Around grade 10 in high school I began taking interest in health after starting to rock climb. I wanted to lose weight and gain a ton of strength, and knew I couldn’t do that with the diet I had- consisting basically of pizza and soda. For the first 2 months, I just tried reducing calories, and prioritizing protein. After that, I started to gravitate towards veganism.
I had heard for so long that it was just right to eat plants, and that meat was terrible for humans, and worst of all I believed it. It didn’t take long before my sex drive, mental health, and digestion plummeted. After that, my skin became chronically inflamed, I started developing knee problems (patella tendinitis), my muscles were always sore, I had problems sleeping, I had no motivation, and became very very disconnected from people and nature. I was immensely awkward, and my confidence was non existent. After around 6 months, I switched off of it back onto a more health conscious approach to the initial diet.
I only ate organic fruits and vegetables, whole grains, grassfed meats, wild caught fish, and no sugar (except on weekends because I had a really intense sugar addiction and couldn’t go longer than that without binging. I’m talking maybe 5000 calories worth of food in one cheat meal, of pure sugar and processed vegetable oils and grains). I fluctuated into veganism once again for around 3 months, and it was a like IBS central.
No more I said, and decided that I was going to try to make myself physically well as a goal. I found keto soon after, and felt amazing for the first few months- but soon enough I just felt as though it still wasn’t getting me where I wanted to go. Around the time when my hope in dieting began to fade, I stumbled upon Mikhaila Peterson’s story while listening to an interview with Jordan Peterson. I was baffled at first by the idea, but then did a bit more research.
I had already listened to Primaledgehealth, a popular keto channel on YouTube, for a while and saw that they were talking more and more about the benefits of meat. Then I found Shawn Baker through searching, and the on and on as I kept finding more and more I recognized this might be my path.
I remember now that I had already heard of this diet- legendary bodybuilder Vince Gironda followed a carnivore diet as well, and had insane success when it came to his physique. So, it can help me with my overall wellness and make me jacked as hell to eat steak all the time? Sign me the hell up!
After 2 weeks, this past summer starting the diet, I noticed astronomical results. I was leaner, more vascular, with a fuller physique. But that wasn’t the best part. The best part was that my confidence came back, and my clarity and my calm.
I had a shitty relationship at the time and I had put off ending it for months. Within those two weeks, I calmly dealt with what I had to do. I believe deeply that my decision then was only carried out because this new diet gave me my mental well being back.
Since then, my skin has cleared up, my sleep has improved, I don’t have IBS symptoms, I’m almost never anxious, have gone from working out sporadically and sluggishly to frequently, consistently and energetically, my social skills have improved, my sex drive has quadrupled, my hair grows nearly 1.5-2x as fast, I can handle pain better, I have no cravings for sugar or unhealthy foods, my teeth don’t hurt, and my muscle builds faster. Meat, in many ways, saved my life.
