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Rory improved Joint Pain, Skin problems, Gut Health, and aches On The Carnivore Diet

March 22, 2023 No Comments

Rory is from Brisbane, Australia, and says, “I’ve had health problems my whole life; diagnosed at four as an asthmatic. I had tonsils taken out… From that point I’ve had a lot of health issues; mainly asthma, gut related stuff, food intolerances, and then acne as I became a teenager. As an adult, I was a vegetarian when I was 19, to impress this chick on MySpace. Then I was like, hey, this sounds pretty good and I kept going.”

Vegan Phase Fails

“I found out about veganism, and it aligned with my values at the time. I think everyone who goes into it has good intentions.” Rory was originally plant-based, out of “a desire to improve my health.”

“I found that within six months, I had low energy, fatigue, and joint pain, and I started seeing doctors who had no idea how to help me.”

Heart Worries

Rory was also having heart palpitations and “heavy left arm pain” and was worried because he has a strong family history of heart disease.

Adding Meat

Rory slowly started adding some animal products to his diet, and “It helped a little bit, having meat, but I was still on a whole foods diet. I still had low energy, fatigue, candida, brain fog, but the main thing was low energy and joint pain.”

Carnivore Commitment

“One day last year, after seeing all this stuff online about carnivore, I decided to give it a crack because I’m like, I was sick and tired of feeling like crap. I felt like I could eat basically anything, without having a reaction. My skin breaking out and joint pain. I’d eat a bowl of rice, and immediately be inflamed and have joint pain.”

“I found that the only thing I could eat was basically meat, and yeah, it made sense to just go into carnivore.”

Adjustment Issues?

Rory didn’t have too many problems adjusting to a carnivore diet: “There were moments within the first 30 days where I was like, man I’m really sick of this.”

“Week three or week four into it and the cravings…I just adjusted…I started adding in lamb and meat stock for the gut, which was really helpful for me.”

Rory found that his bowel movements reduced to one every two or three days, which he found “weird when I was used to big ones, once a day.” He also had some “keto flu” around day 18 and was bedridden for three days, with four days of diarrhea, but then felt much better afterward.

Improvements

He reports that his gut and digestion are normal now, without any of his old issues. About brain fog, Rory says “it’s helped tremendously, 100%.” He says that “eating this way has given me more mental focus and clarity… I’m able to work longer, harder.” Rory says the changes have also helped with his son, saying, “I’m a better father, because I’ve got myself sorted in this way, and I can really be there for him.”

Denise improves digestion and mental health and loses weight on the carnivore diet

February 27, 2023 No Comments

I am a Covid ventilator survivor and started the carnivore diet a few months after release from the hospital in January 2022. Prior to my illness, I was at least 50 pounds over weight.

In early November 2021, I unfortunately contracted Covid and was not getting better after 10 days. Under a doctors supervision, I took Ivermectin and Z-pac, but I could not get Hydroxyclorequin in pill form at that time. It must have been too late to take those protocols as Covid had already done it’s damage and I only got worse. My oxygen started dropping daily, I became very incoherent and on Nov. 24, I had a friend take me to the ER when my oxygen dropped to 67. I had no idea how sick I really was, why it hit me so hard and what terrible things were about to transpire.

At the ER, I was hypoxic and had a pulmonary embolism in my right lung. I was admitted into the hospital and from that day forward my nightmare began. After 10 days of quarantine, on Dec. 4, I was awakened in the early am and was told that I needed to be put on a ventilator. I felt ok and thought I was getting better and was going to be released after my quarantine period so I was shocked to hear that. I was very much against that and was petrified of being put on a vent but was told that I would die if I did not go on one. It all happened so fast and was chaotic that you really do not have a chance to even think about it. Faced with death, you just say ok. By some miracle, I was taken off the vent after 15 days and survived. I had no recollection of any of it and only realized I had been through all of that when told a few days after I got off the vent. Even then I had a difficult time understanding it all and my brain could not comprehend what had taken place.

