Glen came to the carnivore diet not for a significant physical illness but for his mental health. Glen says growing up, he was very active and ate a diet full of protein and carbohydrates. He was taught as a child and teen to use “carbs for energy.” As Glen got older and went to college, his mental health began to decline.
Glen wanted to improve his health, so he looked for answers online. Unfortunately, he came across many outlets touting the vegan diet– which he says isn’t surprising given how much the vegan diet is pushed in society. Glen says he loves animals and quickly bought into what he was told about veganism and decided to try the diet. However, his mental health only got worse. Then Glen began looking into the ketogenic diet. He ate very little protein; some days, his diet only consisted of avocados. He says his version of keto was not healthy at all.
During his experimentation with the vegan and keto diets, Glen began going down the path of alcoholism. Glen says he drank a liter of spirits daily, and his mental health deteriorated. There was a time when Glen was experiencing at least one panic attack every other day.
Three years ago, Glen checked himself into rehab for alcohol addiction. He says he spent two weeks in rehab and was put on antidepressants. Glen says he didn’t feel like the medications helped him much, and he wasn’t comfortable with the thought of being on antidepressants for the rest of his life. He began going down a path of searching for optimal health.
Glen came across the carnivore diet somewhat organically. He had heard of Dr. Shawn Baker and Dr. Paul Saladino, but his experimentation with food and health led him to the carnivore diet. Glen says he began to realize that he felt better eating animal products. His mind was suddenly clearer, and he felt a sense of calm he hadn’t felt while on the vegan and keto diets.
Before long, Glen found himself solely eating animal products. His friends began to notice a difference in him, and some have even been doing the diet alongside him. He speaks of a vegetarian friend who recently cured his irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) symptoms by following Glen and the carnivore way of eating.
Today Glen says he has been sober for three years and eats a diet that is 95% carnivore. He says he eats mostly meat and eggs, with some dairy mixed in. Glen has learned his body can handle some carbohydrates, so he eats a few vegetables. Glen also works out two to three times a week but has found the carnivore diet makes him look like a person who works out much more.
Glen is a member of the community and also a coach. As a coach, Glen focuses on his client’s mental health, although he knows weight loss and other health improvements will also happen. Glen says he wants to help his clients find “balance” in what they enjoy.
He also says he has people who ask him when he will stop doing “the fad diet.” Glen says that as cliche as it sounds, the carnivore diet is very much “not a diet, but a lifestyle,” and he even struggles to call it a diet. He says he is committed to this way of life, knows it is a game changer for his mental health, and “it’s just how I eat.”
