Charity is a carnivore coach, who previously was a vegetarian for over 10 years, “super super grain heavy, super bean heavy.” She was experiencing severe gut issues, and “had chronic constipation for three solid years. Every single day I dealt with this.”
She would also get hangry, very emotional, and sweaty when she was hungry, as her blood sugar dropped.
While Charity was a vegetarian, she “was a group fitness instructor, so I was teaching a lot of these high-intensity interval training classes” and also exercising herself at other times. Charity now realizes that she wasn’t feeding her body properly. “Halfway through my pregnancy, I was hit with this sudden, uncontrollable craving for ice, and I don’t normally like ice!”
Charity learned that this is called “pica,” which is a craving for a non-food item. In her case, it was ice, but in many cases, it can be something harmful or toxic. “I learned that it was a symptom of anemia, so in the third trimester, when they tested my blood again, I was severely anemic.” Her blood sugar levels were unstable, and she gained 35 pounds before giving birth.
“I was in early labor for five days.” After five days, she went to the hospital, but her labor had stopped, “so I had to be put on Pitocin to keep it going…16 hours later, on Pitocin, I delivered.” Afterward, Charity hemorrhaged and lost a lot of blood.
“That really put me behind on a lot. My milk didn’t come in for four or five days, I was super gray and sallow in the hospital, I was not able to walk around.” It would take a month for her to recover, and then she had pelvic floor issues as well.
Two years later, Charity and her husband decided to try low-carb and then keto, but remaining vegetarian made it a challenge. After some research, she decided to eat meat again and realized, “I loved meat, and I was starving!” She gradually became completely carnivore.
Charity liked the simplicity of carnivore and decided to stay with it. Her gut problems all resolved, after years of problems, and her blood sugar stabilized.
Charity’s iron levels actually rose during this pregnancy, and she only gained 20 pounds. “I felt amazing; I didn’t have that depleted feeling that I had had… My blood sugars were way more stable.” Her labor and delivery were straightforward, with three hours of early labor and then being 50% effaced at the hospital. She did not hemorrhage.
After the delivery, Charity was “up, a little sore, a little tired. It was crazy, really, the difference, my coloring, I was able to walk out of the hospital instead of in a wheelchair.” She foud herself far stronger than expected, saying, “I couldn’t believe how vital and strong I felt, even though I had just birthed a whole human.” Her milk was normal, and she experienced no pelvic floor problems.
“It was like night and day, a completely different experience!”