I had to learn to breathe on my own again, learn to stand, learn to walk and had a difficult time doing simple, normal tasks, like going to the bathroom. By the grace of God I improved and after 37 days in the hospital, I was released on Jan 1, 2022. I had lost approximately 50 pounds while in the hospital and came home at 164 pounds. I also lost most of my hair and had trouble talking and swallowing due to vocal chord damage that thankfully healed. I recuperated a few months with family and at the beginning of March, I started to eat Carnivore to help with my recuperation and healing and to not gain any of the prior weight back.

Prior to my illness, I was at least 50 pounds overweight, at 214 pounds give or take. I am 5’6 ½ inches tall so I carried that much weight pretty well, or so I thought. All blood tests always came back great, except my Cholesterol was a little high from 250-280 and Triglycerides from 256-270. I am 60 years old and I have never been on prescription drugs most of my life except for currently on Eliquis due to my blood clot from Covid. As of my last scan in September my lungs were clear and no more blood clot thank God. I will be getting off of the meds soon. I have never smoked and I never took statin drugs as I wanted to cure myself naturally by losing weight. I exercised and for the most part ate very clean, organic food but ate a lot of fruits, veggies and huge salads, thinking those were so healthy for me. I sometimes ate pasta, pizza and I loved bread but never felt good afterwards. I took good supplements and drank a little wine or a margarita here and there.

I did not feel good after drinking alcohol, had bad brain fog and could not lose any weight no matter what I tried. I started having stomach issues, bloating and felt sick after eating even the smallest of meals. I had days of depression and mood swings. After eating I always felt a vibrating feeling between my belly button and my breast bone and that scared me. I had some joint pain in my shoulder, right wrist, and foot pain. I just felt off and not good and wanted to get to the bottom of why I felt so bad so I went to see a rheumatologist. I thought I must have an auto-immune disease. All tests came back fine and I was told there was nothing wrong with me other than needing to lose some weight.

My friend Al told me about your videos and Dr. Berry and I had been watching them all for a while and was very excited to start the diet. The only apprehension I had was if the diet was safe while being on blood thinners and after all I had been through. I found no evidence that it would not be safe. I have been taking Eliquis since I left the hospital. I could not ask my GP if it was ok to start the diet while on blood thinners because she was always trying to get me to take a Statin drug for my cholesterol. She would tell me I was crazy to do such a diet as she had always recommended the SAD diet. I would like to know your thoughts on taking blood thinners while on the diet as I have not seen any Carnivore podcasts on that subject yet.

I have been on the diet now for 11 months and have kept off any weight gain since I came home from the hospital. All of my brain fog is gone and I have never felt so clear and alert. Definitely improved mood and mental clarity. I have more energy and no more issues with my stomach or bloating. My skin looks great and my hair is growing back nicely. My A1C test in August 2022 was 5.2. My last A1C test before that one was in 2017 and was 5.8 so I was very happy with that result.

I have not had any alcohol and surprisingly that was the easiest thing to give up. Prior to my illness, I loved my wine and margaritas but I do not miss drinking at all. The hardest thing for me when starting the diet was not having any sweets or breads. I never had a real bad sweet tooth but I did enjoy some sweet snacks here and there. I had some really bad cravings for pizza, bread and chocolate cake for whatever reason. I even had dreams about chocolate cake, lol!! Those were tough and lasted for weeks but I fought through it. I soon lost all cravings for the junk food and started craving a steak, my ground beef, bacon and eggs. My appetite shrank so much and most days I only do OMAD, one meal a day. My hunger is manageable and I only eat when I start to feel hungry. I primarily drink water and sparkling waters and occasional home brewed unsweetened iced tea. The only thing I could not give up was my morning coffee. Hey, we have to at least have one vice!! I drink 2 cups a day with a little coconut oil or a low carb 4g non GMO coconut creamer.

