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Claire overcame anorexia nervosa and depression on a low-carb diet

January 6, 2023 No Comments

Growing up in France, Claire ate the typical French diet rich in saturated fat and protein. A dancer, she was naturally thin like her fellow ballerinas-in-training. Constant comparisons as to who was the slimmest, however, led Claire to develop body-image issues, and as she entered her teenage years, she started to restrict her eating. Her parents were in the dark concerning her struggles, and after experiencing a traumatic incident at the age of 16, her eating disorder got worse and developed into full-blown Anorexia Nervosa.

As the years passed by, Claire became a prisoner to her tyrannical eating disorder. At 5’ 7”, her weight would go on to drop to a life-threatening 69 pounds. She became so frail she had to use a wheelchair, and at one point, even lost the fat from her optical nerves and went blind for months. Her hair fell out, her teeth fell out, and her heart rate was always hovering below 40. In 2017, she got the flu and died on the table for several minutes. At 33 years old, Claire was desperate beyond measure, and started looking for alternative ways to try and conquer Anorexia.

When she came across the carnivore diet, she was intrigued by its simplicity. She started with a low-fat option, but still didn’t feel very well. Then, in July of 2021, Claire was unable to go swimming with her family when on vacation because she was freezing cold—even though it was the middle of the summertime. In her sadness, she became resolved to give the carnivore diet a real try, and booked a coaching session with one of the Revero coaches online. They encouraged Claire to think about eating meat and fat like taking medicine, and if she committed to it fully, her body would heal—fast.

“I was so scared, but from one day to another I only ate fatty meat…it was a life changer.” Claire started off with easy-to-digest ground beef. She also drank raw egg yolks and snacked on butter—sometimes up to several sticks a day! “I was eating fat all the time, and my body handled it fantastically…It was like body happiness…I couldn’t stop! Since the moment I started eating this way, I was not able to restrict anymore…I have to eat when I’m hungry—my body is so happy with it!”

Within three months, Claire was able to gain 20 pounds and come off all of her anti-depression medication—in close collaboration with her doctor, of course! Now, 39 years old and with a full head of hair, Claire is up to 110 pounds. Instead of being wheelchair-bound and blind, she is able to jump on the trampoline with her son, and work all day in her job as an engineer. All of her blood markers are excellent as well, leaving her doctors amazed.

Any lingering concerns about her weight have vanished, and Claire is miraculously unbothered by the scale.“The carnivore diet is not about weight loss, it’s about weight optimization. So, if it brings me to gain twenty more pounds or thirty more pounds—it’s possible—I don’t have any trouble with it. I want to feel satiated all the time and I want to be able to think clearly and I don’t want to restrict…I’m eating amazing food, I’m doing some movement, I’m sleeping well, so the weight will be what it has to be.”

Alan improved training recovery and marathon time by 28.5 minutes in one year on the carnivore diet

December 17, 2022 No Comments

Alan is a 61-year-old runner who has been eating carnivore for approximately 8 months. The diet changed everything for him. “I call it the Fountain of Youth,” he quips.

Always Counting Calories
Alan battled with his weight all his life. At 6 ft tall, he was his heaviest at 305 pounds.

About 5 years ago he decided to lose weight because he was metabolically ill. He describes his weight loss as 7 months of starving himself. “I was cold and tired and hungry all the time.” He got down to 195 pounds.

Alan started running and then began training for marathons. He says he had a hard time figuring out what to eat to give him energy and keep his weight down. He wanted to stay lean so he could run faster and ate a lot of chicken and broccoli and counted calories. The high fiber veggies gave him gas and made him bloat.

He describes feeling cold, tired, hungry, and exhausted with a lot of muscle aches. Plus, he had no muscle mass.

Although he felt better after his weight loss, he says that “ it really wasn’t sustainable.”

Alan wanted to qualify for the Boston Marathon and started searching for something to help him have better energy when he trained.

Exploring Diets
Searching for a way to improve his performance, he discovered how saturated fats may be good for you.

Alan started keto about a year ago. He ate lean meats, such as chicken breasts, along with lots of low-carb veggies. Keto helped with his recovery but not his muscle mass.

About 7 months ago, Alan challenged a family member to start eating the “beef, bacon, and eggs diet.” His carnivore journey had begun.

Immediate Results
Alan’s digestive issues completely resolved. Overall he “trained more, felt better, got more sleep, and had constant energy.”

The biggest change for him was his recovery. He went from training 5 days per week to 6 and increased his miles from 45 to 65 per week.

Body Transformation
Alan started with a few pushups and squats—no weights—and within a month he was getting abs.

He gained an inch on his quads, gluts, and arms. Currently he’s up to 100 push-ups and 100 squats.

