From SAD To Carnivore: My Journey To Health And Fitness
I am a 25-year-old man who has seen incredible changes since going carnivore. I tried many different diets, and a majority of them were not as effective. As of this writing, my weight has dropped to 179 lbs, a level not seen for at least seven years. The last time this happened was in 2012 or 2013, and it was down from nearly 280lbs, which happened in December 2017.
The Struggle To Lose
Weight: Trying Different Diets
For most of my life, I was on a Standard American Diet (SAD) with a higher fat content, as well as consuming alcohol once I was legally allowed and until going sober in 2018, until late January 2019.
In February 2019, shortly after my 25th birthday, my weight declined to about 250 lbs, and I decided to go hardball with exercise with a calorie-restricted diet, with extremely strenuous exercise and capping my caloric intake to no more than 600 calories. Calories in, calories out, was what I was told all my life.
I took various weight control pills. Despite all this effort, my weight loss stalled out after 25 pounds, and I went back to my old SAD diet, not to mention cravings and cheats during this restrictive diet exercise regimen.
I decided to go on a ketogenic diet in May 2019, despite some opposition, and my weight went down from 225 to 200 pounds, dropping another 25 pounds before stalling out again. In July 2019, I did a dry fast and dropped 5 pounds down to 195lbs, but that was the absolute minimum.
Discovering The Benefits Of A Carnivore Diet
I did several more extended dry fasts, which dipped my weight, only to rebound back to 195lbs. When I started carnivore, slowly but surely, I began to see some results, with my energy and libido returning, gut discomfort disappearing, and the ability to handle less sleep and less brain fog.
As it stands today, I have lost about 15 pounds over three weeks, and I believe that my body is getting its species-appropriate foods. Here is what my stats looked like:
The Transformation: Stats And Progress
January 2018 (Peak Dysfunction)
Weight: 280
BMI: 41.3
Waist size: 44″
Body Fat: >35% (est)
Metabolic Age: >30 (est)
Possibly high blood pressure
Insulin resistant, Likely prediabetic
Likely had fatty liver (high carb, high fat, alcohol)
Easily fatigued, cravings, lethargic
Morbidly obese
Likely high triglycerides
Likely dyslipidemic
Metabolically dysfunctional
February 2019
Weight: 250
BMI: 36.9
Waist Size: 40″
Body Fat: 29%
Metabolic Age: 30 (est)
Insulin resistant
Fatigued, cravings, lethargic
Obese
Metabolically dysfunctional
May 2019 (Start Keto)
Weight: 225
BMI: 33.2
Waist Size: 40″
Body Fat: 25%
Metabolic Age: 30 (est)
Obese
Fatigued, lethargic
December 2019 (Start Carnivore)
Weight: 195
BMI: 28.8
Waist Size: 36″
Body Fat: 24%
Metabolic Age: 29
Overweight
January 2020 (Now)
Weight: 180
BMI: 26.6
Body Fat: 20%
Metabolic Age: 26
Still overweight, but conditions are improving
Thanks to the carnivore community for the support community.
