Jill has been on the carnivore diet for two years. Twenty-two years ago, she had half her thyroid removed after the birth of her fourth child. In an attempt to optimize her thyroid function, Jill chased lab results and tried different nutritional approaches and medications. She says it was a lot of trial and error.
After her fifth baby, her ovaries stopped working, and she was put on synthetic testosterone. “It was not an optimal way of living.” She had to figure out how to increase her testosterone in other ways because without it, her “zest for life was very low.” Low testosterone also made her feel depressed and anxious.
Jill came to the carnivore diet from a ketogenic diet of three years, and prior to that, she was paleo. Because she had always eaten animal foods, it wasn’t hard for Jill to incorporate even more.
At the beginning of COVID, Jill took a 30-day carnivore challenge course and started the carnivore diet. At first, she began by eating more red meat and discovered she loved ribeyes. Her body craved high-fat foods, such as fatty cuts of beef. She felt so good immediately that it just “locked her in.” Within three days, she felt like she’d never felt before—her energy went up, her mood was stable, and she felt happier. Within two weeks, she no longer had brain fog.
Jill added more animal foods to her diet, like whole eggs, fattier cuts of beef, and liver. She attributes a lot of her healing to eating organ meat. It was hard at first, she says, “but you just learn how to make it delicious.” She also learned she needed to increase the amount of sea or mineral salt in her diet.
Jill initially experienced diarrhea because she was eating a higher-fat diet than she had been used to. She added some electrolytes along with lipase, an enzyme that aids in the digestion of fat. These helped within a day or two, and she continued for about a month.
One huge benefit and big surprise of the carnivore diet, says Jill, was her body composition. Within a year, she decreased her body fat by six percent and increased her muscle mass. She believes that you “heal the inside, and the outside is going to be gifted to you the way it should be.”
Jill experienced other benefits as well. Her hair is thicker—she describes how she struggled with hair shedding and thinning with all five kids and also during perimenopause. Her nails are stronger, and her skin is firmer and more radiant. Additionally, her lab work is more optimal, and her libido has increased.
Jill continues to take certain supplements to support her MTHFR genetic SNP. The supplements are based on her blood work, and she says, “That is really important.”
As a coach, Jill helps clients navigate, not direct, their health journeys. She explains that it is very much a client-centered approach, and she loves helping people down this path.