Alan qualified for the Boston Marathon with a time of 3:43. After carnivore he improved his marathon time by 11 percent. He says he doesn’t need carbs to train and trains fasted every morning.

No Cravings
Alan says that carnivore has eliminated his carb and sugar addictions and he’s satiated after a meal.

He eats a lot of beef and eggs, salts his food, and uses electrolytes because he sweats so much. He eats a 20 ounce ribeye, a few slices of bacon, and 4 or 5 eggs for breakfast and another ribeye or 1.5 pounds of very fatty ground beef at dinner.

Loves People
Alan wants to help people get healthier and tells everyone he can about his success eating carnivore.

 

KasumiKriss recovers from veganism on the carnivore diet

November 3, 2022 No Comments

Kasumi was a top-tier soccer player in the Netherlands when she became vegan in 2014. Within months, aching joints and declining energy levels sidelined her soccer career.

Trying Veganism
She “got convinced by YouTube videos to try a vegan diet” to help with a skin condition when she was 23 years old. “In the first two weeks, I did see some improvement, but I actually think back now that was because I eliminated all processed foods.”

Kasumi stayed on the vegan diet, “whole-food plant-based” for four years, and “it was really in the end of the second year that I really started seeing my health deteriorate. I couldn’t do soccer anymore, my joints were aching, everything I wanted to do I couldn’t do anymore when it came to physical activity. I did train a lot in the gym, but my muscles wouldn’t grow anymore.” She tried a raw vegan diet also, but lost her period for four months as a result.

Vegan Diet Failed Her
“After a year or so, I started to see my health decline. I couldn’t run as fast anymore…everytime I wanted to do something, or kick a ball in a certain way, it just wouldn’t go the same like I used to. At some point I really started to feel my joints aching. I never had issues with that, even though all the types of sports that I always used to do in my life…Injuries started to come, and I would be so extremely exhausted after matches as well, and I just couldn’t keep up. I went from really the best player on my team to someone who couldn’t even keep up with the other girls.”

Kasumi began to notice that she was even afraid to walk up stairs, because she felt weak and thought she might “break something.”

Her body shape suffered as well: “when I went vegan, all my feminine curves just went away, my boobs shrank, my hips disappeared, and I started to look more boyish.”

Venturing Away From Plants
Kasumi listened to some Michaela Peterson videos, and “I decided in 2018 to try some eggs again; try a little bit of butter again, and I instantly noticed a difference. So I also ate some chicken again and then added back beef into my diet, and it was just in a couple of days I felt so much better mentally, so much more stable right away, and I really thought ‘the vegan diet is probably not the way to go’ so I completely dropped it.”

Carnivore
Kasumi learned about keto and carnivore diets, and started to incorporate more meat into her diet. She continued to see improvements.

“I’ve been on this diet now for four years, and only I’ve seen improvements. It’s never gone downhill from that anymore… physically, mentally, everything just keeps on getting better…hitting new PRs with weight lifting is so much easier now.” Kasumi is “stunned and amazed, still today, and so grateful for the way I feel right now.”

Lycia and Family Heal On Carnivore Lifestyle

September 22, 2022 No Comments

Lycia lives in New Port Richey Florida, where she lives with her husband and her 49 year old mentally handicapped son. She was raised on a farm, eating fresh beef and vegetables. As she gained weight, she decided to join a gym. “The trainer we were working with convinced us that the low-fat diet was the way to go, so we did do that, which was basically hungry and never satisfied.”

As she got older, 13 years ago, her doctor convinced her that at her age, she should be on a statin drug, despite not having elevated cholesterol. This combination set her up for a major decline.

“Having a handicapped son is very stressful, our life is everyday stress…but I got into severe depression, couldn’t understand why, I had really no reason to be depressed. To the point that she kept upping my medication, until she said ‘there’s no more I can do for you; the next step is a psychiatrist’ so I come home obviously more depressed.”

Spiral Into Symptoms
Lycia developed severe anxiety as well, requiring additional medication. She also started developing eczema, arthritis in her thumbs “to the point that I had to use braces every day to sleep in them; I couldn’t use a pen to write, or hold anything.” Sciatica was added to her list of symptoms, as were severe dry skin, losing her hair, and terrible brain fog. “ I couldn’t stay focused; I couldn’t carry on a conversation, my train of thought, and I gave up most of my friends.” Her blood pressure also started to rise.

Ditching Statins, Choosing Carnivore
After meeting a man at a plant sale and hearing his story of getting off statins, “I finally threw the statins in the trash. The difference in three days, in my brain fog, I couldn’t believe it.” This made Lycia study more, and she joined some Facebook groups for statins, and she saw a video linked about Dr. Ken Berry, then one about the carnivore diet. She decided to do the carnivore diet, and began the next day.