The only negative thing so far that I experienced with this diet early on and still occasionally has been some constipation. Not sure why that is, could it be the coffee or creamer? I mostly have very regular bowel movements once a day.

Unfortunately, losing the weight I did so traumatically, I also lost most of my muscle mass which has been really hard to see. I had great leg, calf and arm muscles which is now all gone. I am going to be starting a workout routine with weights to slowly gain back that muscle that was lost. I know that being on the carnivore diet will help my body/muscles to get back to where they were before. I am feeling stronger every day and look forward to my healthier, better life going forward. I would love to hear your advice on the best ways to regain lost muscle mass. I know that muscle has memory as my leg function came back pretty quickly thank God. What a rollercoaster this all has been.

Thank you, Dr. Baker, for all you do and for your never ending inspiration.

Michelle ran her first half-marathon at 61 on a low-carb diet

December 20, 2022 1 Comment

Michelle – 61 year old female, soon to be 62 in January

12/2021 Started carnivore – At that time, I was using a type of macro tracker which, based upon my metrics and goals, had me at adequate protein, low fat, and low carb. Since the end of 2018, I had been dealing with chronic forearm tendonitis and both lateral and medial elbow pain in my left arm. Also, I have always dealt with constipation, bloating, and lower energy. Since my early 40s, I’ve had a small eczema patch, which I affectionately began to call my barometer. Since I had a sense of how much protein to eat and my carbs were quite low, I decided to give carnivore a try to see if I could mitigate my arm pain, and address constipation, bloating, and eczema.

What I learned during my first year as a carnivore:

  • I call meat, with its requisite fat, my gate keeper. As long as I have adequate protein, with the fat it contains, my energy is stable and I have no cravings.
  • I hydrate throughout the day (water), and use electrolytes during endurance activities.
  • Constipation and bloating resolved immediately, as if I never had them. Eczema resolved, but it does present a bit when I eat eggs.
  • Arm pain is much better, but not completely resolved. Most of the time I am not in pain (prior to carnivore, I was always in pain). While I do love to lift (compound movements), they don’t always love me back (sometimes my arm hurts and sometimes not). The pain doesn’t necessarily present in real time, so I am never sure of what’s going to hurt and what won’t until after I’m done with a workout. There’s something about stepping up to a bar (regardless of the grip) or dumbbells that doesn’t always agree with my arm, regardless of the weight. However, during this year, I discovered that lifting really heavy things (sand bags, tire flips, hay bales, grain bags), close to my body, generates great blood flow, without any pain in my arm. This type of activity makes me so happy. I can work hard and I never experience pain.
  • I realized that I had forgotten to take my supplements for thyroid and adrenals, which I dutifully had taken for years, after starting carnivore. Once I realized this, I no longer felt that I needed them.
  • Initially, I didn’t take off weight, but I could tell that my body was changing because my clothes fit differently. I ditched the scales. Eventually, I took off about 8 lbs, but my clothes fit the same.
  • I no longer feel compelled to chase errant bio-markers (mostly thyroid). If I feel fine, I’m going to assume I’m fine, and as long as I stay carnivore.
  • My sleep is solid.
  • I eat when I’m hungry.
  • Favorite steak cut: chuck-eye
  • Favorite braise cut: cross-cut shank
  • When I go on longer runs (5-6 miles), my body is fine. Before carnivore, I felt like I had done work after a long run day, and I would give my body a break the next day. Now I don’t even notice the longer distance and feel that I could do it again the next day.
  • Highlight during my first year as a carnivore:
    In June, I ran a half-marathon at altitude (about 4800 feet elevation, near Glacier National Park). I neither train that distance, nor run at altitude. My energy and expenditure was fine throughout the run. Afterward, I felt like I had worked, but my recovery was rather seamless. I took the next day off, except for some light walking. The following day I was fine. No carbohydrates required!

