My Carnivore Diet Experiment
Over the last few months I've been very intrigued by the carnivore diet, not specifically for building muscle or burning fat - although the steak and eggs diet (which is a strict carnivore diet) is fantastic for this, more-so for the reduction in inflammation and autoimmune issues that've been deemed 'uncurable'.
More on that shortly...
I decided I'd spent a month or two later this year following and documenting my experience with the carnivore diet.
Bloodwork, before and after photos, a log of my experience in terms of both benefits and negatives.
That day has come a lot sooner than I initially planned.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made it damn near impossible for me to find any meaningful ingredients I require for my current time - from blueberries to protein oats and tuna, the Coronavirus epidemic has the aisles of the supermarkets I frequent quite empty.
I noticed there were plenty of eggs, fish and quality beef around the perimeter of the supermarket though.
I bit the bullet and are currently 3 days deep into a strict carnivore diet.
Here Are My Observations 3 Days In...
The first 2 days I felt awful, this is to be expected though as my diet was previously reasonably low fat and very high in carbohydrates to support my morning lifting workout as well as my evening running/cardio conditioning, my body felt quite lethargic as it adjusts to this large increase in fat intake.
Every transitioning to carnivore article, video or interview I read mentioned extreme diarrhea, Joe Rogan stressed this when discussing his experience transitioning to the carnivore diet. I can thankfully say I haven't seen any of these issues.
The third day (yesterday) my energy levels felt very good, I woke up and felt like I'd already had my morning black coffee, I found this energy level to remain consistent for the entire day - no peaks and valleys that I would previously experience before and after my meals high in carbohydrates.
In the grand scheme of things 3 days in nothing, I'd never recommend you follow this diet until I've had extensive experience with it.
Here's What My Diet Currently Looks Like
I'm not counting calories on the carnivore diet, here's what I'm eating the first week.
I'm going to be making changes based on how I feel and my body responds.
Breakfast
4 eggs
3 rashes of bacon
Himalayan sea salt
Lunch
500 grams (17 ounces) of beef mince
Himalayan sea salt
Dinner
400g medium/rare grassfed porterhouse steak
Himalayan sea salt
Pre-Bed Snack
1 cup chobani full fat Greek yogurt
That's roughly 280 grams of protein per day and only 10~ grams of carbohydrates.
I'm also drinking a 1L bottle of San Pellegrino mineral water per day (to get a load of minerals!).
Besides this I'll have 3L - 4L of filtered water throughout the day as well as a strong black coffee or two, that's it.
You Must Have A WHY, Here's Mine...
The carnivore diet is the ultimate elimination diet and is said to heal the body (as there are many indicators pointing out that vegetables and grains etc. cause inflammation within the body).
From around 12 or 13 years of age I've suffered from vitiligo, a skin condition that causes the body to attack and kill the pigment of your own skin.
From eating certain foods and vitamins to expensive creams, I've spent a lot and have seen no benefit or signs of regression of my vitiligo.
Many individuals claim their skin has started to repigment while they've been on the carnivore diet... Joe Rogan being a notable one of the individuals.
This is my #1 reason why.
I do have a few other reasons, nowhere near as important however.
For a while I've been experiencing a dull ache in my right shoulder, tons of rehab based exercises, dry needling and the like don't save to have solved it.
I can lift without an issue but I'm curious to see if a reduction in inflammation from the carnivore diet is able to resolve this.
Lastly I'm curious to see just how lean and vascular my physique can become with the absence of carbohydrates, my body will be storing far less water (as water binds to carbohydrate molecules and I'm not getting any carbohydrates from now on!).