Daniel has been following the carnivore diet for over two years and isn’t looking back. Daniel says before the carnivore way of eating, his health wasn’t terrible. He grew up eating a lot of meat and already had some healthy practices in place. However, as he got older, his weight began to creep up, he noticed his physically demanding job was becoming more challenging, and he struggled with mental clarity. Add to that, Daniel was experiencing severe acid reflux and GERD.
Daniel says for most of his adult life, his diet was very poor. He ate the Standard American Diet (SAD), which meant a lot of fast food, processed foods, and sugar. Daniel knew he should be eating better, but looking back, he can recognize he had a sugar addiction that made eating healthy very difficult. Daniel wanted to start making healthy choices, so like many people, he began eating more vegetables and focusing on green foods. Daniel says he lost some weight, but his acid reflux did not improve.
His wife, Tracey, was the person who introduced him to the carnivore diet after a friend recommended the diet to her. Daniel said that recommendation sent him down a rabbit hole of research. He began to open his eyes to how he had been “semi-brainwashed.” Daniel says everything he thought he knew about his health was challenged as he learned more about the benefits of eating meat. For Daniel, he found his new-found knowledge “uplifting.”
Daniel and his wife began the carnivore diet together. He says initially, he didn’t have any gut issues, which he later attributes to drinking bone broth daily. Daniel struggled with cramping for the first month or two but says now it’s rare for him to feel cramps.
Daniel says today he feels better than he did almost twenty years ago. His energy levels are very high, and he feels a sense of mental clarity. Daniel also says his body composition has changed, although he didn’t lose much weight. Daniel dropped from a 38″ pant size to a 33″– the same size he wore in high school. However, Daniel’s most significant win has been the complete reduction in his acid reflux. He no longer has to suffer after meals or pop multiple antacids daily.
Daniel says he and his wife currently eat two meals daily of mostly ruminant animals– beef, lamb, venison, etc. He also eats eggs and some chicken. Daniel says he and his wife prefer grass-fed and grass-finished meat, although he acknowledges other carnivore diet followers seem to do just fine with conventional meat. Daniel has also found for his diet, he doesn’t seem to react well to rendered fat and avoids it as much as possible.
Daniel says his advice for anyone looking to begin the carnivore way of eating is to focus on the decision to be healthy first, then the desire. Daniels says he has noticed many people desire to be healthy but have yet to decide to do what it takes to get there. He says you must commit first, then “the desire will naturally follow.” Daniel is grateful he and his wife are committed to this way of eating, and he’s excited to continue to reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle.