Further background about me
I have always been very active, but struggled with weight (either over or under eating). I was constantly on the go, yet fatigued. I always assumed that I was low thyroid, based upon my symptoms. The doctor would check one thyroid marker, which would be in normal range, and tell me I was fine. I love to cook and love to eat. I’ve always been bloated and constipated. I like to do deep dives into information and many N=1 experiments.

In the early 2000s, we embraced Weston Price and Nourishing Traditions. We sourced local grass-fed meat, always tried to source organic produce, and adopted food and lifestyle as our medicine.

Between 2008 and 2018 we farmed in Oregon, raising/selling pastured/grass-fed meat. I started paleo in 2012 and Crossfit in 2013 (5 days per week). I was also active in physically-demanding equine sport and ran 3-4 days per week. I was perimenopausal/menopausal. By 2014, I was in post-menopause and in the pre-diabetic range (A1C of 5.7).

Between 2014 and 2019, I began keto paleo and intermittent fasting, often interchanging days of each. I tried low-fodmap for bloating. Sleep was not great. Adrenals were tapped. I had some low thyroid markers (mostly T3). No autoimmunity. I probably had a cortisol response from much underfeeding, intermittent fasting, and much activity. I tracked blood glucose throughout the day for several years. My A1C didn’t really lower significantly but glucose ranges were so narrow that it was assumed that I wasn’t headed for diabetes, given my food choices and activity level.

By the end of 2018, I had developed chronic forearm tendonitis and both lateral and medial elbow pain from overuse. In 2019, I began using the RP app, which gave me a breakdown of macros that were right for me. I stopped intermittent fasting and started fueling, especially on protein! Had more carbs than I previously had. Great results! Lowered weight and body fat.

In 2020 I got out of the pre-diabetic range (A1C 5.4). I assumed it was because I added back in some carbs. I now know that it was more so that I wasn’t underfueling and stressing my body out.

At the end of 2021, I started carnivore. I love vegetables but don’t miss them, as long as I eat enough protein and fat. In 2022, a few months into my carnivore journey (March), I tried the fruit/honey (small amounts) route for a few weeks. My energy wasn’t great during this time and especially with the honey, it was a slippery slope having it in the house. My lower energy resolved when I ended the short fruit/honey stint. I didn’t miss either. After the brief fruit/honey experiment, I added in some electrolytes, which my body seemed to crave. Was it the electrolytes or was it the hydration that my body was craving? Now, I use electrolytes during endurance activities or if I feel tired, but I endeavor to stay well-hydrated. Recently, I tried adding in more butter. I like the idea of it, but if I add it on top of adequate daily protein, it is just too much fuel for me. Even with increasing activity, my clothes were just getting tighter. I’d need to decrease protein, if I am going to add more fat. Right now my activities include: Functional Range Conditioning, strength training (not always with a bar), rowing, running, rucking, hiking. While I am interested in getting stronger, I no longer want to work against a clock in HIIT activities on a daily basis. It’s great fun and comradery, but too much wear and tear for me.

 

For 2023, I have plans for two more half-marathons: one near Grand Tetons and one near Yellowstone. Hope to get to more runs in other beautiful locations, as I am able.

#Carnivoreforthewin!

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.

Coach Evan reverses ankylosing spondylitis on a carnivore diet

November 30, 2022 No Comments

Ever since Evan was young, he had an insatiable hunger that caused him binge eat, in addition to his other daily struggles of ADHD, OCD, brain fog and fatigue. When he turned eleven—embarrassed by his heavy frame—he decided to go on a diet. Following the conventional wisdom at the time, he started eating a low-calorie/low-fat diet, full of lots of “healthy” whole grains, seed oils and tofu. He lost 30 pounds, but describes his body composition as “skinny fat ” at the time. He also couldn’t help noticing that he was a lot weaker than his fellow classmates. Using sheer willpower alone, Evan struggled with yo-yo dieting and calorie counting throughout high school, but it wasn’t until he entered college that the real trouble began.