Carnivore Results
Lycia’s hair has stopped falling out, and is starting to grow back. Her skin is healthier, with less bruising and tearing than it was before. Her eczema is gone, as is her thumb pain. She no longer needs to use her braces, and has returned to normal use. Her sciatica is “99% normal,” and she takes no medications other than her bioidentical hormones. It took a year for all of her improvement.

Her husband “was taking prescription meds for acid reflux, he is now off of that…he was on a statin also and he quit. For both of us the brain fog improved, but once we started carnivore it’s just escalated to feeling like I was 60 again, or 55 or something.”

Lycia and her family all eat twice per day. She eats eggs, bacon, ground meat, beef ribeyes, and homemade beef bone broth.

“This way of eating, to me, has been an absolute miracle!”

Kassandra reverses a lifetime of obesity

August 2, 2022 1 Comment
kassandra1-min
Before: a good acne day…
kassandra2-min
Before: forced photo at my largest

My name is Kassandra and I’m 35 years old. My mother and I nearly died during my birth because she had untreated gestational diabetes. She passed out and I was pulled out with forceps unresponsive. I survived in nicu because the nurses taped together two incubators since I was a very large baby. 

I stayed large through most of my life, starting my first diet when I started public school. 

By my mid 20’s I was 270+lbs, and I had PCOS, lipedema, keratosis pilaris, bad acne, and extreme  joint pain. 

Lost 100 lbs in my late twenties biggest loser style. My legs didn’t shrink much but I felt better because I was thinner. 

Then I watched “Sugar: a bitter at truth” by Dr. Lustig and gave up sugar for 3 months. 

10 months the later, I welcomed my first happy accident son into the world. 

I eased up my sugar restrictions but still restricted calories and over exercised. Couldn’t lose weight. Blamed it on the birth control so I stopped it and got another happy accident. 

My second pregnancy had complications because of extreme weight gain and failed glucose test.  Then I tried keto at the permission of my OB and stopped gaining weight. Had a healthy baby.

 

Listened to a bunch of YouTube lectures from keto conventions and heard about carnivore.  I still wasn’t gaining but couldn’t stop binging so I looked up what little I could on carnivore and tried 90 days.  That was over 2.5 years ago. I’m leaner than Ive ever been in my life. No more PCOS, acne, or joint pain. My lipedema is shrinking and reduced a lot. Keratosis has reduced 95%. 

 

I can’t weigh myself because I still struggle with scale anxiety but I’m a S/M (dress size 6/8) and I spent most of my life in XL/XXL so I feel like I have a new body with more energy in my thirties than I had in my teens. 

Nanci heals from osteopenia on the carnivore diet

July 20, 2022 2 Comments

Hello my name is Nanci.  I am 66 years old a mother of 4 with one wonderful stepson and a grandmother of 9.  I was an RN and retired in 2016.  I have been married to a wonderful man for 43 years and for many years has served also a pastor’s wife for over 30 years.  


For as long as I can remember food has been a huge part of my life.  I practiced using it for comfort early on.  I first started a weight loss program when I was in high school.  Weight Watchers.  I weighed 140 lbs and was 5’8” tall.  I have always loved sweets.  I ate homemade meals growing up but also processed foods.  


My weight really started to climb when I started having children in my 20’s.  I got as high as 275 when I was carrying my third child.  I went back down to 220 and through the years crept up to over 300 lbs with the highest being 312 Lbs.  


I have tried over 20 diets in my lifetime but have never been able to stay on them for longer than one month at a time.  The diets were always low fat high carb diets.  I was starving on them.  I have been Carnivore for over 2.5 years that is still unbelievable to me.


In 2016 I retired because my knees were so painful.  I needed knee replacements.  I could no longer work.  I have cerebral palsy so my condition was more complicated and finally went out on disability.  Around the same time I heard about the Keto diet.  Diet Dr was all over the internet so I started following their approach to weight loss.  I also listened to Dr Westman a Cardiologist out of North Carolina and Keto United a group out of West Virginia. 


I lost weight like a rock.  Other benefits were: two weeks into the diet, arthritic pain was gone.  One month on the diet the 3+ edema in my legs was gone and two months into the diet my stasis ulcers were all healed up and I no longer had to wear surgical stockings.  I had a terrible fungal infection under my toe nails and it took two years to heal but that finally is completely gone. 


After a few years I found I could not loose anymore weight on keto.  I know now it was because I was having too much plant sugar and keto treats.  I also enjoyed listening to Dr Ken Berry and Neisha, his wife.  They made keto simple.  Then fortunately for me I discovered Dr Baker on Joe Rogan and he was talking about the Carnivore diet.  So I started listening to him and his VIP guests.


