My Carnivore Journey - Take 2

What are you doing DrH??

I think it is time for an update on my Carnivore Journey - take two.

This is my second foray into full Carnivore. My first was about 7 years ago when, after my brothers wedding, I was having trouble with my clothes. It seemed like they kept shrinking after washing and drying. I was going to get a new washer and dryer but they were only a few years old, so I figured perhaps it wasn’t that.

So I did the next best thing. I went back to my low carb lifestyle, but this time I decided to try something crazy. Now this is back in 2017, before the Carnivore movement became famous. After reading, researching and discussing the pros and cons of Carnivore lifestyle with others who had good experiences, I went for it.

My results at that time:

After 6 weeks:

Lost 12-15 pounds

Waist line down 5-6 inches

Neck collar size down 1.5 inches

Shirt size down

Slept great

Energy thru the roof

Gut health terrific other than a change in caliber of stools, which is fairly normal for many on Carnivore as most of the food we eat on Carnivore gets utilized as opposed to removed in the stool.

Brain health showed amazing benefits. No brain fog. No lulls. Brain was always ON. Moods were great and level, but they were great before. But the even keel or feel of the brain was phenomenal.

So overall Carnivore Round One was a great experience. I transitioned after 6 weeks to 80% Carnivore, 20% other natural food. I kept this up for almost 7 years.

Something happened in the Spring of 2024. Not sure exactly what but I started eating more fruit and more cheese. It was like I couldn’t get enough. The problem wasn’t that I was eating fruit and cheese, but more that I was adding extra fruit and cheese at the end of my meals or even as a bedtime snack. It was like the levelness in my brain and appetite had been altered. I felt well but I felt less in control of my eating. I also gained back about 10 - 12 pounds. Obviously not happy bout that. My pants started getting tighter even though I still fit into them. My shirts also started getting tighter and I was not comfortable wearing some of them. I did not want to be that guy wearing a button down shirt with the buttons all stretching out. I actually moved some of my tight clothes out of my closet. I did check the washer and dryer again but they still seemed to be working well, so…..

So I decided a few months ago to get back to what worked before. It had to be true Carnivore as that is what works for me. To cut out food cravings I need to just cut them out completely.

So I decided to say goodbye, so long, sayonara to nighttime snacking, more than two meals and all fruits and veggies.

So how did I do?

My food cravings were totally gone within 4-5 days. It became easier then and is still easy. Preparing Carnivore food is simple. You just cook meat or fish or eggs. No side dishes necessary. Usually only 1 pan to clean. Simple simple.

Well after 7 weeks I was down only about 4 pounds. Not the 12-15 from my first go round. I had to figure out why?

1- This time, while I had weight to lose, the weight wasn’t as much in my waistline. It did not appear to be the harmful insulin resistant visceral (organ) fat. My belief is that the visceral fat decreases the most if you are insulin resistant to start. I don’t believe I was insulin resistant this go round, so my weight loss was less.

2- My waist decreased but only a bit. But again, even with my weight gain, I was still fitting into all my normal pants.

3- Sleeping great

4- Brain working great as well

5- Gut felt great although I did revert back to rabbit turds, hopefully not TMI there.

6- Energy level great, exercising more, actually putting on more muscle. I am getting close to 1/2 of one of the muscles in a 6-pack abdomen. That means I almost have a 1/ 12th pack.

I decided to get some labs done to see how I was doing. I mainly wanted to look at my Metabolic and Inflammation markers. So what did they tell me?

My metabolic markers were excellent, but perhaps retaining a bit of extra fat. So I thought maybe I could lessen the dietary fat just a bit. Let me explain.

Three main pathways I look at for increasing fat mass.

1- Excess dietary carb intake can increase insulin which causing the excess carbs to get stored as fat—> fat weight gain

2- Excess fat intake. You can gain fat mass if you eat, absorb and store more fat than you need. This type of fat tends not to be visceral but more sub cutaneous fat. This is less metabolically harmful, but it can make your shirts shrink. This type of fat can be responsible for those “love handles” than men acquire as they age. The dreaded “Dad Bod”. This fat gain does not need insulin to support it.

3- Hormonal imbalances can also lead to weight gain.

So, of the three mechanisms above, it wasn’t my metabolic health. On Carnivore my carbs were just about nil, so my weight retention was not due to elevated insulin levels. This was verified on my lab tests. My insulin level was perfect indicating I was Insulin Sensitive 💪🏻😎

I did not have any hormonal imbalances so it was not mechanism #3.

So what was behind mechanism #2.

I started to believe that I perhaps was eating too much fat. I don’t believe natural fat is evil or harmful. We evolved to eat fat and utilize it well.  I began to think all the cheese I ate during Carnivore round two was overloading me with fat, which just stayed in my abdomen.

My lab markers showed some slightly increased acute inflammation markers. I was having some muscle pain in my legs from excess elliptical workouts so perhaps that was the cause. But the inflammation could have also come from my gut as it was not emptying as easily as prior.

So I decided a few weeks ago, to make some small changes. Here they are.

1- Stop the cheese. Now I effing luv cheese. But I needed to know whether the cheese I was eating was the cause of the excess fat. So I dropped my cheese intake by over 90%, with most days totally abstaining from cheese.

2- As I was greatly decreasing the cheese, I wanted something else to eat with meat, that would fill me, satisfy me, but also be helpful in moving my gut better. So I decided to try some Resistant Starch in the form of cold potatoes.

The theory on this is as follows.

I bake or pressure cook potatoes. Then stick them in the fridge overnight to cool.

Supposedly when potatoes are cool, the starch content becomes more resistant to digestion. So instead of the potato starch quickly turning into sugar and having a high insulin response, and gaining weight, the cold potato starch instead gets used by good friendly bacteria in the gut, gets converted into substances that feed our gut cells, and the rest moves through the gut like fiber, absorbing toxins and bulking up the stool. This should in theory then allow more “robust” stools as opposed to little rabbit turds. FYI- I have nothing against either rabbits or turds.

So how did I do?

Well, 10 days after this change, I was down 4 more lbs. I am now just 4 lbs from my goal. I no longer poop like a rabbit. Energy and brain are great. I enjoy meals just like before but I luv potatoes so that’s a win. I don’t really miss the cheese, hopefully that lasts. I canceled the washer/dryer mechanic as I didn’t think they could help any better than not eating cheese and adding in cold potatoes.

I will redo my lab work in another month or so or when I hit my goal weight and see if the markers I wasn’t happy with improved. I will also see whether my metabolic markers are still stellar even with the potatoes. I believe they will but I need to see for myself.

Pictured below are some of my meals now.

Carnivore + Taters

If I feel nice I might update this post with another after my next labs. Only time will tell.

If you are part of the IMW, and have tried Carnivore, are presently Carnivore, Keto or Low Carb, and perhaps have similar issues, let me know and we can chat further.

As for now, I wish everyone a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving. I will be doing the cooking and the menu will be Sea Bass, shrimp cocktail and some cold potatoes. With this menu I should be able to remain awake after the meal to enjoy the rest of the day, as opposed to falling asleep on the couch with an awful football game on in the background.

As always, comments and questions  welcome.