Clarke lost weight on a carnivore diet

Clarke is serving in the U.S. Navy, and while he was stationed on a submarine two years ago, arthritis in his hip and knee was becoming too much to bear. “To get through my days, I would come home from work and just sit down until it was time to go to bed. It was the only way I could alleviate some pain well enough to be able to work again the next day.” Given the carb-laden food choices that were served out of the military kitchen, Clarke recalls not paying much attention to what he was eating, and found himself weighing 275 lbs at 5 ’10”.

In addition to losing weight and addressing his joint pain, Clarke’s goal was to reverse some negative health patterns in his family that were of great concern, such as diabetes and heart disease. “My dad and uncles passed away from heart attacks before age 60,” Clarke shares with Revero coach Tracy, “so family history was a lot of what motivated me to get moving and address my health.”

Clarke was inspired by a friend who had great success on a ketogenic diet, so he met with her and got started on a plan to eliminate different foods from his diet. “I took the approach of finding what would be the easiest food for me to eliminate first, and once I got used to that, I would eliminate something else. I just progressed from there, and as I kept cutting down to essentials, I concluded that carnivore was the way to go for me.” He found it easy to stick to an animal-based plan, and did additional research on bodybuilding and how to be successful on a zero-carb diet.

“I wanted to get what’s called a classic physique,” Clarke explains. “So I researched what a lot of bodybuilders were doing before anabolic steroids. I read about Vince Gironda who pioneered the steak and eggs diet.” For five days a week, Clarke will eat two meals of beef and eggs, with ribeye being his favorite cut of steak. For the following two days, instead of adding carbs back in, he will include chicken, pork, bacon, and other meats to add variety and to allow his body to replenish his glycogen stores. He also includes intermittent fasting, and eats his two meals between 11am and 7pm each day.

For Clarke, the results have been incredible! In his first seven months, he has gone from 275 lbs to 207 lbs, with an overall goal of 190 lbs. “From keto to carnivore was a slow progression,” he recalls, “but once I made the switch to carnivore, I started noticing the fat melting off right away. It took a lot of pressure off my joints. I almost instantly felt better within a week or two.”

Clarke reports other improvements to his health, including improving his arthritis and healing his hypoglycemia. He enjoys resistance training and cardio exercise several times a week, and reports “perfect numbers” for his cholesterol and blood pressure. “I have a lot more freedom now,” Clarke says. “Carnivore gets easier the longer you do it, and I never want to go back. It’s ‘meat for the win’!”