Aaron is relatively new to the carnivore diet, but certainly not new to being fat-adapted. He found some success through the ketogenic diet, saying “I have been mostly ketogenic for about 1.5 years, losing nearly 60 lbs fat and getting pretty ripped. I heard of carnivore dieters but thought it might be a little bit fringe. I also may have had a “keto superiority” complex of sorts. Call it contempt prior to investigation.”
Keto Complexities and Imbalances
A common complaint about a ketogenic diet is that to do it “correctly” one has to measure the weights of all foods and calculate the macronutrient (fat, protein, carbohydrate) percentages. Then these must be altered to stay within the 70% fat threshold that most people need to stay in a state of ketosis. Aaron had similar issues with the diet.
“The only problems I had with keto was that I had to be a damn scientist to constantly monitor macro intake and due to the typical recommended moderate protein, high fat and high veggie consumption, I regularly encountered slowed gastric emptying (I couldn’t poop) which made it practically impossible to eat with regularity because I was always afraid I’d be blocking things up.”
Fiber Causes Constipation
It is remarkable how often people report that eating a high-fiber diet is bad for bowel movements, and Aaron’s observations are not unique in this regard. Some describe it as a “log-jam” in the colon, but basically it indicates that humans lack either a foregut or hindgut that is adapted to the digestion of fiber. All herbivorous animals have one or the other, except pandas, and they pay a price for being vegetarians.
Intermittent Fasting and Constipation: An Uncomfortable Combination!
Aaron found that allowing his bowel to dictate his eating schedule was a dealbreaker for him: “I was a daily intermittent faster for most of a whole year and I’m sorry but waiting 24+ hours on occasion to have a bowel movement so I could eat just didn’t make sense.”
Switching to Carnivore
It was time for a change: “After recalibrating macros for new weight and looking at 1.0g of protein per lb of lean mass, I just didn’t have the extra room for much veggie intake, so I stopped eating them for a few weeks and switched to all fatty cuts of meat and eggs. Essentially, carnivore.”
Finally Normal Function and Simplicity
“What I discovered is that my digestion instantly improved to regularity. This surprised me. Sleep improved. Energy metabolism improved. Food costs went down. I got a little bit leaner (was already at 12% body fat) and I barely care to track anything. I just eat meat and eggs and drink water. Occasionally I stray off and have a small amount of coconut butter and berries with cream as my dessert splurge.”
Optimism
Aaron now has hope for his future health, saying he is “Looking forward to what consistent eating will bring as I’ve only been doing full carnivore for about 2-3 weeks.”
