Cyndy is a cancer survivor. In 2008, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Cyndy says she did what she had to do to stay alive, including eight surgeries in two years. However, all of her treatments took a toll on Cyndy’s body.
Soon after her battle with cancer, Cyndy was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Cyndy says she followed the American Diabetes Association’s diet recommendation, which included eating a lot of whole grains, fruit, and vegetables, but her sugar continued to be a problem.
Cyndy was also considered obese at 225 pounds and wore a “tight” size twenty-two dress. Cyndy says at one point, she was on fourteen medications for diabetes and complications from being overweight, including an inhaler and C-pap machine. Cyndy says all her pills and medical devices cost her $400-450 a month “just to survive.”
In 2017, Cyndy became a grandmother and began to wonder what her life and future would look like if she didn’t get her health under control. She says she wanted to be the grandmother who could play with her grandkids, not the grandmother who couldn’t keep up and had to sit to the side.
She began looking into ways to improve her health and found the ketogenic diet. Through the keto diet, Cyndy learned that the grains, fruit, and vegetables previously recommended by the American Diabetes Association didn’t seem to work for her body. As she continued to cut higher carbohydrate-filled foods from her diet, she began to feel better and lose weight.
Then Cyndy learned about the carnivore diet. She says she knew her body preferred meat, so she decided to try the carnivore way of eating. Between her keto and carnivore diet, Cyndy has been able to lose one hundred pounds and go from a size twenty-two to a size two. Cyndy has also been able to get off thirteen of the fourteen medications she was on, saving her hundreds of dollars every month. A surprising benefit, too, has been Cyndy’s cracked heals, which she always thought were just a part of her life. Cyndy says she doesn’t know how, but the carnivore diet gave her beautiful feet that no longer crack.
Today Cyndy says, “I eat a lot of food.” She typically eats two meals daily but says, “I mostly listen to my body and eat when I’m hungry, so some days I eat five or six times a day.” Cyndy says she eats a lot of bacon, eggs, cheese, ham, and bologna. She lives in the country and can easily source high-quality fresh meat and eggs.
Cyndy’s advice for anyone looking to start the carnivore diet is to “give it thirty days and don’t be skeptical.” She speaks about how some people might see the carnivore diet as restrictive. Still, the only restrictions she sees regarding the carnivore diet are that she no longer needs copious amounts of prescription pills and no longer carries around one hundred pounds of extra weight. For Cyndy, it’s about choosing her restriction.
Cyndy says the carnivore diet has allowed her to be the grandmother she has always wanted to be. She describes going to a trampoline park with her grandkids and climbing trees. Cyndy plans to be there to see her grandkids grow up and be very active in their lives– something she never thought possible before she began following the carnivore diet.