In January of 2020, Shawn started a Carnivore challenge for the month of January and in March of 2020 I joined Carnivore.Diet.  The varied meetings are so informative and the coaches are amazing.  They taught me so much and I soaked up the meetings and learned so much from the coaches and community.  


I initially gained weight on the Carnivore diet.  I was in a panic but Shawn’s platform and the coaching that I received there helped me stay on a steady course.  I learned that often we have to heal from the inside out first and that was certainly true for me.  At the beginning of 2020 I was diagnosed with osteopenia.  


I was also pretty debilitated mostly sitting in my chair at home.  Shawn encouraged me to exercise just a little at a time but to stay faithful.  I would do my very simple workouts while I was involved watching the Zoom meetings.  People were so encouraging. 


Approximately one year on carnivore I had to get down on the floor because I dropped a control under the bed.  I previously would never try to get down on my knees because I could never get up without assistance but no one was home to help me.  


I was able to get down and up again without difficulty, something I had not been able to do for over 15 years.   It encouraged me to stay faithful.  I also had a coach, Stephen Thomas aka The UK Carnivore, who helped target my exercise to help with my specific weaknesses as well as coach me with the carnivore way of eating. 


Just before starting carnivore I was diagnosed with Osteopenia.  I got another dexiscan  approximately two years later and it showed no osteopenia.  I also got a Calcium (CAC) test that shows the buildup of plaque in and around your heart arteries and my score was zero.  I was over the moon. 


When people ask me if I will continue with Carnivore Diet or go back to the Standard American Diet I always answer “There is nothing to go back to”.  I have never felt so good. 

Rhonda cured anaemia and reduced menopause symptoms on the carnivore diet

February 21, 2021 No Comments

Rhonda grew up on a family farm, eating organically raised and wild game. When she became a mother, she started eating a lot more carbohydrates to stretch her budget, turning her diet for the worse. “I can remember so many times of that constant yo-yo of the coffee and then the carb crash and then the coffee high and the carb crash. I remember just being exhausted all the time.”

Stressful Work, Bad Diet
“I was also working as a trauma consultant, attending tragedies a lot, and doing crisis intervention in communities. With that happening, I wasn’t able to take care of my health at all. For over 10 years my diet was absolutely terrible.”

After tragedy came to visit Rhonda, when her adoptive father passed away, she began working on improving her health.

Bodybuilding
She entered a bodybuilding competition at age 47, to force herself to work on health. The bodybuilding diets were very strict, but helped her meet some health goals. Her weight would fluctuate 25-30 pounds between competitions though.

She heard about the ketogenic diet, which was an improvement over her previous carb-heavy diet. Rhonda began to be worried about her health, and stopped bodybuilding competitions at age 50. She immediately went on a fully ketogenic diet.

Becoming Carnivore
After hearing about the carnivore diet, she said “When I saw that, I said ‘Yeah, that would work perfectly for my life.” Rhonda went on the carnivore diet herself, and saw her bloating go away immediately. “I liked right away what I was feeling. I started sleeping better, and I found a calmness that helped me go to a place that I needed to go.”

Rhonda found that she appreciated the simplicity of the carnivore diet, saying “When you live in the world of measuring and weighing all of your food, for so long on a bodybuilding diet, to get to carnivore and just eat satiating food that brought peace within my body, was brand new to me. It’s such a relief to not even have to think about what I’m consuming.”

Rhonda had been anemic her whole life, struggling to keep her iron levels out of the red. For the first time, her iron went up to normal. This provided her with “high energy, all the time, every day.”

Reversing Aging
“The skin around my eyes has softened, wrinkles went away, I have less gray hair than I had, I don’t sunburn…It’s great to be anti-aging at this age.”

“Tonight we’re having a moose/burger combination. I eat all the meats, all the fish, all the seafood, and all the dairy without complications. For the first time in my life, my weight is stable. I’m sitting at 131 this morning, and that’s where it’s been for 11 months now.”

Rhonda Recommends Carnivore
“It’s been a fun ride! It’s been super exciting to test yourself, see what happens, see what next levels of healing you can actually achieve. I would highly recommend it.”

Crystal improved PMS and sleep on a carnivore diet

December 19, 2020 No Comments

Crystal already achieved most of her health goals on a ketogenic diet, but it wasn’t until she transitioned to a carnivore diet that she could take her health to the next level.

“I wasn’t trying to lose more weight when I started the carnivore diet, but I was looking to increase my energy and be more optimal,” she explains to a real-life friend and Revero coach, Tracy. “I learned how toxic plants can be with anti-nutrients, lectins, and oxalates. It was easier to remove all plants and take everything to the next level.”

Crystal responded well to these changes and noticed her PMS symptoms and skin issues improved on a meat-based diet. Working as a hairstylist, she often had skin reactions to different chemicals, resulting in unsightly and painful rashes. “I’ve always had issues with eczema. While keto improved on keto, it’s better on a carnivore diet. Aside from one allergic reaction last year, I’ve had no flare-ups.”