“Out of nowhere,” Evan says, “I became incredibly depressed, anxious and suicidal.” He tried exercising daily to combat his negative feelings, but saw zero improvement. Exasperated, he turned his focus to his diet, and in his research experienced the cognitive dissonance that goes along with learning that animal fat is an important part of the human diet, while also simultaneously being the main driver of heart attacks and cancer. In the end, the “experts” won out, and Evan persisted in following their low-fat/high carb recommendations—to no avail. “I just felt worse and worse—I wasn’t getting better at all.”

After years of declining health, a defeated Evan began binge drinking and eating candy to deal with his frustrations. He eventually was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis—an autoimmune condition that runs in his family that affects the spine. He would go on to gain 40 pounds, and when hospitalized with bruises all over his body, nausea, diarrhea and night sweats, his doctors told him that his symptoms were most likely psychosomatic.

Finally, in 2020, one of his friends—who happened to be on the carnivore diet—invited him over for a steak. After eating it, Evan was surprised by how satiated he felt, and ended up not eating for the rest of the day. He woke up the next morning still feeling full, so he decided to give the carnivore diet a try. After the first week, Evan had lost ten pounds, and while he didn’t feel great—he didn’t feel terrible either. “Within the next two weeks, all of a sudden my depression and my anxiety had vanished, my Ankylosing Spondylitis had gotten 90% better, the numbness in my hands was gone, my bruising started going away, my asthma went away, my heartburn went away, my digestive issues went away…my libido came back—pretty much everything you can think of went away within two or three weeks.” He also noticed a remarkable improvement in his ADHD and OCD symptoms. “My whole outlook on life is a lot different: I’m a lot more motivated, a lot more friendly, outgoing, happy. So, pretty much, everything for me has changed.” His friends and family all agree. “I’m not the same beaten down person that I was before.”

Bradley improved fat loss, muscle gain, sciatica, cognition, and athletic performance

November 15, 2022 No Comments

When Bradley joined the army straight out of college, he never really gave much thought about nutrition. “I think—like a lot of young soldiers—I just ate whatever I wanted with the expectation that I was going to burn off all the pizza and beer.” It slowly caught up with him, however, and by the time his four years in the army were over, he had gained twenty pounds and was experiencing lower back pain. Shortly after leaving active duty, he was diagnosed with bulging disks around his L5-S1. A back surgery in 2018 mostly solved the issue, but there was still lingering stiffness in his lower back and leg.

As the years rolled on, Bradley continued to try to better his health with limited success. Then, when he got deployed overseas in 2020 with the Army Reserve, a friend recommended the ketogenic diet. “I was calorie restricting, I was running 20 to 30 miles a week…I was just exhausting myself…and I just wasn’t seeing any real positive results.” Thinking a military base would be an ideal environment for a controlled dietary experiment, he took the plunge and overnight cut out processed foods, sugars and sodas, while loading up his plate with all the protein and fat he could find.

“Some people talk about switching to low carb and seeing positive effects in a couple of days or weeks—but for me—it took about 20 minutes…I couldn’t finish that plate of food. This was really my first introduction to satiety.” After that, Bradley was off to the races. He lost 30 pounds over a six week period, and eighteen months later is happy to report that he is the healthiest he’s ever been. “I look better, my skin feels healthier, I’m stronger than I was before I injured myself—and the pain that was lingering after the surgery vanished in a matter of weeks…This was such a perspective shift for me—showing how quickly you can turn around your health just by putting proper fuel in your body.”

His Achilles heel—an insatiable sweet tooth—also disappeared within a matter of days. “In the past, if there was an Oreo in front of me, I’d have eat the whole box…and now…I just have no desire for it.” About to turn 33, Bradley now confidently lifts heavy weights at the gym without fear of injury, or experiencing any soreness the next day. “I just compare that to running five days a week in the past, and I would wake up and my shins would be on fire.” He’s also been able to attain greater mental clarity and concentration, something he found particularly useful when pursuing his Master’s degree.

