and may have even been sleeping a little better the last few nights. Considering I’ve essentially cold turkeyed sugar, carbs, caffeine, artificial sweeteners, sauces, and spices; I haven’t found it overly difficult so far. But still very early days, and lack of variety may well turn into a problem mentally.

I do miss snacking while watching TV though…

Giving up carbs would be the hardest for me and would crave kettle fries.

I realised years back when in Asia that the reason I was losing heaps of weight was because the food was served in tiny saucers and you took very little from each one to politely allow the others to partake. Your own dish you were filling was also small. You quickly adapted to eating much less. Western way is you get a huge plate of food all for yourself and eat it even though you may be full half way.

Hope it all works out for you but as the weeks pass do try to cut down the amounts as well when you wean on to other foods.
Also, buy only what’s allowed and don’t bring sugary or forbidden food into the house at all. If it’s not there you can’t eat it so having distraction foods you can snack on may help. Keep some hard boiled eggs in the fridge as a snack. Cut them into 8 wedges to fool yourself that you’re eating heaps rather than gulping down an egg in two bites.

Thats another thing I’ve noticed with overweight friends, they eat really fast, gulping the food like a seagull. Take your time eating. It takes about 20 minutes for the signal of fullness to reach the brain.

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#3502894 14-Jun-2026 17:00

I did Carnivore for about 6 months and strict Keto for about a year. Fantastic tools for losing weight. Once ketogenesis kicks in the weight just falls off. Almost feels like you can't stop it.

In the end carnivore was just too restrictive for me and I lost the will to keep it up. I found Keto much more agreeable as a fair bit of variety is still possible, and there are treats that can still be factored in.

I still keep to a high protein, low carb diet, but I am less strict now as I no longer need or want to lose any additional weight. My primary motivation now is increasing longevity by avoiding insulin resistance and minimizing glucose spikes.

Can't speak to any bloodwork markers however as I never had any done, but I will say that I remember noting, when I first started, how much better I felt through the day both mentally and physically.

I would never go back to a high carb diet now.

dafman

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#3502896 14-Jun-2026 17:38

It can’t be good for you in the long run. Our bodies haven’t evolved over 300,000 years to be carnivorous only.

You may lose weight in the short term; the long term prospects are likely a toss up between, stroke, heart attack or bowel cancer.

dafman

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#3502897 14-Jun-2026 17:43

Tinkerisk:

I’m not following a specific diet; I simply cut out highly processed foods, reduced-calorie "light" stuff, store-bought baked goods, and sugar (yeah, those things really pack a punch), while eating more fresh fruit and vegetables and limiting my meat consumption—which is omnipresent nowadays—to a reasonable level. When I want a snack, I have a few (without overdoing it!) good, unroasted, and unseasoned nuts. In my opinion, the most important thing is to take responsibility for your own food and not simply leave it to others.

You couldn't call it a diet or calorie counting—it's more of a balanced way of eating without tracking calories... oh, and regular exercise.

This. Best advice on this forum.

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rhy7s

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#3502977 14-Jun-2026 20:26

MikeAqua:

Rikkitic:

I have older friends (70+) who have been on this for a long time. They are extremely healthy and fit but they also get a LOT of exercise through Pickleball competitions and other activities. I sometimes worry about their cholesterol but they are still going strong and will probably outlive me (I am a vegetarian).

Diet doesn't have as much of an effect on cholesterol as you'd think. Unless you're going to lengths to eliminate all saturated fats (difficult). Even then ... your body still need some cholesterol for certain physiological processes. My quack just told me to make sure the animal protein I'm eating is lean and take statins.

Studies used to support the view that dietary cholesterol has little effect on circulating cholesterol are often pretty disingenuous on what's considered the baseline, it's sort of like saying cigarettes don't have a strong correlation with lung disease when you only include regular smokers.

https://sigmanutrition.com/podcast/episode529/