Crystal has established a loyal social media following and enjoys sharing recipes that reflect her new lifestyle. “I love steak, but burgers are my favorite!” she says. In addition to those carnivore staples, Crystal experiments with adding organ meat to her diet. “I cut frozen liver into flattened strips and bite off five pieces at a time,” she explains. Though she’s not a fan of the taste, she says she notices more benefits from including liver and fried air-fried suet in her diet.

Simplicity is the hallmark of Crystal’s approach to a carnivore diet, and she finds eating only animal-based products makes meal prep more efficient. A year and a half in, Crystal is moving away from OMAD (one meal a day) and plans to shift her eating schedule back to traditional breakfast, lunch, and dinner times. On a typical day, she enjoys fatty egg coffee for breakfast, leftovers or beef jerky with butter for lunch, and steak for dinner. “I like to cook,” she clarifies, “but I don’t like to do it three times a day!”

It’s relatively easy for Crystal to maintain her weight loss on a carnivore diet. “I love not having to count calories or carbs anymore!” She didn’t have enough energy to get to the gym while following a ketogenic diet, but that has changed since making the switch. She enjoys frequent walks and will resume weight training once the gyms open again in her area.

Crystal’s friends and family haven’t always supported her meat-only food choices, but their initial skepticism hasn’t derailed her incredible results. “When I first started, the hardest part was the odd comment I’d get from a family member or friend,” she shares. “But now people rarely bring it up, and they can see I’m fine and don’t have scurvy!” She’s gotten a clean bill of health from her doctor. “I recently got my bloodwork done, and everything was good!”

Crystal enjoys better sleep, optimal energy, improved body composition, stable moods, and healthier hair, skin, and nails. Check out her impressive before and after pictures; there’s no denying her results with a carnivore lifestyle!

Mariela restored her health from the damage of veganism

November 27, 2020 No Comments

I am a bilingual speech language pathologist, published author, actor and spirit medium. I have 3 amazing children: Seth, Sienna and Syler- who are each a gift and are fulfilling their own path and dreams.

I was a vegan for 6 years, before that I was on low carb way of eating in with a lot of success (for 12 years) and 3 pregnancies. I went vegan for digestive issues (not due to the low carb diet, but due to my dependency of years of laxative use that my digestion could not work on its own). 

I watched a documentary on veganism and on there they talked about better digestion, and followed recommendation from my GI physician so I decided to give it a try. There was no change in how I felt, or any improvement in my GI symptoms, and actually worsened. I was constantly bloated, I lost a lot of muscle, became skinny fat, despite working out with resistance training.

My hair was frizzy and I began losing a lot of it, including my eyelashes and I had to get eyelash extensions. My nails got brittle, my skin was aging so much, due to glycolysis- glycogen end products, which is due to a high sugar/carb diet and lower fats and missing vital nutrients (saturated fats, Vitamin D, K, Omega 3, etc.).

I compared how quickly I was aging comparing to my twin sister Mariana who is not a vegan and I had more wrinkles and was looking older than her, my weight fluctuated, I had to reduce calories to see results (for cutting in the gym) and exercise more! I had mood fluctuations, ups/downs, and energy swings, and would even get depressed (due to a low fat diet).

My weight would fluctuate, and had to calorie restrict to see very minimal changes. There was increased inflammation in my body, I  developed severe IBS, increased toxicity, tooth decay/teeth problems, low thyroid function, migraines, malabsorption of nutrients, hormonal imbalance, insulin- resistant, always tired, lack of energy/libido, premature aging, mineral and nutritional deficiency, mood swings, leaky gut, cognitive decline, and memory problems. So I did not like how I was feeling or looking and had to do something about it!

I ended my vegan diet June 2018 and I went back to my low carb life- but this time adopting a Ketogenic diet focused on carnivore approach. After thoroughly researching scientific /research data that supports Ketogenic diets as a therapeutic dietary support, and found huge benefits, such as: reducing inflammation, reducing/eliminating/controlling seizures, epilepsy, treating diabetes, Alzheimer’s, heart disease, lower blood pressure, lower triglycerides, better cholesterol profiles, PCOS, many neurological and metabolic diseases, cancer, autism, ADHD, mood disorders, decreasing inflammation (which improves acne, arthritis, eczema, psoriasis, IBS, pain), Keeping uric acid levels in check (helping kidney function and preventing gout) and much more!

Initially, I worked with several ketogenic/carnivore nutritionists, doctors, coaches, who provided amazing new research that has shown the benefits of eating meat. 