“The surprising thing to me about the carnivore diet, was really how little effort it took. You know, it’s not about discipline—everybody thinks it is—but it’s really not. I didn’t lack for discipline running 30 miles a week, but then I couldn’t control myself in front of candy. So, it wasn’t a discipline issue, it was about ‘How is your brain wired to think about food?’ and ‘What kind of food are you putting in it?’”

Coach George C loses fat, builds muscle, and heals from gut disorders on a carnivore diet

November 15, 2022 No Comments

After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in engineering, George’s job took him to China. For ten years he traveled all throughout Asia, and as he entered his thirties, he decided to leave the corporate world and go into business for himself. After a few entrepreneurial missteps, he founded several food and fitness companies, and has been successfully running them for the past 20 years. Always fascinated by health and wellness, he regularly went to the gym and followed a low fat/high protein diet for 15 years. Around the age of 46, however, his body started to fall apart. At that time, he was starting a new project in Beijing when he developed a cough that lasted for six months. He also noticed that his usual health routine was no longer working. “Even though I worked out, I wasn’t able to recover. I had all kinds of little issues, like skin lesions and intestinal disorders, and all these things—to me—didn’t feel right.”

When business came to a screeching halt at the end of 2019 due to Covid-19, George made the most of his extra time by doing a deep dive into nutrition. In his research, he came across Shawn Baker on YouTube, who he initially thought was a little bit crazy. Still, after reading his book and following him for a few years, the carnivore diet started to make sense.

After finally taking the plunge, George initially found that he had trouble eating a lot of meat in one sitting, so he gradually increased the amount over time. Now, he enjoys a dozen eggs for breakfast, as well as 2 ½ pounds of meat before the day is over. At 51 years old, the symptoms he was suffering from a few years ago are completely gone, and he currently is able to train in the gym every single day—something he was unable to do even in his twenties and thirties. This sits in stark contrast to the norm in China, where George says that (due to immense stress and lifestyle choices) businessmen have an average life expectancy of 50 years.

In China, meat is still regarded as one of the healthiest things you can eat, but the idea of a meat-only diet is still considered unusual. He currently lives in the western city of Chengdu, where one of the most popular dishes is a traditional hotpot; a soup rich in bone broth and fatty beef.

George still lives on the other side of the world, and happily helps others transition to a carnivore diet as an online coach for the Revero community. He acknowledges that there is a mental obstacle when it comes to giving up vegetables—but because of his incredible results, he encourages people who worry about it give it try for one month. “See how it goes, and then you can decide for yourself whether or not it’s for you.”

Christina Manages Hypoglycemia And Is Headed To The World Masters Athletics Championships

November 7, 2022 No Comments

An avid athlete, Christina grew up on red meat and casseroles. When she got to college, however, she swapped out the red meat for a “healthier” diet of grilled chicken, salad, protein shakes and Special K cereal—the low-fat / high-carb diet recommended to athletes the world over.

Initially a soccer player, she got recruited to run track her sophomore year of college, when the track coach attended a game and noticed her speed. Happy to avoid future injury on the soccer field, Christina agreed to try out—the coach suggesting she run the 400 meter dash. “The first time I ran it collegiately—I didn’t even know how to come out of blocks—I ran 58 seconds. So, he was like, ‘Oh, we’re keeping you in track!’”

Christina would go on to become a two-time All-American, but behind the scenes of her athletic success, she was struggling to manage severe hypoglycemia. Even though she would make sure to load up on carbs before every race, it still wasn’t enough to help her avoid a crash—sometimes leading to her passing out. As she neared graduation, she started to experience painful gut issues as well, and although she had Olympic dreams—with her health problems persisting—she decided to hang up her cleats.

