David led an active lifestyle in his youth and didn’t worry much about his health or weight as he was active in college sports and had no major health issues. However, over the next two decades, he found he consistently gained weight and developed symptoms of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).
David confronted the reality of his weight gain a few years ago, when he and his wife saw pictures from their vacation. “We came back and just realized that we were really fat, and we needed to do something about it,” David shares with Revero coach Brooke. “We started to seriously look at what we were eating, and started doing green smoothies for a while.” Together, they tried many different approaches to lose weight, but had limited success as cravings would set in after about a month. “We pretty much gave up healthy eating, and just went back to the way we had always eaten. We never could keep the weight off or even feel better.”
Tragically, David’s wife passed away unexpectedly two-and-a-half years ago. “My wife’s death really threw me for a loop,” he recalls, “and that caused me to seriously evaluate where I was in life.” Soon after, Steve was diagnosed with pre-diabetes and high cholesterol. He knew he had to do something about his health.
David continued to search for a way to successfully lose weight, and tried the Noom app for a while to help with mindfulness and changing his relationship with food. He vigorously attempted the “eat less, move more” philosophy, which only made him more miserable. At this point, David had only lost about 20 pounds (down from 240 pounds), and struggled to reach his goal of under 200 pounds. Finally, he came across videos from Dr. Gary Taubs, Dr. Shawn Baker, and others in the low-carb community.
“I really liked the concept of the carnivore diet, because it was the first time somebody wasn’t trying to sell me something!” David explains. “I don’t think there’s anybody else out there that will tell you the secret to losing weight and not ask you for money to actually find the answer. On the carnivore diet, the answer is simple: just eat meat and drink water!”
So, he did just that! He ate until satiated, and naturally began to incorporate intermittent fasting with one meal a day. David actually finds he saves money eating this way. On a typical day, he enjoys a large meal of five burger patties and a half pound of bacon. He’s currently on a tight budget while saving to build a house, so bargain priced meat at Walmart serves his needs quite well.
“I feel pretty fantastic these days,” David is pleased to report. “Most of my aches and pains are gone, and I don’t have symptoms of IBS any more.” He enjoys building strength with resistance band workouts, and has lost a total of 70 pounds.
What does Steve tell people who are considering the carnivore approach? “Just try it for 30 days. You’re going to feel a whole lot better by the end if you do it right. You’re going to eat more meat than you ever have before, but it’s going to taste good and it’s going to make you feel great!”