I have learned that food can truly heal your body and mind. When you see food as the fuel you can give your body, so it runs efficiently, you realize that the focus lies on the quality macros that will make your body the best that it can be and heal all sorts of ailments without medication or surgery.

You focus on health- rather than just esthetics. I also learned that we are constantly being fed misinformation from the media, medical and nutritional advice that is outdated and so flawed that people are adopting plant-based/vegan diets and/or reducing fats and meat. I know this is an upward battle, but it is worth the fight!

I love seeing so much new research being conducted, and having advocates like Dr. Baker, Dr. Champ, Dr. Ede, Dr. Eenfelt, Dr. Westman, Dr. Peterman, Dr. Gustin, Dr. D’Agostino, Dr. Volek, Dr. Phinney, Dr. Mason, Dr. Scher, Dr. Fettke, Dr. Noakes, Dr. Fung, writer/researcher Gary Taubes, nutritionis Maria Emmerich, and many more!…to provide research-based information that is contrary to what we have been told, and healing people along the way!

These pioneers are healing cancer, diabetes, neurological diseases, autoimmune disorders, metabolic syndrome, arthritis, inflammation, heart disease and much much more! 

Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology, has done so much research and has data from case studies that highlight the damage caused by sugary foods. He argues that fructose appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. He has wonderful videos on youtube and his website (https://robertlustig.com/)

Also seeing so many success stories is a hopeful step! So many ex-vegans and people adopting a Keto/Carnivore diet have increased twofold in the last few years, that the data in these case studies have value, and will hopefully change the status quo- which is evidently not working, as we realize that we are getting sicker, fatter and advancing our aging process with the standard medical/nutritional advice.

Research shows that 80% of people who go vegans/vegetarians go back to eating meat and leaving such a lifestyle. I just recently connected with an ex-vegan pioneer in Australia- Katya Arbusoff- who was a vegan for over 30 years, has now adopted a carnivorous lifestyle focusing on ancestral eating- eating from the animal kingdom. She has a Facebook group called “Katya’s Wisdom”- where many ex-vegans from different walks of life can support each other in the transition, and it is just amazing to see how many stories of deficiencies tally up.

There are many other such groups on Facebook, such as “Restoration health vegan recovery group”- was my support group as I transitioned out of veganism.  Also, with so many baby deaths occurring from their parents feeding them a vegan diet, more restrictions are being talked about with regards to babies, and young children eating a vegan diet, which have shown to damage their health, brains, developmental milestones, causing severe malnutrition and even death!

Many vegan parents have gone to jail and is such a sad situation that can easily be prevented. Therefore, no child or baby should be fed a deficient vegan diet. Therefore, this whole notion of a vegan agenda is truly preposterous, because there are many people who could not follow a vegan/plant-based diet without damaging their health and even cause death.

Who are those people? People with autoimmune disorders, Hashimoto’s Disease, graves disease, Crohn’s Disease, diabetes, heart disease, IBS/Gut issues, joint issues, mood, people with lymes disease, neurological disorders, babies, children and the elderly. I always recommend people to read more research studies, data coming from many physicians seeking to bring the truth to light.

I always recommend documentaries such as “The Perfect Human Diet”, “Fat- a documentary”, “The Magic Pill” and “That Sugar Film”, so people can learn the truth behind nutrition and health and re-learn what is the BEST and optimal way for humans to heal and thrive.  Since switching from a vegan diet, I received so much hate and nasty messages- it was a war against the vegans! It is interesting that people take such labels to heart, to the point of aggression.

Many vegans love to claim that Einstein was a vegan and little do they know, that Einstein was a vegetarian (not a vegan), the last couple years of his life- when he was in his 70s-, decades after many of his most important scientific breakthroughs. Thus, all of his scientific breakthroughs occurred when he ate meat!

The only reason he followed a vegetarian diet was due to chronic digestive distress and he received the same outdated, flawed misinformation that I received from my own GI doctor that actually worsened my GI issues- of eating more vegetables and fiber! So there you have it, so much misinformation still circles around, but if you are interested, you can find the truth with a little searching. 

Another interesting study out there that compares vegan brains vs. meat-eater brains- The study said those on a meat-free diet are six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage as the most vitamin B12 is found in meats, liver, fish and milk. According to the study, vitamin B12 protects older people against brain shrinkage. Deficiency of vitamin B12 can cause inflammation of the nervous system. These brains were not only smaller but experience cognitive decline.

Another similar brain study highlights that choline is an essential dietary nutrient, but the amount produced by the liver is not enough to meet the requirements of the human body. Choline is critical to brain health, particularly during fetal development. It also influences liver function, with shortfalls linked to irregularities in blood fat metabolism as well as excess free radical cellular damage, writes Dr. Derbyshire.

