Bruno has been struggling with his weight for most of his life. He describes struggling with a sugar and carbohydrate addiction and says by the time he was a teenager, he was obese. While in his early twenties, he suspected he had hypothyroidism. He took his concerns to his doctor, who responded, “that’s a condition for women.” Still, Bruno kept pressing his doctor to test him. His doctor finally agreed, and just as Bruno suspected, he did have hypothyroidism. He said his doctor had to call him the next day and apologize for not believing him.
Bruno describes yo-yo dieting for many years. However, by the time he was in his mid-thirties, he had reached 450 pounds and was on several medications for gout, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar. In his late thirties, Bruno started seeing a doctor who suggested a zero-carbohydrate diet that included eating meager amounts of fat. Bruno followed the diet and, in just six months, lost over 150 pounds.
However, the low amounts of fat put a lot of strain on Bruno’s heart, and he had a heart attack at the age of forty-two. Bruno ended up with three stints in his heart after his heart attack. Three years ago, Bruno discovered the carnivore diet, which was different from his zero-carb diet in that it required Bruno to eat more fat.
Bruno says his experience with the carnivore diet for a few years was like a plane skidding on a runway while trying to take off. He would stick to the diet for a while before he found himself binging on sugar and carbs. The covid pandemic made Bruno feel he needed to control his sugar and carb addictions. He knew individuals with a history of diabetes and heart problems were more likely to have complications or even die from covid, and he didn’t want to become a statistic.
Bruno had a one-on-one meeting with Dr. Shawn Baker in May 2020. Dr. Baker encouraged Bruno to persevere on his journey with the diet– even as he still struggled with gout. Bruno says his motivation helped, but then Bruno found himself falling into emotional eating after having to put his dog down in September 2020. Bruno says he tried to modify his diet but kept falling off and binge eating.
After four months of feeling out of control, Bruno says he finally accepted that modifying his diet was impossible. He needed to abstain from certain foods forever to improve his health. At that point, Bruno says his life turned, and he hasn’t looked back.
Today, Bruno is experimenting with the lion diet, a term coined by carnivore advocate Mikhaila Peterson. Bruno says he eats ruminant animals, salt, and water. Through his experimentation, Bruno has learned that his body doesn’t process pepper, an oxalate. He also says he has learned cheese and bacon are a trigger for him through this process and plans to eliminate those indefinitely.
Bruno has lost 120 pounds in eighteen months. He says his weight loss hasn’t been fast on the carnivore diet, but it is consistent. Bruno no longer struggles with gout, and his blood pressure and blood sugar are under control. He also describes losing inches from his waistline and gaining muscle mass.
Bruno plans to lose another seventy pounds and wants to continue building more muscle. Bruno has had a long health journey, but he is thankful for the awareness gained through his meat-based diet. He knows what foods work for him and says, “I am no longer controlled by food.”