After college, Christina became a teacher and track coach in rural Nebraska. She also went on to get married and start a family, and was blessed with two beautiful daughters. On her 30th birthday, she came down with a terrible case of the flu. While miserable and sick in bed, she discovered Dr. Ken Berry’s book, Lies My Doctor Told Me. After reading it, she decided to incorporate red meat back into her diet, and within a month—she felt drastically different.

Christina’s bloating and stomach distress completely disappeared. Her hypoglycemia went away, and since going on the carnivore diet, she hasn’t had a single hypoglycemic episode in four and a half years! Her passion for running was also reignited, and she began training with a coach again, who encouraged her to compete at the Masters level. She also has a six-pack and more muscle now in her mid-thirties than she had in her twenties.

Christina’s athletic goals took a slight detour after she became pregnant with her son. She continued to eat a carnivore diet throughout all 9 months of her pregnancy, joking, “I built this child on steak and eggs!” She observed that she experienced much less fatigued with her third pregnancy than her previous two—and her body bounced back so quickly—she was able to return to training only seven weeks giving the birth!

A little over a decade after she kissed her athletic aspirations goodbye, Christina is now an 800 meter specialist running world class times. Over the last two years, she has won 4 National Titles in the 800m and the 1500m, and is currently training for her first World Team event in Toruń, Poland in March of 2023. She beams with joy as she says, “I’m super excited—it’ll be my first Team USA uniform.”

Alicea gains muscle and manages mental health on the carnivore diet

November 3, 2022 No Comments

Alicia lives in northern California. She’s 52 and struggled with eating disorders since she was 15 years old. While she was never obese, she still struggled with bulimia, binging, and purging. At one point she got down to 107 pounds, which isn’t much for her 5’ 7” frame. Alicia often thought, “If someone could just tell me what foods I should eat, I could figure this out!”

A Carb Addict

She grew up believing fats were bad and would binge on chocolate-covered nuts and vegetables, admitting that she was a carbohydrate addict. Alicia also became addicted to exercise as a way to burn off all the extra calories.

Diet Pills and Emotional Eating

Alicia did try a plant-based diet, but gained weight on it and did not stay with it. She experienced joint pain, anxiety, and depression over the years, and was “on a lot of diet pills, also, in my 30s. I think going off those caused depression too, because I was on Phentermine forever.”

In 2014, Alicia weighed 150 pounds and wanted to stop thinking about food while losing some weight. She was “keto for a while…it was helping to some degree.” However, she found that “I was using food and sugar; I was addicted to it, so any emotion that came up, I was still eating it.”

Finding Carnivore

Alicia was “in the keto space” in September 2020, and listened to the Joe Rogan podcast with Dr. Shawn Baker. She “figured I would try it, and I actually hid it from my husband for at least a week, because I thought he, or anybody, would think ‘uh oh there she goes on a crazy, you know, her eating disorders are back and this is nuts’ because I didn’t know anybody in my real life that was doing it.”

She noticed that the more she got rid of sweets, the more “the urges for all the sugar stuff goes away.” In a week or two, she thought, “Wow, there is something here!”

Healing

Alicia notes that her “recovery is so quick, it’s like ridiculous.” Her current diet is about 70% fat and 30% protein, and she maintains her weight at 145 pounds, with 18% body fat and good muscle mass. She eats two meals a day, including eggs, pork rinds, eggs, and red meat. She prefers flank steak and tri-tip over ribeye, and avoids liver.

Alicia doesn’t have any more cravings, and attributes that to “my insulin is really low and I don’t have the carbs coming in for my cycle and hormones to go nutty, and being in 12-step programs, talking my stuff out and not running to food for my emotional release.” She also has had “a lot of counseling in my past, and working on myself” and acknowledges that it did help.

Being carnivore is now part of Alicia’s identity, and she says she “doesn’t see other things as food anymore…the obsession and compulsion is completely gone; it’s amazing!”

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.”

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