Therefore, eating a vegan or plant-based diet can be bad for your brain health, especially if you already have a low choline intake, researchers report. The primary sources of dietary choline are found in beef, eggs, dairy products, fish, and chicken, with very low levels found in nuts, beans, and cruciferous vegetables, such as broccoli. Many of the studies concluded, that many of the cognitive deficiencies/decline and atrophy may be restored after adopting a meat diet, but many faculties may not be reversed or restored.

This is exactly what I experienced as a vegan- I was constantly lethargic, had mental fog, very slow to process information, I had many errors writing reports and took me twice as long. I felt I was in a constant haze and I felt irritable, depressed, irrational and experience mood swings. I just could not function, and my kids were scared of my emotional reactions! I was out of control.

I pretty much eat similarly to 2018, I focus 90-100% on the animal kingdom and from time to time, I do have avocado, and a little bit of dark chocolate or a Keto meal/recipe, especially if I am traveling, in the weekends, or social events. The important thing is to focus on health and not being too rigid and being more flexible when uncontrolled life situations occurs. This overall approach has allowed me to continue to live a Ketogenic lifestyle and still enjoy a few “keto” treats from time to time.

I do consume some coffee, I do implement Swiss water press decaf coffee, as to reduce my caffeine intake overall, so I may have about 1 cup of coffee per day, sometimes 2- especially in the winter time. For now, this amount of caffeine does not bother me, this may change down the road, as I always like to experiment. My diet consists overall of meat and fat the rest can be a mixture of other animal products: eggs, fish, poultry, etc.

From time to time, I have a bit of dairy products- like cheese and heavy cream- but this is minimal and I take collage peptides daily. For me it is critical to include fat that comes from butter (grass-fed), ghee, beef tallow, etc. I make sure to have between 140-200 grams a fat per day coming from these sources and at times, I have also have avocado. On average, I consume around 2000 calories, sometimes more, sometimes less. Just depends on the day.

I used to count my macros, but find it that it is no longer necessary. I just eat when I am hungry and stop when I am full. I used to do intermittent fasting, which I sometimes implement a day or two a month, but for me- I realize eating breakfast is more effective in regards to fatless and overall improved blood sugar levels. Therefore, I have been eating 3 meals a day and sometimes a snack. I focus on my own hunger signals, and how I feel.

I have had no setbacks at all- quite the contrary. I have continued to heal. My gut-issues have healed 100%, my skin, hair and nails have restored from the damage of veganism. I actually have much less wrinkles than when I was a vegan! This is saying a lot- since I am going against the clock, so I definitely feel more youthful, energetic and strong. My face is plumper, and has a healthy glow. 

There is also research on the damaging effects of sugar on your skin and that includes fructose (sugar derived from fruit). This is due to “Advanced glycation end products” (AGEs) are proteins or lipids that become glycated as a result of exposure to sugars. They can be a factor in aging and in the development or worsening of many degenerative diseases, such as diabetes, atherosclerosis, chronic kidney disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Research has shown that aging is accelerated by sugar. Without getting too technical, at the end of each strand of our DNA is a little cap, called a telomere, which protects our DNA from damage. Every time our DNA is read and duplicated, those telomeres shorten. While our bodies normally replace those telomeres, sugar quickens that shortening, and thereby, advances the aging process (Increased acne, Appearance of wrinkles, sagging in neck and chin, Development of dark spots, Slower healing of cuts, scraps, etc.).

To reverse the effects of sugar, Dr. Nish (one of many researches) says we can reduce the metabolic consequences of sugar (diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome) and possibly some of the aging aspects. But, unfortunately, we’ll be stuck with some of the skin changes associated with ingested sugar. This occurred firsthand to me when I became a vegan. I have a post on IG where I show this damage in pictures- I aged so much! I have a twin sister who was never vegan and during this time, I looked almost 10 years older than her. Wrinkles cut my skin, I lost all the youthful fat, I had hollow depressions around my eyes, gaunt cheeks and I looked so bad.

Therefore- I am staying AWAY from sugar! I do not want to accelerate my skins aging. You can see this in many vegans- they have premature aging- and their skin is the first sign you see this. Dr. Nish encourages people to start getting rid of sugar early in life. This is particularly important in pregnant mothers. Remember, what’s going on in your skin is going on everywhere in your body. Our skin is just an external display of everything that’s happening inside our bodies. 

My mental fog is non-existent, no more depression, or mood swings. I am always happy, positive and calm. I do not get sick! I have had only 2 cold (that lasted 2 days), since I started keto/carnivore. I work in schools, as a Speech Pathologist, so I am constantly working with sick kids and my immune system is strong, keeping illness at bay.  My pre-diabetic state is gone, no more inflammation and healthier than ever.  

