Emanuel’s carnivore story began at a pivotal moment in his life. At just 21 years old, Emanuel was a new father and had just ended a four-year relationship. “I knew I needed to make a change in my life, so I joined a gym and started training in mixed martial arts,” he shares.
“I knew nothing about nutrition, so I just took advice from the guys I was training with. I began intermittent fasting and followed a high-protein diet that included chicken breast and broccoli.”
From Keto to Carnivore: Emanuel’s Nutritional Journey
After four years, Emanuel had lost a significant amount of weight and built more muscle mass. “I had the idea that high fat was bad for me, so I ate about 50% of my calories from protein, 40% from carbs, and 10% from fat.”
After surviving a car crash, Emanuel was badly injured and could no longer train at the gym. “I fell into a depression, and went from being 85 kg (187 pounds) to over 115 kg (253 pounds) in about two years. Due to the depression, I was using food as a comfort, and eating takeaway every day. I put on a lot of weight, and actually lost my job a few times. My head just wasn’t in the game at all.”
A year ago, Emanuel returned to intermittent fasting. Even though he wasn’t eating healthy foods, it did allow him to lose some weight without having to make a major change to his routine. “Three or four months in, I started to look at nutrition,” he recalls.
“I realized I’m getting good results not caring about what I eat, so imagine what would happen if I tried to eat healthier?” Keto was the first stop on his nutrition journey, and he kept his carbs below 20 grams per day. “I had awesome results with that.”
A Sign to Try Carnivore: Emanuel’s Decision to Switch
A few months later, Emanuel’s friend, who had been battling with depression, talked to him about the carnivore diet and how it had helped him. Around the same time, another friend also mentioned the carnivore diet had helped with psoriasis. Coincidence or not, Emanuel took this as his sign to look into the carnivore diet for himself.
“It wasn’t much different from how I was eating a keto diet, as I wasn’t eating many carbs anyway. All I had to do was cut out the vegetables. I don’t have any autoimmune issues, but I wanted to give it a shot since it had worked well for my two friends,” he explains.
“The more I looked into it, the more fascinated I became. It just goes against everything you hear out there, and that’s what really drew me into it! I’m the kind of guy that likes to question things and go against the norm.”
64 Pounds Down: Emanuel’s Physical and Mental Transformation with Carnivore
Going against conventional wisdom has certainly paid off for Emanuel. In just over 5 months, he’s seen incredible improvements to his physical and mental health. He’s back down to 189 pounds, which is 64 pounds lost.
“I’m really happy with myself,” he says. “I feel so clear-minded, like my brain fog has lifted. I’m not on antidepressants anymore whatsoever.”
At the gym, Emanuel is happy to be able to train again. “I’m able to train pain-free. My injuries had made that difficult, but now the inflammation is gone, and my eczema has disappeared as well.”