My cholesterol is at a healthiest level ever! I want to address cholesterol- because Ketogenic diets get a bad rap regarding this issue. Cholesterol does not correlate to heart disease, but inflammation due to high sugar in our diet does. Studies show that the higher your cholesterol the longer your lifespan and your health.

The fact that doctors are still prescribing statins when people get a cholesterol reading higher than 200 is just bogus, and is ancient outdated advice that is like it came from the middle ages. This is no longer the case. In fact, many studies associating dietary cholesterol, high cholesterol levels, and an increased risk of heart disease have since been debunked[*].

The true measure of a heart attack would be a Coronary artery calcium test (CAC) that ranges from 0-100. The test uses computed tomography (CT) to check for calcium buildup in plaque on the walls of the coronary arteries. The higher your calcium score, the higher your risk for a heart attack.

My body has overall improved (even with less exercise), I am naturally curvy- a small waist and curvy hips/bottom, and strong/lean abs, so it is nice to keep a lean, curvy, flat stomach, yet strong, frame, which is a size 0-00, XS, and keep a weight between 114-118. Sure, there is always room for improvement, but I am overall happy with my figure, especially after having 3 kids, and being a 42 year old active single mom! 

Best of all I do not have to kill myself at the gym (even though I love to train and I do it because I love it).  People think I have good genetics, which I do believe is 50% of my success, the other 50% is definitely leading a Carnivore/Keto lifestyle. I have found the Holy Grail! I am enjoying the best health possible, and will continue eating this way indefinitely. 

I actually work out less than when I was a vegan which I used to be in the gym 6-7 days per week. Now I have a home gym, and have a pilates machine, so do resitance training 4-5 times per week, and cardio- biking (30-40 minutes) 5 times per week, I never run, to avoid knee/joint injuries. I stretch and breathe in between exercises to reduce cortisol levels while exercising. 

Even my spirituality practice has improved. Many people believe that you must be vegan to develop your spirituality/spiritual gifts, this is not so.  His holiness, the Dalai Lama used to be vegan and got ill, and he went back to eating meat. So eating vegan/plant-based is not prerequisite to developing your spiritual gifts/practice.

I am very conscious of my food source, I seek out grass feed, free range and organic as much as I can and honor my food source that nurtures my body as the native Americans did. We are all a part of the circle of life, which one day our bodies will return to Mother earth womb. 

I urge people to educate themselves and re-learn everything you think you know about nutrition and health. Veganism is NOT a sustainable long term way of eating…I am NOT the only one…so many vegans I know from different circles, or some of my vegan hero’s/heroines- I would look up to and admire- have too stopped being vegan for the same reasons/struggles/issues.

Many people feel better at first, but over time, the vegan diet starts causing all sorts of issues. Children should never eat a vegan diet, so many research articles and cases showing the dangers of veganism on children. Understand how your body works and what it needs to survive, and thrive.

It was very hard to detach from the “Vegan” label, but what is a label worth, if it destroys the very thing you are trying to attain?  I know many people are in different points along their journey on health, so I wish I would have learned this a lot sooner….

There are many Facebook groups “Recovering Vegans” and YouTube stories of “Ex-Vegans”…. If anyone is doubtful, just research a little and you’ll find the ugly truth. The information is out there, you just have to be unbiased and realize you may be wrong, but accepting that and moving forward with change takes risk and being brave, but you and your health are worth it. 

My life has improved since changing my diet. I do a lot of things on a day by day basis, including many work projects, personal projects (weight training, books, films, screenplays) and keeping up with being a busy mom (home life, cleaning, extra-curricular kids activities, etc.) that I have all the steady energy and mental focus to do it all! I have become a Super-Woman and I owe it to my new way of life and eating. 

I have had quite a journey regarding my health. All my life I have been very much into fitness and nutrition. I almost became a nutritionist, but decided on Speech/Language Pathology- but took a ton of nutrition coursework and love reading and researching the science about our physiology, hormones and how macros interact with our body. It hasn’t always been easy for me, I have tried so many things in the past! (I came from a dieting background).

I give everything I do 100% but something would always fall short. My goal has always been to FEEL good and regain my health, not just look a certain way! Because health starts from within. I urge any person implementing a Keto diet to have patience in the process, especially if you are coming from a deficient way of eating or have metabolic damage. Give your body time to heal, allow it to trust you again, and you will definitely reap the benefits of this way of life. It’s not always about the scale, it’s about changing the way you feel.

I always remind people, to do their own research. To not just believe something as truth. By taking this approach, you will do your own research to learn the truth. I even urge you not to believe what I say- go out and do the research yourself and experiment on yourself. All I can say is that this lifestyle is what saved my life and gave me back my health. I got a second change to live my best life and I am part of the collective who is trying to make a change.

Listen to Mariela’s story on the Revero podcast.

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